Redleg

Ha ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mail today is that he will likely stay. However that is always subject to deals that may eventuate. The funny thing here is that with a large number of our players leaving, we will have money/salary cap space to pay players and could possibly look after him better than most other clubs. If he walks out, we get a compo pick. But if for example a trade was done where say he and another player go to the same club, we could get over the odds in the deal. This is really going to be an interesting next few months for the MFC.

My mail today is that LJ probably won't play AFL next year and if at all, then with an SANFL side. We will see.

Well of course we will never know how well Talia would have developed at Melbourne, so it can't be answered. What I can say in relation to the Cook selection though, is that several other club's recruiters were stunned we chose him. Why would that be? Perhaps because they thought he was nowhere near a first round selection or an AFL footballer at all, for that matter. I agree development plays a part, but accept that if you select someone that is not up to it, great development might still not get him there. It can help of course but you need the raw material to work with. Sorry to use Darling as an example but how much development went into him over the first preseason, that led him to play first game and nearly every game since. He belonged from day one. He was a good selection. Of course you don't have to play early to be a good selection, but you have to show something. Not one person I have spoken to or comment I have read suggests that Cook is a good footballer. What I saw when I watched him, worried me and clearly others. I think the evidence at the moment says that at pick 12 he is a disaster. As a rookie pick that wouldn't be the case. So lets accept that this pick was a failure by BP. Unfortunately he had too many of them. Just finally on development, you can't have the same club developing McDonald, Blease, Howe, Jones etc and say for guys who fail that it is only because of a lack of development. Some fail simply because they aren't good enough. Obviously not every selection will have a great AFL career, but when you have several high picks you should get a fair few of them right. Recruiters aren't judged on one pick but many and IMO BP was a failure. Anyway, we move onto drafts and trades of 2012 and hope for some success.

Taller about 192 cms.

Read his post again HG, he wasn't shooting the messenger, he was shooting the message. I happen to agree and I am not shooting at you, I actually commended you earlier and hope you will have more to post as we go along. I also feel that this is our last chance to get things right and that means drafting the best players, not drafting to win a few games and save a Coach's job. I don't think Mark will take that approach and I am happy to watch talent grow and develop if you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. For example if Jesse Hogan is that good and we can get him but not play him until 2014, IMO we get him. I will be happy to wait if I can see what we are creating. Recruiting a bunch of nearly over the hills is not the way to rebuild, but again I don't see Mark doing that. Keep the news coming. It's a good read.

Agree. We keep hearing about the outside players and we don't have any. Morton is actually one. He can run all day and rack up the receives. You need a couple of them. He is also tall so maybe in a year or so could fill in somewhere else if needed to pinch hit. Blease is another, but without the endurance.

Thrilled that Barry Prendergast knew more than every Demonlander, who predicted we would take Talia with the pick 11 we got from Carlton for Brock. WJ and I nearly fainted when we went to a function on draft night and Chris Connolly told us we would not take Talia, but instead would take Gysberts. Talia has won the rising star and looks an AA and star for 10 years. Gysberts is being spoken of as being traded. How much was he paid for being our head recruiter? I know it is easy to have hindsight but most of us had foresight on this occasion. Now we hear about Gysberts deficiencies as the reason he may go. I won't mention Cook/Darling as other have. Why were other clubs shocked at some of our selections? It just makes you sick, thinking about it.

Has it. Well I will take it one week at a time, in future with my quotes.

Davey has an injury problem and Jetta is not good enough.

Apparently Bombers are hawking him around.

Great post. Thanks for the info. Interesting to see what come through.

Yes he is.

The thing with Cook is he was always fragile. I seem to remember he was in tears at a training session. I recall my son alerting me to the fact at a Casey game that he had pulled out of the contest a few times. I then concentrated on this aspect and yes he would see the opponent coming and forget about the ball. It happened often. Neeld would have hated it. Lovett obviously didn't like it. He was also very skinny and never changed. I don't want to hear any more about poor development. He was a bad selection, end of story. Unfortunately for Prendergast and us, he made a lot of them.

Agree.

I am so disillusioned at the moment, that is all I have left. I don't want to give footy away. But you are right, time will tell.

Of that list 4 are gone and Ricky is probably too. That's 5. If Bartram's treatment is not a miracle cure, he will probably retire. I think Bate will also go. That's 7. I am not a fan of Strauss and Jetta and would look at trading them if possible. Everytime I see Strauss play he seems to be beaten man on man. Bennell could be trade material for WCE back home, who always liked him and if we are after Stevens something could happen. Dunn and Sellar have been good this year in games and are versatile and can also kick a goal. I would keep Davis and Rivers if his body is ok or unless he wants to go and again a deal can be done.. Spencer and Bail will stay unless there is a decent deal offered. Interestingly Petterd, Spencer and Bail are all Queenslanders and we appear to be looking at players up North.

Agree. It is interesting that Nick Maxwell says Neeld was fantastic and that "ALL" the players were very sorry to see him leave. Also that MM credited him with a lot of the Pies success. So for blokes who win a flag and work hard he is great and for some at our club, that has done nothing recently, has a pathetic culture and is a media laughing stock, he is an [censored].

Agree. Unlike Cook, he goes in hard. Why not see if he can play forward.

Apparently a couple of clubs have inquired about him.

The departing player list is growing and reference is made to many clubs being interested in the players. We will see what we get in return, if anything.

The clean out has begun and is exposing many of our poor selections. But yes as others say, lets look forward and hope to hell we get most of it right from now on.

Maybe the lure of getting a game and usually on the MCG, might lure a couple of fringe players from top clubs.

Thanks will give it a try. May come out of retirement, as we will have plenty of spots on the list to fill.

What I find hard to believe is that MN was blindsided. Ricky has had few games and MN would know that he would be concerned by that.