Redleg

Obviously we will all have different expectations of what would constitute a successful 2011 for the Dees and for me I would like to see a top 8 finish. All the other things like getting games into players will happen as the season unfolds. I believe we are capable of making the 8 unless we have a terrible run with injuries. In my view we have the talent to make the 8 and that should be the minimum aim of the team. While we will have an extremely young list, that should not be a barrier to winning games. There will be plenty of experience mingled with youthful pace and endeavour. I have never seen a more talented list on paper at Melbourne and I think the time has come to start showing the footy world we are on the way back and heading towards being a really good team. I have deliberately not used the word "premiership" as that is still some way off, but then again when you look at the Pies, maybe not that far off.

No 18 is on the front cover of the club's magazine, now called Heartbeat. The caption is Brad Green Steps Forward. Suggests who might be Captain.

Firstly, Jack Viney is not old enough to sign a contract. Secondly, is the definition of waiting in the wings "someone who is old enough to sign a contract" or merely "someone who in the future could play for us"?

Can we add to waiting further in the wings, Billy Stretch, Greg Healy's son and maybe one of Garry Lyon's boys.

The most interesting thing for me in this thread is can we drag it out to 20 pages and well into next year. I am over it. I am off to read the training threads because they are about Melbourne players.

If he runs the interchange and does it well and as a Chaplain is popular and a help to the club and "all" its players and staff and is not being paid exorbitantly, then in the words of the great Malcolm Blight, " I don't give a rat's tossbag."

That is good news.

Agree. Rohan and Clint Bartram were over at my place near the end of the season and I am a fat 90 k's and 175 cms and I can assure you he looked like twiggy next to me. 81 k's could be about right.

Maybe, but he was a 17 year old kid playing his first season of senior footy. Lets count again when he is 19-20.

Absolutely.

Of course he is, it starts and ends with the bottom line.

From what I know, I doubt that.

Where was Bails shown smiling?

If you are right with the "was" and if he was only a "[censored]" who the term "figjam" was applied to, then considering he was number 6 pick in the draft and has according to you turned his attitude around, then he should be considered for a rookie position. If there was any lingering doubt as to his character I would pass.

I think you have a fair complaint. You are paying one membership fee being the family one. That should only be one start up fee as it is only one fee being paid, you are not paying four different fees. It would be different if you took four separate memberships as each would have the start up fee, but only if being paid by different people. This should be a fee for the start up of the account that is used to pay, not for the number of members. I would take it up again with the club and speak to someone in finance and get it sorted out. IMO that is grossly unfair. Use the example of if you owned a company and took out 100 memberships for your staff but you were paying the lot on instalments, would they charge you 100 times $10 being $1000, of course they wouldn't as only one payment is being made from one account each quarter.

Was thinking the same myself. He must throw to the dam.

Thanks for the report Pinball. I am sure the players will miss AAMI Centre when they head to Casey next week.

He won't be rookied by us. Tom Mac still a chance.

We are specifically talking about him shirking one contest against Dipper in the 1988 GF. Alan Stoneham would have wished he did the same at Windy Hill where Dipper smashed his face in a disgraceful hit. Robbie Flower may have also wished he did the same in the 1987 Preliminary Final, when Dipper dislocated his shoulder, putting him out of the game and probably costing us the match and a Grand Final. If we had played in the 87 GF and lost, we would have been a better and harder side the next year and who knows. So for one short step which avoided him possibly being carted off on a stretcher we label a great Demon, very, very, very soft. We can be harsh.

Yes he is training with us.

I am sure our FD is on to this.

Was fiddling around with some possible Demon sides and for the first time I can recall, I am finding it hard to fit all of the possibles into the forward line. In years gone by some of the boys I am leaving out would have been certainties. Now there are a few more draftees to come. For example without listing all of them LJ, Watts, Dunn, Sylvia, Aussie, Bennell, Petterd, Green, Bate, maybe Morton/Bail and then to come maybe Tapscott, Fitzpatrick, Cook, Howe, Gawn, Martin, Jetta etc. I am feeling very optimistic about our future.

Many would have thought the same of the Pies only a year or two ago and now they have 22 of them.

Given the amount of talent we have recruited over the last few years, I can see a sitiuation coming where several of our players won't get a game, even though they would if at another club. There could be a lot of disappointment and that will have to be managed. It is not always about money, sometimes it is about careers and game time. We are building a pretty good list and it doesn't stop at 22, it goes to about 40. Certain players know they are fringe players and accept their place, but on our list the talent will go far deeper than 22 and there may be problems in the future. The footy department will need to be proactive in this area. Of course there are always injuries and that will open temporary spots but it is more the permanent spots that will cause problems. I suppose it is a good problem to have.

I don't know how to link but on the AFL site there are a lot of great photos of today's training.