Ron Burgundy

I would also like to see Brad concentrate on his set shot kicking again this year. He pretty well used to be the most reliable kick for goal in the competition, but in the last few years he's lost that accuracy/dependability.

Quality stuff from Brad. He will go down as a club legend, so he need not be Captain this year. That said, I would love to see Brad regain his 2010 form, secure AA selection and re-sign with the club for another couple of years. That's the sort of leadership we need from him this year.

Exactly.

Have to say, I disagree. Having heard Sheedy speak at a couple of functions, I think he is perfect for this role - a fact repeatedly acknowledged by Garry Lyon only a few days ago. Sheedy is past his best as a coach. In fact, he almost said as much at the most recent function I attended. However, he said his principal role is to build a club and get it a foot print in an area that currently has no interest in AFL. I can't think of anyone else in our game who's better suited to this role to be honest. He thinks out of the box and he is adept at promoting things. For instance, he was behind the Anzac Day clash between the Dons and the Pies. He initiated the Indigenous Round clash between the Dons and Richmond. And, in much the same way, he's doing a lot of good things out west in Sydney. In terms of community initiatives, he's making the NRL looking like the rank amateurs that they are. In short, his success depends more on off field things than finishing in the top 8 this year. I also think GWS is bench marking itself against Gold Coast, not Hawthorn, the Pies, Geelong, Carlton or even the Swans. And as to Tom Scully - I'm happy he's there. We got Mitch Clark as a result, a player who we really needed and who's already in our leadership group. We also got two compo picks, so let's forget about the little pr1ck.

I'm happy Robbo remained a one club player, despite his efforts to get to another AFL club at the end of his Demons career. It's something Cameron Bruce may regret in the future (then again, perhaps he'll be a premiership player at the end of this year).

Some good articles there. It still intrigues me as to why Moloney was cut from the leadership group. If anyone has insight knowledge on this, I'd be really interested to know why. Jeremy Howe, it seems, is a first round draft pick that we stole at pick 33.

Nice report. It's interesting to hear how Sellar's tracking - could be an inspired pick. I was at a function yesterday at which Garry Lyon interviewed Kevin Sheedy. (Sheedy is a bloody good public speaker by the way - has vision and is entertaining.) He was asked who he thought would contest the Grand Final this year, to which Sheedy said Hawthorn and Carlton and, possibly, West Coast. He then said Carlton may not have quite enough height though. And he then commented that height's now more important than ever. It's good to hear we now have the tallest list. As an aside, Gubby Allen commented on the focus the AFL puts on player development and how important it is to manage the work load on the younger players. He noted that many of the top youngsters are elite in other sports as well (eg, Jonathon Patton - GWS #1 pick, basketballer, and simply mammoth unit), and how important it is for the AFL development officers to also take into account the work load from the other sports the kids are playing. He then said Melbourne's first draft pick 'two years' ago, Jack Watts, provided a good example of this. Said that the basketball guys essentially had no sympathy for his work load (demanded he attend a training session when he couldn't), and this more than anything led him to choose AFL. He commented favourably on Watts, but wasn't so happy when I pointed out that our first draft pick 'two years' ago was in fact Tom Scully. To which he looked a bit embarrassed and simply said, "ohhh yeah - I meant three years ago".

Early days, but I hope Mark Neeld creates a dynasty for himself at the MFC and that he is head coach for the next 15 years.

I know this is off the point, but AFL clubs in Victoria don't have to compete as intently with other codes as do teams from other states. In Sydney, for instance, the Swans are competing with many NRL clubs, not to mention other football codes. Simply getting air time for the code is hard enough for them, let alone getting some focus on their club. Back to this thread - a fairly aggressive first post. Been boozing by any chance?

I suspect Neeld will touch base regularly with Malthouse throughout the season.

He missed it to attend a family wedding for Christ's sake. And it's not as though he missed the Grand Final - it was only a pre-season training session. What an ordinary article.

Recent experience shows that getting priority picks doesn't necessarily mean securing long term elite players. If it is the case that Bailey essentially tanked in order to secure higher draft picks, I hope history shows that we used those draft picks as effectively as possible. Because losing so many games over such a long period of time has to have a very negative impact on the culture of a club.

Fast forward to 2012: Trengove - Co-Captain of the MFC. Scully - 'passionate' GWS player. Just how important will Jordan McMahon's kick be in the history of the MFC?!

And Dave Misson!

Speculating perhaps, but I don't think Neeld would've had much time for Scully and his shenanigans last year. Or his haircut this year. He probably would've been happy with a straight swap of Scully for Clark, leaving aside the two first round compo picks.

Mitch Clark was also one of the first outsiders to commit to Neeld's vision for the MFC - and I rate him for that, because historically we've never been able to attract the bigger names to this club (eg, Luke Ball). Initially, I don't think Clark wanted anything more than to win the respect of his team mates and the coaching staff, and clearly he has achieved that. Many people will no doubt say he only signed because of the money. But the underlying reality is that there had to be more than that that attracted him to us, particularly at this point in his career. He wouldn't have signed if he had thought we were likely wooden spooners for the next four years. I reckon Clark has essentially committed the rest of his career to this club, and I think it's great that Neeld is rewarding him for that. As an aside, Neeld talked about this club developing a 'hard edge'. Dropping Green, Moloney, Rivers and Davey within 4 months of him being appointing coach. Well, that shows a 'hard edge'.

I agree with this. I hope Brent's not too upset, and that he continues to deliver his heart and soul commitment to the club for the rest of his career. I'm sure he will. Bartram's an interesting elevation. I had a feeling he'd be a roughy for inclusion in the leadership group. This was essentially based on comments I've read over the past 4 months or so, and my perception of what Neeld seems to respect in players. In particular, he seems to like players who don't take anything for granted, and who show empathy and respect for others (ie, those who are not so 'me' obsessed). That said, I'm very surprised Moloney didn't get a gig in the leadership group. I had thought he was a certainty. Perhaps some of the older players are a bit disconnected from the rest of the group. And given the relative youth of the group, that wouldn't be a good thing as it is a very young list with the majority of players probably being 23 and younger. Hence, the very young leadership group and the absence of older players in it (Jamar aside).

Green looks to be in top nick. His arms look bigger than last season.

Thanks for the report, WJ. A good read. I love Mark Neeld's approach to coaching and recruiting. I realise a shot hasn't been fired in anger yet, but I reckon recruiting this guy is the best thing that's happened to this club in years. That he invited interviewees to email him and set out the reasons as to what they wish to get out of football is fantastic. Clearly he loves the bigger bodies, but the underlying character of players seems to be fundamental to this guy.

Why did Tom's hairdresser cut off the rat's tail bit? Dudded ...

The back drop to the boy band photo doesn't exactly look like the MCG. Will be fun running around that ground getting belted by 300 points in front of about 1,500 GWS supporters each fortnight. Not exactly the kind of stuff dreams are made of.

I am still surprised at the amount of money GWS have thrown at Scully. For that sort of dough, I expect any start up team would want a ready made leader (in addition to their playing ability), particularly given the ridiculous number of elite juniors they are able to get their hands on. I suppose it serves to demonstrate how unattractive GWS was/is to the established, elite players in the competition. As an aside, it's going to be weird watching Junior line up against us this year.

Thanks dee-luded. Finally I've read something on this issue that seems to make it perfectly clear.

Some posters would no doubt try to justify our earlier picks.

The sad reality is this - if we do not use our existing senior players as part of our premiership window, Gold Coast and GWS are much closer to a flag than us. In short, they have much more young talent than we do - and they will be far better progressed in their 'build' than we are in our 'rebuild' commencing whenever it did.