Ron Burgundy

You have made a number of speculative assumptions here, Viney12. On the other hand, I am going on hearsay. I expect we'll know more early this week. Either way, this has not been good for this club. And I think Scully (perhaps through his management) could have handled this saga a whole lot better than he has - it may mean he ultimately gets more $$$, but it has not been ideal for the MFC. This is merely my opinion, and I respect the opinions of MFC supporters who have a different view.

To clarify, I'm not suggesting that the Dees know what Scully is going to decide. And I agree, if they did, there's absolutely no reason why they wouldn't announce it. It seems to me though, that in this situation the poacher ie, GWS knows more about the likely decision than the vanquished ie, the MFC. Hence, my statement above.

Totally agree. The Swans will turn Morton into their next Goodes. Cannot believe the bagging of Morton on this site. He is still clearly in a development stage of his career.

Can Mitch Clark play forward? Or would this free up Jamar to play forward (assuming there's substance to the rumour of course).

Because it's not their information to announce. The poacher gets to boast about what they've claimed - not the vanquished. I hope I'm wrong about this, but I genuinely don't think I am. And Slooooony - to my mind, you're not covering yourself in glory at the moment. The cliches you're pumping out are boring and unintelligent. Some posters have seemingly heard things (this forum is about such Demon related issues), but out of respect for the discloser we're minded not to put their identity on the web. That's not to suggest the content is not submitted in good faith, or irrelevant to the issue, or untrue. Perhaps this point is too subtle for you at this point in time.

This is the very type of argument that the Christian Right in Kansas (who flatly refuse to teach evolutionary theory in schools) put to Christopher Hitchens in response to his rational arguments as to the existence of God - ie, you can't prove it, so I won't believe it. The point is that the 'official statement' has not yet been made. Everyone knows and accepts that. However, that doesn't mean that the underlying facts don't exist - it merely means that they have not been 'announced' yet. And it is clear to me that, absent an 'official' announcement, some people steadfastly refuse to believe what most people know to be fact. Head in the sand stuff. I'm interested to know how these people will react if, as many expect, Scully announces next week that he will be wearing the grey and orange in 2012.

I agree. I've heard it too, albeit through different sources. And I'm not going to disclose from whom, because the cheerleader stuff on this thread is mindless and pathetic. It is hearsay. I don't need that pointed out to me from someone who can't actually articulate, when pressed, what hearsay actually is and why it is generally inadmissible in a court of law. I suspect the announcement will be made on Monday. If not Monday, then Tuesday. It seems we absolutely wasted this pick. And, as a passionate Demons' supporter, I'm really annoyed about this. On the upside - it will make the glory even better when we eventually taste it.

Yep, you're right. For what it's worth, on Monday I think we will all be discussing who to draft with our two additional first round picks. And if that happens, what a gigantic waste of our first pick.

Fevola.

Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Scully's only one player on the list. We need to get a damn good coach, not to appease Tom, but to take this club to the next level. It's that simple. We also have loads of other good players on the list to appease, not to forget the supporters. If we were to land Malthouse, it would be the biggest and most positive addition to this club in generations. The need for that is far beyond whether it will ultimately convince Scully to stay or not. I hope we retain Scully, essentially because I fear the compensation we get won't be as good as a modern day number one draft pick will most likely turn out to be. Changed my tune here a little, but given that the season's over and any damage caused by his delay has now been done, I think it will be really good for the club if he checks out the GWS offer and then commits to the Dees. Also, pick 9 and a late first round pick, to my mind, are not adequate compensation for the number one draft pick in a good draft.

If this is the case, I really hope Neil Craig will be in the background in some capacity.

It's not a cliche, but it really irritates me when certain posters play the person who voices an opinion in good faith that may be at odds with their own opinion. Wreaks of little computer nerds playing the tough guy on the keyboard. I wish they would either ignore the opinion or counter it with logical, well reasoned responses - surely this should be simple if the contrary view being expressed is so plainly stupid in the first place.

To be fair, Cameron selected Thompson who then elected to leave the club. Cameron nailed that selection - Thompson is a bloody good player.

Just a (rather obvious) thought. Even though we don't have the cheque book and supporter base of a club like Collingwood, we do have one massive thing in our favour in any negotiation with Mick Malthouse, assuming he wishes to continue coaching. And that is this. We can genuinely say to Mick, 'With us, you have complete carte blanche to run this team as you wish. Finances permitting, we will also support your wish to bring whoever you need to bring this list to the level it needs to be to win a premiership'. That's not something Eddie or his mate, FIGJAM, can or will offer him - and I reckon it's something Malthouse believes he is entitled to at this stage in his career. And this is also in the context that we have a good young list, an expectant and potentially very appreciative supporter base that has not tasted success for generations, and a home ground that is the MCG. No brainer I would've thought (subject to any litigation risk that the Pies may seek to have him sit out for 2012).

Dunno - just speculating. I'd say Malthouse would be a mentor for Burns, and in this context I'd reckon they'd chat about these things. That said, the MFC may not even be interested in Burns. I'm hoping the MFC has the big fish in its sights - Malthouse is the guy we need (along with Neeld, and Buttifant, and Pendlebury, and a few others on their list).

If we manage to land Malthouse for next year and beyond, I am firmly of the view that this will be 'the season we had to have'. Malthouse will definitely turn us into the serious outfit we show glimpses of being.

I'd be stunned if Burns wouldn't be speaking to Malthouse about his next move. And if it's true that the MFC is also after Burns, I'd reckon Malthouse might be suggesting the current upside to the MFC is better than the current upside to the Crows. Pure speculation of course.

If there is any man in the country that the Dees should be targeting right now, perhaps it should be David Buttifant, Director of Sports Science at Collingwood Football Club. According to a friend of mine (Pies' Coterie member), Buttifant is the brains behind the Collingwood machine. He essentially manages the list and coordinates the fitness and training programmes (all absolutely elite - essentially the benchmark in Australian sport at the moment). Buckley is putting all of his efforts into ensuring that Buttifant remains at the Pies next year. If the Pies win the Grand Final, and MM is moved out of the coaching box, it is likely to have a destabilising effect on some in the coaching ranks at CFC. That being the case, I hope the MFC is waiting in the wings, cheque book in hand. This is an area in which (from the outside looking in) it seems to me that we really need to strengthen our capability.

It's interesting the mindless Melbourne v Sydney debate on this site. For a start, you will find most Sydney-siders speak very generously of Melbourne. That's not to say they'd rather live there, just that they really like it. It's much the same as the New Zealand v Australia debate. I find that many Kiwis are quite vocal in their thoughts about Australia and Australians, whereas most Australians don't particularly care about what Kiwis think about Australia at all. Perhaps it's the big brother thing. Personally, I absolutely love Melbourne, but I prefer living in Sydney. Bottom line though is that they are actually very different cities with very different offerings. And in a country like Australia where there aren't heaps of viable alternatives, that's a great thing. As to where to live in Sydney, I live in Potts Point. There is literally no equivalent in Melbourne (or anywhere else in Australia for that matter). IMO this area represents the closest thing Australia has to NYC (West Village in particular), and my wife and I like that. Many here, I expect, wouldn't like living in the area - and I'm totally cool with that. Ultimately it's just a matter of opinion ie, it's not a 'fact', perhaps like many of the other things on this thread that are said to be 'facts' are in reality not 'facts' at all.

Malthouse. He likes our list, and the challenge has a compelling narrative to it - deliver glory to a big old club which hasn't tasted success for almost 50 years. Become a three club premiership coach - it's all there. The money won't be bad either if you believe the rumours - at least $1M per year for 5 years. Fast Eddie, I don't expect, would have the same aversion to Malthouse coaching the Dees that he would with Malthouse coaching the Blues. Lyon would also have some influence re: threats of potential litigation against the rival 'poaching' club. Fingers crossed. If not Malthouse, then Lyon.

I agree. He needs to be in the leadership group next year (ie, the team stuff needs to be imposed on him IMO, and I reckon he'd nail it). As an aside, Sylvia's my favourite player too - absolutely stoked about this.

Yep, it looks like 8.30pm on Foxtel in Sydney too. Channel 7 = bloody pr1cks when it comes to non-blockbuster games.

I agree Ned. I don't know whether Scully will stay or not, but on any construction this issue has been very destabilising to the club in the circumstances this year. And he could have sorted it out - but for some reason, Kevin Rudd style, he was doggedly determined to do it all in his own time, rather than consider what might actually be in the best interests of the club and his team-mates. Trengove gets it - and, for that, I love the bloke. It's a real pity we may have missed out on landing a 10 year plus player with our first pick - but if we get two first rounders in return, I'll be comfortable with that. I also still feel aggrieved by the result of that Bomber Riley game in the last round of 2007 against Carlton, which resulted in us getting pick 4 (Morton) rather than picks 1 and 2 (Kreuzer and Judd).

Got it right with Trengove, Gysberts and Tapscott though (ironically, for the very reasons they didn't seem to get it right with Scully).

What's the Poo up to these days?