Ron Burgundy

As an aside, any reason we didn't go in hard for Jacobs?

I like the idea of Jamar playing in the forward line for extended periods in the game. He is a bloody good contested mark and is a reasonably accurate kick. However, we can only do this if we have another ruckman who can actually handle the ruck duties. I think we should persist with Johnson (given that we missed out on Hale). Johnson is capable. He's just inconsistent and has been plagued with injuries. It's possible he could turn his career around next year.

If Bruce goes, I'll be concerned. Why? Because Junior deserved another year and I reckon they didn't offer him another year in order to keep Bruce. If Bruce goes, we need McDonald for one more year. Simple stuff really.

I sincerely hope the Football Department revisits Junior's 'retirement' if Bruce packs his bags ...

Club culture is very important, and it's what leads to sustained success. To suggest it's all about winning a flag is a fairly meaningless statement IMO - it's self evident that every supporter wants to see their club win a flag. FWIW though, I too trust the football department to make the right decision.

Yep. And to confirm something we already know, JV's an absolute gun.

He will be at the Demons. North Adelaide source.

Woey had passion for the club and was a fantastic trainer. Could add a lot IMO.

Bruce - likely next Captain? I would've thought (perhaps hope) Green, Moloney and Davey are ahead of him.

If Bruce leaves, the MFC should revisit Junior's 'retirement'. We will definitely need his services.

Before expressing the following opinion, I'll acknowledge that it is entirely superficial and based only on hearsay, BUT: - given the discussion leading up to the relevant draft (I think Strauss was pick 19), I was very surprised we overlooked Zaharakis at this pick. It was my impression that, if Zaharakis was available, he was the midfielder to pick - and we didn't. Thus far, Zaharakis seems to have shown a lot more than Strauss.

Jimmy has saved this club. He simply has to be the greatest demon of them all.

This guy has been an absolute revelation for us. We have not had a good defence in living memory, and this guy's built a defence that is showing signs of becoming the best in the league. What's more, he's done it with blue collar draft picks (Frawley aside, who I think was about pick 12 - and Rivers has not exactly been in Rising Star form for several years either). Wellman needs some recognition at the end of the season - he's done a truly fantastic job and has had a big hand in setting up our next flag. Dean Bailey needs another pat on the back for this. Not only has he assembled a great young list, it seems he's also assembled a great coaching team. Yep, I am in a good mood. Let's start the Wellman love ...

Totally agree with this. IMO Sylvia has always been the player on our list most likely to be one of the competition's elite. I really hope he's elevated into the leadership group next year. I reckon it's just the boost he needs - and IMO he deserves to be in that group too.

I hope Junior plays another year.

I think the white guernsey looks great. Sorry to spoil the fantasy folks, but it's not the reason we can't win away games.

Stand corrected - he did not say the words 'best on ground'. Rather, Bennell's last quarter effort was his 'highlight' of the game - however it was his highlight, not in isolation, but in the context of the game that Bennell played over 120 mins.

Dean Bailey was all class. He had high praise for Bennell -Bailey's BOG on the weekend. I really rate this bloke. He understands the importance of building trust and rapport with his players and, in general, in creating a great club culture. He had high praise for the run and chase of the players at the moment. Seems to be a good bond between the players and coaching staff. Said that at Essendon and Port, the football department had fun. They trusted one another because the coaches were open about themselves too. Predictably high praise for Jimmy and his influence around the club - in all facets. Didn't otherwise talk about individual players (other than Jamie - also Watts will be an extremely good player and is getting better with each game). He said the speed of players and speed of ball movement was incredibly important in the modern game, and the current list is developing really well in these aspects. My take out The sun and the moon have literally collided for this club. We now have the holy trinity: Stynes, Schwab and Bailey. We are going to win a premiership soon. I'm absolutely convinced of that. And Bailey will have had a MASSIVE contribution to that.

Joel Mac was a great pick up for us. If we didn't pick him, another AFL club would've. Still surprised Voss de-listed him to be honest - I hope he regrets it even more after this weekend.

Really enjoyed reading this post. Whether there's truth to it or not, I don't know - but your comments about Lyon's assessment of things are interesting. I have to say that Bailey has consistently said there'll be ups and downs this year, which has been true. I was incredibly underwhelmed with the Dees' effort against the Crows, and I fear that this insipid performance cannot have been part of a master plan. Having said that, as against the Pies(x2) and the Dogs, their performances were genuinely top tier and I saw enough to know that we will be contenders in the years to come. In short, I agree - I think Bailey knows what he's doing and that he's currently the man for the job. I also like what he's done with Dunn and Bartram this year.

The disappointing thing if Petterd leaves the MFC is that this club has put a lot of effort into him, and some other make-believe club is going to get the benefit of the MFC's work. Petterd has shown a lot, but the fact remains that the MFC has a lot more in Petterd credits on its ledger than vice versa.

I'd really like to see Junior play next year - his current form warrants it (as it's up there with his B&F winning years) and he's an excellent leader. And Dunn, to my mind, is a required player. Strauss is the one that interests me. I had thought we'd take Zaharakis with pick 19, yet we selected Strauss. How's he going? Is the club happy with his progress?

We didn't trade him to St Kilda. We offered him a 2 year deal (because of his OP injury in 2001), and St Kilda offered him a 3 year deal. We got nothing for him, and he was a key part of our engine room. This was a disaster for us - as was the Woewodin debacle, and resulted in an appalling 2003 in circumstances where we were a couple of kicks off a preliminary final in 2002. Both players finished in the top 3 in their respective clubs B&F counts at least once over the next couple of years.

Good post. IMO Jones has developed into an important player for us. Like Moloney, he clearly gives the younger, more skilled players the confidence that there is a hard body near them who will protect them when needed. We need some hard grunt in the midfield, and Jones has this in spades. I'll bet Trengove, Scully and Gysberts love having Jones and Moloney (both top clubmen) standing next to them at the opening bounce.

I'm sure Sean Wellman and the football department take a different view on this, but perhaps you know more than them? I suggest you read the latest article entitled 'Great Wall of Melbourne'. It takes much more than Frawley and Warnock to build that wall, and I expect that both of those players like having Joel next to them - he's a hard bodied competitor.