jabberwocky

Give the Barassi hate a rest. The man is a legend. He was responsible for bringing out a couple of Irishmen if I recall correctly.

http://www.melbourne...35/default.aspx 1. He has not signed an AFL contract with GWS 2. Velocity Sports has not had talks with GWS re Scully 3. States that one reason is Broadcast rights potentially increasing the money pool available (ie salary cap increases) 4. Puts Scully in the same boat as Watts, Pavlich and untold others. Re point 1. This is not a direct quote so its is difficult to ascertain whether it was the interviewer that used the term "AFL contract" or Kleiman. If Kleiman has used that term then one could think that the wording may have deliberately precluded the possibility of third party agreement involving an AFL contract. Two problems with that hypothesis - We don't know how ther writer came to use the term "AFL contract" in the article. - It makes it very difficult or impossible for point 2 to be factual. Re Point 2. Again while not a direct quote it can only mean one thing. It is either true of untrue. For me this is the most comforting news however Kleiman could quite easily deny any talks even though they may well have occurred. Any talks would be wrapped in confidentiality clauses and the content will never see the light of day anyway. Re Point 3. It's a plausible excuse, and a tactic to give reasons fro thier decision to hold off negotiations other than the advent of GWS. Designed to enhance thier cred and protect his client. Re Point 4. Rightly points out that Tom is not Robinson Crusoe in relation to delaying contractual talks. Again attempting to enhance thier cred and take pressure of Tom as he is "among untold others". What does it all mean? If you take point 2 as truth then Tom is staying at MFC. If is is not true then it doesn't preclude Tom staying put. What can we do about it? Sweet FA What am I going to do about it? Enjoy my most anticipated footy season since Lyon and Schwarz roamed or forward line.

You are a very persuasive man WJ.

Was he the dark taller fella?

Can't make it unfortunately due to work commitments. Good luck all, have fun and don't get hurt.

Yep

Going to a great player for this club for many years to come. Skills and poise have all been rightly heralded. His courage and strength I think go under the radar. For a kid his strength, balance and decision making in the clinches is the best I've seen along with Joel Selwood. Cannot understate his importance.

The day I cry because of something that Eddie said will be the day I become a eunuch. I hope Scully stays, his management says he has signed nothing. I will trust the club to do everything they can to keep Scully at the club. I hope that Scully wants to play for Melbourne and I believe that he does until HE says otherwise. Regardless am powerless to influence his decision. I can however support the great CLUB that he plays for.

I understand what E25 is saying though fickle may not be the best choice of words. There are those who waould say things to undermine us as a club in an attempt to improve thier position. When our supporters etc begin panicing they achieve thier aims. And panic is never the best way to attack a problem. Those who have supported the club through our poor seasons, those who have backed Stynes and Bailey when we were't getting results, those who trusted the club wih the Chris Johnson, Brock Mclean, Trav Johnstone, Cam Bruce decisions, they will be the same ones who will trust the club through this and show courage and unity.

Best post of the thread so far. It is in a lot of people's best interest to de-stabilise the MFC. Well so far it appears that the rumour has been given legs by North Melbourne and Collingwood sources............. fancy that. In the war of football remember that truth can be an elusive beast.

Liam Jurrah is the one player who stands head and shoulders above all others in terms of talent and athelticism, then Watts, Scully and Sylvia.

Strong possibility that GWS are feeding misinformation, though I would expect that revenge would not be so much of a motivation. That is why as supporters speculation is futile and only serves to meet the motives of the rumour. So this will be my last post on the matter and wll enjoy watching Scully play this season without any fear tarnishing my view.

Spot on HT. Bailey has used words like hope and opportunity. He isn't announcing that it will happen, merely that the opportunity is there. Can anyone give me one good reason why any of the 17 clubs in the comp shouldn't hope to become the best team of the decade?

I think it's perfect timing to graduate from competitiveness to consistency and then to excellence. We are seeing the club up the ante, Sylvia, Bailey etc. The list is partially developed and more or less complete. The timing and the words chosen will have been carefully considered. These are sentences not said on a whim. Bailey and his cohorts will have had a plan at the very beginning, this is merely another progression in the plan. It's time to start to believe it and stop thinking like losers.

Pretty sure he would like to be out there........

Played a few in the Casey 2's and 1s late last year, looked ok but hip was still causing trouble. I am sure he would love to be playing if he could.

It's a scratch match so it's pretty hard to gauge too much. I still get the impression that both our field kicking and contested marking up forward need a loy more work, but then at this time of year I suppose 15 other sides will have the same issues. It would not surprise me to see Jeremy Howe play this season and make an impact. I would expect that Gawn will need a solid season in the twos building fitness. If he wants to be great player and his body holds up he will be a great player. Mcdonald I didn't see too much of today. Cook looks likely but hard to say whether he will play senior footy soon, looks composed. Edit Spencer was good today, and was a lot less fumbly than Martin both aerially and on the deck.

My two cents from the notes I took today. I don't sugar-coat too much so please don't suppose I hate said player because I make a negative comment. I only took notes on players that did something that took my interest. i haven't read the other reports so as not to skew my perceptions. Syvlia - would have won nearly half of the stop play clearances today and that is not an exaggeration. Was dominant in that situation whether in the white or blue team. Played out the four quarters well so fitness is good. Maric - has obviously worked very hard at his fitness and won a lot of the footy as a midfielder who put hiself in good spots, the few nice things he did were good however he overcooked the ball on many occasions trying to do too much and was iffy at best by foot. Still a big step in the right direction. Jetta - really liked his showing. Got himself involved a lot, his grunt work was terrific, tackling was a feature, very hungry footballer. His knock today as it always has been was his field kicking. Just let himself down with poor kicking skills. I don't think it is a decision making issue just and inability to execute at times. Watts - Agility,skills and decision making a feature. Kicked some goals, presented well and played smart. Was allowed a lot of latititude by the Casey player who had him in the 2nd half. He will need to get used to body pressure from Afl backs. Still did not get himself into contested situations be it aerial or ground but he showed some signs today of taking some steps forward in self belief. Never, ever does Watts kick in hope, always backs his skills and sometimes (not often) it doesn't come off. Scully - busy at times with some breathtaking breaks from the guts. Still missed a couple of kicks but hit quite a few lace out too. His hands were also a feature. Morton - bigger stronger and looking more confident. Took some good marks and did some nice things. Solid. Bail - Got involved at times and is great to watch. Hits the ball hard and at pace. Has a nice shimmy and shake. Is in the 22 for mine if fit. Hopefully his body allows him a good run at it this season. Cook - Did a couple of nice smart things. Will get more involved. Will end up a solid unit. Has a good frame. Martin - Presented, bit fumbly. Took one clunker only to spray the kick at goal. Very attractive man though. Spencer - Toiled hard, took some strong one grab marks and competed well. Has the 2nd ruck spot at the moment. Obvious limitations but he dished off a few handballs and short kicks and was able to be dispose of it effectively. Liked his game. Beamer - In everything but decision making and disposal let him down today. Gawn - I walked away really impressed by this guy. I watched him do a one grab pick up of a moving ball below his knees at pace in the forward pocket and was amazed. Got a goal in the 2nd from a free when the defender? just could not get into the contest to spoil legally. If his body can withstand the rigours of being an afl ruck he will be a player. Bate - Typical "good" Bate game. Worked hard, presented, spilled a couple of marks, took a couple of strong ones, kicked some good goals. A solid showing. Is a very strong, fit unit and may have slimmed a little. Howe - Looks a smart and capable footballer. What I saw of him he got himself into good position, picked good options and backed himself. The blue forward line functioned very well with Watts, Howe, Jamar, Dunn and Bate. Trengove - Very nice in close and around the ground. He will really impact games as he starts to touch the footy more. Really brings class to the strong inside mids that we need. Dan Nicholson - a couple of nice things, struggled to get into it or to be fair he may not have got a lot of game time. Michael Evans - Impressed with this kid, best performed of the rookies. Had a crack, was not overawed and got himself involved in the 2nd quarter particularly. Decisons and skills good and good courage.

Interesting to hear Col say the F word. We haven't heard statements like that for a while. I would expect that the graph of expectation will rise sharply amongst all arms of the club, players. coaches, board and supporters. It will be interesting to see how individuals perform under the pressure of this expectation and some of the inevitable disappointments. .

The above supercoach is full so I started my own league which is probably better that the others anyway. Code is 136047

Heard a whisper that Mark Jamar wears crotchless lace knicker on game day. Can't confirm how correct it is. I may be naive but I believe that the club would have done its research in this area and in the circumtsances had a full medical done on the player.

As has been noted several times it is very difficult to judge leadership unless you are part of the group, but this all feels right to me. I like Green as captain, he has been around a long time as a loyal demon and has developed into a consistent and courageous player. Davey, Moloney and Rivers each bring something different. I love the two youngsters Grimes and Jones being in the leadership group.

Troy Davis is from Kerang which has been underwater, could be the reason for his absence though I have no specific info. Thanks for all the reports guys, love getting them. I am too far away to get there myself.

And it is Brad Green http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/107058/default.aspx

Clearances from stoppages. He does it consistently, more than any other player at this point.