pitmaster

There's never a shortage of whingeing about the club being slow with memberships so I'd like to put on record that one week after signing up on the dog and bone all three memberships arrived. Redesigned stickers look pretty good too. Well done MFC.

Knowing this was coming does not make its arrival any less sad or affecting. We claim Jimmy as one of our own but he was bigger than football. His work with young people and his courage in the face of adversity has touched so many. Sympathy to his family. May they take comfort in sharing his greatness.

Too true. No reason at all to watch this saturday night now.

Bought my membership yesterday but had no contact from the club prior to that apart from the renewal notice last november

what a misery guts. remind me not to take a holiday with you.

OK I missed the first 20 minutes but it's clear as weird as the NAB Cup is, it's true in one sense - the umpiring stinks! Davey tackled high a la Sewell - ahhh but you play for a bottom side, my son, no free Jamar tries to protect his position in a ruck contest...let's give it to the Dawks Buddy slams Sylvia, Sylvia responds...well let's reverse the first free paid to Melbourne for 20 minutes Watts dispossesses Cheney close to goal...play on see above. Howe still looks good, Dunne looks like he has a future

There is every reason to think he will not be convicted of anything let alone do jail time unless he was the one that weilded the weapon (on the evidence thus far this is unlikely it seems). The reason is simple: the law will always give a second chance to someone who has a purposeful life and Liam has that in football. Any defence barrister worth his salt can mount a powerful argument that it is better for the community that Liam continue with his career in Melbourne. What is gained if he is convicted/jailed? He becomes one more sad statistic of indigenous trouble. But given the chance to pursue his football he can become a model for his community of what is possible for them, and he gains maturity and status for his eventual return to his community.

Benny, you're full of it. What the club should - and will - do now is get behind him until the law takes its course and the full facts, or as close to them as we can get are known. Criminal law moves slowly and this case may not be heard for months. Some outline will be presented this afternoon and then we will know more but not everything. It's the club's role to back the bloke and support him and his community as much as is possible. That's what footy clubs do. Yes Benny it's a business but a special kind of business that loses any meaning if it does not stand by its own. The bigger significance of this is that it gives us city whites an insight into the troubled world that many of our indigenous people inhabit.

I voted for four wins - Brisbane, Tigers, Dogs and Dons - but it could be more - Blues not a certain loss and neither is St Kilda. We have recently beaten Sydney in Sydney as well.

Fewer crumbs when Howe and Jurrah get up there, I reckon, particularly once Watts and Clark learn how to combine with each other. Too early for definitive judgements. Only clear sign is we will be more physical and better able to take some heat.

That is true but McGuire is not as generous as he makes out - Collingwood have a special deal with the MCC which gives them the Ponsford Stand as their social club WHENEVER they play at the 'G, home game or not. So they do alright out of the day, no mistake. The bloke seriously is a joke: rabbiting on about how Collingwood find and train their own, fcs. What was Malthouse when he joined them if not a dual premiership coach with a non-Victorian club, and a former coach and player with two Victorian clubs neither of which had any history at the Grace Darling Hotel?

Thank you for this insight into your football sense. I fell I can adjust all your future contributions accordingly.

What is flawed is your sample: too small. Exhibit A (and I don't have a B) is Melbourne last year played consecutive games against Adelaide and Port and won both.

David Neitz? Apologies: missed the earlier post raising this. However, in this instance not a good idea given our defence is the one established and near complete unit in the team.

Minor correction - the article you're referring to was The Age, March 28. pre season effectively. shortly after, I have heard rumoured, Jim confronted the Scully clan with a stern talking to in which the word loyalty made numerous appearances. It seems the club was well on to it through 2011.

Elinination final '87 - did not just make the finals for the first time in 23 years but totally destroyed the opposition. Norf president declared it the most embarrassing day of his life is the single best game and '98 the best year for the recovery from mediocrity. '64 was good too.

II I read it as suggesting that this preseason might be too much for some in the short term, but it will give them the grounding the need for a couple of seasons down the track. If anything it suggests that the stronger bodied mature types we have drafted this year and through the rookie system are shorter term solutions. In other words, Neeld wants to be competitive from the get-go and is also possibly expecting these older draftings to show the kids how to compete. I see it as a clear step up from Bail's easy as she goes approach, but not threatening to wreck anyone.

so, errrr, what would be the point?

Sensory Masturbation? what other kind is there?

If you asked Mike about it, and I have discussed it with him a couple of times, he would say he lost touch with Melbourne in the '70s and early 80's when he had to cover the game of the round - and we were never in it. He does retain a lingering affection for the Dees is how I read it, but not the burning passion of regulars on this site. Still, a giant of his trade whatever you think of him.

Or the cojones (pro: co-ho-knees) for that matter, Jack. A fine article which had me reading extracts aloud to the family and the dog.

Sylvinator is right. We have to remember that for us the draft began when we traded pick 12 for Mitch C. I am happy to have a couple of tallish, bodied defender/midfieders. What intrigues me is who else was in contention when our pick 52 came around. The club says they thought Josh Tynan might have gone in the 30s when we opted for Taggert, yet when pick 52 rolled up the recruiters still went into a huddle because they thought there were choices to be made (having committed to taking Sellar at 54). We also were supposed to have told Tynan's family we'd take him if we could. So who was causing the uncertainty? While we will never be sure, it'll be interesting to see how picks 53 (Alex Woodward), 55 (Mathew Arnot) and 56 (Tom Downie) develop. At 175cm Woodward does not fit our drafting profile this year, and at 180cm I guess Arnot will need something special, and Downie (205cm) is a bit Gawn-like. How many beanpoles do you need if you're not a market gardener? I wonder if we were thinking about Nick O'Brien who took his 188cm and 91kg (!) frame to Essendon at pick 59. Anyone with some intel on this?

I love that intro (from memory) -"Jack Viney used to tackle so hard and so often that it was suggested - not so quietly - that he move up an age group. He was nine at the time." It's in him, the hunger. Looking forward to 2013 already.

The timing of the letter (november) suggests that all will be found to be above board ie: T$ was approached as permitted in October 2010 and committed after the add-on of a job for the old man was included. The November letter stands as confirmation to one element of a deal decided in October - presumably after moneybags came back from China. In turn it looks like he played possum with us in 2011 taking his match payments and doing buggerall on field.

Good point. But didn't Lynch go further? Was he the one who said that Melbourne fans could be 'confident' about T$' future? Everyone attached to this sorry saga is diminished here.