Bonkers

We signed Oliver, Petracca and Brayshaw to large contracts around the time we won the flag or after if I recall correctly. That is the price of success and of at the time, having 2-3 players rated in the top 10 players in the AFL. Brown and Hibbo didn't leave straight away, Jackson left and we picked up Grundy, so I guess that is where the wheels started falling off.

Yeah, I watched that. I was surprised that I was agreeing with Kingy. But it is obvious to most the club hasn't brought in the right level of talent to replace what we have lost since the 21 flag if we were being realistic about having another crack at it. How do you replace Dogga, Hibbo, Gus, Brown, Nibbler etc. though? It can be difficult to bring in older talent and there hasn't been a great amount available especially in key positions that we could have brought in. I think we may have also been constrained with our salary cap.

How the hell does the club expect the members to cop that? List management and head of football department needs a review at the very least. Edit: apologies misread the unlikely.

Can’t say that I’m impressed by the timing or the decision. For me to have faith in the decision the club would need to show me there is top down leadership in place. Both Guerra and Smith should have their name to this decision but they don’t, unless they are behind the scenes pulling the strings. As far as I’m aware that has not been communicated to members? Just an opinion and I’m sure there are many, but the right thing to do would be to let him coach out the year and do what we had to do as a club in the background to canvas options. Unless they have a coach already lined up and ready to go I don’t understand the benefit of it.

I’d much rather the club be giving games to the likes of Culley, than players like Hunter or Billings. He’s a low cost investment and the least of our worries in terms of our list build. It looks like he can play potentially multiple roles and may be the type of player you can rely upon without having to outlay too much salary. He did a few good things in terms of his aerial attack on the ball and that adds a point of difference. He may be relied upon to assist in defence and forward in the air and on the ground, having players like him and Langford that can impact aerially off the wing can be a match up headache for opposing coaches.

I’m sick to death of us being stitched up by the umpires against those [censored]. We should have done enough ourselves to get over the line and shot ourselves in the foot with repetitive simple skill errors. But that last 2 minutes from the umpires was a disgrace. Instead of a forward 50 entry and potential shot on goal from a holding the ball free kick which isn’t paid to Clarry, they give a ticky touchwood free kick to Curnow for something I’m sure Max and our on ballers have to put up with 100 times in a game. To follow it up Max gets ran through and punched in the head in a marking contest, has blood streaming out of his forehead, no free kick. Absolutely Fuming.

Growing up watching the Dees from around 87, Garry was certainly the star of the club after Robbie in my early days of supporting the team. Some of his performances were truly inspiring, he could win a game off his own boot, and did so on more than one occasion. There were numerous backs-to-the-wall wins against teams like West Coast, Carlton, Collingwood, and Essendon in the late ’80s where he had a significant impact. I still remember the monster torps he could launch from outside 50, something today’s kids wouldn’t fully grasp, but back then we’d all try to emulate those sort of kicks at school or footy training. I was lucky enough to attend the 1994 semi-final when Garry kicked 10 goals against the Dogs. I think Schwarz kicked 2 that day as well, jumping into packs and taking hangers. Leaving that game I thought we were on the cusp of some special times as a footy club but it wasn’t to be in terms of the ultimate glory. Both were great players, but in my opinion, Schwarz would have surpassed Carey if not for the injuries, just an opinion of course but his natural talent was undeniable.

With Gawn, Trac, Clarry and Viney we have something to build around. We also have May to come back in. I think the real improvement will come once the new additions settle into the side. If we can add Windsor, Lindsay, Langford and Kozzy to that midfield rotation by the end of the season that will give our midfield a more dynamic mix and more than just the stoppage dominant team we built our flag around. A couple of concerns for me is we don’t have a dominant forward, but that is something widespread in the AFL and there is only a couple of teams lucky to have them at the moment. The new players like Landford and XL may allow us to play CP forward more towards the end of the year and he is a genuine match winner, as is Kozzy. The other concern is that we are being burnt in transition regularly off our half forward line. I’m not sure if it’s whether we don’t have enough pace, or not enough pressure but GWS we’re willing to gamble a few times through there yesterday and got rewards. We haven’t been able to add that to our game, but there are some signs with Windsor and XL that it may change. We are reliant on the development of the younger players to move us forward. We are a work in progress. I’d rather be glass half full after yesterday, there was a lot of positives and the pressure and intensity was there. Special mention to XL who really impressed, he has great awareness and footy smarts, great skills and seems a natural at AFL level, seeing or reading the game before others.

Watching the replay 11:37 left in the first quarter. Dwayne Russell “It’s their home, but it’s not really their home. They live in a shed really. In fact they don’t get to be on this lounge room floor all that often” Pretty sure he is just making things up as he goes and saying whatever weird stuff comes into his head.

Out of curiosity what is your knock on Jagga? From what I have seen he has some of the most natural ability and skills in the draft? He is a player profile we don't currently have as he uses the ball wall in short, runs hard, accumulates and links up play? He may not have the size or top line athletic attributes of others perhaps? Edit: Just noticed he ran a 6:27min 2km time trial.

Surely you get an indication of what the other party is willing to pay before you go and tell a player to have a look around. I'm not having a go at you by the way, just that this whole process and the way it has been orchestrated by the club is an absolute [censored] show. I'm all for having honest discussions with players and so forth, but how could the club allow Clarry to go and have a chat to Geelong knowing they had sweet F All to offer? The stupidity and incompetence is bewildering.

Like I said, you should consider editing or removing your post. He is currently head of the board of said, City on a Hill. The church isn't right wing, it is just a church like other churches. He didn't write an article as you have mentioned. He hasn't given any sermons. No worries, you can leave your post but, I think it's quite ironic you are willing to character assassinate someone for something you don't seem to know much about and have listed factually incorrect information.

That's not an accurate assessment of the situation or Thorburn's character. You should consider deleting your post.

Potentially low risk with high reward if the price and terms are right. Not sure if we would have any more luck getting him fit than what Carlton has though.

I wonder if there is any chance the club may consider trading next years first rounder into this year to have another pick in the first round? Probably depends a little bit on what we would require to draft Kalani White next year I presume.

She is his commercial and brand manager since April, not just his partner. As people have mentioned his player manager advised against this course of action in terms of seeking a trade, they went ahead anyway.

For the naysayers who mentioned it was all media noise, Jon Ralph reported on Fox that Petracca and his fiancé both personally approached other clubs to find a trade solution to get out of Melbourne in the last few weeks. They also exhaustively approached pro scouts etc to find a potential trade route. Don’t shoot the messenger.

John Ralph has mentioned that Smith has been asked by the board to fill the vacant position on the board at the end of the year. He also mentioned that he won’t considering sitting on the board just to be a board member and that if he accepts he is likely to be the next president and will replace Roffey. edit: spelling

I'm pretty sure we traded our second rounder for McAdam? We may have got a second rounder back in the Grundy trade?

No offence but MFC doesn’t have to deal with Carlton. As mentioned previously 5 more years are left on his contract. We will want a top 5 pick or quality player to even consider entering negotiations. Are Carlton willing to deal TDK or Curnow? Didn’t think so, so that’s where I’d hope discussions will end from Melbourne’s point of view.

Paging @Chook in Perth looks like it’s fair game now.

I agree with most of your points, but I have a few comments. He is currently receiving counseling or seeing a psychologist, which may indicate that he isn't in the right frame of mind at the moment. Finding middle ground is really up to him. If the leaks continue, it leaves the club with limited options. So far, without any change on his part, he hasn't given the club much room to maneuver. Actions reflect one's values and ethics, and if he or his management continue on this path, it’s clear he’s not aligned with the team-first values and isn't invested in outcomes that benefit everyone at the MFC. As I mentioned, it doesn’t leave the club with much choice. In a team sport, when a player behaves this way, the usual response is to move them on for the best possible return unless they change. As a Manchester United supporter, I've seen this repeatedly under Ferguson; no player is bigger than the club, and there's always a way to turn the situation around for the club's benefit. The club should be proactive in managing this issue and should start treating him as a commodity if that's the approach he’s taking—focusing on playing in front of big crowds, enhancing his brand, and so on. It seems clear to me that these are his priorities, with his medical concerns possibly being secondary. He may have grievances with the club, but without knowing the specifics, I can't comment further. Ideally, the club should address and work to improve these issues, but I understand it’s not that simple. I don't think it’s too early to make these assessments—he's shown his hand through his actions and behaviors. While reconciliation might still be possible, my primary concern is the club’s long-term well-being. Like you, I wish him the best with his health, but my priority remains the club.

You have people like Garry Lyon, Gary Pert, Simon Goodwin, Alan Richardson and now Kate Roffey having to front the media to hose speculation down. They are being asked questions and have not denied any of it, all they have basically said is that the club will hold him to his contract. Honestly do you think that would happen if there was no substance to any of this? The irony of your statement is probably lost on you, have a good one.

You can't be serious, just keep putting your head in the sand. If there was no leaking there is no story. We've had a running commentary for the last 2 weeks from certain sections of the media. I can understand loyalty to Christian as he has been at the club for a long time and has been a valued player, but don't be naive.

That’s not quite true, we know he has told the club in exit meetings he wants to be traded, we know that his side is leaking to the media a lot of info. The problem for him is that whoever is handling this process doesn’t seem to know what they are doing as there is no possible exit for him at the moment. No club has the salary space or the picks/player/s to satisfy us in a trade without Melbourne being totally screwed over. That hasn’t stopped him trying to burn the club to the ground with leaking to the media and tarnishing our reputation which effects our efforts to bring in other players to the club to ironically improve as he has mentioned he wants the club to do. I understand he may have grievances which is fair enough but what he is doing isn’t professional and is effecting his workplace that he will almost certainly remain in next year. What has changed from my perspective as a member/supporter is how I see him and his management team, they come across ad totally amateur, childish, greedy and stupid.