wisedog

Well you'd think Port would need someone to replace Tredrae, and if last season was any indication, Cornes as well. Could Frawley come into the equation? Or is he off-limits? Bruce and Frawley or Bruce, Frawley and pick 35 might get us there. I'd hate to lose Frawley, but if we could secure a Vickery or Naitanui it would be worth it.

Thinking the same thing. But still, they seem to be low on key position players with Tredrae and Cornes coming to the end of their careers. So maybe something like Bruce, Newton and a late pick for 4? (They could fall for a B&F and MOTY winner!) But I have a feeling both players are contracted... Besides you would think they would just take a Vickery or Sidebottom with their pick anyway.

I'm not saying he didn't. The point I'm making is that although Ablett is the superior player as Green was to Bruce, the voting will reward consistency, and both Corey and Bruce featured prominently, despite questions over his disposal efficiency. Even if Ablett had played a full season, on those votes it looks as though Corey may have pipped him anyway, and that does surprise me.

I wouldn't read too much into it. It's been a bad year, and none of our players have had a brilliant season, as Hannabal said, it was almost like a default victory. But even if you look at the Cats B&F, I wouldn't have expected Corey to beat Ablett either. But he did so convincingly (591 votes to 538). Ablett is the superior player, but Corey was always prominent, as was Bruce.

For the cynics among us, you could argue that this increases Bruce's trade value.

With the amount of thrashings we've had this year, voting the best players is almost farcical. A few times this year, I wouldn't have known where to begin... Most likely you'll give the votes to the guy who racked up 30 possessions, not the kid who showed promising signs. As I said, it was a bad year.

I have to admit that the award feels somewhat hollow in these bad years, you don't really know who's going to win. Robertson won in 2003, and he was good, but hardly what you'd call a prolific forward. When you've made the finals, it's been a genuine team effort, and there's competition between the players. This year, there was Green and Bruce, who were solid, but that's all you can really say.

Cheers for that. Really liked what Bailey said about making the player feel as though they belong to the jumper, and taking pride in the history of the club. I feel spoilt for choice, and I'd be happy with either of Watts, Rich, Naitanui, or Vickery, but based on that video it seems more than likely it's Watts. As the man himself said, "We can only hope". Shoenmakers' an interesting one. Hadn't heard of him until tonight, but he looks a player.

"I think they've got a really bright future and they've got some great young talent at the club, so it'll be great to go to Melbourne or any of the clubs. Hopefully I can add that [young talent]." Yep, fairly telling quote.

Here's an idea. How about we cut Hawthorn's lunch, and sell a few home games to Hobart. They would be the team of North Tasmania, but we would be the team of the South!

Which is obviously why Kennett has urged Tasmania to drop their push for an AFL team and embrace the Hawks... I was recently over there, and the vast, vast majority of support is for the Hawks. In fact I don't recall seeing a scarf or bumper sticker of any other club. But still, you have to admire what they've been able to achieve in such a short space of time. Right now, they're ticking all the boxes. -They have the most exciting and marketable player of the modern era. -They've cultivated a whole new supporter base. - And they've topped it all off with the premiership, creating life-long fans. Success will always be the key ingredient. Unfortunately, if ever a club needed such a transformation, it's Melbourne. But at least it shows, that it can be done.

I think Nudge put it best... The backline is a cause for real optimism, and that's largely because of Garland. This time last year it looked the complete opposite. With Rivers, Frawley, Warnock and Garland, we have the foundations of something special. Why would we risk that?

Not to mention, threads like these only occur in this section, for a few months a year. When there's no footy to discuss, it's better than nothing.

Imagine if Sylvia and Frawley became stars, as they very well could be, and pick 13 turned out to be a Luke Molan. Dangerous trade.

Ah well, bad luck, Jeff... Though I wouldn't be surprised if Roos was bluffing to knock that pick 61 back to a pick 93.

Yes, McLean is probably the closest we have. In the past Johnstone, Yze and even Bruce have flirted with A-list status. Green and McDonald are very good players, but not up there. At the moment, all we really have is A LOT of potential. It would be extraordinarily bad luck, if some of these kids didn't make it. Morton seems to be leading the charge, Buckley has shown glimpses, and then there are the likes of Grimes and Maric who could be anything in a few years. Despite his inconsistency Sylvia has the A-list potential. I've got a feeling 2009 could be his year.

Well despite the season from hell, I think it's definitely an exciting time to be a Melbourne supporter. When a team is in the state we're in, you just have to appreciate the small impovements from game to game. We good be anything at this stage, but the only way is up.

That's right... and it was round 24 according to allthestats.com I completely forgot there were 24 rounds. I also discovered that my memory of Schwartz kicking 5 the game after coming back from a knee re-construction, never actually happened... haha

My memories of Schwartz are a bit vague nowadays. Didn't he score 10 goals against Sydney one year? Or is that something my memory has conjured. I remember listening on the radio when he came back from his first knee re-construction. He kicked 5 goals before doing his knee once again.

From memory, in his debut season, it was his tagging roles that caught our attention. He got swag of tackles each game, but I don't recall him ever being a prolific ball winner. Unrealistic expectations on the kid I think. Another pre-season under Bailey, and we'll see how he goes in 09.

B for mine, I like the historical elements, and its a much cleaner design.

There was a bit of a report on the local news. Apparently about 7 and a half thousand was raised for the club. In an interview, Brock said how proud he was of the club's history and how much he wants to become part of it. Connoly said that this was the first time in the club's history that we've truly bottomed out, and that we're destined for greatness. Couln't make it myself, but it looked like a great event.

I agree. Of all our youngsters, I'm most excited about Buckley... He makes some poor decisions from time to time, but he seems to have something that sets him apart. I love watching him take the game on. Watching him play reminds me of Thompson's break out season in 2004. Another late bloomer.

Jeff's at the end, but he's been a Melbourne champion and carried our ruck for 10 years. Pathetic comment, PeterJames.

With Monfries, the Green tackle could have resulted in a turn over, or a ball up. But instead of dealing with that possibility, Monfries took the 'gutless' decision of dropping his legs... Of course it's gutless, but it's becoming more and more a part of the game. You could consider it smart play, but I really hate seeing it.