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Did they kick us? Really? The fine was absorbed part of our larger donation to get rid of unwanted staff and bring new expertise in, no draft penalties, none of our current coaches suspended, and Schwab and Connolly forced out. Doesn't seem like much 'hurt' to me! I am ecstatic if this plays out as expected from this point on. We can but hope.

gibbs signing for four or five years at the blues. impact upon us is that the salary ear-marked for gibbs by the crows will be flashed around a bit. they made murmurings about chasing chip previously, but really i think the focus should be on dangerfield and sloane.

Little bit. Personally, I love this sort of report. Instructional, clear and concise.

Wow, Allison doesn't hold back, does he? Makes for an entertaining read. Defensive transition...ball use...intensity...win a spot in the senior side.

i don't think he's a spud, but he has been injured for two years. you'd want to be confident his body is right. he has a lot to learn about football too.

sadly, nic nat is off the menu. $4m over 5 years. $800k a year. his asa's and third party agreements - both of which he'll make back for the club in spaces due to his marketability, but which means they can't pay to others - will mean it easily tops $1m a season.

Frawley and Dunn are both unrestricted this year. I'd like to keep every player listed above.

there's no way both spencer and fitzpatrick will be jettisoned simultaneously. it would leaveus with one senior ruckman, a raw giant, and a young kid who needs heaps of development. in fact, i can't see either of them going at this point in time. we need minimum of four ruckmen on the list, and king barely counts as a rookie. my guess is: byrnes - retired clark - retired blease - offered as trade bait, perhaps retained as a rookie strauss - delisted nicholson - delisted evans - delisted tapscott - delisted barry will get another year, perhaps as a rookie.

palmer has done okay for himself - a rising star in his first season and a very juicy contract at gws. a contributor who'll probably play in excess of 200 games at the elite level by the end of his career. had 29 disposals in that mauling at the hands of meth coke last week. sheppard i'd say now establishing himself as a key in the meth coke backline, played every game since rd 2, worst game was the loss to port when he had 15 disposals. looks a good player.

agree re lonergan. his under 18 year was super.

pick 7 please - it's the 'lucky' pick. last twelve years have seen: aish, wines, haynes, caddy, sheppard, rich, palmer, selwood, ryder, lewis, mackie - only genuine 'bust' would be tenace, the year after mackie. cats have done pretty well out of the pick.

andrew moore should be a huge target for every victorian-based club, having a starring season for the port adelaide magpies, in the best three or four times out of the first seven rounds, but can't get a look in with the power at this stage. strong, bid-bodied and with a big kick, he fits the roos' prototype. the one knock on him is defensive intensity, but i'm sure that can be taught. he actually WAS a big melbourne fan as a kid into the bargain.

anyone can bid on him, but the swans will match it with their first round pick.

Sounds like there's some talented midfielders in the mix. Three of the four clubs below us - Brisbane, Carlton and Richmond - should all look to recruit a 'tall' at the end of the year. Who knows with GWS. Personally, I love the sound of Brayshaw. Everyone seems to rate him as a dual-sided hard nut.

didn't think grimes was poor at all. completely cut martin out of it when moved onto him.

Unfortunately I think Dawes will get a week, so Chip will be straight in. Jetta has to be in for either Toumpas or Salem I would expect, although I'm loathe to see either dropped. Salem might need a run at a lower level. We need Jetta to help on their rotation of small forward / mids - Robbie Gray, Wingard and Monfries are all fantastic to watch...unless your team is playing them and then they're horrifying.

I think the other factor at play is that the majority of Melbourne supporters desperately want to see this kid succeed. We can all see he has the tools to be a major player. He just needs to piece it all together, and watching it come together so slowly is incredibly frustrating. Yesterday was a high water mark. 19 disposals, 11 (!) marks, 3 goals straight and 4 tackles is a great game for a high half forward. It's what the likes of Gunston delivers on a regular basis for the Hawks in a far superior side.

Has composure and class, doesn't mind getting his hands dirty, has a big kick on him, straight-lines the ball. Have we ever had a midfielder at Melbourne do what this kid is doing in his first few games for the club? Don't forget, he was barely a player for GWS - 15 games over two years, with his second season ruined by injury. I can't quite fathom how impressive he looks. Loved Mitch Clark's tweet yesterday saying he reminded him of Simon Black and Luke Hodge. Yes, please!!

afl.com.au basically carried a paragraph on melbourne in their report. very disappointing.

yep, afl.com.au has already called that he'll be suspended. hopefully it was such a low impact collision it'll be a reprimand at worst.

toump tried hard today. i'm a perennial critic, but some of his kicks were great, and his tackling and defensive running much improved. he still made a few mistakes and there were a couple of instances where he'd get the ball in space and just...stop. he needs to back himself to run and carry - it's why we recruited him.

interesting to see morris on him to start - he was too strong for him. then they shifted chaplin on to him - he was too quick for him. he's coming more and more of a difficult match-up for opposition coaches due to the way that he has a nice blend of height and speed. finally, we might be seeing what we will get from him.

see mitch clark's tweet? compared him to luke hodge meets simon black.

god it feels good to be on the winning side of the ledger. i understand why jones will get the votes, but watts was bog for mine. 19 disposals, 11 marks, 3 goals straight, 4 tackles. the game-changer.

Absolutely sensational today I thought.