Everything posted by Lord Travis
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Bigger Bench?
Bigger benches are not needed, especially given quarters are being shortened. If they do make the decision to extend the bench capacity though, it suits players like Bennell and Vanders who can get gametime and have an impact in bursts whilst managing loads on their bodies.
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Jack Steven Incident
Has he been drug tested recently? Might not be able to play for a while if so? (I’m fishing ?)
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WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - HARLEY BENNELL
Gus unfortunately.
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WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - HARLEY BENNELL
Bennell up and running... mouth watering prospect. Let’s see how his calves hold up, but promising signs!
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CHANGES: Rd 02 vs Carlton
Haven't kept in the loop with footy news. If so, then that present a whole lot of different challenges! Regardless, I don't believe Jackson is ready for AFL level at this stage.
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Hutchy on Max’s Hair
Person unable to work and locked in isolation for 10 weeks due to global health pandemic gives themselves an outgoing haircut. Massive club culture issue that. Get a grip Hutchy you stale peanut.
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CHANGES: Rd 02 vs Carlton
Assuming no injuries to the following players, I'd go with this line up. B: Jetta May Lockhart HB: Salem OMac Lever C: Langdon Oliver Tomlinson HF: Melksham TMac Petracca Fwd: Pickett Weideman Fritsch Mid: Gawn Brayshaw Viney Int: Harmes Jones Petty Hannan A few notes on the team above: - Hibberd is cooked and omitted. He used to be a great rebounder who'd run then unload precision penetrating kicks to advantage. He earned All Australian selection this way. Fast forward to 2020 and his kicking is now a liability. His fitness has always been an issue, but at his age and with ongoing back and hamstring management, he now doesn't have the dash he used to. It means he takes off, can't go quick enough and then unloads rubbish barrel kicks to nothing as a result. He's probably the biggest liability in our team. I'd be replacing him with Lockhart and rotate players like Harmes and Rivers in future to the back flank. - TMac plays best when allowed to roam up the ground as a CHF. His strength is his fitness. When anchored to the goal square, he struggles to wrestle and has poor agility. His drop off is due to poor delivery, but also not being suited to FF IMO. - Weid to play FF and provide Pickett and Hannan with lots of crumbing opportunities. - Inside midfield rotations to be Oliver, Petracca, Brayshaw, Viney, Harmes. Outside to be Langdon, Tomlinson, Salem, Fritsch. - Jones to play more forward flank and either be the kick inside 50 or taking longer shots at goal. - Petty as the interchange tall who can play either end. - Jackson not ready yet. He's not suited to key forward roles as his contested marking is poor and he's not a natural forward. In practice matches we've seen him excel in the ruck, and be really poor as a midfielder or forward. Develop him in the VFL as a ruck resting forward. When he's ready, he can be second ruck to give Gawn a rest if team balance is maintained.
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Jack Steven Incident
Stevens has addiction issues. Unsure if they’re the result or cause of his mental issues also. Stevens was breaching AFL isolation and social distancing rules and will be in trouble regardless of what happens. He’s also not willing to give police any details surrounding the incident. Seems very likely to be drug dealer stuff gone wrong. He’ll likely never play any meaningful AFL level footy again. It’s a shame to lose another talented footballer to drugs. It’s also a shame that mental health is becoming a go-to excuse to cover other less savory choices and issues.
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Legends Match: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1953-1987 - Barassi vs Flower
I’m too young to have a meaningful vote as I was kid when Robbie played, so I’ll opt out. Both are legends of the game though and I hope to see someone of their ilk again in red and blue one day.
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GRAND FINAL: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - Lyon vs Neitz
Tipped Neitz to win this competition a while back and expect him to do so. He holds the records that matter. Most goals, most games, most games as captain. He’s the best.
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Mark Neeld's Spray on Morton.
In hindsight Neeld was a terrible coach, and Morton’s development was probably ruined like many others from that period. Shame we wasted all those high draft picks. Hopefully we’ve got it right this time. Still not convinced after another 17th places finish...
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GAME 30: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - Stynes vs Neitz
Love them both but Neitz for me. Most games, most goals, most games as captain. He holds the important records at our club and should win this competition.
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GAME 29: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - Lyon vs Gawn
Garry achieved more and a better player at the peak of his powers. Max may finish his career as an MFC great, Lyon already is one. Be interesting to see if Garry comes up against Stynes or Neitz in the final round. Both have a strong claim to the title!
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GAME 20: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - Viney vs Davey
Viney had a far more accomplished career, but I liked Davey more. He was a joy to watch, always provided excitement both offensively and defensively. He changed the way the game was played when he burst onto the scene in the mid 2000s.
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2009 ReDrafted
100% agree with this. Trengove was the pick of the bunch in my eyes, and all draft rankings had Scully and Trengove as undisputed number 1&2. Our issue wasn't getting the picks wrong, it was development. Trengove wasn't slow pre-foot injury. His draft class 20m sprint was 2.95 seconds, which was in the top 20% of underage players tested for speed. Statistically, Trengove and Martin were near identical for their first two seasons. If anything, Trengove was more impressive as he had the same output as Martin whilst also being a leader in a struggling club with a poor environment and little support around him. He was the closest thing I'd seen to James Hird at a similar age - he was excelling all over the ground and oozed leadership and class. Once he got made the youngest AFL captain in history and suffered injuries, his output dropped off and statically he actually became worse than his debut year and never recovered. It's proof that injuries and poor development meant he didn't get the best out of himself. I truly believe had he not suffered those debilitating injuries and had better development by the club, he would've become a great of the club and likely one of the best players in the game. There have been rare cases of poor drafting - Lucas Cook for example - but reality is the main issue for our club is development, and we still haven't got development right decades later. Guys like Petracca should be stars of the game instead of just flashes.
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GAME 15: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - Schwarz vs Stretch
Schwarz for me. Favorite player as a kid and he was an athletic freak for his size before the knee injuries hit him. His 94 season was something special.
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Elite Talent at Melbourne FC
Gawn is elite. Oliver is close, but not yet there. Lever, Viney, and Brayshaw have each had a season that was worthy of All Australian or close to. Of those three, only Lever in my eyes has the potential to become an elite player. Bennell and Petracca have both showed many flashes of elite talent, but need to deliver on this talent for prolonged period of time. Next tier down is May, TMac and Fritsch. No other players on our list have shown the potential to be elite IMO. Talk of Jackson, Pickett etc is very premature.
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GAME 12: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - Jones vs McDonald
Recency bias is a legitimate thing. More recent players are fresh in people’s minds and will usually win a vote. Similar to how Dustin Martin gets talked up as one of the greatest footballers of players time. It’s recency bias and in reality he’d probably be lucky to scrape into a top 100 list.
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GAME 12: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - Jones vs McDonald
Both great servants of the club. Junior McDonald gets my vote as I think he was a better leader. Both good players who got the most out of themselves and should be admired. Was a sad day when Junior was pushed out the door.
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GAME 10: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - White vs Woewodin
Loved Woe when I was younger, but White was a great player for a long time. One of the best ruckman of the 2000s.
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GAME 5: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - Gawn vs Moloney
Max is a gun and likable character. He’s a superstar of the game and hopefully he’ll retire a premiership captain. He obviously gets my vote. That said, I think Beamer is a tad underrated on here. When at his peak, he won a BnF and was basically the only competent midfielder we had. Even the likes of Nathan Jones were less capable and willing at the time. Beamer tried to lead at a time when we had no leadership and the club was a disgraceful mess. If he’d had better coaching and stability around him, I think he would’ve wound up far more accomplished and liked. I’ll always be grateful for his efforts, as he was the only one trying most weeks!
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GAME 3: Demonland's Best/Favourite Demon 1988-2020 - Yze vs Johnstone
Travis is my favorite player of all time, so he gets my vote. He’s still the best kick for a demon I can remember - used to stream down the wing and hit Neitz on the [censored]. Trapper also stood up in big games, usually amongst our best in finals matches. He got heavily tagged for majority of his career when tagging was less prevalent, such was his impact on games when he was allowed to roam unchecked. When he got traded to Brisbane I was devastated. Yze was also one of my favorites and had a better career than Trapper, but I liked Trapper more. Trapper and Yze when on song together in the early 2000s were a delight to watch. That period was the most enjoyable to watch as a demon supporter in my lifetime.
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MFC Team OF the Century - updated through 2020
Neitz is leading goal kicker and games record holder for the club. He gets a gig. Unfortunately noone else from the past twenty years would make the team. Shows why we've been so consistently poor this century. Nathan Jones could potentially squeeze onto the emergencies. Gawn might also crack the team if he keeps his form up for a few more years.
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Karen Paxman - joint AFLW Player of the Year
Congrats to her. She's earned it by working hard for years now. She's probably the most consistent midfielder in the AFLW league, always running her [censored] off and digging in to win ball.
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CHANGES: Rd 02 vs Carlton
OUT: Spargo - delisted Hibberd - retired IN: A tall forward option A midfielder with a brain