Craig Drinker

I wouldn't be making a call on the ability of any MFC youngsters until they have a few games under their belt and a fully developed footballers body on them. Before then you are just making premature and ill informed judgements IMO.

Watts will be a gun!!! No need to worry.

My thoughts on the game were: Miller- Tore them up. Too good to be wasted at this level.If only he could kick for goal! Dunn - Very good ,especially early.Good motor. Bartram - Worked very hard.Could gain some confidence at VFL level. Jurrah - Freakish skills.Little bit too timid.Good kick for goal.Wouldn't surprise to see him debut soon. Jordie Mackenzie - Very impressive. Spencer - Will be very good when he matures.Goes to ground too much. Jetta - Not super quick but a good tackler and has a bit of mongrel about him. Petterd - Good at this level. Wheatley - Running into some form. Peter German- Very good coach.Has them playing a free flowing style of football.Scorpions could do some real damage in the finals if they make it.

Thanks Lobster! Have a great Long Weekend. (Melbourne win.JW kicking the sealer!)

Flying out to Sydney on Monday unfortunately(and then heading O/S from there.).Do you think the game would be telecast anywhere in Sydney?

Diamond Jim Tilbrook was signed when the "Gin and Tonic" swillers ran the club (which was a long period of time hence no premierships) .Their idea was that one star player would fix all the onfield problems (as opposed to developing a competent recruitment and development plan).There judgement was often clouded by clouds of pipe smoke , too many Gin and Tonics ,too much focus on who was going to win the "Head of the River" ("Go Grammar" and Pheasant Hunting. Yes there was much hype about the arrival of "Diamond Jim" however the difference being the only thing "Diamond Jim" had going for him was he was a decent kick.His leg speed would make Brock McLean seem like Usain Bolt! As for Jack Watts : Good mark ,good kick left and right ,great leg speed ,teriffic at grond level,good decision maker and the list goes on.

"The Exalted One" might be able to fix the weather as well.There may be no limit to his powers.Bank on it being fine and sunny top of 18-20C

Great news for "The Exalted One"! I'll bet he aces his exam on Tuesday as well.

Maybe the Dees will do it for Jonesy's old man!

Would JW have exams coming up next week ? If so, it would be a strange time to debut.

I wouldn't be paying much creed to anything Sheahan said.

Will definitely be know as "The Family Club" for obvious reasons!

Who did/do you enjoy watching play footy over your time as a Demon supporter? Here's my top 5 up to now: 1. Robert Flower (A freak) 2. Gary Hardeman (Tough,fair,consistent Big V player.Would have been a star in any team) 3. David Neitz (Nothing better than watching Neita leading out from the square ,taking another great mark and converting.) 4. Todd Viney ( Skills nothing flash , however one of the hardest ,most courageous in an under ball winners to wear the MFC jumper). 5. Aaron Davey ( Exciting player , capable of anything )

Robbie Flower was a freak! He was like the Indian Rubber Man , near impossible to tackle.I've never seen better baulking and evasive skills.(Except maybe myself trying to get out of doing jobs around the house!) One of his greatest attributes was his heart.He loved the MFC and always stood up when the team needed a leader.You have to remember he was built like a pretzel and often played on much stronger and taller opponents. I remember his shoulder used to pop out a lot and you would often see him in the latter part of his career running around with one arm hanging limply on one side until he had his shoulder popped back in. Robbie was a reason to turn up to the footy in those days as he didn't exactly play in the strongest MFC teams.Be good to hear others views?

Grimes was very good IMO (Not sure what game Joe Boy was at?) I felt that Melbourne lost the game rather than the Bulldogs won it.Melbourne's overuse of the handball and inexperienced decsion making was the difference for mine I must admit that I was a bit perplexed with the media's view on Akermanis game.Yes, he was opportunistic and kicked 4 goals ,however I thought his defensive pressure was average at times and he seems a law unto himself in that he does what he wants most of the time and not always the team things. I think there were many better players on the field than Akermanis,namely Morton,Moloney,Davey however the media got carried away because he kicked 4 goals (as did Bate).

6.Moloney 5.Davey 4.Morton 3.Mcdonald 2.Sylvia 1.Johnson Couldn't believe how close Melbourne got to a win given the overuse of the handball and the poor decision making at times.Good having Robbo back!

We also have one of the highest membership take up as a percentage in the AFL , based on people claiming to support each club.Much higher than Essendon and Collingwood who have a much larger supporter(barracker) base than we do ,but as a percentage don't come near our figures when it comes to membership take up. Makes me think ours is a much more loyal group of supporters than most.(Should this be on mythbusters? )

Either way it was devious and unethical.To try and merge the oldest and best football club was immoral. If they believed it was a take over of the Hawthorn Football then that was deceptive in itself to the Hawthorn Football Club. Just a total mess really!

This merger rubbish is just drivel from someone who doesn't give a stuff about Victorian clubs and their history.The media are all over it because they hope it will grow some legs and give them (ridiculously over staffed football media) a story they can string out for a while to keep themselves employed. Sadly, for them this story will go nowhere! I would put it to Wayne Jackson that given Port Adelaide are struggling off the field at the minute that they should merge with the Adelaide Crows?

Agree! Messen actually seems a pretty good tap ruckman.Most of his taps go to our advantage. I would think the onballers would be happy to have him in the team.

A couple of things stood out for me re the Casey v Coburg game. Liked the look of Hughes! Thought he looked very dangerous up forward and very determined.Love to see him given a shot with MFC. Couldn't believe the coolness of Jack Watts under pressure for an 18 year old.His control of the footy below his waist area for a kid that is 195 cm was astounding.His excellent skill on his non preferred was also special. Believe the hype! He is the real deal. The astute coaching of Peter German and the way he has the team playing.Looks to be a very competent coach.

Should be a relatively close contest until the umpire bonces the ball to start the game.

Good accurate post Pitmaster! There was also the strong rumour of many dodgy proxy votes circulating. What annoys me is that everyone's recollection is that the Melbourne mebers voted for the merger which was technically correct.However if the vote was held properly and without the devious tactics with the locking out of members,dodgy proxy votes etc, there is no way on Earth that the majority of legitimate Melbourne members would have voted for the merger. This was a very sad part of our history that should never be allowed to be repeated!

Big difference between shafting and favouring! Doubt it would worry him if his old club went down the gurgler. Loyalty IMO is a strong personal quality?

One thing somes up Demetriou to me and that was he was happy to shaft his old football team , North Melbourne! He's more interested in kickbacks and free corporate lunches(Can he get any fatter?) He's certainly got that "Roman Emporer" vibe about him. Not many people on the Gold Coast that interested in Aussie rules and I suspect none in West Sydney.The expansion reeks of trying to expand "The Empire" at all costs ,likely for personal gain.