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IMO 'The Craic' was harshly treated when it came out but a bit misunderstood and underrated. The young Ron Barrasi character is a great MFC reference in Australian film too.

You're probably best off asking the 160 existing members in Darwin that. Perhaps survey the Perth based members as well. It goes without saying that a major part of the challenge is getting football lovers around the country (particularly Darwin as we are making a concerted effort to be apart of the community on top of just playing there) to rationalise buying a membership as a means of allegiance and connectivity with the club - to look beyond just the numbers. Being remote but still a part of a greater family. Member discounts, member functions and membership packages themselves make up part of it. Marketing is part of it and obviously our brand of footy is part of it, which has sadly let us down. Unfortunately we have been at the wrong end of the ladder for too long but for those clubs at the top, I would think club membership with GF guarantee would be appealing. No matter where you live that one day in September is what it's all about. But it obviously varies from one supporter to another. Sadly our membership recruiters haven't had this weapon but it is another area where our numbers can grow in future. We're coming into our 4th consecutive year now in Darwin and to put it into perspective the cost of a 3 gamer is on par with some basic merchandise like some club polo tops. Ok, so they might not all travel to Melbourne but it is the red and blue affiliation we need to tap into here and market if we want to grow numbers. Obviously the club has to weigh up the costs and benefits of these things but given the lengths we have gone to up there I would have thought much of the heavy lifting was done - we just need to be a bit smarter. I concede that the club can only do so much and there is a very small revenue stream involved here atm but I don't think our club has the luxury of dismissing membership markets in quite the same manner as has been done here. I think we can improve markedly in the next couple of years though with 2 games and the option of a 3rd anywhere in Australia. I'm being positive here, not critical.

Last game prior to the bye would be very helpful here or a Friday night game leading onto a following Sunday game at the least. I notice that Brisbane travel to Adelaide the following week after playing us in Darwin so it is up to both the clubs (whoever they are) to make a case to the AFL. Hopefully we can mitigate the effects ever so slightly though with our depth. If we can remain close to injury free, then it isn't unreasonable that we could rotate 4 or 5 players seamlessly if they don't come up. In previous years we haven't had the personnel to cover resting players but we've filled holes in recent times. Player management will become more prominent I think as our list improves.

Look, I'm as equally underwhelmed with that figure as you. As a natural bi-product of our involvement up the top-end I thought it would be a bit higher than that but it isn't a hanging offence. I doubt the figure reflects in any way shape or form how viable/successful the whole venture has been to the club. Only the club knows internally whether the NT membership has a meaningful target associated with it although I doubt it would be a KPI as others have said. I was surprised more than anything when I saw the figure but In the scheme of things it is more something to work on than worry about I guess. With better performances and perhaps tailored packages down the track for top-enders, we could perhaps aim for the lofty heights of 500 in the next couple of years (which the club would be stoked with) but we don't know how important it is to the club to focus our efforts in that way. It may just see memberships as a bonus on top of the other revenue schemes in place.

In a recent article the NT Chief Minister made particular reference to the NT tourism industry and how MFC is a good advertising platform not only on game day but via social media, particularly off season training. Kakadu got a fair plug last December. When you consider there is no test cricket and that the V8s are the only other real big showcase in Darwin they have to throw some money at something. The community investment by the club looks set to grow as well.

What are the majority of interstate members paying for? Given our recent history we should be doing better than 160 in the NT. As a revenue stream it is irrelevant but wrt member footprint it suggests we need to work on our packages a bit better.The 5 gamer is probably a bad investment for a top ender if they are looking at a membership purely in value terms, no question. But do we offer a 3 gamer like some other clubs or have a targeted membership for top enders? If we want to grow in the top end beyond Government revenue then we need to capture the hearts of footy supporters and get an alignment even if it is a token membership. Some clubs like the crows have tailored non ticketed memberships just for those supporters who can't get to games but want to support or feel part of the club, they are obviously cheaper but it is about getting names on the books, every bit counts. Edit: ok, checked the site and armchair membership is one option although a tailored Darwin 3 gamer might also be an option, perhaps more viable when we play two games up there down the track - with a third game anywhere in the country QLD might be popular. Those armchairs probably don't count in the 160 figure but 3 gamers I think would. We need to build on both of those IMO.

Thanks for sharing HG. I'm all for the Friday night Darwin games - an extra day of recovery can only be a good thing for the players. 160 NT members is appalling for an AFL club no matter how you look at it, especially given the games we've played up there. Our brand of footy however has been just as appalling so if we can become "fashionable" on the park then we could make some inroads.

Phase 1- Better Internal Standards Phase 2 - AFL Standard Performances Phase 3 - High Level AFL Performances I feel we have significantly better internal standards. Standards have to be met across the board though and in due course exceeded. Recruiting talent is fine but developing the entire list to replicate an AFL standard list is an ongoing process. Do we have a better team? The easiest way to answer that is to sit back and watch. I'm looking forward to watching though not only due to the prospect of improving but for the simple reason that we should be more watchable (win/lose or draw) to any football observer full stop. I think this is what has hurt the most over the years, not so much the win/loss but the depressingly low level of footy we have shown.

Some good reports here, thanks. wrt Rodan I wouldn't throw training and match day in the same basket. IMO he is just the type of player we need at training. Fast, experienced and hard to match up on. His tank on match day has traditionally come under question as well as the defensive game. I just wonder with his style of play whether he just runs himself out of oxygen. He doesn't gut run to make space but when in possession he rarely uses the players around him, it is more often than not a burst run - in itself not a bad thing but some times it gets him in trouble and IMO uses up the tickets a bit as a result. His type of play makes him susceptible to the rebound. When it comes off though he can be damaging. IMO he needs to temper his game not dramatically but just a little bit and use the mids around him a bit more without automatically launching himself all the time. Centre breaks fine, go the burst or spread but in general play some times it doesn't hurt to slow it a bit. When players have speed they are expected to use it but a mature age player will feel it. At Port many of their mids have done their own thing over the years, good individuals without the synergy - Pearce is another example. Under Primus Rodan really had to earn his games and I suspect he may have tried too hard as a result in some aspects of his game and his game became a little one dimensional. Whether this will change at Melbourne I dont know but just a thought.

But not a brain.

Wrt Nicho and Terlich and any other defensive runners they will really bring us into the game this year. I prefer Nicho down back (on paper at least) because he'll keep opposition forwards honest all day due to his tank. We want to exploit theses oppo forwards by making them chase over 4 quarters and burn them out. We have more than enough midfield prospects to tinker around with this year. Not to say Nicho couldn't push up the ground here and there but I'd keep his role relatively simple and hope that he can improve his kicking, pressure and reading of the play. The other thing is we look to be better placed to rotate players than ever before. I don't mean a mindless system like in the cricket but I'm referring to Perth games, the Darwin game etc where we will have like for like replacements ready to go in the event of some players not being at optimal level the following week. All over the ground we are building redundancy whether it be rucks, talls or smalls and also in another area - leadership.

So... how's the AFL investigation going?

Very sad. Some people find themselves in places where alcohol is the only way out. I don't know where he is truly at, so this is conjecture but I fear Liam is at that place. Drink to forget, drink to socialise, whatever the dynamics of this incident it doesn't sound good.

I don't know why but I'm really looking forward to the prospect of what Matt Jones will bring to the team. From what I've read he has the speed and movement, decent height and his body is there abouts with at least another month to go. We really need to have that type of player on the park.

Is this designed to get the fans going similar to the bomber raid siren Essendon use at home games? In that case are there any decent options besides music anyone can suggest?

Contracted to the end of this year. Would want to make inroads or his name will be one of the first mentioned for delisting come October.

"The Herald Sun can reveal some of the interviewees were subsequently told as many as 12 people had provided the AFL's investigators with potentially incriminating details about the club's intent throughout the second half of the 2009 campaign." So the interviewees were told this, rather than gave details themselves. It is hard to read where this is at but it sounds like the figures who matter have held their position as most of us suspect. If the extent of the details is heresay and scuttlebutt then it doesn't matter how many people have provided "information". Perhaps the club mascots had something to say, this figure of 12 is potentially meaningless. The way the investigators have gone about things is the more meaningful to date.

FD spending increased by $1.674 million this year. Even if FH is included in that operating profit figure we are improving in the areas that matter. FH means we can stretch the FD budget out a little more though whilst maintaining profits.

More genuine targets, more ready made players, more competent kickers of the footy, a second pre-season to close the gap (as well as recruits coming from high fitness bases) and a playing group which has had time to acclimatise to the new coaching regime. Can we go backwards? - it's possible. Will we go backwards (by our standards)? - no. Will we go backwards relative to the rest of the league (even if we improve our own standards/structure) - quite unlikely.

"WTF is Morton doing here?"

13 added to senior list. UFA - 1 Traded In - 4 DFA - 1 ND - 7 (including the 2 promoted rookies)

They seem to lag a bit behind other clubs wrt updating the player list but their general website content is quite good and timely IMO.

Sounds like the Darryl Kerrigan response is in order for these jokers. "[censored] off, you clown! [censored] off!"

It becomes a circular argument then. This feigned outrage by people at "manipulating" results which has implications on the betting industry (which in itself is an ironic way of moralising any of this) doesn't stand up. All clubs down the bottom of the ladder at the business end of the year for the last decade were priced similarly. The great irony in all of this is that Melbourne beat the line ie $1.90 point handicap in every game they were suspected to have tanked. In other words any punter with half a brain would have cleaned up on them. IIRC Richmond we're about $1.50 favourites against us, they were comfortable favourites with the bookies. We lost by a kick, we smashed the line for an outsider priced over $2.00, in other words we far exceeded betting market expectations.

What a joke, they just don't give up. Now they're playing God in all of this. McLardy made the simplest of statements about current events and they twist it into a direct reference to their "enterprise". How important do these media outlets have to feel FFS? Bigger than the game it seems.