praha

Saints are going to take Petracca. http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/st-kilda-set-to-knock-back-offers-for-pick-1-with-christian-petracca-high-on-saints-draft-agenda/story-e6frf3e3-1227091487454

My mistake.

GWS gets Griffen and [deleted]. Melbourne gets…Garlett and Lumumba. On its own, it's a solid outcome for Melbourne. Comparatively? Those either just below, even or slightly above Melbourne just leapfrogged us.

It’s a grand old flag It’s a high flying flag It’s the emblem for me and for you It’s the emblem of the team we love The team of the Red and the Blue Ev’ry heart beats true For the Melbourne Red and Blue And we sing this song to you (What do we sing!) Should old acquaintance be forgot Keep your eye on the Red and the Blue

Neeld had the right vision and direction, but was just a bad people person. His vision to bring in experience and install discipline and defensive strategies is not all that different to what Roos is trying to do.

Bulldogs are looking to trade Cooney, a player and a pick in the 40s for pick 28 from Carlton. Doesn't quite make sense to me. Seems over from the Dogs?

Guys, stahp, pls

Disagree. Crows will go backwards, as will Carlton, Collingwood, West Coast. Who would drop out of the 8 for Melbourne is the bigger question. I think we will (should) improve immensely in 2014. 8-10 wins is a must. Anything less is a fail, as only 4 wins this year was a fail. IMO the only teams I could see maaaaaybe falling out are Essendon and Richmond.

I completely agree. The trackies make them and the league look like amateurs. They should also bring back dimsims and cigarettes breaks for players during games.

Dawes has struggled without having a crumbing forward around him. It makes his 10 dropped marks per game look worse. At least with a crumber he can attempt to palm the ball down a bit more. So...like Yze?

Totes constructive response.

I'm gonna play devil's advocate here. A few questions we need to ask: 1. Does free agency punish the "poor" teams, or the teams that are poorly managed? 2. A "rich" clubs immune from losing stars through free agency? 3. Is Melbourne losing Frawley, Sylvia and Rivers more a product of free agency, or the club's inability to satisfy player needs? I can't help but wonder had Melbourne not been run by amateurs for most of the 00s and particularly 2008-2013, if we'd been able to retain those players. 1. If we were playing finals in 2011 as was envisioned in 2010, and if we were still playing finals, would Frawley still have left? 2. Is our inability to attract the likes of Dangerfield more telling of the club's past, the club's present, or the club's potential future? Free agency isn't "killing the game": it's killing clubs that are poorly managed. Port Adelaide went from a NOTHING club two years ago to suddenly a juggernaut that has the potential to overtake the Crows on and off the field. Free agency hasn't and probably won't hurt them: could we have said the same thing a few years ago? Free agency was inevitable. Rather than pointing the finger at what should actually be a pretty simple transition for the game, let's consider how and why clubs like Melbourne appear to be suffering more than most. And we all now why it is: it's not free agency that is pushing players away from Melbourne. It's Melbourne pushing players away from Melbourne. It's a new era and this is make or break for the club. Continue to be run like a nothing club, and you will get nothing in return. You need to *earn* respect, not expect it. Frawley leaving is not a surprise and it shouldn't be. We're blaming free agency when really, we need to get our heads out of the sand and realise that if Melbourne were actually a decent side like they had the opportunity to be 2-3 years ago, we'd probably be praising free agency for bringing us players, rather than pushing them away. There's no reason why a club that is well managed and successful shouldn't be able to reap the benefits of that. Melbourne's being punished for being run like crap, and it's pushed good players away.

Far too rational a post for Demonland. Someone ban this squib.

Was that in '98? He was super that game. I remember him getting jeered by the MCC members as he was benched in the 2000 Grand Final. He was god awful.

IMO it was a request for special assistance of any kind, and in that request they probably put forth their case for a priority pick, which was shot down, but there are still other potential assistance packages available (like helping pay 100% of the cap, getting Dangerfield on a big contract, etc.)

Rumours by definition can't be "legit". If they were legit, they wouldn't be rumours.

Sign & Trade.

I think it's possible. A full pre-season for more players, some solid acquisitions in the off-season and those 6 or so games we led in the fourth but lost become wins. 12 wins get you in. To be honest though I'd much rather see this team beat or at least PERFORM against the likes of Geelong, Hawthorn, North and Collingwood. Those teams have pushed us around for too long.

https://twitter.com/melbournefc/status/512433546099585024 Peter Jackson: We've asked for special assistance (under Rule 19), not a priority pick, just to be clear.

And not as one dimensional.

This reminds me a lot of Primus and Boak: I remember Boak was rumoured to be heading to the Dees, Primus gets the sack and suddenly Boak is 100% Power. On top of that, Goodwin is now a chance for that gig. It just gets better and better for this club! Certainly the latter. At times it's seemed that players just haven't wanted to be at the club.

I'd say he won us the game against Carlton, and was prolific in some capacity in all four of our wins. Even when we lost he played his role very well, leads strong, puts pressure on the defense and works his butt off to keep the ball forward. If Dawes played to half to level of Pederson, he'd be AA.

lol that would make him the only player at Melbourne with such a trait.