Adam The God

Oldie but a goodie, mate. ?

My tip is Toyota will be shorts sponsor.

Yeah, no worries, sassy.

He's not in the legendary status for mine, but if he wins a flag and becomes our club games record holder, he then takes his place alongside the greats. Particularly, if he retains his captaincy, but this isn't a necessity to ensure legendary status.

FYI, hate that we can't edit our own posts anymore. My grammar errors are killing me.

Good call too, mate. Gus has the ability to be just as dangerous as Salem IMO. In his first year, Gus only needed to get it 10 times, to create multiple scoring shots. His kicking penetration on either side is brilliant and his ball winning ability is another seriously untapped goldmine.

Great call. And I've always liked Dom, so I hope you're right, mate.

I'm hoping Maynard. If Petracca, Salem and Brayshaw can take the next step, along with Maynard, a midfield of these guys complimenting Oliver, Viney, Tyson and Jones is an excellent and deep ball-winning midfield. The other guy that would excite me is Oscar McDonald. With Lever's leadership and solidity down there, I hope Oscar can play his game a little more and develop into a solid KPB himself. 2018 is going to be exciting! I still see it as a development year, but I expect nothing less than playing finals. I think we'll fall between 5th and 8th place. However, if we get a little bit of luck and all our kids improve at once, we can make the top 4. So to me it is still a development year. That's not to say you can't pinch a flag in a development year, but our guys need to get used to playing finals and delivering consistently. I think 2018 will be a failure if we can't win at least one final. Hopefully our breakout player can compliment the steady improvement of others around him.

I reckon he'll fall short of Neita's 300, but should pass Robbie's record. I can't imagine he'll be around in 4 years time. If he is, it'd be on the back of experience and playing a steadying role off half back.

Wasn't sure where to put this and apologies if it's been posted elsewhere, but here is another outsiders analysis of our upside for season 2018. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/melbourne/chris-cavanagh-looks-at-eight-reasons-why-melbourne-will-play-finals-in-2018/news-story/381f1a8a850dd417e650d5a28e6583a7 One stat jumped out at me in particular. I knew we were up there in terms of contested possessions (ranked second) and tackles (ranked second), but what interested me is we were first for loose ball gets. For a midfield that is often maligned for its lack of leg-speed, this stat is impressive. Is it possible that we simply will ourselves to each contest and ensure we scare the pants off the opposition to get that loose ball? Or does it tell us that in fact in leg-speed is not an issue for our midfield? Of course, most midfields could do with a bit more pace and ours is no exception, but as Sydney have proved over the years, you don't necessarily need pace everywhere if you're winning the contested ball every time. And as this article suggests, finals football is often played in close and contested - in this situation, our midfield would stand a pretty decent chance of beating most opposition if we could make the dual a contested one. If someone like Joel Smith can make a defensive position his own and Frost improves, this should allow the likes of Hunt and Hibberd to join in more through and via the midfield and exploit their pace.

Wonderfully coherent, reasonable and relevant as always, ENYAW.

Merry festivus, mate, and to all Demonlanders. Hope everyone has a safe and happy time with family and friends, and that 2018 brings us finals and potentially more.

It's always struck me as strange that BMW or Mercedes have never been major kit sponsors. Fantastic to hear we've got a major sponsor lined up though. Thanks for the info. I hope it's Lexus. And I'm with @Dr. Gonzo - I reckon we play into the stereotypes. I've always found it peculiar that people actually bag us for having money. Shouldn't we be mocking them?

My wife works in the same area but with children. I often hear some of the appalling stories.

Already one of my favourite posters. Even more respect now that I know what you do/did for a living. You too, @Ethan Tremblay. Much props.

Naturally, I'm talking if the police are investigating a sexual assault charge. You stand down the player IMO. Good luck ever getting a conviction for sexual assault. Very, very rare. Agreed. It's not the current step, but I don't like the chain of events so far RE The Age article being pulled. Of course, we wait for more evidence, but I don't trust we'll get much transparency from the police, AFL or the club. What a cynic. ?

Spot on, mate. I'm hardline on this. If it's one of our better players, I couldn't give a toss. I'd strongly encourage the club to step down the player and if charges are laid, sack them altogether. I've no time for scum and it's scum that commits sexual assault.

Dangerfield and Hawkins decide it I reckon. Keep Dangerfield to no/1 goal and 25 touches and Hawkins 3 or below and we win.

Not to be an alarmist, as we'r prone to be in these parts, but there seem to be some worrying signs. I didn't receive an email or any form of notification RE the AGM and we definitely seem to have lost AHG as a major sponsor. It'd be great as a stakeholder, to get clarification on this.

It was generally pretty well accepted that Robbo failed to apply defensive pressure in his final few seasons when that element became a big part of the modern game. Robbo was eventually let go because he spent half his time on the ground, refusing to tackle. Seems like a really nice bloke, but was a pretty selfish footballer and undoubtedly defensively lazy.

Yep, completely agree. Sacking Goodwin after 2 or 3 years would be Richmond of old and certainly not stable. Nor the right move for our football club. There's no way we won't win 12+ games next year and without significant injuries, which always play a part, I think we'll comfortably win 14 games.

Legend. Lol.

If Salo can get consistent 20+ disposals, he'll be an A+ grader. Beautiful kick, good game sense and not shy of the contest. Has all the tools. I hope his body gives him a chance.

So do I take it Plapp will move into the development role vacated by McCartney or will Macca juggle head of development and defensive duties?

Agreed. I will admit I was wrong about him being able to nail down a spot in the 22, but long term he'll be cusp 22. I don't believe his decision making is strong enough to be a consistent best 22, even as a role player. 2018 is a big season for ANB. He made some good strides in 2017, but was nowhere in 2016, so if he plateaus now he won't be good enough long term. He had a lot of ground to make up in 2017.