Adam The God

Yep, although Weideman is still young and will have patches of inconsistency. I hope 2019 becomes a year where he can take a few games by the scruff of the neck (ala Curnow) - and yes, he was a match winner against Geelong, but he faded in and out of the game. In the meantime, Preuss will need to help him out.

It may well be the element a number of teams use from Collingwood's blue print this year. Without Hogan down there, as long as Preuss and Weideman can bring the ball to ground and our smalls can get to the foot of the contest, with our inside 50s we'll be dangerous.

Yep, exactly. With the three clearly defined areas of the ground covered by Preuss, Gawn and May/Lever, we are well positioned in the new system. If need be, Gawn could drop back defensively too.

Clearly the way to exploit the two rucks is to play hard and fast running smalls, and to exploit their lack of run and endurance off half back when these talls are resting/playing forward. I hope Preuss really works on his endurance this pre season. He'll need it.

Completely agree. Top 4 should and I'm sure is, the goal for next year. If we get some luck at the pointy end and with injuries, our system improves (with natural improvement from our young list) and we hold our nerve, we're a big chance at going all the way in 2019 or 2020.

Good call. I saw this and didn't think anything of it, but if you see how they've placed the NB merch, it's pretty clear iSelect aren't that BOJ sponsor anymore.

The 17 game season is a [censored] idea. I like football. The more of it, the better. There will always be inequality in the fixturing as there will always be financial interests at play - the system now relies on it and everyone's wage is based on the broadcast rights. Let's just continue our upward trend and build a success club. The rest will take care of itself.

The club gave away thousands and thousands of free tickets to that game against GWS. We probably broke even but this sort of talk for mine is completely naive. Some Demonlanders keep banging on about extracting ourselves from the NT deal, but you're commenting without any inside knowledge and little awareness of how to run a football club as a business. I also wouldn't expect transparency from the club because it's not in the best interests of the club. If the real figures were to come out, I suspect you'd be rather more hesitant to extricate us from the NT deal. If we can draw consistent crowds of between 35-40,000 against small interstate sides like GWS, Freo, GCS etc, we could then begin to look at other alternatives to the NT revenue stream. But without at least some consistent success, we won't and shouldn't be removing the NT deal. Reality check needed for some. We've been a basketcase for years and have had one good season. During this season our crowds were up, but the only meaningful crowd rise was seen throughout the finals series. Our supporters certainly turned out on their own accord and out numbered the opposition. Let's see how this translates into season 2019 before we go off half-cocked and begin removing important revenue streams.

I agree, although I think Essendon are the stop-gap until Carlton dig themselves out of the mire. The AFL want a close contest. Essendon are more likely to provide a better account of themselves (with a large audience watching) than Carlton would.

Spot on mate. Big chance to lure the likes of Kelly to Melbourne in 2020 on the back of another strong season, but a vastly improved fixture list with exposure on the big stage.

Bloody great! Collingwood had a walk in the park draw this year. Next year will tell us where they really sit.

Brilliant draw. We get to play Essendon, Collingwood and Richmond in big MCG home games. That's a wonderful result for us in a year when we won't get the home gate receipts of ANZAC Eve and QBD. We've been rightly rewarded and I'm glad to see Carlton have been relegated to the Sunday afternoon graveyard spot. If we can make top 4 in 2019, it will be a dream for our sponsors. Our brand will be front and centre in prime time most of the year. ?

You've got to remember we're transitioning out of the pokies business. You don't then strip away other financial winners, without having a strong revenue stream to replace it. I'd like to know what the multiple angles are that don't make it work. IMO we need to be a little bit less precious about this as supporters. If we've got a decent football side they will win that game and it's an advantage playing a team up there who have never played up there. We make much more money on this game than we would if 30,000 turned up to the G. There's still a strong case to keep playing the NT games. At least for the short to mid term future. 2022-2025 we can start thinking about alternative revenue streams. Hopefully by that stage we've built a powerhouse and we no longer need these NT games, but don't hold your breath.

I wonder if this changed post season with Collingwood's finish?

Wednesday 12pm, as has been said multiple times across the last few pages.

Daisy?

Yep, exactly. If Hawthorn have a period of rebuild too, there's a chance they could dip to 55-60k members and we could catch them too. Win one flag and we can legitimately aim for 60k members. Win a second or more and have some sustained success, and 70k in 5 years is within reach.

A number of Carlton fans I know have just about given up footy. There's only so much longer that the AFL can justify Carlton as a 'big' crowd-drawing club. FWIW, if this rebuild fails for them, I reckon their membership will dip below ours.

I reckon we'll get 35k+ to this game, which means well and truly makes us money. Besides the end of the season, where finals are up for grabs, Round 1 is probably the best time to draw a crowd against an interstate side. We play this game in the middle of the year and I don't think we draw as many. But that is not to say I'm not disappointed by this fixture. A real opportunity missed to maximise gate return or merely crowd numbers against another Victorian club.

This. I can't understand the AFL's thinking here. Quite bizarre.

I've long-wondered what the insurance policy is like for the game-break entertainment. When that guy fell on his head and not much was said, the following week it was called something else, it was conspicuous to say the least. Even the hamstring puller (he has to be a Demonlander, right?), did he charge someone for his injury? Or did he sign a release prior to running? Maybe I'm too used to dealing with finances in my business.

That is what I said. I don't think he'd be amongst the centre mids unless two or more were injured. So he plays if there are injuries... He has been durable, absolutely. But the cliff comes quickly and there were certainly signs this year that he struggled to adapt to a new position. You're absolutely right that the FD clearly still rates him, because he's a consistent performer. The problem is our kids have gone past him and he's now become a make-shift wingman, which, like Tyson, doesn't suit him. I'm not convinced he can play half forward either, otherwise we'd have probably tried him there already, which we've resisted. It'll be interesting to see where they look to play him in 2019. No doubt, we'll get some sense as pre season gets under way. But I hope we treat him carefully for cultural reasons, because as MFC supporters, we know what a slippery slope that can be. I will say though that if we're challenging for a flag in 2020, I can't see Jones being a major part of that challenge. It'd be a coup for loyalty though if he was there to lift the cup.

I think so too. Jordy is just about done. And Jones will be the following year. Jones' problem is he won't get a game at half back with Hibberd and KK there, and IMO he's not good enough to play on a wing either. I'd have Fritsch and Harmes in front of him. And before some people tell me I've got my blinkers on again, tell me where Jones plays next year. He certainly plays when we have injuries in the midfield, but at full strength, he's not there.

He's certainly not a player that outwardly lacks confidence, but I reckon at this stage it's superficial. He doesn't know what it takes to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. He has the attributes, but he hasn't felt that moment yet where no one is going to stop him. I predict it'll happen next season.

If that's right, I hope bloody Collingwood get a much tougher fixture, because their fixture was far more favourable than ours. Given they finished higher, I would hope theirs is tougher or comparable.