Little Goffy

james hird just confimed a few hours ago that no matter the conditions, form that he is in; he will be retired by the end of this season.

Except maybe to Captain/Coach the ACT State of Origin Team for the next thirty years.

Yze in and brown dropped! buckley named emergency along with brown and holland

I must admit I kinda thought it would be Ward who'd be dropped, even though he got twice the possessions of Brown.

Brown did a job on Mcleod, and did it well.

Ward has just been too loose, and his, uhhh... overexcitement... in the last quarter was one of the reasons Adelaide was let back in the game.

I love em both, I really do, but I like Ward better as a BOG player at Sandy.

Interesting lists... I'm surprised he actually bothered about the ACT. Bloody Hell most Canberrans born and bred here consider themselves defacto New South Welshman anyway.....

Like hell they do!

There's a country town near Canberra called Queanbeyan, just over the border in NSW. That place's long-standing reputation as the number one home of derros, bogans and junkies has really helped Canberrans insist they're not anything like NSW.

Canberra is a split personality city. You'll see a lot of Tuggeranong (Aaron Hamill) people go to Sydney as soon as they finish school, and a lot of Northside (James Hird) people end up in Brunswick, Carlton and Fitroy.

And seriously, people in Canberra get 'imported' from all over the country to work for the Federal goverment. Having a good 'spread' in your staff profile is considered the pinnacle of HR success. The number of Adelaide supports is scary, a whole bunch of families were moved from Adelaide to Canberra in the early nineties for reasons which remain a mystery. Happened right in that gap after Adelaide starting up and before Port Adelaide came to AFL.

Strange city, this one.

This is the one game a year that a heard of Melbourne barrackers (not supporters) go to.

67,473

Yep, same principle, slightly higher estimate.

I think the slightly silly finals talk by Greeny during the week (was just on that thread) might actually sucker a few of the 'soft' supporters to come along!

73,500.

And I'd like to take this moment to thank all the filth ferals for coming along to make their annual donation to the Melbourne Football Club watch the Pies get their annual spanking.

Will "annual spanking" be moderated out? Sounds dodgy, and painful if you're on the wrong end of it.

Finals or not, I guess the underlying thing is - we want to climb the ladder. Good sign that no-one here is getting excited about number 2 and 18 draft picks. From here you'd have to say snarling and clawing our way out of the bottom four would be something to take a shred of pride from.

I want to see a series of wins that we can point to and say "We got got back up and produced good football, and gave our young players some development time". Even if all it means is we look back and say 'If we'd played like that all year, we really would've been top 4".

Though we seem to end up being able to say that every year.

At least my growing confidence in our defense gives me a glimmer of hope that we can shake these ^#%#%ing awful losing streaks soon, and for the long term.

when nick "revolt" gets a boo-boo and cries who is gunna wipe away his tears? I want our team to become the hard-as-rock fierce team that other teams fear to play because of our physical and mental toughness....which we are starting to develop with jones, brocky etc. give bate time to improve and he will be better than revolt in my humble opinon.

I suppose Gary Lyon was soft, too? He definately cried at least once - he was such a sook they had to pick him up and carry him home to mummy on a stretcher.

Sorry, but a moment's emotional outburst when you're in serious pain and just realised you'll be out for most or all of the season really doesn't outweigh the dozens of incredibly couragous marks Riewolt has produced.

Riewolt and Rivers in the same team...

Can't you just see them competing for 'most courageous mark' honours?

Right, I was undecided before, but with that thought I'm sold on trying to pick up Riewolt.

It is well documented that Riewoldt was not happy Jan when Cornflakes got the sack. He is also out of contract at season's end.

Realistically, our chances of getting Judd to the club are close to zero.

However, I reckon it seems that Riewoldt may well be a great option bc he is a gutsy, hard working and skilled CHF who may actually be able to be lured.

I hope we are putting massive energy into getting him to the demons from 2008. It would enhance our list massively.

Hmm... if we traded Miller (which, honestly, looks like it would be best for Miller) then Riewolt would be a very handy addition without causing much intereference in the team structure.

The Demons have managed to keep a steady ship as far as club politics goes, despite a poor start to the season. I think it might be a good selling point to Riewolt that we have shown a few years now of no silly buggers tolerated in the club leadership and list management. Could this be the first tangible on-field benefit of Paul Gardiner's steady presidency? Certainly it's a point of difference between the Demons and Brisbane.

In a funny twist, Brisbane might take Miller if they can't get Riewolt, which could be the missing piece for us to get Riewolt. Or it could be a direct trade Miller +2nd rnd pick for Riewolt. (bargain? how about Miller and Jamar for Riewolt?)

Urrrr... even the thought of trade week makes both my head and my heart ache.

Other question - Grant Thomas gets along well enough with Daniher doesn't he? Because you'd think Riewolt would stay in touch with him, wouldn't you? Last thing we'd want is a star player with a 'ghost coach' unsympathetic to the new club!

I'm quietly hoping that the 2003 draft will turn out as good as our incredible 1999 draft.

Sylvia, Mclean, C. Johnson and Davey(rookie)

vs

Green, Wheatley, Bruce, Whelan and Godfrey(pre-season)

Note that with Wheatley having just played his 100th and Godfrey just three games shy of also clocking 100, that would mean that all five draftees from 1999 will have passed the 100, which is a fair mark of whether they 'made it' at AFL level.

There is no denying that 1999 set the shape of our team since (for better or worse), but I actually feel even better about '03 because that draft has been backed up by some good solid drafting in the years after, whereas the '99 draft preceded a drafting slump where we only did OK for a few years.

Anyway, Sylvinator, you basic call looks right to me, though I would be quite so quick to tip '200 games' for everyone. Even Whelan might not make 200, and that's just been through bad luck, obviously not a shortage of ability or effort. I like the '100' line because it gets the player's name on a locker.

Craig Cameron

Guys we dont like it when people pigeon hole us as [censored] weak, snow bunnies etc, you prob shouldnt do the same especially after the threads that have been going on lately about "passionate melb supporters"

"white colour(sic) criminal" they say.

"I can not wait for these(sic) day!"

"we are the loyalist(sic) football supporters, THE WORLD HAS EVER HAD!"

Damn, I couldn't finish the first post.

I love some of the suggestions they came up with for their revenge banner - especially "Season Dee-railed". Somebody please make a point of asking to borrow it when we're eight goals up halfway through the final term.

I also liked the way they've fixed on 'what goes around comes around' as the motivation for the revenge banner, without noticing that they'd been s&^%ing everyone off with their 'Game over' banner for months before we dished it back to them.

Seriously though, that 'Season Over' banner was a masterpiece, cruel perhaps, but a perfect whack at the filth and their insane arrogance.

"we need a witty one liner to remind them what a shite club they really are...." they say.

They need a lot more than that.

S**t at best today Thommo. Godders had him covered from the first bounce.

Now why didn't we think of that?

Obviously anyone's brownlow odds will lengthen the week after they have Godfrey tagging them!

Should've waited til after the game.

Meanwhile, how freaky is it that I'm starting to have real confidence in Godfrey doing a good job week in week out?

But don't let that fool you. We haven't won in Adelaide for years, likewise Subiaco. That's already 2 games we are more than likely to lose, so there goes the finals fantasy.

I hate media Mondays <_<

And there is where the problem with thinking about finals is - we've all done it on here wioth our post on this subject. As soon as you start thinking about finals you start thinking about 'well, we can beat them, and we can beat them, but that will be a loss... and so on".

Frankly I think it's where the Demons have fallen down a lot, like dropping two games to Carlton last year - 'we can beat them', 'we are the better team'. And then out they come with a second rate effort.

I guess the big question is, would Green go back home or to training thinking 'I want to make finals, so I have to give everything to win this game, now'.

That I'd be ok with.

'Demons determined to never lose again' doesn't sound too bad

All the the talk about Judd Pavlich ect. Is it worth a punt on Ben Cousins, I think he would

Be worth a punt at Melbourne and would come without a large trade loss.

What do you guys think?

I think it would be shameful of West Coast to even consider letting him go as a cheap trade.

They let his mess pile up, they were his club when he got into trouble they should be his club as he gets out of it.

Cousins has to take responsibility for his actions as an individual and claw his way back to respect, but West Coast have to stand by him. That's the deal between player and club, and it would be many years before I'd respect West Coast again if they don't stick by him now.

Besides, with Judd leaving to the Demons they'll be needing a star midfielder.

Mike Sheahan is having another go at us for lacking passion for the club, its crap we are just as passionate about our club but we just haven't got the numbers that the other clubs have. Its very simple but people just don't see that, all they see is small crowds and say we have no passion, we have a small supporter base, get over it

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/com...5E20123,00.html

I just thought I'd share the message I sent to Mike Sheahan, in reply to his article. How's my 'formal writing'? It's easier than writing a whole new venting for here!

Dear Mr. Sheahan,

In your recent article for the Herald Sun you made a number of what appeared to me to be pretty shallow digs at the Melbourne Football Club. I'd like a chance to reply to a couple of the comments you made, particularly -

"As has been the case for too long, the Demons don't have a real home. Their administration is at the MCG, the football department is at the Junction Oval, and there is a distinct lack of charisma (and marketing value) in the player group."

I'm assuming you're aware that the MFC has made combining their facilities their top off-field priority and have been pursuing it aggressively for some time, with the target being to have a unified facility in time for the 150th anniversary season. That's next year, so hardly a stagnant project.

So why did you make the comment? More to the point, why did you present the facilities situation as a part of a sustained malaise requiring action, when it is in fact a point being addressed?

As for the comment about 'lack of charisma' and marketing value in the playing group, while I'm sure Lindsay Lohan would make an excellent centre-half-forward, are you seriously encouraging clubs to recruit based on, what? Sex appeal? Brilliant rhetorical flourish? Snappy one-liners?

If you'd suggested the club should be doing more to raise the profile of players, I'd back you on it, but the 'distinct lack of charisma' comment is wholly pointless.

A few other comments seemed a little odd - you seemed to imply that the lack of open speculation about Neale Daniher's position means nobody really cares. I could've sworn I'd heard, only a few times a season for every season since coaches became regular features of football, that it was unhelpful and disruptive for board members, players, or high-profile supporters to publicly speculate about coaching positions midway through a season. I've been taking the apparent calm as a positive sign that the Demon's aren't turning upon themselves during hard times.

You also suggested that Melbourne's anointing of Brock Mclean as next captain implied such a lack of leadership that Neitz might have to stay in the position "til he's 40". Taking over the reins in 08 or 09 would place Mclean in the same age range at captaincy as Ball, Riewolt, or of course Judd, who became captain almost literally by accident. Though exceptional, it's hardly unprecedented, and the Demons used high draft picks in 2003 specifically to recruit likely leaders. To suggest that Melbourne is in trouble because Brock Mclean is considered an impending leader has probably raised many Demon fan's eyebrows and lost you some of their respect.

If you really feel a need to write negative articles please try to reach for some depth, and maybe make some constructive criticisms. But shallow-researched sniping doesn't do the Demon's, your readers or your own reputation any good.

Regards...

Depending on fitness:

In: Whelan, Holland, Yze

Out: Ward, Bizzell, Brown

For the first time all season, I hope we don't make wholesale changes. The team played well, and should be rewarded accordingly. A bit of stability will really help the side IMO.

If Whelan is properly fit, in he goes for Brown, that's pretty straightforward.

Yze in for Ward, to do the same job just better.

But I think Bizzell out would be harsh. I see your argument but I reckon if Rocca starts to beat Bizzell then Carroll can move to him and we can work another option in for Buckley. Or we can show Rocca a mirror and make him cry.

A good 3rd-man-up (Bizzell in absence of Rivers) would really screw the poos, since Rocca and Buckley are both pretty slow these days.

Salivating at the prospect of Bell on Didak. A great opportunity to help the Channel Ten commentary team remember his name.

Looked much better than the week before, worth persisting with for a few rounds, if he keeps improving he may become a regular

I was lucky enough to only be able to catch last weeks game on the radio, so Frawley for me is only what he showed us against Adelaide.

I like. I like very much. I saw a comparison with the kind of effort and initiative we see from Paul Johnson. Good attitudes from these guys, enough indivuals like that and a whole team culture hits an upward spiral.

Exciting thought that soon the Demon's defense could be their strong suit. Will take time to happen, which is just as well because it'll take a while for anyone to believe their eyes!

Touch wood and all that.

I reckon he'll play nine games this year - so he's still eligible for Rising star next year!

He was at the Auskick Super Clinic this morning and says he will be fine to take on the Pies for Lizzie's birthday.........

It's actually Queen Victoria's birthday. Cos she, like, suppressed the irish, massacred some arabs and africans, civilized/annexed a few 'backward peoples', and kept the Jews out of England, and that's the sort of stuff that gets you commemorated.

Lizzie's a nice old bat, but aside from getting her house bombed by the Germans (she's just like the rest of us, ay) and wearing a few funny hats, she hasn't done enough to get her own 'day'.

So, for next week's game, be sure to sing 'God save the Queen' for Vicky, not Lizzie.

Yeah, I'm sick of that rubbish too.

I'm living in Canberra (so I deserve a break to start with) and somehow I managed to get to three of our first five games this season - that's two trips to Melbourne and a side trip up for the Sydney game. I've managed to use up all the games on my long distance membership every year since I joined (which is a while now) plus getting to our Sydney games each year.

I do everything I can to catch games anyway I can, I can name our list, describe our injuries, remember who used to play for us, whose gone to other clubs, hell, I've even been to Sandingham games.

But what am I saying. All this is basically normal for everyone on this site.

So why the $^#% does this club have to put up with being labelled pissweak?

We're a small club. We don't attract the 'blow-ins' who only skim the surface of AFL and only hear about the big clubs.

With all these fringe supporters swelling clubs like Collingwood, it makes calling Melbourne supporters [censored]-weak seriously ironic, as well as just plain annoying.

Up next, day grand finals will be getting called [censored]-weak because the TV ratings are lower than night grand finals.

I'm proud to be a Demon, even while we're getting the rough end of the stick as AFL goes more and more commercial and cash-driven.

Walls' article is painfully shallow.

Whats he saying 'hey, Melbourne have some valuable players which would be great for anyone but Melbourne'.

Basically it sounds like his advice is to hit the PANIC button.

Stuff him. These players are Melbourne.

And the Hawks got the jackpot by trading overvalued second-raters, not first raters.

And Everitt, which is a 'special' case.

I notice Crawford still plays for Hawthorn. Surely they should've picked up a first round pick for him?

A great first half. He'd be my number one choice for the kick out also.

Yep, Wheatley in good form is a valuable player. That big kick really helps us break out from defense, where we often tie ourselves in knots.

For that matter, a fit and in form Bizzell is pretty handy too! I'd say a solid game worthy of keeping the spot.

In fact, how good was our defense today? Very heartening.

Whelan, Rivers, Bartram all to come back soonish. I'd say it's a VERY strong outfit if Frawley and Petterd continue to develop even moderately well.

Looked to me that Davey did his hammy. still managed to mark and kick it succesfully when he was on his way off

From what I saw and heard, Davey had his knee in a light bandage (no ice) and was walking around alright at the end of the game. Didn't look particularly serious, but you never know with this season.

Didn't hear any issue with Neitz.

I thought there might be a lot of people on here interested in this article from the HeraldSun online.

Especially this quote from Steve Harris,

The Demons are concerned the second-tier VFL, where listed players not playing seniors line up with a VFL "sister club", may be slowing the development of emerging talent.

Melbourne chief executive Steve Harris said the alignments had created a "winning agenda versus a development agenda".

"The current second-tier set-up . . . has competing agendas for AFL and VFL clubs and is a competitive imbalance and not sustainable," he said.

I can practically hear people popping champagne corks around this place - Especially all the Newton, Neaves and CJ fans!

Jaded, I agree that Brock is a good talker and would make an excellent captain one day. But he has only played 50 games. Neitz is captain(not Yze, Bruce or Robbo) and is a good speaker. The way a captain should speak!

Come to think of it, I haven't heard much from Neitz in the media lately...

Anyway, how would people react if Daniher came out and said

'Yeah, we've been trying to add some extra elements to our game, it's a good idea but there's been some problems implementing it. We have real issues with turnover in our assistant coaching staff and I've been having some trouble trying to manage everything from the top. Stuff it, I'm going to West Coast to get the same kind of salary working as an assistant coach, while eight other guys give minute detailed attention to every aspect of training, teamwork and skills development.'

Bah. If we wanted the cash we would've merged with Hawthorn. I'd rather take a crack at it and maybe one day win as Melbourne, rather than have a good shot every year as the Demawks.

You must be kidding? 2 more years in bottom four?

Honestly, I'm still not convinced we'll finish THIS season bottom four.

I think it's fair to say that there will be a bit of a clean out at the end of this year, but consider who that clean out might include, anyone from -

Ward, Brown, Holland, Wheatley, Ferguson, Bizzell, Godfrey, even Jamar.

Some delistings, some trades maybe, there might be a reitrement or two as well, from other players.

But we could lose all eight of them without making a dramatic change to our performance. (harsh)

And then we'd have a Craig Cameron party in the draft, with at least fairly early picks to boost things along.

(and then of course we'll be getting Judd, on a charity-case salary, with a preseason draft pick)

But before you even look at that, consider what we can put out there as a 'youth' team already -

FB: Bell

HB: Bartram Rivers Petterd

C: Moloney Bate

HF: Sylvia Miller Davey

F: Dunn

OnB: Mclean Jones

That list obviously doesn't include the players who aren't quite proven yet but seem credible -

P. Johnson, C. Johnson, Newton, Frawley.

Given Miller's inconsistent form, you'd have to say our main issues with the youth squad are key positions and ruck. So come on PJ, Newton and Frawley!

I don't think a long term slump is on the cards. But damn, I had really hoped that the odd-year even-year thing was over...

I can't remember which Port Adelaide player it was that paddled the ball over the line in the last quarter but the TV coverage picked up the umpire's explanation as to why it wasn't deliberate.

He said words to the effect of 'he was under intense pressure ... etc.' Don't the umpires realise that that is the exact situation when players deliberately put the ball out of bounds?!

The state of umpiring is a disgrace, and these blokes explanations for their decisions is an even bigger disgrace.

Andrew Demetriou recieved a bonus recently based on financial achievements, his salary should be based on supporter satisfaction because the actual 'game' is in a bad state of affairs.

Yep, I heard the umpire comments too - 'under pressure (blah blah)', then, the gem... 'he was paddling it to himself, he was paddling it to himself'.

If that was paddling to yourself, then I reckon Byron Pickett was trying to bounce the ball, not tackling the Cornes boy at all.

NNNaaaRRgggh.

My first instinct is to go for past players...

Top of list would be Viney, given he has coaching experience for a few years with Hawthorn's (lets face it, overachieving!) midfield.

Hmm... Jimmy Stynes, the media would love him - the accent alone would be worth a thousand memberships. Maybe as a youth/ruck coach, rather than top job. I imagine he'd want to carry on with his youth support activities, though.

Then Gary Lyon. Lots of people seem to find him very annoying. Minimal coaching experience, may not actually be interested, given he's raking in the dough and keeping his ego nice and safe commentating from the sidelines.

Connolly just about IS Daniher, as far as strengths and weaknesses go.

Be nice if Sting came back for some more fitness and prep work.

But really, the cupboard seems a little bare as far as past players go.

Maybe by next year, NEITZ!!

Hey, Roos went just about straight into coaching...