Dr. Gonzo

We've probably had the most consistent form in the comp other than the Bulldogs. Haven't had a truly bad performance yet. Crows did against us, Giants did against Crows. Now watch us stink it up against North lol

I would love to see the Saints win a flag (just not at our expense). Would be great to see the Tigers get one too, as long as we get one first. I could handle seeing the Dogs get another as well.

To put it another way, who are the contenders this season? GWS, Dogs, Crows would be the top rung Port, WCE a rung below that Then Cats, Freo and us as outsiders and I'd say we should even be in the group above. Maybe Swans in this group if they roll the Saints tomorrow. Tigers and saints no chance So are we a strong chance? Are we a genuine contender at this stage? No. But we are an outside chance in an even season and we are a contender. None of the teams above us have done anything to scare/impress me so far.

I think it's a great idea and an untapped market. I understand PJ and the board had to focus on getting the onfield and FD right first couple differing where we were. However I would hope they are looking at ways to expand our support base. We are in a precarious position here with an ageing support base and the smallest in the league. Yeah we have a high percentage of supporters converting to members but at a guess I would say that's because a high percentage of our supporters reside within an hour so drive of the MCG. Collingwood and Essendon have supporters all over Australia so it's understandable they don't all join up as members. I don't think the move to Casey will cut it, the club definitely needs a clear strategy to grow the supporter base. Whether these convert to members is not really the point, of course it would be nice but not a requisite. We have about 25k-35k rusted on who will come watch the team rain hail or shine. If we can add an extra 10-15k per game that would go a long way to sorting out issues. It would bump up games against interstate sides to 40-45k and against Vic sides to 55-70k. International students and migrants are neglected markets. My wife is Filipino and came to Australia about 15 years ago. She has a massive catholic family here who all follow footy to one degree or another. They have Essendon, Richmond, Carlton, Hawthorn, Geelong, North, Bulldogs and Saints supporters in the family but no Melbourne (no Collingwood either as they were all told "anyone but Collingwood" when they came here). They all selected their teams either based on where they live (around Essendon and surrounding suburbs), success (Hawks) or some arbitrary decision based on attending/watching games with a supporter of that team.

National draft and salary cap for starters

Kennedy, Jacobs

See @Monde post above. An effective disposal is recorded as an ineffective/attempted tackle, an ineffective disposal counts as a tackle

The "blue blood" could work in our favour if targeting the Indian and Chinese communities, especially India with the history of caste system. They tend to want to be seen as part of the upper classes.

I love the NFL too but this is a terrible idea. Wildcards work there due to the divisional format, we have a single ladder so no need for wildcard. They also only have 12/32 teams making playoffs. 10/18 teams in finals is ridiculous. Why not just have all 18 teams play some extended knock out finals competition and be done with the home and away season altogether?

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0131857/

When do the fans get a say in the changes being made to the game/comp year on year? Just let things breathe FFS, the comp is just getting over the introduction of the northern expansion teams and the compromised drafts. Just let things go for a few years.

I don't think they understand what a wildcard is or why it exists All they need to do is create some fairness in the fixture. That's it. No need for 17-5, 18-5, wildcard weekends ad infinitum. Just have a rolling fixture alternating home and away each time you play an opponent. Either that or decide the double up games on the prior years ladder (so 1st has double ups against 4th, 7th, 10th, 13th & 16th). This isn't about fairness, it's about marketing and promotion. The sooner the Dil [censored] off the better, he is FAR worse than Demetriou.

It's like they're trying to turn the sport into BASEketball

I agree we probably won't get the consistency this year however our best is good enough and the season is wide open. It's unlikely but anything can happen As a club when we do get a run on we tend to hit the top pretty quickly (prelims in 87, 94 & 98).

There are no clear dominant teams this season and with the drop off of Sydney, Hawthorn and seemingly Geelong it has opened up the ladder for the new group of contenders to make their mark. As the Dogs showed last year all you need to do is make the 8 and then take it from there. Edit - the biggest test for us will be mental and fitness. Can we run out the season? Are we strong enough to bring required intensity every game from the first bounce? These are the questions the team must answer.

It's more tolerable, but still offensive to the eye

Great to have him back earlier than expected, just whatever they do make sure it's not TOO early so he doesn't break down again

I agree wholeheartedly and think it offers far better opportunities than trying to expand into Casey or the NT.

I thought we had something with Melbourne Uni though maybe that was just a proposal Are you talking about people living here or overseas? Because if you're talking about migrants that is just plain rubbish.

I agree and have thought for some time there is opportunity for growth in international student/migrant numbers

Well yeah I agree but not really sure what that has to do with my post

That's how I got hooked

All that matters is what is required for us to be sustainable and successful. 40k is the base, 50k would be a fantastic outcome. I doubt we'd need more than 50k to really be successful, Carlton Geelong etc are those midrange clubs with ~45k there's only a handful of Vic clubs over 60k.

Especially when you have the best colours in the league

Yeah fair enough. Was just a tongue in cheek comment but you have people jumping on more than a third of the way through the season, doesn't make sense at first glance. Though of course there's always mitigating circumstances