The Chazz

I have a bit of an opinion of Meesen, ore than Spencer anyway! Meesen started slow, but started to play pretty bloody good footy prior to his injury. How about this trade... Paul Johnson + pick 50 to Sydney for pick 28? Would give us 6 picks in the top 34. http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tab...82/default.aspx

Burgoyne = Yes for mine. We will need a top midfielder to get the number 1 tag while our boys are developing. Imagine Cameron Ling tagging Scully, Trengove or Grimes. Throw PB in the guts and it will free up those kids. He will be 27 at Round 1 next year, still has 3 big years, then maybe 1-2 years as a HFF that can still have an impact (ie Shane Crawford last year). Offering Jamar as a trade = not for me. He is 26, showed improvement this year (kicked 5 goals in a game), and should be our No 1 ruck for the next 3 years until our next ruck has developed.

Not sure what sort of response I will get here, but why would we sit back and hope Mumford goes to the PSD? I think he is a very good player, and will become a league-best ruckman in around 3 years. He is only 23, Geelong have done the hard work by waiting for him to develop, why not make a solid trade request? In 2012, when we are hoping to be a flag chance, he will only be 26 so will still have 3-4 years of good footy ahead of him, so will fit in to our window just fine. If you had the choice of who our ruck duo will be from 2012-2016, I for one would want Mumford-Jamar, with Stef Martin as a back up/key forward (or CHB). I personally don't rate Spencer (just thinking about that "kick" he did against Carlton when he dropped the ball makes me cringe - THIS IS AFL!!!). Let Jamar be the Number 1 ruck over the next 2 years, with Mummy as support, then change it around when Jamar is getting toward the end. What would we offer at trade? I would seriously consider pick 18 + a player (maybe Newton as Mooney will go to the Gold Coast next year). That shows how much I rate Mumford. Why risk picking up a ruckman at pick 18, have to wait 3+ years for him to develop, then find he's no friggin good, when Mumford is obviously going to make the cut?

Don't get me wrong, I have a man crush on Tom, and seeing him in that Melbourne jumper was almost too much I did notice though that he seemed to lose his footing a fair bit, especially early on in that package. I will blame it on slippery surfaces!!! Still going to be great having him run around for us next year. Did anyone else notice only once or twice where he defeated a current AFL player named D Rich? Poor little Bam Bam looked flat footed against him!

My thoughts too Nasher, just thought I'd ask.

Hi all Please don't take this topic/post the wrong way, but on Nathan's twitter page he left the following message; "taking a break from twitter ... im off to sumatra and then bali for a month, surfing!!! should be a good finals series .. cats still my vote". This was posted on 3rd September. With the earthquake that has killed 1000's of people in Sumatra over the past day or so, does anyone know if Jonesy is ok? I'm sure we would have heard if any different, I'll hang my hat on no news being good news. As I said, don't take this the wrong way, just concerned for one of our guys. Cheers

Reading the "tweet" that Cam Schwab posted this morning, he said "Winning teams need approx 12 quality players who can run through the midfield. Cats had 14/15 on Sat. What will ours look like in 2012?". Who are our minimum 12? In no particular order; 1. Jack Grimes 2. Colin Sylvia 3. Cale Morton 4. Aaron Davey 5. Nathan Jones 6. Brent Moloney 7. James McDonald* 8. Brad Green* 9. Cameron Bruce* 10. Jack Trengove** 11. Tom Scully** 12. Sam Blease** 13. James Strauss** 14. Pick 11 OR 18** * Veterans who still hold their own in the team, but are getting toward the end ** Sight-unseen, but Schwab obviously thinks they will be on "that" list. I can't help but thinking that we just may hit another midfielder at pick 11, then go for the best KPF at 18, UNLESS we can jag a reasonable mid in the trade, then go for a KPF at 11. Let's not forget that there are a number of names being thrown around that at various stages some of us have said we would love to pick up. There is probably close to 15 names that could easily go top 10 and no one would blink an eye, and that is a mixture of mids and KPP. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we still got a mid or tall at pick 18 and we will all sit back and say "that's a good get". I wish draft day has been and gone already. I'd hate to be BP! Note: Useless information for you - there is a Facebook group called the Tom Scully Appreciation Society. One of the 85 members is Lachie Prendergast. Does anyone know if BP has a son? He is wearing a blues scarf though. Just a shame I only found that now instead of months before Tom confirmed his star status. Could have been on to a big winner there!!! LOL

If those players you mentioned are worthy of big pay increases in 3-4 years, EXCELLENT! Davey's contract will be close to finished, at minimum he will be on the Veterans List, so we will have more $$$ to play with again.

A snippet from the MFC website; "Entering his seventh season in 2010, Aaron will become the fifth most experienced player on Melbourne’s list, with 119 games under his belt". That's why we needed to do what was required to get him to sign. Apart from the fact he is one of our "veterans", he has now got 4 years to develop even more leadership and possibly become a great captain for the Dees (assuming that was the sweetener in the deal). The "Brotherhood" wont be the only ones benefiting from his leadership, it shows SOME stability within the Club. Thanks Flash, you have made my day. *note - I have never made a post saying to let him go!

Do we know Jurrah is going to come back as good in 2010. Hell, he may not come back to training at all. Do we know for a fact that Watts, Trangove and Scully are going to be stars? NOT YET!!! But I bet every sane Melbourne supporter has high hopes for them. It's the same as Blease and Strauss. I'm excited about Strauss, only because of Bailey's opinion of him (he always seems to mention his name when talking about the younger guys), and with Blease, I just have a feeling in my waters! I like the U18 highlights I've seen of him, looks very good.

Agree with Maric, Aussie and Jetta regarding better suited as forward pockets - to be honest the jury is still out on Aussie, showed a bit in his first season, obviously injuries crippled him this year, but I hope he steps it up next season. Strauss and Blease are certainties to play in the middle/flanks IMO, just need to check out past highlights of their play. Bailey loves those 2 boys too, I assure you they will play a number of games for the Club in 2010. I just can't help but try and mould our midfield around what Geelong have done. Moloney might just be good enough to play that Ablett type role, Trengove could just be our Selwood, Grimes floats like Bartel, and perhaps Sculley or Morton can roam similar to Joel Corey and Corey Enright. Obviously we're a couple of years off matching them in quality, but I can't help but think that if Bailey plays blokes like Grimes, Morton, Sculley, Trengove, Blease, Strauss in as many games with each other this season as possible, they will build an incredibly strong bond that is required to win games of footy. Throw in the more experienced Sylvia, Moloney, Jones and Flash for that maturity and leadership, it can only benefit next season, and for years after. Just a shame that we don't have that 1 or 2 top level midfielders already, but I guess that's what comes with a team that bottoms out.

Totally agree Jaded, but I think for the next 1-2 years, we still need them in there. As they drop off, hopefully the likes of Strauss and Blease will be hungry and developed. Obviously injuries haven't been taken in to consideration. What I would like to see if us target a couple of "smokey" defenders with later picks now. We have potentially the best back line going around, why not develop a couple of big, young kids now so that when Warnock and Rivers get a bit older, we have 1 or 2 kids that are in the system that can replace him straight away, rather than have to bottom out and start from scratch. Same as the midfield, there is still a draft next year, and the year after, so there will always be handy little pick ups regardless of how many picks GC17 and GWS18 get. There is also the ability to trade for players that will fill a hole if need be.

Do we need any more mids after we use 1 & 2 on Tom & Jack? I don't think we do. Well, I've been trying to put myself in the shoes of the Match Committee for the next couple of seasons, and am finding it bloody hard. Based on the assumption that we will pick up Tom and Jack 1 & 2 (in no particular order), list management and development is going to be critical over the coming seasons. This is what I've come up with; B Frawley Warnock Bennell HB Rivers Garland Grimes C Bruce Moloney Trengove HF Davey Watts Scully F Jurrah Martin Green R Jamar Sylvia McDonald Int from Morton Jones Maric Meesen Blease Strauss Jetta Aussie As you can see, there are a number of players not mentioned that I rate (ie Petterd, Dunn, Bate, Cheney), and those that I don't rate too. I have also highlighted those that are more than capable of playing in the midfield (for rotation purpooses). As you can see, we have sufficient numbers for this area. I have also got Stef Martin starting at FF, can rotate with Jamar and Meesen in the ruck. The other thing I haven't mentioned is who we will also gain with picks 11 & 18. I'm assuming there will be a KPP picked, so they will play senior footy at some stage next season. I would like to think that Bailey will pump as many games into these young guys that their developing bodies can handle. While I am far from classing Jones, Davey, Sylvia and Moloney as top-class midfielders, they are the best we've got and will help develop and protect these young blokes. I have not set this post up for everyone to have pot shots at my "dream team", just an opportunity to pick your top 22-26 players. I can't believe I have Morton on the bench, but hey, picking from the kids we have is bloody hard - give it ago before you abuse my team!

Good call there Jako. Here's another one for you - has any team ever got the trifecta in the Rising Star? I think J Watts might show a lot more next season. They will aim to get around 12-15 games out of him, just enough to get Rising Star votes.

Hi everyone Thought I'd post this clip for you all to look at - it's the last 5 minutes of the Prelim Final. Not a bad grab by young JT - think I can see him slotting in Round 1, 2010.

Mate, get a grip. Cale is a GOOD player, that's all at this stage. He really needs to improve in 2010 to be classed anything better. I hate reading these posts that say Cale is a Superstar. Judd = Superstar, Ablett = Superstar, Morton = NOT a superstar. History shows we have players with a lot of potential, but we do not develop. That's why we are in the position we are in. Do we try for Mitch Morton? Stupid question. As long as my ass points to the ground we will never try for him. Why would you??? If anything, we need to take a leaf out of the "better" teams book and get some experienced players in the mix to add that maturity to our team. I know he is a [censored], but why not giving number 11 pick back to Carlton for Fev? I like how the team is developing, but find it frustrating that a few clubs (Geelong, Dogs, Crows, Pies) haven't needed to bottom out to re-develop their list. If we win 6+ in 2010, I will be over the moon. I love Bails, but am very frustrated ATM.

Burgoyne nominates Hawks as preferred club... Just in on the AFL website.

Hi all I went to a football "day" the other week at Maroochydore. I live on the Sunny Coast, and play football for a Maroochydore team. Our senior and reserves team were playing their first final, but in between those two games was the Northern Territory vs Aspley game in the Velocity Sports Cup (formerly knows as the QAFL). While the day was a "break-up" for the Maroochy team I play for (as we had been eliminated from the finals the week before), a few of us had consumed a number of drinks in the 29 degree conditions. Anyway, half way through the NT/Aspley game, I ventured toward the bar where they had the Melb/Carl game on TV. There were about 6 Dees supporters watching the game (that many Melbourne supporters in one place was a shock on its own!), and I started talking to a middle-aged husband and wife about the MFC in general (ie. our coach, our players, and our dream draft picks). Anyway, to cut a long story short, a couple of us agreed that Bailey is doing a stellar job, but will need to show improvement this year. We also commented that Melbourne would be mad to take anyone but Sculley and Trengove with our first 2 picks, as they are by far the 2 best players available at the moment, the WA boy a very close third but I'm nervous about the homesick thing! I also made the comment that while Butcher was very, very tempting, it's obvious we don't need to pick him up as they are grooming Stef Martin for that Full Forward role, with Jack Watts the CHF. This would give us a very similar set up to St Kilda, with Reiwoldt and Kosi (apologies for the spelling), as well as the twin tower option similar to Hawthorn. Once we got a few things like that off our chest, a man in plain clothes walked past gave me a fair old pat on the guts (caught me off guard as I was taking a drink!), and said that he works for the MFC and has been listening to us, and said that we are exactly correct in what we said about the clubs opinion on Bailey, and how we are developing Martin and the 2 boys we will pick up. By the time I got my breath back, swallowed my beer, and looked at the couple I was talking to, we all pretty much said "who the hell does that bloke think he is?!!" By the time I turned around, the bloke was gone, and by the time I realise I should've chased after him, he was nowhere to be seen. Getting to the point, I tried to google some of Melbourne's Qld scouts, but oobviously they are very mysterious characters. I thought what the heck, I'll google for Barry Predergast (as I have heard so much about him and never actually seen a picture of him), sure enough, it was the great man himself. I am the first to admit, I had a number of beers that day, but I didn't forget his face in a hurry, especially as he (accidentally) knocked the wind out of me! 2 key points; 1) I can only believe what I heard from him about getting Scullery and Trengove, and... 2) What the bloody hell was he doing at Maroochy on a Saturday arvo (considering I played the week before and wasn't playing that day!!!). Obviously he was there to watch parts of the NT game and had seen enough. Unfortunately, I didn't get to find out who they were watching, but one would think that there is an original Australian running around in that team to make it worth his whiole to come up and watch (apart from the weather!!!). Based on our current crop of players, I have been trying my hardest to find a red-haired aboriginal running around, I think he would fit straight in! But it will be interesting to see if we do pick up a NT player in this years draft.