DeeSpencer

My recall was we were based at Casey until the end of preseason. The boys doing the captains run at Gosch's the other day makes me think they will be back there at least once a week. It could be Casey for the main session and the other 2 sessions a week at Gosch's. It's also possible the women's season will be over in 3 weeks time.

Not recruiting any more players from Essendon could be a net positive for us.

Yep she's very willing but not very crafty or skilled. Even though she's young she plays like she didn't get the elite junior development unfortunately. Hopefully she can add some of that over time. Hanks is pretty much the only refined player we have in terms of smarts and skills. Maddy Gay might be second. Daisy has clearly just worked exceptionally hard to develop a wide range of skills too but she's a bit clunkier. Shelley Scott is solid too. Some of our best players can do a couple of things really well but can let themselves down under pressure too. Hore and Zanker are classic examples. Paxman is a star but she doesn't really have a lot of moves either, she'll often just out run opponents or get tackled and fight through it to dispose. It makes it harder for her against the best sides. Even our draftees aren't all that well rounded. Bannan is supremely talented and has some tricks but has lots to work on and McNamara is frustrating because her work rate is exceptional but she doesn't know how to get out of trouble safely either.

The point of the function is for the Coterie to get their money’s worth by hearing from senior staff. There’s no point having the function if no one from the club turns up. The venue is fine. When the only problem is optics for optics sake it’s not a problem at all. If it can host a wedding it can host a group of football supporters.

The website lists 2 Vice Presidents. My point is Bartlett’s change of title is more than symbolic because it impacts the title of his deputy. It’s not a panacea but it has real consequences by removing an obstacle to a female head of the board. There’s no reason a Vice President would speak at a coterie season launch no matter where it was held.

The change of title was a response to women who are actually involved in the club, it’s not a huge step but it’s directly related to your first point. Maybe check the website and look at our Vice Presidents. We have 2 female assistants on the women’s team, the growth of assistants is the right pathway. A woman become a men’s assistant is the next step. Meanwhile our coach made 2 excellent bold positional moves last night and we beat the Saints and their female coach by 7 goals. Women’s players have been afforded lucrative media duties and marketing opportunities, they’re making a lot more money than the base wages. Their earnings are outpacing their revenue and rightfully so, but they have a path to really nice semi-pro careers. Short of somehow making the average crowds double overnight I don’t know that there’s more to be done.

Disappointing that the VFL guys will play tomorrow morning so it might be hard for the emergencies or 23-26 to get a full hit out. Not sure how we will manage the game time. Most clubs so far have subbed in 23/24 sometime around the half and given 25/26 a run in the last. Certain players might be in the VFL side to get a full run rather than being the sub players in the main game.

Organised chaos and balance are what I think of. You can’t be safe or too cute or you won’t move the ball quick enough to succeed. But at the same time there has to be some organisation to have things work out. 1 up, 1 down. Keeping width for handball receives. Trusting team mates to stick a tackle. Making sure the long kicks down the line go to advantage. If we get all those little things right consistently enough things will be looking better. I think Goodwin has actually been on the right track with the way we spread, change angles on the kicks and move the ball quickly. We’ve just been lacking skills in some areas and lacking organisation as well.

Find the Twitter replies that got this going, I think offended is putting it fairly. I don’t have a strong opinion either way on Bartlett changing his title but if he thought it might increase the talent pool available to the Board then good for him and the club. Life is full of inconsistencies, I treat each case on its merits. If a coterie that has no joining criteria apart from $$$ wants to have a function at a venue that suits the members and is welcoming to all coterie members on the night then that’s fine by me. The club has women’s supporter lunches and lgbt supporter groups that by definition are far more discriminatory than a choice of venue. We all understand the context and have no issues with those certain groups. Crown Casino has a far more negative impact on society than a mens only club. Should the club avoid events hosted there on principle too?

You’ve missed the joke here Franky.

Well I’m awaiting one of them actually being offended rather than an ABC journalist and a bunch of well wishers

Your profile name and photo is offensive. Luke Jackson is not and was not a member of the Jackson family and to suggest otherwise is cultural appropriation. I hope you put your hands up and realise it wasn't the best choice and change it.

Women are absolutely welcome to attend and I'm sure the female coterie members will have no issue with the venue, because the type of people who have joined the Melbourne coterie like nice venues and don't care about ridiculous PC nonsense. Hosting an event at the Australia Club is no different to hosting an event at an RSL, an Italian club, a Church, a private golf club or even in the MCC. Those are all exclusive clubs with restrictions on who can join, but no one would complain if a club held a function at one of those venues.

Preuss got the better of Grundy. No way he was better than Nic Nat, Gawn, Goldy and probably others. The Pies had to trade out 3 best 22 players, partly because they pay a ruck 7 figures rather than get by with serviceable rucks like most flag teams do. The captaincy is the reward for the captains duties. It’s a privilege not a chore. A good captain will be worth keeping for extra years, coaching roles, club functions etc. I’m not suggesting we James McDonald him but when he’s 32 we can go year by year. Like we have with Jones.

Every club passing him in the drafts suggests otherwise, although I’m surprised he wasn’t training with a club over summer.

Bradtke did a few agility drills back when we signed Austin, so could be. When I first read your post I thought of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Would love to have him involved.

Yes, at Adelaide when he made the AA squad. The combination of knee injury, average skills, extra pace on the game and his inability to mind dangerous key forwards might make him just be a mid tier intercepting player.

Robbo has given Cripps a huge benefit of the doubt after a down season and I get why. The other 4 all had fantastic seasons, although I’d only have Steele with a big gap to Clarry on last year. Burst from stoppages gets him in the top bracket. Balancing up and hitting the short lead rather than blazing away from 60 gets him to the pointy end.

I don’t. But I do know there’s no collective agreement. I also know the history of list management and football administration from Pert’s time at Collingwood. In the last 6 months we’ve handed out long extensions to Ben Brown, Viney, Gawn and Lever. All who might’ve peaked as AFL players and all who have significant injury histories. Are we paying for future performance or past performance with those guys?

Not really. He’s a top 10 talent just waiting to get a good run at it and is at the club with the best recent history. Add in some practice match form and you couldn’t leave him out of the top 50 projections

Oliver was lucky to be top 50 based on last year, but I wouldn’t swap him for any midfielder outside the top 10. Andrews, McGovern, Moore and May all too low based on last year. Liam Ryan too high but I like him top 30, he’s freakish and well rounded. Overall it’s a pretty solid list.

True leadership and loyalty would be Gawn and Lever getting the players to agree to across the board pay cuts as a lot of the good clubs have. Instead they’ve gone down the Nathan Jones style of leadership and getting their cash first. It’s still about the individuals at the MFC.

Ask Pies fans how they are feeling about that contract. A 5 year commitment given this year to a 29 year old is too much. The captaincy is a honour in itself. Why do we have to dish out a big deal too? 2-3 years once he got through this season would’ve been fair. To back up 4 years right away is a huge investment unless we are getting a bargain deal.

Cox saw the writing on the wall and finished up at 33. Martin looked done last year. Sandilands was only just going for several years, he didn’t play more than 11 games after 33 and certainly not great ones. We’ve just spend a super high draft pick on Jackson. Already that’s an over investment in the position but I can understand it’s how the draft fell. Max may be healthy now but he’s had more than his fair share of injuries and isn’t the most mobile ruck. Teams will find more guys like Jackson, Marshall, a healthy Grundy and they will be hard to stick with when he’s 32.

2 years too long. Which club was racing to sign a 30 year old ruck to a 4 year deal? Unless we got a significant discount it’s a bad deal.