DirtyDees DDC

I think Scully might consider three things before he looks at the money: 1. The closeness of the relationship to his family here in Melbourne (i believe they live near Dandenong/Narre Warren). He may be unwilling to leave them and move interstate. It's also handy for Tom to live near Casey footy ground for training. 2. His closeness to his teammates at MFC. 3. The chances of winning a flag with the Dees. I hope we score big ticks next to all 3, and he re-signs some time during this season. I don't want it to drag on like Ablett last year.

It sounds like a large amount of money - an offer to good to refuse. However if Scully continues to improve and becomes one of the top 5 players in the league (a strong possibility) then in 2-4 years time this is the sort of money he will receive, regardless of which club he plays for. Money shouldn't be the driving factor when his manager renegotiates his contract this year. Scully is an ultra-professional who wants to achieve success (a premiership) in his career. If the Dees do well this year and finish in the top 8, he may feel his best chances of a flag lie with his current team mates. If we finish bottom 4 then he might look elsewhere.

He's on a two year contract that runs out at the end of this year. We put Trengove on a 3 year contract.

Heard this on the Rumour File on AW this morning. "Rumour as fact. Tom Scully has been offered $6 million over 6 years if he signs with Greater Western Sydney." (or words to that effect). Sounds like GWS has been reading the training reports on 'Demonland'.

Nick48 in 'Ology reports that Davey and Jurrah will be away at the Indigenous camp during the week in preparation for the All-stars game in Alice Springs. I Just checked the AFL website. The match in Alice Springs will be on Friday night (4/2/11).

According to the MFC website, the club switched the Intraclub match to Gosch's paddock solely because of the condition of the ground at Casey. Are you saying they should still play at Casey next week, despite the poor playing field?

I was at the last match at Casey in August 2010. From my view on the boundary it looked OK - no big puddles or muddy areas, but a trainer said it was very soft underfoot. Sounds like they still have drainage problems and need to resurface the ground. I think they even moved a match last year. This could put Casey out of action for some time.

It's the mighty Green Bay Packers verses the Pittsburgh Steelers in this years Superbowl, to be played on Monday Morning feb 7 (our time). Both sides dominated their respective first halfs in the division championships, yet fell away in the second half. Pittsburgh will probably start as raging favourites - they won 3 years ago and were the second ranked team, whereas this is the Packers first Superbowl since 1997 and they came in to the playoffs as wildcards. The Steelers have a very good running game; a good defence; and seem to come up with big plays at the right time. The Packers have multiple options in attack and an excellent quarterback in Aaron Rogers. I think the Packers will be more desperate, but i'm concerned with their poor form in the second half. They looked a bit tired and they also have a poor special team. Now I'm not an expert, but I thought that if 'Team A' kicks off after a score, or punts the ball, then isn't 'Team B' supposed to catch the ball and return it?. Not the Packers. They run away from the ball and hope they get a nice bounce!! Good grief. I've barracked for the Packers for years. I believe they are the only club that is owned by the supporters (about 120,000 of them)rather than a multi-millionaire, and now they are in their grand final. I hope it's an omen for the Dees.

any sign of Bate? Mark Williams indicated he'd missed out on full pre-seasons in the past, due to one or two injuries each season. His season in 2010 suffered because of injuries after Christmas.

Well at least we don't have to worry about them giving up too much information.

Rams out - Seattle thru to the playoffs with an amazing 7-9 win loss record - the worst in NFL playoff history. Go Packers!!!

Ha. Great clip. I love the devilled horns on Angus. Can i also recommned a terrific book just released called 'blood, sweat and beers' - a story of Aussie rock in the '70s and '80s. It's a tribute to bands that played at venues like the Village Green hotel and the Box Hill town hall. Back to the footy - who are the 'dead certs' for round 1? I've highlighted the guys who should definitely get a guernsey, barring injuries. Here’s the line-up. 2010 Games are in brackets ( ). B: Bartram (21), Frawley (21), Garland (20). HB: MacDonald (17), Rivers (18), Bennell (19). C: Scully (21), Jones (22), Davey (20). HF: Trengove (18), Dunn (18), Sylvia (15). F: Green (22), Watts (15), Bate (15). R: Jamar (22), McKenzie (19), Moloney (18). IC: Grimes (14), Warnock (13), Morton (10). S: Bail (9). E: Wonaeamirri (8), Jurrah (8), Petterd (6). I picked Bartram as a cert because i don't see anyone else fitting his role as the back pocket who marks the small forwards (unless they move Grimes there). Similar story with Rivers. I think he's ahead of Warnock at this point in time for that key defensive position. Watts gives us a better mix of height and mobility on the forward line than any other player on our list atm. I had to go for Petterd and i can't wait to see him working with Jurrah. They did a demolition job on Port Adelaide in 2009. I excluded MacDonald because he may have some competition from Morton for that running half back flank position. McKenzie is tricky. He deserves to be there on last years form, but we already have 3-4 inside midfielders in Moloney, Jones, Sylvia, and Trengove. The may go for a quicker outside type player in his place. That locks up 17 of the 22 spots.

Does it have to be from one of the guys who played all 22 games in 2010? That means a choice between Green, Jamar and Jones. I'll go for Green.

Imagine if they left Jurrah out of the side for round 1. There'd be a riot. Although i remember Jurrah had an ordinary match against Freo in the NAB cup last year - some fumbles and a possible lack of confidence. I'd also be surprised if Petterd wasn't selected for round 1 based on his form last year. I'd Love to see Tapscott showing off his kicking skills in the majors this year but he's done most of his pre-season training with the development group. Check Mark Williams' upcoming reports on the website for details. I've got a soft spot for Sam Blease. Good to hear he's in a training group with Jones and Scully - perhaps the two fittest runners in the club.

good point, but apart from Des Headland they kept the core of their winning group together for 3 years. If i had a choice of $400,000 in a guaranteed top 4 side verses $800,000 for a bottom 8 club..i'd go for the chance at the flag.

Happy new years to everyone. It’s day one 2011, a good time to put together our starting line-up for round one vs the Swans. Instead of making judgements on who is better than what (or Watts) I thought I’d be totally objective and pick my round one line up using one simple selection criteria – games played in season 2010. For example: Jones played all 22 games; Bail only played 9. Therefore I would find a place in the starting line-up for Jones before I would select Bail. And so on. I then placed them in a position that resembles where they played last year. Here’s the line-up. 2010 Games are in brackets ( ). B: Bartram (21), Frawley (21), Garland (20). HB: MacDonald (17), Rivers (18), Bennell (19). C: Scully (21), Jones (22), Davey (20). HF: Trengove (18), Dunn (18), Sylvia (15). F: Green (22), Watts (15), Bate (15). R: Jamar (22), McKenzie (19), Moloney (18). IC: Grimes (14), Warnock (13), Morton (10). S: Bail (9). E: Wonaeamirri (8), Jurrah (8), Petterd (6). Note: Jetta played as many games as Petterd but I selected Petterd due to his higher total of career games. Observations: 1. It’s possibly our best list of 25 at the moment, but they’ve got no reason to feel complacent. At various times in 2010 we had Warnock, Bate, Bennell, Morton, Bail and Wonaeamirri struggled to hold their place in the side. 2. We are a bit short. There is no adequate 2nd ruckman in this line-up and please MFC do not put Sylvia in the ruck in 2011. No wonder they picked up Campbell from Hawthorn. 3. The average number of total games per player is 65 – not bad. But we are desperately short of experienced players outside of this line-up. We only have 3 other guys who have played more than a total of 10 games; Jetta (21), Martin (29) and Maric (12). 4. It’s still a young line-up. With the possible exception of Green, all the players could line in a preliminary final for the Dees in 2013 if their form warrants selection. We have 8 players on the senior list who’ve never played a game, plus another 4 first-time rookies. Gysberts, Strauss and Spencer are also pushing for spots. They all show promise but it’s going to be very difficult to force their way into the starting line-up. I hope they can, as long as they are chosen on their performances, not their potential.

The MFC website has the first of 9 excellent articles by our ball movement coach Mark Williams. The first article looks at Bail, Bartram, Bate, Bennell and Blease and gives a very good objective assessment of the progress of these 5 players over the pre-season. Mark looks at the strengths and areas for improvement for each player and I can't wait for the other 8 articles. My only query is that the reports are almost too good. Eg; he mentions that Bail needs to work on his decision-making and Bennell needs to build up his strength. Are we giving too much information to opposition clubs? Here's the link. hope it works. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/106430/default.aspx

A friend of mine was severely depressed after splitting with her ex. I told her i would send her a wonderful book on philosophy, that included very good advice on self fulfilment and inner peace. So i sent her the 'Robbie' book. She laughed her head off. Cured her depression.

So true. Plenty of comments like 'he'll be 40 before he plays in a premiership side' and so on. A lot of supporters do not rate us, and don't like us. Lov 'it!!! They are in for a surprise. We will also have a much better chance of holding on to Trengove, Scully, Watts and co if we simply win more games. Brisbane is a good example of a side that chose premierships over money.

Just watching the replay of the Eagles vs Minnesota game. Michael Vick - hit 4 times in the first 5 plays by the Vikings defence. He's a fabulous quarterback but please give him some protection Eagles.

Looks like we are income rich and assets poor. Our net assets are only $314,942, but that's much better than last years effort of - $3,210,403. Other good news is an increase in Merchandise, membership and marketing, and gate receipts.

Gotta say no. Sorry. And i'm a huge fan of the Green Bay Packers - and they wear CHEESE on top of their head. (It's a Wisconsin thing).

Thanks for that. Let's hope they pick him for round 2.

Mmmm. Interesting. Any more details on his view of the China trip? I know he didn't make the trip. We now have 46 guys who can potentially take part in our tilt at the flag in 2013. I couldn't say that if Cam was still on our list.

Yes that's the key. A coach of any sport has three basic aims: to manage teams (eg; getting them to be versatile), develop players, and win games. If the MFC is happy to use 2011 as another developing year, then that's ok PROVIDED they make this clear to DB before the start of the year. I'd hate to see a situation where he develops Gysberts, Howe and Blease into key players and just misses out on the finals, and then the club turns around and says 'sorry Dean - near enough isn't good enough!'