DirtyDees DDC

There's also the confederations cup. I think it is played a year before the world cup, and it's played at the same venues. You have the same problems with preparing the grounds and signage, perhaps on a smaller scale. The world cup will remove a major revenue earner for the AFl and the MCG for up to 16 weeks, although this afternoon Buckley was hosing down the idea of reconfiguring the MCG. FIFA want no other sporting fixtures in the major cities for 4 -8 weeks and right in the middle of the AFLs busy period. This is different to delaying the start of the season because of the commonwealth games or finishing early for the olympic games. The AFL is not in competition with the olympic and commonwealth games because are rarely occuring events in this country. It is in direct competition with soccer for participants and sponsor dollars, and the FFA will use the world cup to draw spectators, participants and dollars away from the other codes. I think there'll be a compromise. They'll get the G for 6-8 weeks and AFL will continue to be played at Etihad. But FIFa has to agree.

'We will be putting to FIFA that we should be able to continue those competitions during the (World Cup),” Buckley told 3AW radio.' When you read FFA boss Ben Buckleys comments about the AFL and NRL, it's clear they haven't worked it out. First it's 4 weeks, then it's 8, now we are told that our major oval stadiums will have to be reshaped into a rectangular pattern to suit FIFA. The estimated time time to get the 'G' ready for soccer is now 12 weeks, plus the 4 weeks of competition. So that's 16 weeks. If the semi finals and finals are played in early July then i'd be very surprised if the 'G' could be restored and ready before August. It's going to take more than 16 weeks to radically reshape the 'G' and return it to normal. This push for the world cup by the FFA is not about playing 64 games of soccer in Australia in 2018 or 2012. It's not about bringing thousands of tourists or upgrading our sports stadiums. It's about the business of making soccer the major money-making sport in Australia by the 2020s, and their big weapon is the world cup. FIFA doesn't care about AFL or NRL. They want these 2 major Australian industries to stand aside and get out the way so they so can gain a marketing advantage for soccer that may last for years. Surely the AFL and NRL would be crazy to cease operating during their peak business period and allow a competitor to step in and dramatically cut their revenue. The Fed govt has announced there will be no compensation for lost revenue for AFL and NRL. And for what? Let's say we lose the 'G' for 16 weeks. In return we may get up to 8 matches of soccer. That's it. And in that time we lose 2-3 games a week at the 'G'. No wonder Ian Collins is said to have written to FIFA rejecting world cup games at the docklands venue.

Yeah. Me too. I got caught. I had rung the MFC last Thursday to check the times and dates. So I rang the MFC this arvo and they were deeply apologetic. It's one of the hassles of training at multiple venues. They advised they had received a number of emails and were very keen to ensure the website is updated correctly. As the Dalek said the the dustbin .. 'everyone makes mistakes'.

10 -12 wins in 2010 might be too optimistic. We have 8 kids who have never played a game. We have another 11 players who have played 20 games or less. 18 players are under 21. A lot of these guys will become regular players, but it's going to take a couple of years of training and playing together to develop a consistently winning side. I thought 8 was a good target because i saw encouraging signs this year from the current list. There were good quarters of football against collingwood, geelong hawthorn and st kilda; we pushed the dogs to within 7 points, and unlike 2008 we didn't lose 7 games by > 75 points!! Remember what happened to St Kilda in 2003? They struggled along and were 12th on the ladder by round 17. Then it clicked and they won 4 games in a row by 60 points or more. The same thing could happen to Melbourne in the next couple of years.

The last time we won at Etihad was round 19 2007 against the dogs. Have a look at the lineup. Daniel Bell, Jace Bode, Nathan Brown, Nathan Carroll, Aaron Davey, Lynden Dunn, Ryan Ferguson, James Frawley, Brad Green, Ben Holland, Mark Jamar, Travis Johnstone, Nathan Jones, James McDonald, Brent Moloney, David Neitz, Michael Newton, l Byron Pickett, Russell Robertson, Colin Sylvia, Paul Wheatley, Jeff White, 11 players gone and one delisted from the 22. They won but they were going nowhere. There's only 3 new players in the lineup that are still on the current list (Jones and Dunn debuted in 2006, Frawley in 2007.) This is our biggerst dilemma in 2010. We have to win games and still develop players.

So the VFL season starts 2 weeks after the afl season, and ends one week before the last afl round. I wonder if the delayed start will limit the number of new players chosen in the senior team in the first few rounds. DB may prefer to see how Blease, Strauss etc go in the VFL before promoting them.

I think the club would like to see Jones as a player that is good enough to draw a tag. But he certainly fits the bill. Strong and lots of stamina. Dunn did a good job against Pavich this year. He's 192 cm and 93 kilos so he may take the bigger type of player. Interesting comparing him to Ling, who's 189cms and 92 kilos. We could have some serious fun in midfield if Dunn steps up and clears a path for Davey, Grimes and co.

We know the draw for 2010, and we have nearly finalised our player list. Assuming we don't have another horrible year for injuries like 2009, what will be some reasonable and achievable goals for the club in 2010? The criteria is that the goals can't be too low, otherwise the are worthless. They must stretch the players and the club. They can't be too high and unattainable. I think a top 2 finish in 2010 might be out of our league. Here's 3 for starters. 1. I reckon we can win 8 games in 2010. We have averaged only 4 wins a year for the last 3 years. I look at our current list and i think it's good enough to double our average next year. I base this prediction on the impovement in players like Davey, Sylvia, Warnock, Frawley, Jamar, Jurrah and Grimes in 2009, and i'm not expecting any massive contribution from this years' 6 new draft picks. I chose 8 wins rather than finishing 12th or 10th, because our final position on the ladder will largely depend on the performance of other clubs, and that's outside our control. I do not believe that 4 wins is acceptable to the club and supporters. 2. Win ONE match interstate. We have not won a single interstate match in the last 3 years. We better learn fast with 2 new clubs by 2012. I don't think we should count our 'home' match in Darwin verses Port as an interstate win. 3. We beat a side that is in the top 8. I'm not counting a win in round 2 against a side that eventually finishes in the bottom 4. I'd like to see us beat a side that has genuine finals aspirations. A good example could be a win in round 11 against a Carlton team that is 7th on the ladder with 6 wins, or beating an 8th placed Essendon in round 15. I'll add a goal that would be an exceptional performance. Winning 3 games in a row. We may have a window of opportunity in the first half of the year. It would show everyone that the players got a taste of winning and they liked it and they want more. To quote Vince Lombardi- 'Winning isn't everything, but making the effort to win is!"

So who will play on Sam Mitchell in round 1? I see a strong need for the MFC to develop a good 'run with' player to counter the likes of Ablett, Judd, Hayes and Del Santo. Wanted - one player with strength, good endurance, and b/w 180 and 190 cms. Doesn't have to be super skilled but should at least have a low turnover rate. Doesn't have to be fast, if we use Cameron Ling as a role model. Here are the possibilities from our current list. Bail - 183cms 91 kg Bartram - 181, 80 Bell -186, 91 Cheney 184, 87 Gysberts - 188, 83 (I saw the training photos. If he's 83 kg he must have very big boots) Jetta - 180, 77 Mcnamara - 190, 87 Petterd - 185, 84 Other options are McKenzie and Healey from the rookie list. I think the club is looking at Rohan Bail for this role. He is well built and has terrific endurance. My preference from this list is Petterd. He may struggle to get into the side as a forward flanker or midfielder, but he could secure a position in the side as our no. 1 tagger. He also kicked 4 goals in a game this year so he's good enough to hurt sides on the rebound.

He received a number of 'friendly elbows' to welcome him to the big time. It didn't seem to worry Watts and i think he's too smart to fall for that stuff. It was also interesting that collingwood rotated their defenders onto Watts. They seemed to think that they had 3-4 defenders that could all do the job on a tall forward, so it may not matter whether Watts or Jurrah play on the forward flanks. They will still have to deal with a good tall defender at some stage.

If Jurrah and Watts are our two best options up forward next year then they'll be picked up by the two best defenders. I have a feeling the club will ease the pressure by playing them in different positions like wing and midfield, or rotating them off the bench. They've played a total of 12 games and probably wont be strong enough in 2010 to play as the two key forwards on a regular basis. Someone else has to step up. It may not matter where they play on the forward line. They will still get crunched. Watts played HFF against collingwood. I watched to see if Maxwell, O'Brien and co would give him some 'love taps' in the back. I lost count at 80.

He seems a similar type to Joel Corey and Corey Enright. Gysberts - 188cm & 83kg. 0 games Corey - 191cm & 89kg. 199 games. Enright - 187cm & 91kg. 175 games. These two guys aren't flashy or fast, yet they are worth their weight in gold to the Geelong lineup. It's obviously way too early to compare Gysberts with McLean, Corey or Enright. But the deal to trade McLean for Gysberts at pick 11 was clearly much better than St Kilda's management of the Luke Ball trade.

I'd like to see us pick a team for round one that excludes all of this years' draft picks. No Trengove, no Scully etc. No Blease or Strauss either. Only players with senior experience. b Bennell Warnock Frawley hb Grimes Rivers Garland c Morton Moloney Maric (the M&Ms line) hf Jurrah Miller Bate f Wonaeamirri Martin Watts r Jamar Sylvia Davey ic Jones Bruce Green McDonald e Jetta, Dunn, Peterd It's not a bad team. I'd love to see what they could do after a full pre season. Footscray and Sydney have announced they may not play their draft picks next year. I don't think that will happen at MFC.

Possibly cheney or McNamara. Theres a lot of competition. Good story from CC on draft night about McKenzie. He was going to be promoted to the senior list, but he volunteered to stay on the rookie list next year so melbourne could draft another young player.

I have concerns with Watts and Jurrah in key forward positions. Their bodies just aren't big or strong enough for this role at the moment. They'd get smashed, and Watts has indicated he wont fill this role for a while. I see Miller as a prefered option in the short term. Another option here is Martin. I'd like to see the club give him one role, rather than moving him everywhere like last season.

Do you think there is enough pace in this side? I was surprised we overlooked Jetta in the draft, although i heard he was 'off the radar'. Also, who is your tagger or 'run with' player in this group? Maybe McKenzie can step up and fill this role.

I think this list includes 11 old bulls, 8 young bulls and 3 newies. That sounds like a good balance. There's a great article in 'The Age' today on Paul Roos. He says he won't play pick 6 Gary Rohan in 2010 because the gap between TAC and AFL is too big. He says the youngsters get shattered when they find out what it takes to be an AFL player. That's why my only difference would be Wonna instead of Scully for round 1. We've got 8 guys on our list who have never played a game of AFL. DB made a big point about giving the kids time to develop so I think they will gradually introduce these new kids over the year. The exceptions will be Gawn and Fitzpatrick who wont be expected to play senior football till at least 2011.

I wouldn't surprise me to see Luke Tapscott play a similar role in defence to Josh Hunt of the cats. He's strong, tough, and a great kick. We may have finally found the player to take the kickouts. That means one less job for Aaron davey. Strauss could be another option. Fitzpatrick could also be groomed for a key defensive position because of his speed and height. He could take over in 3 -5 years from Warnock and Rivers. He could also play forward but i'm not sure if he's got the elite 'one-touch' skills that are needed on the forward line. I think Colin Garland has these skills and could move forward in the future.

I thought the draft selections had 2 clear messages. I wanted us to choose a KPF at either 11 or 18, and i thought there was a pool of players that had the potential to meet our needs. This included Black, Talia, Griffith, Carlisle and Panos. The FC has looked at this group and found there were deficiencies or issues that marked down every player. I was a fan of Black from WA but it's interesting that the Weagles didn't pick him at 22 or 23. Panos didn't even get selected. The other clear message is that the FC has looked at the current list and determined that there is enough talent within the club to fill the key forward positions. I can see Jack Watts as a viable KPF in 3-5 years, but I think he will desperately need some support. Sorry Billy2803, but the whisper is that Garland will head to the forward line. Melbourne have a very high opinion of his skills and we now have Joel Mac on the backline. The other options might be Martin and Morton. I suspect that fitzpatrick - when fit and ready - may end up on the backline. So we have an army of midfielders, very skilled at kicking the ball forward from the centre. All we need is someone to catch it.

I went last night. Yeah it was good. Didn't know anyone and stayed till stumps. The surprise of the night - picking Jordan Gysberts at 11. Definitely not on the phantom lists. His dad was stunned and overwhelmed and totally thrilled. He got up and spoke and was a very proud man. The disappointment of the night - the food. Just not enough for a function that started at 6 and went till after dark. The highlight of the night - easy. Jordan Gysbert's mum. She's a stunner!!!! No wonder we picked Jordan at 11.

It's an interesting argument whether you go for the best available or go for a certain type or need. Looks Like Burgan has done both. He has picked the 2 best available players in the draft at 1 and 2. He's picked the best available KPP at pick 11 (Black would also be in the mix. How do you separate him and Talia?) He's picked the best available ruckman at 18 (Vardy would also be considered if he falls to 18). He's picked the best indigenous players available at 34 and 50 in Taylor and Patrick. I think too many other clubs are interested for this to happen. Do we lack speed? Of our current list, only Davey and possibly Blease are linebreakers. I'd like to see a quicky picked at 34. Must have good foot skills. Can be a shorty. Someone like Alwyn Davey would be terrific.

Gawn was a surprise at 18, however our number 1 ruckman is Jamar and he's only on a one year contract. Jamar could disappear to the GC at the end of next year.

Lets assume the first 10 picks go down 'in no particular order' according to Scott Claytons' selections: Jack Trengove, Tom Scully, Dustin Martin, Anthony Morabito, Ben Cunnington, Gary Rohan, Lewis Jetta, Jake Melksham, John Butcher, and Andrew Moore. That leaves a pool of players available from 11 to 18 that includes: Daniel Talia, Aaron Black, Jasper McMillan-Pittard, Brad Sheppard, Nathan Vardy, Jake Carlisle, Luke Tapscott and Kane Lucas. Plus a loose cannon in Luke Ball. Many Demonlanders are saying 'just pick the best available. Don't pick for type'. But what if you can't choose? What if you have a bunch of players with similar potential? If Tapscott goes at 11 and Lucas at 18, is there that much difference between the two? This is when you need to look at your current list, identify your needs, and pick for type. EG: If we had 3 top key defenders in our current line-up and they were all over 30, you'd pick a KPP at 11 to fill a need in 2-3 years. I see at least two key areas where we have to develop our list. We need a KPP that can possibly play for at least 10 years. But not a dopey big lug KPF. This guy should be tall AND mobile, and can play back and forward. And as you can't have a long term outlook without a short term focus, I'd look for an experienced midfielder to fill the hole left by Brock mclean. This draft has to set us up for the next 5-10 years, so I'd go for the KPP at 11, and Ball at 18. I just have a feeling that Ball might go before pick 18. If he get's picked up early, then let's copy Adelaide. They are picking a bunch of younger players in the middle and gradually moving their older players like Thompson to other positions.

5.51am. We've hit the front!!! I've changed my mind. 12th. One interesting thing. Big difference in body shape with some of the players. Warnock and Frawley have muscled up.

It's 4.47am. I can't sleep. I'm watching the replay of the Melbourne - Freo match at the 'g - 2008. Oh God we are awful. With 4 minutes to go in the 2nd Q we are 50 points down. The really sad thing is the number of turnovers on the ground and the lack of turnovers on the list. I think there's only 5 players who are no longer with the club. The 4 guys who are supposed to be the future of our backline - Frawley, Rivers, Garland, and Warnock. There are all there. The midfield and the kids who will will be on our list in 3-5 years - Jones, Moloney, Morton, Wanna, Davey. All there. The 3 wise men - Macca, Bruce and Green. And Bate and Jamar. I know we see a lot of potential in these players, but le's not get ahead of ourselves. 13th.