Rogue

Virtually every team in the league will be thinking they've improved over the past season. Although I think Bailey looks the goods, other teams have taken time to get used to a different approach and philosophy from a new Coach, and DB will be learning the ropes this year. While we do have many exciting youngsters, plenty of guys playing AFL footy for us next year will be pretty young and inexperienced, and there are some glaring deficiencies in our list that won't be rectified in the short term. I have no doubt we'll see an improvement over 2007 - not hard - but we shouldn't have unrealistic expectations.

Why was he called Ganguly?

Then it's amazing Grimes ended up at 14! I haven't read anyone else rate him that highly How did you come across this info? The Club must have been absolutely ecstatic. The OP, to some extent, backpedalled pretty much straight away. Cut some slack

Neitz has said previously that he'd like to hand over the captaincy while he was still playing, and finish off as a 'soldier', so it'll be interesting to see what he does. The emphasis on external [non-footy] commitments this year may mean he decides to hang on, but regardless of who's named captain I'm sure we'll see an emphasis on identifying and developing new leaders. I believe Geelong did so. It didn't seem to harm them

For sure. Not necessarily taking a crack at the OP here, but so many love to see the great 'depth' we have, when they're referring to players on our list that are mature, have some experience, but have been found to be not up to scratch.

Most on here probably over-rated us coming into this year, too

I think three of the four will be having their 18th birthday next year, so they're still pretty young. I don't really mind if none of them end up playing next year - there are plenty of other young and inexperienced players who have been around longer, and we can't fit them all in.

I guess he is only 17 - possibility he might still be growing? Why is that? Sampi will be available in the PSD, and I'm not sure what else will be on offer...

For what it's worth, Neitz is on record as saying he wants to hand over the captaincy to someone else before he hangs up the boots. However, lately he's been fairly tight-lipped, so that's not to say he wants to give it away for this season.

This is the most heartening bit:

Recently there have been some reports that we were cutting all ties with the 'Demons' moniker, and it would no longer be seen on merchandise etc. Despite the change of logo, this doesn't seem to be the case. Paul Gardner, MFC Chairman, had this to say: Source

So true

I thought it'd be longer than this before we were re-writing history regarding TJ. Depth player is a little harsh! It would be nice to get a win over the Blues, but if I had to choose one guaranteed home and away match win, it'd have to be QB.

He got 'night premiers 2006' on the other arm, so it's understandable.

Cheers

We do seem to share the same view, but I certainly didn't copy what Redleg posted. Perhaps I didn't see his reply, as if I had, I imagine I would quote Redleg's response and follow on from that, or not post at all. I'm 'on the record' with a few similar-sounding replies on this topic - in example, this post one month ago, which is quite similar to the views Redleg and I have expressed in this thread: Perhaps Redleg pretty much just copied what I wrote then? NB: I'm certainly not impying that Redleg copied what I posted a month ago, just making the point that it's not rare to find similar opinions expressed by more than one author..!

To me, that sounds like a rationale of why we get more money than other Clubs, and I don't think that's the salient point. I think the point is that, setting aside the draw and FTA TV exposure etc, the MFC, WB, et al. don't actually get significantly more over and beyond what other Clubs are getting when it comes to cash from the AFL. Perception is reality for those that perceive it. What I find interesting is that while the public are certainly under the impression that particular Clubs are [more] reliant on revenue from the AFL, this is not just a view espoused by "the general footy person out there". The view that particular clubs - like ours - get 'special assistance' above and beyond that of other Clubs is one that's also espoused by the various football media luminaries.

Cheers.

That's the impression I have. In recent threads, several people have pointed to the 'special assistance' given to the clubs you've mentioned as an indication that they're the most likely to be candidates for relocation etc. I'd love to see the figures. If you're right, it flies in the face of the general conception about MFC, Kangaroos, and the like being 'propped up' espoused by fans and the media.

Regardless of the technicalities of accounting, I think the point 'Bring-Back-Powell' makes is a valid one.

Thanks for the info. What was your source (if not your own observations)?

Sure we do. Neither Meesen, PJ, or Jamar have cemented themselves as a second ruck, let alone as capable of taking the first ruck mantle from White, who is nearing the end of his AFL career. I'd be rookie-ing at least one young ruck.

I'm sure some people wouldn't have been aware.

Sampi is five years younger than TJ, and pick 14 will be used on a young player.

No, he wasn't.