Rogue

We were never close enough, and those who thought we were a legit flag chance this year were misguided. We can continue to develop our team, and have significant improvement on 2007, without trading for a quick fix.

This thread smacks of jealousy. We were all happy to get Judd, and whether or not you like Eddie, he seems to do a good job for the Pies.

Agreed. No surprise this came from a Perth radio station.

How do you come up with the conclusion that if we want Judd we're intent on winning a flag while we have White and Bruce et al? It'll be when our younger players - Jones, Bate, McLean etc - are hitting their prime. White's 30 now, so it seems unlikely he can be part of a MFC premiership. Bruce is 28 - maybe.

I'd keep Frawley over Petterd because I think a Frawley is harder to find than a Petterd. Plenty of flankers out there. Not so many KPP potentials. Obviously I'd like to keep them both though, but if we want Judd we need to make some sacrifice.

Big Footy isn't evidence Anyhow, even if Judd has decided on a Club and the news is somehow out (which I'm doubtful of), I don't think the trade talk is anything more than speculation.

Key backs are hard to find - see Shanahan & Ellis trades - and Frawley has potential. The three I've highlighted won't be around too much longer, and I would think that our best crack at a flag will be when the younger brigade have got a few years under their belt. Regardless, I wouldn't be surprised if we took Frawley, 4, and 21 for Judd.

Near the end of the season, Neitz said McDonald would be a good captain.

No, he just knows how to use the search function and reposted a post CAC made (rather confusingly, as there were no quote tags used).

They're not the same thing?

Hey, I said it was a good thing! Btw, you give to the MFC?

Interesting - I didn't see this coming.

Maybe he enjoyed it last time ;o

...and I don't think Blake would want to part with Geelong. Sure, King got picked instead. However, King doesn't have much left in him and Geelong is pretty young. Why would you give away that potential, at a Club where you have made some mark for yourself, and risk it all for the unknown? I'd stay.

I missed this before, but it's absolutely correct - it's like giving to the charity that researches into the chronic disease you're afflicted by. Sure, it's still a good thing, but everything's relative.

Spoken like a true MFC supporter

A shame you didn't post that up here. However, you did post this: Maybe it was true at the time

Good to hear some encouragement for people to gamble away large amounts of cash. This is something we need more of.

Why did the Clement resignation change everything? He would have only had a year or so to go anyway. Short-term means little - Judd and Collingwood will be thinking about the next 5 years, not just 2008. Sure there are. Collingwood have better facilities, although we may have facilities to match theirs soon-ish. I imagine they've been able to spend more money on 'football support' - ie. better/more staff and equipment. Absolutely. Apparently it's okay if he wants to leave WCE for us, but if he goes to someone else he's a no-good so and so! He should do whatever makes him happy. If he gets blown away by a presentation that's not from MFC, then he should try and get there. Since I go for the Dees I obviously hope he plays for us, but it's his life. If I was WCE, I'd be willing to release Judd into the PSD if the Pies weren't willing to come to the party and make what I thought was a fair trade. The loss of whatever Pies offering I felt wasn't up to scratch would be outweighed by the benefits of playing hardball (ie. Stevens/Port). It was interesting to read all your posts in this thread just now, and see how your mood changed Demonland - like sand through the hour glass...

I think that supporters really easily lose sight of the fact that this is a player's job, and income. It's not just a dream, and great fun. It's also their livelihood. I'm not so much thinking of Judd here, as much as I am of comments from Godfrey a couple of years back (that he'd look for another Club if delisted), and Robertson's desire for a three year contract. Really, unless something miraculous happens I can't see Clubs really turning it around. The strong get stronger, because they can use their advantage to further widen the gap between them and the weaker teams. I'm not talking about on-field, because the draft means we have a fairly even competition, but in terms of membership and advertising, facilities and staffing, etc. How do you turn it around? Anything you can do, the stronger Clubs should be able to do better. Really tough environment. I wasn't aware it was over yet!

What do you guys - figuratively speaking - think of wanting Judd to come in and captain the team? Telling a guy who's yet to set foot in the door that he's the man you need to lead the team may appeal to ego, but doesn't really sell the Club's leadership. I've had similar offers - in very different size and scope to an AFL Club captaincy, of course! - and have always been a bit unimpressed.

Fair enough, but we don't have any of those either. I'd also suggest that making a grand final - having a chance at Norm Smith or Premiership - means you need to be in a strong team, whereas AA honours are more indicative of individual talent. Anyhow, interesting to be remembered of our lack of draft picks in 2000 due to salary cap penalties. Guys drafted in 2000 would be at their peak right about now, so it's disappointing. 2001 was quite terrible for us too, which is a double whammy. I seem to recall that ND wanted us to go for talls, but that may be incorrect. Regarding CAC, it was interesting to see '96 (the year before he was here) - what a shocker!

Interesting - why would you guess that WCE would have a relatively young demographic? I'm not taking a pot shot, and I have no idea whether you're right or wrong. I'm just wondering what made you think that would be the case...success in the 90s plus a young club?

Surely with Godfrey gone, Bartram is the tagger. I think his strong marking, and the lack of other options, means I can see him spending a fair bit of time up forward. I guess that, like many others, he might get rotated through the midfield a bit. I know some would like to see him move into the midfield, but he's played really well as a defender and it's not like we have a plethora of his type down back. The backline is definitely where I see his immediate future. Needs to be played predominantly as a forward IMO. Who else do we have? Weetra is the only one that springs to mind, and I don't think he's even Sandy 1s yet, let alone MFC. Fair call. I'm not sure Dunn has a future as a key forward, but he looked pretty good at times through the middle. I'd groom him as a forward. He did? I thought he played some good football this year on the wing, and that's where he should be. Releasing him up the ground means he can get more of the ball, and take advantage of his best asset - his kicking. Playing up the ground also means he can set up more attacking plays and kick more goals. On the flipside, when they have the ball his experience as a backman means he should be able to play defensively on his opponent.

Nice gag.