Hot as Hell

What SWYL said! So bloody true.

I hope Jack meets the expectations of Port whatever they may be, and that he regains his self belief. He will not be a different player, just the same bloke in a different environment. He was expected to walk on water when our team was a raging torrent of mediocrity inside and out. The ferocious, sharp tongues of vocal so called Melbourne fans would never accept the club let him down, as much as him failing to get the best out of himself. For every game other than against us, l wish him well.

As a door closes, a window opens. You are one of many in the game's history who can deservedly claim that hard work, dedication and patience pays off. Although your pathway into AFL has been unconventional, you now stand on equal footing with every other player. Good luck Bayley

Injuries to key players are NEVER ever wanted. However when they are unavoidable, they create opportunities for others. Look at Hogan last year whose savagely poor luck, uncovered T Mac as a star forward! We have the chance to pick 22 players the same as our opposition. The mix will now have changed, but the objective remains the same. Who will grasp their opportunity in 2018? Hopefully ANB or Bayley or Pedo or someone else. It is there for the taking.

MFCSS alive and well for 2018. I hate seeing injuries to key players as much as anyone else but our challenge now is to get on with the task of putting 22 players on the field and getting the job done.

Hey Cassiew, l freely admit l am no photographer but here are a couple of snaps of some young guns. Unfortunately technical problems had by very best shots uploaded upside down! Guess that proves l have no business holding a camera. Apologies to Jake L who l seem to have caught at an awkward moment.

Well done Mitch. Be assured the club values your commitment and your skills. To those of us outside of the inner sanctum, it appears we have a group of talented players who want to be playing footy with each other in pursuit of the AFL's highest prize. Melbourne Football Club, under the stewardship of PJ, PR their management and coaching crews (and their successors) is finally start to look like a team on a mission. The many young guys who have now signed on to be part of our tilt at a flag is an inspiration and motivation to all who are involved in the club. Bring on 2018 so we can let our playing group loose, to do what they have in their minds and bodies to do. Play some brilliant footy.

Excellent points poita. Whilst not being at Luna Park had some upside the gaps also needed to be covered to keep the kids amused. I also thought there was insufficient planning about how the fans could get autographs with out having to line up in 3 or 4 lines to get the popular players only for many of the other players to be ignored or seemingly feel like "extras". A few tables around the space with 5 to 8 players per table would have given everyone a better shot at a happy snap, and a full autograph book. The layout of most activities on the outside of the field and nothing in the middle might have looked better on the map than it actually worked in real life. I thought Robbo did a great job knowing that a lot of the activity shortfall rested on his shoulders to fill. All good lessons for next year's event.

Beautiful day for the event and a very good crowd attended. Plenty of young kids which was also pleasing. In response to Demon77, Harmes was indeed absent today. Mmmmm. The players seemed to enjoy the more casual atmosphere in Yarra Park and were very relaxed with the endless stream of fans and autographs. The membership tent had a steady stream of people coming to it so hopefully our numbers will get a boost this week. I had an opportunity to talk briefly with PJ who, with his team, has helped to rebuild the club both off field and on. He was extremely pleased with the turnout today, and revitalised club spirit. All in all, amongst the crowd, except for the long wait to meet some players, the mood was fantastic uninterupted by the rides and distractions of Luna Park. Access to the ground by both car and public transport made the event easy for all to attend. I can only imagine it was regarded by the club as a success. Being flanked by the magnificence of our home ground, it was a genuine Melbourne Football Club event for the benefit of its members. Congrats need to be extended to Robb who worked hard today to keep the interviews with players and coaches flowing smoothly while fans went about their preferred activities. We'll done MFC.

A couple of typos in there but l think we get the gist of your point. First hand, l can confirm ltalians once trusted, are one of the most giving and loyal cultures around. Once betrayed, stay well away! Love what CP5 has done, to return the club's faith in him. MFC is slowly building and binding a very high class list for the years ahead.

Having re-read my original post l find it somewhat incredible that my one line reference to the Mac boys could be construed as "presenting speculation as fact". I merely drew on my recollection of the released reports at the time. The vociferous response from a couple of posters who then added the term "blackmail" which l did not previously use, suggests there are a few on this site who are quite adept at discretely misreading and misquoting others. This thread started off being about Tom Mac and hopefully should end up that way. I naively failed to read the extraordinary amount of love for young Oscar and in hindsight regret mentioning him. Considering he was drafted in the same year as Jake Lever, l clearly mistakingly saw him as of far less developed a player and of far less value than Tom (and Jake). I accept that view is not shared here. Let me repeat a lost thought, l believe Tom is an important player to the side's success.

A common trait amongst most of the power teams if the past from the baby bummers, through to the Swans, Cats and Hawks is that they retained most of their best young players all the way through their successful era. Although individuals will only naturally seek what is best for themselves, successful teams share the spoils from the best players down, each sacrificing something for their team, and their team mates. Max is on board, Viney was never in doubt and Clarry appears to want to stay a Dee. If CP5 can hold fat with the club talking about his career, it sends a thumping message to all the other younger players. Ultimate success although not certain, would be at the very least a realistic goal within 3 years. I am certain our player management are acutely all of this. Gee, at one function l attended even Chris Connolly was mapping out the contracted players 5 years ahead of time. Maybe, at that time we needed to worry more about the here and now instead of the future. Most of his list are now long gone. Good luck thisTruck, you are one of msny important parts of our side and our future.

DOF, I don't think many here can claim too much inside knowledge of the goings on of contract negotiations. I don't claim the blackmail story to be indisputable fact. However, at the time when TMac and his brother signed up last, Oscar had very little street cred to negotiate with, so it would seem more likely than not, that a little help may have come from his big brother. The suggestion of 2 or none is speculative but reasonably believable. After last night, nothing really changed as far as Tom is concerned. We need him signed up ASAP. Oscar could be put on ice but if he too I'd signed up, l could only suspect some brotherly support.

I don't disagree that Tom is a valuable swingman and has been a rare jewel for us at pick 53. The way the brothers negotiated in the last round was it was 2 of us or none of us - that gun at the head leads to a very different outcome in terms of what "the package" costs. I certainly would engage with Tom ASAP on a stand alone basis, to secure him. It is other pick 53 that remains that I currently have trouble assessing. In my view he will be either very good or useless and we will get some clarity on that over the course of this year. I would be more than happy if he has a break out year, but prefer to wait until that happens before paying for it. Frost is a clearly more developed, faster, stronger and more willing backman at the moment. They both have their weaknesses, naturally, but Frost is 2 ears in front of O Mac for my money.

The Ollie ship sailed by us years ago. We chose Jimmy's dingy instead. I suspect OW was gutted by his rejection by our lowly club and it would take 2 lifetimes for him to ever look at us again, except in contempt. Demons fans looking for a goldilocks contract outcome may be very disappointed. In my view we need to move on, just as we had to do with Liam J. What an exciting team we could have had, IF ONLY (those two fateful words)

If only that were possible D4Life. In a more likely outcome, we will pay overs to each of them just to keep them together.

I am not so sure that is such a great deal D4Life. I would very much prefer to deal with each player on their merit rather than their parentage.

An international sponsor and now a simple red and blue away jumper. Every step taken by the off field management has been a step in the right direction. Big one remains elusive.....a home of our own. Time needs to remain our friend and all may fall into place,both in and off the field. Good move Dees.