spalding

I’d do it just to avoid this circus continuing for another year and the risk of getting less next year (ie missing on May). We need all players as committed to success together as much as they are to their own needs. I don’t feel that Jesse is committted to team goals as our other young guns are. it might mean more chance of getting a free agent next year and also more cash for keeping the rest of the youngsters happy as well

I’d love Jesse to stay but I have never felt he has the total buy-in that a team needs for sustained and ultimate success - such as the hawks and cats whose players made contractural sacrifices to keep their dynasties together. The only way I think he can prove that he wants this as much as I think the other young demons do is to sign a contract extension now. If he won’t, lets move on and maximise what we can get to address our needs. Personally I don’t think May is part of this but I would defer to our football team who I think have traded and drafted amazingly well for the last 4-5 years.

Mmm - I sort of fit the stereotype. Except I’ve only been skiing twice. in my defence I had no choice (and neither did my kids). im 5th generation. My great great grandfather came to Melbourne in 1855, and his decedents (including me) have been mcc members and mfc supporters since the 1870’s. At least I’ve been a paid up mfc member for 40 of my 51 years!

Is it just me, or do we seem to be getting a better run (razor ray as an example) now we are relevant, have bigger and noisier crowds, and are no longer looked down upon by the media? the port game was the last time I thought we were truly butchered by the little green men - even the Adelaide and West Coast games seemed reasonably fair.

I think he is now our second most important midfielder. Particularly as he has the ability to influence the game while shutting down one of the oppositions best. Will be crucial in finals.

I hope you guys are right and I’m wrong. It will be fascinating to see how it plays out on the next 48 hours

I bet he will get 3-4 weeks. Probably 3 so he is available for finals. The justification will be that Brayshaw lowered himself slightly as gaff swung his arm and I think he hit him with the base of his thumb - not the knuckle part of the fist. Therefore he will argue that he was seeking to shove him forcefully in the chest. Not saying I agree with this, but this will be the justification as to why it’s different from Bugg (as opposed to the real reason which is that Gaff plays for a marquee club, has no history of being a pest, and the AFL wants the best players in its finals).

Not a bad winning percentage either. I think he is 8 wins from 9 games.

I think the issue is more about the quality of the older experienced guys - who boost up the average. Jones, Jetta and Hibberd would probably get games with the better teams, but I doubt Vince, Lewis, Pedo, and maybe even Garlett would. Compare this to Sydney, Richmond, Geelong and their oldest players are champions. More clearly for us than perhaps anyone else besides Carlton and Brisbane, our best players (or potential champions) are less 23. having said all that I’m sick of bloody waiting like everyone else!

5 weeks ago the equation looked like this: Reasons to go - - $ (possibly, although MFC might be able to match) - Returning to Perth - Maybe going to a better team (at the moment) Reasons to stay - - Future of MFC vs Freo? - Do you want to fly every second week (given you missed a season with a bad back). - any loyalty to MFC, existing friendships etc? Update Now: It appears we have the answer that the immediate/mid-term likelihood of success is with the MFC. Freo can probably offer more $ than MFC now that another target is off their list, but like Hooker re-signing with Essendon, will it be enough? So seems like it comes down to whether Jesse wants to go back to Perth to live (which probably will be detrimental to his footy career, given the amount of time he will spend in a plane vs playing for MFC). Even If he does go, it would seem that Freo will be able to offer much better draft picks than we thought likely a month ago!