3183 Dee

Thanks ??

A bit soon, I know, but does anyone know if MFC members get in free to the GF tomorrow?

Such a disappointing way to end the year, but another building block to becoming a sustainably great football team. Boys will be better for the run.

Agreed - I think the club has made a concerted effort over the past year or two to reach out to past players and include them in the fabric of the club - as any normal club would do. I don’t think this has always been the case in recent times - especially when you think of how poorly James MacDonald was treated by the old regime.

Agreed - I think the club has made a concerted effort over the past year or two to reach out to past players and welcome them back as part of the fabric of the club - as any normal club would do. I don’t think this has always been the case in recent times - especially when you think of how poorly James MacDonald was treated by the old regime. Just another step on the road to being a great club once more.

That’s what I mean R & BB - 40,000 tix between the 2 clubs!

I understand that the corporates put a lot of dough into the AFL, but a maximum of 40,000 tickets (40% of total) to paid up members of both clubs is laughable, especially at the inflated prices. Also, with the entry fee to the ballot, I reckon Ticketek will make around $3/4 million - $1 million just from supporters of the two clubs that didn’t make it!

Just an incredible game. We were sat in front of the Hawks standing area - an arrogance of Hawks. Such great character in this team. As others have said, it is the future for these young guys that is so exciting.

Agreed - absolutely schit house. Not only do they have the customer over a barrel, they charge extra for the privilege and pretty much extol rorting through their marketplace, which they take a slice of. [censored].

Hope everyone gets tickets. I did exactly the same process as last week - straight thru last week, but took much longer this time. To those wanting MCC/public tickets, I’d suggest logging into your Ticketek account 20 mins earlier, as this is the bit that takes the longest.

I think it’s arbitrary - did the same procedure as last time on iPhone - straight thru last time, still in queue this time

Looks to me as though Ablett threw it and hit Viney’s boot.

Beautiful

Thanks Clint - I’m not much of a golf fan, but I’ve followed Jarrod’s inspiring story through the media and obviously heard the news today. Never realised that he’s a Dee. Also, never seen that footage before - how good is his reaction : “You feckin’ beauty!”. Holding him and his family in the light.

Anyone thought that maybe they were trying him back in the Coaches Box, but given what happened last week, they’ve moved him back down to the bench where he can get closer to the players?

In my opinion, the concussions have set him back a fair way. It seems as if he’s starting to get back to his best form, though. He is a gun, but still has to prove himself, like everybody else, and earn his spot. He probably looks [censored] off, because he’s running around at Casey this week, when he thinks he’s done enough to warrant selection. Hopefully, it’ll just make him hungrier - I think we’ll see him back for the MFC before long.

Hurn got Viney, Viney got Hurn back harder. There's footage of Viney running back through the rooms once he'd been taped up: I bet Shannon Hurn heard those footsteps and felt like a Mafia hit, whose cards were marked!

I have been wondering about this for a long time - it seems blindingly obvious and I am amazed that it hasn't raised a murmur amongst the footy journos. Essentially, the Bombers must have offered huge compo packages, otherwise there would have been a class action through the courts. If you cast your mind back to last year, the rumours were that Dyson Heppell (and his family) was furious with the way he had been treated by Essendon and was almost certainly going to leave. Same, I think, with Michael Hurley. Nek minnit, they re-sign and are as committed as ever to the Bombers. It seems to me that they have been able to rort the system by paying out large chunks of contracts as compensation. I take it that the AFL will be sweeping this under the carpet?

This is what is not getting much coverage - I have no idea if the compensation awards are made public, but it stinks to me. It could be seen by some as a way of staying in the salary cap, yet awarding players with 'compensation' to ensure they sign on.

I completely agree. He's contracted til the end of 2017, so whatever happens, happens. Don't get me wrong: Hogan is a very good player, but we now have a few more very good players, who haven't even hit their straps yet. If he decides to go, it won't be for any negligence on the part of our off-field organisation. The business management of the MFC is so much more slick and well organised these days, they'll do what they can to keep him, but I don't believe we're a club looking for a Messiah anymore. Instead, we're building a team of gifted, tough and confident young men of whom Hogan is one.

Yes - because after the first year or so, we got rid of the likes of Bruce and MacDonald. Even if they only had a year or two left, they would still have been around to mentor the young guys. Then we tanked for a year or two to get the top draft picks, which the hierarchy believed would be the making of our club. Then we appointed two kids as captains and expected them to create a new culture under Neeld. All this, whilst the new expansion clubs - GWS especially - have had an obscene amount of trade and cap concessions. At the same time, the off-field administration had been run by an apparently self-serving dummkopf, a number one draft pick has [censored] off to the AFL's pet project and we have been rogered with a $ half a mill fine for the aforementioned tanking. I don't know what the answer is, but I can't fathom how we can tear Geelong a new one at their place and then not have the momentum or will to hand a hiding to the Bombers and avenge the previous Saints defeat.

Correct. This is why the Doggies and St Kilda have bounced back after a couple of years of bottoming out - they still have a nucleus of experienced players who have played finals footy.We are starting from a point way back from these clubs - effectively the same as GWS and GC but without the massive concessions. IMO the only option is to bring in players like Daniel Cross, who I think has been our best pick up overall, to nurture our potentially great young guns in the right way to go about their footy.

I spoke to a client today, who has a connection to the Watts family. Apparently, Paul Connors (Watts' manager) has been desperately trying to convince Jack to get a deal done with Carlton. However, after meeting with Roos on a couple of occasions now, Jack has been so impressed that he will almost definitely re-sign.