Romey

From memory last year that the Bulldogs had the highest possessions per game in the competition at just over 400 and Sydney had the second highest at around 390. Both were all time records I think. Being first in the competition for disposals is not such a bad thing.

Does anyone know why Hannan was playing in the midfield in the first two quarters? Was he tagging? I though we could have done with him in the forward line and a pure midfielder at the ball ups in his place.

I wonder how Oscar McDonald would go in the ruck? He is fairly tall and would be able to hold his own in the body work. This would allow Pederson to come in for Smith.

My prediction is that over the next 12 weeks Spencer will hold his own against the top ruckman in the league and we will be offered a top 20 draft pick for him at the end of the season.

What about Jarrod Witts from Collingwood? He is now third in line there behind Grundy and Cox. Compared to Gawn he is 1cm taller, 1 year younger and debuted 2 years later. Still has plenty of upside and would offer more years of service as a backup ruckman than Spencer who will be 27 next year.

Does anyone know if most of the Melbourne players are still following the Paleo diet? Research just announced by Melbourne University is not very favourable and makes you wonder whether we were a little hasty jumping on-board this bandwagon. http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/paleo-diet-could-make-you-gain-weight-new-scientific-research-shows-20160218-gmy7kp.html

Putting the Essendon situation aside I think there is some merit in a player loan system throughout the season if both teams consent. It could give our players senior AFL games to fast track their development and give us access to players from other teams to cover injuries.

Disappointing news given he fits the profile of the type of midfielder we are hoping to lure to the Dees next year. Does this now make O'Meara or Aish our number 1 target?

Interesting read. I personally hope our players resist reading Demonland and Watts proves his detractors wrong. http://m.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/social-media-is-the-afls-most-damaging-opponent-mark-robinson-writes/story-fni5f0at-1227356430147

Very disappointing experience as a supporter and golden opportunity wasted by the club. I turned up with the extended family at 12pm as advertised and left with a bunch of grumpy kids at about 1.15pm with players just beginning to turn up. We certainly didn't feel like our club was inclusive or accessible today.

Yes I recall him saying this. Would that mean in Roos eyes someone like Watts could be considered as having done a quality pre season even though he has rarely been in the main group?

I'd also be curious to know who the club consider as having not completed a "full pre-season" as I am always surprised to hear how many players are retrospectively referred to as having not done a pre-season 12 months down the track. By the training reports it sounds like nearly all the players are participating most sessions in some form, however many on restrictive programs for various reasons.

I think a related but different question to ask for this thread is "what differentiates our club" and also "how would we like to be differentiated in the future". From a marketing point of view you need more than just success to be a powerhouse (although it helps) and also a club may "stand" for great and noble values but it may simply be a marketable player or likeable logo or song that converts young children or adults that are new to the game to support a club. The A-League has demonstrated how far behind Aussie Rules is in terms of atmosphere on match day and I can't help but feel that the first Aussie Rules club to get something similar happening will win a lot of new supporters. I also think the Dees could allow some of our likeable characters such as Bernie Vince to have a bit more creative license in the media as frankly the interviews at our club are too scripted and bland for my liking. Anyone else agree?

Great post and interesting thread. I really like the concept of Melbourne adopting the mindset of a progressive expansion team whilst retaining those things that are core to our club. Some innovative, even radical thinking may be required to crack open new markets and help us to become a powerhouse club with 100,000 plus supporters in 10 years time.

I really like this idea. Central location and close to our heartland. Other left-field alternative locations ideas which are close to the city and ripe for development could be the Burnley sporting precinct, Fairfield park precinct or somewhere around Royal Park. Royal Park could be especially appealing if tied in with our relationship with Melbourne Uni. All are within 6km of the MCG and have plenty of space to negotiate with the needs of existing community sporting clubs. What are people's thoughts on these locations?

I also love the idea of linking up with Melbourne Uni and trying to tap into the student base. If successful it could bring some much needed youth, vibrancy and diversity to our supporter base - three traits that are not strongly associated with our brand today. The challenge will be bringing the MOU to life so that our club is embraced by the students. One left field idea to make this happen could be to do an anti - Schwab and let go of control of our brand somewhat and leave it to students to reinvent our identity and define the future direction of the club. What better way to endear ourselves to a market than to give them genuine ownership and control into the look, feel and operations of our club. Who knows where this could take us but it would certainly generate some interesting and innovative ideas. Many of the worlds most successful brands have adopted this philosophy and I can't help but feel that the first AFL club to fully embrace a similar approach will reap the rewards. Just an idea. Suspect many on here will shoot the it down for plausible reasons I have not considered.

Does anyone know which of our current stock is the best long distance runner? I've always been of the opinion that some of the best rucks are also some of the best endurance runners. (Think Dean Cox or Jim Stynes.)

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere but previous pick 53's include Lindsay Thomas, Adam Selwood, Daniel Jackson, Tom McDonald and Kyle Cheney. Some misses as well of course but historically not a throw away pick.

This would be a reasonably fair deal for both clubs I'd reckon given the gun midfielders that the Swans will have access to via their academy in the next couple if years.

Surely a fit Cox could squeeze into our best 22.

This year there seems to be a particularly strong batch of players hanging up the boots. Many, like Luke Ball, may have been forced to retire earlier than they had hoped and could potentially be cheap but valuable additions to the Dees if their bodies are up for another season or two. Retirees this year includes 6 AFL captains, 9 All Australian players (Dean Cox 6 times!), 9 premiership players, 7 B&F winners, 1 Norm Smith Medalist and 1 Coleman Medalist. In their prime they'd be unbeatable. The following team of retirees would give most clubs a run for their money. B: Rutten (AA) Glass (AA x 4, 3 x B&F, C) Tom Williams HB: Maxwell (AA, P, C) Bock (AA) Josh Hunt (2xP) C: Scotland (B&F) Lenny Hayes (AAx3, C, NS, 3xB&F) Maloney (B&F) HF: Winderlich Jonathan Brown (AAx2, C, P, 3xB&F, CM) Giansiracusa FF: McGrath P Mitch Clarke AA Shannon Byrnes (Px2) Foll: Dean Cox (AAx6, P, B&F) Dominic Cassisi (C, P) Luke Ball (C, P, AA) Inter: Daniel Jackson (B&F) Jake King Andrew Raines Quinten Lynch (P) Emer: Keplar Bradley Duigen P = Premiership B&F = Best and Fairest AA = All Australian C = Captain NS = Norm Smith CM = Coleman Medal Personally I'd be looking at Cox, Cassisi, Maxwell and Ball to add some experience, leadershp and depth.

Sad to see Lenny is finishing up at year end - he is universally respected by all footy fans. I seem to recall that he was sounded out as part of Paul Roos succession plan last year before he decided to play on for one more year. Could he now be back in contention? A dream scenario would be for Roos to commit to 2 more years and we recruit Ling, Kirk and Hayes as assistance coaches to join Stone and Rawlings etc and select a successor from this group in 12 months time once each candidate has tried and tested! Am I being greedy? http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/st-kilda-champion-lenny-hayes-announces-retirement-20140715-zt7ki.html

I heard in the radio tonight that cause notices may have been issued to players at other clubs apart from Essendon. Does anyone know whether Trengove has been given the all clear? If not, this may be a viable option for him. http://m.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/footballers-could-be-secretly-serving-suspensions-says-antidoping-official-20140612-zs5se.html

Does anyone know if Shiels is related to Dylan Shiels from GWS?

From what I heard this trade progressed further than most of us realised, and Dylan Shiel was quite open to the idea of coming to Melbourne last year under Roos. Not sure how credible this rumour was but it was via people who claimed to be close to him.