Romey

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.

I reckon if he goes anywhere it is likely to be one of Hawthorn, Adelaide or Carlton.

I believe one of Watt's more subtle strengths is his ability to intercept or obstruct handballs from opposition, which is why he deliberately hangs back from tackling. He is deceptively quick with his hands and with his excellent reflexes has a good knack of at least getting his fingers on the ball to deflect a handball which sometimes leads to turnovers. Everyone bemoans his inability to tackle but I suspect this habit is probably more valuable to the team.

More press on Watts in The Age today. He certainly pumps above his weight with the media attention that he draws. I think pairing him up with Daniel Cross makes a lot of sense. If you combine the work ethic of Cross with the skills of Watts you potentially have a Brownlow medalist. Demon Jack Watts Learns New Tricks From Old Dog Daniel Cross. http://m.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/demon-jack-watts-learns-new-tricks-from-old-dog-daniel-cross-20140127-31iue.html

An interesting fact about Jack is that over the past 10 years only 6 people have run a faster time than his 20 metre sprint time of 2.82 seconds at the 2008 draft camp. Of these 6 only Daniel Pearce and Ashley Smith are currently listed and regular senior AFL players. While this may not make him an elite midfielder, it is an often forgotten strength of his that has never been fully exploited. I personally feel this amazing time is as much a result of his superior reaction time than his sprinting skills itself, which is particularly valuable in a chaotic and congested midfield situation.

Forgive me if this has been mentioned but I just noticed that Viv Mitchie scored 8.01 in his agility test for the draft camp in the year he was drafted by Fremantle, ranking him 2nd for that year and 18th over the past 10 years. This probably makes him the most agile player on our list.

Does anyone know if the Princess Park circuit is a true 3km's? Browsing through historical draft camp results only 10 people in the past 10 years have run the 3km time trial in under 10 minutes which is less than 1% of the total tested.

Interesting article in today's Age on Jack Watts moving into the midfield. Given his efficiency with the ball, time in the system and improved fitness this could prove to be master stroke move by Paul Roos. Let's hope he becomes our own version of Scott Pendlebury given their basketball background and similar physiques. Demons' Jack' Watts ready to take on the elite

For those that have not been following this petition has now over 350,000 signatures. I played footy with Nick for a number of years and he is a champion bloke. He deserves a crack at these drugs to buy himself some valuable time and if you have not yet had the chance please sign up to support his cause. http://www.change.org/SaveNick http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3teA62o5eLY&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D3teA62o5eLY

If a 25 year old Buddy is worth a 9 year contract, surely someone like Shiel who is 20 would be worth offering 6 or 7 year contract in order to attract him to the club. If he was on the market He would be in hot demand, and the Dees would need to be doing something to differentiate ourselves from the bigger clubs to make him want to come to us. I know there are risks but with Franklin the precedence has been set and offering long term job security might be a deciding factor.

If a 25 year old Buddy is worth a 9 year contract, surely someone like Shiel would be worth 5 or 6 I order to attract him to the club. Players like Shiel are in hot demand and we need to be doing something to differentiate ourselves from the big clubs like Carlton and Collingwood. I know it is a risk but the presidency has been set -

As I mentioned earlier, if the market is offering Adams $400k per year, we should offer him $500k per year on the condition he goes into the pre season draft. It may be overs but retaining our top picks are worth far more than $100k.

Perhaps it makes sense for the Dees to make Adams an outrageously high offer contingent on him going into the pre season draft. Retaining our high draft picks would be worth more than paying him and extra $100k or $200k per year and we would be guaranteed to get him.