Romey

I actually think Parker has the potential to be the best of the lot. In two years time he could be commanding $400k plus a year. Perhaps we could get in early.

The Swans have one of the most impressive young list of up and coming midfielders in the competition, with the likes of Hannebury, Mitchell, Parker, Jetta and Rohan coming through to support the likes of Jack, Kennedy and McVeigh. The signing of Tippett along with their recent premiership will create salary cap pressure and make them vulnerable to losing some of these potential stars. Could Roos tempt one to come to the Dees? I'd love to see a Hannebury, Mitchell or Parker in a Melbourne jumper.

From what I have heard Grimes is a natural leader who is respected by his peers and we are lucky to have him as our captain. I'd be interested to know who else in our squad were captains as juniors apart from Trengove. Remember that Grimes was captain of the Northern Knights and both the Victorian Metro under-16 and under-18 representative sides. For me though his most impressive junior leadership achievement was that he won the Ben Mitchell Medal as the peer-voted leader of the elite AIS-AFL Academy in 2007, ahead of more heralded players such as Trent Cotchin and Daniel Rich. This medal is given to the boy who ties his on-field abilities most tightly to what he does, and who he is. The following is from an Emma Quayle article a few years ago... "At the start of the AIS program, each of the 30 boys is assigned a character trait, and asked to think for the next nine months about which of their new teammates lives it. Their trait might be versatility, care or patience; they might be looking for someone with humour, voice or versatility. They can interpret the traits in any way they choose and, at the end of the nine months, they must stand up at the front of the room, and explain their three, two and one votes. Each year, their coach, Alan McConnell, is intrigued to hear what they come up with. "Each boy has his own take on it, and experiences that have influenced how he feels," he said. "Their insight always astonishes you; there's always one out of left field where you think, Actually, that's right.' And keep in mind that it's hard to con your mates. Seventeen-year-old boys can see through the rubbish, if you like. They know what's going on, and what really matters." There is no doubt in my mind that Jack Grimes has the character and values that we want in our captain. He turns 25 next year and would have matured eyond his years after having experienced probably the toughest induction into captaincy in the history of the AFL. Jack could well become our own version of a Brett Kirk or a Lenny Hayes.

Surprised there isn't a thread on this. It would appear we have some work to do to convince Colin Sylvia to stay. Nobody could blame him for wanting to chase some finals action but he would be a big loss for the Dees right now. Colin Sylvia is yet to decide if he will remain at Melbourne

I am sorry to see Joel go and was 100 % supportive of the decision to pick him as a rookie at the time, but it is interesting that Dylan Grimes was selected with the next pick by Richmond. Dylan, like his brother, was a lifelong Dees supporter and apparenty we would have selected him had Joel not become available. He now looks like becoming a 200 game key position backman and if nothing else, would have provided competition for Tom McDonald or a backup for Frawley should he leave. Love the idea of having the captains brother at the club as well.

Anyone got a link to the interview?

Whilst I love the idea of a proven, premiership coach it is interesting that most of the premierships in recent years have gone to wealthy clubs with superior resources at their disposal. Given Melbourne run a leaner operation, I wonder whether we should be considering which available coach has punched above his weight the most. Williams and Eade for instance enjoyed success without nearly the same football department spend as Clarkson, Matthews or Roos. Perhaps this is a better indicator of a coaches true ability. That said I'd be wrapped with Roos or Clarkson!!!

I have it on good authority that Stockde is a very very good operator who would be an outstanding President. No idea whether be is running or not but from what I hear from those that know him closely be would be a real asset.

Interesting read. Some of the picks we have given away over the years have been used to recruit some handy players at other clubs.

Tall players don't necessarily equate to good contested marks. Eddie Betts can attest to this - he consistently out marks taller opponents in contested situations through better use of his body. It would be interesting to see who in Melbourne would stand out in a basic kick to kick contest with half the group up each end. If you remove Clarke, Jamar, Dawes and Frawly I think we would find Sylvia, Howe, Garland and even Trengove would be amongst the best.

Despite our win the TAB have stretched Melbourne's odds of making the top 8 out to 251:1. Last week I believe it was about 35:1. Either this represents great value or the bookies know something we don't.

This is a genuine question. Melbourne would probably have had more publicity this year than all other clubs combined (excluding Essendon). Do you think our sponsors appreciate the extra media exposure they are getting or would they believe it is tarnishing their image being associated with such a troubled club? I would have thought any publicity is good publicity.

Thanks for doing this C&B. It is interesting reading. What strikes me is that most of these goals were from set plays (centre bounces, kick-ins) or bad turn-overs. It is hard to imagine fitness being a factor in the first 15 minutes after the major break as some have suggested. Also more goals means more rests. Surely set plays is a coaching issue - either our plan is wrong or our players can't implement it. With turnovers I notice that our elite kickers were either not playing or missing in action. (Davey, Watts, Strauss, Tapscott, Toumpass). These are the guys we need to get the ball to when kicking into attack. I guess with about a quarter of our team on Saturday having played 5 games or less we should not be too surprised.

Andrew Ireland would have been a good candidate having overseen premierships at Brisbane and Sydney, but they have just extended his contract to 2016. May they'll accept a swap for Schwab!

I also have a SC league with 6 spots to fill. 742159

I have just joined 300697 and 337130. Thanks for setting these up.

I am keen also. Scored just over 36,000 points last year.

I went down for an hour and was surprised to see Dunn playing in Rivers old role as the loose man in defense. I would have expected Watts to be groomed for this role. Jetta stood out with his pace, attack and disposal and seems a ready replacement for Bartram. I really liked what I saw of Dawes. Although he doesn't mark everything he times his leads to perfection, does repeat running and controls the space in front of him better than most. He will bring others around him into the game and give confidence to our midfield when delivering into the forward line. Shannon Byrnes was shorter than I expected but impressed me with his positioning and read of the play. Finally I thought Garland looked in top shape. Physically he is much bigger and solid than I remember and with his pace brings valuable versatility to the team.

TAB odds for the Dees to finish top 4 are now out to 101-1. Sure it's unlikely but stranger things have happened.

Although dated, the following article puts these times into perspective. To have eight players run around Princess Park in under 10min 15 sec is pretty impressive when you think that Judd's best time was 10 min 33 sec and the course record 9 min 49 sec. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/teams/off-to-a-real-flyer/story-e6frf9k6-1111118110568

Melbourne midfield confidence grows We will see a vastly improved midfield this year if all four of our midfield recruits, plus Rodan, are able to make an impact at senior level straight away.

http://m.afl.com.au/news/2012-12-31/excat-gives-dees-new-ideas Good to hear he is bringing his experience and bonding well with the other forward line players.

A few years ago a Korean tourist was saved from being mauled by a crocodile after he had gone swimming 10 metres away from a sign that said "Crocodiles Do Not Swim". When asked why he did it the tourist, who spoke English, said he thought it was safe because the sign said crocodiles do not swim!!! True story.

Juzzo from Bigfooty has Melbourne selecting Ben Duscher with pick 18 in the rookie draft. He could be a handy pickup - captain of the Bendigo Bombers and highly regarded amongst many Bomber supporters. Ben Duscher © D.O.B: 29-09-1987 Height: 186 cm Weight: 83 kg Club Bendigo Football Club Originally from Mildura and then with the Bendigo Pioneers, Ben spent time under our current assistant coach Daniel Schmidt at Rochester where they shared a GVFL Premiership. Ben returned to Bendigo in 2010. He was rewarded for his strong showing with the Co-Captaincy in 2011 and lead 'from the front' which is his way. A strong midfielder who can be relied upon to go forward and find the goals. Appointed Co-Captain again in 2012. Winner of the 2011 Nick Carter Medal & Runner-up in 2012.

Agreed. I would love to see Aliir Aliir at the Dees. Great story and the potential to be an x factor player. Cool name too. I could see this being a great way to promote the code in Kenya as it would create quite a lot of media there I would imagine.