binman

The AFL will be mortified if Buddy does not end up at GWS. They desperately need him there to help GWS get some traction. One assumes he won't be getting any money from the AFL to be an ambassador. Kudos to Sydney if true but bad for the competition. It is in all clubs interests, especially clubs like MFC and Dogs, that GWS is a success and start winning some games.

Just noted your sig RM. Has Neeld's contract ended and if so can we judge him now?

Martin to Essendon? The mind boggles at the unlimited potential for drug related jokes

Who? Phat Phil or DM?

Great dog house! Maybe the club should buy it for Daniel Cross

I'm with Ben Hur on Howe. A keeper. The argument that he is lazy has some validity but we can not afford to lose players as talented as Howe. The excitment he provides for fans should not be dismissed either. He has been a rare bright light. Just as i argued that Watts has suffered from being at the club in a period of complete chaos the same argument holds for Howe (and others like Blease, Tapscott, Strauss et al). Of course professional players have to work hard etc but it is ridiculous to expect players will be able to play to their potential in an environment that is destabilizing - and that's without factoring a poor leadership culture. Lets see how he goes under Roos. I would expect we'll see him address his deficiencies and reach his potential. In terms of position i like him as a forward with occasional runs in the center. As someone notes above with Hogan, Dawes and Clark opposition sides will struggle to match up on Howe and he provides a great foil to those big guys. HAs well as being a great mark he is also pretty good when the ball hits the ground. But yes he needs to increase his pressure.

Would only fly if they land franklin i would have thought, though i guess he has to recover from a serious knee injury

I prefer roos coloured glasses

....ever

What...

I agree Jumbo. I also think it is relevant that for Watts and all the other young players not only have they had Neeld and Bailey (who i actually thought could coach but was hamstrung by off field craziness) it has also been absolute chaos at the club in the last decade. Drama after drama, axings, upheavals, Jimmy's death, tanking investigation, hopeless fd and admin etc etc Its been frustrating for fans - imagine how hard it must have been be for young players to focus on their footy, adjust to AFL and actually develop and improve. The relief in the Watts interview on the MFC is palpable (ie that we have PJ and a clear focus). Signing for 3 years is a great show of faith by both the club and Watts

Not for me. Fantastic news and i'm super positive that he will fulfill his potential and be our best player

Great news!

He got a fair bit bigger this year (to be expected i know) and with another pre season under his belt we will get a real sense of his potential next year

If true a massive risk i would have thought sacking voss then going to a first time coach, albeit one with big wraps and a fair bit of time as an assistant

His current coach has lauded his attitude this year. A yes from me if Roos decides he can keep on track. As i said in a thread about Martin there is no way they would risk taking him (and haven't obviously) but might well take a punt on young fella like Garlett, especially with Flash still at the club in some sort of mentoring/welfare capacity.

Quote from the Hun article this morning which suggests we won't get a priority pick: It means the AFL’s equalisation discussions are critical to the well-being of the league......... It means even the most powerful clubs are slowly coming around to the idea that radical measures might be needed to keep the competition in balance. Radical measures are ok but not the use of a PP to help MFC get better more quickly? The quickest way for a club to make a profit is for them to start rising up the ladder. Simple stuff really but apparently clubs not keen on this particular equalization measure. Apart from PP the obvious measure is revenue sharing from all big games and block busters (including corporate money from those games).

No

I'm also really confident JT will be a gun. It's incredible really how things have changed in terms of our expectations of first year players. Of course they come to AFL more prepared now but still the footy world seems quick to make definitive judgments. I mentioned a while back (in a thread about where roos might play watts) how important elite kicking is to Hawthorn's game plan in terms hitting up their forwards (and of course transitioning from the hb) a point Clarkson emphasized in a Hun article today and Walls also noted in the age. Think of how often the dees give the forward no chance by poor kicking into the 50 - either by not drilling low ones that hit a target or being unable to kick a high one to a forwards advantage. JT will be a crucial player for us in terms of improving our kicking to forwards.

100% agree. To be honest i don't care that much, though of course it would be ideal to get a PP. But i get furious with some of the arguments as to why we shouldn't get one, including the argument that by asking we are reinforcing a losing culture. Any suggestion we shouldn't get one because we got Roos is just plain moronic, i mean jeez how on earth are the two things connected? Similarly moronic would be any argument that Port's success could be a factor or that the other clubs being angry should be considered. I understand why the AFL made the criteria for a PP obtuse but this is turning into another example where the AFL just make things up as they go. When they make their decision i hope (but do not expect) that if we don't get it there is some level of transparency and accountability as to why. Agree redleg - if we don't get it scrap it.

And i reckon Lions will be next.

Makes those posters who were so stridently saying we should sign him look a little silly doesn't it.

So it is set in Stone?

Me too. Roos would not be that stupid. The article is interesting in that it notes that contact with MFC was initiated by Carr not MFC. It is also interesting in that is public (back page headline) and categorical. We don't want him, now or ever. For those posters who argued that we should 'man up' and take Martin, Roos and the clubs definitive call on Martin (and for matter the almost complete lack of interest from other clubs) should be evidence enough that sort of thinking is out of date and belongs to another era.

Saying this for the first time....... Roos took on troubled players into a side that had an established bloods culture in place where there were clear senior leaders and clear expectations and consequences. I think Roos will wait until he has developed the same culture at MFC before taking a risk with some one as volatile as Martin. Perhaps at a pinch he might take a risk with an untried young player in the draft like Gartlett but not Martin