binman

Sorry Timd i think you have misunderstood me. A couple of things. I have no problems with people questioning the club, go for it i say. When you say shut down, i'm not sure quite what you mean. Shouted down (metaphorically) perhaps but only a moderator can shut down a conversation. The back and forth with Fan went on for pages - he had every opportunity to explain his position and did so - he was not 'shut down'. For what is worth i disagreed with a couple of Fan's points about CW and said as much, but had no problem with his posts or point of view. I have no idea about his agenda, if any - i'll leave that to others to worry about. To be 100% clear i am not in any way telling you or any one for that matter what they can or can't say about the club. Who would i be to say such a thing. Of course you have every right to question all of the decisions made by the administration, goals, objectives strategy and tactics employed by the club. I have not dismissed any ones views, dissenter or otherwise. What i am allergic to (both on DL and elsewhere) is a lack of transparency. And again i am not accusing you or any one else for that matter of not being transparent. But what is patently clear is that there are people within the club who are not being transparent, hence their leaks to CW. What i dislike is that there are forces at work that are clearly attempting to have CS sacked, that is obvious. I'm not talking about DL - who cares about DL. I'm talking about the real world. People with an agenda have obviously leaked information to CW about the evidence they gave to the AFL investigators, in order i assume to make CS position untenable. To be honest i am ambivalent about CS, but i simply don't have enough knowledge to make a judgment. I assume the board do and they have reappointed him. This is the campaigning i refer to, not a bloody fan forum. The campaign is out in the real world. My point is simply that the club has been riddled with damaging politics for at least 20 years and until the club is united across all levels. It is in the interest of the club for people to support the board and if they, can't keep the venom in house. That is the way top clubs work.

Watts will make AA by 2015. Sorry

Questioning the behavior and direction of the of the club is not destabilizing, why would it be. It occurs on DL all the time and for all sorts of reasons - trade decisions, appointment of the coach, ability of the CEO, relationship with Casey etc etc. Nothing wrong with raising issues about stuff. What there is an issue with and what is very destabilizing is leaking information to the press, a campaign of whispers, innuendo, personal attacks on indviduals, petty politics game playing etc etc. MFC has been beset by this sort of rubbish forever and a day and it is the key reason Malthouse says that we have been about everything but football. The current campaign is just one more chapter in a sorry tale of disunity and factional warfare. CW is, i would suggest happy to play a role in it. Why not, it appears to align with her agenda. The current board has reappointed CS and moved CC to a non FD position. Where is the value in tearing away at the club in the hope that both will be exited from the club - even if you passionately believe they should be. There is a board to govern the club, they should be left to do so. There are also elections and and the processes such as the AGM which can be used to transparently raise issues. Enough of the tawdry cloak and dagger.

Fan i happen to agree with many of your points. As i've said before she was doing her job, it was a nice juicy story and any journo would have loved to run with it. I had no real issue with her articles (other than the fact they were pretty poorly written and changed in detail from day to day eg the Vault changing from a code word to the name of a tin shed!) - that is 'till the last one. Terrible article and bordering on defamatory. It is no exaggeration to say that if posted on DL by a poster they would have been howled down and almost been suspended (its attacks were personal and quite extreme). But i can't agree with the with your point about us making it easy to identify and prove. At least not i if understand that what you are saying is that the incompetence of senior staffers were the reason for this (eg CC raising it in a large meeting and making the comments he allegedly made). Where i differ is that as one of the very few reasonable articles about this matter (Jake Niall i think but could be wrong) noted the reason this came out was the because of how poisonous and divided our culture has been at the board and FD levels over many, many years. Indeed CW herself has noted this culture. Other, more united, clubs are less likely to leak. My concern about CW is she is both playing on this culture and fueling it with a clear agenda of attacking CS and CC. I have concerns other people, some of whom post on DL are trying to do the same - which of course plays straight into CW's hands. I agree with Jnr mac (at least i think it was him) that said we seem to be more united now than we have been in a long time. I hope all dees fans, whatever their allegiances can drop the agendas and focus on the unification of the club. If they can't then i hope they use the election process not the press to prosecute their case.

I dispute the idea that Watts lacks courage in the air, or courage full stop. He was one of the best intercept marks in the league last year and that sort of mark requires two types of courage. One, it can mean dropping into a hole or going back with the flight (which he didn't shy away from) and risks getting collected. Two, as he and the club pointed out several times he was rarely used as a spare man, he almost always had a man to cover. leaving your man to attempt an intercept mark takes courage because it is very risky and can make a player look foolish when their opponent gets an easy kick in the forward line because they have been left free. Edit: McQueen, i wasn't suggesting you claim Watts lack courage, i agree with your post i quoted

Not sure about dominant but i could definitely see him take a big step up, particularly if he can improve his running and aerobic capacity as he has been a bit of a one paced plodder. A bigger tank could mean him playing through the mid field - Jones, Viney, WInes and Tappy in the middle might be a litlle slow perhaps but it would be pretty ferocious. It should be remembered that if he does have a thorough complete pre season it would just about be his first. he has had terrible luck with injuries impacting on his pre seasons, and IIRC they have been related to his hip and back which would have also really impacted on his capacity to get miles in the legs and do running work

I totally agree Steve. I think there is an enormous upside to having two close mates who sound like they have been pushing the other for years. The fact they are both mids is also a plus as they will be playing side by side. Warrior types that Neeld loves and these two boys will fly the flag for each other should it become necessary. I am positive that if they can get him they will.

Osilik i largely ignore your posts as i can't be bothered with the [censored] for tat stuff you seem to relish. But comments like the one above are bordering on trolling - winding people up for the sake of it. The comments in this thread about Watts in this thread were of a positive nature dealing with his current build and potential playing positions. You are the one who introduced the idea of his worth as a number 1 selection - a topic that has been done to death, has its own thread (bump it if you want to reignite it) and has nothing at all to do with what was being discussed. Again troll like behvaiour Yes i hear you - if i don't like it don't read it yada yada. But TBO it is tiresome, particularly when it occurs in one of the rare positive threads on Demonland. I mean really who need another negative out of context comment?

Funny you mention him playing on the wing as i was going to say the same before settling on a run in the midfield. this might sound a bit silly but i could almost see him as hb/winger in the mold of Robbie Flower. It would be funny if whilst looking for a star KPF we ended up getting a new Robbie Flower.

I think they'll keep him relatively lean as his role will, for the forseeable future, be the sweeping QB defender with perhaps even a bit of time on the ball. Makes sense i reckon as one his key strengths is his athleticism and running, might as well take full advantage of it.

Abso - bloody - lutely Stuie, spot on. No way MacDonald was going to get delisted, no way. Also no way Sellar was going to go. Both players are physically strong at it types, play a role and do what they're told. Neeld soldiers and as you note exactly the sort of player Neeld loves. Its not just that though - both are super trainers and hard workers and it is all about building a culture of elite training and hard work as he has been banging on about since he joined the club. All the new recruits are cut from the same cloth. The Neeld army is being formed. Dunn? I also agree with you comment in the OP that he saved himself in the second half of the season. By all accounts he too now is working super hard and now fits the Neeld soldier mold. Like Blease he has bought in and i reckon Neeld would love players who are able to turn things around and buy in when perhaps they previously were not fully committed. I get the feeling Sylvia and even Davey are in the same boat - at least i hope.

I'm loving how demonland have a new hero (with nary a word against him!). I'm also loving how all of a sudden we are taking CW's word for something, ie that we have engaged him. Who's her source i ask ya (seriously though i reckon the club has told her bossed who we have engaged) The Finkmeister - just the mention of his name puts fear in the heart of AFL administrators and news editors! I want to see the dees run through a Finkmeister banner round 1 next year.

What's his playing number? Where did he go in the draft?

.....done it over two posts.

This joke would have worked better if you had........

I thought everbody knows his name.....

Spot on. Is there a player in the league who has improved as much as Jones. Another year of Misson and Neeld and if history is any guide he may well keep improving. Another season like the one just gone and he will be pushing for AA.

Given your professed love of Andrew Bolt that's not surprising (though i reckon Lance Armstrong would be a Republican)

It must be the pipe and bottle of Grange.

Exactly. Troll implies people posting derogatory posts on other peoples social media platforms or websites. This is the opposite - an internal thread on a member based forum. One assumes CW is not compelled to go to DL and read the thread. Or perhaps she is on here already under a pseudonym?

Had to laugh though. Even a fake Caro twitter account who is taking the [censored] is taking umbrage at a perceived slight on DL! Perhaps the fake Caro has crossed the rubicon and now thinks s/he is actually CW. Spooky.

Cheap Wines and a 3 day growth for my money

I reckon there's a big chance Dawes and Byrnes might be in, though the Hun artilce said they players vote on it after the Darwin camp next week so i assume they would have to impress their new team mates over that 10 days or so. Dropping someone from the LG is fraught. Barty might be dropped only because he may not play so much? I hope Garlo doesn't get dropped, mainly because it would indicate he didn't step up last year (i have not heard he didn't but for that matter have not heard he did). I think Garlo will have a great year next season as i supect he was in a tricky space last year as he sort of bridges the younger and more senior players. With some of that resolved (ie the senior players leaving) Garlo can be a role model and not have to worry so much about the politics that were no doubt still bubbling last season. I also would love to Sylvia put into the LG and have a sneaky vibe he might be.

I have said it before in relation to this phot, but i'll ask again. Is JV a vampire?

Yep Wines for me. Neelds 'hardest team to play against' fits nicely with a tough, tackling machine like Wines apparently is. Also i reckon the fact that he is a long time great mate of Viney should not be underestimated and is real positive in favour of getting hiom. Adds to the chemistry and means that there would be two players in the square who are tight and will instictively look out for each other. They will also push each other intraining i'd reckon given they are both super competive. A tangent but i reckon this tanking palaver could actually be a positive in that it might help the boys gel together - the us against the world vibe.