DemonWA

This is a game that all MFC supporters expect to win. Weather you think we can make finals or you are more measured about your 2011 expectations, a "home" game against the struggling Port Adelaide should get us the 4 points. But is it that cut and dry? Aside from back to back wins against the bombers and tigers, Melbourne’s form has been inconsistent to say the least. Couple this with the game being played at a ground other than the MCG and game starts to look like much more of a contest. Whilst no one doubts the Demons class and potential, their desire and hunger to tackle and chase - to play at the level required at AFL standard in today’s game – is called into question every second week. If the “good” Melbourne” turn up to play then they will win comfortably. If the “insipid, Bruise-free, *inset Buzz Term here*” Melbourne travel to TIO then the game become much more interesting. The conditions will be beaten up by the media to no end. In reality the heat will be foreign to both teams. Match fitness shouldn’t be a problem for the majority of the guys who walk out onto the field at this stage of the season. The team who are willing to push through and work harder in the heat will win. Not the team who use gloves, sweatbands, cool rooms etc. Port won their last game at TIO – with a solid win over the tigers. They will have earmarked this game as a good chance for a win, in what has been a disappointing season, so I’m expecting port to have a red hot crack. I’m hoping the Dee’s turn up with a desire to tackle and chase; a desire to earn a win rather than turn up and win. If this is the case i’ll back us in by 30 points. We’ll kick away in the last. Other predictions; Beamer & Jamar will be back to what they do best – dominating the centre bounces Jurrah will kick 4 in a much improved showing Aussie will be around the team and be inspired to come back to the dees next season.

The "news" form today changes nothing IMO Whilst things may seem to be looking up for scully staying with the mighty Dees, its still a 50/50 scenario. He still hasnt signed to either club for next year. He will sign or he will go. If he was keen to stay on with the Dee's then he could sign for 3 mill over 5 years NOW! Alot of us have said that waiting till the end of the year would allow him to dilegently review all offers and get the best deal possible for his new contact. IMO he has 2 great deals from two clubs, what can change between now and the end of the season that may sway his decision? If there is a factor that could change his mind on staying between now and then (ie. New coach at dees etc) then he clearly isnt totally happy at the dees!If the offers are both true then waiting till the end of the year will achieve nothing IMO. I tend to agree with Range Rover, i'll consider both outcomes as plausable until he signs either way, but theres 2 offers on the proverbial table, the decision is there for the making....

id keep morton for another few years. I cant see the value in trading him. If we had other teams lining up for him with good trade offers then it would be a different story. If he comes good in 1-3 years time it'll have been worth the wait. If he doesnt then we'll have no regrets trading him as a 23-24 year old that didt deliver. In the past we have kept guys like Newton, Dunn, PJ etc etc - no reason why we shouldnt give Cale the same time

I agree with most of your points Artie. On somewhat of a side note, i'm puzzled as to why the Ox would speak out on the Scully saga at all, let alone say that he's gone?

thanks for the heads up Ron Stay classy

Speaking of GWS linked players i heard that Mitch Clark's management were taking to the Saints??

i think it comes down to the FD deciding where guys like Nicho sit in the pecking order with a fully fit list? For example, If Grimes, Davey & Tapscott were all fit, Nicholson might stuggle to get a run? I guess the other issue is whether or not other clubs would pick them up if we didnt upgrade these sorts of promising rookies - that probably has alot to do with which way they would go? Other Consideration is wether our youngsters are better back ups than the guys who we are flagging to delist? Ie. If Cook is betetr than bate or Dunn, then they are certain delists. Like wise if Tom McDonald is better than Warnock then delist Warnock. Im not sure whetehr this is the case just yet though?

What are peoples thoughts on our current crop of Rookies? Would you be looking to to put Nicho or Evans on the Senior List next year, or no big rush? If we do then its obviously two delistings straight off the bat and probably a few more for draft selections? I cant see us trading for a player unless a big name puts their hat in the ring. We are more likley to trade players and a pick for a slightly better pick etc? Possible Delists / Trades; Dunn (possibly wants to go elsewhere if he could get more oppertunities?) Newton (delist) Bate (possibly wants to go elsewhere if he could get more oppertunities?) Warnock (possibly wants to go elsewhere if he could get more oppertunities?) Maric (possibly wants to go elsewhere if he could get more oppertunities?) Jetta (possibly wants to go elsewhere if he could get more oppertunities?) Spencer (might see the writing on the wall with Jamar, Martin and now Gawn all ahead of him?) Aussie (possible delist / rookie downgrade?)

I haven’t seen a great deal of Maric other then the AFL games he's played so I cant comment on his form at Casey. But i like what i see in patches, and yet at other times you just don’t see him! I actually think he's got alot of upside and in many cases has been unlucky to be dropped. If he was playing in the forward line against Richmond or Essendon he may have gotten allot of scoring opportunities? If he was tall and skinny people would hold onto him for years to come. Howe and Petterd showing some form makes it difficult for Maric and Jetta to get back into the 22, but prior to that its seemed to me that Jetta and Maric were playing for the same spot - a small forward/midfielder, probably starting on the bench. Jetta's upside is his tackling. Maric is his goal kicking and I guess field kicking too? Tackling is probably more of a pre-requisite for a small forward in today’s game. The other issue is that we already have Jurrah in the forward 50 who has the agility and goal sense of a small goal sneak and the obvious attributes that no one else has. Problem for Maric is is that Jurrah doesn’t chase or tackle enough either and they are unlikely to play Maric and Jurrah together when they are both perceived to be lacking in this area?

yep i agree with those who say Murphy is bettr than Gibbs. Gibbs doesnt do alot, other than rack up easy posessions. He's one of a handfull of players who is highly rated by many becasue he scores well in peoples dream teams, not because he is a influential player on the field. Rhyse Palmer was another one - i reckon he won the rising star award a few years back becasue he averaged ~100 points in dream team, not because he was good. He butchered the ball every time he got it back then and still does....

Yep gotta agree. Anyone who is a good player or has better than average aspects to their game has the word Elite used to describe them in todays media - over the top IMO. Judd is Elite. Abblett is Elite. To say some one like James Stauss has Elite kicking skills is a massive overstatement IMO I believe insipid probably takes the cake for buzz word of the season. If a team gets flogged they were insipid , even if the definition of the word doesnt acuratley describe the loss. Others; Forward Press Defensive pressure consistancy 4 quarter effort

thanks for telling me what my views are? I have #31 on my jumper (which i bought after his press conference). I argue till im red in the face with my mates when they tell me his is gone. I think he hasnt made a decision yet which is why i dont think he has gone, but yes it is possible that he may choose to walk; He may choose to stay, or he may choose to go. I am able to consider life/MFC without Tom Scully!

Every one of your rebuttals can also be refuted; ONCE IN A LIFE TIME CASH or ~ 7 million over 6 years - how much money does one person need? Whatever counter offer the Dees can bring to the table, he will still be rich and his value can only increase over the next 2 or 3 seasons, so why lock himself in to a 6 year contract? Why not lock yourself in to a long term contract for massive dollars, it is a once in a lifetime oppertunity If he wanted to sign with the club he could have allready - his current contract is not completed until the end of season 2011, so why would he?Many other players have signed on before their contracts expired, what makes tom scully different to these guys? The club wanted to negotiate with him earlier in the season but he has been putting them off - see previous rebuttal. Would you negotiate with your employer when you still have a few months to run on your current contract knowing that the financial environment of the business is changing? Even if you love your employer, you would probably still want to keep your cards close to your chest until you can get the best possible deal with them.?if you were 100% happy with your current employmer and they knew about a hefty job offer that you had been offered, so were then offering you an attractive new contract which paid you more than your piers, i think you would sign on the dotted line out of mutural respect for your peers and the company who see so much in you? He has been linked with a GWS "done deal" by many varied sources since the start of the season - varied sources as opposed to reliable sources..Rumors dont start for no reason Draft concessions / player poaching could set up GWS for success, not dissimilar to MFC list? - move to GWS = one step forward, three steps back and no guarantees of success.No guarantees of success at the Dees either Potential to forge a culture with a young list - break away from the percevied issues with MFC's leadership group / team culture (which he is rumoured to be unhappy with) - chance to positively influence the culture at his current club as opposed to going to a new club where there are no guarantees the culture would not be any better, and could conceivably be worse.Easier to build culture from scratch than it is to change a pre existing one Point being there are no hard facts on either side of the arguement

IMO its value judgements against value judgements. Its romantic to believe he will "make the right decision" or weigh up the offers and consider more than just dollar value, but we dont know what he will (or has) chosen. Its realistic to think that there is a chance that he might go. As i said before i think its noble that you all fly the "saint tom" flag which schwabby has also been flying, but i feel that many one hear are so wrapped up in support of the MFC that they wont even consider that the rumours are true and that he has gone. And as for maintaining his stance on wanting to stay, i dont know if he has? He did a press conference months ago where he said he wanted to stay but would make a decision at the end of the year, and that he hasnt spoken to GWS but would "have to" consider the offers if true. There is a big difference betweem wanting to stay at a point in time midseason, and rejecting millions of dolalrs and staying. The year is roling on and the offers seem to be legit based on Callan Wards price tag. IMO 98% of players who hold off negotiations arent happy with where they are or what they have got; there is a possibility the rumours are true.

I belive that if the offer really is 7 million over 6 years then there is nothing our club can do to keep a great talent who has not signed anything yet.

again, it all comes down to the presumption that Scully has been in no way deceptive. I hope this is the case, but i'm happy to atleast consider the alternatives and brace myself for life post Scully... Call it the outlook of typical MFC supporter if you like, but IMO its just a balanced way of looking at things. Reasons for believing Scully is staying His family are in melbourne He did a press conference which alluded to him wanting to stay He has always said he would discuss contracts at the end of the year so no reason to be alarmed Promising list of players at MFC rpfc is sure about it and he is the gospel on all things MFC reasons for being sceptical about Scully staying ONCE IN A LIFE TIME CASH or ~ 7 million over 6 years If he wanted to sign with the club he could have allready The club wanted to negotiate with him earlier in the season but he has been putting them off He has been linked with a GWS "done deal" by many varied sources since the start of the season Draft concessions / player poaching could set up GWS for success, not dissimilar to MFC list? Potential to forge a culture with a young list - break away from the percevied issues with MFC's leadership group / team culture (which he is rumoured to be unhappy with) Money talks....

I think its very noble of you to be flying the "Saint Tom" flag, and i hope you are right, but just imagine for a second that maybe he has been deceptive? I know the kid has been given some great character references but this is probably the biggest decision he has had to make is his life. He's in a very difficult situation where if he has signed a in principal agreement or similar, to come forward and admit it to the club and his team mates would be huge; He would be letting so many people down. If he has signed and isn’t able to deal with it with 100% honestly and transparency i wouldn’t be surprised - even for such a great kid it would be such a hard situation to come clean about? I have no experence in the following example but i would guess its a awkwardly similar situation; It would be like having a relationship with your best mates missus. You wouldnt be able to look your mate in the face and tell him until they had broken up and you were an item. Even then it would be tough to deal with. If scully has signed with GWS, i cant imagine him telling Jimmy or Schwaby or the players until he is wearing a Orange and Grey polo doing a press conference with Sheedy at the end of the season. On the flip side, if he has nothing to hide there is absolutley no reason not to put pen to paper. I'm sure MFC have offered him some pretty attractive contract packages allready so i cant imagine that waiting another couple of months until the end of the year will change much. This is all hypothetical of course but there are alternatives that are possible other than him signing another contract with the Dees. I think you should atleast consider them?

I'm over the this. Every footy article & every footy show rehashes the same rumours. It somehow become news worthy again becasue they've heard the rumour again from a new "reliable source". Where there is smoke their is fire and if you cant see the smoke the you've got your head in the clouds (where everything looks like smoke/clouds). Im at the point where i think i'll conceed that he is gone so that if he doesnt go its a bonus

i did the ladder predictor and if we beat the suns, tigers and port twice i think we can scrape into 8th position (10 wins and a draw). Bulldogs 9th with 10 wins.

Players who have maintained high standards IMO are; Moloney Jordie McKenzie Jamar Sylvia Jones Garland Bail (very consistant until injured) Martin Trengove Scully

They havent played footy at the WACA since the year 2000. The Wiz was still playing for us and Tony Modra was playing at the Dockers?

IF he can recapture his best form he can play where ever he likes! Big IF though! at his best - Midfield / Half Back At current 2011 form - Forward pocket or Midfield for Casey

Thats what i think. Unless they arent interested in current stars and only want palyers who will be coming into their prime at the same stage as theur young list?

ive heard from people who play at the same WAFL club as Palmer that he has signed, so he could be the one that GWS are saying they have allready done the deal with? Would also explain why he hasnt been given a run in the Dockers until recently even with all of the injury woes

think its on @ 8.30 pm in WA? (after better homes and gardens...)