FarNorthernD

I’m as bullish as anyone about our chances this year but that list doesn’t scream midfield dominance over too many sides. Jones, Oliver and Viney are a good starting group but after that young blokes with potential who are yet to prove themselves as full time mids (Petracca, Brayshaw and Salem), old blokes who are past their prime (Lewis and Vince), a few who are unlikely to be anymore than midfield pinch hitters (Hogan, Bugg, Baker, Maynard, Stretch, Melksham and Hannan). Then there is Tyson who can get the ball fine but would have to be one of the worst left foot kicks in the game. Across the 3 groups (backs, fwds, mids) it is the midfielders that concern me the most.

@Drunkn167 how is Declan coping with the pre-season so far? What group is he training with? I would be interested to know. Thankyou in advance

Yep, fair enough too. Watts was always such a bastard and desperate to leave the club

Thanks Skuit - that’s it, the Chris Sullivan line. 7 goals plus. As for revenge I wouldn’t be upset if Melbourne beat GWS in the GF with unfashionable Cam Pedersen breaking a Tom Scully tackle to kick the winning goal.

Only four goals up in the last quarter and I’m staring at probable defeat. The excellent blog ‘Every Day is Sunday’ has a historical number that we have to be ahead by for defeat to be definitely averted. He calls it the Bernie Massey line, no that’s not it, the David Cordner line, nup, the Ragnar Lothbrok line? Whatever it is called and however many it is, 24 points isnt enough for a MFCSS remission. Seven goals perhaps?

The beauty of Demonland rjay. I must admit I see Dom going the other way and struggling for a midfield place. Plus it is difficult to see him playing half back although perhaps he could play forward. Either way you are right I think, it is make or break year for Dom.

I like the story Coombes tells of his Norwood supporting mate, Fester, who is so annoyingly vocal from the boundary that opposition players spit on him as they run up the race.

The thing I find interesting is that I haven’t seen this thread for many months but now that I have I find my dislike for Essendon is as strong as ever.

I must admit I thought he was older. At only 26 years old and 79 games on the clock Maxy will be in his prime over the next 4 years. With all the other young blokes around the 40-90 games mark perhaps the football gods will finally smile on us.

Absolutely agree. Two weeks before the finals we were all trying to manipulate the ladder predictor so as to play Richmond in the first week. Like the Bulldogs the year before they hit a good vein of form at the right time of year. I can quite easily see them fall outside the eight in 2018.

Clarry and Petracca in patches have. Others will

The AFL.com view on the matter. It is relatively balanced. Commando Hawks show up the Demons With every iteration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the players have gained more rights and more power. And given they're the ones putting on the show, that's fair enough. It is in the pre-season where the players' new collective muscle is most on display. They have won major concessions in recent years when it comes to summer training, in terms of when it starts and hours per week at their clubs. The coaches have learned to live with, if not entirely love it. But has the balance shifted too far in favour of the players? It is a reasonable suggestion in the wake of the 14 Melbourne players who, with the assistance of the AFL Players Association, got the Demons to cancel their pre-Christmas training camp. It was at this camp 12 months ago that incoming coach Simon Goodwin made good on his promise to instill a harder edge at the Demons. The camp included all sorts of gruelling activities that left Christian Salem with concussion courtesy of an errant brick and Dom Tyson with a knee injury. Now, perhaps because this is the quietest time of the football year, this story created a few headlines, with SEN broadcasters Danny Frawley and Cam Mooney both chiming in with criticisms of the players. Frawley called the Demons "a bit of a laughing stock" and while his view is shared by many, what complicates matters is that he is on the coaching staff at St Kilda as a defensive assistant coach. Is he calling out Melbourne as a) fill-in breakfast host, b) Saints assistant, or c) former boss of the AFL Coaches Association? There are waters and right now, they are muddied. Whether or not the Demons come back a bit battered and bruised from a December training camp probably won't matter all that much when it comes to how they perform next season. They're a team on the rise, stacked with emerging talent and they should be playing with an edge in any event given their soft finish to 2017. They're due. But let's compare them with Hawthorn. The Hawks have worked their players over on the Sunshine Coast this time every year for the last few years and the camp has always been anything but idyllic, but lest the players start to feel too comfortable in the Queensland heat, earlier this month the club decamped instead to Lord of the Rings country in southern New Zealand.

95% of me knows this has been completely overblown and will have no effect on next season. A lesson learnt and dealt with. Finals bound we are. The other MFCSS 5% of me is being visited by ghosts of Christmas Neelds past. The good times are over before they begin as infighting and low moral cause us to drop back down to the bottom four. It would be such a Melbourne thing to happen.

Thought this maybe an opportune time for a happy bump Harrison Petty. Strengths:Intercept markingReads the flight of the ball earlyTakes marks at highest pointClean at ground levelEffective ball userComposure with ball in handRate of improvementStrong performances from limited exposure I am very much looking forward to seeing how this guy develops. Big upside

So what do you think, assuming a reasonable run with injuries, is a pass mark in 2018? Top 4, top 6, 8 or ten?

Not exactly a high bar to get over. The guy has been handed a team that should contend for finals spots for the next half decade at least. The team is in the perfect age and games bracket and the talent available to him far outstrips anything available to previous coaches. Next year will only be Goodwins second year coaching and I have no doubt he will get better in the role with more experience. So far though for every good team achievement; wins away against Adelaide and West Coast there has been a corresponding shocker. The drovers dog should be able to take this team to finals next year and it will certainly be worrying signs if he doesn’t.

My father was a passionate supporter. At his wake the last song played was the Grand Old Flag. All my cousins and their kids barrack for the Dees. As do my sister and her kids. My niece married into a Melbourne supporting family last year. At the wedding their were perhaps 150 guests and it was a struggle to find someone who didn’t barrack for the red and blue. Again the night closed with a couple of rousing renditions of the song. It was huge. My nephews wedding next year will be similar. The only family disappointment is my brother who is a football philistine who, I think, believes he is above all that nonsense. Fortunately his oldest inherited the Melbourne gene. For all the years of pain and disappointment I love being Melbourne

This kid, and he still is a kid, is the most important player at the club.

From 2005 when Elton John married David Furness

Some of you are taking this way too seriously. Watts is supporting his new team just like Lever, Lewis, Frost, Bugg, Tyson, Garlett, McKenna, Vince, Hibberd and Melksham do for us now. Double standards abound.

Put him in the 2018 team and we are complete

You are right I also forgot to put Hunt on the list. 22 years old and 41 games

I sort of agree with that but I don’t think we were any realistic chance before this year - too young and too inexperienced. The problem between the ears I feel comes down to leadership. Jones, the fine servant he has been, doesn’t seem to be able to make a difference when games start to go against us. I think this is why Viney was promoted early last year and I think he was sorely missed in round 23 this year.

Agree. This is the list that best indicates where Melbourne may go Hogan 23 y.o at the beginning of 2018 season. 51 games played Salem 22 years 46 games Petracca 22 years 39 games Viney 24 years 88 games Lever 22 years 56 games Brayshaw 22 years 36 games Tyson 24 years 90 games Oliver 21 years 35 games Stretch 21 years 36 games ANB 22 years 34 games Harmes 22 years 44 games OMac 22 years 37 games I know that all Clubs have good young players but that is a dozen good to very good players who are about to reach a 4-5 year sweet spot. Gawn, TMac, Garlett, Jetta, Melksham and Hibberd are all young enough and good enough to play for most of that time too. We really should be giving it a fair nudge anytime from next season on.

Not a comment on The situation Colin finds himself in but it must be difficult making the transition from full time footballers to civilians particularly if you haven’t planned ahead. You go from making 100’s of thousands of dollars a year and in an environment where you are told where to be, what to eat and when to exercise. You have the mateship and adrenaline. Your picture is in the papers and your playing deeds are featured on the tele each week. You can get into any night club in the country and people who wouldn’t normally pay you any attention hang off your every word just because you play football And then all that is gone, literally overnight. The rivers of gold stop and the security of being micro managed ends. I remember reading an article (by perhaps Tim Boyle) who, after retiring, was amazed how quickly his body went from being elite athlete back to normal person. Not only do they do it physically but socially and possibly financially they become mere mortals. Psychologically that must be a confusing trip.