FarNorthernD

45,000+ expected to pack Etihad today. Would be awful

I think I must be one of the few on here who is stunned to find there are AFL players who still smoke. I can't reconcile the life of an elite player and all the emphasis and education on health with smoking cigarettes. It is just stupid and to do so in public is even more so. It sort of like Jesse just doesn't care.

Just edit your original post to 'no Tim has played for the MFC..........in the past 100 years'. It is still a glorious stat.

10,000th post Abe. I hope you are right re Oliver Salem etc

No defensive pressure? He will fill Hogan's spot perfectly

Jake Lever would be nice but for what it would cost I would rather have the Mc bros as our tall backs and go for another up and coming mid.

If we get to the finals over the next couple of years, which is looking more likely than not, the MFC should build a statue for Roos. In a decades time his legacy will be spoken of in hushed tones. He dragged our club from being a laughing stock irrelevance to competitive to challengers. The opinions of a couple of disgruntled players matters not one iota.

And >1,000 ahead of North now too.

But it is so counterproductive if you are sitting in the stand following week(s). Does anyone actually believe that off the ball stuff had a positive effect for us? Attack the ball hard, attack them hard when they have the ball but leave the cheap shots out of it The only thing unsociable about it is you don't get to run around with your mates the next Saturday

I have wondered if you could get get enough signatures asking for Dwayne not to cover our games if the broadcasters would actually listen

I'll be interested to hear your first impressions of Flipper KC

Yep having Kelly would pretty much complete the midfield rebuild.

It is very early days and Paddy has had his fair share of injuries that have no doubt held him back but I think of him as a poor mans Jesse Hogan. McCartin is a good mark but not as good as Hogan, Hogan has better hands, a bigger engine that allows him to play up the ground (and in the centre now) and Jesse's reading of the play/footy IQ is off the charts. They have a similar strike rate when kicking for goal. Overall you can imagine MCartin will be a good footballer so this pick isn't in the Toumpas/Wines league but would they have been better choosing Petracca? Absolutely

I thought that was a massive call but you are right. Sadly when you work through it being the best midfielder for the MFC over the past few decades isn't a high bar to get over. If he gets over N. Jones then he probably has Viney X 2, Junior, Bruce, Johnstone, Moloney, McLean, Tingay, Woewodin, Wells and Lovett well covered too (I've no doubt missed a few) We just haven't had a midfielder of the quality of a Voss, Buckley, Judd, Hird, Matthews, Dangerfield or Fyfe. It is only Clayton's 15th game this Sunday but if anyone is going to challenge for the best Melbourne mid in memory it most likely will be him

Probably one of the few benefits of barracking for a smaller club is not having to be part of the massive human migration to the G each week which is part and parcel of a Collingwood supporters lot. No waiting for beers, fighting your way through the toothless hordes or missing the first couple of minutes of the last quarter because you had to line up to use the loo. No, we are much more civilised lot. Quality over quantity And by the way BBO I enjoyed your contribution to the Demonland podcast although I was picturing you on the phone with your feet up, patting the lads whilst admiring your fishnet stockings. It was unusually disturbing

I agree and the most important aspect is that none of those currently injured are first ten picked. I do worry for Hibberd though. He has the ability to wander into the "automatically picked each week" category and at his best could make a real positive difference to the side. However his achilles injury coupled with spending a year out of the game and I wouldn't be completely surprised to not see him in Melbourne colours till after the bye.

I would be stoked if they went with three talls. Aside from the 2 Macs I would not try to match up on them, would just run off them all match

Does anyone know if three father-sons in one team is a record?

The coaches like Clarry too. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-03-27/aflca-votes-round-one

I think it was WJ who earlier this year posted an article on another group who predicted who would go up the ladder and who down. Apparently they predicted the rise of the Bulldogs a couple of years ago. Whatever the system was could be used for any sport. Their two improvers this season were the Tigers and Us. And the team most likely to fall was ......Collingwood. I did like that article.

Yep I reckon the less media attention that Jesse gets the more he will like it. No more $15m dollar man and being touted the best forward in a generation. I'm guessing the lower his profile and the more attention some equally talented team mates get the happier he will be plying his trade. He will always attract a certain amount of media being an insanely talented, contested marking prodigal freak but think he is content to fly under the radar as much as possible

Hopefully our AFLW team has broadened our membership base Old Dee. Perhaps worth 500-1,000 new fresh air members?

With Garland, Frost, Smith and Hibberd available O Mac is certain to play

Was speaking to two fellow passionate, lifetime Melbourne supporters last night. We all agreed that we should keep the lid on so we are talking finals but not premierships yet

The Anzac Eve game V the Tigers is turning into a good rivalry. Think it can only get bigger over time.