FarNorthernD

Once every season or two for the past forty years, i convince my self that the umpiring I am watching is so poor, so inconsistent and so blatantly against Melbourne that when I wake up the next morning there will be headlines in all the papers screaming for the umpires heads and a public apology from the AFL for completely rorting the MFC. For good measure they have gone back through past games and awarded us points retrospectively.........But then sometimes I also realise for every perfectly reasonable and obvious free a Melbourne player is paid there is someone else in the crowd that thought it was a twiggy touchwood 50/50 free that shouldn't have been paid at all. Umpires can't win and never will. Even if all three have a blinder and umpire the perfect game one set of supporter (but probably both) will feel hardly done by. We need to encourage more umpires through the system but really who wants that level of abuse in their lives.

Fundraising calls are often out sourced. I used to but those $100 raffle tickets each year and whilst the sales people flogging the ticket had the Melbourne patter they weren't employed by the club Perhaps the guy you spoke to just thought that Roos had signed for the extra year but then maybe he really has in which case I'll start celebrating heavily

I must admit I didn't realise how good he was going to be. He makes his wage by his on field stuff alone but his real value, I believe, has been as a role model. We have had a serious vacuum in leadership over the past decade and Daniel is an example for not only the younger players to follow but a template for our current leaders. His preparation and dedication are second to none and apparently is a fine human being as well. I can understand why the Bulldogs let him go but they pretty much gave us their version of Junior McDonald.

I am a fan of Chip but given some incremental improvement in McDonald's disposal and Jesse tracking how the Club expect him to, if you had to lose one then No.8 would be the first out the door.

You summed it up for me there Bob. I can have diametrically opposed views on Tom from one game to another. Hell sometimes within the same passage of play I can go from wild enthusiasm for his defence work to abject despair over his disposal. But let's face it we all knew that when he went down against Riewoldt in round 1 that it was probably going to be game changing. We would have won that match if he didn't get injured. If his kicking was even a 7/10 then you could comfortably assume he would be a fair shot at AA CHB for the next half decade. The MFC will be desperate to get his signature but hopefully Tom can spend less time in the offseason gut running and more spent on honing his disposal

I met one of the Swans academy coaches yesterday who is mates with Roos and who spoke to him a week or so ago. I asked him if, given recent results, if Roos was still happy taking up the MFC coaching reins. He said that Paul is a "coaching fiend" and loves being a coach. We spoke briefly about Frawley and he had no idea if he was going to stay or not but said that free agency favoured the stronger clubs and the weaker clubs were always going to pay over the odds to keep or attract players Re Hogan. As just a football supporter without any great industry knowledge I have more concerns about Hogan than most here particularly regarding his marking and kicking. The Swans academy coach however believes the Club has huge faith in Jesse and getting his signature on the two year extension is a key plank in the rebuild. They have very high hopes for him I know there is nothing new here but I found it interesting to talk from someone close to Roos and thought some others here may find the same

And Alberto Contador, a bloke who has lost a Tour de France win a few years ago after being found guilty of doping, is one of the favourites for this years event.

Watching the Freo game yesterday one of the few players that gave me hope for the future was this bloke. Yes, I know he only got the ball 11 times and his disposal wasn't brilliant at 55% but he has something about him. He's quick, loves to run, loves to kick a goal, possesses a raking left foot and has toughness to go with the skills. I know I'm going early on a bloke who has only payed 21 games but I think he has the skills and temperament that would thrive under finals pressure. Either way I know I become less of a morose bastard when the footy is in Dean's hands

Yes, the question now is not if he will stay but if we want him to. He had a shocker and to rub salt into the wound his 19 year old, first year player kicks the winning goal on him

Yes it is a wierd world. Barry was the add on in the Hogan deal. Given the relative profile of each of those players it is astounding that Dom debuts before Jesse. But Dom does have some Rolls Royce smoothness about him and if he continues to develop could almost become as big a Demon faithful favourite as Jesse. Good luck to him

So I wonder if anyone at all thought you were referring to Grimes?

Surely not too difficult a task Goffy. Do you have to look further than our opponents of last week?

Not a JKH fan?

Not too many years later the "Bears" went onto three peat. We got the beginning of a fab 4 and a young Jono Brown sitting on the sidelines at the moment. I'll take that analogy

By memory Dom was keen but it was GWS who knocked back Richmond's offer

They took the drugs orally?

At least you were close Daryl. I thought Scully would stay and become an elite midfielder. Who do I apologise to for that thought process?

Hogan Less sewing Wont have to think about a number change again until 2026

It doesn't really matter who you play on Cloke. I suspect Tom Mc will get first dibs but if Travis is on song running Darth Vader out of the square with him won't help. He is too big and too strong overhead for anyone we have got. We just have to hope he has one of his off days.

We have some players to get signatures from in the short term but how good is it not have to worry about Tyson's again until 2017. He's probably underpaid already

Two things I took from that interview 1) Jack spoke well and answered questions honestly and thoughtfully. He did much better than some on here have given him credit for. His name is always going to associated with QB, through no fault of his own, and it would be fantastic for him if he was an important player in a Melbourne victory on Monday 2) Gerard Healey is a self important knobhead of the highest order. Was wishing Jack would reach over and snot him

Looking forward to next week I'm hoping that Cam's highish hit on a Port player doesn't cost him I'd hate to lose him for next week. He is in the top 5 of our most important players (and that is possible the first time anyone has used that sentence)

Thanks for that Georgiou Supplementary Q. if I may Why does the player who kicks a goal immediately run off to the bench?

I would agree if it was a choice between Cameron or Shiel and the cost was the same. However if you could get Shiel you would still have salary cap room for another quality mid. Whichever club gets Cameron will also have to hand over more in draft picks and/or a required player. The game is about mids. We need to get a top 4 quality midfield in place. That and a sound defence will finals matches

Cameron is a wonderful player and will be for many years, but as Bomba said on 360 recently you can get away with an average forward line and win flags. For us it is still about mids, mids and more mids. Quality tall ones that can deliver to our version of Cam Mooney. In theory I would rather spend the salary cap space on two or three up and coming mids rather than betting the farm on Cameron. Those multi year, multi million dollar deals aren't the path to sustained success