Maldonboy38

His talent is unquestioned. His ability to produce it consistently at AFL level is proven to be non-existent. His issues are NOT only between his ears. It is also about the depth of his talent. He reaches the limits of his ability at VFL/SANFL/WAFL level. Let's leave him there.

Richard Tambling, eh!?!?..... speechless! Some people need to learn inner monologue and not share every insane, psychotic, momentary "brilliant insight" with people around them.

I am enjoying watching us develop a hard line dose of mongrel, all wrapped up in the polite, calm exterior of three men - Jackson, Batrlett and Roos. We have never seen them ruffled, speaking from emotion, getting caught out by a tough question, moaning or whinging. But beneath congenial exterior lies a hard, aggressive heart beat that is impossible to shift or worry. The last time this attitude emanated from our great club was when Northey was coach. He was often polite and calm in the media but a full dose of coaching mongrel existed behind closed doors. (He was one of the greatest coaching spray-ers of all time). But I will not place a crown on Roos' head, a laurel of ivy on his head, a halo above him or any other expression of transcendence until we start beating top four sides and playing finals. Even if this is 4 years away I cannot ever again fully buy in emotionally at the appointment of a coach just to get my heart ripped out. What I am enjoying is the feelings of genuine hope, and seeing other clubs beginning to rally against us as we become aggressive, business like and success oriented.

What is interesting this time is the amount of really good assistant coach candidates that are looking to step up to senior assistant or take on a senior coaching role. I remember 2 or 3 years ago the pickings looked lean and frugal. But I am trying to sort out rumour from fact (yeah, I know, good luck with that) and stick with what officials from MFC have actually said. From memory, in one way or another, MFC have confirmed having spoken to Dew, Tudor, Burns, Lade & Simpson. Any others that we KNOW have been spoken to? Is Tadg Kennelly one of the prospects? Have the MFC ever confirmed that Kirk has been approached or is it that they won't say they have until Freo exit the finals? It also sounds like George Stone is a lock in. I can't wait for next Monday when the Dees for 2014 starts to take shape.

So many variables and computations. The foundation stones for this draft/trade period are : 1.Our desperate need for a massive and immediate increase in midfield class and ability. A ready-to-go primed midfielder (Swallow, Sloane etc...) A young potential young midfielder (Aish etc...) Watts being hinted as a midfielder Cross as a possible DFA 2. The possible trade of Sylvia, Jamar and maybe Blease, Tapscott, others... 3. We need to look back and see Roos' history at the draft/trade. How did he go about getting Richards, Shaw, Mattner, etc...? What did he let go to get them? Players like Hanneberry, Luke Parker, Reid - what number were they drafted or were there other draft trades involved?

OK - I know 2013 was living hell, but all this Brad Miller angst is unbelievable. He wasn't the best on our list but he was also far from our worst. Cut him some slack. PJ and Roos see something in him. Denis Pagan - average to poor footballer but great coach Tom Hafey - average footballer but great coach Alistair Clarkson - ok footballer but great coach And I would have him back as the whiteboard wiper if it meant seeing Pia around the traps again. There is prettiness, girl-next-door prettiness, voluptuous sex queen, beauty...and then there is Pia.

I reckon he has reached A grade this year. He is not an Ablett, Pendlebury or Selwood but the potential might be there. Apart from all the in-and-under grunt he shows each week, he is a magnificent kick, feeds the ball out with creativity, and brings others into the play.

Leoncelli may have rally enjoyed Daniher's coaching as many of us did, but I think he is not giving Balme some credit which is his due. The'94 Dees team - with all fit and firing - is still the best Dees team I have seen. I was more devastated about the Prelim loss that year than I was about the GF in 1988. We had a team capable of anything, but injuries simply killed off the talent. You can't get to a Prelim by being unfit and lazy in comparison to the teams around you. Lyon, Tingay, Ox, Jakovich all injured!!! Oh, what could have been.

The Darwin training has its roots in military philosophy. You take the group to an extreme environment, take them to the edge of physical, social, mental and emotional exhaustion and test the calibre of their decision making, mental toughness, team work etc... Darwin is the perfect place for this and I hope they do it again. I don't reckon Roos will do it unless the sponsorship deal is a lock-in. I don't think Apollo Bay and Sandringham are "extreme". Unless, in the case of Sandringham, you are talking an extreme amount of Beamers, Mercs and Audis, and an extreme amount of 30+ blonded mums driving black Volvo xc90's, having massages and drinking lattes. I should know I work in the area.

Swallow and Sloane. To join established mids N Jones & Trengove Plenty of upside for big improvements in Viney, Toumpas, McKenzie, Evans, and maybe Kent and Barry. We should at least be able to compete with midfields from most other clubs.

FItzy for sure. Garland has been on a strong, upward curve for some time. I thought Evans was a monty for most improved but he got injured and Fitzy went roaring past him. Looking forward to Evans and Fitzy next year.

Very interesting reading. I am a huge Sloane fan but would have thought that Martin was well ahead on many of those stats. However, I reckon Sloane emerges from this comparison with a much better overall position. The tackles, marking and contested possession favour Sloane with some strength.

My daughter and 2 sons have been members for about 4 years. It has been a real battle to keep the interest going. When the renewals came this week, my daughter smiled and said "can't wait to get my membership and see what Roos does". Even if the improvement is a long time coming, I will thanks Mr Roos for giving my kids hope.

Swallow.

Andrew Swallow over both of them.

I see a major reshuffling for the top 8 and bottom 8. A lot of clubs have huge potential to climb, and many have the equal possibility to slide. Saints for Wooden Spoon, but I have to wait and see the trade/draft period first. I think Saints and GWS will struggle, with the Lions not far behind unless they can stem the flow of young talent leaving. And Pug from above, the use of Latin such as yours reeks of the Sphinx out of Mystery Men. But you are correct none-the-less. The counting of chickens is a very stupid thing to do.

This kid could be anything but it is a big no from me. Effective, strong, skillful, grunt - check Comes from a great mentoring system - check. Dose of mongrel - big check. But he has personal connections/relationships into areas of society that are putrid (similar to Jake King) and we are bringing that over into our group. After everything else MFC has done to itself over the past 7 years, please not this also. If Dustin wants to make it in football and in life, he needs to move out of Victoria away from his family who are the biggest, main influence for him being the dysfunctional young man he is. Same reason he should not go near Sydney.

Luke Parker please. But like Geelong, I reckon these players are prepared to be paid below their value just to stay at a club that functions so well, and does not drop out of the 8 when it is rebuilding. It would need to be family reasons/homesickness etc.. to prise them out of the Swans.

Those putting Jamar and Jolly in the same class have serious discernment issues. Jolly is a gun, make no mistake. Jamar is great when on but he is rarely on. I think MFC would be really unwise to move any of Gawn (who will reach potential in 2014), Spencer or Fitzpatrick. We have put a lot of time and energy into them and we will see reward in 2014. The problem seems to be that for both Jamar and Jolly, their best is behind them. I wouldn't be too disappointed if we recruited Jolly, but only if Jamar was moved on. But the real value of Jolly would be as a ruck coach.

Is it too hard for Demonlanders to present their views, debate with others, discuss the pros and cons without vitriol, personal attacks on other posters, or ruining threads with pointless tangents? 2013 has been a shocker as a Dees supporter and sometimes the only connection to the season that gave me any pleasure were some of the discussions on this site. For the love of all things sacred drop the horrible aggressive rubbish and stop ruining other people's experiences on this forum. Ollie Wines is a a very good young footballer who is ahead in his development over other draftees like Toumpas. He plays a tough, in and under brand of footy and can keep his head in big moments. However, he played a poor game last night. Toumpas is a silky skilled, outside player who we want with the ball coming through wing/half forward. Once his inside/grunt footy develops he will be a 200+ game for the Dees.

A statement like this has been begging for some time - congrats Choko - you are the first who could not resist the temptation!

Swallow is my choice. We need an instant lift to our midfield and he is bordering on A grade currently, probably running at A-. With Swallow, Jones, Trengove and the developing Viney and Kent, it means we have the physical capacity to stay in and around the contested ball or stoppages and not be instantly pushed aside. An Swallow is a renowned defensive spread player and this is our major midfield weakness. How many times have we seen 2 - 3 opposition players running forward of the stoppage and only 1 demon defender chasing? My preference: 1. Swallow 2. Sloan 3. Adams

Royal was a very, very good midfielder in a time when he was called a rover and rested in the forward pocket. He had a distinctive kicking action, wasn't a long kick but was a very good kick. Often playing on muddy grounds he could go all day, and seemed to run across the mud easily. He was a bit yappy - we might call him a sledger .

Have a look at Roos' record at Sydney. Trouble-makers either change quickly or don't get a game. They even made it difficult for Big Bad Barry to get a game after his Staker hit. There is no way Roos would recruit a culture-poor player like Didak.

When Ratten was at MFC our midfield looked to be improving. Even when Scott West was midfield coach there were signs of life and improvement. During Royal's second stint there have been diminishing skills, lack of grunt, and being killed at stoppages. I am so glad he is gone.