Maldonboy38

2 outside midfielders with exceptional pace, who are alsostrong enough to commit the body when they need to. Isaac Smith - Hawthorn. Jetta - Swans. Thomas - Pies. Gaff - WCE. Looking forward to Taggart in 2013 I want Toumpas but won't get him.

There are more factors involved, but it is no concidence that so many of the mediocre players from the 186 game have been delisted, Rivers aside. One of Neeld's main mentors is Blight - look what he did at Adelaide. What is interesting is that Neeld hasn't gone only to the draft, but has traded for players to replace many of them, and these players are fringe players from other clubs. Big bodies appears to be his main recruiting philosophy for this stage of the development of the list.

No to all of them. I am still unconvinced about Rodan and he is leaps ahead of all these from the Pies.

On TV a few years ago when channel 10 were still boradcasting footy, Blight was asked what do you do to immediatley fix problems in a team that has been down for a long period. His answer was immediate and frank. He said, you look through the stats - those players who always play badly when the team gets flogged - and delist them. I am not sure how this stacks up with what Neeld is doing at the moment, but considering Blight is one of Neeld's mentors I can see this philosophy been one factor in the heap of trades and delistings. Perhaps with the exception of Rivers, players like Bennell, Petterd, Bate, Moloney, have all played poorly in a lot of floggings over the past 4-5 years. Others like Gysbert, Cook and Morrton don't match his clear emnphasis on body size. Neeld is very much in control now.

Because Jetta and Couch are great trainers and have a genuine red hot go at the ball. Both Neeld and Craig love these attributes. Jetta has been dogged with injuries and we have seen little of his best. We could lose Couch without too much sleep, but Jetta has a bit of mongrel and dare about him that our best 22 lacks. I had him in my best 22 until the acquisition of Shannon Byrnes. Byrnes, Jetta and Rodan might be fighting for the same place.

The delistings seem accurate, and few surprises. I don't undertand the love for Williams and the dislike of Davis. I saw a lot of Casey in 2012 and Davis can at least play really good footy at VFL level. Not once did Williams impress, although I thought he was a good rookie pick-up in the preseason, being so big and strong. Sad about Bate and Petterd. At their best they are both decent footballers. Both will find another home, unless Petterd has some poor training/application reputation. I thought the predicted 10 - 13 delisting/changes would be too many and we have ended up with 15. Neeld was not impressed with what he found here last year, was he! Preseason is going to be very interesting this year. I will try and get down to Aami on Monday to have a look. It will look and feel very different to last year.

B: Strauss Frawley Garland HB: Dunn Watts McDonald C: Trengove Jones Howe HF: Pederson Dawes Byrnes F: Davey Clark Tapscott R: Jamar Grimes Sylvia I: Gawn McKenzie Blease Viney

Unleash, read over my post again and notice the little phrases I use, such as "it feels" and "to me", and you will quickly see that I am giving my opinion about facts, but not stating my opinion as facts. And nothing I wrote is an accusation. My opinion is that Rodan offers little and Gysberts has suffered from injury rather than poor application.

Woke up this morning after a sleep in, read the paper with breakfast, and finally decided to check out what's news on Demonland. Is this Syria or Demonland? I can't believe people are so angry after a trading period - it feels like civil war!! The basis of our trading looks simple to me: we have a new half-forward line of Pederson, Dawes and Byrnes and this shows how Neeld views the forward line of 2012. The basis of the ND brings in Viney, Barry and probably another young, gun midfielfer with pick 4. Again, this shows that Neeld thinks our midfield is OK in parts - Trengove, Jones, Grimes - but it needs more spark and run. Getting rid of Gysberts was a mistake and bringing in Rodan was a mistake, but at the very least I can see a strategy, a plan. Is it brilliant? Not really but I think I can see what Neeld id doing. But it is a lot better than seeing the continual non-development in Morton, Bennell, Bate, Gysberts, Petterd etc... and shuffling deck-chairs on the Titanic.

Who is delsited from our remaining list is now fully dependant on how many of our National Draft selections we will take. Davey is going nowhere and nor should he. If we use all 5 of our ND selction then it means spaces need to be made on our list.

Under 74kgs please proceed to the changerooms. Over 74kgs... one cross each, first door to the left.

I agree Hulk. Neeld has shown a very clear hand of what he wants, and has been uncompromising in his focus. Big mature bodies, or mature disciplined minds. If Wines is available at pick 4,MFC will swoop. My prefernce is for Toumpas but he will be gone by pick four and I reckon Neeld will aim for Wines anyway.

I feel a little bit the same, but I am a lot angrier with our player development staff than I am with our recruiters. I have no problem recruiting players like Morton, Gysberts and Cook. At the time, most clubs would have had them rated at about the position MFC drafted them. Gysberts aside - who didn't develop mainly through injury - we develop mediocre footballers. Mick Malthouse annoys the carp out of me but I will give him this: he turns boys into men who become aggressive, talented, hard working footballers. Colin Sylvia is the most obvious MFC case in point. Can you imagine him at Geelong, Hawthorn, WCE? Why did the Club/Board/L:eadership allow our player development to remain so poor for so long without action?

I really like what MFC and Neeld have done during trade period and at one stage I was in favour of Pederson. But I remain unconvinced about him. I can't see him fitting in to our 22 easily, and we seem to have gone from no power forwards to a surplus. But I am an outside observer and will try and see a plan emerging from our coaching and recruiting staff. So Pedro, welcome to MFC. And I have a horrible feeling that Gysberts will do at North what Thompson did at Adelaide.

We don't NEED Pederson. He will be a stop-gap player when a big body like Clark, Dawes, Sellar or Frawley are injured. Gysberts should be kept. He has a lot of untapped potential, but he must get fitter and bigger.

Trengove. He is really angry and disappointed about 2012 and I reckon he is bursting to show he is a bloody good footballer. B&F beckons. Blease. His last 5 games of 2012 were outstanding and with another preseason, we will see a genuine superstar emerge. Frawley. If our midfield improves even 20% and actually helps out with defensive pressure, Frawley will become Scarlett-like. He will have more freedom to run and set up attack for play makers like Watts, Trengove, Jones and Davey.

Can't say I am unhappy to see Morton looking for opportunity elsewhere. I am one who thought he had all the qualities of being an exceptional player, but he has worn out any kudos he might have earnt through lack of application. He goes down n history as another naturally gifted player who couldn't make the leap from being a great junior into a consistent AFL performer. However, MFC's dysfunctional player development over the past decade probably contributed.

Hated Alves and Wells leaving. Two very bright stars in an otherwise dull period. I was young and cried like it. I never really understood Woewodin going. Surely we could have cut others before him? Farmer was a superstar - people would jump to their feet when he got the ball in case he did something amazing, which he usually did. And where did he go? FREO???? I was a Brock McLean fan and grumpy for days when he departed. I am even more grumpy now that the real reasons behind it have been revealed. I am slightly disappointed at losing Jurrah, but will be severely miffed if Port take him. And off topic - the era 94 to 96 - oh what could have been. This remains the best Melbourne side I have seen. Two issues stuffed it up. 1) injuries 2) A dysfunctional club I have to stop here, it gets too depressing. Every time I think of what could have been the Glenfiddich begins calling again.

I rate him and reckon he is in our best 22 - if and when he can get fit. If he gets a big injury again this year then it is over. He isn't Sydney Swans Jetta quick but is surely not slow. His first 3 or 4 steps away from trouble are quite quick and you will find he does get space when he has the ball which means he has time to deliver it. And he can kick all right, so that puts him ahead of a many of our hackers (Bartram, MacDonald, Bail).

I was really surprised by the photos on th MFC website - Taggart looks so much stronger. He definitely has the skill, pace and endeavour. If he also produces hard work on the training track then I agree with DemonWA, I reckon he will be like an extra draft pick this year.

I really like the option of Dean Towers. I am unsure if we have the right trade personnel and/or draft pick numbers to get him but he appears ready to play. But is he the outside runner with great skills that we need like Isaac Smith, Christ Yarran, Daisy Thomas, Daniel Wells etc...? I really want Toumpas but he won't make it thrugh to pick #4 unless some behind the scenes deal was included in the Hogan/Barry deal that allows him to slip through. Hey, I am allowed to dream!

Best of luck to Rivers - he has been a pillar of strength and consistency after a few early injury-riddled years. But I reckon it is a poor decision on his behalf. The Cats have lost Ottens, Harley, Ling, Scarlett, Wojinski, and probably others I have forgotten over the past 2 years and I see them sliding gradually out of the top 8. And as good as Rivers was for the Dees, there is no way he fills the Scarlett hole. What it does emphasise though is Neeld's take on our past leaders. He preferred Grimes and a very young Trengove to any of Davey, Moloney, Green, Rivers, and did not express much disatisfaction at Rivers' desire to move on. This is beginning to feel a little bit like Blight taking over Adelaide in the mid 90's.

Neeld is correct in saying that we matched 50/50 for contested ball in the midfield over the last half of 2012 season. It is the next ball movement, those players 5-7 metres away who receive the ball, who can run and carry and deliver. Forward spread players who are vital in the modern game. Watts can do it down back. Blease will be a gun. Bail is still in the potential versus performance stakes Byrnes will deomstrate this in the forward half of the ground. Tynan, Taggart are unknown quantities at this stage. Barry was recruited for this job and I reckon we will recruit another like him in the draft.

"Going to be some very serious competition for many spots now. The bar's been lifted. Itl be beyond some and for others a goal. More wheat Will be sorted, more chaff moved on." I agree 100% belzebub59. For the first time in a long time we have players having to work hard to get into the 22, and even harder to stay in it. We have a lot of people able to play down back and now at leat 6 who can play forward. The next step is to develop 8-10 who can rotate through the midfield and play at 4 quarter consistent AFL standard. We might not get the midfield up to speed in 2013 but then again who knows? But what it does mean is that players like Viney, Jones, Trengove, Grimes, McKenzie, Sylvia, Blease, Bail and maybe also Gysberts and Barry have got to out-do each other at training, in the VFL, and/or the AFL to stay in the side. It feels a but like the early days of Yze, Rigoni, Leoncelli, Glen Lovett, etc... actually it feels better than those days. But again - the proof will be in the 2013 season.

Dad born in South Melb and a life-long a Swans supporter. Eldest brother also follows Swans - lucky bast..d Mum a mad Dees supporter. Next older brother followed Dees until 1974 when we got beaten bad and he jumped to the filth. Remains unforgiven and on the outer. I loved Greg Wells and Stan Alves, and cried when Hardeman lost the Brownlow to one of the softest players of all time - Keith Greig. I was emotionally hooked from that day on. What kept me going during the 70's? One thing: Robert Flower. What keeps me going now? I have absolutely no idea. But I remain red and blue through and through.