Maldonboy38

I was actually talking about Tom Boyd.

Some of Boyd's pack work, ruck work and defensive work has been massive this quarter. But he is no power forward at this stage.

Huge fan of Liam Picken. Work rate, tackling machine and very skilfull. He has been a massive influence in this game. And he is as good a mark as his dad, if not as spectacular. No chance in the trade period?

I was thinking about the old VFA too. 16 per team worked perfectly on those tiny inner suburban grounds, making the game open. The idea has merit except for one thing. We need to leave the game alone for awhile. The modern stoppage-centred game has been in place since about 2005, and it started in 2000 when Footscray flooded to beat Essendon. This year, we began to see it declining as coaches found ways to take risks through the middle of the ground with pace. For the most part, if we leave the game alone, it will evolve and fix itself.

I am not sure if we need to import a mature player on a one year deal at this point in our develooment. Getting Daniel Cross was a work of genius. His work ethic and dependability have instilled a lot of good qualities in our younger players. Surely though, these qualities are strong enough in our leadership group now that a 1 year contract for Del Santo isn't a matter of urgency. Given that, he is a beautiful kick, reads the play early (that is why it looks like he is an outside player) and has excellent leadership qualities. Maybe it is the assistant coaching angle that Goodwin sees as necessary.

Matt Jones is no longer a list clogger. After 2015 he went away, worked on his fitness and skills, and came back in an impressive condition. From memory, he played round 1 this season. His kicking has improved, his game awareness has improved, and he does one thing well that Roos loves - he plays the role assigned to him. He is another one, just like Jetta, who has improved out of sight under our new player-development emphasis. I don't see him as best 22, and younger players will overtake him easily, but I would not be letting him go while we have a handful of players who definitely offer us nothing.

I just finished watching the legends game. Any chance we can trade back in Aaron Davey and Adem Yze? They are still better kicks than almost everyone on our list.

I really rate this bloke, his best would put him in our top 5 players. His kicking is line breaking, and he is a seriously big bodied midfielder. But is he what we need for the price being asked? I can't see us wanting to give anything near that Port might be asking.

If Roos was starting his tenure now, then yes, I would take him for 2 years to develop young footballers new to tne AFL. Outside that 2 year specific tenure and role his long term influence breaks things down rather than builds them up. A big NO from me.

Great to see Max get in - a great result and well earned. I am a huge Pendlebury fan, and think he is an absolute gun. Vision, time, skills. But he did not deserve a place in the 40 this year. He had a good season, but many othrrs should be ahead of him.

I haven't read all the posts in this thread, so maybe I have missed discussion on this. If so, sorry for being repetitive. But I really agree with this. However, it needs explanation. If we look at the improvement in Watts, Hunt, Wagner, Petracca etc... we see that it is never a single straight gradient, in which every week there is a noticeable increase in effectiveness. Rather it is a trend of growth that includes great games, avergae games and absolute shockers. But the overall result is improved footballers. I honestly did not see our leaders develop their game or develop their leadership qualities in terms of a general trend across the season. Maybe TMac did show leadership improvement. Actually, other players went past the leaders in terms of influence and effectiveness. Gawn, Watts, Viney in particular. At certain times, and definitely in the last 2 games, I felt the leadership qualities of Jones and Vince went backwards. We need something or someone to develop in-game leadership that does elite and inspiring acts in key moments of the game. We will win more games next year but without leadership improvement we won't win a final.

I did not think we would win today but I did not see that result coming. I actually feel embarrassed: for Roos, for our jumper, for our struggling supporter base. And for the first time in a couple of seasons, I am beginning to question our onfield leadership.

If Salem was at MFC 5 years ago we would definitely trade him because we couldn't develop a vegemite sandwich let alone an AFL footballer. It is a very different landscape now and if (a big if, I know) he can have a full preseason under Brendan McCartney, Salem will surprise many of us by the footballer he becomes. As for where does he play - half back is the training ground for most utility-type players. Watts spent time there, Trenners has some tme there, etc... I see Salem as a midfielder rotating through high half forward. His decision making, poise, kicking and tackling will have an immediate impact once he is fully fit. This preseason looms huge for him.

Paul Roos' legacy is only just starting to emerge on-field, but his off-field legacy is in place, influential, and should be long lasting. For some reason he is one of those quality people who advances and progresses everything around him. What Bartlett has done in the business sense, what PJ has done in the management and organisational sense, Roos has done in the footbal sense. We have vision, strategy, quality people, and a very clear future laid oit with a succession plan. When he arrived at MFC I could hardly watch footy. My love and enjoyment of watching it at its highest level had been completely eroded by the Schwab era, hitting its horrible low during the years with Mark Neeld. Thank you Roosy, for giving back one old Demon devotee his love of his club and his love of football.

Great news. I am a huge fan of Trenners and can't wait to see what 2017 holds for him. Interesting that the club believe the 2016 preseason was about rehwb and developmemt, and 2017 preseason is about performance. Where will he play or where does he fit in? Jones, Viney and Tyson are well in front of him as inside midfielders, and we have Oliver coming through also. His natural marking ability, strong tackling, and solid kicking have him inside forward 50. He definitely bumps out Vandenberg.

Calves, hamstrings etc, quads.... you know, the large leg muscles, the ones Dawes is always rehabbing from.

What Dawes produced in his premiership year with Collingwood had three qualities: 1) a fierce attack on the ball on the ground and in the air, 2) leading in very straight lines inside forward 50 making waves and space for other forwards, 3) he was actually a good kick from goal after strong leads and chest marks. His body has never let him produce that with any continuity at the Dees. At 28, and with his ongoing large leg-muscle issues, I don't reckon we will ever see it. If you watch what Hulett and Weideman are producing at Casey, Hulett in particular is developing the kind of game Dawes did at the Pies, and Weideman's aerial work looks very, very good. One or both of these boys will overtake him in 2017. I actually believe that his professionalism and maturity have borne great fruit amongst our younger players, but this cannot be the only reason to keep him, so he is definitely on the trade table.

Tyson - first option please. Petracca - error-riddled talent Hogan - goal kicking yips. N Jones - tried but average Wiedeman - little defensive ability Kent - what a shocker Gawn - surprisingly poor game Watts - a mere shadow TMac - steady and reliable OMac - good with errors Jetta - outstanding, brave, effective Hunt - decision flawed effectiveness Michie - in wrong position ANB - fumbly, poor decisions Viney - weak, fumbly, lazy Frost - error riddled dash Oliver - some atrocious decisions Vandedberg - hardly touched ball Bugg - unpressured atrocious skills Stretch - unpressured atrocious skills Brayshaw - did he play?

6. Jetta 5. Hunt 4. T McDonald ummm, ...., nope, that's about it really.

Selction committee - fail Game day coaching - epic fail. Hardness at the ball - 2nd at it all day, epic fail Decision making - unbelievably epic fail Handballing - words fail me Goal kicking - fail Some kudos to Hunt and Jetta. Hogan would have got some for his game play but loses it for missing easy shots at goal And if Dom Tyson gets tackled once more for not taking the first option, only to be tackled by someone he did not see coming in from behind or the side, I will spew.

I am sitting on my couch speechless, with what feels like an eel in my stomach. I am so annoyed I can hardly type. What was that today? How do the coaches and players account for that? Decision making and kicking was a lesson in errors.

Don Juan - spanish man-about-town and womaniser. Gibbs looks like him with hair and beard.

Dear Coaching staff - EFFEN WELL TAG GIBBS!!!!!!!!

Rancid decision making by mature players. Kicking into the man on the mark. Handballing to a stationary target who is in a worse position. Handballing so high 3 Carlton players can swoop and tackle at the same time. Slipping over. Rushing. Is Mark Neeld still coaching? Horrible, horrible, horrible.

Michie is a surprise - not sure he can maintain AFL standard football across 4 quarters. I would have probably included Trenners over Michie but Michie has been very good in the VFL. The Weideman inclusion is a huge statement from selectors about their preferences and direction.