Maldonboy38

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.

I wouldn't think so for 2014. North, Brisbane, Gold Coast will join 5 - 8 from this year (Collingwood, Richmond, Carlton and Port) to fight for final 8 spots. Essendon will be somewhere in the mix, and West Coast and the Doggies could do some damage. We are a year or so behind this lot.

Junior was a very good captain, a great team man, and a quality leader. But let's not tangle those qualities up with "deservings". The jobs-for-the-boys mentality stuffed up what could have been a great era under the leadership of Jim Stynes. No-one, not Ox, Lyon, Junior, Ooze "deserve" any position or role in our club or any other because of their football record. They "deserve" to be honoured at our club functions, to be recorded as guns in our history, to represent us in the media etc... I would love to see Junior back at MFC, but only if he is right person for the right role, well detached from his achievements for the club.

If the Bassett rumour is true - I am all for it. His influence at Norwood was immediate, and players who were stuck soon found fresh vigour and unexpected return to form. I think one of Terlich, M Jones and Kent came from there with big wraps for Bassett. Roos is an influence coach also - might be a very harmonious relationship.

If Malthouse can turn Bryce Gibbs into the tough, hard-at-it, stoppage player he was today, I reckon we can hope that Roos can do the same for Watts. Gibbs was magnificent today - a genuine part of a great wind for a team I hate with a deep, ingrained passion. Stinkin' Richmond have messed up my weekend.

Don't delist Taggert. This game is showing glimpses of what he can produce.

Yep. Match winning, big game player.

I tipped Sydney last night and they were poor for a lot of last night, especially the 2nd half. I tipped Freo this afternoon when I saw that McPharlin, Pav, Ballantyne and Sandilands were all in. When I was young Collingwood were hated by everyone. That has changed. All those 20 and younger now hate the Hawks with the same passion my generation hated Collingwood. Why? Because of the arrogance of their supporters after the 2008 premiership. As for Geelong, their supporters now believe that winning is their right and are quickly becoming detested by other supporters. It's great to see Freo, Port and the Tiges in. Next year maybe the Roos and either Brisbane or Gold Coast.

Sloane. Hard at it, young, yet to fulfill all his potential, best and fairest, has learnt from Scott Thompson. Surely we have to sound this out and see if we can snag him. He might have an issue with the Neeld Melbourne, but will he have a different view with the Rood Melbourne? Him and Greenwood from NM, alongside developing Viney, Toumpas, Barry, Evans, and joining N Jones and M Jones - sounds OK to me.

Our current clash jumper is the best we have ever had - leave it be. Anyway, we have bigger fish to fry. Leave the logo, jumper etc... alone until we have a full coaching list, a full list of Board members and leading departmental managers, have been through the draft and trade periods, and have begun pre-season.