Moonshadow

Bump..... Early, I know. Announcement tomorrow morning. Would we like him back? Would he be interested? Or perhaps Ling?

Or reality bus or 7 day goggles......

International student numbers are shrinking rapidly in Australia. Most come from SE Asia, India and China. Combination of GFC (no, not the football club), inflated AU$ and perceived racism of Australians overseas by non western countries have contributed o this. While a quick look at some universities or some parts of the CBD may lead people to think that there are young international students everywhere, the numbers show that is not the case. Most international students don't get involved in Australian cultural activities, sports, local social groups, etc. We have made some inroads to the Chinese community, both here and in Asia, and this should certainly be continued. But i have had it said to me numerous times by international students that they don't see the AFL as being accepting or including of Asians. Also that the game is not internationally played and difficult to understand make it hard to accept. Whether these are true or not, it is the response I have had. Not sure how to overcome this, but I'd thought I'd put it forward.

Now there's a quote for the 'Land time capsule.

I remember about 20 years ago a very good mate of mine, as passionate a footy fan as I have ever seen, declared that all members of football clubs should buy 2 memberships. That way the club's membership would double, and you could recruit a new fan by taking them to the footy using the 'spare' membership. Although he didnt support Melbourne, I thought it a great idea, and took out 2 myself for a number of years. Who did he follow?....... Fitzroy Lions.

"Ratts, the punishment for your failure at Carltank is to go back to the Melbourne midfield coaching roll"

It appears that he's doing a roll that has been asked of him. That being a one-trick stopper. In the past when he's been given a wider roll, he's shown other abilities. He is a good tackler, and we have a distinct shortage of those.

God this is very boring. (insert reply "well stop reading and posting then" here.) Would be nice if these posters put their energy towards good instead of evil. Perhaps they should be put in a locked room and beat the living sh!t out of each other until the last one alive can crawl out the door. Can this annoying poll be put on a board of its own so that it stops rearing it's ugly, childish head?

In this case RR, you have been proven wrong by the votes. 60% of votes are against your position, despite you bludgeoning tactics. Your clear intention was to prove your view that we should've taken NN over JW. The poll results show otherwise. It appears your only other tactic is to shout down reason. Good luck with that!

In other threads, most posters seem to want Cameron Ling taking he midfield. Either him or bring back Ratts. Is Brett Lovett solely at Casey, or does he play a role directly for the MFC as well?

Apparently there are 15 more MFC players charged by the MRP after the loss to Adelaide on the weekend. They are each charged with falsely impersonating an AFL footballer. The penalty handed down is........

How bout a poll voting on ranga's we took and ranga's we missed out on? That'd be good.

Did he write his own job description and KPI's?

How bout a win over Geelong at Kardinia Park (or whatever cheap, corporate name they'll give it next year)?

Good lord! You have a real disorder, RR. PM me and I'll give you the name of a good psychologist that may be able to help. The first step is to acknowledge your problem is in control of you. Good luck with that.

Good point dr. He did well when he was initially played back at the start of his career. Would have thought he'd be tried there this season at some point, if that was the case. Worth some discussion.

We've got what we've got. Pointless poll. Most of the staff around during that draft are no longer with us (actually, except Tim Harrington...), and we have Watts. So let's get behind what we have rather than beginning a poll full of pre-determined agendas. On a side note, I'd like to hear why Harrington is still part of our draft/recruitment team when just about everyone else has been moved on. Is he any good? Anyone know of his credentials?

No. Try again champ. I said that IMO Martin would not be part of our future tall mix and that the development of Spencer, Fitz and Gawn would be a higher priority. Simple. Get it? Nothing more implicit. You are putting words where there are none. Will Spencer or Fitz or Gawn be better footballers for us than Martin? Neither you nor I know the answer. But I believe Martin is not rated highly by Neeld and, therefore, would be of greater value as a trade. If he can be part of a deal with, say, pick 13 to get us a quality midfielder, then I would be happy. I do not believe that Martin is a top 5 ruck as some here think......Unless you are talking about top 5 at the MFC.

Col will stay next year. Neeld likes him and sees him as part of the future. With Green gone and Moloney's future in doubt, we need to retain experience, talented players who are starting to show that they can perform under this game plan. The only way he will go is if he seriously doesn't want to play for us and wants out.

Well then if he is so fantastic, he'll be good trade bait in a month. The reality is that Neeld has given him few opportunities (not withstanding his injury issues) and probably sees him as no more than depth behind Jamar, Gawn and Spencer. Whether you think him to be top 5 material or not, he will struggle if he stays at the Dees. If we pick up a young ruck in this year's draft, his career will suffer further. He would be better off starting afresh elsewhere in 2013.

Errr... no, I didn't say that. I said I'd rather see Neeld put development into Spencer, Fitz and Gawn than see games put into Martin. I don't see a future for him at the Dees. Order your reading glasses now...

He's part of the problem, but yes, he needs to be moved on. Has had limited success anywhere on our coaching merry-go-round over the last few years.

I'd rather see Neeld develop Spencer, Fitz and Gawn than see more game time given to Martin. His biggest value to us IMO is as part of a trade with pick 13 for a quality midfielder or small fwd. He's Gawn.

Has suffered from OP throughout the season, apparently. Not an excuse, but a factor in his slowness. Was not slow in first year.

A very big call. Either that says our's and the AFLs ruck stocks are terrible, or Martin is wildly beyond nearly everyone's opinion of him. Is he a friend of yours?