durango

Carey says Hello.

He played 107 games was from Hawthorn Reserves.

Sometimes players have lots of injuries in a particular jumper number think by changing the number they might get a better run with injuries, yes players are superstitous.

Both Woewodin and Howes have put on some muscle.

The age demographic is skewed when ruckmen/tall fowards reach their prime later and usually play well beyond 30, Martin, Salmon and Sandilands retired at 36 actually Gawn missed 3 years at the start of his career most ruckmen go to about 34 usually the taller ones last longer due to the fact they don't have to jump as high as the shorter ones.

People forget that we have removed 2 players over 30 in Daw and Brown and brought in 10 players who are 18 or 19 in the last 2 years admittedly we recruited 2 players in the late 20's and a 25 year old. Retention of Hibberd and Melksham was basically to allow our younger players time to grow into the players we hope they will become. The fact we have 19 players 27 and above means we have 14 players in the range 20-26 and we have won the 2021 premiership where the average age was between 24-25. We have lost only 1 player from that premiership side.

In 2021 and 2022 the number of players was increased to 23 and even if the 23rd player did not play he was rewarded with a game played in the AFL which can skew the games played statistic. The age/games statistic should be applied to the team on the day not the whole list since recruites picked in the draft are usually 18 and have played zero games. As a team ages like Geelong's best 22 in 2022 with 11 players over 30 and several who did not play over 30 the age demographics is meaningless. Retirements have brought the age demographics of the list down but still the core are very old.

Maybe Trent came for 2 reasons his friendship with Kozzie and Peter Burgoyne relationship with Mark Williams as well as recruiters like Kelly O'Donnell who look at players who were delisted.

In the pod cast with JT why not ask the details of what the offer was and why?

I came to Australia in 1949 and I learned to ignore comments like that because I was proud that my parents endured the Holocaust and survived. We came to Australia with virtually nothing but the shirts on our backs and my father work 2 jobs and my mother worked from our rented flat to put food on the table and pay all the bills puting money aside to buy our first home in 1956. Jewish people created their own wealth due to hard work and saving their money rather than going to the pub for a drink or the races to bet their wages hoping they could win a fortune. These are facts todays generation of Jewish boys and girls have the luxury of the great grandparents, grandparents and parents who made sacrifices so they can have a better life than themselves. So what I say to John from Epping try working and not complaining about others good fortune whether they are Muslim, Jewish or Christian.

What was our average age at the start of 2022?

At this stage we have to enjoy that we have not lost a game we have players like Grundy, Hunter and Schache who have made our list better and hope some of our younger players like Bowey, Rivers, Van Rooyen, Sparrow, Jordan, Howes, Chandler, Moniz-Wakefield, Deakyn Smith, Woewodin, Turner and Laurie take the next step or leap to the top step this year.

Just read that Max King did his shoulder and will miss months great start for he Lyon era. Like I said before injuries can ruin a season for a club al la 2019 for the MFC.

His father is probably Brett Jefferson CEO of Jefferson Ford and he is tall but I have no information on his sporting career?

A year is a long time in some players development for 2023, younger midfielders don't get much playing time when the older 2022 midfielders get most of the playing time unless you are exceptional.

If he is half as good he will be a good player like Leigh's brother.

Leigh had a very bright future but had bad luck to get very sick, his story was no different to Luke Molan and lots of others who had potential but injury or illness wrecked their football career. I always look on young players and hope for the best and never wish them any bad luck in their AFL journey, I know from being at the MFC for 10 years and watching young players develop that sometimes they just not good enough to make it at the highest level but there are others who thru sheer persistance make an name for themselves examples are Michael Tuck and Berto "Robert" DiPierdomenico who both played more than 50 games in the reserves.

Matthew will fillout in time but don't expect a 2023 debut unless we have a disastrous run of injuries, development of young bodies with the help of the fitness staff and diet his 84Kg body will become a 94-98Kg body in a year, so maybe he will be ready in 2024. I believe his selection was more long term since JVR is already on his journey to AFL football and there is no rush.

Actually the rookie strike rate is very good with ruckmen Cox, Sandilands, Jamar and Jolly just to name a few. Oliver Sestan reminds us of an overweight recruit who stormed into the draft by losing weight and gaining fitness becoming the premier midfielder of the MFC. Christian Petracca was also unfit and a little overweight when recruited and now with multiple pre-seasons has blossomed. Max Gawn did not become the AFL's premier ruckman by smoking and drinking but hard work. It now upto Oliver Sestan to prove he is willing to sacrifice his time to get fitter, faster and stronger whilst honing his skills to reach his potential. For those who watched Russell Richards flashes of brilliance in play, his lack of dedication to training was the reason he did not become a star of the competition.

His highlights were as a midfielder with pace and reasonably good disposal, he maybe the piece of the puzzle an outside midfield runner complimenting our inside powerhouses. His problem with injury and Covid would have stopped his development in his 3 years on the PA list but he played last year with some breaks showed he maybe over his injury and with a good preseason he may blossom.

Maybe if they pick him it would help convince Kozzie that the MFC is the place to be for his future.

I guess that money which Fremantle offered was not tempting enough for a young man, if the numbers thrown around were true then anybody who is 21 will take the money and run.

Top Row is Jed Adam and Oliver Sestan, Bottom Row is Matthew Jefferson and Will Verrall

If you look at some TV footage showing MFC training they actually used the Port Melbourne ground on some occasions.

Now the Herald Sun has come out with the lists for 2023 and whether clubs have improved, neutral or gone backwards relative to 2022 and MFC falls into the improved list, whilst Fremantle is in the neutral list. What this means is anybodies guess because NM is in the improved list, whilst Geelong is in the neutral list. Depends on where you finished on the ladder I guess.