Kento80

That's what I want to know about all of this too daisy. Who the [censored] does this guy think he is. The trouble is that I am not so sure that he is just blowing his own trumpet. Vlad is pretty much as big a [censored] as Eddie, and I am not so sure that Eddie doesn't have the pull he thinks he has. Why else would they always get such favourable treatment. I want to see us keep being tough and not backing down, but I am realisitc enough to understand that it may come back to bite us on the arse a bit.

I vote that it is open season on that for all of eternity Nasher

I s'pose it is fair to suggest that if, after his extensive experience public speaking, Kevin Rudd can get so flustered in front of the camera, then surely we can give Chip a little bit of leeway here. He is, after all, a footballer, not a public speaker.

I try to temper my excitement at this time of year, as traditionally I have the smile wiped off my face pretty quick. But after saying that, I must confess that I'm pretty much in agreeance with you the BIG JIM

Good to hear, top bloke and great Dee. Will be good to have around the club again.

I'd prefer Gazza break the news on the radio show, and then stoke the fire repeatedly throughout the year.

Agreed, although I am not surprised. I'm a massive Jones fan, but have spent much more time defending him on here than anything else. That said, I don't think that he will be our best, but have no doubt that he will be up there. Interesting to note that he is quite highly rated by all my friends who support other teams, but not so by our own supporter base, although after last year I have noticed a bit of a shift in attitude towards him.

Hahaha, sucked in Collingwood! On another note, surely there is a better stock photo of Neeld that they could be using isn't there. What a shocker

For me I have to say Trenners, but I reckon it will be a close fought battle between him and Wattsy. For smokey I'm gonna roll with Petterd. Probably won't be a popular selection, but if he can learn to play at his best consistently, the we have a real weapon there.

Feel free to correct me if I am worng Franky, but I was talking about not being picked for the LG (Beamer, Davey, Rivers, Green), not about whether a player is picked to play in a game. I do agree with what you have to say though.

I'm not too sure about this business of effectively having only one captain if there's only one of them on the park. Case in point being last year when Grimes barely took the field, yet his leadership was looked upon as strong enough to win the leadership award at the B&F. Goes to show just how much work captains and leaders do behind the scenes that we are not privvy to, and might go along way to explaining why certain players weren't picked this year. It is not just the leadership that we see that makes a good and effective leader.

Very, very happy with the appointment of our Captains (although would've preferred stand-alone) and LG. Congrats to two Jacks and all others honoured to be included. As for those omitted from last year, IMO some deserved some not so. But we all need to remember a couple of things here. We are on the outside looking in, and although some have more inside info than others, it does not change the fact that we really don't "know". Secondly, Neeld made it crystal clear in the lead up to this decision that the past would not be used to decide the leadership group, as he was not here then and has no clue as to the goings on behind closed doors. He would make his decisions based solely on the actions of the players over the course of the preseason. To all those who are miffed about Moloney or Green or Barty or Garland or Clark, you need to give credit to our coach, the players, the FD and the board, and realise that if they followed the criteria they were using to select and LG and these 8 players came out on top, then the other players must not have been the most deserving, despite what those of us on the "outside" seem to think. If Beamer or Davey or anyone else have a problem with this, then they are showing the lack of leadership qualities expected of someone in our LG, and if they don't use this as motivation to work harder and lead by example then they are simply not worthy. Far as I'm concerned it's a job well done by all those involved and I look forward to seeing how these boys lead our club into what I hope will be a period of sustained success. Obviously not Lord Travis. Despite some terrible kicking, Barty is a hard worker, who plays a brilliant tagging role, and I can't ever forget the fact that in 08 (?) he played the day after the passing of his father and ripped it up. For all we know they have developed a kicking style that works for him, and if that is rectified then he is one very solid contributor. Well obviously not DemonOX, otherwise it is pretty fair to say that that is what would have happened.

Wow, go out of phone service for a night and come back to this. I feel absolutely gutted, but that is about me, and in the end I am happy for Jim, hopeful for Jim, grateful to Jim..... in awe of Jim. Thank you eternally for the selfless contribution you gave to our club. All my thoughts and prayers are with you Sam and your family, and I hope that against all the odds you beat this god-forsaken disease. Thank you Jim.

Well thanks for the clarification hoopla I completely concur as to the frustration caused by negativity. I often wonder how "supporters" can find such negativity out of such positive occurrences. One can only hope that football comes back soon and saves us from the whirlpool of madness that is the preseason!

I can't agree that it highlights a vacuum of true leaders WYL, I think more that it is a lack of traditionally "ready" leaders. I don't think anyone can deny that Grimes, Trenners, and Jones are great leaders, it is just that everyone is worried about their ability to develop their game to the required levels whilst concentrating on their leadership abilities. I personally don't agree with this sentiment however. I firmly believe that Trenners is one of those rare players who was bred ready, and fully expect it to be a help to him and not a hinderance. I can say exactly the same for Grimes. I don't want to see him named Captain, purely because he needs to play majority of a season first, but the way he carries himself is exemplary. In a couple of years, who will they choose?? FWIW, my closest to the pin is as follows: C - Trenners VC - Grimes Jones LG - Moloney, Green, McKenzie, Clark, Frawley

Very good point there demonsterative I apologise for offending you so much hoopla. In no way do I suggest that they do it for money, and I firmly believe they do not, but I admit I wasn't aware they don't get paid for the immense amount of work they put in. God forgive me. Doesn't men my opinions count less than yours or anyone elses mate. FWIW, if you care (and you should know this if you read all my posts), I am firmly in the camp that believes Jimmy should be in the day until he chooses to step down, and am quite horrified that there is even a discussion regarding him being asked to step down. I suggest that perhaps next time, before going off half-cocked, you actually take the time to read the posts properly and not attack someone for having essentially the same view that you seem to be supporting.

I've got to agree with this sentiment DWA Sensational post WJ. I absolutely see where you are coming from timD, and don't begrudge you that opinion. I am interested to know if Jimmy is still earning a presidents salary, as I do not know, and I think that is the most important thing in all of this. I have no problem with him remaining pres whilst his duties are diminished, but his salary should be similarly diminished, and if so then fine by me. I think it is interesting that you say "A board that didn't know what the footy dept was doing", and this is something that Jimmy should be on top of, but the biggest issue there to me seems to be the lack of a FD head. I know Jimmy was meant to be taking on that role in the interim, but that should have never happened. The thing is that we have apparently almost filled that role, so hopefully this issue is now sorted, and from the outside in it seems to me that that may have been (mostly) the issue that was bringing the whole house down with it. If so then I am more than happy for Jimmy to go back to his role of being a figurehead, revered, but with a diminished role. As along as it isn't costing the club (I don't know) and isn't hurting the club (I personally think not)

What got me was not so much the missed goals, but the body language. How many successful captains do you see, when the chips are down, hunching their soldiers and walking about. To me a good captain has least to do with how they play. A good captain needs to be a vocal captain. When things aren't working, he needs to be out there on the field talking, trying to inspire, trying to pass on ideas and knowledge. Green was completely incapable of this. The amount of times this year where I was looking for him to rally around the boys and have a word, get in their ears and try to inspire them equals the amount of times that I saw him doing nothing of the sort. I saw hime miss the "captains goal", and instead of running back and getting verbal trying to inspire in a different way, he would just mope. That's the only word I can think of to describe it effectively. His onfield body language when the chips are down, is that of a moper. And, sorry guys, but that aint the actions of a true captain. The other curious thing I noticed whilst looking for Green to be getting vocal, was someone else who seemed to be filling that role quite nicely. His name is JT, and for this reason, I do believe that he should be the next captain of the MFC. When the chips were down, he never showed it. He never let it get on top of him. He just kept going about what he needed to do, talking to the men beside him and trying to find a way to win. Yes he's young, but he is mature beyond his years and I can think of no better candidate at the MFC.

Think you are rather unfairly overlooking one Cameron Schwab there Allus Monk. For some reason the man never seems to get the credit he deserves for someone so hardworking and passionate about the success of the MFC. Tim, I can sort of understand where you are coming from here, but as has been said by others above, there has to be some room for empathy in this debate. Jimmy has given his all for this club since the day he arrived on our soil. And without him, it is pretty fair to say that we may not even have a club to support anymore. I know that the revival of the MFC wasn't all down to him and his work, as there are many great people at the MFC who love the club and work tirelessly to help it succeed. But what Jimmy did was give them the vision. He designed the house, and then a whole team of people went out and built it in a way that we can all be proud of. This house is not without faults, but it's bloody well on its way, and surely we are all big enough to show him the love, respect and gratitude that he deserves for such an effort. I don't care if he ends up in a hospital bed for the next 8 months, 12 months, 2 years, whatever, but you can't take away something so cherished from a man who has given so much. And I firmly believe that despite him only being able to have a limited role at the club, he would be consulted on many things day to day, but more importantly, the hope and zest for life that this man still has inspires all those around him, and the power of this inspiration cannot be underestimated. I, for one, am extremely grateful to all involved in this rather rocky, but ultimately fruitful period. I really do feel that we are now in the best position we have been in in my time. It has to be said that time will tell, and all may not turn out as I hope, but in the meantime these people have given hope to a supporter who has had to deal with alot of disappointment over the years (and some of you many more years than I), and for that alone I am thankful. Thanks Gazza, Jimmy, Don, Cameron, Mark and every other person at the MFC that is working to earn, for all of us, that prize we all desire so much.

Well here's hoping that like Lazarus, you get life Jimma, not just an extension. The tears in my eyes are tears of sadness, happiness, respect, amazement and love. You are an amazing man, and as they say, behind every great man there is an even greater woman. My favourite part of this fantastic article is when MF asks Jimmy if he enjoyed life, and Jimmys response was one that only Jimmy could give in a situation like he is in. "I love life". Amen brother.

Well I only hope that Clark treats Big Jims number with the respect that it deserves. Good to see Jimma there to hand it on. Hopefully Mitch can take that number and make it his own.

What a true inspiration this man is, and thank God that the docs have given him an extra shot. Here's hoping that they can actually cure him, it may be a long shot, but if anyone deserves it, this great man does.

Welcome back RR, nice to see you revving up agagin Think you're dead on there, and I'd like to think that the club are onto it, if not now soon. Would be the greatest pleasure to see us strip some of their gifted talent!

I'm quite happy with the club taking a shot on Sellar. Obviously NC will have been able to give a thorough assessment of, not only his capabilitie and deficiencies, but also the reason he didn't crack it at Adelaide and his attitude to the game and training. To add to that, as others have mentioned, pick 54 in a lean draft isn't the top priority in a recruiters life, so can't hurt to take a considered punt really, can it? I must say that I do like the sound of 22 yrs, 196cm and 95 kegs. Welcome to the Dees James.

Welcome to the Dees Josh. Sounds like we snagged a draft bargain with this pick