Jaded No More

I don't think anyone here wants to see him fail, but we are all realists. Don't think the missing ingredient in his career thus far has been donuts... except for maybe the ones he's been getting on the field.

Those were exactly my thoughts. He looks huge, and not in a good way.

If we were as mean and ruthless as some are making us out to be, we would have told him that he had until trade week to make up his mind, or we'd actively seek a trade for him. We allowed him the luxury of leaving us high and dry a day before we start our pre season. How on earth are we possibly being accused of being in the wrong here?

I'd love to know which player can walk into Dean Bailey's office and get a guarantee on their future role at the club. As I've said, he is completely entitled to look after himself and his family's future, but as supporters we are also entitled not to feel as though the club has let him down. We were happy to pay him and have him stick around, and we would have backed him again if he had a good year and played 2011 the way he played the last few games of 2010. He obviously didn't feel confident in himself that he could do it.

I don't begrudge Bruce for a second, but I also don't buy a lot of what you've said. Bruce has not once been dropped in the 12 years that I've been a Melbourne supporter. Even in the last few years, with our focus on development and youth, Bruce maintained his position in the team week in week out, despite some ordinary performances and ordinary disposal. It is a cop out to say that he was happy with the contract terms and the money but he didn't feel confident enough that the club would continue to play him ahead of other players. Even when we were tanking, Bruce still played every game. I actually think that Bruce knows his time is almost up, and that if he could get a 2 year contract elsewhere, it would be the only way he could extend his career beyond 2011. That is his right and his choice. Of all the senior players we apparently let go too early or replaced with younger players, not one was picked up by another club. That tells me that we have continued to do the right thing and that our timing has been very good. As for Junior, Bruce kind of screwed him over with his late departure, as I'm almost certain we would have kept him on the Vets list had we known Bruce was going to ditch us on pre season eve. We needed to get rid of one veteran in order to elevate Green and free up cap space and list space. We decided we wanted Bruce because he was younger and still had an important role to play down back, and he threw that back in our faces. So much for loyalty.

I'm pretty sure the club has already planned how to cover for his loss, given he was never going to be part of our next premiership team.

Our young players will look at Green, who at 29 is most likely going to be our new captain. This has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with wise list management. Bruce simply wasn't good enough in his later years to warrant a longer contract or a guaranteed spot in the side. In fact, nobody is ever guaranteed a spot in the side. This is the nature of footy. Players come and players go. If the rest of the group can't deal with that, I suggest they go look for a new profession. We have done nothing wrong by Bruce, it was simply a matter of two parties not coming to a mutual agreement. It is not our job as a club to bend over backwards to keep someone who is on the fringes.

HAHA! I predict a new alias is about to emerge to tell us all how wonderful Bruce's departure is. It's funny how when he's gone, you always get a few naive, new posters asking where he is, but when he comes back, they cry to the mods that they want him out.

Hopefully it means we can take Tommy McNamara in the rookie draft.

It's because you suffer from MFCSS and you should seek treatment immediately. If it was that important for us to keep him, we would have.

I have mixed feelings of WOW and Meh. Interesting.

Think back to what happened following the GF that got Collingwood into strife... from what I've heard he wasn't far from the action.

Not only is he an average player, he is only an average person. I don't think the club would bother to be honest.

Morton tweeted that he's gained 9kgs since last year. I envy someone who can gain 9kgs and still look like Kate Moss' skinnier sister. Bastard. But seriously, I'm pretty impressed with Scully, he looks to have gained some muscle on that small body of his, and Grimes looks to be in top shape too. So now can we please start the season next week? I'm impatient!

Thank god we're sticking firm on this. Anyone know whether Jamar is eligable for the Vets list next year?

How the hell do the Eagles have salary cap issues when they are so bad? No Judd, no Cousins, Cox is surely eligible for Vets list, Kerr is on half a leg, and the rest are kids. WTF? Also, no.

I love this place in the off season. Shame about all the stoners.

Well now that we no longer have arguments about the relative greatness of players who are 192cm, we have so much more time on our hands to scrutinise other posters.

A bogan with a tie is still a bogan

You lost me at Red Rooster then won me again at outer. You haven't lived if you haven't experienced footy at the bogan level

I'm also pretty sure we had a Josh Fraser thread?

The possible drafting of the recently delisted, and previous knighted, Jordan McMahon.

But he does cause you to do something else in your pants sometimes

James Frawley was awesome in the first half, and then Green dominated in the second. Fingers crossed LJ gets a run next year when the game is played in Australia. It would be some sort of spectacle! Btw, Malthouse is a brilliant coach. He completely managed to shut down Ireland. We dominated 6 of the 8 quarters played over the two games, by just not allowing them to move the ball beyond the half way mark.

When I start calling Michael Newton a selfish, self-centered egomaniac, then feel free to pull me up on it. Until then, enjoy continuing to beat your own chest like the big man that you think you are around here.