Jaded No More

I want Davey there too, but unlike McLean, Davey has never stood up in a final. In fact, he completely lost his [censored] in many of the big games that we've had. This isn't an issue of getting rid of McLean or retaining Davey, this is an issue of the club seemingly pushing away that premiership further and further away as if to appease the masses into some sort of false sense of security. I was a big tanking advocate, and am all for growing a young talented list, but if we're talking 6 years before we're a serious threat, then wake me up in 2015, and I can stop caring about anything that happens between now and then. Hiding behind these grand 5-year plans never seems to work for anyone, just ask Richmond. We should be planning for success starting in 2010, regardless of whether Jack Watts becomes Reiwoldt v.2 by then.

I'm not [censored] off, I'm worried that we're putting all our eggs into this mythical 6 year basket. Who the hell knows what's going to happen 6 years from now? What if Watts is the next Newton? What if Scully becomes as injury prone as McLean? What if the Gold Coast trump us? If we're seriously thinking that it will take us this long to win a flag then we should trade Davey now, shouldn't we? But most here don't want to see that happen, so are we 4-6 years away when it suits us to justify the rebuilding and tanking, or are we 3 years away when we want to retain someone like Davey or lure a Burgoyne?

We can't pick up anyone over the age of 21 because we won't win a flag for 6 years according to the club. This also means we should probably get rid of Warnock, Davey and Moloney, since none of these guys will get a game when they reach 32 I'm all for rebuilding, but this whole clock/window/hourglass theory is becoming a bit of a joke. The way we're tracking, the Gold Coast will win a flag before us <_<

He'll excel at Carlton (providing fitness) without a hard tag, feeding the ball out to Gibbs and Murphy. If he can get his fitness back, he'll finish very high in their B&F next season. The worst thing about this is that McLean could potentially help Carlton win a flag, and I can never ever support or even mildly like any player who wears that filthy navy jumper. So McLean just went from my favourite player, to one of my most hated.

So he leaves to Carlton, a club he'll never captain unless Judd decides to quit football to pursue his love of environmental causes

I'm assuming that by lack of transparency he means what happened between the debt demolition dinner in August where Brock donated a significant amount of money to the club, and this Monday, which made Brock decide to leave? Something pretty extraordinary must have happened in that short amount of time.

This goes far beyond football ability and you know that. These indigenous boys who come from remote territories are all supremely talented but sometimes have their careers stall because they struggle to adjust to the lifestyle and the separation from their community. Aussie will remain the same player with or without Davey, but he may struggle to remain in Victoria and live this lifestyle without the support of his brothers. We might not understand that, but it's a bond that has really helped Davey, Aussie and obviously Jurrah.

Aussie was Davey's date to the Brownlows FFS, those two are very very close. Bennell and Jetta might not be as dependent on Davey, but there is no doubt that Davey (and in previous years Whelan) has helped these indigenous boys when they first arrived at the club. Either way you're right, we need to do whatever it takes to keep Jurrah happy

That is the number one reason to keep Davey. I don't think our future premiership depends on Davey's on field performance, but if he helps Aussie, Bennell, Jetta and most importantly Jurrah, than his worth is that of four players. Davey is the best link our club has to these boys, we just can't afford to lose him.

Agreed, this isn't a f'ing family reunion hour, this is professional sport. Davey has four brothers at the Melbourne Football Club who need his guidance and support. If he leaves, it would be pretty poor management on our behalf IMO.

You're in love with players who perform in finals. McLean is the last player to have actually done that at the MFC. He may not be a star, but when fit he is a very good player. As for compensation, I suppose we'll see whether pick 11 is a good enough deal. The chance of us picking someone significantly better than Brock are 50/50 at best. But as I said, if he left for the money he can [censored] off, I simply don't care for players who leave in search of better pay without any sense of loyalty. If this was club driven, then I'd be interested to hear more. Right now, I'm shocked and sad to think that my favourite player is going to Carlton. It's a kick in the guts.

If Davey leaves it will be an ever bigger PR disaster than it would be a football disaster, not to mention the possible impact it'll have on Aussie and Jurrah (anyone else thinking that Aussie may not have signed yet as he's waiting to see what happens with Davey?? ) Get your [censored] together Melbourne, and don't undo all the great work of the past 2 seasons.

I suppose I haven't reached your level of detachment, I still actually enjoy supporting players as individuals, as well as the club. You obviously don't feel the same, lucky you. I'm shattered, especially since Brock will be going to f'ing Carlton!!!!! :angry:

You have been a favourite of mine since your very first game and I have fought to defend you in the face of criticism, but Brock, you have just completely and utterly lost me with this decision. If it was club driven, fine, but if you are chasing the money then you can just [censored] the hell off. Clubs are bigger than individuals, but losing my two favourite players in one season is hard, especially when one of them is going to play for Carlton! FFS! :angry: :angry: When are the AFL going to investigate this corrupt organisation? Why are some clubs allowed to operate outside the rules? I hate football right now

Phew. It's still a worry that Garland seems prone to stress related bone injuries, even moreso when his latest injury comes after a long physical layoff.

A very very deserving winner! Extremely disappointed with the larger than usual contingency of slappers. Hurley's fiancé BOG by a mile. Twigley should eat a steak, her head is getting too big for her body (nice dress though).

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Jurrah will score votes in all our wins accept the Richmond game (where he didn't play). He's hard to miss.

You'd be surprised. (although we're talking about on field football personalities here)

No doubt Riwdoldt is a brilliant player, so is Judd. But both are knobs and I don't wish either of them success. Not to mention that Stephen Milne does not deserve to win a flag.

Unfortunately it's true. Garland is back in the moonboot. Doctors don't know what happened to make the injury flare up again. F&$(!!!!!

Short memories... very very short memories. I want to see how McLean performs when he isn't getting jabbed in his kicking foot before every game, and when he has been able to do a bit of running in the 6 months prior to the season. By the way, he is TWENTY THREE for goodness sake.

Hate St Kilda with an absolute passion, and am looking forward to seeing Reiwoldt cry after a big thumping by the hands of Geelong. Having said that, I hate watching Grand Finals when Melbourne are sitting pretty on the bottom of the ladder

That's why Rivers is not our FB. You need to have a very calm head when you play down back. That is what separates guys like Lake, Scarlett and Garland from other key backs. Dawson is a great return on investment, because the investment in him was so low. From that perspective, it was a great get by St Kilda, but he is an average defender who is made to look infinitely better because he is playing in a very very good team. I wonder how he'd go in Melbourne's backline, constantly under siege. I doubt he'd get a game.

I never argued with Johnson's ability. He is a very good player, but he is physically unable to take pack marks, and that is exactly what the Dogs need. Johnson can be a second forward option, but if he's your first, you'll struggle under pressure because you just don't have the luxury of pin-pointing passes during a final when the pressure is on. You need someone who will take a mark when the opposition comes flooding in, when you win a contested possession and just kick the hell out of it hoping you've got someone deep. That is exactly what Reiwoldt did today. Not once did he kick a goal from taking a mark on the lead, instead he helped St Kilda beat the very good zoning set up by the Dog's defence. Robbo can play taller than he is, and can definitely play taller than Johnson, but he still won't give them the strength they need at FF. He still can't beat 2 defenders, and the Dogs can't rely on Robbo's speccies to win them a flag. Hall is a proven premiership winner. He is a tower of strength and will, at worse, give the likes of Higgins, Gianciricusa and Aker (if he plays on) many more opportunities to get involved when precise ball movement is compromised under pressure.

They don't need Robbo, they have Johnson (who is NOT a tall, will NEVER be a tall and CAN'T replaced a tall). And it may sound crazy but I was happy watching this game, with Scully and pick 2 safe and sound. The heartbreak of losing a prelim again, because you can't push your list to where it needs to go to win a flag, is worse than finishing bottom with 2 top picks. We should know, we've been there in 2000/2002/2004/2005/2006, and look where it got us! P.S.- Hudson may be a good ruckman be he gave the Dogs nothing that they really required today. In fact, all 4 ruckmen had no influence on the game. Grant Thomas must be spewing Edit: if Milne wins a premiership I'll cry.