Jaded No More

I think QueenC and I have the magic touch. An ex, a very passionate Essendon supporter (and MCC member), has bought a Melbourne membership for the past 6 years. Initially he bought one because he came to a fair few Melbourne games with me, but since then he simply buys one to support the club that I love (which is pretty nice, given we are not together anymore). Dating a Port fan during their powerhouse years was an absolute nightmare. I even got to sit in their reserved (read: feral) area a couple of times at AAMI stadium. Despite him being a typical Port feral, he also adopted Melbourne as his second team and did buy a membership (only once though). I did semi-convert one guy who was never really into football, but was a Swans fan by virtue of being a Sydney native. Once we started dating, he began to show a lot more interest in football and Melbourne. To this day he is a keen Melbourne follower, and would often send me random text messages to discuss the team (e.g.- "Robbed" after we lost to the Dogs last week :D) I really don't mind which team my partner follows, as long as they know that we're bringing the kids up as Melbourne supporters And to answer someone's question; nobody has ever so much as attempt to vaguely suggest that I should possibly convert... they all knew better than to waste their time!

That's what I'd like to see, but there is no way Bartram is getting dropped (nor does he deserve to be). Maric will get the chop and Bartram will stay. He is well suited to play on Sam Mitchell IMO, so he has a role. We're a massive chance to beat Hawthorn this week, which at the start of the year would be a completely laughable notion.

Damn it... Already missed a whole hour Did he say anything of particular interest thus far?

Speak for yourself, I'm here for the free booze <_< We're creeping up very slowly now, which is to be expected. Doesn't the Footy Show have one final big membership drive for all teams? Do they still do that, and if so, when does that happen?

Out: Dunn, Petterd In: Frawley, Green

I agree with this, and I think that, in light of the fall out, Stynes should come out and reply in some sort of public manner. If he truly believes the club has excluded women in the past, he needs to come out with cold hard evidence to support this line of thought. Otherwise, he needs to state that his comments were wrong, or wrongly worded. Either way, as the public head of this football club, it is his responsibility now to fix this issue, even if he believes that he is right in his comments. We do not need highly regarded members of this club fighting each other once more, just as we are finally making giant steps towards meaningful unity. The one thing we can all agree on, is that the Melbourne Football Club is one that we all cherish and love, and none of us, particularly Jim and Mick want to see it suffer because of a difference of opinion.

Legend. Screw other clubs, screw their unwritten rules. Nice guys finish last in the AFL. GO DEES!

For one, I wouldn't assume that a club president, and former player would go out of his way to make negative comments about his club. The choice of words, and indeed topic, was poor. But Jim has never taken pot shots at past administrations, and has in fact gone out of his way to bring everyone back into the fold. Taking that into account, I think his comments were general and not at all a reflection of our past as a club (but may have come across that way due to the way it was expressed). As a female supporter, I don't feel excluded in any way by my club, however I don't feel particularly included either. I'm a member, and whether I'm male or female seems to matter little to the MFC (which is neither bad nor good). In general though, I should note that AFL is not a female-friendly industry and there are still stereotypes out there regarding women being involved in football. It would be great if more opportunities were opened up to women to get involved on a professional level, and I think all clubs can do more to support that. Additionally, as a young supporter who goes out with friends on weekends, I have seen plenty of Melbourne boys behaving like dills, and agree with Jim that we're one phone call away from a scandal (as is EVERY other club!).

I completely agree with you on both points, however I think that in the end, the decision to go to the media was the wrong one. Negative publicity is the last thing we need, especially if it involves off field instability and board feuds (which is not to say this is happening, but we know the media will blow anything out of proportion). We've had a very positive weekend on the field, and for it to conclude in sensationalist negative journalism, which in the end will achieve nothing positive for the club, is a real shame. Jim should not have spoken publicly about the issue of women's treatment IMO, but privately I hope the club is acutely aware that our players are just as capable of acting badly, as any other young AFL/NRL player. Wearing red and blue (unfortunately) does not absolve you from stupidity, and I am guessing that Jim was trying to communicate that in his address, but it came out wrong. Both Jim and Mick love the club unconditionally, both want to see it thrive and both have made significant contributions to the team. What a shame that poorly chosen words have caused both to come under fire.

31,700

Really really poor turnout. Don't whinge that we get stuck with Sunday games, then not turn up on a perfectly good day for football. Those who didn't go missed out on a really good game where we showed plenty. While I thought we outnumbered the Dogs, there still weren't enough of us, which is the same old story. If our supporters are not a force, what chance does our club have of being one?

Makes you appreciate our current backline that much more, doesn't it?!

My wish is for the club (read: NOT the players), to do whatever they possibly can in order to ensure that we don't win more than 4 games this season. I don't want players to stop trying, and I don't go to games and barrack for a loss, but the importance of grabbing the best two kids in the draft this year, cannot be underestimated. Not only will it make us a better team, it will prevent another club from improving their list by grabbing a top kid. We must must must take advantage of this draft. Scully + Butcher *or insert any other two top players* are my wish for 2009. If given the choice between winning 6-7 games this year, or winning the next Judd AND Roughead, I think most supporters would go for option B.

91% disposal efficiency... Although we know these stats can be a bit iffy. I have no issue with him handballing, because his kicking is not great. However I disagree with you that he looks to dish it off straight away. He is pretty composed under pressure and he even tried taking his opponent on a couple of times. Obviously with experience, his confidence will grow. I really enjoyed him playing further up the field and being released from FB. He even played on the wing for a brief period and I thought he didn't look at all out of his element. He has a shitload of natural talent and the scope for improvement is huge. That they are experimenting with his position at the moment is great, because he can play a lot of different roles, and the more versatile he becomes the better.

Oh dear I was running out the door as I typed that... probably should have taken the time to read over it though. Oops! In my defense, he is great at orchestrating the play. Yeah ok, I'm going now

It's not a silly comment. Obviously you can never predict with certainty whether or not we would have won under slightly different circumstances, but Frawley would have done a much better job on Aker, and he in the end was the difference. We were all over them for most of the game, and as per usual, let ourselves down with some poor decision making and kicking. Great result in the end, because we gain respect, and keep the priority picks intact.

Had Frawley and Rivers played, we would have won.

Also wanted to add that Martin was so good today. Killed his direct opponent and gave us some good drive out of the backline. Kicking is a bit iffy, but god he's got great skills for a giagantasorous!

Best composure in the team. Saw him the other day and he has the body Kate Moss wishes she had. So bloody skinny, and yet nobody can touch him. It's as if time stops when he has the ball.

I'm pretty sure Grimes was on Brad Johnson for a fair chunk of the game, but it's hard to judge from where I sit. Grimes has played just 3 games, and has the composer of a veteran. Love him! Dunn kills me. GO HARD OR [censored] OFF. Did some really good things, and then completely stuffed us up with his unwillingness to dive head first into contests. And if only Whelan was 10 years younger and didn't have the body of a porcelain doll. He is awesome!

As they mentioned on SEN, when Brad Johnson started his career, Grimes was 5. Gun

Morton is unbelievable! Anyone who says he can't kick should get their eyes checked.

Am I the only one who thinks that the Gold Coast experiment should just f' off and die already? 16 clubs are worse off just so that we can add another club to a geographical area where nobody gives two hoots about AFL, and all for the sake of making more money from TV rights. I hate the AFL! <_<

Bulk SMS advertising is not charged at 20c per text. Usually you pay a bulk sum for a certain number of texts, as opposed to paying per text, and in the end it works out to be as cheap as 1c a text, depending on the volume sent. Having said that, we may have only spent 40 cents, because I didn't get one?

So tempted to make the effort and go down to Casey, particularly if Strauss makes it into the senior team. State of hangover on Sunday morning will no doubt be the deciding factor. Hopefully the good people of Demonland will provide updates regardless.