Demon Dynasty

We have been wandering around with no genuine home for decades DJ. As one of the founding members of the VFL/AFL i personally think we are deserved of something abit better than a car park. Especially in 2018. I doubt MCC would allow us to use the MCG grounds anyway. So many restrictions placed on its use now.

I just hope the outcome is more positive than Chanel 7s usual hooplah and build up on our medal prospects at every Olympic event they cover (see "Britney Cox" et al) ?

It has served the Hawks very well over many years while they grew from approx 27k members in 2007 to a massive 75k plus now Daisy. And they managed 4 premierships along the way. My guess is it worked very well all round for their Admin/FD/Merchandise areas as well as very good fan attendance / involvement during this period also. Including a home to go to after tasting ultimate success for the after parties (think the cup coming home the morning after... where would our members go on the Sunday right now? Wherever it is it wouldn't be home as such). We are still where they were, membership wise, about 5 / 6 years ago with no success over the decade or more they have been at Waverley. I think this venue, subject to a significant upgrade of facilities (and maybe a little attention to the car park also if possible) would serve us very well until we have outgrown it (hopefully) due to on field successes. We need a "home base" that is inclusive to everyone involved in the club, yes including members / supporters. The lifeblood of a great club. While we continue to overlook and ignore this critical aspect of what makes a great "club", I doubt we will ever add to our silverware. And you need a home to display those also! After all, what else are we doing if we aren't aiming to fill the display cabinet (at THE CLUB) and walls with memories of great deeds, heroism and amazing stories of team efforts / greatness ...on the field along with the resulting silverware. It might also help to inspire future generations to do likewise. Success can be infectious!

Cards I'll give you the tip now.... Only true die hards will come anywhere near that area on a regular basis. Same goes for Pie supporters. They just have more die hards ✌?️

And who the hec is going to be able to attend that facility other than those living directly in and around the city / Richmond who don't need to drive in? No parking options other than pay through the nose daily car parks and a few minor side street options across punt road where you can't stay usually past one hour or so before getting fined. Then no safe way to cross over to the facility on such a busy road either for families other than heading all the way to Alexander Pde or Swan St intersections and walking back down. Then all the way back again. Only die hards will do this if they are driving in. The MFC did its research and determined that the biggest "growth" corridor was outer Easter suburbs, hence the Casey link. Foster and grow that link even further, and save a stack of $ also and retro fit Waverley Park and let's finally become a real "people's" club that members / followers can easily access and frequent. This is an ideal fit in an ideal location that people can actually park and attend and watch training / support their club and enjoy some pleasant facilities including cafes / fitness club, merchandise store etc. Goschs paddock offers nothing for this club other than many more decades of obscurity and under the radar season fails, where the players/staff don't have to face any supporter member and chat/look them in the eye after a horrible performance or alternatively celebrate a great win. There remains no concrete tangible connection between the MFC hierarchy / FD and its grass root supporters and IMO we will never taste ultimate success until this is addressed. It's the missing piece in the MFC puzzle. A retro fit is needed no doubt but can be solved with clever planning and maybe an AFL grant/assistance with a move / upgrade to Waverley Park ?? ??

I only just tuned in to SEN for the first time yesterday and was wondering why KB was on in the usual Ox / Marko slot. I found the afternoon session just turned in to a constant "in house" plug for the greyhound industry after the live rabbit debacle, seemingly being pushed by Marko on behalf of his Dad's interests in the sport. There were constant advertorials being run every 20 minutes or so. I switched off after i heard about a weeks worth of that rubbish. Having said that i can't agree more Mr Leg. But unfortunately this tends to be the way of the corporate world and has been since the 80s really. It takes no prisoners once it decides you are no longer worthy of investing in and more often than not will speak with a forked tongue. I still recall to this day, siting in the boardroom of the CEO of a very well known English insurance Company (Australian HQ) a few decades ago having lunch. The topic of conversation, raised by the hosting CEO himself (an ex ANZ CEO also), was that if he could have his way he would list human workers on a version of the stock exchange for buying / selling / trading. Just like a commodity. When he was quizzed about this he didn't flinch or indicate he was joking in any manner whatsoever. He was quite serious about the concept!

Well said Lucifer and well spoken by Jack. I was never a huge fan on the field other than his classy ball use and some of his work in the last few seasons, but very disappointed with how this was handled in the press. The trade outcome reflected this big time, in Ports favour unfortunately. There was going to be no other outcome after he was dumped on so no one to blame but the FD itself and the players who went public. WATT goes around comes around as they say in the classics. I wish Jack all the best and will never forget his winning run and goal around the southern stand flank to finish off the Pies on QB 2017 and the reaction of the Pies supporters around us afterwards! Priceless and worth every cent of the $200k a year for the next two years! A better bloke you could not wish to meet even if he never quite lived up to his potential on the field. I wish he had and that he could have stayed to (hopefully) play finals in 2018. Thanks mate and good luck.

I think it was also the overhaul of the FD and its set up though City. Apparently someone convinced Hardwick (maybe himself through a course he attended in the U.S. pre-season i believe) of the benefits of running a tight ship but at the same time passing on some key powers and responsibilities to trusted underlings vs his prior style of wanting to micro manage every aspect himself as much as was possible.

Quite possibly Gonzo. There are two sides to every coin. Jack certainly didnt finish well, but he wasn't alone there. And others barely got started after a few attempts also but are still on the list (to this point anyway).

I would suggest more about the former UB. Next year is our make or break year as far as retention of future stars and that will be more about the team's overall progress and as well as the $$ available to increase offers as you suggest. Some will wander if we do not make finals and perform to or above expectations PLUS offer something very decent to retain (and even that might not cut it for some coming out of contract).

He was apparently a naughty boy pre-season Praha, along with a few others, and was singled out to set an example. Possibly the most senior/experienced of the group?

He was apparently a naughty boy pre-season Praha, along with a few others, and was singled out to set an example. Possibly the most senior/experienced of the group?

Goodwin & Co will need to deliver in 2018 Picket as what may go down, at the end of 2018, could send this club into a final nose dive that it may not recover from IF we don't make finals (and get a decent result in them also). I'm assuming (rightly or wrongly) that Goodwin & Co have probably also gotten wind of this and realise that its 2018 or bust (for them/us?) with the Lever trade and JW sacrifice a sign of their ruthless attempt to make the most of next year (an "all - in" play now, given the hole cards they know will probably be dealt at the end of 2018??). Apparently JW wasn't the only player to return from the summer break in a bad way either, but unfortunately was made the sole scapegoat. Easy target (nice guys always finish last sit?)

With Goody & Co running his stocks down publicly CBD, this would seem about all they were going to get and the result was potentially worse, with the rumours suggesting we likely had to pay part of his salary to get the trade away. If so Goody and Co. dug their own grave on this one! Regardless of what you think about Watts or how he was treated (fairly or otherwise), if the salary rumours are proven to be true, this will quite comfortably go down as the worst trade in the club's history, subject to Lever's performance during his stint, which we won't have a handle on for a number of years.

Might be some value there. He might even be able to teach Weids how to split the middle from 20 meters out on occasions and kick them from more than 35 meters out. 500k well spent on something the current coaching crew haven't been capable of doing.

I wonder why

Very easily Junior. The only plausible and reasonable argument for running down a player whilst in a draft window with 2 years remaining on his contract would be to send him a huge message, hope that his draft value then drops considerably so that you then say any (post public trashing) deals are just too unacceptable and then attempt to mend any rift and get try to get Jack to improve as you see fit. Anything else was purely suicidal for both Jack and the club in terms of upside surely. Whether it started off as a soft kick and got out of hand with some unfortunate but amateurish comments that weren't planned... UH since when has the public / members / supporters at AFL / VFL (pre AFL) level ever been fully informed and aware of what truly goes on within the four walls of a club or the commission itself? As KB has always said, lying is the second language of the AFL (and I would add many of those who are directly involved with it and who rely on it as their major or sole source of income). ....a few fine examples of it on an 'en masse' scale. - The 'well planned' extraction by the AFL Commision of the imminent bargain basement sale of what was left of the Fitzroy FC to Norf in 1996, instead handing it to Brisbane; and - The Essendrug saga ..... No one saw either of these coming (even Norf officials who believed they were on the cusp of securing many of the FFC contracted players) outside of a few select parties within the AFL & Essendrug (following the "alleged" tip off to Essendrug officials, supposedly by the then head of the AFL). The Essendrug officials (and most of the players involved) then went on to deny anything untoward had happened and apparently had absolutely no knowledge, records or recollection of whatever the substance was that was being injected multiple times into each player in an off site location, and then expected the public to believe that as well. I have absolutely no expectation whatsoever, and never have had, that anyone at the MFC or AFL level will ever tell us the complete and full story on any important internal AFL/Club/player related matter UH.

And yes there is a contradiction in my last post. Im waiting! ?

I can. We arent that hard nosed and have shown that with the "Get Lever no matter what the cost!" trade. The other clubs will be in no hurry to grab Watts given they know he is so poorly rated by us. I cant see any trade for Watts until the last day or so even if he nominates someone (which he probably wont or cant).

Our very wet brigade, other than Maynard, arent all that promising from what ive seen King. Whilst i agree we dont need any further dad's army type picks, i would also not want to go with more untried skinny draftees from here unless their body / physique says otherwise and they have speed and can hit targets by foot in a big way. Would rather go for early to mid 20 offerings with same speed/kicking abilities (and or solid overhead marks) who have AFL experience (say 80 plus games), have already proven they have some talent at this level and a body that's also able to handle 23 rounds. No more Gysberts, Mortons etc fcs

Of course the FD is watching and monitoring every aspect they see fit, as we would hope and assume from a well paid bunch of professionals Dr. However, when you see them keep playing (and giving 2nd / 3rd chances during the season) under performers who have shown only spasmodic "reasonable" form and in some cases average form at Casey eg, Kent, JKH and Weids. And you keep playing so so players that offer no advantage over others that were at least as good or better on the list and telling them so by leaving them to die a slow death in the McGoos (eg, Howe / Dunny overlooked for Omac and Garland) just because they supposedly were the future and apparently "got the message", the evidence is clearly there that some who are treated differently to others REGARDLESS of performance. Not that surprising but still, it happens. Coaches and their crew have favourites and that list can no doubt change, by the month! Evan Watts had to drop himself at one stage last year as he felt he wasn't up to scratch at senior level. Some have earned credits in the seniors, I get that, so will always get a few extra trys due to leniency but this forgiveness for players that have never truly shined (consistently) at senior level and then not truly earned a spot with consistent form in the McGoos but still get a look in at senior level (and some overlooked even if performing better than their favoured counterparts) from time to time, is just another aspect of what makes good clubs become great, vs the rest of the pack. If you can't get over this hurdle as a club I doubt the club will make it and succeed at the highest level or would need to have an amazingly talented list (and manager/coach)that is somehow able to ignore the background noise regardless.

I seriously hope this isn't true. If it is then this club has serious underlying issues that go way beyond Watts and his off field antics and WILL NOT be resolved with the departure of JW. If it is true I can only hope PJ gets hold of the fitness guy and tells him to shut the hell up and keep his personal views to himself or between himself and JW.

Yes but the Jack haters don't see it that way Red, they like to just paint a picture of an under performer who wasn't really very good at anything or didn't perform up to the levels expected most of the time. Whilst he may not have, he certainly did perform to a level that meant he was easily in our best 22. By focusing so much on JW, too much emphasis is placed on HIS output vs what's expected and too many others who have severely under performed and in my opinion should have been looked at and moved on before JW, are still there and in many cases have gone under the radar of scrutiny. Scrutiny of a similar level that's been applied to JW, and rightly so. For if you aren't going to apply the same principles to all as you did to Jack then good luck getting the best out of the entire playing list and winning a premiership (under the present coach and FD team).

With the value, or lack thereof, that the FD has now caste upon Jack by announcing to the entire football world that he has personal issues off the track and doesn't go hard enough with pre-season training etc, we will be lucky to even get Pick 30 (as suggested by Spook) let alone a bonus player Chaser. Maybe a free tea strainer so we we can read the tea leaves and work out how this will all play out. Now that would be worthwhile! ?

Ron this line of "deciding to be great". Sorry but you can certainly give everything of yourself and decide to be fully committed and give it your best and maybe improve to your best "optimal" output. This might result in a player improving their standing and becoming say sub par, ordinary, a bit above average, very good or in some rare cases "great" ... but at this level you can't just flick a switch and suddenly become "great" just because someone (be it Ronald Dale or anyone) suggested that's what happens when you decide!