Macca

Yeah , we've got to make sure we get the right type if we go down that track . Sometimes it works , other times it doesn't . It's always a risk . There's plenty of success stories . Lockett , Hall , Judd , Williams , Ottens , Rhys Jones etc etc .

Well , obviously you'd need to be returning something (like a pot plant) "Just thought I'd return your pot plant ............"

Yep Stuart Dew was a classic top up player , much like Luke Ball . If we only get the services of such a player for a few years ( with free agency ) it's no great bother . You can just keep replacing these types with others that become free agents . Hawks replaced Dew with Burgoyne yeah ? I reckon it's going to change the face of football . Clubs will offer the big bucks to free agents to get out of the bottom half of the ladder . It becomes a case of "If we do nothing , we stay where we are" . The fans will embrace it if their club snares a big name . Just look at how excited we got over Mitch Clark .

Well , with Ball it's tricky isn't it . We would have had to pass on Tapscott or maybe even Gysberts to snare him . Different circumstances as well though . With free agency all you need is a players willingness to move and not forgetting of course , the big bucks! We don't have to trade any picks or players . Salary cap room is the key . IMO we have to be a reasonably big player in that trade month . For some reading this post , their opinion might be "The seasons just started ! " but ................I'd be quite surprised if our club hasn't addressed this whole free agency thing quite some time ago . It's been on the table for at least a couple of years now .

Free agency is ongoing . Goddard right now would be fantastic . He could be 28 and still be great value . We keep thinking about having a player for 8 - 10 years . It's an old fashioned view based on what has happened before free agency . Back in 1973 North Melbourne snagged Doug Wade {31) , Barry Davis (29) and John Rantall (29) by utilising the '10 year rule" . 5 years later they had progressed from being a basket case to winning their 1st two flags . There will be more players like Goddard every year . Our Salary cap will be our only hurdle in bringing top experienced talent to our club . Hopefully we have some room in our cap at seasons end . We may have to move a few of our senior players on to create that room . Nothing comes easy .

Yeah , at this stage I've revised my aims to finishing somewhere above the bottom 20 ! Unless by some ridiculous fluke of nature I snag a couple of 9's . Those bonus 3's are our only hope . I'm already so far behind that even a '12' won't make much of a dint .

Good luck to San Jose there 'pantaloons' . I follow the Canucks mainly because my Cousin moved there in the early 90's . Gotta love playoff hockey hey . Though I just watched Vancouver lose their opener to L.A 2 - 4 . Not a good start ! You're right about winning the Stanley Cup . It seems there's not a great deal of home ice advantage and I'm not sure the seeds mean much at all . And having 16 teams in the playoffs makes it a tough ask . If a team can hit form at the right time , then even a 7 or 8 seed can win the whole thing . And there's always lots of upsets . For those with Foxtel the next game to be shown is game 2 between Pittsburgh and the Flyers - Sat morning 9.30am . Ideal . Cheers

"Four Yorkshiremen" from the Monty Python crew

I think your friend is right . Apparently the Richmond players did the same thing to John Pitura . I was only a young kid back then but I remember the publicity surrounding Diamond Jim coming to the Demons . 38,000 grand splashed across the newspapers if my memory serves me correct . Big money back then as you no doubt know . A couple of years later we spent 62,000 on Big Carl . Stand corrected on the exact figures but we certainly have some history with regards the high priced recruits . Later on we snagged Templeton and Moore . 'Spose what I'm alluding to is free agency . Nothing would surprise me .

Spot on dl . And I hope you're right re the CHF position . Gee, Cloke would be handy though . Double whammy too with the EE reaction . That would be priceless . Ya just never know .

Well , Sam hasn't played much . He looked good on the back flank late last year . He was earmarked as a forward this year but the backline looks his go IMO . That spot allows him to use his pace , break the lines etc . He's still very young . Those recruiters are always saying things like "He's a good kick" . Diamond Jim was a good kick . When he got it . Cheers

They used to say that about John Wayne ! Apparently "The Duke" got better after getting a few pre-seasons under his belt . Cheers

Yeah , fair enough dl . I liked the way Neeld and co. went after Mitch Clark . We need more of that sort of thing . If we went after a few free agents then obviously a midfielder or 2 would be high on the list . A top class running half back flanker would be handy as well . A gun CHF is also on my wish list ! Cheers

Well I don't view the word "rebuild" the same way so it's more about interpretation of a word . Restructured list , list management , list adjustment - take your pick 'dl' . Don't worry , I certainly wasn't thinking of another 5 year plan ! On the contrary , I was thinking of a 1 or 2 year period of bringing some experienced talent to our club through free agency or trading . We have to do something yeah ? Or are you happy with our current list ?

I did say partly 'dl' with regards a rebuild . All clubs are at least in this phase . I reckon we will turn over at least 8 - 10 players at years end . Cheers

Davey and Moloney should come back into the side . Morton needs to be given a chance sooner or later . Couch , Tapscott , Petterd and Martin all have claims but I've a feeling all our senior players will get a chance to step up . Bennell , Sellar , Macdonald , Bail and McKenzie are all under pressure to hold their spots . Morton and Couch squeezed out if the others I mentioned are fit . Cheers .

You and I and many others have seen worse , Wyl . 1977 - 1981 22 wins , 88 losses . Those were the days ! Cheers

If our senior players all step up we can win this game . And I reckon Davey and Moloney will come into the team . Apart from anything else we're really low on confidence . Neeld needs to get all our senior players together and motivate them for a concerted effort . In some ways the Tigers have a lot more to play for . They've got Geelong and West Coast after us . I know of a few Tiger fans who are a bit worried about this Saturday . We've beaten them in 8 of our last 13 encounters . This game was always shaping up as a bit of a "Season definer" . We'll need to play a damn side better than the last 2 games but we all know from the last 2 years that we can "turn it on" when we have to . It will depend on our senior players though . Cheers

Just on the thread topic , it's a fair bit of both . Although luck plays a big part in recruiting . Even the clubs that get it right a lot and have a lot of luck still manage to get a number of recruits wrong . I reckon the jury is still out on all our recruits since 2007 . As for all our senior players 25 yo and older - it comes down to natural talent and development . With a few of them I reckon all the development in the world ain't gonna make 'em much better . Tony Jewell once said "You can't turn (censored) into strawberry jam!" . But others should be much better players . The one thing that's hard to teach is natural awareness , vision and relentless courage . That comes down to great coaching . Northey was terrific in this area . Daniher got us into 6 finals series in 9 years so he must have been doing something right . Now that we're starting to catch up in the development area it should be "all systems go" . Our FD and facilities are miles better since we moved from the Junction oval . But we need to keep coming up with more $$$$ ! . It seems the top 5 sides have become ultra professional in the way they go about it . It's early doors but there doesn't appear to be even 1 of the top 5 that might fall away . None of them show any signs of taking their foot off the gas . I reckon they see their "window" as being an ongoing thing . They have got the attitude of "We need to be always looking at ways of getting better" . West Coast , Carlton and Hawthorn all held off on re-signing their "out of contract" coaches . It hasn't hurt them . I honestly believe we need to bring as many very good "free agents" into our club as our salary cap allows . With regards to our senior players I reckon Neeld has put them on notice . 2 young captains says it all and apart from Jamar , none of our senior players are in the leadership group . We'd be the only club where this is the case . Stand corrected on that one though . All in all , we can partly rebuild quite quickly if we're smart . And we do have to rebuild somewhat . We need an injection of experienced talent . Cheers (just for you 'Rp')

Sad to hear about Jim , hardtack . I remember seeing Captain Matchbox at the 'Royal Oak' in Richmond in late 1976 (?) . They were great fun . Pots were a dollar each and I think "free" for the Ladies . My date drank me under the table ! Vaguely remember trying to do the 'Twist' on the dance floor . Also saw 'The Sports' a few times back in the day . Probably at the 'Prozzie' in Kew or 'The Bloke' in Bulleen . Might have been the 'Village Green' . Memory is a bit hazy ! Great times and great days . Here's one more from each band ........... Fairly sure Jim features at the end of both these songs . With the same ending . Macca 7.4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAVzYLPgUlc Macca 7.5

Very good post Ben . Identifies the problem in a nutshell . 'Rpfc' said much the same thing in a post late last night . Post #28 of this thread................... http://demonland.com...page__p__546139 But ............where to from here ? Our young up and comers need very good senior players around them to aid in their development otherwise they may never develop properly . It's a major concern . I believe we need to bring in as many decent free agents as our salary cap allows . "Out with old , in with the new" needs to be the mentality . Sentiment needs to be thrown out the window . It's so important for our young players to have excellent role models . The coaching staff can only do so much . Our senior players should have already been warned and put on notice . I'm hoping they have . They probably take up a fair whack of our salary cap so there's one issue partly solved if we move some of them on .Our senior players quite often step up in "winnable" games and this often clouds the issue . This next game against Richmond could serve as a classic example . We need to bring some experienced players into our club . Free agency allows us to do that . If they're the right type and assuming they want to come of course . We can't be a club where free agents can see a bit of "superannuation" . We need to choose wisely if we go down this track . Alternatively we could trade with other clubs to bring in some more experienced types . This is a lot trickier as our senior players probably haven't much trade value and we don't really want to give up any of our decent young players . And losing any of our 1st round draft picks next year is unpalatable . Think I'm right in saying that we have to pay 100% of our salary cap if we continue to get the handout from the AFL . That being the case , we may as well be paying the right players . Edit : North Melbourne famously brought in Doug Wade , John Rantall and Barry Davis in the early 70's to great effect . The league at the time had brought in a "10 year rule" . A type of free agency . North went from being a basket case to winning 2 premierships not long after . Wade was 31 , Davis 29 and Rantall was 29 when they made the move in 1973 . So , if people are put off by the age of many of the free agents , think again . The beauty of free agency is that a club can keep bringing them in to replace earlier free agents that have reached the end . Hawthorn , Carlton and Essendon brought in many players from interstate from 1979 - 1989 . They were aggressive in their pursuit of these players and collectively they won a total of 10 flags in that time period . Time to think outside the square . Cheers

Later on we had the "Monaro" . Classic advert

Day 1 , 1st Test in Barbados . West Indies won the toss and are batting . Our team is Warner , Cowan , Watson (vc) , Ponting , Clarke (Capt), M Hussey , Wade , Siddle , Harris , Hilfenhaus and Lyon . 12th man Pattinson . Pitch looks devoid of grass , though it could have a bit of pace in it . Cheers

Yeah , it's better than even money that something will happen . Was thinking of starting a thread along those lines . Maybe we could all share a laugh thinking of some new ridiculous happening . I'll have a go . New revelations reveal that Mark Neeld has been leaving the "Match Day" coaching to Brian Royal . Mark , when quizzed on why this happened said "He's been knocked back for so many head coaching jobs , I thought I'd let him have a taste of the big time". Brian Royal was unavailable for any comment . Sources close to the club reveal that Brian is happy to go back to coaching the midfield . Cheers

You might have to call for extra supplies . Perhaps from the top shelf . Cheers