andrewlamprill37

Jack viney rnd 1 when he roved it off half back and nailed a 55m pass hands down

gotta stick with him at half forward playing very short stints on ball - his similarites to chappy are huge. just needs to string games together, get some confidence and some presence and he will be dangerous off half forward for a long time to come

Breeze died down apparently....

.... when the tanking was obvious to all and sundry.

The penalties? Bailey's gone, nothing to do with us, but he's fine. CC will be having an all expenses paid holiday for a year, will be receiving Christmas Hampers from most of the board for the rest of his life, and is currently wondering what to do with the increased salary he'll receive when he returns. And the $500K? Carlton are still paying off theirs. Very, very slowly. (and at a very low interest ….)

We keep our future draft picks. We keep all our (key) staff, our CEO, and our Board. We're not guilty of anything, legally speaking (cough cough). We (will) keep our gaming licenses. We'll keep our sponsors, we can tell everyone we didn't tank, and we didn't lose any premiership points. In a week this will all be over, as opposed to it dragging through the courts for a year or two, or rearing its ugly head every year when draft time comes round and we don't get a pick until the third round. We didn't land the AFL in the sh*t, and as a result we won't be playing 5 games a year as the new expansion team in Port Morseby. And finally, we didn't lose Hogan, Dawes and Barry, who we got for less than what we pay Aaron Davey each year.

Did I miss anything in what could have, and probably should have, happened?

We Won.

Agree

Through the whole process the clubs stance was to protect the integrity of the footy club and defend all employees where they could.

Up until 5 minutes before the press conference it was widely reported that the club would be found guilty, imagine the penalties then.

The footy club clearly fought this hard and won which was clearly a good result.

The evidence put forward by the AFL clearly showed wrongdoings by CC + DB. Their penalties are harsh but considering Demetriou's comments earlier in the year they could have been harsher. CC has accepted he made a stupid comment about losing and DB admitted to coaching differently because of this, whether this was all that occurred or not doesn't matter, this was the evidence. The club doesn't exactly have a strong case defending them, clearly an agreement was made that wouldn't cripple the club.

Saying that, the fine was clearly too big and there is no doubt the club would be fuming. A figure of 50-100K would have cleared a lot of confusion up about the whole thing. But it is not worth fighting a costly legal battle throughout the whole season, to maybe get the fine reduced a few 100K. During which time we would battle to sign/resign sponsors. The sooner we can play footy without having the whole thing over our head the better. Bring on Friday

Geez I wonder why Gardner didn't call an election...

Jimmy Toumpas is a serious talent, a leader, hard and has elite endurance, pace and skills... Sign him!!

Wines will be a great player but Toumpas has some x-factor that we need! Especially with with a midfield shaping up as Jones, Viney, McKenzie, Trengove, Grimes and hopefully Evans and Taggert.

Watch that video and tell me he isn't exactly what we need, if he slips to 4 could be steal of the draft.

BT was an amazing radio commentator. I can't believe how far he has fallen. He's woeful.

its only because now you can pick up on his mistakes - he will call a player wrong 3-4 times a quarter - used to love him at mmm but now dead to me as a commentator

people forget that the board consists of some seriously established and successful businessmen who know what it takes to run a successful business (which is what Schwab has to do) and can make hard decisions. no doubt the board has played a huge role in clearing the debt but that doesn't mean schwab has sat on his hands for 4 years.

a couple in particular Stuart Grimshaw - CEO of BOQ + Guy Jalland - Legal Exec to the Packers.

I'm not going to dance around like some of you here and say its a fantastic or suicidal decision but i do know that

a) these guys are far far more qualified than most on here and

B) they actually get to work with him and see the inside of the club

If they've come to this decision it wont have been without hours and hours of debate and scrutiny and i will stick with them on it

let alone port

Probably had enough of coaching after being knifed in the back by the previous melbourne board and also essendon.

Think he's set up nicely in West Coast, built a list that is looking like being a contender for many years to come... cant see him going anywhere.

Gerard's obsession with nik-nat is painful. Listening to him commentate eagles games is worse than Roos commentating the swans with Joey and goodsey and mummy...

Clearly natanui is a gun but talking up a 14 possession average is pathetic

McLardy promoting the dinner to assist the club to land a big fish is embarrasing. That is why the club gets poor media attention and makes us look like a charity case. Time for the club to show the world that the club means business and competes with other clubs on an even level.. Act like a poor man, you behave like a poor man. If every club fundraises, why do we behave like a charity case asking for money to get 1 or 2 players thru free agency or trades. Mitch Clarke was a big fish we landed without us being made to look a charity case, why not promote the need for another Mitch Clarke and not to pay 100% of the salary cap. I am personally embarred by this promotion

I like the FD's changes last year and the promotion that we have 'elite' training facilities. The second part of this is the club promoting elite standards to match the facilities. I just saw the news and it had Howe teaching young kids in the City of Casey how to take a spekky. Good promotion of the club and every kid wants to take spekkys. I like that the club is creating foundations in an area that will give us future budding Demon supporters.

Well done to all Foundation Members and the money you put in. But what is more important is raising our membership base. Much more money is raised when you get 40 to 45 thousand members.

As far as i am concerned the basic membership package was a WASTE of money this year. We were promised a new era with the new coach, new FD structure, elite facilities, a new fitness manager with an elite performance output.. What we all have got was a year of massive disappoitnment and poor performance. The club did not say we need to go backwards to go forward. Neeld said he was not surprised that we performed badly after round one, yet he promised a more hardened football performance. Alot of people believe we have gone backwards to move forwards. This a belief only and no one can specifially point out what has improved. If they do others can counter argue this too easliy

Sorry to say this, but the foundation members will die off soon (this generation). What happens when we have a very little supporter base and the stereotype (rich) supporter dies off. Young people do not support our club as we are weak. The promotion of this fundraiser is testiment of this.

Time for the club to stop pinning themselves on the clubs elite supporters. too much emphasis on this in recent times, and in the past. Time for the club to be successful and work on the real foundation of the club. The average supporter who pays a couple of hunderd each year. Get 10 thousand more of these people paying up and the foundation dinner become an added bonus, nothing more

The same issue of TPP was presented and promoted at last years dinner with the aim of attracting (clark) and keeping (scully) players at our club.

Remind Robbie: What size donation to the club is required to become a Foundation Hero?

$5000, and each foundation hero is invited each year to this dinner at no cost. but obviously are tempted with auctions, raffles etc to support the club.

this string of dinners has been a massive factor in the club surviving, and then getting us in the position to pay front end contracts and manage players like Clark coming to the club.

I saw him at training this morning and he looks like a school kid, he is going down the Morton path but i cant see him being given the same 7 years before patience is lost!!

$ully Filth

In honour of the classic Round 1 1983 banner Collingwood put up in the southern stand when Peter Moore played his first game for us against the filth.

Link below on the story from the age

http://news.google.c...pg=5953,6587368

cant believe the pies had a president called Ronald McDonald haha

Anyone who heard Ox interview Tom Scully after he left for GWS would applaud him for calling Scummy out. He is still the ONLY media person I have heard to call him a liar (not with that exact word) and when challenged by the little Weasil he even offered to give up his source in private. I would imagine it would therefore be someone TS knows.

You could feel the discomfort from the Scummy side of the interview. Ox had months of calls from Melbourne supporters sweating on his decision leading up to it and he knew the truth even though no one wanted to blieve it. You could tell that OX was fithy on him for the way he'd lead us all up the garden path.

Who was this interview with? i must have missed it but would have been fascinated to hear it. You know if you can still listen to it?

Stinga, I don't listen to his radio show, so can you please tell me honestly that he is a spruiker of the MFC? The last time I saw/heard Schwarz in the media was when Sheedy was last year on the Sunday morning show (AFL Game Day), Sheedy (being Sheedy) made some comment about who would want to coach Melbourne (or similar), and Schwarz sat back and kept his mouth shut. He was also the only ex-player that I heard/read that said Scully was going (the old "98% sure" comment), while the rest of the Club wanted us to believe that they believed he was staying. Schwarz the media personality was stronger than Schwarz the ex-MFC player, and didn't name his source. He had the opportunity to put pressure on Scully by naming his source, but instead, kept his mouth shut and we had that black cloud hang over us for the remainder of that season.

Don't get me wrong, I loved The Ox as a player, and am glad he has got his sh!t together offield. He is obviously doing well from the media, but there are not too many that can juggle the media game with gettin ginvolved with a football club.

This post is not intended to stir the pot, I sincerely want to see Schwarz back at the Club, as well as pumping us up in the media.

Definitely valid points about the scully and sheedy stuff. I listen to his radio show fairly frequently and this year he has been alot more outspoken and supportive of the club. He was quick to shut down David King and got right behind the football department when the players were not putting in. You could hear there was some real passion behind his words.

what a legend

So if that's the general feeling, why the need to boo him for leaving?

Where did i say we should boo him? Saying that he did disrespect and lie to our club so im not going to get in the way of anyone who does.

Today's HS article:

Jim Stynes sought Tom Scully honesty

Extract:

"...Stynes sought assurances and wanted Scully to be upfront and honest, yet was stunned at the revelation that Scully's father Phil had signed with Greater Western Sydney as a recruiter in October 2010.

Though publisher Penguin remains guarded, Stynes' view of how Scully and his advisers handled the saga is set to be less than complimentary.

There is still some residual angst at Melbourne, more about the perceived falseness of the final year than the decision to go itself..."

This is what really burns deep! Ok take the money...many have before...but where was the integrity and respect $cully. Lets honour Jim Stynes' sentiments and boo the hell out of $cully!

He didnt have the balls to come clean and lied to the players, the club and worst of all lied straight to the face of Big Jim while he was saving our club. Stuff him, not the kind of person i want wearing the red and blue

I know there are plenty of people continually calling for schwabs head on this forum but you have to give credit where its due, to keep the club in the black this year after everything thats occurred would be a fantastic result. Past mfc administrations have continually lost $millions in poor years and were forever playing catch up and fighting debt going into the next year, which has limted investment where it counts, the football department. Ultimately we all know all that really matters is how big the number is in the wins column but it is great that in the off season we will know that this financial stability will allow us to leave no stone unturned in hunting those wins in the future. Well done Cameron

garlands pace and experience as a back (playing on talls and smalls) should give our forward defensive pressure a good boost. which is definitely an area we need vast improvement

Yes i agree, just watched it and i got the sense Neeld didn't want Moloney to say any more about his different role. Which was what btw? Did he play a tagging or run with role, perhaps on Stanton?

he seemed to spend a bit more time forward. i think he had nearly 10 inside 50s and kicked that great running goal so perhaps that was what the coach was after

Someone moved from CHF to HBF in an awful team is going to have their stats skyrocket.

fair point but the point is that he is improving.. is hurley?

they are obviously both still developing and will probably both end up being very good 200+ game players for their clubs.

what i think is interesting and very promising is how they have improved year to year.

watts was drafted younger and was alot less physically imposing but each year his output has increased and statistically this year is his best.

2009 av 9 disp

2010 av 12.6 disp

2011 av 16.1 disp

2012 av 19 disp

where hurley obviously came on the scene and had several early break out games in 2010, but hasnt shown continual improvement.

2009 av 14.4 disp

2010 av 16.2 disp

2011 av 14.4 disp

2012 av 13 disp

considering watts has still got a lot more physical development left in him i think there is an argument to be made that he has alot more upside left in him.

also interesting to note that watts on average has twice as many tackles a game