poita

As a massive Jones fan, I'm disappointed with this move. Nothing against Viney, who will be a great captain in time, but I can't see that this is anything other than a backhander to Jones. Given that Jones has only had two years as sole captain, I would have thought he should be allowed to continue to improve on his own. Otherwise, the only question mark over the leadership group is around Vince. I'm not sure that he has shown much leadership in recent times with multiple reports / suspensions, and a general lack of discipline. A group of 5 may have been enough, unless a younger player such as Tyson was moved in.

My 6 year old has really enjoyed the last few years, but it wouldn't take too many more people turning up to make it a really uncomfortable day. The rides are great in theory, but it is a hard place to get around and the queues are getting longer each year. The club really need to think about an alternative location, or perhaps opening the gates a bit earlier, if it keeps getting more popular.

To answer the opening poster, if Melksham plays a single game ahead of Oliver or Brayshaw I would be bitterly disappointed. Ditto for Petracca and Stretch as well.

About time the clubs start reporting membership numbers as full adult member equivalents, ie 1 3 game membership = roughly 1/4 of an 11 game membership. Hawthorn proudly claim about 75,000 members, but struggle to get 30,000 to half of their games. Soon we'll have clubs selling 1 game memberships and claiming they have 150,000 members.

So disappointing that the pioneers of women's football at this level have so badly butchered their entry into the elite competition. Two games played for a total of two goals scored is just pathetic. I didn't watch either game, but you have to assume that we've completely botched the draft, which is incredible to me. We have been scouring the country for talent for years for our exhibition matches, but other clubs have done a much better job of building a team (as opposed to a collection of players). I'm interested to see what sort of equalisation methods are in place for this competition, particularly given that expansion is basically certain to happen in the next year or so. How does a poor team catch up to the pace setters without a significant influx of talent from somewhere? Oh, and playing games at Casey is just plain dumb. Surely there is a better option, even if it means using Punt Road or Princes Park.

The opportunities for AFL players to study or take work experience during their football careers are endless. If players want to spend their downtime away from the game playing on an XBox or drinking, good luck to them, but don't come crying to me that you have no future. The smart ones will take the opportunities to set themselves up for life, even if their football careers are relatively short. That said, the players deserve to be well compensated for their contributions to the game. Getting rid of the rookie list should be the first step, getting rid of the minimum salary cap should be the second.

I get your point, but Terlich didn't play a senior game last year. Cross would have taken games off Oliver / Petracca / Brayshaw / etc. Hopefully it is some short term pain for some long term gain.

I'm in again.

I remember reading initially that we had taken a long term view with our recruiting. Good in theory but, if it means that we are not among the better teams initially, it means a real missed opportunity to convert neutral supporters of the competition. Not having the player wearing numbers is a woeful oversight, given that lists have been published previously. Also, score lines of 2 goals to 1 at 3/4 time are not going to attract any new converts. Hopefully they consider reducing the field size if this continues.

Agree Old Dee. Kennedy has some ability, but doesn't have the desire to be an elite footballer. He'll probably have three games this year that absolutely thrill us, and ten that completely underwhelm. I'll be amazed if he gets another contract from us, or any club for that matter.

Just a super bloke, and am I really glad to see him happily moving on with life, despite feeling as though he still has plenty to offer the club. I hope a few of those on our list who are seemingly happy to just coast along take note of how quickly your career can be taken away from you.

Thank God that's over. Up with Lard Arse Pickett as the worst value recruit in my thirty-odd years of membership of this club. From day one it was all about him, and nothing about the club or his teammates. I still don't believe that concussion has anything to do with his absence from the club or his retirement. Hopefully we get the full story one day, given that we as members are paying part of his salary not to turn up. The sad thing is, he probably genuinely does care about the world outside football, and had the opportunity to use his profile and position to do some good. Now the prevailing view will be of a bloke who has worn out his welcome at two clubs, held out his hand for a massive payout for doing nothing, and consistently breached the terms of his contract. I hope he finds what he is looking for in life, but I'm glad it will have nothing to do with the MFC.

I can't believe we are still indulging this sociopath. As soon as he was cleared to play by our doctors we should have told him to report to the club for training in a suitable condition. Failing to do should have resulted in his contract being terminated immediately. I work bloody hard to earn a small fraction of Lumumba's annual income. I deeply resent that a portion of my membership fees (however small) is paying for him to sit on his lazy arse, whilst his fellow players are busting their guts on the training track. It also makes me sick that we turfed a great club man like Grimes so that this bludger can stay on the list.

No, Lumumba is under no obligation to rock up to training at the start of November. But, if I (a) had barely played for a year, (b) had been rubbish the season before that, (c) had suffered physical and mental issues in the past twelve months, and (d) was expecting to regain my spot in the senior team to trigger a contract extension, I reckon I would be doing very little thing possible to get myself in the best shape possible right now. If it is good enough for the likes of Nathan Jones to make the occasional appearance at training to support his younger teammates and to consult with the coaching and medical staff, then it is certainly reasonable to expect that Lumumba might do the same. Particularly given that so many people around here are convinced he is a such great leader and club man.

Not sure about that. On that basis we'd get one home game against Collingwood every two years, so we'd lose Queens Birthday. And how would our NT fixtures work if we didn't have a reasonable selection of games to send up there each year?

What a joke. The doctors clear him to play, but he decides he'd rather not. Then when he figures out he needs to play every game next year to trigger a contract extension, he expects the club to put him straight back in. If the guy is serious about playing senior football again, he should front up with the kids for training this week. The extra month of holidays is for the guys who busted their guts last year, not for guys who couldn't be bothered playing. Plus, I'm pretty sure he still owes us for taking a trip to Africa when he was recovering from injury last pre season. I've never seen a guy less interested in doing the work required to be an AFL player. I hope he is prepared to spend plenty of time at Casey next year, because hopefully we have moved well past gifting games to experienced players who are happy to coast along.

Stretch is the only one on the list in the opening post who will be a genuine AFL standard midfielder. Salem is a good footballer, but I'm not sure he will play his best football in the midfield. The rest are all flawed footballers who, whilst capable of contributing on their day, don't do it often enough to be considered best 22 players. At least half of this group will be off the list in two years, if not sooner.

We bid for Matthew Flynn last year, which GWS subsequently matched. Does anyone have an update on this guy - is he one we might be able to prise loose, as with McKenna, in a year or two?

Hawthorn and the Bulldogs have won the past four premierships between them, and both have sold games for a number of years. Aside from the money, being able to play in different venues under different conditions is essential to being a good side. We have to learn to deal with whatever comes our way, not just sook and say its all too hard. The supporters get compensated with two extra games, the team gets less away interstate games, and we get $$ - I really can't see the downside.

So you don't want to play away games at Etihad and you don't want to play away games interstate? Are you hoping for 22 home games a year, or do you just think other teams would be happy to host us at our home ground?

Absolutely no excuses with that draw. If the team comes to play each week, they should play finals next season.

Our improvement will come from 22 players turning up to play each week. Too many players on our list have far too big a gap between their best and worst football. Either guys like Garlett and Kent, to name just two, become consistent performers, or we find players who can perform on a regular basis. The team as a whole is good enough to match it with most in the competition, if everybody does their part.

You are seriously comparing Gary Ablett to Chris Dawes? Ablett achieved everything he possibly could at Geelong, both as an individual and as a team. He sought a new challenge at the Gold Coast, and admittedly was very well paid in the process, but I don't think he could give that club any more than he has - certainly not on the field. If anything, Dawes is the one who left his club for the security of a long term contract on big dollars, and failed to perform.

Clearly the people who want us to get a bunch of Friday night games don't have children. Our best chance of maximising attendance is playing a Victorian team on a Saturday afternoon at the MCG. Its a pity we have to play Adelaide in the NT - it would be better to play Brisbane or Freo up there. A home ground advantage would be handy against the Crows.

Meh. Michie and Newton have been on AFL lists for six and five years respectively, and neither has come close to being an AFL standard footballer for all the reasons listed above and more. King can't get a game at Casey so is light years away from being a decent footballer. We need to be more ruthless with players who simply aren't good enough. You can justify giving a guy like Hunt a third year because he has a stand out attribute, but keeping a guy like Michie around for three years (after his three at Freo) is just ridiculous. I'd be disappointed if the likes of Vandenberg, Kennedy and Bugg see out next year if there is not serious improvement in their games over that period. And Lumumba should be moved on this year, irrespective of contract status.