Lucifers Hero

A few new faces on the calendar. In: Jetta, Hunt, Garlett and TMc. Out: Tyson, Vince, Watts, Brayshaw. Rapt to see Jetta there. To go from delisting, to rookie, to AA squad is a superb achievement. A loyal servant of the club who is the best he can be and still taking on challenges to improve himself. Respect. Have been a huge fan of Hunt since I first saw him play, early in 2016, so delighted to see him on the calendar. A player who did not come in with any fanfare but has worked damn hard to cement his place in the side and now a deserving fan favourite. Edit: Forgot to mention, Petracca gets the honour of the cover page.

Hope it isn't so, od. If we make finals for next 5 years, play off in a few prelims and not get to nor win the big dance then we can all go to AA to get over our addiction and memberships be damned. Couldn't bear another rebuild...

Judging by comments here on DL quite a few were 'holding off' their renewals due to disappointment at season's end, hence the early poor numbers. But some have commented they have since signed up anyway! Extrapolate that over the whole membership base and it adds up. Have often thought being a Demon supporter is like an addiction...we keep going back for more regardless of the hangover and a membership is part of the deal... Hopefully, we will be rewarded before too long.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/the-age-and-experience-ladder-for-2018-where-your-club-sits/news-story/ec1626ea2a37e51263bd10b9084fc31d They have the Dees Total List Average Age as the 9th oldest on 24 years and 12th on Average Experience on 56.5 years. As noted in my post above I don't think the Average for the list is the best measure - I prefer the Median for the likely playing group. Nonetheless the article gives a reasonable indication where we sit approximately vs other teams.

I've extracted the Age and Game profiles: For the 'Playing Team' stats I've left out the 14 players who have played less than 10 games because our starting 22 will generally come form the top 30, especially in the first half of the year. Also if some of those 14 get games it is not going to change the average (unless Vince, Jones and Lewis don't play in the same game and youngsters replace them). To counter the impact of Vince, Jones and Lewis on the profiles the 'Median' is a better indicator than the 'Average'. Leaving out the 14 will help keep claims like the 'youngest team' and the 'least experienced team' in perspective. I am really pleased with our list profile! It is a long time (decades?) since we have had a core group around 25 years of age. Now the majority of our list is in that range. Ditto the experience profile - the majority of our players will be in the 50 to 150 game range next year. While there is still growth and experience to happen, at last we have a well balanced team with a lot of talent. At last the coaches can work with a team that will grow together. At last we have a list with some stars and a fair amount of depth and competition for spots. At last we can look forward with confidence!

On a side note, I noticed in the Financial Report last week that: '$1.847m was attributable to the growth in player payments limits following the finalisation of the industry’s Collective Bargaining Agreement'. Given that the CBA increase was about $2.1m pa I hadn’t expected the club to be able to spend most of it straight away. So, I would think Mahoney has been busy negotiating contract $ without changing contract length eg - - Big increase in contract $ for high performers like Oliver, Hibberd and Jetta with the increase being a large ‘upfront’ payment in 2017. - - Other players may not have received much of an increase in their overall contract $ but agreed to bring forward their payments to 2017. Also, players that renewed their contracts later in the season would likely have included a large ‘upfront’ payment in 2017 eg Hunt and Gawn. On this basis it is clear how we were able to fit Lever’s contract into our salary cap.

Now that our List is complete I've started a new thread for 2018 Contracts etc: I've merged the 'A' Rookies with the Seniors list as 'A' Rookies can now play at AFL level from round one without the need for promotion or upgrade or relying on a Long Term Injury. If you see any changes required please let me know. If you want to know full details on any player go to: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/Team/players/senior Interesting that of 21 players that are OOC in 2018 the high priority ones for me are Petracca and Jetta. Then the McD brothers and Brayshaw. I can't see Jetta and Brayshaw going anywhere. I wouldn't like to see the McD's go but we have good coverage for them at both ends of the ground. And, I recall reading that discussions are happening with Petracca on a new contract so wouldn't be surprised if there is an announcement before too long - maybe a little Christmas present for us .

Absolutely rapt that we have him! Was top of my 'wish list' '

25,028 as of Nov 22. Out of curiosity, I asked the club if the AFLW memberships were counted in the published count. They are. Now I wonder how much of last year's 3,000 increase was for AFLW memberships. Any increase in membership is great - just note that comparisons prior to 2017 are not quite apples and apples.

Sounds like a good match up with Clarrie - could do not better than learning from him!! A story about him from early last year when he won the RS nomination http://neafl.com.au/round-6-rising-star-nominee-oskar-baker/ Sounds determined! Here is a little video of the 2017 NEAFL game when he received a RS nomination. Looks ready built and fit, has a nice side step, bit of a fend-off happening and seems a clever player. If we draft him I can see him getting a game early in the season.

I've been following him in the media and one article said he was surprised to be released from the Brisbane Academy player so put his head down to do some hard work this year. That is a good sign about attitude and application. Turning his game around and doing the hardwork was a feature that impressed our recruiters with Clarrie last year so Baker may have impressed for the same reason. He would be a good get. Bit more of a known quantity than other draftees even tho is just 19. (LOL, one article had him listed as a mature age recruit - probably because it is his second draft). With the year in the NEAFL he could be an early starter in the seniors (if good enough) as there seems to be a spot for his type of player. Would be interesting to see who gets a game first - Baker or Balic. I would bet on Baker - seems hungry!

Absolutely, ET. On field enemies. But as they stuck with our beloved demons thru thick and thin and neither chose to go they are in my 'favourite enemy player' category. Just can't bring myself to feel badly towards them.

Good article on JT going to Port. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-11-17/trengove-happy-with-upfront-and-honest-hinkley He noted: "The other thing that struck me about Ken is that he really does just focus on what you can bring to the team, opposed to the little inefficiencies you need to improve on...for a player that's been around for a few years now, it's great to hear what you can do again". Watts said something similar in a post trade interview. I don't think either meant to chip Goodwin or Macca but it makes one wonder about positive motivation vs 'carrot and stick', post Roos. On a lighter note JT is the designated 'chaperone' for Watts: "Ken was pretty keen for me to live with (Jack) to keep him on the straight and narrow." Watts said in a recent interview they will share a house at Henley Beach. Having his mate who knows his way round Adelaide, is a known hard worker/trainer to buddy with, may just be the making of Jack Watts. Wish them every success.

Making good progress: 23,162. Up on comparable date in 2016 but just a few hundred behind 2017. Wondering if @george_on_the_outermight update and pin the 'Annual Membership Tally' thread?

For general info: Since the latest CBA, all Category A rookies can be selected to play from round 1 regardless of injuries, promotions etc. The difference between a Cat A rookie and a senior player is now length of tenure, termination conditions and pay scale. It is the reason we reclassified Maynard from a B rookie to an A rookie. It was a good move by the AFLPA as it gives clubs more flexibility. For example, if it was in place this year we could have played one or more of the rookies when Lumumba's departure left us an AFL player short.

Jack T was on radio saying that he contacted Jack W (in Canada) who shed a tear or two on hearing they would be together at Port. Shows how much they think of each other. I shed a few tears too. Never thought I would say this but I hope Port has great success next year (except vs us) with our Jacks! Good luck JT. Whatever happens, you'll always be a Demon champ!

It looks like a lot of people held off to the last minute for the Oct 31 cut off for Christmas membership mail. That and the Nov 1 Direct Debit renewals have kicked in and today's number is 21,559! Still about 1,478 short of 2017 figure around this time (23,037) but improving!

Thanks HBG. Again, it seems like poor membership communication on renewals. The new 'packaging' concept seems a back door way of raising revenue, especially as there are limited GF tickets available. At some point the club will need to cap the number of memberships with the gfg (as Bulldogs did post 2016) and then new members will only be able to buy the vanilla GA membership. To me it seems that without a 'reserve seat' option it is one less offering to help attract new members! Or offer a mid point for those who want to opt out of the gfg. Oh well, hope the club hasn't inadvertently deterred potential new members. We need every member we can get!

Thanks for the confirmation dc. The lack of a basic GA home game + reserved seat option would be a terrible oversight so one must think it is deliberate! Like you, I think it will come back and bite them. Or maybe it already has. Including the GF guarantee in what was a basic membership is like the club forcing people to buy a product with an option they may never use and don't want. This plus the lack of transparency and information on pricing/product changes is disconcerting.

Website says Redlegs includes Reserved Seat at the package cost of $479. https://membership.melbournefc.com.au/packages/view/82/Redlegs. I've had the same seat for 16 years. The seat number is on the renewal advice and is automatically allocated to me if renewed before a certain date. If your membership is different maybe contact the club to clarify. This map shows Redleg Reserve as N1 to N9. Cheers

That's good to know. Thanks I couldn't find on the website if someone wanted to buy a new GA Home + Reserved seat membership. Will have another look when I have more time.

Sorry to quote myself but that post prompted me to look more closely at options. The club added two new membership packages! Who knew? These new packages are: Demon Seats Plus Open Air https://membership.melbournefc.com.au/packages/view/499/Demon-Seats-Plus-Open-Air Cost (Adult Home Games): $429 Demon Seats Plus Undercover https://membership.melbournefc.com.au/packages/view/85/Demon-Seats-Plus-Undercover Cost (Adult Home Games): $479 After some labourious manual comparisons I found other combos that include the GF guarantee! Compare above to these: Redlegs: Cost (Adult Home Games): $479 (incl Reserved seat and it has more benefits) General Admission: Cost (Adult Home Games): $221 plus GF Guarantee option $229 ie $450! (This will go up to $520 after round 1). Note: there is no Reserved seat attached to this membership combo!! So anyone wanting a GF guarantee should buy one of the packages instead because they get a Reserved seat (really important for potential high attendance games like Anzac Eve and QB when premiums might be charged/reservation fee could be charged). The downside appears to be that members can no longer buy a Membership with Reserved seat without the Grand Final Guarantee option kicking in. (It may be there but I haven't been able to find it on the website). I wonder what people who had the Gen Admiss plus Reserved seat option in 2017 saw on their renewal notice? This could really hurt families who like to have a reserved seat so they sit in 'their seat' within a Demon crowd. It is the most traditional of Club membership and some people would have had the same reserved seats for years. Maybe theseare the 'diehards' that have not renewed because they want a Reserved Seat but not a GF guarantee. I would be interested to know if anyone can find a General Admission plus Reserved Seat option on our website. But who knew about the new packages/chages? How on earth is anyone supposed to easily compare? I'm not having a go at the club here - I genuinely believe there is an issue with the club communicating price and feature changes in a way that is easy for members to work out where they stand and what their options are.

Sorry hardtack but that is what the mfc website says. For mine, on my (non-automatic) renewal they added a $99 AFLW membership on the basis of my Demon AFLW Foundation Member last year which I thought was a once off 'donation'. I would have preferred the club sent an email to say it would be added to my Redlegs membership renewal or allowed me to opt out, on the on-line renewal process. From what I could see the on-line renewal screen did not allow changes to existing memberships. There is a lesson for the club from your and my experiences: Membership renewal notices should tell members what price or feature changes have occurred. It isn't hard - a standard email to tell all members of the new charges/features, is all it takes. Currently, it is quite difficult to compare membership options and features on the club website. In fact it would help it there was a 'compare' feature on the website. Things for the membership team to think about for next year. It would save some member angst and earn some goodwill if the club communicated changes better and made it easier for people to evaluate their options.

Re the Grand Final Guarantee -- if you want it buy your membership with it included before round 1 because then it goes from $229 to $299 per membership. https://membership.melbournefc.com.au/packages/view/958/Grand-Final-Guarantee There is only a limited number and once you have it you have 1st choice to keep it the following year. As Diamond Jim says, it is now serious money especially when there is more than one family member.

Just putting the current status out there (as we usually do at this time of year on Demonland) and to keep d'landers informed of club related stuff. I agree most of the 6,000 diehards will probably renew. There have been 7,000 additional members join since Roos’ appointment was announced. They will be less resilient than the diehards and us on Demonland. The club really needs them all to renew and renew their usually membership and not downgrade it to a lower level or to a 3 game membership. The fixture has not helped this cause. Not many enticing Home MCG games. As always it is up to the coach and players to deliver - no 'mental weakness' against the lesser clubs, especially in the first part of the year. No more three quarter efforts. I truly hope we beat our prior record of 42,000+ but the current trend doesn't look promising.