Lucifers Hero

Clarkson highlighted that in his press conf...said the games changed in its interpretation...a thinly veiled dig at the umpires! Right to the end the Hawks were whinging!

Brisbane's development is beyond woeful and hardly anyone there gets a decent run at it. He has put on 8 kg in 2 years and needs to put on about 8 more before he can properly be judged. I trust our development team to see what he may become over the next 2 years. He may thrive in our environment with enthusiastic young teammates. We can get him 'Free' as a DFA and we could do with a swing player. No downside to taking him.

Looks like Hawks are tiring late in quarters and doggies get a bit of a run. Should be a fascinating end!

Goodwin was just on SEN and re Jesse - his comments were that he assumes contract talks are starting soon and thinks Hogan will be staying and will not be worried if it takes 6 weeks, 6 months, next year for him to re-sign. It may be a long wait folks!

Goodwin on SEN tonight - . Not verbatim - can't type fast enough! (Italics are my comments) Melksham had his medical yesterday. Did a bit of labouring during the year. Lost a few kilos so in good shape. With Hunt and Wagner’s development, Melksham may be played HB/Wing. A bit surprised that we still chased Hibberd. Big benefit of the two years was to get to know the club and get to build relationships. Implication he doesn’t need to spend time now doing all those things. Game plan. Have built the team ‘from the contest’ out. We will be competitive around the footy with fast ball movement. Roos was definitely the coach this year. They talked during the week and Goodwin did stuff during the week and training but Roos was it on game day. Re Jesse: Assumes contract talks are starting soon and thinks Hogan will be staying and will not be worried if it takes 6 weeks, 6 months, next year for him to re-sign. That should certainly put the Hogan thread into a tizz! On Hibberd, hopefully he wants to come to Melbourne and hopefully we can get a deal done. Didn’t sound convincing. The Geelong game: We had a few 6 day breaks late in the season and it eventually caught up with the young team. Wasn’t the way we played in the first 21 weeks so don’t read too much into it.

Stinear is a replacement for Michelle Cowan. Still leaves the coaching spot Goodwin vacated available. Egan would fill that spot, but not necessarily as Senior Assistant Coach. If we have another Senior Assistant Coach that role would probably go to Macca (promotion).

Your question of ET: "Not being fuuny Ethan, but would they let ANB do 8 hours of flying during an important match week, when he didn't have to, if you get my point...Can you confirm how you know? was completely serious until daisy and I pointed out the photo had been doctored. Then you started back pedaling, fast! All the joking aside...Hogan is still in Melbourne which can only be good news all round!

ET is joking! He has photo shopped himself into the pick - he is the guy fully dressed!!

Thank you for agreeing with me This would mean that Jesse is still in Melbourne and not in Perth which I take as a good sign for his fathers health and his sticking with his Melbourne teammates.

Strange that ANB is in Perth as he is playing in a Prelim on Sunday...could the pic be somewhere in Vic...just wondering? Either way, good to see the mates stick together.

The interview is on the mfc website: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2016-09-15/afl-360-simon-goodwin

Many players are have nominated the club they want to go to. Hibberd requested a trade weeks ago but yet to nominate a club (us). Goodwin was non-committal about it in his interview the other day. It seems to me that when a player nominates a club, usually the trade is agreed in principle. Anyone know what the nominating a club, hold up is?

Good pick up ET! Maybe Pro Dee could no longer cope with having Jack Watts as his moniker!

Richmond might match Hawks offer to Vickery: http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/richmond-is-considering-matching-hawthorns-free-agent-offer-for-tyrone-vickery-to-force-a-trade/news-story/c2825a5bf80032344307ae64a8fc66cf Doesn't sound like they really want to keep him - just scared that the Hawks offer to him is so low they won't get a decent compensation pick. If they match the offer it forces Hawks into a trade. It puts a spanner in the works of Hawks recruiting plan if they have to trade for him - they will have less to use for Mitchell and O'Meara. A bit like the Dangerfield/Geelong situation - By matching the offer it forces the receiving club to 'pay' for the player rather than get them 'free' as an FA. A reasonable ploy by Tigers. I like it - anything that makes the top clubs pay for their FA's is a good thing.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/melbourne-appoints-dual-tac-cup-premiership-coach-michael-stinear-as-its-womens-team-coach/news-story/c1fef7c775e89b0123596d87a26e77cf "MELBOURNE has appointed Michael Stinear as its inaugural women’s team coach. Stinear, 32, will not join Melbourne until after the TAC Cup season, where he is aiming to lead the Oakleigh Chargers to their third straight premiership. Along with taking the reins of the Demons’ female team, he will also be a development coach for the men... Stinear pipped a strong field of applicants that included current Sandringham Dragons assistant Danny Ryan and former Melbourne back pocket and current Old Melburnians coach Nathan Brown. ". Stinear seems eminently qualified. He knows how to win premierships! I guess those on DL that follow the TAC Cup would be familiar with his work. I don't follow it so he is a new name for me. Given we are very thorough with recruiting these days and we have made excellent recruiting decisions on and off the field in recent years I am totally pleased with the appointment. The club's announcement: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-09-15/stinear-appointed-womens-senior-coach

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/how-simon-goodwin-and-melbourne-learned-from-john-longmire-and-the-sydney-swans-succession-plan/news-story/20752ea342d67cba8ead7ffb68c320a3 Interesting insight into the behind the scenes work Roos did getting Goodwin (and Longmire) ready to take over the senior coaches role. We on the outside can never truly appreciate his impact. Like others on here I am excited about the Goodwin era but will wait until we get some runs on the board (wins) before I let out an almighty sigh of relief.

Yet Burgoyne had the cheek to say umpires need to protect Mitchell! "Obviously, he is getting targeted a bit...It's a hard one for the umpires as well...but if a player is being targeted as he was on the weekend, I would have thought one free kick here or there would definitely help when they (taggers) step over the mark". http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-finals-2016--hawthorn-v-western-bulldogs--hawks-need-to-be-better-protect-sam-mitchell-says-shaun-burgoyne-20160912-gre6cv.html Obviously, Burgoyne didn't notice the work his teammates put into Joel Selwood, off the ball! Now watch the umpires give Mitchell more frees next week! Hawkes - such a hypocritical sooky team!

Subtlety of their wording during the tackle 'Choke' - they were desperate to get Mummy off so they would say look can't you all see: his head hit the ground after the tackle, see Mummy had let go, obviously Tippett is having a snooze, yadda yadda yadda...they can magically tell us we are seeing things. Joke of a tribunal.

I assume you mean end of season interviews? Those players not in Casey finals would have been completed and we wouldn't expect any delistings there. If you asking why we haven't heard any news on exits/delistings, it would be fair to assume that any list changes will come from players currently in the Casey finals.

No longer a demon but wanted to acknowledge Jamie Bennell who has been delisted by the Eagles after 93 games for the two teams: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-09-12/eagles-delist-six-after-early-finals-exit A nice pic of him in his Demons jumper in that article. His instagram message: "Thanks to these two clubs for giving me the opportunity to play at the highest level and live out a childhood dream. #plentyoffootyleft". He is all class! Good luck with the next venture.

Interesting info but I have a different take. The players finished at the club after Thursday training and have probably not been back since. So the Friday was a good time for Roos to clean up and say goodbye to club staff. If players interpret it as 'Roos has mentally checked out so we couldn't care less' it is very childish and an indictment not of Roos but of the mental application and resilience of the players and the leadership group. I reckon the players were tired for Geelong but if there was a 'couldn't care less' attitude, I would bet it was because they 'checked out' before the Carlton game and were on 'easy street' (see Petracca interview in post above). Roos talked to this 'easy street' attitude after the Geelong game saying the players needed to see they were not a finals side as they had not believed it - implied in that is players thought they could rest on their laurels and it would all just happen. It was no coincidence that at the BnF Roos' last message to players was: it is their choice to be great, it will not happen by accident, they have to want it and work for it and the time to be great starts now. He was addressing their mental attitude, application and their desire - he saw what was happening pre Carlton. I believe players were tired for the Geelong game and accept they (may have) had the wrong attitude but not that it was because Roos cleared his desk.

All clubs now have a 'New Generation Academy' but it is for multicultural and indigenous players, not all players like GWS et al have. Emma Quayle: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-clubs-to-get-free-shot-at-multicultural-and-indigenous-rookies-after-this-years-draft-20160727-gqexp2.html We have nominated Daniel Allsop for 2016 as a category B rookie if he is left undrafted after the main and rookie drafts. It isn't the same as you describe and like the old zoning system, clubs may try and exploit it by 'encouraging' budding player families to relocate into their zone to have first choice at drafting (on the same basis as Northern States). Our zone is South-east Melbourne (Dandenong Stingrays), Alice Springs (NT).

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-09-11/complacent-demons-let-down-paul-roos-says-christian-petracca This makes me a bit angry: "We got a bit complacent against Carlton and thought, we've won three on the trot and everything's working well, this week it will come easy to us," from a 1st year player!!! Meanwhile a chance to make finals, establish their credibility, increase membership etc goes begging! Petracca continues: "Roos is a bit more old-school and sometimes gives a few sprays but his mentality is really good, Roosy, and he's positive. "With Goody, he's just understanding a bit more of relationships and obviously he's played in our generation, so he understands what it takes to make it a bit more." Did I just read a few back-handers to Roos!! So Christian, Roos is less understanding of relationships. Gee tell that to Jones, Watts, Viney, Gawn etc http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2016-09-09/tribute-to-paul-roos And, he gives sprays...Christian, are you still smarting over his spray after breaking your toe? Your Macca quote sounds like it! Petracca thinks Godowin knows better than Roos 'what it takes to make it'!! Well young Christian here is a message from a long standing, disillusioned supporter: Roos has the runs on the board as a coach. Goodwin does not!. If you really want to know 'what it takes to make it' as a coach and as a team look at Hawthorn - 3 premierships in a row not just 3 games in a row!! Petracca is a good kid albeit naive so deserves some slack but who at MFC is allowing first year players to be interviewed and make public those thoughts especially as they do not represent those of the team!! Goodwin really has his work cut out if that is the attitude of player(s) on what is required to be a successful team, coach and club.

Grudgingly, I give Sheedy much credit for drafting players with 'mongrel' not just talent. He knew the type to win finals! Their traded in players: Johnson, Mumford, Shaw - all tough experienced hombres with premiership medals. So, I hate to say it but they have recruited and coached for finals. But like others I am appalled at GWS's draft concessions. I'm also surprised by the willingness of other clubs to trade high draft picks for 'second string' players ie highly talented but may not have 'mongrel'. I wonder if clubs will rue those trades when some turn out to be 'fools gold' - even with Hawthorn's system O'Rourke is mostly playing VFL and they gave their 1st and 2nd rnd pick. To rub salt into the wound it was reported that GWS want 2017 high draft picks as they have enough for 2016! If club's don't stop being bedazzled by GWS's apparent 'second string' riches and don't trade high draft picks for them nothing will stop the GWS juggernaut.

No out there for GNF, if 'Gen dee' is proven to be correct. Quite the opposite. The 'Gen dee' reference was that Jesse was planning to stay, up until July when the homesickness set in. If so, its hard to see how GNF's claim in early August that Jesse had committed to the club was valid. 'Gen dees' info coincides with when the media started reporting that Jesse was waivering on whether to stay or go. In the last month Roos has several times deflected questions about Jesse and offered no optimism re him staying, in fact each time talked about family and the lure of home for Jesse. There is more info alluding to Jesse leaving than there is to him staying. Whose info to trust? No idea. We will all just have to wait.