Lucifers Hero

Players who could get a run for the trip West: Frost, Oliver, Stretch, ANB, Bugg, Pedersen. We could then rest players with injury doubts: Oscar - ankle last week Bernie - shin last week Captain Courageous - apparent dodgy knee yesterday Hogan - Went down to the rooms after crashing down flat on his back. Watts - rolled his ankle yesterday. Wagner - if still hampered So yes, I am suggesting we give up the Perth game as lost. Heresy, I know. I doubt we can win regardless of who we pick and it allows players with injury doubts to recover giving ourselves the best chance of winning a few of the last 5 games.

Perfectly summarised by JV: “You start winning and everyone gets away from their roles and tries to get a kick and a touch. It breaks down the whole system, so we learned that and we had to reset it at half-time." Did the players think they had it won in the first quarter, so started racking up the individual stats and be the 'hero'!!!! Not sure what the leaders were thinking when StK kicked 5 unanswered 2nd qtr goals. I would have thought that after 2 or 3 the leaders would have a pow wow to work out what was happening and 'reset' on the ground. I think they were busy trying 'to get a kick and a touch'. That is pre Roos 'individual', 'every man for himself' type football - old habits die hard. Unfortunately our worst offenders were senior players especially in the 2nd qtr which is when we lost the game.

Amongst all the hand wringing and wrist slashing might I just mention how great it was that Watts went up and consoled Gus after his blooper just before 3/4 time. Then McCartney went out of his way to wrap his arm around him at 3/4 time. A few seconds later Bernie did similar. Implied message to young players: mistakes happen, don't worry, move on to the next contest and just play your role. Gus was filthy with himself and almost inconsolable but it must be reassuring for him to get that support. Respect earning leadership by Watts and Vince.

That is the most worrying comment I have heard Roos make. Lyon hasn't been there for 5 years and only a handful of StK players were coached by him. It sounds disrespectful to Richardson and Co and I'm really surprised our club chose to put that on twitter. Poor form all round.

Someone said in the Game Day thread that Captain Courageous was playing with a dodgy knee. It certainly looked that way, he certainly couldn't run more than a few steps. So back off, folks.

Last week was an exciting game by and for Jack. Great that he got to 100 games. He is in no way responsible for our loss today; that was a real team effort. But it was his last hoorah as a Demon. Today he showed even his most ardent fans, why.

Frost out (ill). Wagner in. Shortens our back line a bit which is unfortunate. Hope Oscar's ankle doesn't bother him too much because he will need to do some running.

Our Daisy is panel member on AFL Game Day. Not wearing her Demon gear...assume only guest players do but not panel members. She reviewed the Port/Nth game. Articulate, knowledgeable, confident and fair commentary. Have seen her or Ch 7 pre game show and she was equally impressive. Will probably become a Ch 7 regular and wish her well in the media (during the women's league off season). This young lady will go places in the footy world when she hangs up her boots (after a Dees premiership). Edit: Reckon she would do a better job calling a football game than BT, Darcy et al!!

Eddie's morning radio show fits your sensational descriptions perfectly: dominating personality with relapsing foot in mouth disease in great need of sidekick stooge, Darcy feeding his ego!!

Not an AFL game but O'Meara has sat out the 2nd half of the NEAFL game with 'tightness' as a 'precaution'. Ablett and Rischitelli are out for quite some time (season?). While it is always better to win against other teams best, I hope GCS continue to be cautious with Prestia and O'Meara as we play them in a fortnight.

good point dc. would definitely be an upgrade on both Dawes and Pedersen as our 2nd/3rd tall forward!

Of the clubs mentioned looking for a ruckman: 'Several clubs including Richmond, North Melbourne, Essendon, the Brisbane Lions and Melbourne are understood to be in the market for a ruckman' we would have to be one of the more attractive ones. Only drawback is that he will be playing second fiddle to Max and may prefer to go somewhere where he is numero uno eg Richmond or Essendon if he really wants to be in the starting 22 each week.

A terrific interview with a humble young man. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2016-07-15/the-journey-of-jayden-hunt Shows his youthful innocence when he says he was rapt with Roos comment re 'the best 14 possession game' he had seen but 'didn't really believe him' Doesn't like the media limelight... As a young guy he still has development and growth but gee whiz he is good. Look forward to see him dashing around the G for many years to come.

I posted that nearly 7 weeks ago so its been fairly plain for a long time the lay of the land for Dunn. Nonetheless, his honesty accepting why he was dropped after the Saints game is refreshing and admirable. Thanks for posting the article 'The Dr'. Its sad it has taken Dunn so long (nearly 3 years of Roos) to realise the coaches were serious about playing their way, not his way. I hope Dunn can come back in and earn another contract. But he has a history of good seasons in the last year of his past 2 or 3 contracts. Then falls away once signed up. It seems he now 'gets it' regarding how he is expected to play. Kudos to him for wanting to be part of the future. The ball is in his court.

That interview has reminded me of Melksham. I just hope he turns out to be a decent player, especially as we gave him a 4 year contract which almost no-one has had before at mfc. Atm only Jones and Viney have that and they are a trillion classes above. If we get Hibberd I hope it is not for 4 years as a poster suggested earlier - longer term contracts should be reserved for top players and neither Melksham nor Hibberd are that imo. If I recall correctly, EFC was/is offering them 2? I would prefer players come in on our 'usual' contract of 2 or 3 years until they prove themselves at our club. We are not a destination club yet but surely we have passed the point where we have to offer inducements (more money, longer contracts) to come to us especially if they are B players at best.

I think it was my post that suggested that could be the case so I shall elaborate a little. I heard an interview with Goodwin during last year's trade period and our interest in Melksham. Goodwin was asked whether this was his 'captains choice' (a phrase somewhat in vogue last year). He deftly side-stepped the question and waffled on about the need for a backman etc. I had the impression it was his 'captains choice' hence my phrase about 'pulling rank'. Didn't mean to start a rumour so clarifying how he sounded to me. Realistically, tho it wouldn't be the first time a coach has exercised his 'captains choice' - it happens all the time.

An update on some wheeling and dealings: http://www.theage.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/diamond-joe-dealing-until-the-very-end-20160713-gq4xlv.html As I stated earlier he will be fine! It is well known that business people own very little in their own name...wives, families, Trusts and Off-shore companies come in very handy! Good Tax spinoffs too... This reminds me of when I worked for a major consulting company and chatting with a senior Partner about 'Professional Indemnity Insurance'. He said it was fine to have but all his assets were in his wife's name! I asked what if 'Mary' (not her real name) leaves, you? His answer: 'If she goes, I go with her'! Made me laugh a lot. Own nothing in your own name, create a labyrinth of business structures and have a good army of lawyers. That is just the way it goes in the world of big business and 'powerbrokers, unfortunately.

Therein is the concern. Other than Cross, Vince, Tyson and maybe Garlett we haven't had much success in the last 5 years of fitting trade-ins into our best 22. Injuries have been a cause in a couple of cases but mostly because they have not been good enough. There is still hope for Bugg, Kennedy and Frost to become best 22 but our list is riddled with others who won't. I just don't think we need anymore that can't stay in our best 22 (injuries aside). And certainly not someone on a 4 year contract which takes the player into his 30's. Use the money and the pick on someone else, I reckon.

Wikipedia is your friend: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hurley_(footballer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hibberd

I have a similar concern that we may be committing to players with a Goodwin relationship a long way out to EOS or trade time. The risk is we have 'blinkers' on to other prospects that may become available and not necessarily using the best criteria for player selection. Not saying they can't play or won't fit in but would prefer we see signs of mfc looking elsewhere as well. We may have tried, I don't know. While relationships are obviously critical that doesn't extend to mateship, if there are better options for the team. I recall an interview with Goodwin last year on Melksham and it sounded like he 'pulled rank' on Taylor. TBH I would rather extract a defender from a good recent finals team to get Finals experience into the team rather than one similar to those we have, whose team has wallowed on the bottom of the ladder for a long time, in the worst of circumstances. They have their own set of 'mental scars' and we don't need any more such players. I get the new club can refresh players, view but as has been seen at mfc a 'looser mentality' can be very difficult to dislodge. Also, its not as if EFC had any sort of decent defence even when Goodwin and McCartney were there for those players to bring anything particularly special. In summary, would prefer to keep our powder dry or have irons in several fires before we 'commit' to any player or eggs in one basket.

We had them beaten in rnd 11 last year with 45secs on the clock. Hubris, and a comedy of errors by Gawn (tapped the ball forward rather than drop it at his feet), Viney, Cross and Toumpas allowed them an easy goal. So we know we can beat them, at Etihad. Despite AA form since that game, Max has not been able to get the job done vs StK in the two games since at either the G or Etihad. The whole team needs to be desperate to redeem the 2015 rnd 11 calamity. Max especially will want to redeem that game and lowering his colours to Hickey earlier this year. Max will bring it home!!

Ironically, today the AFL said it is ok for players and clubs to talk trades during the season as long as they don't get caught are discreet: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-07-12/afl-advises-discretion-when-dealing-with-opposition-players?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS+feed%3A+AFL+Latest+News Laughable that Ess have their knickers in a twist over MFC talking with him!!

If they 'walk' via the Grievance Tribunal' procedure it is not to the psd. Its is directly to the club of their choice as a DFA ie no draft picks of any sort are offered and Ess do not get a compensation pick either. Ess. lose a player for no return, hence why they are smarting so much.

Joe will be fine....about $150m owed is to 'related' entities and another $50m to overseas 'persons'. The interesting part of the article is: 'A worldwide search for Mr Gutnick's assets will now take place, with special focus being paid to his offshore holdings, due to his long-time dealings in America, Singapore and Europe'. Make of that what you will.

An article about Freo's 'trade bait'.http://www.theage.com.au/afl/fremantle-dockers/chris-mayne-michael-barlow-lead-trade-bait-at-fremantle-dockers-20160712-gq3tha.html Michael Barlow, 29 in Dec. OOC. 1.91cm defender. Not necessarily in the same class as Hurley but won Freo's B & F. Chris Mayne, 28 in Nov. Unrestricted Free Agent this year. They appeal because of their Finals experience and both played in the 2013 GF. We need players with Finals experience (part of the recruiting strategy GCS for traded in players: Mumford, Johnson, Shaw, Griffen, Ward...) Mayne is a greater attraction as he does not cost in a trade.