Lucifers Hero

Booooo! (Skin D please don't read the following) While I'm booing - here is another boooo: A women player will get between $10,000 and a top end player $25,000 per season! Staggering given a male draftee gets at least $ $74,740 + in first year plus $3,660 per match. Not saying women players should get the same but surely the proposed amount is ludicrous for the amount of time, energy etc and potential for injury. Edit: updated draftee salary

Looks like we have a Women's Team! Hooray! http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/carlton-collingwood-have-won-womens-team-licenses-ahead-of-st-kilda-north-melbourne-richmond-geelong/news-story/0ac7b446f8bc17436a6fbf1efdaa20a4 The 2017 women’s league: Carlton Collingwood Western Bulldogs Melbourne GWS Brisbane Fremantle Adelaide Well done to everyone involved, over many years! Edit: MFC announcement http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-06-15/melbourne-awarded-womens-team-licence

Lewis Taylor? Won the Rising Star two years ago. Was mentioned on this board as mfc preferred choice at pick 9 if Salem wasn't available. Seems he may be on the move http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-season-2016-brisbane-lions-at-a-contract-stalemate-with-lewis-taylor-20160614-gpiv78.htmlHis asking price of $500K is OTT but it maybe a ploy to get out of there. Maybe he would come for a lot less to join a young, going places Dees. Our recruiters have done a good job of tracking players missed in their draft (Bugg, Kennedy etc) and getting them to the Dees. So Taylor would still be on our radar. Taylor hasn't had a great year but hard to star in the lions team atm. He is described as a 'speedy midfielder' and we do need midfield speed. If we don't go for/get Prestia, Taylor would be an excellent alternative - similar size & skills but a cheaper trade price and cheaper contract price.

Or Salem...the forgotten one of late. ...vs Ess 2014 we were a few points down and he nailed it...had only played a handful of games...Roos said he was delighted the ball was with him, he is such a beautiful kick.

Bugg in this role frees Bernie to play the attacking game he did on Monday. Last year it was Bernie who did that job quite often, most memorably against his mate Dangerfield! If Bugg can shut down the opp most dangerous midfielder he doesn't need a lot of possessions and Bernie (or someone else) can run rampant! The opp can't shut down, Bernie, Nathan, Jack V, Petracca, Tyson and Oliver. Before long even if 2 or 3 of them get off the leash each week it will be a scary midfield. Bugg is doing a fine job! May it continue!

Seeing this post again reminded me of a newspaper article yesterday that JKH has started following the official Carlton FC Instagram. It cheekily posed the question of him going there next year as the reason. With Kent, Kennedy, Garlett doing so well it may be difficult for JKH to break back into the team as a small fwd. Would be happy for him to go if he can become a regular 22 somewhere else.

Not entirely sure about the rave reviews about Green. He lost the gig at Carlton when Bolton arrived. North picked him up.

AFLCA Votes: 9 Gawn (Melb) 9 Vince (Melb) 6 N Jones (Melb) 3 T McDonald (Melb) 2 Kent (Melb) 1 Bugg (Melb) A clean sweep from both coaches! But I wonder which one didn't give Max the 5 votes? (Bernie also worthy of the top rating) TMc helped his contract chances by getting votes from both coaches.

Didn't his manager give the club the run-a-round all year, making silly public claims about wanting $600K?. I suspect the club finally ran out of patience and decided to trade him. I recall he was part of the trade up draft pick package with GCS but at the last minute Howe did a deal with Buckley while in Bali. Put a spanner in the works for our pick trade up plan but thankfully Mahoney and Co were able to redeem the situation.

Jumping the gun AF. This article says: Prestia won't turn his mind fully to his football future until the Suns' round 13 bye, http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-05-26/who-heads-the-queue-for-dion-prestias-signature. Prestia was pick No.9 in Gold Coast's inaugural 2010 draft and industry sources believe the Suns would demand at least a pick around that mark should he request a trade. It talks about the Dees as having interest in last years trade period. There is nothing about the Dees now. Some clubs have been told Dion won't go there. ( Maybe we have been put off by a top 10 pick for trade and maybe we don't want to match his $$ asking price).

38,653 Still ticking over. Still 6 weeks to go. But with only 3 Home games at the G let I can't see too many memberships being sold. So somewhere around 39,000 will be the number. By the way...I heard a discussion on radio this morning that while Ess membership numbers are up many are past 'Full Season' members who have traded down to '3 Game' members. Would love to know that split by club. Hawks, North, Pies, Ess would have a huge number of 3 gamers. This is important as the AFL seems to use membership numbers as the basis for fixtures, TV slots etc etc.

Nice thought but who is going to drop out? WCE are a game and % ahead of us (and Port @ 9th). It has 7 wins. Only needs 6 from final 10 to get to the 13 and stay in 8. That means it needs to lose 4 of the 10 by BIG margins. Unlikely given they have 4 games at home and away games vs BL, Collingwood, Carlton and Freo (at DS). Without Nic Nat they won't win them all but they will win enough to stay in the 8. The finals train has left the station for us this year...but next year...a very different story.

A bit harsh...and a short memory. We had the same problem last year when we played Freo, Syd and Hawkes consecutively in the early part of the season. We were absolutely thrashed. It destroyed our season momentum, our membership drive, fan motivation and team morale. I agree with Brown, playing too many top teams in the early part of the season can be soul destroying for a struggling club. At least for us this year, the top team games have been stretched out a bit.

Great article: http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/bernie-vince-sparks-melbourne-into-action-in-queens-birthday-win-over-collingwood/news-story/5aabffc702cc32168d33de68993a6062 "... But come the quarter-time huddle and it was Vince that played No. 1 motivator, confidently raising his voice and addressing his teammates". Kent: “Bernie spoke to us at that break. We needed to play our style of footy and Bernie drove that at quarter-time,” Three cheers for Bernie!

It was bad! Its rare for Roos to be really animated but he all but flew from his seat when it was called 'play on' with no free kick. Haven't seen a replay...we probably won't - it might upset Nathan or Eddie.

We took 117 marks vs 74 by the pies. Buckley's plan to play so many giants backfired...very badly!!

No passengers today!

640MD. If you are on the internet click on 'Listen Live' on this link and you get a choice of stations to tune into...worked for me in Italy so may work in Spain. http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2016/12/melb-v-coll

Jack's hand looks ok - carrying his gear with his left (injured)! His presence will draw one of their players to 'mind' him - frees up our other midfielders . Go Dees!

Just noticed that Neale Daniher has received the MEMBER (AM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA in the Queen Birthday honours Mr Neale Francis Daniher VIC.: For significant service to community health through support for people with Motor Neurone Disease and their families, and to Australian rules football. Highly, highly deserved. A great honour for a very honourable man. Would be great for the Dees to top it off with a win...I heard him say (with some humour) that last year's pep talk to the players didn't help them win but hopes his talk to them this year spurs them to victory.

Just noticed that Daniher has received the MEMBER (AM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA in the Queen Birthday honours Mr Neale Francis Daniher VIC.: For significant service to community health through support for people with Motor Neurone Disease and their families, and to Australian rules football. Highly, highly deserved. A great honour for a very honourable man.

Great Emma Quayle article on the development of Jack W.http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-2016-collingwoods-view-of-the-day-melbourne-debutant-jack-watts-was-monstered-by-magpies-20160609-gpfrjc.html One of the more interesting reflections on Jack's debut game is from Russell Robertson: "It was up to the boys that day to make sure he was protected, and look after him, and assimilate him into the team. And I'm not sure we looked after him very well." Can't help but think Jack's debut would have been different if Neitz was still there. But that is history and Jack has come a long way. Again to quote Robbo: "Some weeks it's almost like, God, he's so good to watch," he said. "He does all the little things that make you think, I'm glad I got to come along today and watch Jack play...There's the little hangers he takes; he turns blokes inside out; his kicking has been brilliant; he kicks nice goals; he's always thinking those two or three seconds ahead of the game...He's a beautiful player to watch when he's flourishing, and the boys are getting the ball to him so much more now. They're saying: 'There you go Jack, do your thing', and it's a really nice thing to see." Hope Jack is BOG today! Also hope we win so our DL 'Nasher' can he see his first live Demons victory!

But the over 200 Pies are 203, 209 and 211. Max is 209 and will take one as a ruckman. Still leaves a tall order for TMc, Frost or Dawes. Individual match ups aside, my thinking in earlier post was more about how the game will be played out with the pies going so tall.

Why would that change EFC's positions on trades? I don't think that changes Dodoro's disposition, at all! As I said, the only hope I see for Dodoro reaching a fair trade deal is if he is told to avoid bad PR from causing more anguish to a player whose career EFC have already seriously damaged.