Lucifers Hero

I think the issue with his pay is that Rich offered base fee plus match payments. He and his management want a more guaranteed income. I think it is stingy of Richmond to offer a game based contract. The kid has shown he can play very well at AFL in just his second year. Also, he has no direct control over how many senior games as it is up to the match committee, injuries etc. Rich should wake up to themselves and it will teach them a lesson if they lose him over penny pinching.

The silks have started arriving! http://www.theage.com.au/sport/key-sports-reps-seek-wada-audience-20151014-gk95uq.html The WADA Director General is in town for a 3 day sports law conference (albeit booked 12 months ago). The attendees are a 'who's who' of sport officialdom and legal eagles in Australia and New Zealand 1st day of conference is over, continues till Friday. If it hadn't been for trade week and that article by Sam Lane it may have come and gone and we would have been none the wiser. It won't slip under the radar now and the EFC/CAS case will back in the news. Time to get the popcorn out again bb!

Dawes and Lumumba have been huge wins for us, right?

One of the many problems with FA is that comp picks are attached to ladder position. It would be a lot better/fairer if comp picks were end rnd 1 (for the best players) and end rnd 2 (all other players) This maintains the integrity of the 1st round. Clubs have a good idea what pick they will get before/early in trade week. It will avoid the mess Brisb have: after passing on Suckling (for free as an FA) they get a crap pick for Leuey anyway and Ess now won't trade for him. Net result: No Suckling and pick 39 or keep Leuey. The AFL may need to bring back PP's but that is better than trying to make the FA comp picks defacto PP's The AFL has gone from Santa to Mr Scrooge with its FA comp picks this year. Thank God Frawley left last year!

I am so over him making us dance to his tune!! Two can play Howe's game!! Its time for us to show some mettle and play hardball: if he chooses Pies we ask them to match the best trade offer we had. If they can't match it they will have to withdraw their offer to Howe. He then chooses between (presumably) GC and North.

I'm supposing. The rationale: - there is no logical reason why journos etc are quiet on the subject, afterall CAS will sit in a month. - the AFL is very controlling and tries to micro manager its image and PR. - the AFL drip feeds news to journos so it is in their interests to tow the AFL line from time to time. but could be totally wrong... The good journos will report news objectively so in that respect they will fulfill their responsibilities when the time comes.

I feel ill...

Because the AFL has asked journos etc to keep it quiet while the GF, trading etc are happening on. But don't worry bb it will all hit the fan in a month when the silks start arriving in the harbour town...just before the Draft!!! AFL won't be able to control it then!

End of day 2 and nothing has happened! Saw this in the Age: "Zero Hanger understands that St Kilda was looking at recruiting Brisbane defenderJordon Bourke before Jake Carlisle became available and it is entirely possible they will revert back to that plan if they cannot achieve a worthwhile trade with Essendon, who stand to lose their star key position player for nothing". Would love to see this happen...then that Dodo at Ess will rue the day he decided to be such a pain in the backside. Double this perverse delight if Dodo holds up our trade for Melksham and we take our money elsewhere!!

Interesting comments about the 'Star' players likely for (current) picks 3-6. "Aaron Francis still shapes as an early pick, but sat out the testing because of groin and hip soreness. Darcy Parish didn't make the top 10 in any area, but everyone knows he can play...Charlie Curnow has been interesting all year, his athletic potential obvious from the start but his year interrupted by a knee injury before he had gotten himself properly fit. He didn't test quick - 3.1 seconds was his best time over 20 metres - but his endurance, for a powerful key position player who everyone can see playing on ball one day, came through".No glowing endorsements there...in fact, the much touted Parish did himself no favours at all. Ess seem to have fallen out of love with him! It has emerged that both StK and Ess are trying to trade out their (current) respective pics 5 and 4 for two later first round picks. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-trades-2015-saints-explore-pick-slide-for-jake-carlisle-20151012-gk7aji.html Just shows what they think of players available at pick 6 to 10 (after the academy players go at 3,4,5). Our club has shown not to be overly enamoured with draft picks so it will be interesting what we do with (current) pick 6!

With the Treloar and Aish deals floating around the Pies don't have any decent picks to offer for Howe.I bet they will want to do a trade that includes their Ben Kennedy who we are looking at. Plus some crappy pick. I hate the way the Pies swoon around, enticing players with their facilities, the ANZAC day game, their big $$ support team then play hardball in trading with the club. Hardball at the trade table is not something I have seen our club do so I fear we will come off 2nd best if Howe chooses the Pies. Maybe we can offer them Dawes back

That is not even funny!

This puts it in perspective. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/jim-stynes-widow-sam-ludbey-opens-up-about-her-decision-to-remarry-20151011-gk6nq5.html I recall her saying in an interview (or his book) that they grew closer during his illness. Whatever their circumstances they deserve to remain private. Sam has undoubtedly shown great respect to Jim, the Stynes name, the Stynes family and their children before and after Jim passed away. She has been a courageous woman who stood by her man till the very end in extreme circumstances. Jim's mother gave Sam her blessing: "...it meant much to her when Jim Stynes' mother looked her in the eye, held her hand and gave her blessing to re-marry". She has had difficult times and deserves happiness in every aspect of her life. Can't help but think Sam would also have Jim's blessing.

Did we say a 2nd rnd pick or our 2nd rnd pick? Even if the latter, by the time FA comp picks for Leuenberger, Selwood and Academy selections happen pick 25 will be closer to pick 28-30. That seems ok.

So other clubs put offers in early then Pies come along at the 11th hour and hold up the whole process! They may not even put in an offer this week or may drag it out to next week and it gets held up by the Aish/Treloar/Freeman trades. Then we scramble to get other trades done at the last minute. I'll say it again I don't trust the Pies nor their motives. I am concerned that GC and North take their offers elsewhere and we are stuck with only a Pies offer! Mr Nial, they have phones in Bali you know! MFC, give them a deadline and stop this stupid shadow dancing!

All rumours at this stage...save yourself some energy PaulRB...10 days yet to go!

Maybe but they are also desperate for some tallish forwards. I'm guessing that Pav is waiting for the outcome of the trade period to decide whether to retire. He probably wants to but won't leave his club in the lurch. So if the McCarthy deal falls thru pick 16 will look a fair deal for them.

White could be given an upgrade to the seniors list...it didn't seem like we are letting him go. I believe there will be a few more senior list spots available than we currently have.

That isn't what Mahoney says! “Jake Melksham’s been mentioned and he’s been targeted to play off half-back and he probably played that role for the last three or four games for Essendon this year,” he told Dee TV. Of course, it is essential these days that all teams have 10-12 'on-ballers' but each play still has a main postition. Anyway, I would take Mahoney's view rather than those on DL. On a different note SEN are saying that if the McCarthy to Freo deal falls thru they may give their pick 16 for Jack Watts. They also said there is a strong sense at the trade meetings that Dawes and Grimes are actively being discussed as tradeable. As I stated in an earlier post, if the latter goes (be it now or when OOC in 2016) all the more reason for Melksham to come in as a replacement in the backline. Forgot to mention that I heard Mahoney say in a trade interview this morning that our goal is to improve our list and to improve our draft position. Listen to him on the MFC badge here: https://audioboom.com/channel/afltraderadio Perhaps we have earmarked our 'Big Fish' within our existing ranks and no longer need to chase one!!

A contracts update from Mahoney: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2015-10-11/we-want-hogan-longterm-mahoney Summary of Mahoney's comments are: - an offer of an extension beyond 2017 has been put to Jesse. Hooray! - the club needed to make sure that players were locked in for “an extended period of time”. - “If you look down our list, there are not many players where you’d say ‘they had a season this year that they can’t replicate next year’. - Mahoney said the club had also unearthed some youngsters this year. (He then talks of O Mac, White and Harmes) Based on this I would expect White and Harmes to be signed up soon and a spate of extensions in the next 6 to 9 months, even tho a lot of our high end talent (Petracca, Brayshaw, Salem, Viney, Tyson) are already signed to 2017 and beyond. Love this forward planning! BTW I heard Mahoney say in a trade interview this morning that our goal is to improve our list and to improve our draft position. Perhaps we have earmarked our 'Big Fish' within our existing ranks and no longer need to chase one!!

Looks like an offer has been made to Jesse. Mahoney: "We’ve already met with Jesse and we’ve gone through our plan as a club and we’ve presented that to him and made an offer for an extension for Jesse." http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2015-10-11/we-want-hogan-longterm-mahoney Not a gambler but would take a big bet that Jesse signs an extension beyond 2017! A pre Xmas announcement would be nice...a present from Santa

SEN are reporting that MFC are looking to play Melksham in defence rather than midfield. If so the features you both describe would be a real asset to creating turnovers and getting the ball moving forward for us. It also releases Salem to the midfield and is coverage for the loss of Howe and maybe Grimes at the end of 2016. Melksham has also shown he has good skills and can get the ball so he may work out really well for us.

I'm not the only one who doesn't trust the Pies, bb. Just saw this about the Treloar trade: "It’s understood there are some within GWS who are uncomfortable trading with the Pies and could yet bring Richmond and possibly even Carlton into the frame".www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-trade-week-big-deals-that-everyone-is-watching-20151011-gk6h33.html#ixzz3oFylxjSn

That would suggest we are no longer after O'meara or Prestia. We must desperately want a specific player @ pick 3 as there is nothing to suggest #3 with potential will be any better than #6 with potential. It would be like giving Howe away, after all the draft is a lottery even at the top end...we should know better than any other club. I seem to be the odd one out on this going by other posters getting excited at the deal but I can't see MFC doing that trade.

I don't trust the Pies. Their m o is to get a player to want to go to them, then screw the club on the trade deal. Then they expect the players' club to just make it happen. It is similar to what they are doing to Aish and the LIons. It is the flip side of the Beams deal last year. They just stand their ground and wear the other club down. I just don't trust them! Hopefully, Howe does not nominate the Pies.