Lucifers Hero

Thanks TDI. I don't have twitter to see your pics. Find that I can see twitter pics when the link is in a post. BTW any news about how Jack Watts has been training so far? From club website pics he looks the same size...not necessarily a bad thing. I'm desperate for him to have a great year. His sake as well as ours.

I assume that means 'good' surprised as in impressed? How did they impress you?

From Fos Footy: "RICHMOND has signalled plans to lock captain and free agent Trent Cotchin away on a monster long-term deal...and Cotchin would fetch as much as $1 million a year to remain at Richmond" While I rank Jones equivalent to Griffen I don't think he is as accomplished or as valuable as Cotchin. So if Cotchin is to get $m pa on a long term deal to sstay at Richmond, IMO the schedule I put above which gives Jones an average of $720 pa over 5 years looks reasonable. Hope the club are thinking along the same lines and we hear soon.

The Age is reporting that the Bulldogs will pay $800,00 of Griffin's 2015 salary (yes, even tho he no longer plays for them). This is of interest because it shows what he was being paid as captain of a bottom 4 club and may be a good indicator of what other club captains get and perhaps what Jones should get. I posted this earlier in this thread as a good option for MFC: I know year 1 looks crazy but think of it over a 4/5 year period: Post # 37: Yr 1 - $1.250m Yr 2 - $750K Yr 3 - $750K Yr 4 - $600K Yr 5 - $250K So $3.6m over 5 years. Averages @ $840K over 4 years and @ $720 over 5 years so may not be enough. Why is my suggested year 1 so high you ask: - we have the salary cap, - it gives us the sal cap in 2016 to go after an FA, - if Jones can't play out year 5 risk is quite small (this can be protected further by making it a 4 +1 contract) and - Jones' sal scales back as our young guns are looking for more. Knowing what Griffen was getting this type of schedule doesn't look too far fetched. From the Age: "He will earn close to $1million next season and about $1.5million over 2016, '17 and '18. He seems to have been on $1m for 2014 so that is $3.5m over 4 years. I doubt there is anyone who would say that Griffen to the Bulldogs is worth more (in $ and non-$ vaules) than Jones to the Dees.

Same problem with Curran delisted from North: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-11-17/curran-not-giving-up?utm_medium=RSS%C2'> Seems to becoming an increasing problem. Eerily similar to Jack Trengove - 3 ops, screw problem and finally a bone graft which is what Jack just had. Wishing for a total recover but fear it will be tough for him to play footy again.

Closed training session today but here are some pics on club website http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2014-11-17/photo-gallery-monday-november-17 Looks like hard work, a few smiles (among the coaches!) and WOW check out the pic of Billy Stretch!! Jordie is looking good too.

The thing that worries me is if we are seen to 'stuff Jones around' and ask him to take one for the team, then pay a 'silly' amount for an FA ($1m was rumoured for Dangerfield) our credibility with players will take a hit (hypocritical?) - won't help club morale/culture either. We may need to pay our club champions that are integral to our culture a premium (doesn't have to be 'silly') from time time. I think they will work it out but the longer it takes the more worried I become about 'silly' offers from other clubs.

Just wondering, why an offer of $750k to Jones (or anyone) by Richmond/Carlton vs the Demons offer of $x is different to $750K by a franchise club? Club shouldn't matter: Silly is silly... 'Silly' offers are being made all the time: Swans/Buddy, Bulldogs/Boyd, GWS/Scully, Lions/Beams, Demons/Dangerfield (based on rumours). 'Silly' offers are part of the new world. Don't like it. I'm tipping the club will make the right offers to players the club needs to take us upward and onward.

So, you want him paid the same as Grimes...3 B & F's, good brownlow polling, hardly ever missed a game thru injury? Really? Really? Nothing against Grimes but they aren't in the same salary bracket, IMO. $10m & 40+ players = average $230 - 240k each. Obviously a lot of young players on less (there always will be) allows other players to be paid more. You do the maths on what we can afford. (Especially if we heavily front-end his contract into 2015 when we have heaps of salary cap available). GC would be circling for a replacement for Ablett as their seniour midfielder. They will give him 5 years and top $. Jonesy should be paid whatever it takes to stop him even thinking about a FA offer.

Good point, going on her extra 12 there is a fair chance Oscar McD might slip to us!

The players want a closed hearing! Well of course they do! To stop the dirty laundry being aired. This annoys be as no-one stopped to think twice about airing Jack Trengrove's name and trashing his reputation. Player Agent Jess: "Every player and every player manager has to take a considered view if there is any loss or damage, then they have to quantify it. "In this case, there would be high-profile players who would have suffered significant loss and damage." http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/essendon-players-want-closed-antidoping-tribunal-hearing-20141115-11nexm.html Oh dear: Players get off - ASADA/WADA probably appeal. Players don't get off - players sue for damages. Far from over, folks...groan.

Emma Quayle has nominated her top 30 in her usual very well reasoned way. Her top 5 on performance (not necessarily pick order): 1 Heeney (head and shoulders above the rest) (N.A. Academy pick) 2 Wright 3 Petracca 4 McCartin 5 Moore (NA. F/S pick) She does say it is a very close race between 2 to 5. Brayshaw is at 6. Also mentions hard for a team to use a high pick on a player like Lever who hasn't played all year and has him at 11. All credit to her for not focusing on who has which pick and simply ranked the players as she sees it. One of the few unbiased journos around! AFL draft a level playing field for recruiters

He seems to have been talked up more by DL posters than by the club. Lever named on here (and the press) as a strong possibility along with several others (Laverde, Cockatoo, De Goey) then we all jumped on the bandwagon. Not sure the club had much to do with fanning the flames.

Lumumba is back! From Club website: HERITIER Lumumba has started training with his new club – a few days earlier than expected. The 2010 Collingwood premiership player was set to start with Melbourne on Monday, but fronted up for Friday’s training session at Gosch’s Paddock. Lumumba looked sharp as he joined in with his new teammates. The 199-gamer crossed from Collingwood during the October trade period. The 2010 All-Australian finished fourth in Collingwood’s best and fairest in 2014. Lumumba looms an integral part of Melbourne’s prospects next year and in the coming seasons. Fab pics of players training today: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2014-11-14/exclusive-lumumbas-first-training-run The shoulder injury (naturally) seems to have caused Bernie some muscle loss but all the players look in good nick!

Repeat of my post (#98) earlier in this thread: I'm staggered MFC is even debating this! We have plenty of cap room in 2015 so front end it!! The average payment with a $10m cap is $250K. I could give payment patterns to show the cap is not an issue going forward. Suffice to say there will always be new low paid players to offset valuable high paid players and the cap will automatically go up over time. On the contract 'term'. He will be 27 next Jan. 4+1 years takes him to 32 in his last year. So 5 years seems a very small risk to the club. Jonesy will (rightly IMO) be mighty peeved if he has to accept high 500's so we can get a 'star FA' @ $1m for 5-7 years. I wouldn't blame Jonesy for walking away - Crikey he does all the hard yards just so some FA comes along and collects. No way Jose! If we think that Jonesy can't get more than the high 500's + 5 years somewhere else we are kidding ourselves. eg. GCS would take him in a heartbeat to support young midfield (Ablett will be 32 in 2016). Plenty of surfing up there! Lets remember, if Jonesy walks next year and we get a 'star FA' there will be NO FA compo pick for Jonesy!! The FA's more than offset. Pay what it takes to keep him, MFC and stop mucking him around! Still think the same today.

Unless a Dane Beams, Paddy Ryder or Allen Christensen situation arises where the player nominates their preferred club and they eventually get there, usually at less than their 'true' trade value. I am yet to be convinced of MFC desire to play hard-ball in trade situations. Anyway, I think its only conjecture.

Sigh, another year of second guessing a player's contract status. Howe distracting...Now we will have hundreds of DL pages putting every Howe move/game under a micro-scope. Sigh.

Did they offer any source/credible info? Or just some wild line based on GWS last minute offer?

According to Caroline Wilson: 'No one associated with Thompson is ruling out a claim against the Bombers although predicting Thompson's next move is never a simple matter'. More court cases? There seems to be no end to EFC's ability to shoot itself in the foot! Interesting read: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/mark-thompsons-exit-highlights-the-dysfunction-at-essendons-core-20141113-11m659.html

I would tip that ND53 will be used for a DFA or a PSD pick for someone around 25 age with about 100 games, to start to rebalance our skewed age/experience profile...we currently have only 9 players with over 100 games., two of which are Lumumba and Garlett.

I'm pleased the club was able to achieve its list management/recruiting goals without de-listing Trengrove. He will be on the LTI and one of our rookies will be promoted at the start of the season. Gives the rookies are real incentive to work their butts off during the pre-season.

Infraction notices on the way! "Current and former Essendon players have been placed on the register of findings by an anti-doping panel, with the AFL expected to take the next step and issue infraction notices against those 34 players." http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/essendon-players-placed-on-register-of-findings-20141113-11lswp.html

My main point was that MFC were not the only team losing indigenous players wanting to go home - you conveniently eliminated this from my post which you quoted. I was backing up Dom's point about not enjoying his footy anymore and hypothesising why it may be so and losing such classy players is sad. It is all very easy to throw accusations like yours around and it may say more about you as the reader than me as the writer. All I will say is that since I was a child I have been the target of much racial abuse and would never think of others this way. DL's should stop and think that other posters come from all races and creeds before they start labelling them as 'racist'!!

Good pun there BB!!

The bizzare thing is Ess won't pay the measley sum of $30K fine but they paid Hird a $1m to take a year off and paid for the course in France! Thompson saved their bacon this year while golden boy was leading the high life in France!! Bottom half of the 2014 ladder for EFC without Bomber! I'm gobsmacked! Bomber isn't just a sh-t kicker at the club. Champion. Premiership Captain. Reluctant but successful 2014 coach. He deserves better from the club he has served so diligently. He is entitled to be mighty mighty peeved and tell them to GAGS! EFC is a bizzaro club!