spirit of norm smith

Great story about Zac Bailey on AFL website. Good Demons connection. I had him at pick 30. Would be happy to see him land at a MFC selection.

Heard Fritsch was out drinking last night. Got arrested outside nightclub at 4am. Might have been fighting. Similar to Jack Darling in 2010. How could anyone but MFC take the punt on this reckless young man !! (Hope HS picks up this news )

Knightmare on Big Footy has MFC choices as 29 Wooller - yes if available 31 Spargo - good but prefer Garner 36 Mcpherson - good but prefer Fritsch All good choices if we were lucky enough. Though need more height at pick 47. As per my top 50. I think Fritsch at 36 is the go.

Top 3 clearly are Jakovich Jurrah Farmer Schwartz also a very popular choice. Agree that Charles, Yze, Vardy and Stinga (Tingay) were other notable mentions. Sean Wight as a backman was another that excited us Demons fans with his courage and athletic ability to spoil the marking contest.

Nucleus of team is strong but plenty of room to grow and spots available. We need to develop very good youngsters players into Stars. Viney is ready. Oliver Petracca Hogan Lever Brayshaw Tyson all to step up. Jetta and Hibberd were outstanding in 17. Others make up a strong nucleus. Perhaps too much reliance on Gawn and Hogan to be fit and stand up in 2018. Go around one more time: Vince - dropped off in 2017 and may struggle to be in best 22. May go forward if required. Pedersen - keeps on going. Lifts when you think he is gone. Big heart may carry on On the edge : J Smith- I see him really stepping up in 18. Lever takes tall defender role but Smithy has the tools to play anywhere. Fingers crossed on healthy run. Bugg - lucky to survive ...Owes the club Vandenburg - needs to be injury free Kent - poor discipline and injuries killed 2017. Last chance saloon. JKH - on the cusp. 2018 will be make or break Wagner - dropped off in 2017. Disposal was poor. A maybe at best! Mckenna - didn’t see him in 2017. Must be injury free and show his potential Must develop : Johnstone - saw him twice at Casey. Plays in on/off bursts. Not sure so would like to see him more before judge. King- more gym work required. Our backup in 2018. Rookies: Kielty - very close. Like to see him given a game in 2018 Maynard- like his style. Hope he progresses T Smith- another who needs a clean fit run. Still on doubtful list Filopovic - raw and skinny. Injury hit 2017. Given another year to see what he brings. A lot more required.

Yes really glad Jack got picked up. Two Demon “Jacks” now at the power.

Yes agree. Very smart. Goal sense and skill was natural.

Chopper Lovell. Hard at the footy. Yes and yes. One of our heart and soul types. Excitement machine. No.

Excellent. But it makes sense. Why would the AFL reward an exciting team with an upward trend.

Zac Clarke - any appetite???

I agree that Jackson Ross has some good attributes but not Top 50 IMO. Definitely a good athlete but doesn’t get enough of the footy. Saw him in 3 games and whilst he showed skill, I had 5-8 players ahead of him at Ranges. Will probably be late pick or a definite low Rookie pick.

Given a good look over the 2017 draft. Not overly strong but top group is consistent so some bargains for the clubs with picks 10-15. Top 20 Group predicted: 1 Davies-Uniacke, 2 Rayner, 3 Dow, 4 Brayshaw, 5 Cerra, 6 Coffield, 7 Hayes, 8 Stephenson, 9 Brander, 10 O’Brien, 11 Constable, 12 D.Fogarty, 13 Naughton, 14 Clark, 15 Higgins, 16 Bonar, 17 Balta, 18 Ballenden, 19 Allen, 20 Naish (f/son) 21 Bulldogs N.Murphy 22 Cats Ling 23 Kangas Richards 24 Cats Worpel 25 Tigers Houlahan 26 Eagles Clavarino 27 Giants Garner 28 Giants Spargo 29 Demons Wooller 30 Blues Zac Bailey 31 Demons Gryan Miers 32 Eagles Ainsworth 33 Swans Mynott 34 Saints Petruccelle 35 Cats Dixon 36 Demons Bailey Fritsch 37 Eagles Starcevich 38 Pies T.Brown (f/son) 39 Crows McPherson 40 Lions. Tim Kelly 41 Suns. Crowden 42 Dockers Patmore 43 Lions. Farrell 44 Hawks. D Moore 45 Saints Taylor 46 Power. Liam Ryan 47 Demons Hayden McLean 48 Bombers C.Parish 49 Power. Petty 50 Suns. Crossley happy with Wooller, Miers, Fritsch & McLean. Seb Williams, Aiden Quigley and Matthew Day are my smokies for top 50. Callum Coleman-Jones could be another option.

Happy times. Let’s remember the top excitement machines in the red and blue. They got us on our feet. The roar of the Demon army on the MCG. Some were only flashes in our history but nonetheless were game changers. My top 10 in the last 30 years 10- Gary Lyon 9- David Neitz 8- Jeff White 7- Aaron Davey 6- Russell Robertson 5- Jeremy Howe 4- Liam Jurrah 3- David Schwartz 2- Jeff Farmer My # 1- Allen Jakovich Of course apologies to a few or any that I may have missed. Will Jesse Hogan make the list??

I think Jack will either get picked up or go play for Sturt. He would walk into the SANFL as a star. I can’t talk highly enough of him. Another Demon cut down by injury.

Our Schwarzenegger was a champion. In 1994, he was as good as Carey. And Carey was one of the greatest of all time. I was behind the goals at the punt road end, when Schwartz twisted and his knee went. We were silent. For the rest of the game, it was a blur. I think our future went out the window. He was a sensational CHF. We were seeing another Demon cursed. His courage to play on was amazing and whilst he was never the spring heeled CHF, he was a loyal champion Demon.

Exactly. Move on here. No more turnover specialists.

Yes the MFC 2018 ‘draw’ is definitely toilet material. Blue baggers have the porcelain crown by comparison !!!

Signed up for 2018.

Agree Mach 5. Petruccelle reminds me of Grgic. But has worse disposal. Pace yes. But footy smarts and disposal are lacking. Need skilled types. Pass on Petruccelle. I rate him 35-40 range but not suited to us.

Agree. Saw him on 3 occasions and was impressed. Definitely AFL Standard. We need pace and a tall ruck/forward so may not fit.

Sorry a positive. Family friendly timeslots. 6 games after 7pm. (One in Melbourne on Tuesday night!!) 16 afternoon games. Daytime specialists.

Crap drawer. Sponsors nightmare. Why not even one Friday or Saturday night home game. FFS. AFL on some kind of agenda. Our finals start round 21. Need to be 13 wins 6 losses by this point.

Reopen the Jack Darling thread. Or the Lucas Cook thread. It was a shocker. Salvaged Howe and McDonald luckily. Darling was a killer. Discipline issues apparently!! Top 5-10 draftee who slipped 26. 7 years. 150 games. 270 goals later.

Heard that the Lions are his likely suitor. Also Weagles may be interested which may be due to the running space available in the West. #nocontestedfooty

Fritsch is overrated. He lacks a competitive edge. He is a nice guy. Good mark and kick but no tackling pressure. Not physically strong enough. Pass it on