Older demon

Well Max will certainly miss Frosty. I still think we will regret getting rid of him.

Most clubs pass on picks that late. Maybe no-one or as mentioned the rookie upgrade. Lots of space on the rookie list now.

I am not sure whaat MFC have in mind for the PSD or rookie draft but we only have 3 selections in the national draft. Stretch and JKH not offered contracts yet and may have to wait till all drafts. It would be unfair and most unlike MFC to delist players after the PSD. This said I wouldn't go after martin. He wants big coin and I believe he would be competing for a spot with Melksham, Fritter and Hannan. His strength is his overhead making and he can kick goals. We need a small forward in the mould of Papley, Myers (at Geelong) or Rioli (the Cyril variety). Draft what you need not because he is unexpectedly available or has potential. That is all Martin is a tease who hasn't played to his potential.

Jake Nial also reporting in the Age the same scenario. GWS must be crazy desperate for pick 3 offering pick 6 and next years first rounder.

Given the way he has been treated by the club no surprise. He did not want to leave and was effectively hung out to dry. Gawn is holidaying with him and did not want the club to ditch him. Content that the club had too many backs and saw a way to balance the list but some of the unfounded rumours thrown about here are just that rumours. I wish Sam well and the chapter is closed

I think that now that the Saints have split their pick we won't split ours. I agree with others that we go to the draft with pick 3 and pick the best, classiest we can as we need more A graders. Bid for Green if we want to, remembering you can trade picks live on draft day. No offence to Bonar he is another big bodied mid with 2 knee redo's no thanks. I also believe that Saints will have to trade away players if they want to get everybody in who they are chasing.

I also posted that was it wrong to assume if it is a key forward but in the Elliot mould not necessarily a tall. So I got that impression as well. Saints need to clear cap space but it aint Membrey so I thought Billings.

OK a key forward doesn't necessarily mean a big bloke. Maybe a hint is Elliott is not the only player we are talking to. Could it be another key small forward. The Saints and Dogs need to clear cap space for their upcoming recruiting. That opens things up Breust, Billings, Membery or Billy Gowers all of whom would surprise. MFC have long held a belief that Billings was the best in his draft year. Small quick who misses lots of goals but always performs well against us!!!!

Bonar is a strong bodied inside mid who has had 2 knee redo's. We have enough inside mids and dodgy knees for mine.

With Richardson as the director of coaching he may have suggested that they had too many assistants last year and has simplified the coaching roles ie Senior coach, backline, forward line, midfield, ruck and kicking coach. The director may look after both coach and player development. How many coaches does it take to change a lightbulb??

In the midst of the silly season, with some players on holidays while others nervously await their futures and the media throng offering their opinion of worth and final destination, comes a most moving story. By accident I started reading AMT's story, published in the HS today. Hamish McLachlan has unearthed the most insightful story of a young indigenous footballer who wanted to play AFL. I will leave it for you to read rather than detail the story but is both sad and inspiring. If ever I think I am going through a rough patch I will reconsider that life ain't so bad after seeing what this young man has been through. I also think I might be a bit more considered in my commentary of players because we just don't know what sort of bullying or critique they have grown up with and how they will react. And what is my opinion worth anyway in the scheme of things. The AFL is a fishbowl and everyone is entitled to their opinion which social media enables but this young mans story touched me and highlighted how fragile a young mans confidence can be. I had no idea the struggles he faces and the ongoing scars of his childhood. I don't care who he plays for and wish he was one of ours. I have nothing but admiration for him for sharing and opening up about his life and upbringing.

Thank you for starting this thread up At the end of 2018 there was IMO a big clean out. I counted 11 players leaving the club: Bugg, Hogan, Balic, Johnstone, Kent, King, McKenna, Pederson, Tyson, Vince and the rookie Filipovic. Of the 11, I would classify 6 as seasoned players even if you doubt their ability We bought in 13 recruits, a number raised by the 2 B category rookies Bradtke & Walker. The remaining newbies are May, Bedford, Kolodjashnij, Preuss, Jordan, Nietschke, Sparrow, Hore, Chandler, Lockhart & Dunkley. Of this group I only consider May a seasoned player and Kolodjashnij perennially injured. Preuss came to us with 8 games. Sparrow, Hore, Chandler, Dunkley & Lockhart all made their debut as did Baker from the 2018 list with a total of 6 debutants. There were some weeks we had 3 of them playing at a time. The 3 who didn't debut were Bedford, Jordan and Nietshke (injured). With so many injuries and players unavailable it is no surprise we struggled and the FD would not has considered how depleted and inexperienced we became I don't doubt that at the end of 2018 it was correct to refresh the list and bring in so many fresh faces but it left us very young and inexperienced outside of the core group. I hope that we won't have as many changes this season or if we do, we bring in seasoned players as we bought a lot of youth in last year. The upside is that many first year payers got a game earlier than expected and I hope this accelerates their development.

So 46 pages of comment varying from he's a hack to he's the saviour. Mahoney's interview offered some clarity Frosty doesn't want to leave MFC but has not been offered a contract yet. There is a contract on the table but it hasn't been offered (Mahoney's own words). The club has said he can explore his options with their blessing. Why? Well, Sam well he is out of contract and the club deems we have an excess of back men. So at the moment, as we have seen in other draft periods players are left out on a limb to ponder their fate. The options are Sam goes to another club on an equal or better contract and some of us, me included, will be sad. Next, the planned import of players from elsewhere falls through and MFC say, Sam we always loved you, come home all is forgiven. Interesting scenario because all all the Frost haters go into meltdown on Demonland. Another option is that no-one wants to offer a tall, quick, key back a contract and MFC say goodbye as well and Sam finds himself interstate or in a local league. The latter is highly unlikely but it has happened to footballers before. He could find himself player at his old school Wesley in the ammo's. There is a lot of events that need to align before we see the final outcome.

Yze being interviewed for the Adelaide job and Scott Burns has withdrawn from applying. Ooze may be heading south. Re OMac maybe the plan is to play him up forward this season. Experiment was on show late in the season

I have to agree. If you look back mid season we were not much better than some of this year. Stop start footy, bomb it long and turn it over a lot. Then for a magic 8 week period everything just clicked and we went into September on a high and played 2 great finals but then hit the wall. Wonderful interview and insight

From the HS this morning HAWTHORN’S luring of Melbourne full back Sam Frost on a multi-year deal came after the Demons had declined to offer him a deal. Melbourne believes Oscar McDonald can fill the third defensive tall option alongside Steven May and Jake Lever, even though Frost was ninth in the Demons best-and-fairest this year. AS stated earlier I am a Frost fan but it appears there was NO offer to Frost and even scarier is their blind faith in Oscar. I fear this is a mistake.

I know Frosty so I declare my bias and I will be very sorry to see him leave as I believe he has something to offer the club. Dal Santo stated this morning on SEN that he spoke to Frost last week and to date he has had NO OFFER yet from the club. This is in line with what his manager has stated despite what others have stated ie That his asking price is too high. I don't think you can trust anyone in the trade period. Personally I think the club would be mad to trade him but I don't know all the cards on the table. What we do know is that Stretch & Frosty don't have offers yet for 2020 which doesn't give one confidence that they are in the clubs ongoing plans. In Sam's case he is currently out of contract and we have May, Lever, OMac and Petty as key backs so as much as this site dislikes Oscar he is in contract. Sam is the easiest to move on as is Billy. In addition we have no insight into what the club expects moving forward and if they want to develop Petty more. I also note that in a recent article by Lever about rebuilding the backline he did not mention Sam. I don't like the decision but other clubs are moving on players. I cannot imagine why Saints want to move on Bruce, Adelaide haven't offered Keath much and Tomlinson is squeezed out at GWS. Every year players get squeezed out or traded. The club determines what happens and the frustration is our opinion amounts to nothing

Gee Max & Clarry way in front of everyone. Pleased Fritta finished of so well (when he went forward)

Frosty in the top 10 surely they will offer him a contract!!!

A tie told you it would be close

Be interested to see how the final result compares to Demonland player of the year!

Not much daylight there so far. We have the close one! And now Frosty is in the top 6

Thank you Nathan for your service to the club as captain, most of it through trying times. I hope this year free from the burden you play well and clock up the necessary games to achieve the 300 mark.

A friend of a friend (so don’t shoot me) says the count will be close, as close as you can get! Original source was a journalist so who can you trust for me it is Gawn and Oliver.

Also forgot to mention that Hardwick besides encouraging chaos ball (which we do) could not emphasise enough the importance of defence. I know they lost Rance early but settled in a very stable defence. If there is 1 thing that gives me hope for coming seasons is if we can settle our defence as the injury plague this year really crueller any continuity with our back 6. I am not sure moving forward who the back 6 will be but the formula is a lock down full back (Astbury) the intercept mark (Grimes) the designated kicker and general (Houli) the run and gun (Short) and midfielders who are prepared to run both ways. I am so impressed with how Hardwick has re-invented himself and his thoughts on the game.