Older demon

I expect Jack and Jake to move on although I am unsure of what interest they will generate. I am more concerned with the preliminary list of free agents for 2018 with Max, Nev and TMac all out of contract. Not official but posted on afl.com.au. Time for PJ to weave his magic.

The cheque book will be kept closed in my opinion. Next year we have Max, Nev and TMac as free agents requiring new contracts and it is reasonable for them to expect a contract that reflects their ability. Max missed a lot of the incentive based bonuses in his contract this year due to his injury. The club is already working on a long term deal to take him off the market and reward him financially

Goodwin also stated in an earlier video that the aim is to play finals and have an impact, not sneak in and go out in the first week. That the coaching staff thought we struggled at the end and his earlier statement suggest that he is not content to just make the finals but go deep in the finals. We weren't good enough this year and that is reflected in our ladder position. Losses to Roos X 2, hawks, freo prove that.

I am happy to be corrected but did we not trade the Sylvia compensation pic for Vince giving Adelaide pick 21 which netted Matt Crouch who is a newly appointed All Australian. I wouldn't give the Crows overs for any trade as long term I think they have the better of that trade. The challenge as I see it is balancinging bringing in ready made footballers 3-4 seasons or more versus top end 18 year olds.

See Trade rumours post, Jane02 has posted in the last hour.

I know Jane personally and she certainly has a connection and told me. She posted elsewhere and said that Gaff wants in to Melb. Hope she will repost

As stated by Jane in another post Gaff wants to return to Melbourne and his preference is MFC. Supporter and family links.

Frost signs on for 2 years to me means TMac plays forward, especially if we land Lever. Trac and Clarry the midfield is yours along with Viney. I did read somewhere that at this draft the club is looking for more mids suggesting Lewis, Vince and Jones will be on the flanks. Hoges to be CHF roaming far and wide

And while I think of it, sign him up on a Dusty like deal and lock him in for life. Once his team mates work out how to best feed of his lightning ball handling we will improve to the next level and he and Trac will be our marquee players. o

Presented with his award as the best young player on AFL 360 tonight. Earned high praise from Richardson the Saints coach. Awarded to players in their first 2 years after making debut. It is also notable that Petracca also figured in this award third.

Thanks to all posters. Saty I hope your beard doesn't blow away in the breeze. My least favourite ground to play footy at.

Until TMac went forward I felt we lack a contested marking target up forward. With Hogan missing so many games and a small forward line we tend to lower the eyes and try to kick to smaller targets. Remember when you have 8 players running into the square at bounces it leaves you unable to kick to a contest in the forward line as there are too many 2 on 1's. Very noticeable last week in 1st quarter we kept missing the targets up forward and the ball rebounded out so quickly. We rely heavily on Jesse when he is up forward and Pedo for contested marking. Adelaide take contested marks with Walker and Jenkins as do GWS with Patton, Cameron and Lobb, Geelong rely heavily on Hawkins and moved Harry up forward, Essendon use Hooker and Daniher. Power have Dixon, Westoff, Ryder and Trengove. Sydney run with 2 rucks, one up forward, Reid and a bloke named Franklin. Only Richmond get away with the lone key forward. WE desperately need Weid to come on, Hoges to get in a full season and TMac to play up forward. That will speed up entry into the forward line as you kick to a marking target and crumb of the spoil.

Well done Hibbo a great result. I can just heaar Collingwood bleating because they didn't get a spot and happy McGovern was selected instead of Jeremy Howe in the other back pocket.

Leadership is an issue and none of the leaders noticed the lack of effort in the first 20 minutes and stood up to make a statement. Apologies to Viney who was injured and Lewis who was at least making an effort. I thought Trac showed a bit in this area and vision on AFL 360 showed Trac going to each and every player slumped against the wall in the rooms post match, that is TEAM. Compare this with Danger or Selwood who take it on their shoulders to personally lift or make a difference. Dusty at Richmond, the Crows struggle when Sloane is blanketed and Sydney has the toughest midfield going. For anyone who listened to the Age podcast, specatators heard Lewis give TMac the mother of all sprays at one of the quarter time breaks. Did anyone hear this or hear of what was said.

I really hope that Trac builds his tank and makes the centre his spot. With his strength and kicking he can grow into our version of Danger, Selwood, Mitchell or Shiel. He has the potential to be a cut above the rest of our mids and lift the team when required. The last few weeks lead me to believe that TMac plays up forward. His kicking skills on the run out of the backline hurt us and he has shown he is a good set shot for goal. Down back I would like to remind everybody of the fact that Jesse Hogan played most of his junior career at Centre Half Back and I think he can be a more complete player and increase his tank, switch hitting down back (see Hurley at Essendon). The ability to switch Hoges and TMac between the 2 key positions gives us contested marking which was shown up by both Brisbane and Woods and leaves space for Weid to develop at Full Forward. Our goal to goal line, to me still does not look like a top 4 combo, Brisbane have a better potential goal to goal line. Anyone who can be an outside speedy finisher. We need polish and goal kicking to cap off the contested work from the inside mids and I just cannot think of anyone on our list who can step up. I wish JKH would show something Please MFC draft Fritsch at Casey, he is slight but he looks every bit a footballer and knows where the goals are

As Casey are still in the finals Mad Monday may be postponed.

Demonland, I can tell you that the MFC media managers were literally assaulted with emails that were clearly written by disaffected members and supporters. I spoke with one who was deeply upset with the vitriol and nature of emails that came across her desk. The office and off field staff are hurting, the whole club is hurting. All staff were briefed this morning by PJ and Goodwin in anticipation of this. The email rsponse sent out as mentioned early in this thread was obviously in response to this. The club captain had a presser and told us all straight that they are hurting, they realise that they let a chance slip. What else do we want, a public flogging For what it is worth I ran into the mother of one of our prominent players this morning and she is gutted and her son is disconolate and shattered. He wants to get out of town and be alone. He feels just as bad as we do, he is hurting and has the added burden of all the media telling him how bad the club are. MOVE ON

The usual way this goes with AA and Brownlow is you have a break out year and next if you follow up with a similar performance everyone notices you and you get votes. If Clarry continues to work hard there is so upside in him (and kick the ball more). His time will come

Well said and a fair assessment. Rather than write venomous emails to the club, write and thank the army of off field staff under PJ's direction for all their hard work. Forget about the on field group and remember a lot of people work mighty hard to keep thois club afloat and rarely if everget thanks or praise. They will all be gutted after the weekend and they are the ones who have to sort through all the hate mail that will pour in

Well they aren't going to clear out 10 players in 1 hit and it will depend on contract status. Garland, JKH and Stretch all have contracts for next year and beyond. Agree that Lumumba, Hullett, Trengove and White will not get new contracts. Team selection for Casey over the next few weeks will tell us a lot

Gaff is an interesting one as he has a year to go on his contract. He is a Melbourne boy, would love to return home, the family are Demon supporters and he would love to play for MFC. I thought it would happen in 2018 but maybe happening earlier. Source, family friend.

I spoke with Frosty at a club function last weekend. He was ok with going to Casey and knew his form was down and stated that this happens. Determined to work hard and get his spot back. No hint of unhappiness. He is a Melbourne boy and Wesley graduate who wanted to return from Sydney to be close to his family, (even if his brother is in Brisbane but not getting a game). Tactically it may not have been ideal to postpone contract talks to years end and get dropped but most of the contract renewals have just started. We don't have that many tall defenders and Frosty plays tall or short and has pace, it is his disposal that is lacking. I would be loathe to see him leave

I drove down Punt road at 10 am and caught a brief glimpse. Vandenberg kicking short kicks to Crossy. Watts and Frost visible in the main group so not at Casey. Lots of activity, best I could do in brief time.

According to AFL site "Trengove of Port Power has spent the past two weeks in the SANFL, where he has been best on the ground in both games. The former Calder Cannon has attracted interest from Victorian clubs, most notably the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne, with his ability to play at both ends of the ground and as a pinch-hitting ruckman making him an attractive target.". He is a restricted free agent. So are MFC hedging their bets hoping for Lever or Trengove for down back? I doubt they want both.

Brisbane certainly aren't the worst side in the comp and don't forget what we saw today was exactly how they beat Essendon weeks ago. Remember the Dons got 25 points up and Brisbane came back and pipped them at the post. Possibly the match that could cost Essendon a finals spot. They will not go away and structured up very well against our zone defence. Fagan is a very good coach. I thought in the second quarter we were going to move away but lost momentum with all the 50 meter penalties paid and the goals that resulted. The umpires must have been spoken too as none after half time.