Older demon

For those who believe it will all be fixed if Jessie signs on look no further than Mitch McGovern. Is at the end of the first year of a 3 year deal and wants out and will most likely get to his destination club. The only advantage is the club has currency and that is why MFC may well be best served now rather than at the end of 2019. All will be revealed eventually

Interesting timing with the changeover of CEO. I know Mahoney is doing the negotiating but the CEO crunches the numbers and who has the final say Peter or Gary?

5 go and 7 spots on the list, that is quite a cleanout.

The Brownlow has always been an umpires votes and was fine when there was only 1 umpire. Then we went to 2 umps and one year they both voted and the vote tally was huge so they decided that the umpires would concur and give one set of votes. The flaw in the system is now 3 umpires have to compromise and pick a consensus 3,2,1 and given they cannot often agree on a correct umpiring decision it is no surprise they get some wrong. Now it is a midfielder award

One for the trade thread. How good was Whitfield this year? I could see him owning one side of the G running from halfback or wingplaying only on the members side in red & blue.

I am so pleased for Gus. Taken at pick 3 and now showing his worth in a breakout year. Now for the guy taken at pick 2 to show us his worth, I talking about you Trac.

Well done to Gus, Max & Clarrie the engine room. Two players in the top 4

I suspect all will become clearer in the next week. Vince and Balic have retired. Bugg, JKH, Kent, King, Johnstone, McKenna & Pederson out of contract and not sure of Vanders. I took this from the list posted early September on another post. Filipovic and Keilty out of contract on the rookie list. To me it doesn't make sense to move on both King and Flip I cannot see us letting 10 players go after 1 season as we only have 5 draft picks. Contracted next year and their age next season in brackets Tyson (26), Garlett (30), Jones (31) & Lewis (33). We could trade for extra picks but not sure who has any currency. I included Jones and Lewis only because of their respective ages and am not suggesting they be moved on.

I believe I read today that Tim Smith has been offered a 1 year contract that is yet to be announced

Nailed it. At Casey today it was never more evident of the serious need for a backup ruckman. Pittonet had 55 hit outs and Box Hill 80 to our 22, resulting in winning clearances and giving mids an armchair ride. Pederson and Smith are not ruckmen. If Preuss wants to come to Melbourne then get him. I suspect King and Filipovic won't stay on I feel the need for speed. West Coast and Pies have blistering speed and run. We were 1 tall short yesterday in finals conditions as WC marked everything Jones on one wing and Tyson on the other with Lewis down back leaves us susceptible to pace and teams that switch quickly out of defence It is a great effort to get to the prelim but to improve and maintain momentum there are lots of gaps open. It will be interesting exit interviews this week

West Coast were slick and sharp and clearly benefitted from their week off. We made too many mistakes and costly turnovers resulted in goals. 12 Eagles played in the last grand final and this is their 4th year in a row in finals. They are a mature big bodied team with a good mix of talls and speedy smalls. This is step 1 for us after 12 years in the wilderness. There are a few gaps to fill and you learn more about your players under this intense finals football than in the season. Any talk of trading Hogan should dry up immediately as he is needed as a big bodied key forward. And the rehab for Lever is so vital, we need him down back. Some outside run as Spargo is our only small. I will be interested to hear Goody's take on things. I hope today drives the club and playing group forward. Finally I would like to thank Peter Jackson as in his own words his tenure finishes once the season is completed for us. sadly it was more abrupt and disappointing than I hope Go Dees

Bad post full stop. We got to a prelim final and were over awed and out played by an experienced very good team. My 3 word analysis is for our team is "Too many turnovers" Not fair to individualise players the TEAM played badly.

Whilst I feel bad for Fritsch I think you will see if you review the replay that last week was not his best. At times he rushed and was panicked and turned the ball over, especially in 2nd quarter. He was luck Gunston hit the post in the third as Fritsch rushed at the loose ball over ran it and allowed Gunston to swoop and miss what was the turning point of the game. At half back who was minding Gunston who almost turned the game and kicked 3.5 and got coaches votes for 2nd BOG. I can see the need for the extra tall as Vardy had a big influence up forward in week 1, while Lycett was battling Grundy

This finals series has shown we are now in "Hunting Premierships" mode. We do not need to trade out our guns for speculative draft picks. Fremantle can come up with whatever they like but Hogan stays put and enjoys playing finals for the next few years, not travelling back and across the country every 2nd week and living through a rebuild.

For those advocating another tall can I point out that Collingwood went in with a shorter backline than us and coped with Lycett, Vardy, Darling and Kennedy. The key to that stadium is the midfield and it was only in the last 10 minutes when Shuey, Jetta and Yeo got on top that the tall forwards got any supply. Let them worry about how they are going to deal with our structure, speed and toughness and forward line now they have lost Shepherd down back The game will be won or lost in the midfield. No change

No change unless in case no-one noticed Salem grabbed at his hammy late in the 3rd but played out the game. I anxiously await his medical report. remember Melk tweeked a hammy against Adelaide and played out the game then missed 3 weeks. Tysons last quarter was great, leave him alone and remember he still cannot pick up any weight with that broken arm, so for him to be playing is a testimony to his determination. Go back and watch the replay and you will see Fritsch made a lot of poor decisions and was a bit off especially under pressure in the 2nd quarter. Played on when didn't need to, turned it over and in the third look how he misjudged and overran the ball that let Gunston run onto a loose ball in the third. Be grateful Gunston lairised and hit the post.

It is rumoured that GWS have to offload about a mill off their salary cap next season. This is why there is all the noise around Shiel and Scully. Ironic that Scully's hefty contract may come back to bite him.

My concern will be Geelong tactics especially at Max. The Scott boys didn't get nicknamed the Cray brothers for nothing. Scott is a brilliant coach and possibly the hardest to coach against as well as being seriously nasty. His team has a habit of jumping into the back of opponents in marking contests, with Hawkins having being suspended already this year. Likewise don't forget the corked bum Hogan copped at GMHBA stadium in a marking contest. Do not be surprised to see Geelong players constantly jumping into Max or trying to nail him in a marking contest, I want our guys to provide support and be aware who is in the aarea around Max. Another thread has already mentioned Guthrie's crash into Nev in the past. I seriously hope we come out tactically and play like the anti social hawks used to in their premiership yearsand assert some physical pressure on Geelong as I guarantee there will be plenty coming our way

Correct it was Jake, he is much taller than I anticipated as well

Sam Maclure did state that Freo were preparing a massive offer to throw at Hoges. And they may well be doing that but I think they have missed the boat. Goody stated on Monday "On the Couch" that Hogan is a Melbourne (city) boy now and despite his injury is everywhere at the club embracing the finals. This is his home. The players all know where we are at and what success brings. At a function Sunday a rehabing demon said he expects to play finals with us for the next 9 years. Freo are a rabble with an ageing list and all Hoges mates are at MFC.

I can see why everyone is discussing who we put on who but consider that we finished 5th, our midfield of Max, Oliver, Brayshaw and now Harmes is A grade, so let them worry about us and our weapons. Viney and Vandenberg didn't play and Garlett, Hogan and Vince were in for the last Geelong game. An inexperienced midfield contributed to the loss at geelong and we can add experience and grunt. Remember Hogan was lame after he got a knee in his back in the first quarter. I am starting to believe that we are much better than we all realise and yes we have days and quarters when the team loses its way but they are becoming fewer. The last 2 weeks highlight what we can do, so let the Cats worry about us and what stategies THEY need to combat us

You have to wonder where all the Norf money is coming from. They are a bit scattergun with their approach offering a fortune to anyone.kelly only signed on for 2 years at GWS and Norf were very confident that they would get him next time but cannot see that happening if Gaff goes there. If he is too pricey then move on as we don't want to disturb the pecking order at MFC. lewis has already spoken to the group about pay structure and keeping the group together just as they did at Hawthorn in the premiership years. I truly believe that if MFC offer was similar to GWS he would come home (as per Jane's info) but 1.2 for 7 years is crazy money. Target what we need to comlement our existing list do not get into a bidding war just to prove you can attract a player.

For years we have been looking for the Messiah. Roos often stated that the Messiah complex and expectation is what limts player development and in this case we cannot expect Weid to come in and emulate Hogan. Thinking about this I will be content for him to play his role as defined by the coaches. If he plays on McGovern then make every contest count. If he plays in the ruck, get the ball to ground to our mids and make a contest and drop back in defence. He has played 15 games and is still learning and cannot be expected to come in and clunk marks, kick a bag and dominate especially against such a well organised backline such as the Eagles. Will he however provide a better option in contested marks and rucking than Pederson? I believe he will and our goals will need to come from the mids and flankers. Last week pederson was on Heaney and one contest in particular he gave us nothing. The only alternative I would consider is Hannan as a key forward but then who backs up Max against Lycett and Vardy?

I can confirm Hoges is left handed. I asked him as he continually shot left handed at one of the MFC holiday programs at MSAC where he and Trac were shooting hoops. Both would not be out of place on a basketball court.

I have stated this before Hoges is left handed but right footed and that is why the weird ball drop. As a right handed left footer I can attest to the difficulty using you non dominant hand to drop the ball on your foot. Nick Riewoldt was the same and early in his career he had similar problems kicking for goal, but he got better with experience. I found that I could become pretty good on my right foot because I could control the ball drop better and maybe Hogan can kick in play on his left. He is a pretty good kick in field play.