Older demon

Captain is one thing leadership group is another. Nathan or whoever it is in the future cannot do it alone. A mix of bull, strategist, intellect, rat cunning, aggression and maturity does not and will not exist in just one individual straight away . This is why leading teams aspire to have leadership groups. Leaders grow and Roos today has said how much Nathan has grown in the role. Our group is very young and we need continuity in the leadership group as they grow and Roos has stated his on field team do a lot of the coaching.

Cannot see MFC announcing any retirements for this week and seasons end. We all know this is Roos last game so lets celebrate that.

As I stated elsewhere Dom has done a lot of media and interviews. Articulate and well spoken I expect him to be in the leadership group next year on the back of his great 2nd half form.

I read this and have written elsewhere that this gets down to on field leadership which I believe we are light on. With such a young team we miss the on field generals. Yes we have leaders who inspire by their desire and effort i.e. Viney, Jones but this is about empowering leaders to be an extension of the coach. To position players, move them and sense changes in momentum all comes with experience. GWS leaders were criticised last week for leaving a gap at the front of the pack for Naitanui to move into collect the ball and kick the winning goal and not directing younger players to fill the gaps. Look at the role Heath Shaw plays down back, Corey Enright at Geelong, Hodge, Lewis and others at hawthorn while Jack, McVeigh, Kennedy and a host of others at Sydney are drilled into what to do. This is true leadership and our young group have a lot to learn.

Has anyone noticed of late how many press interviews Dom Tyson has done. With his good form of late and a new coach coming in I think he will be in the leadership group next season and may be ahead of Viney and Watts. Jonesy will be 29 next Jan and the job is his for as long as he likes but the leadership team will be critical. Listening to radio today the talk was of how on field leaders direct players, adjust their positioning and ensure players stick to what is drilled into them. Our on field leaders were slow to react yesterday against Carlton and not for the first time this year. Gibbs, Simpson and Armfield are their to guide the younger ones. I can see Tyson filling this role. Who in our young group can be the strategist and general on field? WE are so young. Viney may be the young bull but is he able to position players and maintain structures when he is concentrating so hard on his own game. All of the experienced players like Grimes, Trengove, Dunne and Garland cannot get a game and Bernie is prone to some brain fades. I was seriously impressed with Jayden Hunt's post match interview and his reading of what went wrong. It is a challenge for Goodwin to find on field generals who can implement his plans. Thoughts anyone

I noted that Dawes name was not on the team list yesterday. Injured, cooked for the year certainly couldn't be considered for selection this week. Harmes also had the weekend off as emergency.

1. Jetta (by a long way) 2. Tyson 3. Hunt 4. T. mac 5. Oliver 6. O. Mac

And shows how vulnerable we are if anything happens to Max! Spencer and Max King with Mitch King returning from and ACL repair, all a bit thin in the tall man dept. Sydney have Tippet, Naismith, Nankervis, Sinclair and Derikx all over 200 cm with a few of them never expected to play unless there is an injury. They have also carried Alex Johnson on their long term injury list for the last 3 years. maybe our list needs a slight change in structure.

The last comment prompted me to look up Smith's record. Born in 55 it is so long ago it is hard to remember. Runners up in 54 & 58 and flags in 55,56,57,59 and 60 so for 7 years Smith was the man. I would be grateful for the current crop to deliver 1 that I can see and remember

Early word is Ceglar and Nick Nat have torn their ACL's, that is terrible. Both injured in almost the same spot. Good ruck men are hard to find and both would effectively miss most of next year.

SEN have just announced Hurley has signed on with Essendon for the next 6 years. off the table

I hope you tell Nev you are pumping up his tyres! He has had an excellent year and apart from a small flat spot has proved to be the best small defender around.

On another thread, note that Weideman is in doubt due to a cork thigh. I reckon this happened when Rioli tackled him down low and applied the spear tackle in the third quarter. Weideman limped to the bench. No free kick either

Statement from Essendon today in the HS "Xavier Campbell says Essendon would help Michael Hurley move clubs but big trade needed." Xavier suggests if Hurley wants to go they will facilitate this as long as a suitable trade is offered. Interesting change and perhaps a reflection that they know he wants out. Given their intransigence in previous trades it will be interesting to see how this pans out. I get the impression they will trade rather than go to the grievances tribunal. Roos said early on it may be best to trade out a player coming in to the last year of his contract than have him walk for nothing a year later. Will they want draft picks or players?

Yes he got it when Rioli assaulted him in the 3rd quarter and laid the almost spear tackle. Another thing the umpires missed

From last years B&F the 4 voting members can vote on as many players as they like with a maximum of 10 votes per player. So, Yes the max a player can get is is 40 but remember in a game like last Saturday they may give 5 or 6 players votes whereas in a poor game say like Sydney in Sydney only 3 or 4 players get votes. So it is not the same number of players drawing votes each week which complicates things a little more.

I think you can look no further than the comments from Derek Humphrey-Smith in the Age "Hawthorn Hawks Cyril Rioli 'incredibly lucky' to avoid suspension, says ex umpire" here is an ex umpire at odds with the Rioli decision. I haven't seen the usual Hayden kennedy weekly rubbish justifying all the contentious decisions from last weekend. One can only hope the umpiring dept coaches the umpires on their errors, which of course they never admit too.

No free to Bernie though, wonder if Hayden (my umpires never make mistakes) Kennedy will comment?

Are you suggesting he may play Ammo's next year with Collegians?

Repeat ANB, Dunne and Garland are contracted and less likely to be moved on.

Obviously anyone out of contract will be worried. We don't have a lot of picks and there is no sense clearing blokes if you don't have someone better or have a trade in mind. From previous Demonland posts listing 2016 contract renewals the following are for consideration Key position players I believe will be a choice between Dawes or Pederson, I cannot see us keeping both. The 2 Mac's are still be sign contracts Mids out of contract are Michie (upgraded from rookie list), Grimes (RFA), Newton, Trengove, M Jones. I would expect us to keep at least 2 of the five. Michie could stay on the rookie list or move elsewhere and Grimes can move where ever he likes. I doubt Trengove will be cast off after this season and Matt Jones hasn't had a bad season. Remember we are still a very young list and we need some experience and older bodies. I can see no future at the club for Terlich. Of the rookies I suspect King will be moved on and I am unsure of where White stands. Rookie upgrades this year were to cover Melksham the forgotten man and Mitch King. Michie may remain on the rookie list and Wagner may be upgraded or remain a rookie especially if Hibberd is coming. I suspect that unless Heretier's concussion issues resolve very quickly that he will retire. Dunne and Neal-Bullen are contracted till 2017 and Garland beyond that. So to leave they would need a trade and the club has not in the last 3 years dumped a contracted player. They may not if Hibberd is coming. Minimum reduction is 3 so I don't see a big list movement, maybe 4 off max 5. So Terlich, Dawes, Grimes initially, after that depends on the Macs and signing contracts and anyone who wants out

Dawes rested as I note he isn't selected to play at Casey and also noted that Spencer isn't selected either. Stay did you notice Pencil not training?? Not a lot of ruck men around the club

I can confirm after speaking to Jesse at a junior clinic that he is a left hander who kicks with his right foot. He was shooting hoops and his ball handling is outstanding on his left side and rarely missed a hoop. Observe as he runs in to kick that he leads with his left shoulder while his brain thinks I have to drop the ball with my non dominant hand on to my right foo, I believe he will get better as he matures. As a left footer myself who is right handed I get his problem as it caused me some problems in my playing days. My ball drop left handed was inconsistent but I learnt to kick right footed because my right hand could control the ball drop. I would like to see how Jesse kicks on his left foot. Back onto Roos, I hope grateful members remember to email Paul and thank him for his contribution to Melbourne and all the processes he has put in place. He leaves the club in a much better position than when he started.

I didn't take the call but looked it up on a reverse number site to see who it is from. Lots of complaints made and it appears they know which club you barrack for as the complaints came from supporters of every club. Most suspected it was a scam and more likely the source of info came from the AFL. The caller apparently offers the same deal just inserts your club.

Peterson had a great game Saturday and should earn a recall. O Mac had his best game and took marks and now he has shown a bit you could not possibly drop him. Michie was good and is a 1 paced player like Mitchell and would be my wild card to tag Mitchell. The Hawks 2 ruck men leant on Max last time and I would want more support for Max. Note Dawes did do more rucking than normal yesterday. I can see Pedo, Bugg & Michie come in. I can se Hogan out injured (6 day break) Harmes rested and 1 other who is fatigued.