CBDees

M you have neglected to mention the fact that Esendon managed to secure six first and second round draft picks for trading out five of their compromised players. The fact that they now have Parish and Francis from last year's draft and other future stars makes a mockery of their supposed need for ten "top-up" players to augment the 37 players on their current list (including the five rookies)!

On current performance, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Gill took the AFL out of WADA merely so that EFC effectively did not have to incur their penalties. As it is, with top-up players etc they are trying to minimise the hurt as much as possible. If they did this, then Melksham and the others would be able to play this year also.

It is an absolute disgrace that Essendon are being gifted ten "top-up" players. The 32 eligible players remaining on their list plus the 5 rookies are enough to enable them to field a team each week, even allowing for injuries. The team suggested in this morning's Age for example had #5 draft pick Parish listed as an emergency for God's sake, hardly strong evidence of the Club being genuinely crippled. It seems that the AFL is doing cartwheels to ensure that EFC suffers a minimal penalty for the coming season whereas the VFL and other leagues from where the top up players are being sourced, potentially stand to lose their star players, let alone the four AFL Clubs who relinquished low draft picks to pick up ineligible players and the other leagues around the Nation who suddenly lose a player for the season (without compensation)!

The Director General of WADA is on the 3AW Breakfast Show NOW!

I am not worried about Melksham as we escaped lighter compared with the Saints and PA who gifted Esendon first round picks and now lose potentially key players, whereas they they could have drafted Parish etc. l am concerned however that the AFL are doing everything in their power to minimise any adverse effect on Essendon. It is ludicrous that the AFL are manipulating their own rules to allow the players to continue to be paid whilst sitting out the year, a decision completely contrary to the spirit of the court ruling. Of ourse this comes as no surprise when you consider that EFC paid Hird a $M to holiday in France. Finally, I am astounded that the AFL will further compensate EFC by enabling them to recruit ten "top-up" players in addition to promoting their five rookies. The ten players concerned will obviously be at the expense of VFL Clubs and other leagues who stand to lose what are their best players at the onset of the season through no fault of their own. l think that the penalties imposed on the 34 should be just that : Penalties! That the EFC is also damaged is how it should be as it was them (and Hird) who initiated the drug regime, not the players themselves.

Exactly my sentiments. Shame however that Casey effectively lose a good player from their list, however l am one that subscribes strongly to the view that the effected Clubs, particularly Essendon, should be topped up. If they were, the big losers would be the VFL (& the SAFL) through no fault of theirs.

I completely disagree in relation to "topping up". Essendon should be forced to play the season with a reduced list of 32 rather than have them raid other (VFL) Clubs of their best players. Essendon have not done too bad out of this as: 1) they have off-loaded 22 players so have a far less impact; 2) they have been let off 12 months of their two year ban (due to their farcical 4.5 month voluntary off-season suspension when they continued to train; 3) they have effectively improved their list by trading five players for first and second round draft picks (and transferred the penalty to other Clubs)! As regards the collateral damage to other Clubs, (Dee's, PA, Saints and Dogs), that is a calculated risk that we each took in relation to our list needs and it will not be the end of the earth if we promote White early than planned. Why should Essendon (as a Club) emerge from this with even further reduced penalties? NO WAY Jose!

It doesn't effect Goodwin "period" as he was not included in the ist of eleven EFC coaches, medicos and consultants individually named on the document previously posted on Demonland. EFC, the AFL and other effected Clubs (such as us, Port Adelaide and St. Kilda) should all now move on and plan for the coming season (by upgrading rookies etc). What shouldn't be allowed to happen is for the AFL to intervene and soften the penalty by allowing the EFC twelve top-up players. By doing so, they effectively would unfairly penalise the VFL and other Clubs where they would seek to source their top-up players.

Was there any training (for today-Monday 11 Jan)?

In under 24 hours we will know precisely where we are with Melksham. If it is 3 months suspension for the 34 players (which is what was predicted by Ross Campbell) on today's 3AW Rumpur File) then maybe we will see White take his role. Any other predictions?

Congrats Jack for the 2015 AFL "tackle of the year"! (Only sorry that l don't know how to paste the link.)

Be nice if they have the power to also make Hird (in particular) repay his entire 2014-2015 earnings derived from football.

NO Clubs should be allowed players to complete their lists, particularly Essendon! They haven't got 34 to replace any longer (i.e. 12 only) so they still have enough players remaining on their list to field 22 plus still have emergencies! Further they have been beneficiaries of some very low draft picks last year plus they benefited from trading 5 of their affected played so effectively they have traded off the risk/penalty to opposition Clubs. As for the five players who are now with other Clubs, the MFC FD knew the risk associated with Melksham (as did Port Adelaide and the other Clubs effected). A penalty is not a penalty if the parties get compensated for their misdeeds (or, in our case, for our calculated gamble in trading for Melksham)!

What about White or Wagner, both rebounding defenders! Maybe the MFC FD had an emergency plan after all!

This match should have featured in this morning's Age (of our five best wins since 1970) as should have our 2015 win at the Cattery!

Last year's win against Geelong should most definitely been there as should one of our wins against Collingwood* (which are more highly coveted for Melbourne supporters). Who cares if we beat Freo in 2008. I had forgotten already! * Round 18 last year would have been a good one. We all loved those four goals by Hogan and seeing Dawes kick three against his old side was also sweet!

Is there anywhere that the full placings can be found?

Any source for the information that you and Georgiou are posting (ahead of Misson or the Club)?

He shouldn't be allowed to play other sports when he is a professional AFL footballer. Grrrr!

You surely are joking! Source?

I would now like to update last year's post to draw the comparison from last year's draft when we picked Oliver in front of the highly fancied Parish. Surely this is the comparison needed to silence some of the annual adverse draft commentaries posted by rear-vision Demonlanders ever since the drafting of Watts over Nick Nat. It now seems slightly ironic that PA have now traded with us for Toumpas ( who they would have selected over Wines had they had the earlier pick ), effectively giving us a chance to see if they both can star in the same team. Personally, l suspect that both will feature in PA's B&F in 2016.

Interesting that everybody has had attempts at analysing our midfield depth but nobody has factored in M. Jones (apart from mentioning him and Terlich as possible delistings before next season's draft)! If Roos is not trying to talk him up, maybe we might see him in contention next year? http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-01-05/list-update-hunt-jetta-and-mjones

Frankly, l saw the recruitment of Frost partly as a response to the loss of Frawley (not Frawley as the reinvented forward but Frawley as the AA Fullback)! I feel our strategy should be grooming Weideman and Hulett for the Forward line and O. McDonald, Frost and Wagner as defenders.

I suspect that, with his mature body, we are going to see Hulett debut before Weideman.