Young Dee

That's almost as stupid as offering Buddy a 9 year deal! If Essendon want to do that then it is fine with me.

That's Chelsea Roffey. I don't think there is any relation.

www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2013-10-02/roffey-joins-melbourne-board What do people think?

I like Gawny and think he could be a good player but I think we are putting to many eggs in the one basket. If Gawn goes down for good we are left with a near finished Jamar, an AFL level Jake Spencer and a 2nd ruckman in Fitzy. We need to look at getting at least 1 more true ruckman to develop going forward. Then we can get rid of Jamar and Spencer leaving us with Gawn, Fitzy, New ruckman. Our tall forward line of Clark, Dawes and Hogan means that one can be a back up ruckman or just play ruck when the ball goes in the 50m - saves Gawn energy.

I always have my doubts when demonlanders say "Sauce" (which is half the time). Problem is I can't tell if they do it deliberately or not. Someone want to enlighten me?

AFL could block Buddy move "One major roadblock to getting Lance Franklin to the Sydney Swans may be the AFL. While the two-time Hawks premiership free agent is keen to take up the offer – believed to be a staggering nine years and $10 million dollars – the league is considering vetoing it. The AFL is concerned the length of the deal may cripple the Swans if Franklin retires or is delisted early, with the club forced to pay out the remainder of the contract in one lump sum." I see it as we don't want/need Buddy and if other clubs get crippled fighting over him so be it. I don't care who lands him, I only care about how it effects us. GWS will have a lot more money and time to chase other players.

Pretty much an insight into this amazing guy. Love the Dawes Clark friendship! http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2013-10-01/we-had-to-get-roos-dawes

I know that's the issue but this will mean they will be seriously tight for salary room going forward. They are paying a huge amount for one player and a player that we do not want/need. Now we can circle their under paid midfielders. "The Swans must clear the decks to fit Franklin into the salary cap but are helped by a combination of retirements and players on the move. Space in the salary cap has been created by the retirement of three 2012 premiership players Jude Bolton, Marty Mattner and Mitch Morton. Power forward Jesse White has also requested a trade and has met with Collingwood. The big blow for the Swans would be the almost certain departure of premiership ruckman Shane Mumford." http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/sydney-has-made-a-bid-to-steal-lance-franklin-at-the-last-minute/story-fnfll94y-1226730250653

lol - if they want to blow all their money on one player then go ahead.

Really like this kid - can't afford to stuff this one up. Hopefully this is a new era where we turn talent into stars. Love how he backs himself, provides pressure and has a nice kick. I see him as an outside mid or wingman

I have always hoped that but now I just can't see it happening. What serious inroads will he make? what role will he play? Hope you are right because we need some toughness in the team.

Looking forward to it! Here are some key dates: Friday 4 October - Gillette AFL restricted free agency offer and unrestricted free agency period begins. Friday 4 October by 2pm - Gillette AFL father-son bidding nominations; Academy bidding nominations lodged with AFL. Monday 7 October 10am - father/son and Academy players bidding meeting; Gillette AFL Trade period begins. Friday 18 October at 5pm - close of Gillette AFL restricted free agency offer and unrestricted free agency period. Monday 21 October - Gillette AFL restricted free agency matching offer three-day period ends. Friday 25 October at 2pm - Gillette AFL Trade period closes. Thursday 31 October by 2pm - list lodgement (1); rookie promotion to primary list; retained second and third-year rookies; scholarship players; alternate talent player nominations. Friday 1 November - Gillette AFL delisted player free agency period (1) begins. Friday 8 November - international players inclusion on rookie list form; players not registered or played for 3 years rookie list form lodgement. Wednesday 13 November - Gillette AFL delisted player free agency period (1) closes; out of contract listed AFL primary list players draft nomination form and player request for removal from list form lodged with AFL; new or expired (after 3 years) draft nomination form lodgement. Priority zone selections – NSW/ACTand NT on the primary list of GWS Giants. Thursday 14 November by 2pm - list lodgement (2) and TPP estimates. Friday 15 November - Gillette AFL delisted player free agency period (2) commences. Monday 18 November – delisted primary list draft nomination form lodgement; non–retained rookie players draft nomination form lodgement; Gillette AFL delisted free agency period (2) concludes. Thursday 21 November - NAB AFL Draft selection meeting (Gold Coast Convention Centre). Friday 22 November - Gillette AFL delisted player free agency period (3) commences. Monday 25 November - Gillette AFL delisted free agency period (3) concludes; AFL club list lodgement (3); notification of NSW and Qld pre-selected rookies, father-son pre-selected rookies, Academy pre-selected rookies, international scholarship pre-selected rookies and scholarship pre-selected rookies nominated if not selected in the pre-season draft. Wednesday 27 November - NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft selection meeting (11am, Telstra Webex); NAB AFL Rookie Draft selection meeting (11.10am, Telstra Webex) Monday 2 December – final list lodgement and final TPP estimates.

I see more in Bail than Nicho. Would have liked to have seen him dellisted (is he contracted or can we still delist him?) Would happily delist for a free agent or pick up Cross.

I see what you did there That was 2mins of my life I will never get back (quit half way through) You mean this guy?

I thought this was another Jack Watts bashing thread.....

Looking at that list I would say we have one player that looks like becoming a great midfielder (Viney). Trengove (B grade - if Roos can fix his body) Toumpas (hopefully B to A grade - bit of an unknown) The rest Barry, Kent, Taggert and Evans are all long shots. If we want to be a good team we will need to find some diamonds in the rough but if that's going to happen we need some really good mids to show them the way and ease the pressure of them. Barry could be a small forward/Jetta type Kent has the potential to be a good wingman/forward Taggert - a solid bodied inside and outside midfielder Evans - a hard running midfielder.

Probably a bit similar to a Garland of 1-2 years ago. I wonder if he could improve like Garland by concentrating on his mental game/approach. Not a bad player to have but would rather him be a depth player and could very well become one as he is a 4th tall behind Frawley, Garland and McDonald. I see him coming in if we are playing a tall team or if one of those 3 is injured. Probably something like this: Garland Frawley Strauss (or Dunn or Grimes) Clisby McDonald Terlich

Was surprised to find out that he was 25 this year. I think with the likes of Garland, Jones, Frawely, Clark and Dawes our premiership window has to be within 4-6 years. Anyway good work Garland, keep it up. It must be worth looking into this mental preparation that he worked on this year.

A bit too much of a long shot for me. Would rather get a tall American basketballer/footballer who already has some muscle and we could develop into a ruckman. Glad the mfc is thinking out the box though.

To be honest I can't really see him having a negative impact on the playing group even if he is a failure. I can't see him making other team mates slack off at training or taking a whole lot of people out drinking (especially if he is at Casey). I do see him however having the ability to lift team spirits when times are tough. If we want to be a good team we need to take some risk like Jurrah and Garlett. I believe he has been training/playing for a club this year - worth looking into. We could rookie him and tell him that if he gets through a whole year with no problems at Casey (training and all) then he might be able to train/play with Melbourne. That way we can distance him from the players/club if needed.

While I agree with most that it would be either a massive gamble or a stupid thing to Rookie him at the end of this year, it would be the story off all stories. Imagine the kind of enthusiasm that it would inject into the club (players and fans).

Wow - this is a negative thread. I am going to put my head on the line here and say I really like Strauss. I think he will be one of the most improved next year. He is always on his man when the ball comes but has the ability to attack when the time is right. He has a good kick and is very fast - a perfect rebounding defender. We don't have any good kicks in our backline so I think that alone will give him a spot. I may be delusional but I think there is some unfair criticism on here, he dominated VFL all year and only got a handfull of games (2 games towards the end of the year where he didn't play the full game due to injury). Definitely showed something in those 2 games though. I think he is in a similar position to what Fitzy was at the start of the year - needs some consecutive games to make him feel part of the team.

Jeff Kennett would - hell he probably started the rumour!

I think he meant that those picks where compensation possibilities according to the compensation rules. Its obviously not a deal because we have no say in what compensation we get. I like the fact that they base the value on club best and fairest and salary as it shows how important that player is to the club. Some compensation is better than nothing - and in our circumstance (very poor/young list) the rules are in our favour.