Roger Mellie

like 'off of'

Love it! I was surprised the Toump got a gig ahead of Grimes say - but I love it - much better users of the footy there!

I wouldn't necessarily. Being signed up for an extra year would be great but I don;t think we'd go too long term in case he has a Menzel knee (no offence to Menzel).

IIRC one of the draft night commentators said Petracca's parents were concerned about the development program at Melbourne originally. They don't have such concerns any more, particularly with McCartney on board.

Unfortunately, we (MFC supporters) do because we repeat the same thing each year!

Keefe and Josh Thomas (The Age)

Lynch, Ablett, O'Meara and Dixon. That's close enough to a bevy

I don't like it but I think Bail and/or M Jones will be in the team. They are our elite runners and are good at playing their role. Unfortunately that's where the value ends as the rest is pretty limited. I think M Jones has improved his kicking this year although it remains to be seen how this stands up under pressure. I don't think you can replace a Bail with a Brayshaw or a Michie. I can't wait for the day when Stretch is ready. Edit and/or

There's a whole thread dedicated to you and you're whining about Toumpas. How about your next 300 boring posts (the same as the last) go there!

I was watching the centre bounces with interest! Nathan Jones wasn't in the centre once in the last quarter. From this I can conclude the following: 1) We were experimenting 2) The experiment failed 3) We're farked if Jones gets injured

Yep - did everything and looked ready to go

I didn't see him at training but he might've been there

Yes

PS Like Wormburner above, I watched the McCartney drill and agree - he's a great find for Melbourne and he'll do wonders for development

I went along to training (it's still going) and can confirm Hogan seems to be doing all the drills and appears fine. Great to see Jack Trengove walking some laps at the start. Slight limp happening there! Vince joined in the drills at the start then pulled out as the intensity and simulation style rose. White also. This was my first training session for the year and for me there was a noticeable skill improvement but the usual suspects (whilst some have improved) were still ratty. Size wise, players didn't look bigger than last year - maybe more toned. Watts looks like a high jumper in physique. Impressive: The usuals (Jones, Tyson etc) Prince Frost vanDemon nice kick on White and King I like the look of Brayshaw. One of his kicks didn't make the distance. Is he not a great long kick? Pleasantly surprised: Jordie Didn't see Howe but he might've been there. I was looking to see if the Toump looked any quicker and decided - maybe a little!

Player by player: 1. Hogan - Rusty after 12 months out but welcome back you beauty! 2. Jones - Ever reliable 3. Salem - Rusty and finding his feet 5 Toumpas - worked his way into the game in the 2nd half. Slick ball use which are starved of. 6 Dawes - meh. A couple of one grab marks which helps 8 Price - welcome aboard. Rusty but a prime mover 11 Gawn - Jeez back to short pass school for you. Looked to stand up a bit more in the contest. 12 Tyson - Blowing out the cobwebs. Prolific but ordinary disposal and decision making. 13 McKenzie - OK in a half but not in my 22 14 Dunn - Yuck 16 Kent - Great start to the season. Hungry for the pill and mostly used it well. 17 Frost - slotted himself into the 22 at least on the bench. Deceptively quick with dodgy/dinky kicking 18 Cross - Looked a bit slow but steadies the ship 19 Newton - what's not to like. Great kick and found the footy in the time he was on. 20 Garland - Fingers crossed he was just rusty. 21 Pedo - not the best game for him, poor decisions with the footy 22 Mitchie - not prolific but liked his off the ball work. Wouldn't be surprised if he topped the tackle count. Neat disposal apart from 1 clanger 24 JKH - Couldn't find the pill. Looked pretty fresh at the end of the game so fit? 25 TMac - Pushed of the ball a little and insists on taking off with the footy hoping an option will materialise = Turnover. Otherwise rusty but solid 31 Grimes - See Garland or Dunn 36 Garlett - Not a great game but I liked the pressure he applied 37Vandenberg - Upgrade - nice touches, used the ball well. I see the Cale Morton leg comparison. 39 Jetta - Didn't look like he missed a beat. I assume subbed off from seeing stars 40 Jamar - Nice kick for goal! OK in the ruck then invisible around the game. 44 Bail - Not much there 45 Jones - Shocker Pretty happy with the game and excited by a few prospects! Although there was a strong theme of rust. It was a good run and you can see what is possible with quick ball movement.

I can't fathom why anyone would bring up the subject of DB, let alone a discussion about the tool. I'm hoping his absence is permanent. Card carrying [censored].

Thanks 'rjay' - like I said, happy to hold onto for now and see if he can add some strength and endurance to his skill set.

While I haven't seen much of King this preseason, he showed enough (to me) when thrown in the deep end in the NAB Cup last year. He's the best kick of the rucks by a long way. Happy to hold onto him for now. Hoping Gawn has his breakout year, but he doesn't use his height to advantage yet which kinda defeats the purpose.

Great report thanks DeeMfc and much appreciated! Any thoughts on Stretch, ANB and the rookies?

I think the club should 'invest' $10,000 in theme flags for the Geelong game. They can be handed out at the gate. On one side is the demon logo and on the other a huge bum with a picture of Mitch Clark where the hole should be. Where's DA when you need him for the visual? Of course I've moved on.

He has shafted 4 - he agreed to go to Collingwood and shafted them royally, so I think he's up to 5 clubs!

That's why I wrote 'doesn't hurt our chances' rather than - we'll win this. There's a difference!

He looks astonishingly like you and me after a night on the sauce!

I agree with you, but I don't think even the whole footy dept fit at AAMI Park. The current set-up could be described as adequate but not ideal, so I think they'll always be on the lookout for better options for the longer term, particularly if they can get the AFL/State Govt to cough up.