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I think time is up for Melbourne List Manager Tim Lamb. Unfortunately I think this is the best course of action and Tim Lamb should look for opportunities elsewhere. If you asked me at the start of 2022 I would of said Tim Lamb has done a fantastic job and helped end our 57 year Premiership drought. Sadly, since then, it has been mistake after mistake with our recruiting and trading. There were many failures that he has to take responsibility for as our List Manager. That is why it is best he parts ways with the Melbourne Football Club. We can then look to heavily pursue Graham Wright. A man with a highly credentialled career as a List Manager with success at both Hawthorn and Collingwood. He is the man we want as our new List Manager. I hope that the Melbourne Demons look to try and recruit Graham Wright. Nevertheless, it will be interesting what the outcomes will be after our external review of the Football Department is completed.

So we have Werridee’s ‘best 22’ for 2020, however it is interesting to think about who is ‘depth’ and who are ‘fringe 22’ Here are some of my thoughts Fringe (can get a gig): Melksham Jones (where do we fit him into the 22?) Preuss (?) Vandenberg Sparrow Dunkley OMac .... and here is where it starts to get interesting Depth (gotta be a lot of development or injuries for them to get a run) Jordon Nietschke Chandler Bedford Bradtke Spargo (a big call) ANB (teacher’s pet??) If we can keep a fit team on the paddock, then these guys can all enjoy extended (development) time at Casey. So who would be in each of your lists??

This seems pretty spot on to me, probably the easiest part of the decisions Mahoney will be making this offseason. Short version: Max King - Delist Viv Michie - Delist Joel Smith - Re-rookie Josh Wagner - Elevate Mitch White - Re-rookie Rookie watch: Who should be kept, who should be cut?

2019 Jones 27, Melksham 24 2018 Brayshaw 19, Petracca 19, Gawn 23, Garland 26 (UFA), 2017 Dunn 27, Hogan 20, Viney 20, Lumumba 28, Kennedy-Harris20, Salem 19, Vandenberg 23, Neal-Bullen 19, Stretch 18, Kennedy* 21, Bugg* 23, Oliver18, Weideman18, King18, Hulett18 2016 Trengove 22, Dawes 26, Grimes 25 (RFA), Watts 24 (RFA), Vince 29, Tyson* 21, Kent 21, M Jones 27, Spencer 25 (UFA), T McDonald22, Terlich 25, Jetta 25, Garlett 25, Frost 21, Newton 22, O McDonald 19, Pedersen 28, King ®19, White ®18, Smith ®20, Hunt 19, Harmes 19, Michie 23, OUT (8): Cross (Ret.), Jamar (Del.), McKenzie (Del.), Riley (Del.), Bail (Del.), Fitzpatrick (Del.), Howe (T), Toumpas (T) INS (8) : Melksham, Kennedy, Bugg, Smith ®, Vandenberg (Upgraded), Harmes (Upgraded), Oliver, Weideman, King, Hulett * = Require confirmation... Those underlined are player I think are the top 11 paid players; RFA is determined by players being among these 11 (obviously this will be wrong but hopefully indicative). Ages are from the 1st April 2015 - an arbitrary date fit for a fool...

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-01-16/trading-against-players-will The AFL website is letting their 'journalists' have an opinion on things - this time it is whether players should be traded against their will ie. clubs can trade their contract at their will. This will lead to nothing of course, but it is a huge plank in a more even competition. I know there are a few who agree with Michael Whiting in the link above but I have to say that I have not heard a compelling argument that is congruous with the draft that we have come to be very comfortable with. Jennifer Phelan brings out the populism with 'the players have too much power' but it isn't really that - it's the ability for teams to improve themselves using the only real commodities in footy - the players.

2017 Dunn, Hogan,Viney, Lumumba 2016 Dawes, Grimes (RFA), Watts (RFA), Michie*, Vince, Tyson*, Kent, M Jones, Spencer, T McDonald, Terlich*, Jetta, Garlett, Stretch, Frost, Newton, Petracca, Brayshaw, Neal-Bullen, O McDonald 2015 Trengove, Jamar (UFA), Garland (RFA), McKenzie, Howe, N Jones (RFA), Gawn, Fitzpatrick, Toumpas, Pedersen, Salem, Kennedy-Harris, Hunt, Cross, Bail, Riley, Harmes ®, King ® * = Require confirmation... List Spots Available: 0 PL, 2 RL Deletions (10 PL, 1 RL): Clark, Frawley, Byrnes, Nicholson, Clisby, Strauss, Blease, Tapscott, Georgiou ®, Barry, Evans Additions (Bolded have places on PL): Jetta (Upgrade), Stretch, Garlett, Lumumba, Frost, Newton, Petracca, Brayshaw, Neal-Bullen, O McDonald, PSD2, RD2, RD20 Actions: Byrnes retired. Jetta upgraded and signed till 2016. Bail, and Riley given (assumed) 1 year deals Terlich given two years (speculation) Nicholson and Clisby delisted. Frawley FA to Hawthorn for ND3. Stretch acquired in F/S for ND42 Garlett acquired for ND61 and a swap of 5th round picks. Clark swapped for Lumumba. Frost, ND40, and ND53 acquired for ND23. Strauss and Blease delisted. Harmes, King retained on RL. Georgiou delisted form RL. Tapscott delisted. Ben Newton acquired through DFA. Barry retires from AFL. Evans delisted and paid out for 2015. Petracca, Brayshaw, Neal-Bullen, and O McDonald added at the ND.

Oh, boy, this is going to be a monster - I have put together a list of things that I would install as AFL chief that would make the game a more even, balanced, and enjoyable spectacle and I haven't changed one on field rule - who knew you could make change off field that affects the onfield... Instead of making it all TL:DR (Too Long; Didn't Read for Old Dee) I have cut them up into some sub headings so it will be easier for people to quote and massage and ridicule and explore what they wish:

I have been wanting to do this for a few weeks now after not wanting to do this last year - it would be even more depressing... But I want people to see how sick this list is when compared to a middling AFL team like Collingwood/GC/Adelaide and not just those teams around us at the bottom - so 'AFL Calibre' amounts to 'AFL average.' This comes into play especially for the Rotation Mid and the Not Good Enough groups that I am basing on whether they would get a game in a middling team like those above. I have split the list into 6 groups - the first three of which are AFL Calibre and the last three not there yet, most likely won't be there, and 'not enough info.' The AFL is 'midfielders league' and so the AFL Calibre groups are: ELITE MID - N Jones ROTATION MID - Viney, Tyson, Cross, Vince, M Jones POSITIONAL ROLE PLAYER - Watts, Dawes, Frawley, Dunn, Garland, Pedersen, McDonald, Grimes, Howe, Jamar, Jetta The next groups are: POTENTIAL AFL CALIBRE - Hogan, Salem, Trengove, Kent, JKH, Gawn, Spencer NOT GOOD ENOUGH - Byrnes, Clark, McKenzie, Blease, Strauss, Nicholson, Evans, Tapscott, Terlich, Fitzpatrick, Bail MORE INFO REQUIRED - Toumpas, Clisby, Michie, Riley, Hunt, Barry, Harmes, King, Georgiou, Westrupp Analysis We don't have enough AFL Calibre players to compete with middling teams but even more disturbing is the lack of midfield depth that struggles to compete against these middling teams. I umm and ahhed over a few of them and you can argue around the edges with Bail, Trengove, and McKenzie but the premise is sound; with only 17 AFL Calibre players and only 7 looking destined to join them in the next few years our list is not in a great shape. But there is little wonder Roos' ceiling of improvement has been hit at this low point with only 17 AFL Calibre players (and some of them out of form) to work with. He is going to need a couple more summers like the last one and his continued work with the list - since Roos took over he has added 6 AFL Calibre players through recruitment and development.

2016 Dawes, Grimes, Watts, Michie, Vince, Tyson 2015 Clark, Trengove, Jamar (UFA), Garland (RFA), McKenzie, Howe, Jones (RFA), Evans, Gawn, Fitzpatrick, Viney, Toumpas, Pedersen, Hogan 2014 Frawley (RFA), Tapscott, McDonald, Blease, Strauss, Spencer, Bail, Dunn, Byrnes, Barry, Kent, Jones, Terlich, Cross, Clisby, Riley 2013 Sylvia (UFA), Davey (RFA), Taggert, Tynan, Nicholson, MacDonald, Sellar, Jetta, Davis, Couch ®, Magner ®, Rodan, Gillies, Stark ® 2014 Primary List Spots Created: 9 2014 Additions: Hogan, Tyson, ND9, Vince, ND40, Michie, Cross, Riley, Clisby, ND58, PSD2, FA Eligibilty (8+ years from being drafted/recruited) 2014 Frawley RFA 2015 Jamar UFA Garland UFA* Jones UFA Spencer UFA* 2016 Grimes RFA Watts RFA/UFA* Blease RFA/UFA* Strauss UFA* Jetta UFA* Bail UFA* McKenzie UFA* 2017 Trengove RFA Tapscott RFA/UFA* Gawn UFA* Fitzpatrick UFA* 2018 Howe RFA McDonald RFA Nicholson UFA* Evans UFA* 2019 Clark RFA 2020 Toumpas RFA Viney RFA Kent RFA M.Jones UFA* Terlich UFA* Clisby UFA* Dawes RFA * Likely outside of top 10 of earners at club.

Why is Todd Viney our General Manager of Player Development and Strategy? How does it make sense to put him in charge of draft selections when the biggest decision to make this year will be if and when to draft his son? It is liking asking a surgeon to operate on his or her own child. We should already have appointed someone else to this role, even on a temporary basis. It is not fair on Todd. It is not fair on Jack. Most importantly, it is not fair on the club.

Fan raised an interesting point about getting ready for the 2012 draft (namely Bate being delisted next year will be more beneficial than Pick 39 in this draft), and I think as it impacts on deletions now we should have a chat about it. In the 2012 draft we will want to use the two first round comp picks and the pick that we will take Viney with. I assume we will also use our second and third round picks. After that, it will be a pro-con decision. I also believe we will upgrade Nicholson. That means at least 6 deletions from the main list at the end of 2012. Who are we looking at here? If Maric, Warnock, and HWMNBN (he-who-must-not-be-named) make the three picks to get 36, 52, and 54 in this years draft then that is a good starting point to think about who makes way in 2012. Things to think about: - MacDonald, Fitzpatrick, and Wonna are OOC this year - Vulnerable players at the end of 2012? Spencer, Bate, Dunn, Strauss, Davis, Bennell, Jetta, Batram, and Green are out of contract and vulnerable in my view. - Wonna onto the RL this year (to open up pick 72 or as a swap with Nicholson?) or a simple extension for Wonna on the primary list? - giving MacDonald an extension for 2012 to better use their deletions from the list - does Green get another year after 2012? Interested to hear views as I am sure these are the questions Harrington has been asking Neeld and co. over the past few weeks. I might do an elaborate poll depending on interest levels and time... rpfc says... 2011 - Maric, Warnock, HWMNBN, and Wonna on to the RL. + Clark, 36, 52, 54 2012 - Jamar (VL), Spencer, Dunn, Bate, MacDonald, Batram, and Strauss. *This is heavily dependent on form I must say... + Viney, 10, 12, 34, 54,72/PSD/Wonna upgrade and Nicholson upgraded *Picks are rough estimates. I haven't gone into the PSD at all. Looking at the last pick and the PSD as being interchangeable. Edit - Forgot about Clark. And forgot Jamar could go onto the VL.