Find out what’s being said about the club in the major daily newspapers on Friday, August 12, 2011
Herald Sun
Dees ruckman a way off new deal
By Jon Ralph
MELBOURNE will need to ward off rival interest in Stefan Martin to ensure it keeps its battery of ruckmen together next year. Martin, 24, has played 17 mostly excellent games this year and had only preliminary talks on a new deal. The out-of-contract ruckman stepped in when Mark Jamar was injured, showing he could shine in the first ruck position. Martin is happy at Melbourne and has been given ample chances, but finding the right price to satisfy him will be a delicate exercise. At Melbourne he is a back-up with second-year giant Max Gawn nipping at his heels. Clubs short of ruckmen would view Martin as an athletic type who could play first ruck for seven or eight years. The recent trend has been for clubs to wait until ruckmen mature, then throw cash and opportunity at them. The Dees have announced the re-signing of five players this week, with rookies Dan Nicholson and Michael Evans joining future stars Jack Trengove, Luke Tapscott and Gawn.
Dees still want to play finals
By Matt Windley
MELBOURNE is still hunting an unlikely finals berth, according to forward Jack Watts. Despite coming off 55, 186 and 76-point losses in the past three weeks, Watts said the Dees' belief had remained strong - typified by the re-signing of young gun Jack Trengove and five other players yesterday. ''The belief in the playing group and the coaching staff is as strong as ever,'' Watts said this afternoon. ''Everyone at the club understands where we're going and the players are very strong in that.'' That said, Watts said the team ''really need to lift'' against top-four aspirant West Coast at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The Age
Much ado about nothing
By Robert Walls
JUST how good is Tom Scully? And how good will he become? Is he worth a guaranteed $1 million-plus per season for the next five years at Greater Western Sydney? Will GWS get value out of an undersized 20-year-old who, in his 28 senior games for the Demons, has shown he has a long way to go before he can be called elite? Do the Demons run the risk of upsetting the apple cart with their own players if they dig deep to pay Scully much more than he is currently worth in order to keep him? Should Scully stay at a club that lacks unity and trust; one that makes knee-jerk reactions? For all concerned, there's no guarantee that Scully, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 national draft, will be a star. Over the past decade, I believe only three No. 1 draft picks have proven to be exceptional. They are Luke Hodge, Brendon Goddard and Marc Murphy. Brett Deledio and Adam Cooney, who have been in the system for some time, probably won't reach that status. Bryce Gibbs, Matthew Kreuzer and Jack Watts may. It's far too early to tell for Scully and last year's No. 1 pick David Swallow.
Stynes to be sent home
By Scott Spits
Melbourne president Jim Stynes is recovering from his latest surgery, during which doctors decided against removing a tumour from his stomach. Surgeons will now consider other treatment options for the former AFL footballer and 1991 Brownlow Medallist. Stynes underwent exploratory surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre yesterday and the Demons said he was expected to leave hospital within the next seven days. "Jim is now recovering well from the surgery and is expected to leave hospital sometime in the next week. Doctors determined the best course of action was not to remove the tumour and to consider other treatment options," Melbourne said in a statement.
Dees ruckman a way off new deal
By Jon Ralph
MELBOURNE will need to ward off rival interest in Stefan Martin to ensure it keeps its battery of ruckmen together next year. Martin, 24, has played 17 mostly excellent games this year and had only preliminary talks on a new deal. The out-of-contract ruckman stepped in when Mark Jamar was injured, showing he could shine in the first ruck position. Martin is happy at Melbourne and has been given ample chances, but finding the right price to satisfy him will be a delicate exercise. At Melbourne he is a back-up with second-year giant Max Gawn nipping at his heels. Clubs short of ruckmen would view Martin as an athletic type who could play first ruck for seven or eight years. The recent trend has been for clubs to wait until ruckmen mature, then throw cash and opportunity at them. The Dees have announced the re-signing of five players this week, with rookies Dan Nicholson and Michael Evans joining future stars Jack Trengove, Luke Tapscott and Gawn.
Dees still want to play finals
By Matt Windley
MELBOURNE is still hunting an unlikely finals berth, according to forward Jack Watts. Despite coming off 55, 186 and 76-point losses in the past three weeks, Watts said the Dees' belief had remained strong - typified by the re-signing of young gun Jack Trengove and five other players yesterday. ''The belief in the playing group and the coaching staff is as strong as ever,'' Watts said this afternoon. ''Everyone at the club understands where we're going and the players are very strong in that.'' That said, Watts said the team ''really need to lift'' against top-four aspirant West Coast at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The Age
Much ado about nothing
By Robert Walls
JUST how good is Tom Scully? And how good will he become? Is he worth a guaranteed $1 million-plus per season for the next five years at Greater Western Sydney? Will GWS get value out of an undersized 20-year-old who, in his 28 senior games for the Demons, has shown he has a long way to go before he can be called elite? Do the Demons run the risk of upsetting the apple cart with their own players if they dig deep to pay Scully much more than he is currently worth in order to keep him? Should Scully stay at a club that lacks unity and trust; one that makes knee-jerk reactions? For all concerned, there's no guarantee that Scully, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 national draft, will be a star. Over the past decade, I believe only three No. 1 draft picks have proven to be exceptional. They are Luke Hodge, Brendon Goddard and Marc Murphy. Brett Deledio and Adam Cooney, who have been in the system for some time, probably won't reach that status. Bryce Gibbs, Matthew Kreuzer and Jack Watts may. It's far too early to tell for Scully and last year's No. 1 pick David Swallow.
Stynes to be sent home
By Scott Spits
Melbourne president Jim Stynes is recovering from his latest surgery, during which doctors decided against removing a tumour from his stomach. Surgeons will now consider other treatment options for the former AFL footballer and 1991 Brownlow Medallist. Stynes underwent exploratory surgery at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre yesterday and the Demons said he was expected to leave hospital within the next seven days. "Jim is now recovering well from the surgery and is expected to leave hospital sometime in the next week. Doctors determined the best course of action was not to remove the tumour and to consider other treatment options," Melbourne said in a statement.
