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Good pick up in Tobe Watson from Swan Districts (played 13 AFL games with Fremantle). Will be a good replacement for Phillips whose gone to box hill to gain more exposure. It's a pity our players have to resort to that now, their was a time pre channel 7 that Port Melbourne games were featured more regularly and players gained greater exposure. 

Another player to come over from W.A. is Jimmy Miller who has played around 81 senior games both with Frankston and South Fremantle. At 196 cms he provides some height in the forward line. Wonder how Frankston fans rate Jimmy (albeit it was a while since he played for them).

I thought Jimmy was ok while at Frankston - a good player, not great,  but it looks like he may have improved in the WAFL.  I remember Paul Amy spruiking him as a star and likely to be drafted, but I never rated him as highly as that. He was a pretty good mark at times but he wasn't very versatile - more the old fashioned full forward type. Could also have a run in the ruck.

Thanks Bearsman,  hopefully he has improved. Having his versatility is useful as we have lost a couple of ex AFL ruckman, Hunter is officially no longer at Port and Naismith is heavily rumoured to be signed at a AFL club. 

A couple of good resignings made official of late in Anastasio and Hooper. 

Rumour Mill has Naismith to Richmond ...

No longer a rumour Bearsman, the vfls worst kept secret was made official earlier today, Naismith has been signed by Richmond. Second big loss for Port. Hopefully can get some quality signings, time will tell.

Dylan Clarke gone to Sorrento

I'm.liking the sounds of Owen Mullady, 4 times best on ground out of 18 games played last season in the SANFL. What makes this more impressive is the fact that he achieved this with West Adelaide who got the wooden spoon.

Good news that Archi Manton has re signed, we will need to get him and the already recruited Jummy Miller some assistance up there as the forward line was a problem this season and has been majorly depleted with the loss of Signorello and Gasper, as well as the man we had high hopes on and I'm sure we didn't see the best of in Jordan Lane.

Tom Hoffert has also resigned and its very likely we will rely on him a fair bit more with the loss of our 2 ex AFL ruck men in Hunter and Naismith. 

Must agree with Northport, I don't have faith that after not playing finals for the past 3 seasons and losing a coach that draws quality that we are that destination club we once were and as a result I can't see why we would draw quality over Williamstown or Werribee other than perhaps geography. It's going to take exceptional recruiting to the standard of the 2016 off season recruiting for us to play finals. Theirs no overwhelming strong weaknesses I feel, however we are merely average all over the park.

In some more good news for Port, it appears that fans were either misled or Signorello has changed his mind as the club has today confirmed that he has re signed. Will Port Melbourne be able to sign that elusive key forward they have struggled to find since Jordan Lisles departure. 

Flynn Kroegar from Geeling has signed with Port. Flynn has had two major injuries and as a result has only played 3 games the past two seasons for Geelong VFL.

Felix Flockart has resigned for Port. Whilst a capable ruck man I still believe a key ruckman to make up for the loss of Naismith would be beneficial. 

Sam Green from Clarence in Tas could be a good signing for Port. A very versatile big man who can play all three lines and is a great competitor. Has been consistently amongst the best players in Tas for 2-3 years and should be ready to step up at 22-23yo. Hopefully he has a great year.

I remember hearing his name. Played a couple of games for Frankston at one point but spent most of his playing time in the VAFA. Sounds like he had some bad luck with injury this year. Should be a good pickup for Port if he stays fit. 

Those are some good gets for the Borough. 

Good idea to post some of the signings for the women's team as well. I'd do the same for Frankston but our women's side isn't playing at VFLW level yet. 

Is Port better off with the recruits this season ? Worse or around the same ? I say slightly better off at this point but confident that they will have a more successful season than the one past mainly due to a favourable draw. Bottom 3 stand alone clubs will be playing against one another therefore I would imagine 5 wins there and then requiring only 3 more wins from 12 games to exceed last seasons results. 

A coaching list change rather than a player change, long serving player and ex captain Tom.O Sullivan has been appointed as a assistant coach.

Hi NorthPort great to see you still think of me as I remain interested in all things Port.

Has there ever been a year when there wasn't a buzz down there.

Great to see you have opened the purse strings up again.

I'd be rapt if Frankston had recruited half as well as you blokes. You've got some quality footballers among that lot, I'd expect some clear improvement at Port this season. 

Aj I suppose we shouldn't complain, other clubs are struggling to get players and relying on top line suburban players hoping they can make the jump. The buzz at the club is loud, I however tend to think that we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves, we've lost Phillips, Nai Smith, Gasper, Hunter, Dylan Clarke. Whilst we've received quality, quality has also been lost. A couple of top line forwards I think should be top priority. Whilst Signorello, Manton, Flockart are all good forwards I just can't see them scoring 40 + goals. Might be another season of working hard to get the ball in the 50 for little result. 

I am confident of improved results but mainly due to a favourable fixture. Ive read of top 4 expectations but I feel we are so far away from that. Get me a improved forward line and a top ruckman and I'll say we are in with a great chance, at the moment I'll stay humble and say we are only a thereabouts team.

Me staying humble over Port Melbourne is rare, listening to Digs for over a decade has affected me !!! 

Being a thereabouts team is still a step up from last year. Meanwhile I'm unironically thinking that not being in the bottom four will be a pass mark for Frankston.

True, I guess we have been spoilt over the years and expect good showings yearly. After having 3 bad seasons which only saw us win 14 wins in 3 seasons (their were recent times we got more wins in a single season) I don't blame the ones that have begun to doubt if we still have what it takes to build a side that's a genuine heavyweight. 

Is Frankstons main issue in getting players money and geography? I would have thought with the positive crowds and sponsorship that money wouldn't be too big a issue. 

I honestly don't know what the issue is internally. I'm trying to be more active within the club outside of just going to games, but I'm not involved in the football department or anything. My suspicion is that it's a combination of things:

- Geography: hard to entice players to come here and stay at a semi-pro club if they don't live in the area. Thrilled we still have Jack Newnes but we're lucky he lives on the peninsula. 

- Money: I don't know the exact finances of the club. It comes down to whether we're paying the full salary cap or not. Even if we are, it's ordinary pay for having to go up against AFL players frequently. So I don't know what more we can do unless the cap gets raised.

- There's also a thriving local comp down here, and plenty of local clubs were you can probably make more money and not have to play against full-timers every week. So we're probably not the most attractive option unless you want to get drafted. 

- The modern perception of the VFL as a feeder competition, and Frankston itself leaning on that for recruitment. You can't build on-field stability on "this is a place you can get drafted from" because if they don't get drafted, they have no reason to stick around. 

- We've become known for mediocrity. The reality of any sport is that a team's success is going to be measured by its trophy cabinet, and our only senior flag at state level is a 1978 Division 2 flag. And even when we let a few get away (1996 for example) we at least had fairly good on-field results during those years, especially on our home ground. But since making finals in 2008 we really haven't been close. More than a decade of being seen as a weak club with no money and unruly fans. Good luck selling that to potential players and supporters. 

There's just a lot that works against us in my opinion. I've also heard some vague rumblings about players leaving because of a falling out with club officials, which I won't get into because I don't want to speak for other people. It's just a hard sell in this day and age where fans mostly get their suburban footy fix from local leagues instead and the VFL is seen as a development comp. I'd love to know what Port and Williamstown are doing that we're not.

At a guess perhaps a few things entice players to Port and Willy over Frankston, 

Geography - more likely to have players who live, work or study nearby rather than travel to the outermost suburb

Money - Ports finances have been relatively stable the last few years and would pay close to the salary cap (if not the entire thing). Williamstown with its pokies venue would be extremely well funded and therefore be able to look after their stock.

History and reputation- these clubs have a history of success and people expect they will put out strong sides therefore may sign on with the belief that they will have a successful and enjoyable season rather than getting trounced weekly. Hard sell to potential Coburg players (who a few seasons back were doing ok) when they see that they have hardly won a game past few seasons. 

MegaA,

Just one man's opinion, and it won't be popular among others at the club.....but I have been around the place (quietly) for 40 years and have seen a lot of change, but seen a lot stay the same. To preface, I don't think finances are the problem. Unless we have lost money somewhere, I was told that by last season we had the ability to pay the full salary cap. That would be backed up by the fact that we are now employing a coach full time instead of part time. Can't do that if we can't pay a playing group. Yes we are getting crowds each week that are the envy of most other clubs. The club appears to do a good trade in merchandise. There is no reason that we shouldn't be able to compete financially.

History - yes, it's not a great look that we have one senior premiership, and that was in second division. Three division one grand finals, two of which we went in as strong favourites and came away with nothing. Recent history is clearly a debacle. Since 2008 we haven't played a final, and many of those years were spent as bottom or bottom couple. Of course everyone knows what happened in 2016. To the club's credit, we have fought hard since then and have even produced some reasonably competitive sides. But, until we actually play a final or two, I can understand competitive beasts thinking they would be better off somewhere else, somewhere that finals and a flag are possibilities. We have to work our way into their thinking by producing a consistently performing group. That's the challenge.

AFL draft breeding ground - I think many have seen Frankston as having one goal - to get players drafted. That has led us to getting many talented, yet selfish footballers. History shows that these blokes disappear once it's clear they won't be drafted, and even more gallingly they get drafted, get delisted.....and then show up on someone else's list. Jackson Kornberg has said a couple of things early that give me hope we are going to ditch this well-meaning yet unworkable aim. We are not the talent league, we are a footy club whose survival depends on winning. Can't do that with mercenaries.

Mornington Peninsula footy culture - this is not spoken about, but I believe it's a factor. Yes the MPNFL is a strong league, with an plethora of great players. Watching their interleague team has made me want to cry as I see the cohesiveness and talent on display for them and not us. Unlike the metro area, there are a hell of a lot of blokes down here that don't take footy too seriously. They are happy to be well paid by a local club and play with their mates, have a beer while watching the twos, etc, rather than plying their trade at state league level. I could pick a team from the MPNFL right now that would give the VFL flag a shake.

Club Culture - I know we have a lot of hardworking and dedicated people at Frankston, but we have been hampered many times in recent years by off field upheavals. I have seen many people become immersed in the running of the club, at the place all the time, then suddenly vanish, not to be seen anymore. I do believe some people see the place as their own little boutique corner of the footy world to enjoy. We desperately need to escape that. I believe we have lost our last two captains due to politics / and/or poor communication within the club. And now bad a look is it to lose your two best players in two seasons.....your captains and beating heart of the side no less.

Thanks NorthPort, Not sure whether it's me or my money your after.

"I could pick a team from the MPNFL right now that would give the VFL flag a shake."

While I agree with much of what you said above AJ, I respectfully disagree with that bit. From personal experience, I think the MPNFL standard is light years off the VFL. An all-star MPNFL team might be competitive for a quarter, but they'd get run off their feet shortly after that.

Back to Port, I think they've definitely recruited well, the question is how quickly can they pull all the pieces into a cohesive team that can compete with the best?

Paul,

You make a fair point about conditioning there.....yes, the VFL clubs would in general have better fitness. But, give the MPNFL side the same kind of lead in and I think they'd definitely be a finals side at least. One of those impossible hypotheticals we will never really know the answer to I guess......but my general point is that there is a hell of a lot of god given talent among the MPNFL clubs. The best of the best down here are damn good footballers. I'd love to see some of these blokes in a Dolphins jumper.

As for Port, yeah, it will be really interesting to see how quickly they gel. I think you blokes have the makings of a very good side there. 

Yep 100% agree it would be great to see more players have the drive to succeed at VFL level and have a hunger to represent the area for the Dolphs, but for many it's way too much hard work as the fitness difference between the two comps is enormous.

I guess that's my criticism of the footy culture down here Paul......I grew up with so many blokes who could have played league footy, and yet never got near it because they would rather hang out with their mates having a beer. From my junior age group, I think Justin Peckett was the only one to make it (and yet he wouldn't have been in the top 8 of our team at Karingal). I see how differently mates who live in the northern suburbs treat footy (with absolute dedication) and am envious. I guess it also comes down to those culture issues we have at Kars St mate......we need to make people feel that wearing a Dolphins jumper is something to aspire to and be proud of.

Yeah agreed. The pipeline was going pretty well in Brett Lovett's time, lots of players giving it a crack from the local area. Unfortunately since then that pipeline has been broken a number of times, and while Simon Goosey had it starting to build again, the exodus at the end of his time, the year without a team and now not having a devt team has made it very hard to build a continuous culture that makes players want to be a part of it. Hopefully we're a couple of years into rebuilding that now and Kornberg can consolidate it. Fingers crossed.

Without spending too much time taking over Port Melbourne's thread, I think what's most important for Frankston is what happens post-season. Our player retention and recruitment have improved this year, but we've still lost some of our best players. Externally, nobody expects us to be any good (which may work out in our favour if we're better than expected.) But ultimately, these positive signs need to become a trend. We've got some solid young players and some good recruits, and we need to be able to keep them for the next few years. 

With the VFL potentially looking very different in the next few years, I think it's more important than ever for us to start building some momentum. 

Ex Saint Daniel Mckenzie has signed for Port. Mckenzie leaves St Kilda after a injury plagued 2023 that saw him sidelined. Daniels 73 AFL game experience and versatility will be a great asset to the club,

A great pick up at this late stage, if we can sneak in a key forward or two then I believe we will have a very solid side.

Capable of fitting into either side but the risk of injury may have prevented clubs from signing him.

Matt Gahan from Southport joins Port after having a successful season at Gold Coast playing all games and featuring in the best players 5 times and Kai Diamantina has also signed after being names in the VAFA team of the year. Kai can play on the wing as well as in the back line.