i seem to be seeing a lot more acting these days by players and with the mics the umps have you can even hear them say things like "you played for that" etc.. geelong(ablett) seems to be a master of this and time and time agin we seem to be done by tiggy touchwood frees..

Should we therefore inset some money time or effort into taking drama classes for the players?? i know this can sound far fetched but seriously just the forwards...

how often do some players get free shots a goal??

Look at our boys some of them are crap at drawing a free..

Wheats, carroll, brock, jonesy lol the only one i can think of is greeny that is good at it... maybe gary lyon should give them lessons.. i still remember at the end of his career he started really hamming it up..

is this a little advantage that we as a club are not taking into consideration???

i know when i played i was to dumb to react to anything but the hardest knock.. but these smaller guys seem to be great at it..i dont suggest jamar, whitey, miller, etc can do it but maybe it couldnt hurt to give it ago.. if the bigger guys get smacked in the mush and dont react they call play on ...

Thing is, Ablett IS being scragged because that's the only way other teams can stop him

I still hate Matthew Lloyd for that ridiculous double-goal dive in the elimination final, was it 2004.

Even now it gives me a little seething bit of anger.

Of all the ways to turn a game...

I don't like it, but on the other hand, umpires don't wait for a player to get up and say "excuse me, sir, but I do believe that man there had his finger two knuckles deep in my arse, don't you think that's a little against the spirit of the game".

It's kind of like some of the pushing and shoving - it's another level of communication, when you have been scragged in some way.

But it can be a fine line between 'communicating' and well, lying.

Not so fine in Matthew Lloyd's case.

Now that Hird's left, thanks to Lloyd the Bombers are one team I can comfortably have absolutely no respect for or interest in.

Well, except of course Carlton. So two.

Collingwood are a whole other thing...

i am not denying that these players desreve frees lol but they really act it up in front of goals...i distinctly remember against ushe recieved one infront of goals that wasnt there but he did enough.. but besides ablett there is heaps of players that do it some clubs more than others... look at richmond.. there doesnt seem to be any acting there but the saints and freo and west coast?? differenet story

i am not denying that these players desreve frees lol but they really act it up in front of goals...i distinctly remember against ushe recieved one infront of goals that wasnt there but he did enough.. but besides ablett there is heaps of players that do it some clubs more than others... look at richmond.. there doesnt seem to be any acting there but the saints and freo and west coast?? differenet story

Our own big Bob Johnson was the greatest actor of them all. He got his 'frees' in the forward pocket and he was such an ACCURATE kick for goal. You younger posters would have loved it, particularly against C'wood!

I still hate Matthew Lloyd for that ridiculous double-goal dive in the elimination final, was it 2004.

I am so enjoying Matthew Lloyds loss of Form. Its an epic. Lloyd is such a [censored]. I hope the Grog monster gets him in his later years....Fingers crossed

Nah, was like round 17 in 2003 i'm pretty sure. Was a joke. Don't really agree with the sentiments about Lloyd, i dont see him as a [censored], certainly no more than any other Essendon player, and at least he seems like a nice guy away from the field

Can't stand Him-Pretty Boy "High Pant Lloyd" Brilliant that since he has been captain Essendon have Been Useless!!

Surfa I can't believe what you are saying.

Your avatar pictures the biggest diver we have in our team! I admit he's not much good at it.....drawing free kicks that is, but he certainly dives at every opportunity.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for getting free kicks, but look at the situation regarding free kicks a little differently.

Let's STOP giving them away so easily!!

I would like to see the MFC develop a tackle to stop this 'sprawling' crap in its tracks.

I am so sick of seeing an MFC player (or any club for that matter) run hard, make up ground and wrap up an opponent only to see the opponent drop to his knees and fall forward with the MFC player attached to his back, ultimately giving away a free kick.

The club should start training players to go for ONE ARM ONLY to prevent an opponent getting off a hand ball. Afterall the game has changed markedly in recent years with the run and carry game style and the ability of players to free their arms even when tackled 'perfectly' by an opponent. Grabbing one arm leaves the tackler no where near an opponents back because they wouldn't have to wrap their arms around them the pin both of arms.

Too many times a 'perfect' tackle is laid only for the recipient to free his arms and get the ball away anyway.

Grabbing one arm and dropping to the ground like a stone would most likely cause the player tackled to drop the ball or give the a one handed hand pass, or at the very least pull them off balance preventing them getting in an accurate kick.

It's a damn shame that in 2004 we could enjoy Aaron Davey chasing down and opponent and getting a free kick, now the chasing is giving them away more often than not.

Go Dees - Building for the Future

As a player development coach said to me tonight:

They teach them not to worry so much about pinning the arms because if it's a good, hard enough, tackle then it won't matter cos the player will be halfway to horizontal, reaching over his head etc which greatly reduces the likelihood of an effective handball

i dont think it really matters anymore with tackles... the guy gets tackled he drops the ball and nothing.. no dropping the ball just play on .. happens to judd all the time. so if the umpires arent going to award the free anyway no point in perfecting it...as hard as it is... wheels is the best tackler..

i was actually talking more about the free that get given for soft in the backs even with forearm or shoulder contact.. and the sideways push or the run past and slap them in the gut and they go down like a sack of [censored] only to bounce up laughing once they have the free.. kinda like pulling an injury to let a better kicker take a shot on goal...

as far as older guys dont rememeber bob johnson pity.. i could watch everygame melb ever played if it was televisied lol

the worst i can remember is one G.Lyon... only in the last two years of his career when he couldnt run anymore he lost a lot of respect from me.. unlike Robbie F..

Brian wilson also a great actor lol how do these guys win brownlows lol..

Lloyd = Velvet

Tackle??? what's that?

Oh i thought we were hugging them. Coz it doesn't seem to be effecting opposition players.

But seriously, even if you lay a good tackle, they fall to the ground with the ball touching the ground get the handball away and they still don't get holding the ball. Or another example is that you tackle them and they just let go of the ball, wait a second i didn't hear the whistle, thats right dropping the ball doesn't exsist anymore.

It's not our players that need the training it is the umpires.