Reminds me of this which I must admit I had always thought was attributed to Joe Namath.

lols

Yeah the ground is always much harder for cricket season. And there is normally a longer gap between games. This theory has merit, but unless we hear from a club or two explaining players were particularly sore, I'm not so sure.

I read that Howe came up sorer than expected, but not sure where or source.

Etihad had the same problem a few years ago. Players and medical staff would complain about how difficult it was to get over the hard surface after playing.

Just ask the Demons.....

Etihad had the same problem a few years ago. Players and medical staff would complain about how difficult it was to get over the hard surface after playing.

Just ask the Demons.....

They are still complaining about it!

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-04-14/browns-etihad-fears

The ground was completely re surfaced after the end of the 2014 AFL season.

I'm not sure how far down they dug, but I do know it was a very thorough job costing some millions of dollars and the first makeover since the Commonwealth games.

So, it may well be harder than before!

You know, it would make sense. Our boys seem to be completely unable to run. I've never seen AFL players blast past their opponent so freely. Everyone was shot.

If there is any truth to it, Manuka would be one of the least wanted grounds to go to next. Traditionally rock solid, even though there has been some good rain the last 2 weeks walking on the ground after the game - it too was hard with a very short grass cover.

Is possibly the only thing to hang the hat on after the loss. But gee it seems a long bow to draw that our complete lack of effort and desire was due to some shin soreness

I don't think so. Jones looked completely and utterly knackered - given his reputation for professionalism/thoroughness in recovery, I can't imagine that something like this would leave him not only looking so poor, but so much worse than everyone else. There had to have been something else wrong with him.

wouldn't it effect those who ran big klm's more, than those who barely ran?

If there is any truth to it, Manuka would be one of the least wanted grounds to go to next. Traditionally rock solid, even though there has been some good rain the last 2 weeks walking on the ground after the game - it too was hard with a very short grass cover.

Is possibly the only thing to hang the hat on after the loss. But gee it seems a long bow to draw that our complete lack of effort and desire was due to some shin soreness

well this is interesting, playing on a hard surface, with already sore legs. this may or may not have effected them? this coming 2 weeks will show us all, & also show the mentally tough of the group.

That looks like an en-dash to me.

Edit:- The en dash (–) is slightly wider than the hyphen (-) but narrower than the em dash (—).

How's that for anal?

yes, my original draft had em-dashes and they disappeared when posted, so i edited and inserted en-dashes. you see?

Whatever, a lot more dash than our midfield

Well, lucky we can blame something other than a soft, lazy playing group for that dismal performance.

What will the excuse be after this week - too humid? too noisy? the pillows in the hotel were too hard? there were no peanuts on the plane?

Well, lucky we can blame something other than a soft, lazy playing group for that dismal performance.

What will the excuse be after this week - too humid? too noisy? the pillows in the hotel were too hard? there were no peanuts on the plane?

Too many whingeing supporters?

We had seven players who were moon descending in Jupiter last week .

Looking back on it now,there was no way the Pisces and Libra charts were going to help.

We were fooling ourselves astrologically.

We had seven players who were moon descending in Jupiter last week .

Looking back on it now,there was no way the Pisces and Libra charts were going to help.

We were fooling ourselves astrologically.

And I thought our biorhythms were out.

Every team which played on the MCG in round 1, lost in round 2. Many of them drammatically: Carlton, Melbourne -- one good quarter then shot. GC Suns -- never fired a shot. Geelong -- lmao. Even Hawthorn fell over.

There is either something to this, or it's one hell of a coincidence.

just saying.

[edit: site doesn't like em-dashes.]

Roos mentioned it and said the players were sore after the Suns game, but didn't want to use it as an excuse.

too bad the Crows didn't play on the MCG in Round 2

too bad the Crows didn't play on the MCG in Round 2

Probably wouldn't help.

Viney now with a stress fracture on his fibula. I had a similar injury about a decade ago, you can get it any number of ways, including walking/running on hard surfaces. At first it'll just feel like a tight muscle but when it doesn't improve it's just a continuous tightness sensation in the lower leg.

With all the players cramping up during the game in round 1 and lack of legs last week, completely viable that the ground was too hard in Round 1.