Freo looked pretty good to me on the weekend, that said, they would probably look a dam sight better hanging around Freo's markets often enough.......

On 13/03/2018 at 5:52 PM, Moonshadow said:

Wouldn't it be brilliant if the FOI request was successful?

For other clubs under such an administration as the AFL, the FOI must be successful in order for those clubs to avoid the damage done in the past with full, heads-up strategies and that includes existing feedback. Commonsense must prevail. Anything else is negligence.

Here's the latest report:

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/judge-reserves-decision-on-latest-twist-in-essendon-supplements-saga-20180321-p4z5jc.html

Our legal system is not really designed to deal with cases such as this so I suspect it will go no further

"AFL lawyer Gregory Harris QC argued any case would be expensive and should be limited. He said a trial should not involve lengthy cross-examination of many witnesses and discovery of documents.

Harris added the matter was not a usual one, where a plaintiff seeks damages from a defendant but was a case brought by a "punitive plaintiff" enlisting the help of a "highly qualified" and "sophisticated" lawyer like Burnside.

Burnside said a limited or "mini-trial" before a trial would not be the best way to decipher the facts on whether the league had acted in ways to protect its commercial interests during the scandal which became public in February, 2013.

 

Justice John Dixon reserved his decision to a date to be determined about which form a trial should take.

In his statement of claim, Taylor alleges several statements by McLachlan about the AFL's joint investigation with the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority were misleading or deceptive.
He also alleges several statements made by AFL executives – about former Essendon coach James Hird, player welfare, an interim report by ASADA and the AFL's decision-making – are examples of misleading or deceptive conduct."

Wow. That is fairly damming towards AFL House

This guy should have been in the Richmond Focus on Footy mob. They needed quality minds like his.

I still don't get how he's got any standing to do this. What harm or suffering has he experienced from the drug saga? Apart from being p!ssed off.

The case seems to be based on things Gil and Fitzpatrick were alleged to have said, but part of this case is for him to go on a fishing expedition to find out if they did or not. Seems strange. Any lawyers can explain?

But ... anything that causes embarrassment to the AFL can't be all bad.

 

9 hours ago, Mazer Rackham said:

This guy should have been in the Richmond Focus on Footy mob. They needed quality minds like his.

I still don't get how he's got any standing to do this. What harm or suffering has he experienced from the drug saga? Apart from being p!ssed off.

The case seems to be based on things Gil and Fitzpatrick were alleged to have said, but part of this case is for him to go on a fishing expedition to find out if they did or not. Seems strange. Any lawyers can explain?

But ... anything that causes embarrassment to the AFL can't be all bad.

 

While in part I agree....there is also the prospect of EFC again pushing the retarded notion of being the innocent, hard done by party. Part of me is disgusted with the bombers, part of me wishing the dees had had the money and/or  the balls to take the AFL on  in the same way  over the tanking saga. I dont see any "welcome back to football" stories for chris connoly for example.  Yes we tanked....as did everyone back then, but we let the AFL royally f@ck us up the Arse, as the sacrificial lamb it needed in order to make its point on behalf of the gambling money that had come into the game. 

Essendons  actions and approach to this , while infuriating and disgusting, has also demonstrated what a powerful club is able to do to push back .....and, sadly,  we are a long way off being one of those. 

Gee, this silk taking it up to the AFL wouldn't happen to be a Bummers supporter, would he?

Breaking News: Company acts in its commercial interests.

Stop the presses.

Burnside is a horrible human being.

2 hours ago, Wells 11 said:

part of me wishing the dees had had the money and/or 

Think many people these days are working hard to ensure we do have the money to fix our own issues.

Ultimately, football is just a game in the business of sports entertainment. As much as that may upset people you can’t change what is out of your control. 

2 hours ago, Wells 11 said:

While in part I agree....there is also the prospect of EFC again pushing the retarded notion of being the innocent, hard done by party. Part of me is disgusted with the bombers, part of me wishing the dees had had the money and/or  the balls to take the AFL on  in the same way  over the tanking saga. I dont see any "welcome back to football" stories for chris connoly for example.  Yes we tanked....as did everyone back then, but we let the AFL royally f@ck us up the Arse, as the sacrificial lamb it needed in order to make its point on behalf of the gambling money that had come into the game. 

Essendons  actions and approach to this , while infuriating and disgusting, has also demonstrated what a powerful club is able to do to push back .....and, sadly,  we are a long way off being one of those. 

There's a lot to unpack in this sentence. Possibly the most original piece of writing on Demonland ever.

3 hours ago, Wells 11 said:

 in order to make its point on behalf of the gambling money that had come into game?

This does raise the obvious question - 

How do you replace the gambling revenues coming into the game?

Think there is another thread on the site discussing that very question - so maybe a question you don’t have to answer here.  

If, you can’t anwer that question you have to deal with the situation as it is. Personally, I don’t mind either way - I’m happy to deal with the situation as it is until a better ulternative is put forward. 

Go Dees

26 minutes ago, DaveyDee said:

This does raise the obvious question - 

How do you replace the gambling revenues coming into the game?

Think there is another thread on the site discussing that very question - so maybe a question you don’t have to answer here.  

If, you can’t anwer that question you have to deal with the situation as it is. Personally, I don’t mind either way - I’m happy to deal with the situation as it is until a better ulternative is put forward. 

Go Dees

Slight sidetrack, but conveniently Hawthorn's profit last year was close to the same amount in profit they made from pokies. Take that away and they are trading very poorly (albeit with substantial assets)

19 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

Slight sidetrack, but conveniently Hawthorn's profit last year was close to the same amount in profit they made from pokies. Take that away and they are trading very poorly (albeit with substantial assets)

Traditionally AFL football clubs have not been good in the business of making money. 

Look out !!!!! 

Drug cheat alert!! 

Worsfold states " The bombers are building ' chemistry ' in their forward line." 

Didn't they try that before. ???

the doping saga was the best thing for the bombers, they were rewarded with the no.1 draft pick who is a dam good player, it allowed them to tank, it has fast tracked the rebuild of their list

Heres an essay topic for you

The Bancroft ball tampering saga is a darker day for australian sport than essendons drug scandal. Discuss.

Bancroft-gate was a stupid, reckless folly which should be quickly put to bed by cutting out the rot. Primarily, Warner. But Smith also has to be stood down.

The EFC drug thing was a club-wide systemic attempt to subvert the entire competition. And the competition managers got involved to cover it up.

It's like the difference between a robbery at a 7-Eleven and organised crime.

The Aus cricket board now have a say in whether they are complicit and just as rotten.

Edited March 24, 20187 yr by Mazer Rackham
typo

2 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

Bancroft-gate was a stupid, reckless folly which should be quickly put to bed by cutting out the rot. Primarily, Warner. But Smith also has to be stood down.

The EFC drug thing was a club-wide systemic attempt to subvert the entire competition. And the competition managers got involved to cover it up.

It's like the difference between a robbery at a 7-Eleven and organised crime.

The Aus cricket board now have a say in whether they are complicit and just as rotten.

I agree.

I also have essendon mates saying how disgusting bancroft gate is...

31 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

Bancroft-gate was a stupid, reckless folly which should be quickly put to bed by cutting out the rot. Primarily, Warner. But Smith also has to be stood down.

The EFC drug thing was a club-wide systemic attempt to subvert the entire competition. And the competition managers got involved to cover it up.

It's like the difference between a robbery at a 7-Eleven and organised crime.

The Aus cricket board now have a say in whether they are complicit and just as rotten.

No, it's the same cultural problem.

Win at all costs...combined with our guys would never cheat....and if caught use as many weasel words as you can fit in a sentence.

This was not a one off, it's systematic in Australian sport and society.

News....Australians are as good at cheating as anyone else. It was almost condoned in the EFC situation.

It's par for course in politics.

This comes from the top down...Coaches and Captain sacked for me if we are serious.

I bet they get smashed with all the force of a wet lettuce leaf.

My trust in top line sport is at an all time low and it's not too high to start with.

None of the Australian’s should ever wear a Baggy Green again 

they were all in on it. 

Should all be sent home today. 

Australians won’t watch cheats

12 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

None of the Australian’s should ever wear a Baggy Green again 

they were all in on it. 

Should all be sent home today. 

Australians won’t watch cheats

Experience of Essendon says otherwise

36 minutes ago, sue said:

Experience of Essendon says otherwise

No. This international

These guys have just shat on their own careers

i will never support cheats

At a minimum Smith & Warner should be sent home, serve out bans. Others should have to pay a price too.

But the actions of the cricket board and/or ICC will be telling. Do they really want to root this out, or will they (try to) wriggle out of it?

The game of cricket may be done and dusted before we live this one down.

7 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

At a minimum Smith & Warner should be sent home, serve out bans. Others should have to pay a price too.

But the actions of the cricket board and/or ICC will be telling. Do they really want to root this out, or will they (try to) wriggle out of it?

The game of cricket may be done and dusted before we live this one down.

Correct. If these over paid cheats survive this, and i mean all of them, i will never support the Baggy Green again. 

For Guys like S R Waugh and A Gilchrist i say that with a heavy heart. 

They were serious heroes of mine. But i will not support cheats. 

Cricket Australia ?? better be tough or the money ? for cricket will dry up...

1 hour ago, sue said:

Experience of Essendon says otherwise

Correct

So why the difference in reaction?  The answer to that question is extremely complex.  I suppose the quick answer is that we can often act in a hypocritical manner.

But there's also the love of a sport (or the opposite),  the non-admission of guilt vs the admission of guilt (although the cricketers had very little choice),  the protection of a sport vs a sport where the participants are often viewed as being extremely arrogant. 

I don't believe that the cricket test team is all that well-liked either - with the exception of a few thousand,  the team doesn't really have a 'fandom' element.  With footy,  it's often the opposite. 

It's a very complex comparison.