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Lloyd has a reputation for talking shiite in a desperate attempt to become relevant, he also has history with taking pot shots at Melbourne. Only a foolish person with disregard everything he says but only the naive would blindly accept his word as gospel

The hit on Hirdy...love it!

I thought Adelaide copped a bath from the Umps . What about the automatic 50 not paid to Van Berlo, who took the mark after being interfered by the Hawks runner. That had to be a 50 as all commentators said, putting the Crow about 15m out straight in front. The umpire got out of it by saying he paid a free for it to Van Berlo, but he marked it. The 50 and gift goal to the Hawks early on was as the TV boys said again just plainly wrong. Then the only holding the ball for the night against the Crows with 10 players lying on top of the poor bastard.If anything it was in the back, only 25 metres out. If it happened to us we would screaming for blood. Even Eddie said you could mount a very strong case to say they were robbed.

BT is magnificent. He must be, it's the only adjective he's got.

Got me thinking after the trapper thread on how much i miss this bloke! his bone jarring tackles most noteably the bulldog special were one of this trademarks along with his courage and fearless attitude! He was not scared of anyone! i remember he got suspended for belting Brendan Fevola one time and laying a crunching tackle that winded Glenn Archer. i really do see alot of traits in young neville jetta and would seriously hope they trail him as a small back pocket in the way wheels played! My favourite Whelan moment was defiently the hird bump!! in todays game he probably got 6 weeks but boy he made sure he hurt them! Heres to the great man! whats everyones favourite Wrecker moment??

being unveiled tomorrow morning outside gate 2 http://www.mcc.org.au/News/Latest%20News/2012/September/Norm%20Smith%20statue.aspx

Interesting to read Carey has some ambition to do some specialist coaching role about 20 hrs a week with a Melbourne club. I know he has been linked to Carlton but what do we think of him helping out at Melbourne. Years ago I would have said no way, but he seems to be in a better head space now and stayed out of trouble. I reckon he would be great for Howe and Watts development and even help out Mitch Clark and give him more tips he can do in the foward line. i reckon Howe and Watts especially could really feed off him.

Our technology and training facilities, as well as our fitness and coaching structures ARE on equal footing if not better than all other clubs. I have seen ours and many other clubs facilities and tech setups. As alluded Melb Storm don't seem to have any issue with getting the best out of the facilities. Sorry Lloydy but the so called rich clubs like essendon didn't seem to benefit from being so rich on field this year? As for the assertion or resentment by some the clubs fundraising means we are poor....where do you think any AFL club is without its wealthy members pumping money in year after year. We do it publicly via a dinner. Others such as Carlton and Collingwood and Geelong receive 'gifts' from their high rolling members. I don't know who or if Lloyd spoke to anyone but I can say with eyes wide open we simply do not have a gap in term of football training facilities.

That's great news. It's a lasting tribute to a seminal figure in Aussie rules, no worries about that. A champion of the game along with brother Len. (And Peter who I saw play numerous times in the 2's). What sticks in my craw is it's called the 'Australia Post Avenue of Legends'. Until the next sponsor arrives Here's a radical idea. How about the 'Avenue of Legends'.

Why does getting better now and developing need to be mutually exclusive ? Our excellent hand at the draft, plus compensation for Moloney dictates that we can address needs now, as well as take and develop Hogan for a year. Also, Neeld making a call on Cook, or Gysberts simply means he doesn't think they're good enough, or work hard enough. It doesn't necessarily mean he's not about developing. Coaches make calls on players every year. In Hogan out Cook is about as good as it gets.

Phantom drafts rarely go that way. I don't think the Suns will nominate Viney, there is some quality in there. Surely the go home factor would be considered in this. Bet any money that's why we didn't take Nic Nat! Got a feeling things will go our way this draft ... That will be a refreshing change for a Melbourne supporter.

Maybe we can afford GPS tracking for training now.

How many people are employed in the front offices at Carlton, Hawthorn,Collingwood?????Who the hell cares???......This is a multi million dollar business....It need people to run this business....From membership...sponsers....mail boys to send out the memberships on time....account payable and received And we are whinging about costs???? Give me a break

But it was only Essendon again.

Macrae kicks a point from the boundary line just seconds before the siren sounds and Oakleigh wins 12.10.82 to 12.9.81. Corker of a game!

Agree on Adelaide got the rough end all night long. God I hope the swannies get up this Saturday.

As the title says, I believe that Jamar has past his best. He is seriously slow and once the ball leaves a ruck contest, he is literally useless. This year he didn't manage to impact himself on many marking contests or kick many goals. I think it was a mistake signing him up for a 3 year ( is that right ?) deal. The talk of us trading Martin, who I believe is a far better number 1 ruckman than Jmar does not sit well with me. And our other rucks are not looking to flash at the moment, other then Spencer who did alright towards the end of the year.

I would be interested to hear Dave Misson's angle on this story.

It's not just about how hard they would be working clearly. It is monitoring their output so they can adjust their training schedules based on how much they run on gameday, what pace they are going, where they are moving to etc. It's not just a stick to whack them with by saying "you only ran 5k's on your GPS stats".

I remember a game lateish in Wrecker's career where he pretty much spear tackled a full steam Buddy Franklin in the middle of the G. Probably my fave Whelan moment, aside from the Hird one anyway. I'll try and find a vid somewhere.

??? WoW Wee?

The umpires have been poor in the first half and the Hawks are getting an easy ride IMO.

Imagine the reaction on Demonland if Neeld got us to a prelim...

Just another of the many inconsistencies I keep hearing about our club. On one hand we are are supposed to have a war chest ready to be cracked open to lure champions to our club. Then we need fund raisers to lure them. Now there are stories we are are still on poverty row on the development front. Still blazers look much more stylish on players than GPS units.

He's bringing up money because that's the point he's making. The $500k price tag quoted for Mackay was way too high. I don't think anyone doubts that we, as a club, need to spend to attract quality players to the club and sometimes pay over the odds, but at the same time, most would consider $500k for Mackay as way over the top. FWIW, I thought he went quiet in the first half and went ok in the second half but overall, I haven't seen enough from him that suggests he would make a difference at our club if we had recruited him. Also, I think if you're going to take on a player on that pay, it's not unreasonable to expect a top five b & f finish.

I had a haircut yesterday and the barber said that he lives next door to Dale Roberts grandmother. She says he barracked for the Dees as a kid. Idolised Woey.

One of the footnotes to an article in the Courier Mail about Grant Thomas' departure from TV

But that is the nature of things where the draft is concerned. Players can come from nowhere to establish their credentials or (as often happens at that age), they can improve dramatically over a season. There have been many instances of players coming good late in the season and Mick Malthouse used to look for players who excelled in the high pressure games like finals because he believed them to be the best tests of a player's ability. He did well with Pendelbury and Thomas out of that philosophy.* If Macrae stars again today his really will be the name on everybody's lips. * and if Vlad's reading this, MM experimented that year and lost the last eight games of the season to get them.

At a club with a great midfield, like Collingwood Jamar's tapwork would be really valuable. But for us his main skill - only skill - isn't utilized nearly enough.

You miss my point champ. I do watch plenty of footy and that includes Adelaide games and I haven't seen him once this year produce a performance that justifies a $500k price tag. So if you're so smart, tell me how many Brownlow votes he's going to poll tomorrow night? Where do you think a $500k player should finish in his club's best and fairest? Given Adelaide had the benefit of what is universally believed to have been an easy draw and given where he plays on the ground, show me some stats that suggest this bloke was a matchwinner for his team? I would think someone on $500k who plays midfield, on a wing or a flank would routinely at least get more than 20 possessions every week. His best this year was 24 in the qualifying final v Sydney (his team got flogged). Against Melbourne (I trust you saw that one) when his team win by 69 points he amassed 13 touches. I'm willing to apologise champ if he picks up 10 Brownlow votes or finishes top 5 in Adelaide's B & F. Otherwise, I stand by what I said. He's not good enough to warrant $500k even if we were offering overs to get him. Personally, I don't believe we were offering him that much anyway. Rather, it was a case of a player manager leaking information to get his client the best deal. That sort of thing does happen champ.

Thanks for this great thread DD36. About six weeks ago was at the MCG for a Club function and Wheels was there. Spoke to him briefly and he is the most unassuming lovely man. Said that our family still watch his Hird bump on You Tube and he grinned from ear to ear and said, "Couldn't have picked a better bloke to do it to." Made my day. When I told son he said, "I miss Wheels."

Thanks for the replies. I am now almost convinced that the game is rigged for future crowds. Please help me here because I am about to go ballistic; and when I do...... well I am glad i am out of the country.

Always love checking out his wikipedia page with all the 'incidents' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Whelan

Disgraceful umpiring tonight... a few thoughts, 1 Umpires put the whistle away in first three quarters and refused to pay Holding the ball. Team affected Adelaide! Then in last quarter Hawks get paid some highly dubious frees against Adelaide in same circumstances. Consistency???? Nup 2 Highly questionable 50 for soft interference results in "Gift" Hawthorn goal. 3 Last quarter Adelaide player clearly had disposed of ball in forward 50 and Hawks late grab impeded progress, result.... Play on! Shocking decisions in context of close game. Adelaide Advertiser tommorrow "We wuz Robbed" Yep agree!

You might need more than two words to explain your point mate...

Of course I've heard of Hamil.He played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. What do you mean by "bigoted old man opinions'?Why would I call Buddy if I'm sad. Wellingham might answer the phone. What code would I use for Ian Roberts? Non Kapiche.

Ok, this thread is getting weird ...

She was adamant that it was a knee: the control freaks in the middle referred it and she was right.As for the "touched goal" - surely there is an "on the line" camera, but it wasn't shown on TV. So, Redleg, one very correct difficult decision* and one maybe still unproven, certainly NOT two bad decisions. * and how good was it to watch the toothless army's venom after the clearly kneed point??!! But they still never seem to get any consistency on the holding the ball / incorrect disposal / throw interpretation.

Wellingham is a premiership player, knows the work ethic and game-plan compliance to play in a team that has made the prelim/grand final in every season he has played with them. He would be well known to our coach and has all the skills we currently need for our midfield balance. He is quick, a good overhead mark, has great skills, gets outside possessions, breaks lines and can get his own ball. If Jones, Grimes, Trengove, Magner, Mckensie all have years like this one or improve Wellingham would be the ideal component to make up for the deficiencies of this group. For those discussing his low possession average it is very difficult to get high posessions in a midfield with 3 or 4 other guys getting 30+ possies. Often Wellingham plays roles, on a half forward flank, or on occasion has tagged, these skills make him a more balanced player, but in our midfield I have no doubt he would be getting more possies than our current midfield. Also, in games where Pendelbury, Swan and Ball have been absent Wellingham has stepped up his possession and relished the new role. Anyone remember QB 2011? "He put himself in the spotlight with a career-best 37 possessions in the 2011 Queen's Birthday game against Melbourne, where he stood up in the absence of a number of star team-mates to lead Collingwood to a dominant 88 point win". He hasn't had many chances to be the main man, but this was one and he killed it. Wellingham is a street ahead of our current mids and fills the deficiencies our mid balance currently has, get him!

Was a great footballer and would have been in our forward line his whole career, if we had him. Kicked some superb goals. Enjoy your retirement if that is your plan.

Agree. The ball has to be entirely behind the back of the posts. You just can't tell from a camera on an angle. Where was the camera in line with the back of the posts? Until they put one there it's just conjecture and you have to go with a good goal umpire's decision.

Sorry but who the hell does Caddy think he is. How his output allows him to think he can be so selective is a joke. Either you want to come home or you don't. Whilst I understand why you would not have us as a priority to ignore the club that most likely has the best ability to bring you home is arrogant to the point of stupidity. Move on from him and develop our own. I only want players that are hungry to play for the jumper.

I actually feel sorry for the umpires. Kevin Bartlett ond the other fools on the rules of the game commitee are 100% to blame. I travel a bit and have taught hundreds of foreigners to appreciate our game over the years. 20 years ago it was a simple task. There were only a handful of rules and they were simple to interpret. Now when I try to explain the game it is ridiculously complex. The rules around tackling and incorrect disposal have me completely stumped. They may as well toss a coin to decide whose free it is.

Two things: 1. What 'farcical speculation'? I see none. 2. How the hell can 'christ in a bike' be a saying?

I am glad, for the life of me I don't see what the hype is about. I took particular interest in him this year. Watched two games on Tv, Live vs the Dees at the G and read every week's reports on the GCS games. The guy IMO is average on a good day. Seems to have too high of an opinion on his own worth. Happy for him to be elsewhere

I even signed my dog up for a Pets Membership ($20)........He gets a demon rug to lie on and a great demons collar tag....He doesn't really care if we win or lose and is happy to watch the games with the family next to the heater........ I don't have to worry that he will change teams as I think he will be a demon for life......

Nailed it redlegs, was thinking this exact thing.

Morton was never good, many were simply seduced by his high possession, low impact games early on.

The guy will be 26 before next season starts, has played 16 career games, and can't get a game in a middle of the road side behind such luminaries as Robbie Tarrant. Why would anyone think this would be a good deal, particularly as compensation for Gysberts or Martin, both of whom should be clearly inside our best 22 next year?

The answer as to who is to blame for Travis Johnstone's failure to capitalise on his talent is Travis Johnstone.