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It's a waste of time, it makes the club look like we're trying to bend the rules (again) and it makes us look amateurish at best. Tim Harrington should have played a straight bat 'no' to any queries about Hogan being eligible for 2013, instead of feeding the flames.

If he was old enough to play this year he probably wouldn't be on the Melbourne list.

You want to argue why teenagers can't drive but suddenly can on their 18th bday? We live in a world full of arbritary rules - this is another one. If it were up to me, players would have to be 21 before being drafted.

You take a bag full of exaggeration, throw in a pinch of rhetoric and a dash of figerospeech, mix them all up in the Hyper Bowl, pour into a lined cake tin, refrigerate (or overheat) for 30 minutes and voila!... you have the perfect slice of hyperbole.

WYL take your MFC glasses off. The rule is in place because the guys were ignoring their schooling in favour of their footy. Not everyone is going to be a star - what if a guy did that, did his knee 3 times and that was it for him? I like the rule. Means that they still get through high school, many of them end up going to uni now part-time while at their clubs in order to establish a life after footy. We need to support these guys in all aspects of life, not just when they rock up to the 'G in red and blue.

Might not be ready upstairs... We have these new age eligibility rules for a reason and it is not some stupid AFL decision that they pulled out of their arse - these are kids and the new rules protects them from responsibility they are not ready for. He isn't old enough. End of story.

It stays. Enough said.

Initially at least it will be tough, the dorsi/plantar flexion that will go through the ankle with swimming and cycling will effectively be trying to force the tib and fib to gap, it will be painful for Sammy to do these movements. Once initial swelling is removed the tibia and fibula can be effectively taped with standard rigid strapping tape, which should allow cardio non-weight bearing (swim/bike) to start without too much pain. Will probably take 1.5-2 weeks before Blease reaches a stage that he can stress his cardio system without the ankle aggravating too much.

This is a tad self-indulgent, but I posted the following on August 23 last year: "I really rate Hogan. He's aggressive, imposing, has courage in the air, contests really well, splits packs, loves body contact and when we're starting to make inroads he and Clark will form a formidable forward-line. I can wait a year to get a player like him on our list. He's similar to Hurley, but moves like a midfielder and is a better mark. How many other quality 193cm key forwards of this type can you currently name in the AFL ? They're as rare as hen's teeth. He's a taller version of Jack Darling. An ordinary footballer like Cam Mooney ended up being a valuable contributor in premiership teams and kicked 67 goals one year. He didn't have a quarter of the talent of Hogan. We're desperate for another key forward and Hogan would be a 10 year fixture." I made those remarks before I knew he'd end up at Melbourne. I then saw him at training over pre-season. I then get a glimpse of him at Casey during the intra-club. I then see him last Friday night during the NAB Cup and he's everything I expected and displayed the same traits we saw in the under 18 championships. You and some others can take all of the time you like, which is fair enough, but I'm kind of warm and gooey inside, because we've landed a future freaking thooopastar. I've never seen a more obvious star in my life.

I'm not keeping a lid on it. I don't understand the "we've been here before" crowd; which of Miller, Newton, McLean or Sylvia was an athletic barely-18 year old who weighed over 100kg and already marked and won the ball like a pro the year before he was eligible to play? This guy is something new; we haven't been here before and I'm wetting myself with excitement. You downers can go keep a lid on it all you like. I might not have been the first on the bandwagon, but I'm telling everyone I know how good he is going to be already is.

You miss the point. The Bloated One could have stopped this entire investigation from London. He as CEO would have known the consequences of a tanking verdict on the competition, which is why he denied it. We did Tank as did 6 other teams but the word cannot be used for LEGAL reasons. Please do not tell me the AFL salvaged anything positive out of this in terms of the MFC. We were thrown to the pigs after the AFL had removed our number one draft pick from our list & placed him at AFL Bankstown inc. 6 other clubs got their players and kept their filthy money. Carltank have once again been allowed to pay Ju$$ overs after Libba's comments. They are laughing big time today. Corruption succeeds again.

Besides alot of hopes, the chance of Hogan playing is 0%. It would create an enormous back lash from both Adelaide and GC who would've hung onto messrs Couch and O'Meara for the season under the same conditions, and also problems both for AFL and MFC as Hogan is not taking a list spot, to elevate him would be to move someone off it. This is not the NFL where you can release willy-nilly and irrespectively after a 500,000$ we don't not have the liquid to pay off a contract even if they were to agree. I know someone who has small ties to AFL House and all reports are the AFL love the concept of the young player coming in and spending one year learning how to be a professional footballer without the internal and external (media and supporters) pressure on both the mind and obvious effects on the body. I like Hogan, I too share the sentiment that contrary to so many drafted key forwards he has a stigma that he thinks he's better than the defender who is on him and that competitive arrogance is something I wish any of our players had. I'd love him to play but quite simply it is not even the smallest bit possible.

I have maintained throughout that people who were once close to the club undermined it during the course of the tanking investigation. Given that it is now common knowledge that four such people (all former employees) gave their version of the "vault" to Clothier and Haddad that proposition would seem self-evident. The club's interests were undermined by the evidence they gave. That is a fact and not a smear. I am not suggesting they lied but it's clear that others gave different evidence.My information is that at a particular point in time (September/October) the enquiry was going nowhere and was indeed in danger of folding. I have been informed that the "vault" information was voluntarily provided to the investigation by a former employee and the consequences were that the investigators recalled all witnesses and a number of different versions of the vault story entailed. As we know, despite the different versions, both the AFL and the MFC had advice from their respective senior counsel that the "tanking" case against the club had little likelihood of success in court. The "vault" evidence was therefore crucial to the ultimate outcome (convoluted as it was). I was also told that whoever informed the investigation of that story gave that information to Wilson as well. In addition, I know several people connected with the club (past or present) were privy to what Wilson knew and what the AFL knew and that there was a difference between the two stories. This connects Wilson directly to this group of people and the informants to the investigation. One other matter suggested was that the person who "squealed" to Wilson had previously supplied her with information about a different matter which was designed to embarrass the club and which subsequently proved to be untrue. Do you really believe that Wilson came about information which led her to produce her damning opinion pieces aimed at the club, Cameron Schwab and Chris Connolly and suggesting that all would be heavily punished from friendly or benign sources? The story and its back stories ring true with me and suggest there are people with past associations with the club who have continuing grievances with individuals at the club which might undermine the club's interests in the future. Please note that contrary to what you might think, I am not pointing to a specific person or even a group of people: they could come from a number of groups with past associations with the club who might be disgruntled. However, based on what I know, there are more people involved than just the four disgruntled former employees out of thirty witnesses who gave the "evidence" upon which the AFL made its decision notwithstanding that its clear that the club did not breach the AFL's tanking laws which was what the investigation was supposed to be about.

i think its worth a tad more than sfa. Ask nothing, get nothing.Whats to lose. Nothing. You know, you can look on the brighter side. Program available in the foyer !

He's not the next Carey, Schwarz or Lockett - he's the first Jesse Hogan!

its the opposite of a hypo bowl

He's going to be a player. To put it mildly. But I am not going to go nuts over a present I can't open for 12 months... Get down to Casey though...

Viney, Grimes, Toumpas, Trengrove, McDonald, Dawes, Clark, Jones, Watts All strike me as young men with their heads screwed on right and born leaders, each looking like developing into really good footballers, if they're not already. Dawes in particular has blown me away by being just about the most intelligent footballer I've ever had the pleasure of hearing being interviewed. Is it just me or does our long term future appear much brighter this year? Even if we're still due for some more pain in the short term...

Yes it does, it explains it clearly. Just because you can't join the dots doesn't mean that it isn't an explanation. Honestly, your inability to take Logic Point A and Logic Point B, and mix them together to get a reasoned argument still amazes me after 8 years.

They have to draw the line somewhere, it turns out that Hogan is just too young. It's really not that complicated and I agree with rfpc, the drafting age should be increased if anything. Remember, if not for the Mini Draft he wouldn't have even been drafted this year and no one would be having this conversation.

keep trying

Alright. Let's see how my team stacks up. Alviro Petersen (RSA) - 1589 runs at 38.75, 5/5 (50/100) Mohammad Hafeez (Pak) - 2002 runs at 35.12, 8/5; 34 wickets at 33 Cheteshwar Pujara (India) - 813 runs at 58.07, 1/3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) - 10,696 runs at 51.67, 61/27 Ian Bell (Eng) - 5699 runs at 46.71, 34/17 Dean Brownlie (NZ) - 547 runs at 34.18, 4/1 Brad Haddin (Aus) - 2257 runs at 35.82, 10/3; 160 catches, 4 stumpings Rangana Herath (SL) - 186 wickets at 29.95 Trent Boult (NZ) - 30 wickets at 31.43 Steve Finn (Eng) - 70 wickets at 28.22 Jackson Bird (Aus) - 11 wickets at 16.18 So on paper the averages and stats don't stand out as amazing, but let's dissect. First of all, I have the world number 3 batsman, Chanderpaul, a proven star. He heads my middle order, ably supported by Ian Bell, who has come into his prime, is world number 16, and whose average has climbed past 45. I have India's most promising young batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara, at 3, a man who plays like Rahul Dravid and has better stats at this early stage in his career. He dominated England with consecutive centuries and looks likely to hold the number 3 for India for a decade. I've also got New Zealand's Dean Brownlie, who is coming off a great tour of South Africa, knocking off a 50 and a century against the best bowling attack bar none. Opening, I have South Africa's stylish Alviro Petersen, who with Graeme Smith forms, IMO, the best opening partnership in Test cricket at the moment, and Mohammad Hafeez, who has captained Pakistan and who also is my spin-bowling all-rounder (a bit of a golden arm for the Pakistanis, actually). My keeper is Haddin, a man who would get a game for most other countries as keeper, and whose form is still good enough to play Test cricket. More than happy to have him coming in at 7. Bowling-wise, I have the world's number 4 ranked bowler, Rangana Herath, who has tussled with Saeed Ajmal for the title of best spinner over the last two years. For pace, I have one of Australia's new pace prospects, Jackson Bird, who starred in his two chances against the Lankans, plus Steve Finn, England's tidy yet consistent wicket taker, and Trent Boult, a left-armer who has taken most of his wickets in his last 4 or so Tests, and who can also add handy lower order runs (e.g. see the Hobart Test of 2011). Overall, the numbers don't stand out, but keep in mind I had to pick last in Round 1, and last in the final round too.

Having spoken with the researchers from the Sunday Night show and they are looking for more participants for the study. So if anyone is interested in participating in the Deakin study on concussions then the details are as follows: The aim of the study is to compare central nervous system integrity, motor and cognitive functions to age-matched who've not previously received a concussion. They are looking for males aged between 40 to 65 years of age, 3-distinct groups: Retired players at the community level who've received a concussion injury during play Retired players at the elite level (AFL/VFL or equivalent) who've received a concussion injury during play People who not received a concussion during their lifetime (control group) The study involves: One visit (approximately 60 minutes) to Deakin University, Burwood Campus Measures to be taken include: Health and history of concussion questionnaires Memory testing on a tablet computer Fine motor dexterity assessment Non-invasive brain stimulation For further information please call Dr. Alan Pearce ph 03 9251 7224, email [email protected]

All one can ever do is judge what they see.

Anyone up for this...? We promise not to send players for early surgery, and instead, they play the entire VFL finals series. We invest around $14,700 with above-mentioned betting agency. Casey wins the flag. We pay off our $500k fine.

How long can this be debated? We knew that he couldn't play when he was selected. He is still on our list, and will be in the jumper in 2014. Let him delevop and find the hunger to tear apart the AFL next year. He will be chomping at the bit next pre season.. It will be awesome.. Then we have the excitement of him and another top 10 pick coming into the side. Also, I like the fact that he is living with the Viney family..

except that it's pretty much exactly the same situation, aside from Hogan being bigger high draft pick key forward rushed into a cr@p side to appease supporter impatience we are going to suck for several years and he won't be at his peak for many more, why the rush?

Wash your mouth out,

If you are correct JJC Demetrio should have stopped the investigation from London. The AFL are definately not an ally. We have been violated for over 7 months. The other clubs are laughing. (Internally).

And what's that worth? SFA. Still think it's a waste of time even asking. If he was eligible to play, he should have been in the draft. The AFL can't and won't change the rules half way through the process.

Can't even imagine Vlad saying yes to this. Seems silly to even ask, but what's the worse that could happen other than they think it's a joke and fine us half a mil.....

WTF is a hyper bowl?

I havent seen BH so positive since he declared that if MFC dont take Jack Watts at No. 1 he was outta here. Had to be said.

Doesn't matter what the "rule" is. The umpires will "interpret" it and it will be a shemozzle.

"High ankle sprain" refers to a syndesmosis strain, which connects the tib and fib together. 6 weeks is standard for a stable syndesmosis injury as opposed to an unstable injury which requires surgery and months of rehab.

come on you lot, let's hose it down a bit - yes he looks good but we are talking about a total of 6 incidents in a praccy match. I have seen too many 'potential stars' come and go at this club. I don't think we are doing anybody any favours by talking him up so much so early. I'll be keeping an eye on his year at Casey though, there's a club that are probably pretty pleased with Tom Scully and GWS at the moment!

Liked what FootyRhino had to say about him: "Settle down fantasy coaches, you can’t touch Jesse Hogan for another 12 months. If I’m Mark Neeld, I’m shoving the 18 year old in a dimly-lit room, with just a bench press, a mirror and a picture of Jonathan Brown circa 2007. Every now and then, I’d slide a live cow under the door with a hack saw and a blow torch. Hogan already weighs 100kg and was super impressive in Friday night’s games; it looks like Melbourne might have a game-changer on their hands."

Thanks H_T for organising this, it was great fun despite my poor grasp of the rules of the game lol. Here is a quick rundown of my team, which leaves a bit to be desired in the end... (I will update Clarke and Dhoni at the end of this test). Gautam Gambhir, 31 (IND) - 54 tests, 4021 runs @ 44.18 with 9 Hundreds and 21 Fifties. Umar Akmal, 22 (PAK) - 16 tests, 1003 @ 35.82, 1/6 Darren Bravo, 24 (W.I) - 21 tests, 1637 @ 46.77, 4/8 Ross Taylor, 28 (N.Z) - 43 tests, 3268 @ 43.57, 8/17 Michael Clark, 31 (AUS) - TBA Francois (Faf) du Plessis, 28 (R.S.A) - 7 tests, 558 @ 69.75, 2/2 (First Class, 85 matches, 41 wickets @ 35.80, legbreak) Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 31 (IND) - TBA Mitchell Johnson, 31 (AUS) - 50 tests, 1403 @ 22.62, 1/7 205 wickets @ 30.63, 5wi (7)/10wm (1) Doug Bracewell, 22 (N.Z) - 15 tests, 46 wkts @ 31.89, 2/0 James Anderson, 30 (ENG) - 77 tests, 288 wkts @ 30.39, 12/1 Ajantha Mendis, 27 (SL) - 16 tests, 62 wkts @ 32.48, 3/1 So after analysing my team more closely, I am pretty happy with the batting lineup though the bowling is less impressive. No bowlers with an average under 30 and two part timers (Clarke and du Plessis) making up the all rounders bowling quota. However this was a worthy sacrafice I think - both players are very capable of picking up partnership breaking wickets. Happy with a partnership of Johnson and Anderson - I reckon these two bowling together would cause a lot of trouble as they are two extremely different bowlers and would complement each other well.

My XI has a bit of depth I reckon . Warner Barath Jayawardene Root Shafiq Sarwan Duminy Mc Cullum Broad Pattinson Sharma

The knees rule is a good one, sliding into legs is just dangerous IMO. Now as for the new addendum to the head over the ball rule - I am in favour of it. Basically what we have is a few players bending over and not 'straightening up' because they know they are to be tackled as soon as they do. So they go head first into the next jumper with different colours. It is so hard for the umpires to interpret this so they have my patience and empathy but it's a good rule. Players have got to get out of the habit of leading with their heads - that isn't 'attack on the footy' it is a dangerous and cynical attempt to get a free and if they manage to punish 75% of the times it happens it will make a difference.

I hope he ends up like the leader of the Monstars from space jam...

Phew!!! I thought it stood for Really Hairy Snatch

Don't agree. CC's comment just became the most convenient way of penalising the club without finding them guilty.

Can you please hand back in your membership for a year and pay $100K in fines - you may have meant this as a joke but many took that comment seriously and in turn burned their membership tickets. Whilst we cant prove that you actually wanted Caroline Wilson as no 1 ticket holder, you have brought the MFC into disrepute by making such a "horrible statement"

Nice article. Well done to Martin for writing it and getting it published. Everything I have ever seen and heard about Chris Connolly convinces me that he has always been 100% passionate for the Mighty Dees. Having missed out on getting the Coaching gig a few years back, a lesser mortal would have walked away. Not Chris. They offered him a different role, and he embraced it with both arms. I, too, am grieved to see him have to take the fall for this farce. Again, men of lesser stuff would pull up stumps and walk away. Not Mr Connolly! I salute you, Sir!

Just got around to watching the North replay last night and I have to say I'm surprised folks are being quite so pessimistic. Seemed to me we matched a good team pretty well for intensity, run and getting numbers to the ball and we looked dangerous going forward. Far better than what we've seen in NAB cups for the last four years i'd say. I don't think we're going to make the eight or anything, but given how bad we've been in recent years I think there's a good chance we might be able to enjoy some solid indications of progress this year. Haven't watched the Richmond game yet, but I do think playing back to back against a fresh team in 30 degree heat has to be at least taken into account.