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I have a feeling that he's going to be playing basically the role Hird played. He'll sit off the packs and be the designated outlet man for guys like Viney and Cross. If they go in and get the ball out to him he has the pace, poise and skill to really hurt the opposition with it. I can't see him suddenly becoming an inside hard man with a change of coaches, but he can certainly get more of the ball and be more damaging to the opposition playing in the middle.

And to completely shut them up it would be nice if Jack could take mark of the year over Natanui.

Talk's cheap Jack. Action in 2014 please.

I've got a good feeling about Watts this year. I'd love nothing more than to see him become a star of the game and shove it up all his doubters.

Take a deep breath IDAD it was a little joke sorry you did not see the humour in it.I still think it was funny when discussing a car retailer.

Stop taking threads off topic will you Moon!!

Not trying to be too clever here WJ, but I don't reckon that game means anything anymore. At all. That we now have Roos at the helm. Well, I reckon that will prove to be an absolute game changer for this club - possibly the dawn of an era of finally being taken seriously.

Creativity off a half back flank or wing/ high forward. I just don't see him as a mid unless its pinch hitting. Then again, what do I know.

Let's merge with essendon. We can call the new team, the Melbourne Demons and use a red and blue strip. Sounds only fair.

So far so good AHG. What I would love to see from the MFC is low cost trip option to Darwin for those games. I can never understand why we cannot come up a reasonable priced option. Get it set up now months in advance, or advertise a special Dees charter flight up Friday back Sunday evening. I reckon you could fill a plane no problem. Come on MFC fire up

Thanks for all the comment which continues to express the polarised positions our politicians have created . I did not support the Children overboard claims I did not support the Rudd Gillard actions and I do not support the current governments actions. Yes there are millions of refugees all trying to leave countries which have a combination of home grown despots and imported machineries of war. Guns and weapons are supplied by developed countries and exploitation is usually a reason.religious zealots do little to practice peaceful means of conversion and prefer domination and eradication. Population explosion is an outcome as life expectancy is tenuous. Migrants are desperate. Not all are persecuted. some have paid to improve their life and many have been instructed to destroy their past and have trained responses. Perhaps as advanced developed countries we could assist by easing problems, decrease armaments and import farm machinery and practices instead, improve health and education and teach some sustainable practices. It might help if we developed and practised a few of those ourselves. Meanwhile we could help process migrants more humanely and effectively and while identifying them provide some training and encouragement to return to their countries with new skills and an enlightened understanding. There is so much more to this situation and the answers are not at the extremes but somewhere in the middle. I sense that understanding is even happening on these pages and look forward to the continuing debate where there is recognition of points on both sides.

Oh God can we get back to the sponsor Seems like we have a good one for a nice change.

A bad loss for Roos and the Swans was an aberation but throughout history every good team has put in a stinker once in a while. I think it was more about them than about us. We did look promissing for a while in 2010 and looked pretty good when we got the taste for an easy kill. We always played above ourselves when we could sense the oposition did not come to play and that was the case for that day. I do believe it a new dawn for us this season. The club has been transformed from top to bottom ansd is now a virtually clean template for Roos to work with. It is not insignifcant that this will be our 50th year anniversary since our last flag. These kind of milestones be they positive or negative have a tendancy to reshape the future IMO

We will win more games if we get drunk at a bar in London.

Is that the new "vault"?

I have now recovered from my Dalton inspired attack of the sulks and the NFL is no longer dead to me. Zimmer is a defensive genius CFH and is a massive loss to the Bengals. As to how he will go as a head coach...not sure. He is brutally honest and some players just don't respond well to that, although others thrive. Divas beware.You will probably see some friction between him and your senior management at times, as he certainly isn't a butt kisser. I doubt there will be any middle ground mate, he will either be a huge success or a massive failure. As to the other guy. The Redskins are about to find out that he isn't his brother. Jay is okay, but the Skins have taken a huge risk. Admittedly Dalton isn't all that, but Gruden has made a number of questionable calls over his tenure at the Bengals. Most notably his decision not to throw to AJ Green for the whole of the first half in our playoff loss to the Texans last season. He is a smart guy, but I won't miss those decisions to go for the fifty yard touchdown pass on 4th and short in key games. Good luck to both of them, but we will certainly miss Zim more, our defence was decimated by injury yet he still had us up there as one of the best defensive units going around.

If only he played as well as he talked.... Go in hard Jack, that's what we want to see.

Tap out McQueen

Jeez , i SO want to believe but the guy is about to start his SIXTH season and we are still speculating about his elite potential . I expect improvement but will he ever have that required level of hardness ?

Maybe the AFL has come to the realisation that the GWS experiment is not working, so they are going to merge them with us, relocate the team to Canberra and call us the Melbourne Avenue Demons.

Essendon are going to need 30+ players too

The innovation I'd like to see us proceed with is an equivalent to a 'Dreamtime at he G' or ANZAC day game played with a regular opponent on the night of Easter Sunday. It needs more than just the choice of timeslot. Perhaps it could be something like a 'Kid's Game' with all school children given free entry and a kick on the ground at the close of play (subject to weather, of course). I've never understood why the AFL doesn't have a game on a Sunday night when the following day is a public holiday. (I'm against Sunday night games when the Monday is a working day). It would be good to work with another club to put the package together and present it to the AFL.

If we start winning games and increase our membership and sponsorship, we will kiss Darwin goodbye. The Darwin money will be replaced if we become a decent footy club once again.

hardtack, i would expect people who can fly to indonesia and have enough dollars left to pay the people smuggliers would at one stage have had papers

Flames v Canucks, 2 seconds into the game a full line brawl. Canucks coach going nuts, tries to get into the other teams liner room during the first period break. Nuts. I don't get the fighting in hockey, it doesn't make sense to me...

Here's Bill Simmons' latest column from 'Grantland' - this week Bill answers various emails ... ... That Championship Mailbag

has been totally unable to train together over pre-season ever!

That doesn't sound like you.

81% had no papers...very different meaning. These people are fleeing and it's very possible many would never have had paperwork In the first place. As for the comment re arriving by air, the majority of known ILLEGALS (overstayers) arrive by air...you are confusing boat people (legal asylum seekers) with illegal immigrants...how many boat people are you aware of that hold tourist or working holiday visas? Funny how you use a labour view as if it is meant to convince us of a point in your argument. You stated your what you now call "view" as a "fact" ... nice back peddling. None of us want to see these people risking their lives at sea and only an idiot would think we do. You claim to be concerned about their lives but that is really typical right wing speak for "we don't want these people here at all". You claim to care about their well being but really don't care at all...the fact that you call them illegals, speaks volumes for your regard for see people and their welfare...as does your belief that these people are not fleeing danger.

Boat arrivals are classified as asylum seekers... Seeking asylum is not illegal and as they are nabbed before landing on our shores, they are not immigrants. They fully expect to be taken into custody so that they can then seek asylum...they are not attempting to land and avoid detection. Your ILLEGAL overstayers however, deliberately try to avoid detection and are in far greater numbers in our society than boat arrivals... The boat arrivals who are free to live in our society are there legally. As for precious percentages, you seem to be the one concerned with citing them...not I. And your last sentence is a cop out. You made an absolute statement that most were not escaping persecution or peril. You made an absolute statement that most were throwing away their papers.

No, I'm talking about the whole 3 years of that term, which is what the People based their opinions on. ... & the previous times of "children overboard", the "Ports fiasco", the Illegal War in Iraq, the rundown of public schools, hospitals, trades apprentices, the import of foreign workers, & general tiredness of his governments ways.

We had No business going into Iraq the second time, after the destroying of the world trade centre buildings... it wasn't sadam who plotted the crashing. stories have it that it was supported by Saudi. most of the UN said NO to going into Iraq & they have been proven correct. Howard was Wrong. & took us into an area where our people now are targets overseas. the middle east would be better off with Sadam Hussein in power, than it is now... No matter how much we despise what he was. it should have been up to the Iraqi's to get rid of him, & then we could have supported Them. the US have made an almighty mess of the so called balance of power, throughout the Near & Middle East... & Asia in general. the vacuum has been created at a time when their is much unrest, & rogue leaders are in abundance.

The days of being a mediocre team. I miss them Anyone realise that between round 15 2010 and round 17 2011 we had a 11-11-1 winning record under Bailey.

Good to hear you saying something optimistic OD, even as a joke. Things are looking up.

That is an historic image of The Gat Fl og. The portrait on the wall is probably one of Biffen's ancestors. (Although, as I understand it, due to some scandalous activities, the lineage is not clear.)

We are not talking about entire nations migrating here to seek asylum, it is a few thousand tops. My point is the easiest way to help prevent this problem is to refuse to contribute to the conditions which lead to them needing to seek asylum in the first place. And then when people from these countries which we have helped to invade and destroy do risk their lives to travel by sea in boats to get here the least we can do is treat them humanely and not demonise them to score political points by using them as scapegoats to take the average persons eyes off the fact that the people they should really be angry at are those leading the major political parties and those who head the banks and other large corporations who sell them out and fleece them every single day of their lives.

I was fairly pizzed at the time I visited but I think the standard measure of a yard can be found at the The Royal Ob in London. There was a great pub right at the park gates - can't recall its name but ............

It's hilarious how you speak with such conviction yet wouldn't really have any idea whatsoever of the circumstances of those who would risk their lives, sell off all their possessions just for an opportunity to escape their third world hellholes that have been destroyed by wars and domestic terror just because they happened to be born in a country that was part of the west's "grand chessboard" to conquer. It's easy to judge from a keyboard in Richmond but I could easily say the same for you, that you have been stupid enough to buy the spin of the government that their lives aren't in peril, that they aren't fleeing persecution. I guess it's easier to cheerlead invasions and war crimes when you can laugh off the fact that the people from those nations are just devious criminals trying to game the system. The entire Australian government policy towards asylum seekers (not "illegals" according to the law) from Keating on has been a disgrace. Don't think that I have any love for Gillard or Rudd's policies either. This is of course completely ignoring the point of my post which was in relation to the Vietnamese student who was bashed senseless by some home grown white supremacist heroes and due to being in hospital was unable to attend classes and so "breached" his visa conditions - not only that but the manner in which the immigration department chose to handle the matter and the manner in which Morrison and the government wipes its hands of it is disgraceful whether it was carried out by the ALP or LNP. I despise both major parties in Australia so trying to paint me as some leftist ALP stooge really does your argument no favours (although it's clear you don't really have an argument and only gross generalisations and baiting.)

Depends on the number and size of the brown paper bags it was carrying.

I tend to agree but hope we're wrong. I asked Tadgh Kennelly last year about what impact Roos would have at the Dee's (pre trade/draft) and he expected that the hidings will stop but the losses will continue. As you've pointed out above, the recruits aren't the elite players required to cause the dramatic turn around we want to see but they're surely capable of making us a considerably tougher team to win the ball from.The obvious difference which you've missed is the forward line. Regular appearances from Clark, Dawes, the inclusion of Hogan along with Howe back in the forward half along with a few more F50 entries will be telling on the scoreboard. Success breeds success in this sport and whils we don't have midfield stars like Port Adelaide do (that helped their amazing year) I expect to see a completely different team this year. It's all about a fit, best 22.

Haven't lost one yet either. Pow-pow!

Is it a reality truck?

Mines reverse psychology, if I back the niners they are sure to lose since I've backed against them and they seem to win. Is there any way both teams can be disqualified Ahhhh no fun watching two of your rivals playing the the championship for a shot at the Super Bowl.

Someone add 4.3 goals to each round's scoreline last year and see how many more games we'd have won? Don't think it'd have us close to finals.

Why is I50 a key stat? Why not I40 or I30 or I25 or any other arbitrary number? Stats are what they are but I50 only exists because there is a line painted on the ground. I'd guess most of our I50's were shallower than the stat leaders. And less well directed in terms of proximity to the coridor. And there were also more contested possessions when they landed. And unfortunately, we probably lost most of those contests on average.

Haha what? Do you actually understand stats? Us getting more goals doesn't mean the other team gets less, they might get more also if it's a loose game or they may even get less than double the difference. Your point makes no sense whatsoever. The differential is the important bit, not the total amount. We don't win a game because we beat the average inside 50s for the 8th place team, but we MAY win if we get more inside 50s than the team we're playing against on the day. That's why it's all about the difference, not the total. Shouldn't have to point that out.

next you will be telling us that if you kick more goals you increase your chance of winning

Inside 50 differential is more important that simple inside 50s for. We had an average difference of -18 inside 50s, and -8.4 goals. So yes, we were WAY off the mark.

Are you for real , those stats are terrible!