Leaderboard

OK, I am back. Frawley a no show, others missing Spencer, King, Trengove, Hogan. Terlich for all the non believers, sorry, fully recovered, did the full session. It seems that the Pig Dog is about to be unleashed, the comedians thought it would be a good idea to give me six different answers when I asked what the applause was about today (happened today as well). Alex Georgiou more or less confirmed, all I got from Pig Dog himself was a smile and a "maybe" wave of the hand, if the banter going on during training was an indication, I would say "probably". Christian Salem is concerned about being sub again, that would mean back to Casey to get match fitness, he is also concerned about Arsenal losing to Hull City in the FA Cup Final this weekend. Jack Fitzpatrick most [censored] off he did his ankle on the weekend, was looking forward to playing as first ruck for whole game, as was feeling really good in 1st quarter, as FD now consider him Ruck/Forward rather than Forward/Ruck. Garland is fine, completed whole session. DeeZee, watch Nathan Jones' presser for your answer, Jack Grimes told me exactly that same thing. Spoke to Nicho, Blease, Strauss and Toumpas as requested, main theme from all of them was consistency (and Nathan Jones presser), they have to produce to a high standard for four or five weeks to be considered if an opportunity opens up. Toumpas just has to reproduce what he did last weekend each week. Nicho has to tidy up his disposal (surprise). Blease has now set a benchmark for himself with his 30 possies, enjoying playing at the back, lets him read the footy better, when to use his obvious attributes. Strauss: asked him where he was at, has been moved up forward to "freshen him up", not in very good form at the moment, actually enjoying playing forward, again just wants a consistent run, has forgotten all that has happened in the past and moved on, did mention likes the new way of doing things where you have to earn the spot in AFL side quote "not one good game at Casey, into AFL, bad game, back out" wants to settle in forward, get some form and try and force his way in. Forget McDonald or Garland, Nev Jetta is playing on Jack Riewoldt, it must be right, Jade Rawlings made a point of telling me. Also got some info on Tim Smith from Brad Miller. I asked what the knock on him not getting drafted was, again that word consistency, when he is good, as Brad says from last week's 5 goals, he is really good, but then goes missing for 2 or 3 weeks. Any questions feel free.

Wasn't funny the first time.

Didn't know where to put this and didn't want to start a new thread but i thought this quote from Jamar gives a fascinating insight into how Neeld went about things and by contrast how Roos goes about things. Not wanting to rake over old coals nor bag Neeld but these are the most pointed comments from a senior player i have heard about the previous regime (not much need to read between the lines): Its been good to be back in the team, especially playing under Roosy Ive really been enjoying it. To be able to contribute to the team has been really good, he told melbournefc.com.au. The confidence you get from the current coaching group its outstanding and they back you in and they give you responsibility. They treat us like men and theyve been fantastic and Ive really enjoyed it. I hope I can continue to be a part of this team for a long time to come, because Im really enjoying the environment at the club. Im really enjoying our new game plan and I think its reignited the fire in the belly. Link

How are we paying 5.25 to 1.16 to win this? that is waaay too long! Richmond are 2-5 and 15th on the ladder, and we beat them in the pre-season!

We beat Adelaide who beat Collingwood, who beat Essendon, who beat North Melbourne, who beat .................................. PORT ADELAIDE...... Who beat ......... GEELONG who beat HAWTHORN!!!!! Straight to the grand final for us!!!!!!!

Back on topic re his injury can I again remind everyone that a young Nick Riewoldt injured his knee pre season in his first year. He debuted in round 16 and played 6 games of the remaining 8 in his debut season. If his back comes good and he can get some games and experience under his belt I would hope that he is not put out to pasture this year. Oh and Riewoldt was constantly linked to a return to Qld which never happened so lets give the kid a chance

I'm struggling to find where in that thread that you warned us that he'd suffer a season threatening back injury in his first season on the senior list.

Jamar's "he treats us like men" comment was interesting. It's pretty sad when players find it groundbreaking that the coach treats them like men.

Agree with this He may even go to Casey this week to play a full game before the bye I wouldn't be against that, its great to see our young kids finally being managed professionally

I'm told he is already on the MCG trying to get a headstart for his possession count.

Good to see Harmes and Kent back

1. Roos doesn't carry the burden of a Bailey or Neeld because he has cemented his reputation. Even if it doesn't work out they will say "Melbourne were a basket case what could he have done" He is not going to trash his reputation being here. 2. He knows what it takes to succeed. Neeld and Bailey had seen it close but never done it as coach. There is a huge difference. 3. He has supreme confidence in his man management skills and his ability to get the best out of players. The players are loving the atmosphere at the club and it is showing. They 'care' for each other on the field and you can see that clearly by their actions - running the length of the field to congratulate Salem after his firrst goal. That stuff hasn't been seem at melbourne for a long time. Its great.

Saty thanks for the reports. Gives insight I couldn't get otherwise.

I would if I could, wouldn't be a bad move, Roos impossible to get near, he appears and then disappears, think he has a tunnel

Nah chap I am being made redundant in a couple of months, have way too much leave and 'being encouraged' to take it, my productivity seems to have become variable as well, not sure why? haha........so I take the morning off and do something important, will try and answer the questions put

I just love the idea of Rainier Wolfcastle doing standup comedy. That 10 second set makes me laugh every time I think about it. "That's the joke" "The film is just me in front of a brick wall for an hour and a half. It cost $80 million. How do you sleep at night? On top of a pile of money with many beautiful ladies."

Would have him at the dees in a heartbeat. Please try to at least to "tempt him" MFC. A crack at it is better than no crack at all.

Well if Roos' track record is anything to go by, Riley should be the sub.

I would like to see Gawn and Jamar swapping between on ball and full forward to rest, so that they do not rotate off the ground too often that will force the tigers to keep a real tall down back on them and allow our running players more interchanges. Need to have some grunt crumbing to gawn, Dawes and Jamar, players who can put forward pressure on the tigers back men. that should give us a few more opportunities as crumbing a few goals. looking forward to Salem, Riley kicking goals and possibly some tiger butt.

I'm sorry but I disagree. The club freely admits that thousands of injections were made to their players. They have no records of what was injected. I would be in jail now if I had done this in my business. Failure to keep adequate records of treatment is sufficient for charges to be laid. I have to keep a book recording any injury in my workplace, including paper cuts and bandaid use, in case there are complications in the future. It is my responsibility as a company director to maintain a safe work place, can the Essendon Football Club directors guarantee that they have? Worksafe should have been onto this over a year ago. It is irrelevant if other bodies (ASADA) are investigating other that the ability to pool resources and information. If the AFL have fined EFC that has nothing to do with Worksafe, they have an independent responsibility to act. Edit a to are

IMO, he's not ready. He had three touches in three quarters against Adelaide. I think he'll be a beautie, but Roos is doing the right thing by working him in slowly. He might get a full game once we're back from the bye.

Couple of more scientific bits The GPS is now used at every training session At the end of each session each player has to rate the session, ie easy, average, hard, if the majority are different from the coaches view, it is investigated why Each morning the players have to fill in a wellness questionaire, how did they sleep, are they feeling stressed, are they feeling fatigued, unwell or injured Most of the emphasis at the moment is on DI's (defensive indicators) and pressure acts, surprise surprise Just realised Shannon Byrnes wasn't there either

sounds like its party time up at GWS and Scully says he left because of the MFC culture LOL Have fun up there Tom, we will just have to push on with Paul Roos....

mac...you have to give Worksafe a bit of slack. They can only investigate when there is evidence of an unsafe workplace. An unsafe scaffold is obvious. Suspected drug use is not. In all likelihood that evidence has not been available. They need proof of the use of illegal drugs. What is interesting is that NOW they are acting....ergo they have been provided with proof of some sort to warrant an investigation.

Interested if Riley will get a game this week.

This is a great service you provide, Satyr. We have to find a way to get you employed in a job that requires you to attend all Melbourne training sessions. Anyone know who mows the lawn at Gosch's paddock?

Nasher, we don't want you to die - happy or unhappy. Someone has to keep Demonland running.

So let me get his right. Worksafe Vic has only 'recently' begun its investigation (2yrs after the alleged breaches) due to the 'request of another authority' - presumably ASADA. What a crock of shiite. Why the different treatment to EVERY other business in the State of Victoria?? Do you think after 2 yrs that some of the evidence may have gone cold or forgotten or disappeared? Were they not aware of the admitted activities, the Ziggy report etc. Did they choose to ignore it until requested? This is worthy of a Royal Commission in itself. I maintain that if I had done what Ess have done in my own business I would be heading to the big house. The Directors of Essendon should be in huge trouble here. I can't believe Worksafe have behaved this way and am very keen to see its determination, public comment and reasoning on the issue. An unsafe scaffold on a workplace can cost $50k in fines. These guys will should be bankrupted.

Hey Saty, do you reckon you could ask Jimmy Toumpas what sort of things the club has him working on in the VFL/what sort of role he see's himself filling long term?

Is Frawley definitely out? Also, i would love to see Riley. We've seen plenty of Mckenzie, give Riley a go

Bail's jumper number is 44. A football list has 44 players on it. Ergo, Rohan Bail will never be delisted.

Based on what? On the fact that he starts every game as one of the 18 players on the ground. Last I checked, that makes him "Starting 18". When was the last time he was omitted from the side due to form? (Has he ever been omitted due to form?)

I certainly wouldn't want to target this man! Saw this on Twitter.. Worth a laugh I would of thought! @TitusOReily: This is interesting: Fremantle release Colin Sylvia's heat map for 2014. http://t.co/kn8wOCcqON

I'm so happy for Ro Bail. I thought his career was over after all his concussion issues.

I asked the heavens for a favour for the Carlton game; will ask again for this one. Wasn't so long ago that we were on even pegging - watching them improve while we floundered was very hard to take, and the way the rest of the footy world just gushed only made it worse. To complete their return back to complete mediocredom with a loss to the 17th placed side would be so, so sweet. The last five years have turned me in to a spiteful and vindictive footy supporter. If we win this one, then all we need to do is roll Essendon later in the year and I can die happy.

How come? He wouldn't be the first person delisted after two seasons. Think you need to have shown enough to prove that you're worth persevering with and I'm unconvinced, and you need to keep turning the list over. I'm not wedded to the idea and I'm going purely of second hand information, but on gut feel it sounds right to me.

I'm not Bail's biggest fan, but he has been pretty consistent this year. He continues to lead our tackle count every week. I've been impressed over the last three to four weeks. He stays, IMO. Ironically, it was Jones' lack of fitness/lactic acid build up that clearly hampered his efforts to score that gimme the other night. Still, I don't see him as a long term prospect, but for a bloke of limited ability, he's been terrific this year. Gee, I was livid at those two misses though.

Just a quick update Billy has played the last 2 games in the seniors for Glenelg and has showed promise. Will be a good development for him playing against bigger bodies.

Chris Dawes.

the lads will be celebrating bbo don't expect to find anything left in your bar or stash

That's very optimistic of you. Bitter, but optimistic. Hmm...

Excellent glad to hear you will be around for the next Dees power era!

Between the lines - AFL and ASADA no longer bedfellows

In my mind there's a pretty clear split between players I'd like to keep this year and those I'd happily move on.

He should be thrown in jail and the key thrown purely for being at Zagami's

I really like the idea of Toumpas in defence. We often lack class bringing the ball out of defence and Toumpas is an excellent ball user who has a great tank. He's also good at reading the ball defensively from what I've seen, and decent overhead. If he can develop into a level headed, rebounding, ball using defender in the long term then it certainly fills a big hole for us.

That was true until they had twin boys...

I've heard they're good ballerinas, the pirouette might come in handy

... and Brett Lovett's son who isn't eligible for the draft till next year played for the Dandenong Stingrays a couple of weeks ago and was named in the best players.

Unfortunately FS is just before trade week starts to stop this sort of thing. Sorry about that.