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Aren't you sick of being the idjit in search of a village? Think once, think twice, think never, ever, ever hit the post button.

I popped into the Cattery yesterday to grab my first look at Billy live. There is no way he will slip to us for a third round pick. We would have to trade our second round pick for this to be possible. The kid is a gem. Quick, poised, evasive and a good ball user. What I was most impressed in was his ability to gut run both offensively and defensively. He covers the ground really well and ran arch to arch all day. He finds ways to involve himself in play through hard work and no shortage of smarts. He drifted forward and took a great contested mark, finishing with a goal, he ran the wings aggressively, providing run and involving himself in many rebound 50s. There seemed to be a very low stoppage count throughout the game, the few he was involved in he set up aprox 5-10 meters off the stoppage so as to best utilise his pace. Over all I was very impressed with his game. He will be a ripper and well worth a second round pick.

I had a couple of portraits I'd painted of Tom Wills kindly put up on the 'footy almanac' website by John Harms a couple of years ago. Martin saw them and got in touch with me, pointing me toward his John Button oration of 2011, a great essay about Tom Wills and his meaning to Australian culture. I had read his novel 'The Call', about T.W. as well, a must read for anybody interested in the genesis of our game. When it came to exhibition time, (and with a number of other footy inspired paintings on show), I asked him if he'd like to open my exhibition. He very generously agreed, giving those there a frankly riveting account of Tom Wills and his significance to Australia, his relationship to indigenous sporting culture and it's inclusion. He is as he writes. His passion for and knowledge of Australian football from a cultural and historical perspective is I think singular, and as we all know, when the media is full of the irrelevant dross that distracts us from the pure thrill of our game, there's always Martin Flanagan to remind us how good our game and it's people can be. Long may he continue.

boring and predictable

Abused you for no reason???? You go on and on and on and on and on and on and on (getting the picture?) about how poor JT is, about how pathetic the Dees are (when not going well) and can't even honour your word when it came to no longer posting on this site. You are the classic fair weather supporter and I seriously wish that the admin on here would assist you in keeping your word by giving you an extended holiday from the site.

I hear what you say about the management of Jordan Gysberts and I have little doubt that the history of VFL/AFL football is littered with such tales of what might have been with players if only they had been treated differently. I still find it hard however, when the blame is attributed to one person and one person alone, namely his coach in his final year at the club. Why not Bailey who was coach when that trip to China took place? Why not the various medical teams while Gysberts was at the club? Why not the fitness people or player welfare people? Given that he played most of his last year at the club in the VFL, what about Brett Lovett who was his coach over there? And would not the player himself and his make up have something to do ultimately with his failings as a player? I'm sure he gave it his best shot at North Melbourne as well but never got a game so I guess it's easy to say he was damaged goods before Brad Scott got hold of him but nobody at the Kangaroos picked up on this when they recruited him? And if he would have turned into a champion under Paul Roos, then why are Blease, Strauss and Tapscott - all top 20 draft picks - languishing at Casey today without having played a senior game this year? I understand that I might sound harsh about one single individual who had a difficult time at the club and saw his hopes of a stellar football career shattered but perhaps it's wrong for people to always go through life blaming others when perhaps they should be looking inward to discover why they might not have achieved what they wanted when they set out on their journey.

Amazing to think people are still willing to cut slack to players such as Blease, Strauss, Tapscott, Evans etc. because of previous injuries, yet are all over a kid who required operations to both hips only 12 months ago. We want a successful club but don't seem to want to take the time and effort to get there, clubs like Hawthorn and Sydney put their kids into the seconds for a couple of years to develop properly, so when they do come in they fit in seamlessly. Some of the post's on here have become embarrassingly ignorant.

The Gysberts story has not been written and probably only known to a few.Gysberts averaged around 20 possessions per game and after getting 26 and 27 disposals respectively in his first 2 games he injured is back in the third and missed the rest of the season. In his second season he played 15 games despite missing most of the preseason with a back injury. In its wisdom the MFC insisted he attend the China trip despite having a disk problem in his back and the subsequent travel worsened his injury. His stats and his performance in his second season were exceptional despite the mismanagement and he regularly obtained more than 20 possessions and achieved 30 in one. His numbers are not dissimilar to Jack Viney's. Of course we then needed to toughen up and Neeld arrived. Gysberts promising career ended and despite going to North Melbourne at the end of the season the damage had been done and his interest in an AFL career gone and he finished his career going through the motions in the VFL with no desire to go further. He is probably the biggest loss of the Neeld years and the greatest example of mismanagement I've seen. If Roos had arrived at MFC in 2012 instead of Neeld we'd have an A grade mid. Football departments objectives are to provide an environment for players to be as good as they can be but for Gysberts the opposite was the case. Say what you like but he was a kid who against Geelong, a powerhouse, in his first game showed he had one of the most important skills in AFL footy - he could get the ball and use it pretty well. Although he wasn't a long kick he was proficient over shorter distances, he had very clean hands and he had vision. He is vilified here because he promised so much early and people are disappointed but the reality is he was grossly mismanaged and a great talent was lost. Comments like "it was all downhill after his first game" are just wrong.

I do not rate him as a coach/manager at all. He never looks like he's in control, and I think he's part of the reason they are so erratic.

Our lack of run and pressure allowed the good Norfolk to emerge. Brisbane are fierce at the contest with a superior work rate.

I actually found the Robbo article denouncing the Bomber Mother's call as a fake, mind boggling. Obviously the woman didn't want to give her name, so as to not out her son. Robbo is suggesting that a lady rang up the radio, had what seemed to be a thorough understanding of what happened, was not a Bomber's mother, but was a brilliant enough actress to cry throughout the interview and make everyone listening believe she was who she said she was. Couple that with the fact that she had spoken to Eddie and his producers off air, who also believed she was who she said she was. If she was a fake she was brilliant and clearly extremely well informed. Who would have informed her if she was not a player's mother? Why would she go to that trouble if she was a fake? I can find only one fake in this latest little episode and that is Robbo. He is pretending to be a journalist when he is nothing but a mouthpiece. Shame on you Robbo, you have no credibility in my eyes.

One day Brad Scott's head will explode in the box

...that was a truly awful game to watch. A team with sub-standard VFL players filled with sub AFL level players ( with a few exceptions - JKH, Toumpas Fitzpatrick). I've seen criticism of Welsh here before, but I have never seen a coach so dis-engaged from his players. Might as well have sat in the stands, since all he did was watch the game. No extra in the backline against a howling wind, interchange system was similar to Bailey's... You don't sub players when the ball is in your backline, leaving forwards unmarked....Toumpas comes off and has to scream at the player replacing him to get on the ground, as he was too busy watching the game. Just amateurish. Willy had a simple plan...load the backline against the wind, and kick the ball long and deep when with it. Footy is a simple game, and you just adapt to the conditions at hand. Didn't happen today....

I see no problem with Toumpas struggling at AFL level. He's a kid after all, and his hips are a work in progress. Having said that, he needs to be taking charge of his fortunes at VFL level like he did in the SANFL. He should be banging the door down. I do worry that Casey is a toxic environment though, and that players are being sapped of their confidence.

Your like my father. Never ever could find something good to say about anything. Always managed to find something condescending to say. It's monotonous and boring I wish they would bring back the function that allowed people to block posts of others from view. You add nothing, absolutely nothing and I visit this site far less that I used to because its so hard to read.. Bring back the filter, because this place is becoming unreadable.

I honestly don't know why we don't have an MFC development coach taking charge of Casey. As part of the alignment we give them financial help. But more importantly, now that we have a quality AFL coaching set-up, having them in charge of Casey would benefit a VFL side greatly, but also align with what Roosy is trying to accomplish. It would also help speed up the development of our players and be consistent with training during the week.

When you follow the game and there's more action behind the scenes and in the court rooms and board rooms, you get to feel that the game's really in the doldrums. But then every once in a while you pick up and read a gem like this from Martin Flanagan - Pride, passion and a culture of inclusion prevail in footy's new heartland

I'm going to make a bold prediction here but given the events of recent AFL history, the boy Tester who plays for Vic Metro is a perfect fit for the Bombers!!!

Will you leave demonland if we lose?

I thought you should be thanking him. He did us a great service.

A moron that hates Jimmy Toumpas but wants Newton back at the club. wow

Reason why Georgiou is on the extended bench, looks like there is an issue with Tommy Mc, he had a compression bandage on his calf and did very little training, before heading back indoors, Chip also did work with the defence....so Roos looking at options. Interestingly Riley, Salem, Barry and Terlich did a lot of work with the forwards, maybe for 'whoever' was watching, (I am sure oppositions are only interested in the midfield these days anyway, unless there is a gun halfback to look after), I lost Nicholson in this drill, but he was out there I asked Paul Roos about Barry getting a game and he said maybe, asked Dom Barry himself, he hasn't been told anything, there was no announcement at training, so maybe just a bit of encouragement this time and he will be an emergency I asked Nev Jetta about that first goal against Norths (as requested), the team rule if the ball is in that situation (ie in the pocket, inside the 50) is to get it over the line and out of bounds, this rule was not followed, then it was turned over and the defensive structure was not set, as they had been expecting to set up for a boundary throw in, this sounds slow in writing but in real time it all transpired in about 5 or 10 seconds, Roos wants them to be proactive rather than reactive but unfortunately if somebody doesn't follow the rules, it throws a spanner in, hence why after the first few goals, team went reactive not wanting to stuff up The team received 2 sprays, a decent one at 3/4 time and the other I would assume at the review, Roos was 'bitterly disappointed' (my words) with the failure to follow team rules and structures An interesting little highlight, in one drill Max Gawn was matched up on Ben Mathews, and he proceeded to knock him over, much to other players amusement, but in the next play, Mathews beat Gawn cold with movement and took an uncontested mark, gave Max a look as if to say "you have a lot to learn"......he spoilt it a bit by producing a horrible kick Jesse Hogan was out early, still lap running, and some Casey players and MFC listed players for Casey this weekend, except the extended bench, trained before main group and finished about 10 Any questions feel free.

Didn't buy into the Neeld philosophy of football but then he was a very smart dude as I remember.

Back on the topic of today's game, I had a good look at Michie at times today. In no way did he do enough to be considered for promotion but gee he shows some good old fashioned footy skills. Saw him shark the ball and look upfield for a disposal option. Hard against the boundary, downwind, kicking against the wind. Willy players coming at him from the left side. He was about to dispose, then pulled the ball in and sidestepped one player coming in from his left. Was about to dispose again, and again another enemy came flying in from the left. Michie at the last minute baulked and sidestepped a second time and then sent the ball forward cleanly to a contest further along the boundary, having no other real options. It happened within the space of about 2-3 seconds but looked so smooth and beautiful to watch. Looks to me like he has some serious talent. Wish he could get amongst it more and really prove his worth.

Freo Dockers are not doing to bad, Peel are a basket case in the WAFL and the alignment doesn't seem to be affecting them. I saw Peel today and their skills were atrocious, the Dockers players worked hard but had no cattle with them and they fell short again. Morabito starred again along with Jono Griffin, Kepler Bradley & Tom Sheridan, but the lack of good quality players to support them was obvious. The Casey scenario could be the same, it is good to see AFL players putting solid efforts in when the tide is heavily against them. I know several AFL scouts who look hard and take a lot of note on the standouts in the weaker colts sides, it says a lot about a player. Casey making finals regularly didn't seem to transpire at AFL level, so I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water just yet. How Casey perform is irrelevant once the players come in at AFL level and know the structure and perform at that level.

can we rename this thread "The Picket Fence Fantasy Thread"? or Pfft for short?

Has had to work very hard to get there, but seems to have established himself in the side for probably the first time in his career. He's a quality person too by all reports - that attribute in conjunction with his determination on the field is the reason why so many of us hoped he'd make it. Well done Nev.

Just had a quick chat with one of the Williamstown coaches, used to play footy with him/for him. Only touched briefly on the game but he is a massive fan of JKH, as I guess most are and said Tappy was really good. He didn't come out and just say Tappy was really good, I asked how he went as I'm still holding on that he might make something of himself. Just wanted to put that into context. Will talk to him later in the week when there is more time and find out who they thought our best were. So in fact, this post really doesn't add... anything

Why is everyone so certain that ditching Casey would result in our players playing in a better side?

One thing I will say is toumpas has lost do much pace since his hip surgery, he used to be genuinely quick, probably Matt Jones quick and loved to run and carry Without that he really doesn't have a role unless he develops a contested game

do you think we came out on top in the Sylvia - Vince swap?

Unlike Internet forums.....

hard not to compare him to the two midfielders selected immediately after him, if you consider stringer a half-forward rather than a pure mid. we were told that we were getting an afl-ready player who'd done well at senior sanfl level for the last couple of years as a 16 and 17 year old. he looks a world off it. one thing he has clearly improved this year is his ability to lay a tackle. however, he is not quick (something that we were told he was) nor is he skilled (something else that we were told he was). i do wonder whether he can be turned into an inside midfielder, as i struggle to see him making it afl level as an outside runner - he doesn't have the pace nor the skills to play the role.

I love these posts. Thanks for putting some facts around the situation but you forgot a serious couple of facts. He didn't have an appetite or attitude to do what it takes. He had no defensive skills, no tank and couldn't run out of sight on a dark night. And if you believe the story that he refused to do a time trial because it was hot, then that says it all about his attitude, And BTW Norf couldn't get him to work either but of course once you have been touched with the Melbourne wand you are stuffed for life. Beamer, Morton, Gysberts - all rooned because Melbourne didn't tuck them into bed at night. Yep its our fault. What does that say about the players like Nathan Jones who went through the same situtation?

Gollum?

Wrong. Toumpas doing ok Best kicks their first 9 - 58

Seems a few might have have chucked in the towel in terms of a future career at the MFC.

nothing is illegal in manila. Well almost nothing,its illegal to teach your monkey to smoke,{but its not illegal to give your monkey a smoke] Its illegal to sell more than one of your kidneys. And thats about the end of the manila legal system rules.

Welcome to the world of the courtroom Soidee. If you watched the telecast you would have seen and heard a judge and a few barristers speaking about procedural matters and in doing so, not that it matters much in that instance, they're all bound to be truthful and I reckon that all of them told the truth. But you would have also noticed that none of them had to pick up a bible or make an affirmation which obliged them to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That sort of thing will come when witnesses start giving evidence but looking at the array of potential witnesses in these proceedings and on what I read about them on twitter, if you're looking for the "truth" I suggest you try the cartoon channel.

I'd bow to your better judgement WJ. Prior to that I was going off the @TitusOReily final point of summation: "I didn’t hear the Essendon theme song at the end so I assume they lost".

I see an ad on the AFL website ' why the umpires will be wearing blue this weekend'. Is it because it's traditional for them to wear 'clash' garb in Melbourne V Bulldogs games?

For all of the mud slinging towards ASADA I am yet to see any substance behind any of it. They've been cleared of leaking information, nothing has become of the supposed 'deal' with the AFL and they have kept out of the AFL and EFC politics. All of this following the former Minister for Sport's announcement which made what should have been a relatively unknown investigation into the most public sporting scandal in decades. ASADA deserve public support for their perseverance, professionalism and diligence.

You've swallowed the (pro) Essendon spin hook, line and sinker.

We're playing Frawley up front and Dunn in the backline - when does our next $500k fine arrive?

Couple of bits I forgot, Gawn worked with Jamar and Stafford and played forward in the drills Slightly off topic, the 'over excited' new father assured me he would keep trying until he got a son

no.

Sure.. There you go. You're welcome.

Thanks for the lack of courtesy to inform me that you was going to log me out...

You have no idea. The AFL receive upwards of $100m a yr in stadium developments, grants etc from the federal government. If you think that they would turn that down and refuse to comply with WADA rules (like most major sports in the world) you are being foolish. The AFL in reality had no choice. As for your statement the AFL should have kept out of it. Really, do you think before posting?