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I hope this doesn't tarnish his good guy reputation.

Titus O'Reily ‏@TitusOReily 10m10 minutes ago Fremantle announce Colin Sylvia as a top up player for Ryan Crowley

As I intimated - you are arguing someone's form is bad ergo they 'don't want to be at the club': It's BS, the kind of BS you usually boorishly rail against - and yet here we are...

So... ...do they sway you? Or are you just looking to attack his form in 2014 through a quiet day at Luna Park?

A few years ago my son was lucky enough to present Colin with his jumper pre-season. 2 years later Colin saw him at a footy clinic and remembered him and spoke to him. Colin then gathered half the team together for a group photo with my son. I doubt he has changed that much.

This is the most purple day in Australian sport.

Thank you to all who supported the Demon Army at our photo booth by PhotoMeUp (Dees supporters, if you want to be in the know). We always have an excellent day at Family Day. Thanks to the boys who were stationed with us - Matt Jones & Max King to begin and then to the rest of the team who tried gate-crashing. After the dust settled it was JKH & the Toump who survived for the rest of the morning. We love seeing all Dees supporters and especially our youngsters. It's good to see you all!

My friends son was involved in the Reach Program and Col Garland was a mentor. This young guy said Col was a top bloke, related really well to the trouble young teens and went way and beyond the call of duty. I think he is generally shy but has been very pleasant the few times I have spoken to him.

Watched the game today for the first time. The toump was terrific. Not sure where this tackle stuff comes from. One he laid some great tackles himself. Two yes he got caught with it a couple of times but so do m Jones and viney (who seems to escape critisim because of his attack on the ball). Instead of the photo of him being tackled we might have equally referenced the play where he brilliantly avoided a tackle and won the ball in the forward pocket setting up an easy goal. Class

I am a fan of Joeboys post and accept them on face value understanding that they are opinion. they are a quick easy read that give you an immediate viewpoint of players performance. my humble suggestion is that all posters should comment on other posters as if they were addressing the other person face to face. its just to easy and almost cowardly to throw mud around from behind a keyboard. so often posters get derailed due to bruised ego's and really what amounts to childish indignation. personal slanging matches are just tiresome and take away from the good information and opinions provided on this site.

My son's a happy camper today... being in Sydney we obviously couldn't get to the Family day, but as I detailed in an earlier post somewhere, the club arranged a signed Dees jumper (most players from what I can tell) and a card signed my Nathan Jones. They arrived the other day and I presented them to him today... made his day!! So despite the issues that have been discussed in this and other threads, the club does get it right hopefully more often than they get it wrong. Not sure if these links to Instagram are for general consumption, but here are a couple of shots of the booty: https://instagram.com/p/0Rz_NpKIL8/ https://instagram.com/p/0R0T8sKIMQ/

I enjoy your comments joeboy even when I disagree keep up the good work.

Looks like Col Garland is the new whipping boy of Demonland. Hope he proves you all wrong!

You cannot compare River's to Clark and Frawley, River's left because of Mark Neeld. I was a massive fan of River's i wish he was still with us.

Has a familiar ring to it. Just like Scully, Trengove, Gysberts, Tapscott and Blease would surpass Nathan Jones.

I sat next to Colin at a function once a few years ago. Every time I have seen him since he has come up and said hello to me. Not only is he friendly he has a freakish memory.

Both he and Salem showed they are in an elite level of skill and footy sense. The same is true of Jack Watts. All will have their time, maybe this year, maybe next, but they are seriously talented boys.

I went with my daughter and had a great time. Really enjoyed chatting with Jack Watts - he is so lovely. Also met Sam Frost - he is a lovely humble guy as well. Had lots of photos with many of the guys and they were all so obliging. The best thing for me was that my daughter, who for the past 10 or so years claimed to be a Collingwood supporter has finally seen the light and took out a Melbourne membership today. She has finally seen the light and I have welcomed her back to the fold!

There seems little doubt that the Casey Scorpions of 2015 will be a far different proposition to the side that limped through much of last season to finish second last, ahead only of the now defunct Bendigo Gold. On that performance, the club would be ranked last among the remaining VFL clubs but, after a shaky opening few minutes, the team settled down well against one of the competition's power house combinations and maintained control for much of the game. Their accuracy in front of goal was a stand out. Gone were the hesitancy and poor decision making of a team that was often undermanned, inexperienced and outclassed side playing poor directionless football and in its place were bigger bodies and a new style of more direct purposeful football under new coach Justin Plapp. They held on against the wind to win well by 20 points - 10.2.62 to 5.12.42. There was only a small contingent of AFL listed players with rejuvenated big man Cam Pedersen relishing the game against his old VFL club and dominating all over the ground, particularly up forward where he was in fine marking form and got among the goals. Angus Brayshaw was the most impressive of the young recruits. Playing in the middle, he showed class and balance and dominated the centre clearances with great effect. His second term was outstanding. He has clean hands and delivered the ball well given the gusty conditions and relished playing under Plapp, his 2014 coach at the Sandringham Dragons. James Harmes was effective coming out of defence and Oscar McDonald, playing mainly up forward moved well and kicked a goal early. Billy Stretch on a wing was quiet but had a few good runs and looms as a future outside player who will no doubt be groomed to emulate the Lewis Jetta/Isaac Smith type of player in the future. Jake Spencer rucked strongly, assisted by Jack Fitzpatrick who filled in up forward for short periods. Skipper Evan Panozza played his usual workmanlike role in defence with occasional stints up forwards. Mitch Gent, who was sidelined by injury last year, was in good form and Tim Smith took a couple of his trademark hangers. Ed Morris and Bryce Rutherford look to be kicking on from their break out seasons of last year. Lucas Walmsley was the stand out among the recruits. He has pace and poise, kicked the first goal and showed out and with his shock of blond dreadlocked hair is sure to become a crowd favourite. Other recruits who caught the eye were Jack Hutchins ex Gold Coast, returning Gippsland Power player Tom Muir who spent last year in Adelaide, James Munro from Sandringham and Luke Hannon who skippered Eastern Ranges last year and was a teammate of injured Demon recruit Christian Petracca. Jordan Moncrieff, the son of ex-Hawthorn forward Michael, is a likely type at 197cm. The side was missing experienced Shannon Byrnes and Will Petropoulos and will have much greater depth in 2015 but the main difference between the Scorps of last year and this year is the purpose and spirit of the players. They have a greater desire to succeed. At the final break, Plapp called upon them to maintain their intensity and show the opposition no respite and they managed to do that against a very strong side. They mastered the conditions, kicked well for goal and deserved the result.

Playing this farce makes me angry.

2016 centreline Lovett Viney Stretch Reads beautifully.

Paige Cardona looks at the upcoming father/son prospects and one of them is the son of an old Demon favourite:- AFL Bloodlines: Father-sons

Too many grey areas, too many liars, cheats, too much pressure to succeed. You start letting one or two off lightly then everyone will plead they are simpletons. There's a list. Don't take what's on it, or pay the price.

I'd agree with elements of this post. But at the end of the day, you can only play the game in front of you. The week before I think we matched, if not exceeded the intensity of one of the top teams in the comp in Freo.

no one seems too worried about Crowley's privacy...

No one's asking for War and Peace here Dommy. It's just that your posts are entirely unintelligible without punctuation. I'm sure I'm not the only one struggling to read them. A full stop here and a comma there would make all the difference. The only exception is Dee-Luded, whose posts are excused because of excessive acid use in the 70s.

You would not meet a bloke more passionate about the club than Col Garland. He has an intimate knowledge of our club's history and puts a lot of time into programs such as Read like a Demon. Col bleeds red and blue.

I would have gone if I'd known Saty would be there. I want him to autograph my scooter.

Toumpas may not make it but comparisons between him and Sylvia are off the mark. Sylvia didn't make it because of his attitude. Toumpas certainly doesn't have that problem.

Toumpas - missing from analysis Cross - also not included Joeboy - perhaps not watching

I thought Garland played a pretty decent game on the weekend from what I saw. Not quite back to the form of a couple of years back, but certainly a good contributor on the day.

Cocaine is an effective pain killer.

Crowley tested positive afte Round 17 and yet accepted a provisional suspension after September which enabled him to play in Freo's 2 losing finals. Why was he allowed to play these games after testing positive?

That substance must be superglue .

Crazy isn't it? Col comes across as very honest when he speaks and I have heard him give some fantastic interviews. Unlike some fake twats, he seems to have a genuine love of the club and has spoke about how much it hurt when we were losing so bad. His body language hasn't changed, it was the same regardless of form.

Sadly it seems to be working with many people wanting it all to end and blaming ASADA/AFL for the delays. But I suspect the real reason is that delays allow enough time for the list to turnover to minimise the damage.

I know this is the internet and everything, but is it too much to ask for a little punctuation?

Some idiot presenters on ABC radio basically saying everyone should get off because this has taken so long. No mention of Hird & co's delaying tactics. Doubtless if the players were convicted quickly they'd be complaining that the process must be shonky to have been determined so fast.

Somewhat fortuitously I only got to see the first half (streamed, not live). All I could think was what it must have been like to be a supporter of pretty much any other club playing Melbourne in the Neeld era. It's amazing how good you can look when under minimal pressure.

I am happy for him to build his game and develop, rather than being seen as the big white hope. They have always let us down when we expect too much.The kid can play and we will see it soon enough.

Very interested to see if Dawes plays against peptide fill ins given that he's suspended for season opener. I can't see how Vince nor Howe could be considered at this point. My current guess with one preseason game to go: B: Jetta - Dunn - Frost HB: Grimes - T. McDonald - Salem C: Lumumba - N. Jones - Toumpas HF: Watts - Pedersen - Kennedy-Harris F:Gawn - Hogan - Garlett Foll: Jamar - Tyson - Viney I/c: Cross - Newton - Garland Sub: Kent Emerg: Michie - Bail - M Jones

Wines would've got 25 disposals, 11 marks, 5 tackles and 109 SC points.

24 Disposals, 10 Marks, 4 Tackles, 108 SC Pts. The Pie is Cooking. Ready for the Toump Haters. BYO Cutlery.

All the time is a slight exaggeration. He gets caught a little, true, but I think his ability to avoid those sorts of situations will come with more experience. 24 touches and 10 marks is a positive sign for him, as he hasn't been a huge accumulator for us since he was drafted. The good far outweighed the bad from yesterday.

What's your beef with the Toump Clint? It seems that you're going out of your way to denegrate his game from yesterday. Thought he had a positive impact for the most part.

Why would anyone do that?

Just got back. To be honest if you've got no kids and aren't a signature hunter there isn't much going on but I have kids and they love it. My 9 year old wasn't impressed with col garland she thought he was a grumpy old man. Best on ground has to go to toumpass. If anyone hasn't spoken to him before they should. He is a great bloke and is very engaging with kids. He and JKH had a booth at the demon army tent and we're getting photos done with kids wearing wigs and not taking themselves too seriously. My daughter loves the toump so she got his number on her back. I took her friend from school with us and converted her to a Melbourne supporter so today was a success.

A great day at a country footy match! Friendly crowd, mostly standing and mostly Dees I thought but none of the intermingled Bully supporters managed to annoy me. Maybe the fact that Ballarat provided a sunny day for possibly the first time ever had something to do with it. The drink tent was a real nostalgia trip with the local "Ladies Committee" serving full strength coldies out of an ice tub. The only sour note was that I had to endure Biffen's company and BO but more of that on another thread. Despite missing the first 10 minutes, obviously the first half was the highlight of the game. And the highlight of that for me was JKH. It was easily the best I've seen of him and he showed real poise and confidence . He could be a surprise packet this year. Jetta looked the goods again and Frost is top pick up. Frost is also easily distinguished as he has jug ears like Adam Gilchrist. Lumumba showed pace and the ability to be where the ball is. A full season from him will add a lot of bite out defence/midfield. And talking of pace means Garlett - another top selection I reckon. While I'm not going to pre order finals tickets just yet I did see enough to give me genuine confidence in team improvement and competitiveness this year.

What I've learnt thus far… Spread. The first half was the best I’ve seen a Melbourne side attack and spread in a long time. I think watching via the stream it’s difficult to glean how much that 5 goal wind had the capacity to effect kicking skills, but, in the main, I thought we transitioned the footy very well and opened up space and opportunities through spread and hard running. It helps when you’ve got tall targets, as they are the driver in giving the team confidence to move the ball quickly. Salem and Toumpas play far better football when they’re behind the ball. Toumpas is very much a confidence player with a long way to go, but the more he feels he belongs and the more he touches the leather the better he’ll get. He’s poor in a one on one contested situation, but with experience he’ll play to his strengths and hopefully become a reliable distributor. Salem has a harder edge and while he too needs to improve his decision making, we’ve potentially found an elite half-back, who has the capacity to push through the midfield as his career develops. For the first time in a long time I didn’t have apoplexy when Grimes had the footy. It was a break-through for Jack and a much needed boost for his confidence. Hogan is still a little rusty, but when he gets his timing right he’ll impact plenty of quarters. Even a little off his impact is palpable. He has a Neitz-like on-field presence that will greatly benefit the likes of Dawes, Watts and Pedersen. Garlett’s a terrific acquisition and he’ll salivate at the prospect of scouting Hogan-impacted contests. I like Newton. The club is trying to develop him in a more outside role, which threatens to reduce his early numbers. He’s most comfortable inside the contest with his nose over the footy, but they reckon we’re reasonable well off in that regard and want to capitalise on his quality left foot. We’ve already seen enough to know that Garlett, Lamumba, Frost, Newton, and van Demon (thanks to another poster) are going to be quality additions. This will be Watts’ best year for the club. As the third or fourth tall he has the capacity to be a nightmare for the opposition. His frame is clearly the strongest it’s looked, with both upper and lower body strength significantly improved. Thankfully, the midfield experiment is over. I’m looking forward to a 40 goal year. Some will consider this ambitious, however, with a defined role, undoubted footy smarts and superb goal-kicking accuracy, two goals a game isn't setting the bar too high. More importantly, this has to be the type of impact required. Intensity is the key for Jack. Brendan McCartney, in particular, has the ability to bring out the best in him. Matt Jones, McKenzie and Bail are solid servants, but they’re below the quality required to make a charge up the ladder. The club knows this, but their attributes will get them games until the likes of Brayshaw, ANB, Stretch and, of course, Petracca consign them to the past. We know what we’re going to get from the aforementioned and unfortunately it’s sub-optimal. I’d get Brayshaw into the team as quickly as possible. As Greg Chappell once said, the best way to learn how to play test cricket is to play test cricket. He should be over his head knocks and the quicker he’s in the team the better. I’m not as concerned by the abysmal second half as some. 220 disposals in the first half to 110 indicated that when we play with the intensity and to the structures they've trained over summer they can play effective two-way footy. It only takes one player to break down well-rehearsed zones. Combined with reduced intensity or changed personnel at stoppages we saw what can happen. In modern footy momentum can be difficult to withstand. They gave the Dogs a sniff and their tails subsequently went up. It’s a timely reminder to coaches and players as to what we can expect when you stop tackling, running and defending. The coaches would rather the opportunity to dissect this game now than after round 1. Tackling is the one area our better mids need to keep an eye on. Your best 6 should aspire to average at least 4 tackles per game, but preferably 5+. Tyson is a revelation, but he needs to improve his tackling numbers. I’m not as critical with the odd miskick as some, but I do want to see his tackling efforts improve. He’s adept at getting first possession at a stoppages and weaving, feigning, etc. until he gets that quick kick or handball out, but he can also sit back at times waiting to pounce. We are getting bigger and stronger, but we still need to raise the aggression stakes. Notwithstanding the exceedingly poor second half, I've seen enough already over the preseason with recruits, young players, hard running and spread to be quietly optimistic looking to the year ahead. Supporters’ emotions rise and fall too much over a quarter here or a half there. But it’s difficult to be overly critical with what they've had to endure.

But what if strong penalties leads to a cleaner AFL? How do we know that what Essendon has done hasn't been done before (or at least in a similar vein) What if this wake up call makes the AFL sit up and take notice and therefore becomes the world leader in terms of driving out drug cheats. Right now, to my way of thinking, the 5 biggest sports in terms of drug cheats are soccer, basketball, ice hockey, American football and baseball. And as far as I'm concerned, none of those 5 sports are doing anywhere near enough in terms of catching drug cheats in their respective sports. They all have a 'soft' agreement with WADA which leads to negligent testing standards and procedures and as for the penalties involved for drug cheats that are caught in those sports, soft again. If anyone cares to do their own research, they'll find I'm right. Right across the board, all sports need to do weekly blood tests if those sports are serious about weeding out the drug cheats. To a large extent, cycling and the olympic sports are doing this (plus, those sports have tough penalties) Their transparency comes at a price though (unfortunately) This Essendon saga does offer the opportunity for the AFL to lead the way (going forward)