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Got a call from my Perth based nephew last night, and asked him to post the info here so it didnt sound 3rd hand, but it seems he was too lazy, so i will do it myself. He was talking to a customer at work, and got onto the subject of footy. Of course being a Dees member, he had to talk about Hogan. Long story short, after mentioning to the guy that he hopes Freo and Methcoast keeps thier hands off, the guy replied with something along the lines of this......(paraphrasing) "Nah mate, my son is best mates with Hoges, and travelled over with about 15 other mates to watch him play his first game. He absolutely loves the Dees, and has said he intends to be a one club player. He is not leaving. No way" Anyway, made me smile. Hope that helps. Will try to get him to add anything of interest.

Heard off a friend today the club was interested in putting an extension Infront of tommy Mac

Harley Bennell tried to fight Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson at Brownlow Medal Counthttp://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/harley-bennell-tried-to-fight-herald-suns-mark-robinson-at-brownlow-medal-count/story-e6frf33l-1227346010331 That settles it then, much better bloke than I thought he was, we must obtain his services.

Wrong question (whether meant as a joke or as a genuine inquiry). Instead, (can I suggest) ask "what was it he did that got him picked?" The selectors would have an answer, I am quite certain. "Selection" is selecting - it's not a process of rejecting/punishing; it's not a TV elimination game. Slightly different point - my question: what's wrong with so many of us on here, that we are so negative, so anti our own players? So focused on punishment rather than on growth? Sure the team's been down for a while, but maybe what's going on is we have been infiltrated by TV-land's love affair with bullying and drawn-out rituals of exclusion/elimination. Some of us sound like our default is to hover in judgement and barrack for destructions. Real wise-guy knockers, marketed as supporters. Change channels/mindsets, snipers - Roos is in charge, and he still does not see it the way you do. (Even here on Demonland, requests for a dislike button go unheeded: the forum still won't facilitate split-second disapproval...) Or walk away... success ain't gonna grow out of denigration.

Grimes was on Mayne for 3 qtrs who had his best game in years. He also had 4 clangers from his 10 disposals. He is no longer best 22. That is why he was dropped. Its quite sad to see his demise as he has been a favourite of mine for years, but i feel his papers have been stamped already and if he is not traded he may end up delisted.Looking forward to seeing Stretcher, hope he has the same impact that Brayshaw has had in his first few games!

It's his 3rd year and 20th game ... he'll get more than one more chance Wyl. Nearly every ex footballer worth his salt will tell you that a player needs 60-70 games before they have firmly established themselves in the big time. Tom McDonald has always shown something but he's only now really starting to hit his straps - he's played 65 games. If Toumpas can snag 15-18 possessions with a half decent DE rate he will have done well in terms of re-starting his career - others who are established in the side and the other leaders need to show the way. We have a number of players in the side who need to hit their best form. Let's also remember he's the 21st or 22nd player picked in the side. People here need to calm down a tad and show a degree of patience ... I understand that our patience has been tested previously but we can't lose sight of how things are normally done with draftees. Having said all that, I'm hoping that Toumpas can be established in the side at least by year's end. Edit: grammar

Neitz is still criminally underrated by the wider footballing community. 300 games, 600 goals, AA at both FF and CHB... the list goes on. Neitz was an absolute gem and a beast in his prime. Always felt the players walked taller when he was in form.

In Round 1, this was "the strongest team we've fielded in years". In Round 6, we're suddenly "not a very strong team". Jamar is 30+ years old. We need to prepare for life after Jamar. Spencer and Gawn *need* to play and find a place in AFL football. We don't have another choice. Jamar has been dropped. He hasn't been rested. What does he do that's any better than what Spencer can do? Let's not pretend like Jamar has ever been a turning point in a match for us. We need to find a way to get experience into our ruckmen. Spencer has played 5 seasons. Let's compare him to Jamar's first 5 seasons. Hitouts: Jamar - 11.3, 7.3, 7.5, 10.2, 9.7 Spencer - 12, 20.1, 26.6, 28.6 (didn't play in 2011) Disposals: Jamar - 6, 4.7, 3.4, 4.4, 6.2 Spencer - 7.5, 9.3, 10, 8 Spencer undoubtedly needs time in the AFL now. He is Jamar's replacement. Deal with it. Jamar's inclusion in the team isn't going to help us win games. What have we got to lose then? Spencer is the player we drafted to replace White, not Jamar. He's taken long to come on but his time is now. I am encouraged by him being in the side. Spencer isn't great, but Jamar is worse imo seeing as how average he has for a a player with 13 years experience.

I'll make a judgement after Hogan plays another 295 games

He isn't up to scratch, but really calling an AFL listed player a 'dud' is most offensive and shows no respect for the enormous amount of hard work he has put in over the years.

Players association (Aflpa) proposing an equalisation fund to distribute the wealth more evenly among the clubs, a la the NFL model. Eddie threatens to quit. What a win for the game, Eddie goes and the competition does not get divided into the haves and have nots like the NFL system. What so others think? Is this equalisation good for the game or not?

Jizzo was a master of the slap stick. Probably still does.

That's the thing that concerns me. A sports scientist arranges for drugs to be supplied by a Chinese manufacturer who produces TB4 i.e. the "bad" Thymosin and the Tribunal which claims to be comfortably satisfied that the players didn't ingest the "good" Thymosin can't conclude that the sports scientist injected the product that one purchases from that manufacturer. They simply don't know. It's like going to the milk bar, asking for a bottle of milk, getting a bottle with white liquid that has all the attributes of milk and the court saying they're not comfortably satisfied that you purchased milk. Redleg who has years of experience in the court system will tell you that judges who determine cases will sometimes pluck decisions like that out of their proverbials when it suits them.

I think it is a reflection of Aaron. It is also a reflection of our list that he could go past so many, so quickly.

Very much consistent with what he's told my friend, loves the Dees, wants to repay the faith we have shown in him, also well aware of how high we value him, he will be well paid regardless.

One suggested cure for insomnia: use the advanced search function to find Picket Fence + Toumpas and begin reading his collected posts.

No, not weird at all but rather, consistent with everything that's been revealed about a system of administering substances into the bodies of a team of elite athletes at a professional sporting club in this country attended by shady figures with underworld connections to banned drugs. What's weird are the conclusions of the AFL Tribunal which was apparently comfortable about drawing no inferences surrounding the conduct and the knowledge of these shady figures concerning information on the substances that were administered at the Essendon Football Club and have mysteriously have gone missing.

Seems to me that Roos is all about impacting the game in some way. Jamar - Surprised that he was dropped, but Spencer was BOG for mine at Casey last week, and he and Jamar can't play in the same team. Grimes - Anyone who thought that he played well against Freo are kidding themselves. For starters, it's a 2 way game, and he provided nothing offensively, and didn't play on Ballantyne for most of the game, as many are suggesting. Michie - If you didn't look at the stats, you hardly notice him because he rarely hurts the opposition when he has the ball. He's also slow across the ground. Riley doesn't offer much more than Michie, which is why he wasn't selected. McKenzie - Possible the most mind boggling selection in years. Toumpas - His 1st half against the Bombers last week was the most impressive display I've seen from him. Every disposal was spot on, and for the first time, he actually seemed to know what he wanted to do with the ball before he got it. Not sure why he went missing in the 2nd half. Stretch - Probably start as sub, but he has a quick burst of speed that will hopefully allow our inside mids an outlet at clearances.

They boo anything in colour

Having the most supporters in the country and a loaded fixture certainly helps grow your club. The MFC has the largest conversion of supporters to members in the AFL. That is a great effort on its own considering our last few years.

I would agree 100% as long as the fixture wasn't so weighted. Hard to make money of interstate oponents every year.

They are compliant, its as simple as that. The players get asked to do something, if they do it they will be rewarded. Stretch has been repeatedly called coachable. Toumpas allegedly been doing everything they've asked of him. Michie doesn't tackle and focuses on racking up possessions, I'll bet my bottom dollar one of the people in Roos' mind when he mentioned selfish was Michie.

I really don't get Roos and his selections. Last week we played Fremantle, one of the hardest running teams in the comp. So we play McKenzie and Michie, two absolute plodders who are great in a contest. This week we play Sydney, arguably the best contested side in the comp, so we bring in outside runners in Stretch and Toumpas and drop McKenzie and Michie. I'm glad to see Spencer get a game. Jamar has been next to useless outside the centre circle yet again this year. At least we know that Jake will run until he drops. I refuse to believe that Grimes is not in our best 22, and thought he was a long way from the worst last week. I would certainly have played him ahead of Toumpas.

Reckon Viv is stiff. 17 touches at DE of 88% (best). The most disposals 21. Ran with Fyfe for two quarters and whilst beaten provided contest. Certainly was not the worst out there last week by a long shot. His game the week before was exceptional. Think giving a bloke 2 games, one against the best in the competition is pretty poor.

I guess that answers the question - How many Jesse Hogans does it take to beat Hawthorn? Now we just need to find another 4 and a half by next week...

I'm sure that's a temptation that most of the AFL community would have felt at some stage

It is an art form.

Melbourne participated in the greatest equalisation of all time by giving up their home ground in 1965 and subsequent years, allowing the hordes to invade us.

Staggering he is still in the team Will get monstered by the Swans players and avoid contact at all costs, like every week

Is it wrong to get morning wood about these things? Eh, I don't care if it is or isn't. I'll just enjoy it.

Oh, well that finalises it then

On Jamar and Spencer. Spencer is now 25 - he has played 29 senior games - it's now or never (as in this season). For me Jamar offers zero outside ruck contests. Spencer has been good at VFL level - all you can do is promote and hope he can bring the same form into the AFL. So far he hasn't but that shouldn't stop you promoting him. The most disappointing for me is Gawn - he has shown he has the most tools of all our ruckman but displays them with least consistency.

I can't wait to hear the commentators call Stretch's first mark.

If you want a vibrant and sustainable competition with equality of opportunity and uncertainty of outcome, the NFL model based around revenue sharing is the benchmark in professional world sport. If you want a parochial competition where those with the most money dominate the competition and oversaturate TV markets (like this year with Friday night footy) then Eddie's idea of equalisation is the way to go.

No. They were asked to perform. No surprise that Sandilands, Fyfe, Mayne and Mundy dominated the game for Freo and three of their four direct opponents have been dropped. Neither Grimes or McKenzie were asked to play in the ruck or at FB, so I don't get this comment at all. Both Grimes and McKenzie might have been regarded as depth at the start of the year, sadly it appears they may not even be that anymore. What role can either play given neither is particularly quick, not particularly skilful and don't get a lot of it. I don't get the comments about Jordie being a 'role' player i.e. tagger and therefor wasted as a sub. Who would he have played on, Fyfe, Mundy, Barlow? nope. Their most damaging mid is actually Hill, nope can't keep up with him or Pearce. Neale the only logical match up, but why bring a bloke in to tag their 5-6th best midfielder? He was brought in because he was in good form and unfortunately he didn't make the most of his limited chance. This is a perplexing comment... how so? We need two KPP in Hogan and Dawes and a relieving ruck Pedo. Frost is injured otherwise he gets the job. I assume Watts comes onto the ground when Spencer comes off. We've gone for outside pace in Toumpas & Stretch to replace types unable to provide the run and spread.

Heard him mentioned as the worst ever Coleman Medallist last week. That got me riled up.

Earl Spalding....

Toump was sent to casey with particular areas to work on in his game, it's possible he was always seem as best 22 and the coaches are now satisfied he has improved those areas?

The most moronic comment I have read on this site and that is saying something.

What a ridiculous and stupid statement.

Or after he kicks another 600-odd goals in the red & blue

Maybe his task was to keep away from the ball.

The ins show us that we are interested in making the team faster in the longer term. Fremantle won clearances with their size, and scored against us (early on when we were in the contest) with their speed. We are addressing the size, but we are also trying to improve the speed. Bringing in Stretch as early as they have is obviously because the players we have been playing have not been playing that hard running outside role well enough. Spencer comes in because you simply can't leave him out. If you want to promote people who are knocking on the door, then Spencer has knocked on the door, smashed it down and fashioned the splinters into a spear with which to impale Jamar. Big, strong, aggressive and applies excellent pressure all over the ground.

Disagree. We don't know everything about selection and what the coaches are looking for in a game. Disposals only tell one side of the story. Michie may have been given a task during the game that he didn't fulfill and, therefore, misses out for someone like Toumpas who the coaches feel is now more deserving of a game. Roos wants to set a standard and, for one reason or the other, Michie didn't reach that standard.

Once out of the ruck contest, Jamar offers very little. It's no surprise really.

Do something with the ball once he gets it.

Grimes wasn't curtailed by being captain. He's just a good vfl player that's all

I have to ask, 'what is the downside to football and the AFL if Eddie quits'? Is he one of the games greats? does he bring enormous amounts of money into the game? would anyone but Eddie care if he quit? what is he going to quit from? the Collingwood presidency? is he going to move all his interests out of AFL? where does his income come from? It seems to me that Eddie has done pretty well out of footy and he has more to lose...so off you go Eddie.

no way eddie would go - just bluster