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Who are you and what have you done with old dee?

I'll be awake and hoping to see the number 186 exceeded. Because no matter how bad a team is going, they're not as bad as we were, and I can't be truly happy until another bunch of supporters are as miserable as we were.

Dear diary! Today on Demonland I bagged out Toumpas for the hundredth time and put a line through Trengove! After that I had a cup of tea and a lie down!! Productive day!! picket fence!

Wish some posters would never post again...Good stuff Trenners, let's hope the foot continues to heal and you come back better and stronger than ever.

This from Wayne Carey this morning: When Hogan was lining up for one of his three goals against the Doggies last week, rival skipper Robert Murphy was apparently doing his best to put him off by screaming "You can't miss this, you're Melbourne's great white hope". Indeed, in his 16th season, Murphy probably had every reason to believe that sledging a first-year player might work. Which is why Hogan's response, after kicking the goal, is truly priceless. "And there's your great white hope," he retorted, pointing to Tom Boyd, who was sitting on the Dogs' bench at the time.

DOn't know if its already been posted but I am happy with this Jack will be back: Trengove to stay with Dees in 2016 http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-05-29/jack-will-be-back-trengove-to-stay-with-dees-in-2016-

Could you shut up? When was the last time you watched a melbourne game? Toumpas is coming off a 2 goal, 20 disposal 8 tackle 3 inside 50 game, yet you're still giving him stick. We get it, you don't like him. Your last 400 posts all fins a way to criticize him. Give up man. Go and run a bath, have a cup of tea, change your diet to something with lower cholesterol- your blood pressure is through the roof over 3 players last week that played their roles. Give us a spell of you incessant, tiresome drivel and focus on some of the good. Ffs

Its also stupid. I reckon there have been one or two selection blunders this year - Mackenzie coming in and not being used to balnket Fyfe being one example but last week Roos got it spot on. People scratched their head at Fitzy, Bail and Jones coming in. But all 3 decisions turned out perfectly because all 3 played their assigned role perfectly. Which is why all 3 have been selected this week (and perhaps why Michie has been dropped when seemingly playing ok ie not playing his assigned role). Despite Roos saying it for nearly 2 years and every player repeating like a mantra in interviews some posters do not seem to get that the key expectation is that every player does their assigned role. Criticizing the selection of Bail and Jones (who both by the way do the other key expectation of Roos - hard gut running both ways) is essentially saying Roos is an idiot who doesn't really know what he is doing. Such criticism also suggests some people 'watch' games of football but don't realty understand what is going on.

Adam Goodes gets continually/regularly booed because he is an arrogant, self centred [censored]. NOT because he is of indigenous heritage. If he was caucasian the boos would remain the same.

It's the detail that makes this such a compelling argument...

I think everything that has happened to Jack proves the existence of the Melbourne incompetence 2009-2014. I'd bet anything that the pressure put on him is a contributor to the foot getting to the point that it did - I wonder how forthcoming he felt he could be about the state of his body when he thought the club was relying on him? Not to mention the fact that we (apparently) didn't even know he was injured when we tried to pack him off to Richmond. This is the first time in his career that I think the club has done the right thing by the guy, that's why I personally am so pleased for him and glad that the club has handled this in this manner, finally. Let's hope it's not too little too late.

Agreed - apparently we know better than a coach who has been doing his job for a long period time with a fair degree of success. But I just find the labelling of players as a "spud" and the like offensive, Jordie McKenzie is a player who has not been able to replicate his VFL form at AFL level. He doesn't find enough of the ball at AFL level and his disposal can be sketchy - that is fair and reasonable criticism - if posters don't agree that's also fine. Saying Jordie is a spud is disrespectful and offensive and says more about the poster than it does about the player.

https://twitter.com/melindayasso/status/604250127121809408 Not sure that link will work, but it sums up my thought exactly. There's has been so many people this week saying the boos are because he was chosen as Australian of the Year and dared to use that platform to bring attention to indigenous issues/concerns. They obviously are happy to be amazed and entertained by indigenous players on the sporting field, but don't want those same people to get a voice and talk about indigenous problems. I just don't buy it is because of anything he's done or continues to do n the footy field. The game is full of players who play unpopular footy (playing for frees etc), and they get booed occasionally , but the booing of Goodes is at entirely a new level. And people saying he shouldn't have picked on a 13 year old girl, seriously? He reacted to racist abuse and would have had no way to know anything about the person saying it. 13 years old in no excuse any way.

I suspect neither you nor Dunstall have been subject to systematic racism throughout your whole life. It's no coincidence that it's always the white, heterosexual males who say things like this.

And I get called a pervert - can't work it out!

You are implying that every single boo he receives, which is literally thousands, are all directed at him because of his race?! Rubbish. Some, perhaps. Most, no. So i guess Ballentine gets booed because he is white? Same with Crowley etc. Plenty of other indigenous players playing tonight, Yarran, Jetta etc. Are they being booed? No.

Honestly, you are the biggest stick in the mud. We all know there's a chance he'll struggle to get back, we don't need you to remind us, especially at a moment where he's just been given some good news and the club has backed him in. Timing of comments is everything and yours stinks.

Wery subtle Ethan, I'll do some code breaking - but I'm sure I'll come up with Moonshadow.

Without giving too much away, all I'll say is I quoted him and his name starts with Picket and ends with Fence.Trenners to start running in two months. He might get a run in the prelim final.

I'm picking up some very subtle undertones in there somewhere ...

Good one MW. A life of lads!

I was 8 years old in 1987 and I remember sights and sounds before that day which when I look back was almost like an initiation into becoming a Melbourne supporter. The red seats, the unique smell of the bowels of the Olympic stand, the kid I used to play kick to kick with at the top of the stairs (underneath the cameraman..i think his name was Ryan. His family sat a couple rows in front of ours) before the MCC official would boot us to the bottom of the stairs to play kick to kick outside the change rooms. Hocko down the front with the double handed "Melbourne" chant and his famous Hocko's demons 45 hoodie. Hanging over the thick concrete over the race trying not to slip stretching as far as I could just to brush the shoulder of any player I could get to but was always trying for Robbie. Barry King talking to my dad on the door before we went up the stairs, sitting with Dads mate Bob most games. It was the best...I loved every second of it. Prelim Final day my whole family ventured off to VFL Park yet I was omitted due to the flu. So there I was in my nanas kitchen, in my PJ's thinking "I could be going to my first grand final next week!" I remember listening to the game in my grandmothers kitchen and in that last quarter the commentators almost sighing in disbelief in the goals we missed. Then when Bucks marked the ball I heard the siren over the radio..."I was screaming to my nana (God rest her soul) "the sirens gone...the sirens gone!!" Then the 15 meter penalty occurred and the noise through the radio was a cacophony of siren, crowd and commentators all trying to get over the top of each other. The goal sails through and I started to cry. All I kept saying to my grandmother was "but the siren went...the siren went nana!" and I was crushed. Even at 8 years old I knew how far we had come and close we were. About 2 hours later my parents came to pick me up and it was like someone had died in the family. We had that game…we had it!!! We had it in our grasp and we lost it!! My parents didn’t say anything as we got in the car and went home. I’ve watched the full game only once about 5 years ago and whilst Jimmy will be forever remembered for running over the mark, we had so many other opportunities to win that game by about 3 goals. I’ve never blamed Jimmy and I never will, we were a team that had all the momentum but not the nerve to ice the game, we didn’t have finals experience. I’m 36 now and I hope one day we can reach the promised land so I can tell my 8 year old self that the siren has gone and we won and nearly 30 years of heartache and pain will be replaced by pure joy and celebration.

Lance have you seen the Nick Mckenzie interview with Dank ? Dank talks openly about giving tb4 before being told by the reporter it is banned . Have a look there is no way he was talking of another substance as claimed after .The triibunal was satisfied of this . There are a few articles that simply relay the facts of this story . A Google search will help . This is one of the reasons it frustrates so many people who want a clean game and are disappointed with the Essendon campaign to avoid being sanctioned . It's simple - the players were given a tb4 by a clown scientist who thought he was ahead of the game and wasn't . And the club should never have allowed a risky program like that . Cop the whack and move on . There are many here including myself who would want all officials coaches etc involved if it happened at our club banned for life no matter who it was . There is a bigger picture here and Essendon have been selfish and arrogant to fight the inevitable

He is at the bottom of the Yarra and I knew his pin!

COULD NOT BE HAPPIER Look, it may turn out to be a bust, but at some stage you have to reward quality people, and if anyone deserves an opportunity (and will make every possible moment one to repay the faith) it's JT. Good bloke, cruelled by injury and the burden of a bad environment. Imagine if the best of Jack was on display next year. Will be the highlight of any recruiting/list management action if it happens for me. Good luck JT!!!

Hey OD stick to the topic! What was the topic? Oh yes, collective nouns. a sense of humours?

Around and around in circles we go. Whether or not the players are found guilty, what records were kept and what weren't, who leaked what to the media, who's at fault for delays in the proceedings, whether 'Lance' is a stooge or 'Lance' isn't, what level of proof CAS require, what AD said on the phone to Evans, whether Hird and his misses are psychopaths or not............etc. etc. etc.... Until the EFC can say what the players were given then this really will never be over. To me that's the real issue...What were the players given.

Carey very kindly neglected to mention that Boyd was wearing the red vest at the time, with only 1 disposal next to his name. Will be ok, Boyd, but I stand by what I posted pre-draft, that he was massive and beating up on kids who couldn't compete with his reach, without doing anything particularly impressive. He has some good attributes, but he doesn't have "it." Jesse has "it."

I prefer to call them Australian...

I think if anyone was going to make it back its Trengove, incredible character and a great leader of the club and I think on that and his potential upside is well worth the risk of another short term deal, be it as a senior list player on less money or a rookie selection.

M.Jones and Bail are there to prevent port's run out of the back line, thats where they set up their play, Bail and Jones will sacrifice their own games for the team, like they did against the Dog's, let's back them in again for the same performance and pressure they did last week. Their not world beaters but their best we have at the moment!

It's definitely imminent. I can feel it too. Won't be too disappointed if it happens on the QB weekend when I'll be present. First time at the MCG since 2008. Can't wait.

Well actually I am a pervert Ethan. Have to fess up sometime.

He is too talented to not give the opportunity, imagine if we delisted him and he found top form at another club, demon land would blow up

I really hope there is fairytale ending for him and the club given all the misfortunes he and the club have shared.

Who does this Roos guy think he is. By the way he carries on you'd think he's played 350+ games, in the top 50 players of all time and coached a side to its first premiership.

Whered you hear that? Id like to know why its taken them so long. If it was my son Id have dragged Essendon into court long ago. Theres no defense for not being able to tell a human being what was injected into them Its criminal.

Personally I'm not fussed if Hogan kicks a bag or not. If he has 21 possession, 9 marks, 8 score involvements and 2-3 goal games every week I'll be ecstatic. The ideal would be a triple-double - 20+ possessions, 10+ marks, 10+ score involvements.

Okay, but did you really need to bump a 9 year old thread to post this?

disagree - - they are not only old and boring but I think more importantly - they are just offensive. Just as easy to say - I don't like Bail selection in the team - he turns the ball over too much and doesn't get meaningful possessions. Critiquing a player is fine but calling a player a spud is just plain wrong.

Pundits on social media may well be right when they predict this game to be like the "red wedding" episode from Game of Thrones.

Congrats to WJ and family with another grandson via his daughter Emily. On WJ's birthday as well.

bet you don't

These sort of comments are getting really old and boring.Get over it.

I'm running early with this thread to assist those who are hanging out for a Friday night televised Carlton game. By some strange anomaly, the Blues are playing the Swans up in Sydney in that one this week and Sportsbet's really tempting punters to p1zz their hard earned down the toilet with odds of $18 a Carlton win. Their team has some handy "ins" in Carrazzo, Henderson, Walker and Graham to balance the following players who will be missing from last week's near record 77 point loss to Geelong - Warnock (hip), Marc Murphy (calf), Bryce Gibbs (back), Chris Judd (knee). The Swans have made one relatively insignificant change. Because the odds are so extraordinarily one sided, I've emailed Sportsbet and asked them to run a book on what time I fall asleep during the telecast. At the moment, quarter time is even money.

I see the AFL have cleared Trigg on any wrong doing with Betts. Wow there is a surprise took them two days. If it was the MFC the investigation would take six months and conclude they did not break the rules but here is a half $million fine.

And I still continue to ask how the hell did Carlton get virtually every Friday night game this year. Thanks for ruining my viewing pleasure AFL & Channel 7.

Last year the junior footy team one of my grandsons played with trained on an oval next to the Sandringham Dragons so when I was down there, I would occasionally take the opportunity to watch Angus Brayshaw at training along with Tyler Roos and a couple of others. One of the "others" turned out to be Harley Balic (187cm/80kg) who happened to be a bottom ager by only a handful of days. Later on, he was one of two players who did work experience training with Melbourne so he's definitely already been under the watchful eyes of Paul Roos and our recruiting staff. He's also in a similar mould to Brayshaw in size and is an all round sportsman (he was a star junior at basketball). He has some special, almost freakish, talents which will make him very highly sought after at draft time. He's more of a half forward at the moment but can also go into the midfield and if he develops properly, he could become a Nat Fyfe type in the AFL. I know that's a big statement but, already in this year's national champs, he's been named as Vic Metro's best (27 disposals) in their opening game last weekend. I think he's relishing being in a quality team at this level because the Dragons have been a bit ordinary this year. Definitely worth keeping an eye on this bloke and I hope he follows in Gus' footsteps and finds his way to Melbourne.

In my opinion both Riley and Newton had better games than Bail and Matt Jones last week (even though I acknowledge their defensive roles on Johannisen and Murphy respectively). So while I was a bit surprised both remained in the side, I think it must be a horses for courses decision. People have correctly pointed out that Port are a quick side and a hard running side, so to counter that you need good runners in your side. But another factor is where we are playing - not only will it be mid 20s but from memory it was quite a big ground. You have to have players that can cover the ground over four quarters. So while I think Riley and Newton were more deserving of a game, they are both slow and don't cover the ground particularly well. This to me seems the motivation for the selection.