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I was pretty impressed by the intensity and general standard of the match simulation. Our main issue is still going to be hitting targets by foot, but there were some nice passages of play; and the midfield is looking stronger. I'll eat a little humble pie with Frost, as he looked very good today as a leading/marking target in the forward-line. While I much prefer him in defence i was surprised by his forward-line work. His kicking for goal will be a bit hit or miss. Weideman moved very well, but he needs lots more strength in marking contests. A lot to look forward to, but he's a work in progress and I thought Oscar McDonald had his measure. I was impressed with Oscar today. BenKen ran on to some very good crumbs and used his pace. Tyson looks strong and was again prolific. He looks set for a superb season. Viney was fantastic. He turned one over for a goal when he used his right foot in defence, but overall he looked a class above what he was last year. His pace and tackling was first class. He's been freed up and I doubt he'll tag this year. Stretch is coming along nicely. As is Harmes who did some really good things in the midfield. Hunt's pace is an asset and he too found a bit of it. He butchered a couple by foot, but also hit some nice passes. Hoges was Hoges. Gawn was excellent, but he dropped two marks in the goal-square he should have taken. Clunked the third. He should really impact the scoreboard this year. Hulett continues to look a player. Bugg worries me. He turns it over with poor decisions and kicking. He'll get games, but I'm not a fan. Grimes was good. Played midfield. ANB fumbled today. Kent and Garlett did well. Kent has bulked up, but has maintained his pace and evasiveness. And a pat on the back to a player many of us feel is on his last legs. Terlich was very good - again. He gets lots of it and today hardly wasted a disposal. I've been a critic, but credit when it's due. He's been an excellent trainer throughout summer.

Went to training today, really good session, mostly the same drills, match simulation had umpires, Jack Viney tackled Tommy Mc again and resisted temptation to face plant him. Frost is definitely looking at being a forward, did match sim as forward and did goal kicking practice at the end of the session whilst rest were running, spoke to him, feellng really good. Stand outs for me today Hogan, Garlett, Grimes, Kent, Hunt and Matt Jones, quicker ball movement is what they are looking for with two or three options by hard running. There was one lovely coast to coast goal with Terlich being the one who had gut run to get himself alone in the centre square and he had options either side. Weideman and the rest of the young guys did some match sim, he put a really nice left foot step on Oscar Mc to round him and kick a nice goal. On the injury front Salem had slight issue with knee, same with Watts, Oliver is still growing so making sure we don't break him, Lumumba and Petracca are both a couple of weeks away from rejoining main group, Newton is back jogging, a few more weeks, Vince is being eased back in with his history of hamstring issues in preseason ... all this info from the players I asked. Will be putting up some pics on Twitter at Demonpk, any questions feel free.

What a smart alec reply. Sniping from your keyboard again. Proud of yourself? Why don't you just refrain from reading his comments and making inane comments so that those of who appreciate Saty's comments can take them on board for what they are worth.

By the time I arrived at Gosch’s at 10:30 the boys had been training for 45 minutes, so I missed the warm up and drills that followed. However, I did get to see the start of what was essentially an intra-club match (match sim) for the rest of the session. Three ‘quarters’ of approximately 20 minutes each with two AFL umpires officiating, one with curly hair and some other guy. Firstly, I didn’t sight Dawes, Vince, Oliver, Newton, White, or Petracca- not to say that they weren’t there earlier or were on the other side of the ground. Max King, Lumumba and Trengove were in the rehab group in front of where I was watching, over on the Punt Rd side of the ground. The remaining players were split into two teams- Green bibs: Hogan, Watts, Frost, Garlett, Kent, Kennedy-Harris, Gawn, Tyson, Viney, M. Jones, Grimes, Stretch, Hunt, Garland, Wagner, Jetta, O. McDonald. No bibs: Pedersen, Weideman, Hulett, Mitch King, Kennedy, Spencer, N. Jones, vandenBerg, Brayshaw, Michie, Harmes, Bugg, Neal-Bullen, Dunn, T. McDonald, Salem, Terlich. I may have got a couple of those mixed up because I wasn’t taking notes but they’re pretty right. Saty and ProDee have summed it up well. A few other things I noticed: JKH started ‘on the bench’, came on to a contest in the goal-square and went straight off with something wrong with his upper leg/groin. He lasted less than 5 minutes. Terlich was good at buttering up and running out of congestion. A couple of less players on the field seems to suit a player like him. Garland turned the ball over a couple of times- missing kicks to dangerous spots that resulted in rebound goals. As ProDee pointed out, both teams were guilty of this but I guess the one positive was that conversely they were able to take full advantage of the error and quickly move the ball forward for a goal. vandenBerg knows where to run when his teammates have the ball. Gawn continued his great preseason, working hard up and down the ground. Although he may have dropped a couple of marks, he did take a nice contested mark in the goal-square and also took a nonchalant one-hander running into goal on the end of a good passage of play. Hunt and Harmes were good- they tried hard and although they made a few mistakes they kept backing themselves and taking the game on. Selection for the first few rounds is going to be very interesting. Weideman uses his body well in marking contests but just couldn’t hang onto the ball today. Hulett shows promise- he is a natural forward. Viney’s tackle on T.Mac was beautiful. Tommy, as he does quite often, took too long to kick and Viney grabbed his wrist and right hip and just pulled him to ground. Not as brutal as the tackle on Tuesday, but as effective.

Some footage of Trengove training here.

https://instagram.com/p/BBrEocuqxhG/

I went along today as well and left after the match sim. Most of it's been covered but I'll toss in a few observations. Really liked the look of the Weed. When he puts on some size he'll waltz straight into the team. Mitch King played a little in the match sim but was on and off a bit. Good kick for a big (skinny) lad and moves well. Like the Weed, he'll be an asset down the track. IMO Max King has put on more kgs (whoever was asking). I thought Salem was very quiet and was going to say he looked underdone but it sounds like a (hopefully minor) knee issue. Smith has a few tricks but looked pretty lost out there. He was getting plenty of coaching throughout, mostly telling him where he should be. Played on the half backline. Grimes was in the midfield (it looked like he was last week to). Seemed to be lead to the ball to me. Makes me think a tagging role might be on the cards. I though Van Demon was outstanding. Perhaps not as prolific as some, but every move, kick etc was spot on. Always took the right option, was creative and executed well. Ben Ken used his speed well. Was a little Kent-like on the end of a slingshot - slotted a couple. Viv was OK with sharp disposal and Wagner looked the goods too with his disposal but lost his opponent once or twice. Viney and Tyson great too. I watched one of the drills where the backs and forwards were jostling for position with the ball coming in from the 50m. Dunn murdered Garlett. Mind you Dunn would've been pinged for holding more than once. Hogan murdered everyone. It was interesting to watch as most players were pretty intense and on the whole, impressive.

Really well, like Kent, looking fit and strong, a lot of voice from him at training, got a thumbs up from him as he left the session There is going to be some serious competition for spots The intra club is next Friday at Casey, that should show who Roos thinks is best 22 Just a note Terlich has to play out of skin this year, not surprised he is one of the strongest showings in preseason along with Matt Jones (note to Wiseblood, followed advice from a couple of other posters and put you on ignore, so put it away)

I saw all of the match sim - but missed the build-up stuff, but concur with most of what has been said and Terlich was probably BOG - Apart from twice intercepting errant Viney kicks, I think he was involved in almost every early goal for the no-bib side - which included the defensive A team. Grimes may have almost shaded him late in the day for BOG, although I'd reckon Viney was the most prolific - most turnovers too. The green bibs side had basically our forward set-up for Port Adelaide game - subject to no injuries. This was Hogan, Frost, Watts, Kent and Garlett. Only 5 because the sixth played up the ground. For those wondering if Hoges being Hoges meant he was starring, then I'm afraid he was having a day like against Carlton last year. In fact he even had to drift back to defence to get a kick or two after a quiet first but pitted against T-Mac or Dunny. The run and dash from Terls, Hunt and Wagner down back meant our B defense team looked pretty slick. The baulk Weeds did on Oscar was pretty nice and shows he knows what he'd doing. Hulet was very prominent and got on the end of a lot of breaknet speed breaks but in my view there was nothing mega special that stood out - he looks to me a very solid citizen though. Salem was good until rested, Watts laid a really strong tackle at one stage and showed he is over his quad setback. Kent led up ground like a full-forward and agree he might be a real livewire for us. One the down side I actually thought both Col and Oscar were very tentative and out of synch with the more-attack minded style Goody is trying to implement. On the positive side, the tackling and more so the ability to stick tackles was the best I have ever seen. This was a practice session and yet almost everyone of our midfielders laid at least a couple of strong tackles - Stretch and Viney laid about 10 each.

Maybe this should be their new away strip?

i wish people would stop quoting that photo, makes me want to cry every time I see it.

HAPPY 21st JESSE! May you long wear the RED and the BLUE

I forgot to mention most of the midfield. Nat Jones was his usual reliable self until instructed by Goody and switch the play which required a long kick - about 70m to Salem. He balls up kick massively and you could tell he was a little [censored]. A little later when Ben K was requiring a long kick down the line and Jones turned inboard and was caught in a tackle by Frosty, BK gobbed the skipper. Jones replied, what do you want, you were 80m away. I can't kick that f'n far. VB looked dangerous and has great speed. His kicking still lets him down a bit but gees I wouldn't want to play on him. He manned Dom Tyson and I've got to say that Dom did a great job and a couple of his passes were lace up to forwards on the move. With Vince out, Dom will play in the middle with Viney and Jonesy against Port. Vanders will be next one in the middle and probably Neal-Bullen the next after that. Brayshaw was again forced to bide his time on the wing/high half forward. Him and Stretch had a great duel. Michie was good also but like Angus had to do his time on a wing. Matt Jones provided a lot of dash from his wing. The only other comment is that Gawn looked like a Brownlow Medallist to me - even the trainee ump gave him a couple of frees that he barely deserved. I don't know what his odds are, but I reckon a lazy 10 on big Maxy is a very good speculative Brownlow bet.

That comment shows how ignorant Beveridge is of the facts of this case and like so many others he has clearly not read the CAS judgement. One of CAS's 16 'threads in the rope' was that players did have grounding: CAS highlighted they have ample AFL/AFLPA training on the WADA code, what not to take, who to talk to, what to declare to drug testers, where to check drugs etc. Player failure to follow any of this training (grounding) was a key reason why CAS could not entertain the 'we were duped' argument. Even if Beveridge is towing the company line, he should check his facts before making public comments and think about the message this is giving young kids in all sports.

Give Dawes a break - he got shafted by Collingwood when they recruited Quinten Lynch as their second key forward / ruck (who by the way was injury prone and only played 18 games over two seasons and kicked 18 goals). He has played 44 games and kicked 43 goals and at least is still on an AFL list. He topped our goal kicking in 2014 and has filled a hole for us whilst Jesse developed and busts his guts / gives his all for us when he is out there. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope he can really overcome the injury and show his worth to us all during this year. Personally I'd love to see him kick one after the final siren to beat the Pies by a point on Queens Birthday!

I was there for about an hour and a half from 10.30ish and the match sim was under way. Just some observations and a spoiler alert, I can get pretty excited at this time of year, so maybe the hard-boiled cynics should look away. For me, lifes too short to be pessimistic. The coaches seem to want the players to take it on and use the corridor more, I think we may see the team play some really exciting footy at times. There were some ugly turn-overs at times but there didn't seem to be any chastising for mistakes and we were much more effective near goal. Max Gawn was clearly B.O.G for mine. He completely dominated Spencer and before anyone says "so what" Spenser is a big, competitive unit but Max was just too strong and his use of the ball at tap-outs was superb. Just to emphasise the point, last year Max wasn't quite as fit and was not our first choice ruckman, definitely behind Jamar and probably equal with Spense. This year he is the man, he knows he's the man and he looks like he's capable of delivering. His taps and the way he combines with Viney especially will give us first use of the ball in over half our games, a big advantage. We can't help but have a better midfield as a result. I think he's potentially our most important player and if he stays on the park I predict All Australian. Viney was great. He looks super fit, is totally committed and should definitely improve on last year. He can still butcher it by foot and is much better by hand, I would prefer he handballs as much as he kicks, maybe even more. Frost looked good down forward. Kent took a mark on the 50 near the boundary and spotted Frost way over the far side and nailed the pass to Frost who took the ball very high. Later he roved a ball in the pocket and kicked it to a player which ended in a goal. At one stage he cordoned off Jones (chunk) who was trying to get it down the line but rather than just keep Jones honest Frost hunted in on him, caught him and won the free. He looks hard to match up on, he ran and ran and although raw and a bit dodgy by foot he is probably the second tall in the forward line, with Watts third. Our forward line looks O.k. with Hoges, Garlett, Kent, Frost, Watts probably first five in and big Max coming down at times as well. Lastly I was impressed by Wagner. He is tall and a natural defender, he got a bit of it and tackled and punched well at times. He is someone to watch at Casey for the first half of the year and will probably be a chance of a game in the back half of the season.

I doubt it, but we want competition for spots. I can certainly see him getting games this year on the back of injuries. He'll get opportunities in the NAB challenge to press claims. Viney learnt heaps from good players last year, but I hope the tagging is over. Bugg may get these jobs, along with Bernie. Love him. He was great again today and is looking in tip top condition. Marked well and hit every target I saw. He can be a real driver in making us better. Brayshaw, who I didn't mention, was also very good. But let's face it, they're dancing with their Sisters. That said, intensity is good. When he gets good contact there's no problem, but he has an issue with his ball drop. He's a better field kick than set shot at goal. Still, I did see him nail goals in practise.

There's something about Liam Hulett... I have this weird feeling we have found a massive diamond in the rough here. Not sure if anyone else shares the same thoughts?

“Like a cork in the ocean”One of Dennis Cometti’s most famous lines. It was first delivered after West Coast Eagle Peter Wilson booted an incredible goal in the 1992 grand final.“Nasty situation. He’s caught between A Rock and a hard place.”The line came when a player was caught between former North Meloburne player Anthony Rock and the boundary fence.“It’s like finding fault with Miss Venezuela”Cometti speaking about Adelaide midfielder Rory Sloane.“Alan Didak was Stevie J before Stevie J was Stevie J”On Collingwood player Alan Didak having skills like Geelong’s Steve Johnson.“Metropolis, kicking to the city end”Speaking about former West Coast and Fremantle player Daniel Metropolis.“The guns of Paparone need a bit of work”Speaking about young Brisbane Lions player Marco Paparone.“Barlow to Bateman. The Hawks are attacking alphabetically ...’’On Hawthorn players Kris Barlow and Chance Bateman“How’s that, a two Carr collision, both with the same rego!”When Josh Carr wearing jumper number nine for Port Adelaide, bumped his brother Matthew, wearing number nine for Fremantle.“Parker to Carr … … sounds like a match made in heaven!”Another play on the Carr name.“Brent (Guerra) hates losing and that extends to his hair.”On Hawk Brent Guerra, who did advertisements for The Hair Institute.SOME LINES NEED NO EXPLANATION“Scotty Cummings alone in the square, jumping up and down and waving his arms like they’re playing My Sharona”“Spider had both his legs taken out from under him — leaving only the other six to balance on”“Ling’s running off the ground a little bit gingerly”“Farmer may have an injury to his calf........hmmm, a farmer with a calf problem.”“Kevin Sheedy, who was coaching Essendon 14 years before Adelaide was founded. The team, not the city.”“Collingwood know they’re in trouble, it’s like being in the bathtub with the Loch Ness monster!”“In for the Cats today, David and Steve Johnson. Who better to patch up a line-up than Johnson & Johnson?”“It was like a self-saucing pudding. Players just waiting for the whistle”“Ball in dispute, Lamb, now Yze the meat in the sandwich. Really Lamb should be in the sandwich.”‘He was like a Bombay train. They were hanging off him in all directions.’ ” Hay is bailed up on the boundary line“. ” Cousins runs away from Carr–not the first time we’ve seen that happen this season.” When a huge ruckman fell onto a very small player nicknamed Elvis and then slowly picked himself up, Cometti pronounced“the building has left Elvis’. A player named Gram had his shorts pulled down in a tackle: “strippoGram” deadpanned Dennis. "Tonight is umpire appreciation night.... I give it about 30 seconds""Liam Anthony's birthday this afternoon... Well I guess it was his birthday this morning as well, anytime after midnight actually.""The cats are all around him, like a bowl of milk""Brown looking for black, but gives it to Greene. It's confusing at home, I know""The last 5 scores have been Dogs behinds, pardon the expression""Just need Milne to emerge from the shadows, that's where he operates best""Eddie Betts could hide in that divot... His shorts couldn't, but he could."Bruce: "What has Jack Anthony done for Fremantle? Played 3 games last year." Dennis: "Fair to say he's done Jack""Riewoldt has the same amount of goals as me at the moment""Saints are under pressure like Aaron Sandilands thongs"

I have a solution to the problem that might just work. I suggest that the Essendon and its insurer pull out of the appeal and instead take their $500k to a roulette table at the Melbourne Casino and plonk the whole lot on either black or red (fittingly, the EFC colours). If they win with the first spin then they should consider themselves $1m ahead and if they're really daring they can repeat the operation. Worse case scenario is that they blow the $500k (which will go down the toilet anyway if they proceed with the appeal) but at least they'll get a bit of a buzz in the process.

I think the silence from ASADA is quite classy really. Leaving these AFL idiots to stew in their own bile.

I got there early for a short time and Pedo looked good in the set plays where the mids under little pressure where able to deliver the ball into a forward line with fewer defenders, so yes the defensive pressure is less but he did some good things. In the same drill Watts dropped a sitter in front of goal, reminding me of several episodes last year. Again he dropped it because he was looking for the next move before the ball arrived. He was pulled aside and required to mark 20 odd balls kicked at close range by a coach at speed and duly marked every one of them cleanly. Frost was doing the same up the other end and impressed me with his clean hands, evasive moves and his set up for kicking at goal. Much improved from last preseason I thought. But later on shanked a shot at goal that reminded me of some of my efforts on goal. N Jones, Viney, Tyson all stood out as usual but I do like Stretch I think he will be a starter for round 1, just looks balanced, focused, and a good decision maker. The forward setup in the next few years will be intriguing, we seem to have a plethora of tall options, Hogan, Dawes, (in a month) Pedo, Watts, then options like Frost, huellit, weideman, and the M kings, I can't keep up with these new talls. Surely we can manufacture a functioning forward line out of this and add your shorter types, Garlett, Petracca, Kent, JKH and forward mid options, JT, RVanDenberg etc. etc. but yes it all depends on multiple, fast delivery into the forward half. Roosy was standing in the shadows on the Punt Road boundary line near me and was talking away to himself which I thought odd until I realised he was wired up to the other coaches and was commenting on the match simulation. At one stage B MacCarthy wandered over saying "gee Roosy the play has opened up a bit, but that's not a bad thing you know" but from the animated conversation that followed I am not sure Roosy totally agreed. Other observations, Viv Mitchie looked good and a likely starter. During the match sim a high ball came into the forward half next to me and the pack that formed was very willing, I think Oscar got the fist in but collected Garland who ended up prostrate and holding his head. He got up and cracked the shytes with Oscar who said it wasn't me mate! The pack was big so even I didn't see who got him. The match sim I saw I thought their transfer of play was poor, there is little pressure on so you should try it, but I thought they often didn't transfer when they should and other times they transferred when they shouldn't and turned it over horribly. Do that in a match and you won't take the chance again. Anyway it is only preseason. Forgot to add that early on Trengove looked great in the mid field drills but maybe that was just me so happy to see him competing on the park.

We've supposedly got some of the best development coaches in the league. Why should people be surprised if there's some actual ... development. Yes, even to players who we thought had none left in them.

Thanks for that and welcome to the nut house.

If Matt Jones and Dean Terlich are even close to our best 22 then we've gone backwards. I don't give a toss what they do at training, they've already proven they aren't capable AFL players in any way, shape or form. It's great they are training the house down, under no pressure, which they've done for years. I'm glad they are having a dip, but if they are anywhere near our side this year (unless we have no choice due to injuries) then every single supporter should be worried. Very worried.

Yes he did, did the first part, spoke to him afterwards, said he feeling really confident in his body, but one tick at a time.

Looks really good. Didn't do match sim, but is moving really well and looks strong in both upper and lower region.

Bewildering, unless of course PED use has been more widely used than we imagine.

As someone said earlier, the common trend with most of those players in the photo is they aren't natural competitors. Viney, Kent, Salem, Hogan, T. McDonald, Petracca, Brayshaw, Oliver, vandenBerg, Tyson, N. Jones, Gawn, Stretch, ANB, Jetta and Harmes all are naturally far more competitive.

Thing of beauty

Yes what I find interesting is that people's attitude to this is either driven by traditional loyalties (ie Essendon supporters), those who will lose out of it (the AFL, clubs who have traded with Essendon to get players - the Dogs, Port, Saints, and ourselves to some extent, although mercifully our hierarchy seem to have the sense to stay quiet), opposed to the rest from other clubs who are almost universally anti Essendon. The pro Essendon people cut across political loyalties, socioeconomic groups, and wealth. Likewise the Senate select committee. The pollies driving this are almost all Essendon supporters. It has nothing to do with their jobs as politicians - they are purely doing the bidding of Tanner and Hird on the public purse and in the time they should be using to run the country. A complete disgrace. Fortunately, in McDevitt we have a hard nut who will run rings around all of them.

What are your thoughts on Matt Jones Saty? From what I have read he has had a very impressive pre-season and could surprise a few of us this year. Would you have him in the best 22 and what role?

Can you paint?

It scares the bejeesus outta me to think about how pumped I was the first time I saw it, I was like 'there it is, our premiership core' bloody hell I am cringing history had better not repeat

It makes us stronger people to know what we have come through...

I think you are right there BB, sadly. One quote from the article says it all for me: "The Essendon players have been treated like a European cycling team who should know better. Well, no, they shouldn't know better because they had no grounding to work from." (where is the emoticon for smacking one's head on the desk?)

Read about Luke and immediately thought he'd gone to the Dark side. Surprised he's so ignorant of what is required and by whom. He seems to be pandering to his paymaster, but he could well be his own fool. Yep, just doesn't get it. Some political apologists for Essenscum are also wanting to grill Ben. Am confident Ben is capable of eating them and spitting out. Senate committee my foot....lackeys !!!

I would much rather he kicks one after the siren that makes us beat the filth by 100 on QBD

No matter how quick or fit a guy is it takes really good delivery to take marks on the lead inside 50 these days. So if Watts is playing deep we will need to be moving the ball better. Also as the designated '3rd tall' he'll have to compete in the air much better than he has and take some contested marks. The possibility is there for guys like Watts and Petracca to work together to create mismatches on the mid sized defenders, with Watts using his pace and vision to get free from bigger opponents and Petracca using his size and power to outbody smaller opponents, it's just a matter of it coming together. I also think there's no way Watts should ever be used close to goal entirely, his best games are so often when he can float up the ground and get involved in play. He can be designated as the third tall but he's got to use all his tricks to his advantage. He's never going to be a traditional player.

You're right, there was definitely a swing. Especially after the whole non-disclosure during ASADA testing came out. I just reckon people have short memories, and if the pro-EFC whiners keep raging in the media, it'll undermine the previous swing.

Wow, would love to see that sort of professionalism by the current one...

He is just towing the company line. But it is a serious, serious worry that there is an AFL coach (or any coach, anywhere) who doesn't get the rule that: players are responsible for what goes into their bodies. No excuses, no exceptions!

Now Luke Beveridge is getting in on the action, trying to outdo the idiotic comments made by his club's president. These idiots just do not get it. If Roosy came out blasting WADA and citing Essendon's removal from finals 3 years ago as "punishment enough," I'd be after blood.

Surprised this thread is still going. But as it is, some nice work here in regards to cognitive bias, Ted Cruz etc. etc. Credits etc. at the end.

If the appeal does not get off thew ground i look forward to reading Bruce francis's 20 page dissection of their 200 word dismissal (written in French) " the Swiss court made several key legal mistakes in their frankly corrupt decision to summarily dismiss the players right of appeal. Under the Human Rights Charter....."

Hate to make this about Jack Watts but... All the training reports in the second half of last season had him doing boxing, wrestling etc... With specialist coaches, away from the main group. I though it worked and towards the end of the season his 1 on 1 competitive work improved from hopeless to o.k. It will never be his strength. i have Jack Watts and Kent as the real break outs this year.

They'll beat us unless we 100% show up big-time. If we are only 99.5 on the day we will get done.

It's stunning how we managed to stuff up so many first round draft picks from that period - whether it be the player selected, development or otherwise. The club seems to have landed on the right formula now: hard body and ultra competitive character. Roos' non negotiables.

Since the thread has been bumped I'll provide an update for the many of you who are no doubt waiting with bated breath to hear how the 8yo fan of J.Howe dealt with the news. Firstly...I put off telling her for so long that when her cousins came to visit over the New Year they were the ones that broke the story (they also taught her the word 'traitor'). After a brief sad face she decided that Nathan Jones was now her favourite and she was going to rip Howe's autograph out of her book. I managed to talk her out of that, it's a nice book. I also tried to explain the big business of footy and that traitor is probably a bit strong, but I'm not sure the message got through. Hell hath no fury... Ed: spelling