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I've been meaning to do this for a few days. Locked until further notice/developments.

Hope all is well there Wadda ... Pounamu has found it's true form and is worth following up on. I do like horses that swoop late ... 'Art Series' is another horse from the Ascot carnival to look out for down the track. Aside from the big Magic Millions meeting on the 13th Jan, there's not a lot happening with regards feature races until the Autumn carnival kicks off in February. However, there's 1 or 2 Stakes races most weekends to keep things interesting. For those that are interested here's a list of all the Group and Stakes races for the entire Australian season. I did find a G3 race at Sha Tin on Sunday to have a go at though - only 8 runners but 3 stand out and all 3 are well down in the weights from their lead-in runs. Those 3 horses are the 2, 4 & 5 and I'll put together a Tri & F4 and hope that some sort of combination comes through with the goods. The 7 & 8 could get into the minor placings as well. Sha Tin (Hong Kong) Sunday 7th Jan Race 7 (The G3 Bauhinia Sprint 1000m 7.10pm)

The difference is, none of the examples you mention are criminal offences. Hence why this one was referred to VicPol.

Looks like we will get a rundown on players for the next few weeks. Today Baker to Bugg http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-01-04/list-update-baker-to-bugg Its interesting to get the coaches of view of player progress. Some extracts that caught my eye: Goodwin: Oskar Baker has demonstrated some elite fundamentals, from a kicking perspective within our program. I like the sound of the elite kicking - just what we need. Goodwin: Harley Balic has been outstanding at training. He won one of our training ‘player of the week’ awards. I wouldn't be surprised if he got a game earlier than later. (Interesting to know we have 'player of the week' award for training). Goodwin: Angus Brayshaw is starting to emerge within the group, in terms of his training standards. Determined young fella - slow and steady will be good for his confidence Goodwin: Tomas Bugg has been working closely with the forwards. Sounds like he is keeping his head down working to regain respect. Admire him for that.

Wow, just read up on the OODA loop - fascinating. Sounds good, let’s do it.

Does this benchmark mean that we can expect a Balic transfer to Collingwood mid-season?

A bit of honesty goes a long way, now that you mention it. I find it difficult to believe that OMac is training well under Frosty's left arm, with Lever adding passing insights as the two tackle OMac's problems....

Tips Chiefs 28 Titans 14 Rams 27 Falcons 24 Jags 22 Bills 10 Panthers 17 Saints 30

Long but very interesting read on the Pats/Belichick/Brady/Graft relationships http://www.espn.com.au/nfl/story/_/page/hotread180105/beginning-end-new-england-patriots-robert-kraft-tom-brady-bill-belichick-internal-power-struggle

What a beauteous thing it be : to use a huge plurabibilitiness of words, labels and headings to draw the reader’s eye away and to obscure the fact that the question being answered is not the question being asked. Is this naked intellectual dishonesty or simple garden-variety hypocrisy ?

If we want our team to survive in the modern era then yes... There are many things I would like to be, times to go back to but unfortunately time waits for no one 'Deemania'.

Preseason is the most exciting time of year tbh. I always like to imagine the team is setting new fitness records and coming with amazing gameplans to take the comp by storm. Usually by round one i wise up.

One would have to be very Left to think labelling the ABC Left is "unfair".

Thanks for that Macca, i was unfortunately MIA on new years day due to a lock in at my local here....had to have rest. Pounamu!! how did he not win?? Love to see the photo! I will also be on the band wagon if he comes here, what a run.

Jordan Lewis has been tearing up Sorrento oval over the last 8 days....been down there everyday and he’s been looking awesome.

I like the comment on Frost today. He, OMac and Lever are working well together. Sounds like they plan on playing all three of them.

I work in Post Production where all programs (TV) can use our facilities. Extracting Camera footage. Send and Recieve files to and from interstate. Changing Codecs is now a major job. HD Codec, Youtube Codec, Codecs that will travel in emails Apps change so quickly. It can drive a man to heavy booze!!

oh hell.........let's go for first and home finals all the way !

Goody. Boring as bat shid. Hope he can coach/motivate/manage. I'm far from convinced. Herald Sun article today reminded me of the absurd scapegoating of Jack Watts.

SEN have been low rent for much of their existence. They didn't start out that way. Started out with big names – Lyon, Brereton, Brownless, and big salaries. But quickly found out that while companies may fall over themselves to sponsor Collingwood and Essendon, they don't fall over themselves to sponsor a radio station that talks about Collingwood and Essendon. They ended up with a moth eaten collection of almost literally low rent advertisers. Jacques from Xenium Mortgages, anyone? In no time at all, Brereton left because they couldn’t pay the bills. When Pacific Star bought in, there was an uptick in the quality of the advertisers but not an equivalent growth in audience. They have been hovering at 2s and 3s for a long time. They recently tried it again. The “big stars”. Morning "dream team" with no chemistry. Garry promptly set up Hollywood Boulevard again and poor old Hamish "brother of" was let known, even on air, that he was not part of the boulevard. He was an onlooker. He was right to leave. And still ratings flatlined. The "big names" talking about the same stuff as the no-names doesn't draw extra listeners, because the die-hards are all listening anyway. Now Whately ... the big fish ... this is Francis Leach all over again. The "inna-lekshul" "egg head" "big words" toff. Doesn't fit the demographic of tradies and bogans. It looks like they may be trying to change the demographic but realistically ... how much more can they eke out of the broader radio audience who mostly want old songs, daft DJs, and talkback lashing one political party or the other? By the way, it's clear that Whately left the ABC in such a hurry because Hutchison said, I'm offering $$$$ but you need to make your decision today! The offer's only open until close of business. If you can't commit, we're not interested! And yet Hutchison obviously was very keen on getting Whately. Hutchison is much more experienced in the wicked ways of the commercial world than Gerard who is a babe in the woods. There may be some room for growth as SEN have increasingly gone all out on AFL. Bugger-all soccer, hardly any cricket ... recently when Chuck Berry was hosting, he said one day "there you go … we were supposed to be talking about cricket but somehow ended up talking about St Kilda." They struggle to go for 5 minutes without coming back to AFL. Whately looks like their gamble to pick up some disaffected fans of general sports. Can’t see it working. Their bigger strategy might be that they want to get into live commentary of cricket, soccer, tennis, Olympics to add to AFL and basketball. With sports increasingly going the other way, into pay TV, free to air coverage for the die hards on SEN could look attractive! People like Maher and Fine, for all their flaws, represent good value for SEN as they surely can't cost much but actually know how to keep the show moving. Guys like Lyon need a chaperone/MC like Hamish or Huddo. Harford was a good performer and they let him slip. Dunno why they dumped Ox. It’s taken years but he has grown into a polished radio man. Whereas “Marko” remained one dimensional, and that’s putting it kindly. KB & Doc … KB is an inveterate stirrer and cannot resist an opportunity to do so. With solely him in the driver’s seat, it's somewhat amusing to see how many people he gets to bite. He is SEN's best performer and actually knows something about sport other than AFL, specifically, athletics. (Also horse racing, on the generous assumption that that counts as a sport.) Doc generally makes for good radio and good entertainment. KB & Doc for 3 hours ... No. Their Tuesday morning one hour love-in consisted of KB trying to bait Doc, and Doc slapping him down, rinse and repeat. 3 hours daily? No thanks.

To be honest I’d be very disappointed if didn’t win one of these - he has been thrown a lifeline of sorts with a second club after delivering little at his first. Yes he had his challenges at Freo but it’s time for him to clearly justify his place on a AFL list Hope he does just that

Ah.. is this the prelude to the "training the house down" thread. A normal MFC pre season ... hopefully not a portent for a normal MFC season.... Not sure I can take another 2016/2017

off to the crows then?

For goodness sake, can we shut down this nonsensical thread which will reveal and shed light on absolutely nothing at all. It is just going around and around in circles.

Another reason why these matters should be left entirely to the police. I cannot see why the AFL should have any role in this sort of thing. For a start their prime motivation will be protecting the image of the AFL. Fairness to the parties involved will be secondary. And even if they were fair, I don't see why the AFL should poke its nose in until the court process is finished. Edit to add:. And if there is no court process, what possible role has the AFL got other than getting involved in a libel action. (Of course they could threaten an 'employee' in some way but that is also objectionable. If mediation is required, once again I don't see a role for AFL house which has a major conflict of interest. )

Gerard is a nice person, knowledgeable, balanced, and experienced. I doubt you'd hear a bad word about him. I find him boring.

Seems Petracca just bought a brand new Lexus from Cranbourne Toyota as per his Instagram story

"Be part of the journey" An overworked and overused phrase that is used by politicians, bureaucrats, and just about everyone else that has no conviction or passion. Perhaps they could have added ""as we go forward, be part of the journey" And perhaps qualify the slogan by stating that Rome was not built in a day. From a marketing perspective, a big fail. Bleed Red and Blue, Raise Hell or something that stirs something, anything.

Whateley is doing a Tim Lane. He is probably the closest radio/TV person to Tim Lane, as an articulate and intelligent broadcaster of virtually all sport. He does his homework and speaks knowledgeably about the sport that he is broadcasting, provides accurate commentary on the action and provides analysis on the sport. He does the micro and macro stuff well. Was Tim Lanes move a success? I'm not sure. Probably ask Tim. The listener may have a different slant but none of us can get into the mind of the commentator. From GW's view it is understandable. Age and career wise, and money wise. Things are not hunky dory at the ABC with cuts, cuts and more cuts. Morale is poor and the ABC risks being cut out of some sports or having reduced coverage or reduced broadcasting rights in the future. People talk about the bogans on other stations, but the quality of commentators on ABC has decreased over recent years, presumably due to funding cuts and the ABCs need to reduce expenses. I don't think it will be a big deal if the SEN thing does not work but it will be a stepping stone for GW to take on other opportunities and improve his pay packet.

It might be a choice between Xmas lunch with Uncle James or 100 100s...

For one it's a bad viewing ground... Then there's the issue of getting there and getting in. Plus we draw crowds of around 25k + at the 'G' for these games, we've go no hope of getting that at Casey unless they do a Geelong like upgrade and not just one stand. Have I mentioned the viewing and transport??? The other grounds you've mentioned are not AFL grounds either and yes the surface might be great but...

I sure hope not 'Drunkn', even with a new grandstand it would not be good enough for AFL games in Melbourne.

I'm pleased that the organization of the Casey Football Club is now becoming a professional and well regarded organization but I believe that the location of the Casey ground and the conditions that the players play under is to the significant detriment of the MFC. The ground is poorly located in terms of weather. Cranbourne has a significantly higher rainfall than Melbourne meaning the ground is often wetter than AFL players play on. The ground has little if any meaningful protection from the wind and those that have attended on a regular basis will celebrate when a game is played in conditions where the wind is not a significant factor. Moreover, in recent years we have played a number of games at night where dew makes conditions slippery and difficult. These poor conditions result in poor skills and turn games into stoppage and tackle events. There is little chance to practice game plan ideas as chains of possessions are all too infrequent. Players like Weideman get little chance to practice their craft and the opportunity for others is also limited. This of course wouldn't be a problem if AFL football was played in similar conditions but it isn't. I recognize that not all other AFL clubs play in perfect conditions but Casey is as bad as I've seen except perhaps for North Ballarat. It seems we are at Casey for the long haul and I hope we see some genuine attempt to improve the situation of the ground with the planting of appropriate trees and other wind protection if possible. It would be nice if they could do something for spectators too, a decent grandstand that allowed you to get a good view of the game would be welcome but I understand that is probably well down the priority list. Frankly viewing is so bad and the ground location so poor I'm surprised anyone can be bothered going. I gave up a few years ago.

Might be better to ask an economist rather than a marketing person. My recollection of my pretty rudimentary economics training is that those industries with very high fixed costs (car manufacturers, airlines) spend a lot on marketing; companies with low fixed costs do not.

On the footy field he was a wasted talent. However, there are many out there who never fulfill their potential and talent. That's sport and that's life. However, his off-field stuff is a major problem. From all accounts, he can be a very pleasant and nice guy. Some years ago when I was bemoaning his wasted footy talent, a friend who knew him off the footy field told me that he was a lovely guy who had great respect for family and friends. However, it appears from his actions that there is another side. Many of us have a bit of a JekyIl and Hyde character, at least in a mild or moderate way. Behaviours and actions can vary from appropriate to inappropriate or from good to bad. How often do you hear family or friends say "that's not like you". The downside can involve risk taking, poor judgement, extreme or inappropriate conduct. And of course, in Mr Hyde's case, much worse. Actions show that there is no recognition or acceptance of societal or personal boundaries. Today, a psychiatrist would say that Mr Hyde suffered from mood swings. Highs and lows. The condition is not helped with alcohol or illicit substances, but these substances are a symptom of the condition. Mr Hyde was clearly a psychopath as are all serial killers. Violent people can be very charming, and, at times, gentle people can become violent when they are consumed by psychopathic rage. No one is suggesting that of Colin. However, many of us suffer from mood swings that can be mild or moderate. Most people can live happily and have family and friends and be able to function normally in society. Some people never improve and their life takes a downward spiral leading to the breakdown of personal and family relationships, inability to hold down a job, breaking the law, and, in extreme circumstances, self harm and prison. Our jails are full of people who would not be there if they had sought help, been helped and they had been treated for their mental health conditions (rather than been viewed as bad people who need to be jailed). Unfortunately, our jails are not mental health institutions and only the extreme cases get treated. It's why so many prisoners never make it back to a normal life. The ones who improve do so by way of a personal epiphany (this is the value of organizations such as AA) or by way of treatment and medication.