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Jonesy was running and kicking in rehab, so can't be that bad, Nibbler pulled out of main session and did some rehab As explained before, slightest niggle they have to report And as somebody elses stated Viney looks cherry ripe to go

No, no and no.

"one things for sure, Essendon will finish higher than last year" how the F is that certain? guess it is good if they are being over hyped. they already have longish term injuries to 3 players. if Merrett/Hurley or Daniher go down they are fooked man I hate the bombers

I have no idea what this means but am happy to agree with it because it sounds impressive.

I find it astounding that a player like Tom McDonald whose field kicking has always had a 'heart in mouth' feel to it was the most accurate shot for goal last season. Its also great to see Petracca ranked highly in that list and although he wasn't mentioned , I think Melksham kicked 21 goals and 6-7 behinds last season.

Sure, but compare with the "second stringers" of just a few short years back .. M Jones, Blease, Tapscott, Petterd, etc. World of difference. (Some of them were "first stringers"!) If these guys (ANB, Harmes, etc) are are our second rank then we're doing alright in team development.

Interesting Brodie is beating the GWS ruck, Simpson 24-9 but Collingwood can't get their hands on the ball. Thought Collingwood had one of the AFL's leading midfields

I see our range as anywhere from 2-10. I personally have us finishing 5th, and making prelims. If we somehow miss the 8 again I'll probably burn this state to the ground and make it my lifes work to ensure AFL ceases to exist.

Nope. Visiting workmates in Pampanga and Subic Bay, and family in Tablas / Romblon. Flip missus loves her Demons, and will make sure we are somewhere we can watch them play. I will be the only white fella in a small town (Alcantara), probably with a makeshift esky full of beer, shouting at the screen at a hot, dark and smelly internet cafe full of confused or scared locals.. Will take my Dees stickers there and leave a souvenir so people can remember the crazy drunk western guy.

Hahhaha bastard! It looks like the day after the worst school breakup ever.

Do you go to HOWZAT in Makati? i put the Demon Sticker on the poster near rest room there.

Bad example. In the NFL they both have helmets with hard outer casing that they use as a weapon and a target. Soft helmets like what Gus is wearing will offer very limited help to actually receiving concussions, same as NFL helmets, they do not stop the brain rattling around inside the skull itself.

I've heard that Max Gawn does the smacking.

That Salem is there suggests the coaches aren't satisfied with how the inside midfield is working. Perhaps, it is too one dimensional, lacking variety (excluding Oliver). FWIW, my thoughts are: Jones is quick but not clean as he tends to bomb it out to nowhere. Tyson is quick but not clean, bombs it out or gets caught HTB as he takes on the opposition. Viney, is Viney and takes on the opposition, sometimes gets away with it (and is a joy to watch when he does) but just as often gets pinned HTB. And I'm not sure any of them have a really high footy IQ. So our winning the hitouts isn't translating to winning the clearances often enough and immediately puts our defence under pressure. Salem is quick, clean, tough and has the footy smarts. He is one of those players for whom time stands still when he has the ball. He may yet end up our 'outside polish' player (he is only 22). Also, maybe the club is looking at one of the new recruits (eg Balic, Spargo) or even Hunt to take up that outside role. If Hunt learns to slow his last 2 steps just a fraction before kicking he will become a more accurate kick into the forward line. It is an interesting 'sub plot' to see how it plays out during the year.

Could always run all day, now he does a bit of everything quite well, I’ve become a big fan. And I love his attitude. Players like him taking the next step is what we need. I thought Billy was going to be the far better player, but ANB has blown past him the last year. I hope Billy takes a few steps forward this year too.

Our recruitment is seriously good these days. It has been for a while now. I’ve always thought ANB, Harmes, Bugg, Stretch, Salem, Melksham, Oscar Mac etc we’re going to be very good players for us. What I find a little disappointing/annoying in these threads however is that, if you expressed this view prior to any of these players consistently performing for the club, you were seen by some here to be an uncritical cheerleader. Yet now some (or all) of these players are consistently performing well for the club, those very same posters feel free, unabashedly so, to laud praise on these guys without ever taking ownership or accountability for their previous statements about them. It’s really not that cool. Just sayin’.

Oscar McDonald (18,3 ,96) is a few years younger than Tom (18,9,92). He's a big man who will take time to come to his best. He is going to be very good - just like his brother and we should do everything possible to keep them together.

Viney in full training. Looked a million bucks! Barely a rehab group - Jones, Jetta, Tyson and Balic on light duties. All moved well. VDB only notable absentee.

Yes, silly me, how could anyone forget about that magical tournament.

This would be about as popular and useful as the sub rule. The AFL will absolutely do it as they are run by idiots.

How’s it working out for NFL players..?

No, no and yes once he finds a bit more confidence in attacking the footy safely around contests.

Ok good then, sorry i thought there was some mention of rain, but thats probably in Melbourne. Winx, Alizee and Dixie Blossoms the first 3 legs of the quad at Randwick...? Field in the last?? ....and weve hit 30 pages...well done.

The sports scientists and fitness guys are very good at the Club, they continually watch the players, especially those returning from injury I"ve also asked, if you 'hide' something and you are subsequently found out, it's botty smacking from a great height

Ill be there, have bought tickets already, going with a fair few Lions supporters. For the out of towners, you have a few options before the game, the German club on Stanley street has good beer and a killer pork knuckle. There is the Pinapple hotel up the road also. Both are very busy before hand.

You should just your name to just bean.

Matthew Richardson was a terrific field kick and a relatively poor kick for goal (well as poor as one can be for 800+ goals and 550+ behinds). you can be good at one and not so good at the other.

I don't agree with you on a couple of fronts. Firstly, I find most posters on here own their opinions pretty well. I thought Neal-Bullen wouldn't make it, because he was exposed in the midfield as making poor decisions and skill executions under pressure. His turn around is a revelation and I have no qualms in acknowledging this. Secondly, there are supporters who simply are satisfied with bog ordinary players. Tonnes of Matt Jones have come through the MFC and there are always supporters who overrate the contribution of said types of players. Let's face it, you're going to get the odd one right occasionally.

Untried in the wet Wadda. The weather is predicting sun for Fri and Sat up there. I'll have some more info soon hopefully. I agree with you, best to get in early with the current odds. Edit: Santos did win a trial on a slow5 back in Jan. Mate says there's no rain up there.

Thats all pretty good then D77. As i said im worried they will smash him into 1.50 with that field, then it wont be any value at all and in fact on a hiding to nothing. They are 2yo after all. Perhaps we can get on early like say tomorrow night, if most of the BBs are in. I would say he will come in to at least 1.80. Any wet track form? Lets wait for the late mail then. My other pick would be Cliffs Edge in the Guineas race, but there are some good sorts in there as well.

I think the point that Saty has been making is that under previous coaches (meaning pre-Roos), players did not disclose when they had any niggles so kept training to their own, and the team's, potential longer-term detriment.

The Essendon thing is all part of the narrative being spun by the AFL and media. Will be completed when they win this year's flag. After that Goddard's movie gets made. Enough to make anyone puke.

Melbourne 4-9 is fair enough. The essendon prediction is way over the top. Collingwood is rated too high as well.

I wasn't going to make Santos my best Wadda, not saying he can't win. If someone else wants to declare him, all good. I think he can win, I'm just waiting for the "word" from Sydney. I have a feeling the $2.10 will get a beating due to his last run. Alizee stands out to me at the moment but also short at $2.15. I'll probably wait until Saturday morning for scratchings/state of track. Edit: Santos had a cracking trial/gallop last Saturday so he's as ready as ever. If he repeats his last run he will be extremely hard to toss.

Options deep in the fwd line, LD-vC, where players may break towards the ball carrier (triangulator) but more often, in a triangle shape covering an open space (1) towards a flank, (2) from the goalsquare straight down the central guts, and (3) towards the other flank. The foot pass is effected to space to which the receiver will mark the ball for a set shot at goal - so hopefully, that space is in kicking distance from the goalmouth. Angulation is most important lest the resulting kick be required from too tight an angle (ie: right on the boundary line.) This give the ball-carrier 3 options to pass the ball with precision and the 4th options is to get within his own range of the goals for a shot at goal on the run - as defenders rush out of the goalsquare to cover the possible receivers. It is a better percentage play than bombing the ball long to the goalsquare from the wings or from the centre.

Im happy to make Santos my best bet. Unless D77, you want to make it yours as hes your baby? I dont mind at all. I want to atone for my loss last week on Ace High. Was slightly disappointed he didnt finish with a bit more dash. You never really know if jockeys are under instruction or not. Normally i dont like 2yo as they can do anything, and if theres a bit of rain about its an unknown factor. Hes a little short at 2.10 and i hope he doesnt come in to something stupid, but in the small field he looks a good thing.

Perhaps Macca instead of being our Caulfield spy, maybe i could get a pair of binoculars and be our Ballarat Darren Weir over the back fence stable spy.......they are around here somewhere...

ANB has been delivering for some time, now. He is a terrific competitor and will continue to flourish. Billy should be played on the outside to develop his confidence, and be let loose to run in possession like his dad, who used to burn up the field unhindered and often hit great goals. He is a natural triangulator for the forwards and makes it difficult for opponents to catch, tackle and smother.

Watched many games from there. The owner is a great bloke.

Spot on. We’re a world away from where we’ve been in the past - which consumed us all with constant ‘hoping’ that certain players would take the next step and develop / progress / grow into our next important players. I’m not saying we’ve got them yet but this batch is the first in a long time (probably ten bloody years) that as a core group is developing together and showing signs of consistent improvement. And from what I can tell they’re demanding that improvement from each other to grow and get better - a real sign of maturity for a young group.

I will be watching that game with my brother in the Aussie Bar, Bangla Rd Phuket. Give us a wave so i can see you on TV .

I worked in a very large international law firm in London in 2004 and 2005. The hours were immense. Yet ... For the whole of 2004, I had my parents record every game throughout the season, air courier the VHS cassette to me at a cost of 70 bucks a game, and I’d then pick up the VHS cassette from the mail room every Thursday evening (in respect of the game recorded the weekend just gone), go home, and start watching the game ‘live’ at about 10.00pm each Thursday night. Relevantly, I filtered my email messages during the week so I didn’t ever know the result prior to watching the game. We had a good year that year. It was worth it. Cost me a fair bit of dough though.

Nothing of substance re contract talks, in fact the 'bumper payday' refers to the prospect of a large pay rise should he continue to make a success of his move up forward ....... which in turn suggests later rather than sooner in the year. Speculation by the writer.

Sigh. A week of talking him up and now he is broken. Us MFC supporters have a preternatural ability like that. (JACK WATTS!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!! WE MISS YOU!!!) Am I doing it right?

As in he needs bricks to stop hitting it?

I've loved Salem since his debut and reckon with a decent uninterrupted run at it he will prove to be one of our most valuable players. He is class with a touch of mongrel.

The current system and its restrictions could only be classed as a good business model. The AFL is paid for the rights to show the games. The clubs already share the benefits. The broadcasters have paid for exclusivity so they can sell advertising and/or subscriptions. That is not exploitation it is business. At some point in the future I expect the AFL to keep all or some of the rights and sell their own advertising - subscriptions services, perhaps create & run their own AFL channel. In one way or another we will have to pay.

On consideration, I would be willing to swap Lumumbe, Frawley and Clark for Petracca, Brayshaw, ANB, Stretch and O Mac.