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There has been a lot of commentary that we have only beaten weaker teams (which is correct, because if we beat them then we are ‘stronger’ on the day...). Personally, I think this is actually a good thing. Here’s why. we tuned up the gameplan over the summer, and the JLT allowed us to implement a version of it and look like top 4 material. we played less than ideal footy and took the points in a couple of games. Playing for 3/4, with a defensive press way too high, Maxy not hitting to advantage and terrible inside 50 connections. we were slaughtered by the Hawks. Wake up call. we played ok versus Richmond. A bit rushed early, but the third quarter was some of th3 toughest contested ball I have seen in footy in a while. so now we have a few ‘easy’ games in a row. Thank god. Over these games we have seen: the back 6 start to work. Lever to begin to show some real skill, and Lewis now being the general. Jetta rediscovered his form. tmac is back and building. Forward connection still needs work, but forward pressure is manic the big 4 have had a couple of games to work together. the midfield are growing. Salem and Angus in particular. viney is about to return. i for one am glad we have had this run to build skill, strategy and structure. The confidence of a few wins now might encourage the team to bring this style, refined and practiced over the ‘easy’ games, into the harder stuff. The coaching staff have made the adjustments and drilled the plan, and the players are seeing the rewards. This little period could be the making of the team. If we went straight into harder contests with no trust in the gameplan or each other, it could have been messy. It sure looks like these games have allowed a different sense to emerge. I am keen to see us kick over the blues, and set ourselves for some more serious challenges that will test our ability to keep playing our game.

Let me tell you a story about Masterchef. My ex missus, a fairly well known chef, featured on the program in one of the early seasons. On one episode, contestants had to replicate her recipes for judging by the usual panel. On another, she was invited to be on the judging panel itself (a final IIRC). In the one where they cooked her food, she reckoned all but one actually executed the dish properly. That person got scored the lowest and was kicked off the show because they were obese or ethnic or whatever compromised ratings. In the one where she was a judge, she reckoned one particular dish was just awful. Inedible. Especially after the food sits there for 2 hours whilst they prepare for the next segment. Anyway, she says to Georgie and his pals she’s gonna generously give the plate of [censored] a ‘2’. Whilst the rest of the gang agreed the dish was rubbish, the producers forced her to score a ‘6’! Now for those who have worked in hospitality, it’s needless to say that when a group of chefs (there were some others on the judging panel that episode) are bored and have time to kill, they may find ways to...indulge! So a few sheets to the wind and naturally rebellious, my ex missus brushed off the tap on the shoulder from the producers and scored a ‘2’ anyway. They had to re do the whole scene again! The powers that be manipulating the judiciary to the benefit of select individuals or parties - sounds like the AFL/mro/tribunal, ay? Masterchef is a bloody nonsense and has created a phenomenon of starry eyed, entitled bed-wetters of thinking they have some rite of passage to become a celebrity chef. Shut the [censored] up, put down your tweezers and get in the corner and peel 60kg of carrots, kid, there’s a queue of 50 people from all nationalities and desperate personal situations to take your job, you little [censored]. I hope Chunk won’t be forced to lie. No one deserves that. And for the record, I played against George Colombarus in an inter-restaurant charity soccer game. I’m 6”2 and was playing as a defender on Georgie. He thought he was quick, but my long legs were wrapped around him all day like an alien on Sigourney Weaver’s god dam face. After yet another intercept (with plenty of niggle) he cracked the [censored] and had a sook to the umpire. Then he gave me a mouthful and moved position! In a bloody charity game! Grade A jerk. We won 2-1.

All the best to Mark, all the worst to Essendon.

Good luck Curnow’s

Just for a fleeting moment you think, deep down, that surely the AFL can't stuff this one up. It's too obvious, too clear, makes too much sense. They laid their hands on an umpire. We know the message we want them to send to anyone playing AFL footy - you don't lay a hand on an umpire, regardless of your intentions. And then the tribunal makes the unfathomable decisions to just fine them, which in turn sends a different message instead - if you can argue you didn't notice the umpire, then it's okay to lay a hand on them. What a horrible precedent the tribunal sent tonight. Neither were any different to Hawkins, yet he gets a week while the Curnow brothers get a small fine. It's outrageous.

Easy for a Tigers supporter to say. Just saying.

No problem as long as they give frees against the Hawks when their players block. AFL programs last night showed numerous times Hawks players block, including incidents vs Swans last Friday night, without penalty. Pot.Kettle.Black. On a more serious note. It is one thing for Clarkson to by-pass the usual channels and go straight to the top guy to complain. But another for Gil to validate that by reacting to complaint and issuing a missive. Bad look for the CEO dismissing due process. He should have sent Clarkson to complain to Hocking or Head of Umpires. Clarkson is probably smarting from being left off the new super duper AFL Competition Committee!

What a completely farcical situation .. just what on earth is going on ffs complete and utter shambles from top to bottom . What are Geelong supposed to think ? What is anybody supposed to think . Completely idiotic . The AFL are proven now to have one rule for one and another for others ! Either you can touch an umpire or not . It’s black or white . The adjudication in this organization has completely lost the plot! End of rant ! And what’s left of my sanity

Tommy Bugg would have been remanded in custody had it been him.

Wonder what you get for making contact with a tribunal member?

Umpire said he didn't feel threatened in the Charlie contact. If the Carlton doctor was representing the umpire he would have been fearing for his life.

One club got a good CEO, board and the right people around them. They believed in the path they set and were not put off by discontent from their fan base. The other took a little while longer to learn the lesson. Culture is set by those in charge, ours was toxic for a reason and it wasn't because of the fans or those on an internet forum.

I agree PD, we are improving nicely and perhaps we needed the slightly lesser skilled teams to give us the room to get our game style to click. It is really starting to do that now and we never looked like losing the either the Saints or the GC games. People can gripe about the quality of the opposition but this is head and shoulders above our wins even last year. Also sometimes you just beat a team well and make them look worse than they are, North have looked pretty sharp since we spanked them. You can sense the media hovering at the moment, like so many Dees supporters they don't know whether to jump on board or not. We have all been hopeful before only to be let down by our inconsistent form. I'm going to put it out there and say I think this is the real thing. I don't know what the limit is, but this side looks like the real deal to me. Adding TMac and Weed has really straightened us up and bringing back Viney on the wave of confidence we should now be riding should really improve our already dominant clearance rate and hopefully allow us to get some cleaner forward 50 entries. I don't think Carlton is going to change anyone's minds but if we can take out Adelaide, I think we will start to get some media attention and hype, perhaps even some of the pirennially sceptical here could start enjoying the game again. Lastly, how about Gussy & Fritsch? Gus is really starting to show what many of us saw developing in his first season. Adding him to our midfield roster has really given us some extra toughness and class. I anticipated him being a game winner but this is coming faster than I imagined. Fritsch looks set to give us the class we need on the wing/ high half forward role, he is so clean above his head and below his knees for a first year player. I am excited to see what he might be once he puts some meat on those bones. I for one am super excited about the rest of the year. Go Dees!

None of what that bloke says make much sense aside from calling Essendon the Drug Cheats. I liked his use of capitals

I've been doing this thing lately where I quickly sneak around opposition forums leading up to our games against them. Not sure why. Maybe boredom, maybe just want to get an idea of how we are perceived by opposition club supporters. For the most part, we aren't even mentioned, it's more about their own lineup. They don't talk about who will match up on Hogan etc. One thing is for sure is that they don't suffer from their own form of CFCSS. Mostly very bullish about their chances. And then there was this. Do we think we are tough?? Dominator_7 wrote: Their team is full of wannabe tough guy flogs. Oliver, Melksham, Lewis, Vince, Viney. Need to bring the same Physicality we broough against the Drug Cheats. Got close to beating them both times last year, so we know we can match them. Gotta get things right at the selection table, and we’re a sneaky chance. Absolutely spot on. I like the fact they think they're 'tough'. I think we should do the same. Reality is they can't back it up and when under pressure, they resort to sniping. We bring the pressure, they won't cope... Bring it on!! Go Blues

Im a bit conflicted about this. Usually i dont give a rats about peoples feelings, and im probably known on this site as a bit of a w@nker because of that,. but i genuinely feel for the bloke. He didn't mean to fail at MFC. He honestly thought he could make us better. Any coach would think the same regardless of their actual ability. Ok, so he was wrong. We not only didnt improve but it can easily be argued we went backwards during his time as coach. Watching the post-game pressers you could see the hurt was real, even if his words were hollow. Regardless of all that, the bloke is still a human being who lives and breathes footy. He has a family and friends and all that mundane stuff most of us have. Sure, i will be happy to see the drug cheats crash and burn from here to eternity and will feel genuine joy whenever that CLUB fails. The individual is a different matter. Its not cool to be basking in the failure of the poor bloke.

It’s set a new benchmark that the tribunal will never be able to adjudicate differently again. Anyone with a similar action has a case study to reference for years to come.

The world is stuffed. The Curnows get off when another player gets screwed for the same offence. The thugs who assault paramedics get off, the power companies and banks get away with blue murder. Cricketers who make an error of judgement get crucified. Oil companies and car parks price gouge. Think I’ll become a hermit.

Me and Gil and Clarko hate blokes like that.

since when is it gil's job to instruct the umpires in-season on game-day emphasis and to make rulings on interpretations of the game's rules and all without proper process what makes gil any more an expert on the rules than any other mug punter. he's a ceo ffs not umpires advisor afl's lack of integrity just continues to roll on

We thought the precedent was set last week. Turns out we were wrong.

It is telling that the AFL used a different legal Counsel. Jeff Gleeson QC vs Hawkings. Andrew Wood vs Curnows. From my google search he seems junior. Add that the three Tribunal Members selected for tonight were different to those last week. And, it all sets the stage for a perfect whitewash by the AFL.

Our game is very difficult to adjudicate with many interpretations and shades of grey. Which makes it all the more unintelligible when they take a simple situation like this and make it more complicated. Intentionally touch an umpire, get a week. Simple. This just allows players to touch umpires and argue their way out of it. Stupid and bad for lower levels.

I've only just read this, but yours and binman's are excellent posts. It's worth noting that this new structure (Weideman and McDonald back) has allowed Gawn to kick goals in each of the last 3 games. Not only is Gawn getting important resting time, it's affording him the luxury of drifting forward and hitting the scoreboard. People can carry on about who we've beaten, but we're a very different team than the ones that ran out in the first 4 rounds. Against Hawthorn Hogan was the only tall forward they had to cover. If we played them this week they'd have to cater for Hogan, Weideman, Tom McDonald and a resting Gawn. It's easy to call out the fixture, but it's as if those same people don't realise we're a vastly different prospect to a month ago. And we're only going to get better.

Maybe it’s just me but I’ve always thought to have a ‘head of coaching’ or a ‘head of strategy’ a dumb arse thing to start with. The Head coach should be head of everything for crying out loud. Theyve got line coaches in junior footy now and it’s just so over the top the way the AFL has turned a once pleasurable Saturday morning with your kids into an animosity fuelled atmosphere with rabid parents barking instructions rather than letting a good, single coach teach the kids to have fun and play fair. Blame the business that it’s turned into for the fallout it causes to individuals like Neeld and their families. Rant over.

The football produced by the Dees under Neeld's leadership is the worst AFL football I have ever seen, bar none. And I am talking Dees and Saints in the 70's, and the Bears a bit later. A limited if not incompetent senior coach, and an atrocious communicator. But I really feel for him here. A genuine sadness and disappointment for another human being burnt by AFL footy. Can you imagine giving 20+ years of your life to the game, only to be thrown on the scrap heap like this? And for those back-room whisperers and leakers at Essendon, pouring out confidential info so Neeld becomes a scapegoat for issues probably belonging to the whole coaching group - I hope you reap what you have sown here.

Watching those pricks beat us in the Granny was bad enough, but their supporters around me were even worse Laughing when Greeny was bleeding in his throat, cheering when Long dogged Simmonds.....I hope they never, ever recover from this

I ventured to Casey yesterday against my better judgement because when you get a chance to see 17 Demons running around and the weather is good the lure is just too strong. Here's how I thought our blokes went. As always when making these comments remember that the ground is big and it's very hard to see exactly what's happening on the other side. There was a slight breeze blowing to the forward pocket at the northern end so that's where I stood. Jack Viney: First clearance of the match and first kick was just great to see. He was harder and faster around the stoppages than everyone else and did a lot of the grunt stuff. Looked in good touch and was generally very clean and kicked the ball well when he got the opportunity. But he was heavily tagged for 3 quarters so he didn't find much space. I'd be stunned if he wasn't back next week. Billy Stretch: I was a huge fan but was frustrated by his lack of improvement but yesterday I saw another side of Billy because instead of playing wing he played on ball, centre square and inside mid as well as outside. And he did it very well. He found the ball regularly, he had clean hands and pretty good decision making. Initially he found his kicks and handballs smothered but as the game went on and he got his confidence he got better and better. He's not as small as you might think and he's starting to use his body well in contested situations. Finished with a lovely goal and was one of, if not, the best on the ground. It is hard to see where he fits into the team though but will remain with us or in the AFL system based on yesterdays performace. His challange is to back it up. Promising signs but a way to go. Frost: Played a solid game with some good contested marking at times and a bit of dash and continued to do what he does. He's a tweener at the moment, probably a bit too good for VFL but not good enough for AFL. Still prone to silly mistakes like letting the ball go over the back of packs when he's last up but was a good contributor on the day. Pedersen: Full of fumbles I thought in the first half and not much of a contributor but stuck at it and played better as the game went on. A great mark in the second quarter and a good contributor. He played KPF and relief ruck. JKH: Played mainly forward and didn't really get into the game much. Kicked the first goal of the match and I thought he might be in for a good one but faded and whilst he was far from poor he wasn't a major contributor. It's hard to see where he goes from here. Harley Balic: He's an interesting player and one that if and when he plays senior footy for us will do it competently. Played mainly high forward and was very clean with the ball, found it well and kicked it well. Is capable above his head and knows where to run to provide options and find space. It was his first game back for a while and he'd be pretty pleased with it. It's hard to see where he fits in and will need some injuries to get a chance you'd think but when he plays he may well make it hard for whoever he replaces to get back in. I like him and think at present he's a terrific 23 to 30 player on the list but he might improve significantly over time. One to watch. Jayden Hunt: Poor old Jayden. Looks bereft of confidence and really struggled to find the ball and get involved. He just needs to start to try and enjoy his footy again and concentrate on the basics. We all know what he can do but he didn't do it yesterday. Tomas Bugg: I'm not a fan but there's no doubt he can play at this level. Started quite slowly but fought his way into the game and then really dominated it for a period where he kicked 3 goals quickly. They were at the other end to me so I can't really judge them but he was a good contributor in the typical Buggy way. It's really nice to see he's left the fake toughness behind and is just playing footy. Oscar Baker: Played wing and did it well. I've seen him three time now live and yesterday was the best of them. In the past the major knock is a lack of composure and an inability to see options and take them. But yesterday was much better and he used the ball quite well. He runs hard and takes the game on and has clean hands. He goes hard for the ball too. My view is he's still a long way from senior selection but moving in the right direction. He certainly has some great attributes and he's great to watch and improving. Harrison Petty: I love this kid and that's what he is, a kid. He reads the play really well, he reads the ball in the air really well and he's got sure hands above his head. And when he gets it he has good vision and executes really well. He was far from dominant yesterday but you can just tell he knows how to play footy and is a great prospect. Two more preseasons I reckon and we'll all be happy. Jeff Garlett: It's hard to appreciate how quick he is unless you see it close hand. And it's hard to understand how he can see options in a sea of players as quickly as he does. But he does and was a clear cut above this level yesterday although he didn't get a lot of it. He applied pressure and provided options yesterday as well as spending some time on ball. Reality is he's a cut above Spargo at the moment (no criticism of Spargo) so I guess his selection will come down to how he's playing his role and whether Goody wants him back. But he will get back and he is in our best 22 when he's going. Dion Johnstone: I think he's struggling at the moment and he played mainly back yesterday in what for me was a new role for him (I can't remember where he played against Richmond when I last saw him). He's tough and he has a go but he's struggling to find the ball and get involved. Hope he picks up but at the moment he's miles away. Josh Wagner: Solid and hard at it and a very good VFL player who did his bit yesterday in a very good team effort. But he won't be pressing for a call up given yesterday's performance and that of the seniors. Joel Smith: He's getting back if he isn't back already. I loved his game yesterday. He was involved, he was clean, he did things faster than almost everyone else, he ran well and he provided options and got into space as well as being strong in the air. His kicking is a weakness but I'd be very surprised if he doesn't press very hard for a game in the next month or so on that form. He's great to watch. Tim Smith: I've watched Tim over a long period now and although he's played some good games I've never thought he had AFL attributes - until yesterday. He was fantastic I thought. Strong in the air, strong on the ground and found plenty of it. He's not called Bull for nothing and for the first time yesterday I thought he really could play AFL footy. Great game. Dec Keilty: He played a really solid strong game without dominating. I didn't see him make a mistake and he took some solid marks. He was one of our three talls who, against good opposition, played their role well. Lachlin Filipovic: I like this kid. He had to play against Ceglar who is a good near quality AFL ruckman and would replace McEvoy very competently. Flipper did well in the ruck but struggled around the ground and in the air against a much more mature player. But he does get involved and he has surprisingly good skills for a ruckman of his height and appears to make pretty good decisions. I'd be amazed if he's not retained as a long term development project because he's showing good attributes. The game was a pretty fierce contest yesterday and Casey were relentless in their pressure and tackling and it was a genuine 4 quarter effort. The Hawks always threatened as they have very good system and use it well by foot but Casey just fought so hard all day that they finally wore them down to kick away to what appears to be a comfortable win but wasn't. Good fun yesterday and great to see the spirit and effort of all the players.

It would be just like Dom to play his hidden immunity idol and get a seat on the bench.

When I think haute cuisine, Chunk is the very next thing that comes to mind

Blocking is nothing more than what used to be known as interference - shepherding before the ball is wihin 5 metres. Think of the time it takes for a ball to traverse 5 m. Not long at all and much less than the shepherding takes. If only the umpires watched the game and did not look for "eyes on the ball" or "not genuine contest" or "fake jumper pulls" they might recognise their errors and umpire the game as it should be umpired - to create a fair contest between the players rather than a pedantic concentration on inconsequential fake rules that are open to gaming and cheating.

I was going to say that you couldn't make this shite up. But they actually are.

The AFL are corrupt bastards. They play favourites

The AFL will roll over and allow both Curnows to play Sunday. They have neutralised their Integrity department and are now making it up as they go. May got off because his team is playing in an exhibition game in China. Without May, it would be an utter bloodbath, not just a slaughter. The Curnows play for a quite popular big club who've just had their first win and the AFL don't want to stall their progress. BINGO, Just now reported both got off with fine. So umpire fiddling is now ok. AFL Shameless scum organisation

Your sanctimonious posts are nauseating.

I just think that its first and foremost a fan forum. Its ok to have a bit of a barrack now and then!! God knows weve been deprived of that over the years. Criticizing the side to the enth degree after a win is beyond me. As others have said the whole reason we didnt make the finals is because we lost to low teams too many times. At least in that fashion we seem to be progressing. We have some serious talent in this team, get out there and support them. Enough of the fun police.

Either they both get rest for a week, or the AFL's double standards are (again) on show for all to see. Plain and simple!

We are starting to move the footy fast enough and well enough for Jeffy to really capitalise and turn his opponent inside out. I love Spargo but happy for him to have a rest. It's Jeffy time! Viney - no brainer

I take no joy in the demise of anyone. He was a poor selection as our coach, but I assume he did his best. I hope he is ok on the back of this.

I take no pleasure in Neelds pain. Im comfortable with Essendons

Why on earth would he have been Essendon’s game day strategy coach? Were they tanking?

We have beaten teams placed 18th, 16th, 15th, 14th & 10th and about to play the 17th Team. We have lost to teams placed 1st, 3rd & 5th. Its a reminder for us to not get carried away. i admit we are playing ok footy, but until we beat teams in the 8 i am no more excited now that i was at the start of the year. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

He just engineered his second six-month paid holiday in the space of five years. The man is a strategic mastermind.

No, that's not likely. Neeld is talking about moving into sports administration. He can read the writing on the wall. I think part of his failure at Melbourne was the really fundamental failure to understand that not everyone can be taught or inspired in the same way. Different players (people) respond to different forms of support, challenge or encouragement. Neeld misread Watts completely for example. It was too much my way or the highway, too much hard man and Roosy saw through that. I feel for the bloke because I think coaching us took years off his life. I still remember him tearing up in the rooms after our surprise win over Essendon. No one can say he meant us harm, even though that was result of it.

This.

I do feel for Mark Neeld. I don't know that any first time coach would have done any better with the list he had at Melbourne, regardless of their coaching style. We should have appointed an experienced coach there and then, and that is not his fault. I have often wondered that if Neeld replaced Thompson at Geelong instead of Scott, he may very well be a premiership coach now. He was simply appointed by the wrong club at the worst possible time to bring in a coach of his style, and his career was forever doomed once he received the congratulatory phone call from Garry Lyon. I wish him the best of luck in the future

We'll be 6-3 for the first time to start a season in over a decade if we win this weekend. You can cry into your coffee about it and blame the fixturing schedule, but I'll be pretty pleased to see us in this position when you factor in what we've put up with over the last 10 seasons.

That first word is the clue ... Robbo !! Take no notice