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Do NEVER mention that spud again please.

Cross will be pizzed to miss the return doggies match.... Not half as pizzed as I am that he is out for up to 6...... Tough as nails....some serious body on line stuff in last two weeks.

Bad news. Crossy has been enormous for us this year. Hope this doesn't put retirement on his mind. Would love him to continue next season!

They're football players not office workers. And to quote Jordan Lewis "We're men not boys" I just watched the "spray" for the first time, how sensitive have we become when this is even an issue.

Byrnes won 2 premiership medals and played a decent part in them. Made the most out of his football ability and should retire very very very happy.

Anyone know what's going on with the WorkSafe investigation? Surely their internal governance on player safety was severely compromised. If this was a work site or factory it would have been shut down.

Cop this then -

Interesting, and something that I hope eventuates. Out with the old, in with the new. Frawley is still conditioned from our dark days, he is not leader material, he doesn't set a great example onfield and his capacity to think is very limited. The opportunities for us to develop our own batch of star mids under the right coaches and environment is here and now. Posters are just too scarred by the past when clearly not every star was aligning. I want to see a new breed and a new club born over the coming years.

I agree. We will miss him, but if he doesn't want to be here then so be it. Thank god this is happening to us while they do still offer compo for free agency. We have been screwed by it, and taking Byrnes just made it so much worse - the year we lost a best and fairest winner and a Rising Star winner. But onwards and upwards. Interesting to see how the poll has evened out. I hope he stays, but I'm expecting him to go.

I'm not sure that is right. Let me give you a scenario. I am a Chinese swimmer. My doctor tells me to take special natural supplements. I check with my Doctor who says "you are fine to take these". I train like mad and win an Olympic gold medal. I am the pride of my nation. Then it turns out my doctor has been ordering illegal substances from a chemist. My doctor has correspondence with my coach saying in effect "we got the good stuff because we are going for an olympic gold medal." "Hey you had better get swimmer x to sign a consent form". My swim team has an unprecedented number of soft tissue injuries. My swimming association makes a statement saying they have been giving swimmers supplements. They don't know what the substances are but they could be illegal. The coach we employed has a chequered past and we don't have records of what he gave our swimmers. I am accused of taking banned substances. I plead my innocence. I did everything in my power to check the substances were WADA compliant. I lose my gold medal. Is there another alternative that doesn't sully the sport?

Nathan Jones ‏@nathan2jones 30m The greatest day of my life. I've got two angels. Welcome to the world little Bobbi Grace Jones. http://instagram.com/p/plbhmRgDPN/ Now from a selfish point of view does this mean we wont miss the darwin game anymore as the bub has arrived early.

Congrats Mr and Mrs Jones. Welcome to a world of worry, stress, constant expense and the best time of your lives. Good luck and enjoy.

Whatever happens, he has had a disappointing year. He went back last week in the second half, where the ball was all the time and managed 1 possession for the half. His passing now consist of bombing it a mile in the air. He doesn't seem to chase. He really seems disinterested. I think he is gone.

History will tell that Hird was the one armed man on the grassy nole.

Patrick Smith has just made a monkey out of fellow Australian newspaper employee Chip Le Grand whose articles are nothing more than pro-Essendon agitprop and should be ignored because they are cr@p.

I meant, if the players bring civil suits against the club for any combination of "unsafe work place", "administering bannd substances which prematurely ended my playing career", "lost earnings" (both as a player, and future career), "damaged reputation", "pain and suffering" etc. will the club be responsible to pay all claims out of its own pockets, or will insurance cover them? I assume the doctor would have the appropriate professional idemnity insurance, but Hird, Dank and Co, won't. I imagine a player like Jobe Watson, if banned, would be in the box seat to win a claim against the club on the above for millions in lost earnings etc. particularly if stripped of a Brownlow and misses a year or two of AFL pay, follwed by damage to his potential post-playing career. Watson might not, because Essendon might mean more to him than money, and he and family are well off already. If I was a small/mid time player earning a couple of hundred K and this was currently affecting my playing and future career, and there was a chance this would be settled for 500+ k, that would certainly set up the rest of my life. If 34 players put a case in after being banned the club will certainly fold.

Has been for some time.

I think this news may allow Ro Bail to step up and tag one of the Bulldogs' midfield. Bring in Sam Blease now to run the lines.

Ins ... Michie and Blease Outs ... Cross and Mckenzie

I'm a cruel [censored] but I couldnt help think of this when I saw the name Bobbi Grace

Never a deal between AFL and doping agency

Garlo has too many runs on the board to be dropped, but he'd want things to turn soon. He will be his toughest critic right now I suspect.

I just re-read (for the umpteenth time) the AFL's Notice of Charge, specifically Annexure A. The EFC are cooked. The only form of Thymosin that purports to offer any recuperative effects is TB4, not Thymosin alpha or Thyomomodulin. It was TB4 that Dank sourced from China via Charter. It was TB4 that the EFC was invoiced for. Dank didn't realise until May 2012 that the Thymosin (TB4) he'd been using on the players (since Feb?) was banned.

I have heard from a reliable source that young Bobbi Grace got up last and handed the stethoscope to the doctor before she left the room. Like father, like daughter.

I didn't realise his stats were so poor, but I noticed three things. A very strong contested mark against a big pack. A 60 m goal shot, and a very aggressive attack on one of our players, whom he dwarfed. Georgiou outplayed a couple of top class AFL forwards early this season, if I remember correctly, so perhaps it wasn't a disgrace to concede honours to him( though that wasn't obvious to me) I couldn't help feeling, watching him in that dominant performance by Box Hill, that there was a guy who we could use if Hogan doesn't come up. I guess my real point is, we should study Box Hill closely. There could be players there that can't break into their strong AFL side, that could shine for us. Someone else mentioned how we got Brett Lovett. Sydney secured Josh Kennedy. Players aren't happy playing multiple VFL games , repeatedly being in the "best players",with no hope of senior selection. So despite the fact this is an "embarrassing thread", I think there's some food for thought, JV7.

Out: Salem, McKenzie In : michie, blease

Michie for McKenzie?

May the football gods...and the WORLD SPORTS ADMINISTRATION GODS please smite these recalcitrant idiots and wipe them from our sight. Choice. Windy Hillers. 1) Suck it up and pay homage to the incalculable and immoral damage you have imposed on those who seek and rely on your governance. 2) go to hell, do not pass go, do not collect any sympathy , do not return.

In an unprecedented move, the Federal Court has allowed the directions hearing to be broadcast live on ABC television. Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/email-questions-what-peptides-bombers-were-given-before-consent-forms-20140621-zsh8k.html#ixzz35Jo2EMpD Well the Federal Court Judge is certainly wanting to allow the broad public direct access to the proceeding, so that it can see what goes down. I must say that like so many others I am getting sick of this whole episode. I really don't care anymore if the players are given short suspensions or none at all. Basically they have been misled by people they trusted and who effectively ruled them. They now have far more serious issues to be concerned about, their health. That is far more serious than any suspension. As I have said before I find the behaviour of Essendon Officials both during and after the scandal disgraceful. To reappoint Hird on the day of the AFL penalties was disgusting. To have the Doctor who allowed this to happen to still be in charge of the player's health is more disgusting. He should be ashamed of his behaviour in this scandal. I am at the stage where I feel you can let the players off and ban the Board and the officials from AFL involvement. I would stand and applaud the banning of the Essendon Board and Officials involved who to this very moment argue that the players were not given anything banned or a danger to player's health yet admit in the same breath they don't know what was administered. How do they sleep at night? Shameful and disgusting. I wish every player involved sues the club. PS. Chris Connolly has effectively been given a lifetime ban from AFL football for doing what many other AFL clubs and officials including Demetriou said was ok. He didn't put any player's health at risk. He alone was singled out of all the AFL club officials who agreed with the process and did the same for their clubs and were rewarded with top players and was martyred. He took his punishment and said nothing. No Court. No smearing the AFL. No journos speaking out about him. Isolated and the fall guy. The late Coach also copping a short suspension but then allowed back into the game. No finding of any guilt other than telling a joke about tanking

copy the bit that says story-d3928y9wu or whatever into google and then click the link.

Jimmy Toumpas and Luke Tapscott were our leading tacklers with 6 each. Jimmy Toumpas is developing just perfectly.

Dylan Shiel mentioned also. Still feel like Shiel is gettable, perhaps the most likely out of GWS. I wonder how much their improved form will affect go home factor of the Vic kids. http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/hawthorn-inquires-about-richmond-skipper-trent-cotchins-contract-status-with-buddy-money-in-mind/story-fndv8os9-1226964217933

Or AWFL?

And in Tuesdays H-S there is a story that one of their big wig lawyers is the President of Athletics Australia. (I don't know how to do the link from an iPad) Talk about poor judgement and a massive conflict of interest.

But what if Spain are tanking???

Callum Sinclair if your looking at Ruckman not getting a regular game

Keep trying Nate. Daughter's a good start but you're not done yet.

IN: Blease, Michie, Terlich OUT: McKenzie (susp), Riley, Salem FB: Garland, Dunn, Jetta HB: Grimes, McDonald, Terlich C: M. Jones, Michie, Tyson HF: Watts, Frawley, Bail FF: Pedersen, Dawes, Kent FOLL: Jamar, Cross, N. Jones INT: Howe, Vince, Viney SUB: Blease EMERG: Gawn, Riley, Toumpas

Well, one thing for sure, he won't get a game next week. Lets hope that he can develop more positive skills as the whole side does. And I agree that if he doesn't or can't then he won't keep getting games, and will eventually (like all players) move on.

I agree with Steve in that if Jordie stays as he is now then there should be players in 2 years who have well gone past him in the midfield. And whilst I don't know the answer I ask the question, if we believe that Roos and Co will improve players why is Jordie McKenzie immune from improvement.

How do you convince the Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney top up players to travel every second weekend to play after a full week of work?How do the Sydney and Brisbane teams get sufficient quality local players to be able to compete with the Vic, SA and WA sides, who would have a much bigger talent pool to choose from?

Out McKenzie, Salem (rest no reserves) In Michie, JKH (sub) Roos said in his after match presser that he thinks Michie is right to go and would talk to the other coaches about how he is going.

Tom is a legitimate prospect. I am happy to put up with some poor kicks and decisions while he grows as a footballer. I think he is worth investing in.

Michie is a lock for Mckenzie IMO.. Blease for Salem would be my other change

Out: Riley, Salem, McKenzie (susp) In: Michie, Blease, JKH Playing Michie and Blease could possibly mean if they perform that Viney and Tyson can spend a bit more time at half forward instead of big midfield minutes. Evans and Barry have both being doing tagging roles at different times at Casey so they might be considered. The reality is we are shuffling deck chairs a bit with those last 3 or 4 spots on the half forward/midfield rotation to which we don't have the cattle yet.

The only problem I have with him the moment is the lack of his signature on the contract waiting for him at head office.

Shaun atley and Andrew gaff would be decent targets, use the ball well, speed, run and carry and neither are worth a top5 pick so we would most likely get a pick back, west coast would love a crack at young pickett

The umpire pointed the wrong way. This as far as I'm concerned is completetly unacceptable from an umpire and to then call advantage once everyone had stopped (becuase they thought it was a Melbourne free kick) should be a punishable offence.

I used to be a Juventus fan. The officiating in Serie A during that terrible, league-wrecking drama (match fixing) a few years ago was immesurably superior to what we get in the AFL. The AFLs standard of umpiring cannot reasonably be put down to incompetence because it is always biased, and incompetence is blind. They are cheating.

What are we to applaud players for doing if it's not fundamental footy things? Funny that McKenzie handballs features in the two most watched clips from the game: the Kent running goal and the Salem goal.