mo64

I'm scared. I counted 10 players key position players or players who play tall, plus 4 ruckmen. We are seriously light on for quality midfielders.

A stupid and ill-informed comment on so many levels. For starters, the Chinese are huge gamblers, and if we can offer them an inclusive environment at the games, they may attend. And rather than can up with "find imaginative ways to re-sign lost members from previous seasons", why not offer a proposal?

Not sure if we need this type of support. If you were referring to the band The Stranglers, I think they're already aligned with the Hawks through their song Golden Brown. Ok, I'm showing my age.

This is the part that frustrates me Franky. It's not necessarily about winning or losing pre-season games, it's about who's on the park and how we're playing.

True, but then just come out and say that, without misleading the supporters into thinking that we'll have close to a full side. Also, do you expect the likes of Rivers, Whelan, Wheatley, Dunn and Bartram to play in round 1 without playing a preseason game?

RR this is crap, and you obviously don't follow the other sports. I work in the sports betting industry, and understand the importance of players injury status. The AFL IS the only football code that seems to think that there is an advantage in keeping the opposition guessing.

It doesn't happen in any other football code and is a an embarassment to our code. We're 6 weeks away from the season proper, so what's the point? And if coaches don't have contingency plans based on who's in or out of the opposition team, they shouldn't be in the job. My belief is that the club is trying to put a positive spin in order to attract members. DB came out yesterday and said that out of the senior list, only McLean and Bruce would miss the game against the Cats with injury, and that Neitz is 50/50. We'll see if he's true to his word. If the club wants to treat it's supporters likes fools, our membership will drop rather than grow, because I'm sick to death of our club having so many 426's on our list!

RR, what does the 'cone of silence' policy by the club regarding injuries actually achieve?

Roos has given up a 1st round pick for Ted Richards and a 3rd round for Henry Playfair. If Miller's worth a Swans 4th or 5th rounder, he aint held in high esteem.

Also, we're playing the reigning premier on their own dung heap. We deserve to be at the longest odds.

mo64 sees something in Miller. That doesn't mean that it's complimentary!!!!

Thanks DW. The part I found interesting is that Miller and Holland weren't mentioned amongst the marking forwards. Whilst Miller has never been a strong contested mark, hence his possible exclusion, I'd suggest that he'll play in the backline all year, form permitting.

Demons32, I suggest that you should take into account the fitness levels of the players before you name them in your NAB Cup team. Whelan, Rivers and Grimes definitely won't play NAB Cup.

Not true. He kicked a few goals playing in the SANFL last year, and played forward more often than back.

PG's comments were in response to some sensationalist journalism by a few in the press. Yes you Caro and Fatprick Smith! The press had the same comments to make when Rick Aylett resigned as CEO of North. The minute Eugene Arocca was appointed, the crisis was over. I'll think you'll find the same thing will happen when our new CEO is appointed.

Based on the player positions during the practice match and Bailey's comments regarding fitness, here's my NAB Cup first XXVI: BL: Bell Holland Frawley HB: Buckley Miller Green CL: Bode Moloney Bate HF: Sylvia Newton Davey FF: Robertson Neitz Wonaemirri R: White McDonald Jones IC: Meesen, P.Johnson, Yze, Valenti, Martin, Weetra, Garland, Morton,

Thanks timmy. Just a few more questions: What's the extent of McLean's injury? How did Rivers look? Who did most of the rucking?

What position did Weetra play? If Newton took a screamer on Miller, who was the forward?

I heard everything Greg Denham had to say, and his ' logo merger' comment was a mischievous attempt at humour. He was actually very positive about our new football department.

Fair call by Patrick Smith. Now is not the time for spin-doctoring by those at the top. Now's the time for Paul Gardiner to come out and say it as it is.

When asked on SEN this morning about the Melbourne CEO position, Brian Waldron said that he had a handshake agreement with the Storm to stay till 2010, and that he's happy at the Storm. Reading between the lines, that suggests that he's certainly interested in the CEO position, otherwise he could have categorically said that he's not leaving the Storm.

Would love to see Danny Corcoran back at demonland. He ticks all the boxes for mine. And the CEO job would be a walk in the park compared to his current job at Athletics Australia. It's not called AA for nothing

Doesn't that apply to South Africa and the UAE as well? South Africa struggles to get coloured national representation into it's mainstream sports in cricket and rugby union. And I doubt that we'll be seeing any kids from Dubai playing AFL. The point of the China experiment is to get potential Chinese multi-national companies from, their burgeoning economy, to sponsor the club. I think the initiative taken by the club should be applauded.

sickto, a contract extension usually means in addition to an existing contract. That would suggest that Harris was signed up to the end of 2009. Did you actually mean that he was re-signed in November for an additional 12 months? Either way, I agree that the situation didn't arise in the last 2 months.

DemonDave, let me say up front that I like the Storm and rugby league, but the Storms' crowds dropped significantly when they moved to Telstra Some, and don't even come close to the Victory in terms of core support. The Storm's crowd numbers have been at similar levels (13k) when they've been successful, which is pretty often. When they're not making the finals, the crowd numbers drop under 10k. As for Waldron, what has he actually achieved since he's been there? What's the Storm's membership numbers? You'd expect a team that's been as successful as the Storm to have a healthy membership. And as I previously said, their financial viability is underpinned by News Ltd. Oh and btw, he did a great job in re-signing Steve Turner last season after Turner had already agreed to sign with the Gold Coast. What did the Gold Coast receive in compensation? I think you confuse his passion with being the obnoxious prat that he is.