dieter

A fantastic speech. I wish Oskar all the best. Gee, his dad seems to know a thing or two about the game. I thought Queenslanders just squashed toads, grew bananas and voted for One Nation....

To be injured in the manner he was is an indication of just how plain unlucky this man is. It was a very harsh call to ping him in the first place and then to be tackled in the way he was - everybody else on the ground and in the commentary box saw it was a a foul and unlawful tackle - and to be penalised for being the victim of this kind of illegal tackle is also atrocious umpiring.

It seems Gazza is unhappy being tagged a Sniper. He probably resembles it, as they say in the classics. If I were him I'd settle for the fact I have total immunity from any prosecution.

Just call me Deus ex machina....

He sure was: I have him 5 votes.....

Just finished watching replay. Some observations: The Suns are going to be a very good side. They have players with wonderful skills. I liked the efforts of Wagner, Stretch, Fritsch, Hore and Harmes. Garlett was nowhere near as bad as the people who hate Garlett on this site make out. He put in all day. I'd like to see how his rabid critics would fare given the atrocious delivery he and his forwards were fed. He played committed.The ball didn't bounce his way ... Tom looks on the way back.He still isn't clunking the marks he grabbed so cleanly last year. Confidence.... Oscar looks way down on confidence. I understand why the Melbourne Coaching hierarchy persists. People who knock him forget how confidently he played towards the last half of last year, how effective he was. Okay, he bombed in Perth, so did the rest of the team. I love Viney's attack. If he ever gets fit again we will observe what an inspiration his style of play is. Oliver endeavor was great. Sometimes his skills were way too fast for our boys to take advantage... Brayshaw kept trying. His day wasn't the cleanest, but he put in. Jones and Lewis were good. Forget about dropping them, they are essential even more now the injury list is in mammoth land. Though it looks like Lewis is a victim. Gawn is a giant of the game. Hibberd and Melksham will be missed. Keilty was a liability. He tried, full marks, give me Preuss. Salem is a very hard nut. Hore and Lockhart were good. Another day, another dollar, less tax.

6: Salem 5: Frost 4: Gawn 3; Melksham 2: Oliver 1:Jones Petracca,Fritsch, Hunt, Tom McDonald, Stretch honorable mentions

The bottom line is good teams win the close games. We are far from being a good team, injuries continue to decimate us BUT..... Also, remember, the Suns almost knocked off last year's premieres. In Perth....

Lovely part of the world, Evans head. Prefer Brunswick Heads, much greener and tropical but probably 3 times as expensive.

There's a lot of blindness on this site: endemic???Myopia???Cataracts????Glaucoma?????

poor gazza, they pick on him because he's a christian...

I hope you didn't tell Ron Barassi.

This stuff is so friggin tedious! About as tedious as all the sanctimony about a bloke who's down on his luck sharing a beer or two with some mates.

It's also occurred to me that we're talking about Professional athletes. A Forward's job is mainly to kick a winning score. If a professional athlete can't even get the bloody basics right he isn't earning his pay cheque.

Not sure he'd last long here because of the 'language' issue: Grapeviney would be onto him in no time.

Came across a food stand at Eumundie Market a few years ago. Somebody walked past with a dish that looked like Bigosz, a sauerkraut and sausage dish, one of the proofs there is a God, and it turned out there was actually a food stand run by a Polish Couple in their late fifties. I told the woman my wife was Polish and she produced a Tea Shirt - Pray for me, My wife is Polish. There is a male version as well. Another time at the Europa Cake shop in Carnegie I told the Polish woman the same thing. She replied, Polish girls keep you on your toes. I replied, Unfortunately I'm not a ballerina.

Never said anything about trying to win. Lost that urge in 1989 when I met her. It's just that, Yes, dear, doesn't cut it either. Please remember, my wife IS Polish.

Last night I tried to imagine a best case scenario, namely that Hannan, J.Smith, Preuss, Lever, Viney, May and Vandenberg would be fit and available in 4 weeks. The Demons could still become a very formidable proposition especially if and when Tom Mac finds some form. The interesting issue then would become who do you leave out?

Touche. My wife questions my intelligence constantly. I make up for it by keeping the kitchen clear and clean and cooking all the meals. She settles for that sometimes. When I was a younger man a Spanish floor cleaner at the State Bank told me that with women you never win. At the risk of being labelled a misogynist, I am beginning to see he may have had a point.

An intelligent person would not have been anywhere near that situation in the first place.

I'd keep him above ground, myself, and just give him some tips on how to kick a footy. I recall when I played Under 16's the coach took me aside and gave me some tips. My kicking improved overnight.

I've just finished watching the replay and I agree, the umpiring was pure and utter bulldust, and inconsistent.

6: Harmes 5: Gawn 4: Salem 3: Oliver 2: Petracca 1: Hibberd.

Fair enough question. Who's their Good Luck Coach?

The bottom line is it is what it is. There simply had to be consequences of the Post Season Operation schedule, consequences, no doubt, of Melbourne's late season success and attack at the Premiership. Trying to blame people, looking for leakages, shedding of responsibilities is all like spitting in the wind. It solves nothing, you can't blame Misson for the injuries... Injuries are not the excuse, they were a fact of life. Not much you can do about that.