Bang Bang Bang

I hope we're not silly enough to do this out of spite.

I still hold out hopes for him. But his form this year was a worry. I remember his name in his draft year, seeing some of his highlights and thinking "Wow, what a jet!" What I've recently discovered is that he had 'season-ending hip surgery' around July 2012, after the Championships where he made a name for himself. That might explain why he looked so good at U/18 level and then so out of his depth early on at AFL level. The questions I have are: a) Was it definitely double-hip surgery? Any articles that can confirm it was both hips? b) Will he ever make a full recovery from it? Hip surgery sounds pretty serious and he certainly looks slower now than he did in the highlights vids. He seems like a great kid and it's not his fault we picked him ahead of Wines. I really hope he makes it.

Surely this is the exact attitude Paul Roos spoke about recently as the main thing he's trying to eradicate from this club. Enough of living in the past and playing the 'woe is us'. We could have had Wines, we don't. Instead of slitting our wrists every time Wines has a good game (every week) how about putting it behind us and backing our own horse in Toumpas to come good next year?

I doubt that very much. Apart from taking up a spot on the list, there is nothing to lose from Clark being on our list in 2015. Even if the comeback didn't work.

Could someone provide a short summary of what was said? Takes an eternity for videos to load on that website.

Is it too early to be taking bets on when the first "Sack Goodwin" thread will appear? Round 4 2017 is looking good! I'd personally prefer an assistant from a different club, but will put my blind faith in PJ and Roos picking the right man.

I can see two ways that we can benefit from this. 1. Clark goes to Collingwood in exchange for Lumumba. That's a good trade for us. Have no idea why people would think otherwise. Lumumba is a known quantity and a good footballer. Clark is (was) a good footballer but is a massive risk for them in many ways. 2. Clark sounds out other clubs, gets no bites and comes crawling back to the club Dustin Martin-style. We offer him a spot on the rookie list, he comes back in Round 1 and dominates in tandem with Hogan and Dawes. He bowes out in 2017 with Melbourne having just won the flag. OK, I got carried away on the second point there but both possibilities are realistic.

GNF posted in this thread around 24 hours ago with a title of "MFC blindsided". I suggest you read it, as like you I rate his posts massively.

In regards to compensation, I think we need to face some facts here. We gave up pick 12 for him, he's now 2 years older, with a dodgy foot, well-documented mental health issues, and is starting to emerge as a guy with 'questionable' morals. Had a good start to 2012 before the injury but that was a long time ago. Might get a second rounder if we're lucky.

The audio was cutting out for me too (got to hear their ad 4 times though, thanks SEN). Let's be honest all the manager had to say was "No guarantee that Clark will return to AFL football, but if he does it will be with Melbourne" Instead there was umming and aahing and fence-sitting. I still reckon he's a goner.

Well I never doubted that.

Don't expect good news! Barrett, Ralph, SEN, Mahoney's comments GNF, removal of 11 from his twitter-feed, they all point to the unthinkable. I'm interested in what Roos has to say on 360 tonight though. Would not surprise me if he tees off.

I think we are actually!

That's all well and good but why didn't he say this from the beginning? Instead of stringing the club along?

A mental illness is a serious issue but it doesn't excuse you from acting like a complete and utter [censored]. Scully looks like Mother Teresa in comparison to this. Anyway, thanks for the update GNF. Clark can get stuffed.

If he really told the club that he wants out because the losses/rebuild won't be good for his mental health, then he shouldn't be returning to competitive sport at all.

That's a deplorable act by Clark if true (and it's a massive IF).

Short memory! In 2013 he stuck to his guns all year with the Paul Roos stuff. Even after the media had closed the book on Roos being open to coaching anywhere, and we had all given up. He put his balls out and was proven right. I'm normally pretty sceptical of anonymous posters with their 'inside scoops' but GNF has way more credits in the bank than others. Especially Nudge!

I'd be very surprised if he went to another club. There are no quotes that say his comeback won't be with Melbourne, just that he's in good shape and likely to attempt a comeback. My guess is that Barrett is trying to drum up interest in the story by saying it won't be with Melbourne. He may be proven right of course, but it wouldn't make much sense at all.

I don't care if he's leaving, we clearly nailed the Frawley pick in 2006. At the time I was filthy we didn't take James Sellar, who went to the Crows two picks later. Just sayin...

I thought the same thing about Geelong when Rivers went there but here we are 2 years on and they're still winning and comfortably making finals. I put it down to a winning culture and easily the best fixture-deal of any club. MASSIVE home ground advantage at Kardinia Park, and not much of a disadvantage (in terms of support) when playing in Melbourne.

So what? What the Bulldogs decide to do should take nothing away from Cross. It's no different to what Chapman's done at the Bombers. Do you think Essendon fans will call patronise and refer to him as a "Geelong reject" when he finishes Top 5 in their B&F?

Oh dear...

It was a season of two halves. The first half: B+ The second half: F If we swapped the two halves around, and had finished the season with wins over Adelaide, Richmond and Essendon, then we'd be a lot more optimistic going into 2015. Unfortunately for us, the game is 22 games and any good work we did early in the year was completely rubbed out by our horrible final stretch. It's a D- overall for me.