hemingway

Looking at the names of Casey players and stats of this game it suggests that we do indeed have depth at the club and a list that can take us a long way. Fantastic to see guys who are wracking up the possessions and playing out the season with such intensity. Suggests that the spirit of our boys and the confidence that comes from winning at Casey is having a big impact. It is hard to believe the turnaround at senior level and also at Casey that is going set us up for next season.

Hard to remember a first player that looks so much at ease in the big time and who can influence the game. A great coup for our recruiting staff.

Agree, his Year 12 results tell us that he is very bright. I can't remember his score but it was very high.

Amazing, we have just had a famous win and folks are talking about who we get rid of at season end.

Please stay Roosy. The man is all class. Will be so sad to see him go given the promise shown today. Will be forever indebted to this man.

sorry Bitter, there are some exceptions best not to burst your bubble!

Like everyone on this site/thread, the Earl has many different personas. Like reality TV, this thread is not reality.

Would like to see the Weed play this year just not against the Hawks. Still have the memory of Jack and the Pies.

Like your creative thinking Youami. I suppose the other obvious thing to say is that those coaches had great lists of talented and driven footballers as a result of great recruiting of young talent and experienced talent that was allowed to flourish in a successful environment. That was certainly the case with Smith at Melbourne and Barassi at Carlton and North. I would not put Blight in that same frame. For a period with Smith and Barassi, success built on success just as we see today with the top teams. Hopefully we are creating that environment at Melbourne. The other comment to make is that the coaches you mentioned had very strong values, and they imparted strong discipline and team rules. They made tough decisions and were uncompromising in their attitudes. They also had the respect but not necessary the love of their players. If you link Goodwin to these attributes he has a lot to live up to. He apparently is loved by the players but he had yet to gain the respect of his players, club and football world. He will need to achieve early team success and show us that he is a leader and coach with strong values who is uncompromising in his quest for success. He will need to develop the right culture and a game plan that works. He will also need to break some players hearts along the way.

If you are looking for class Red, you have the wrong man. You must be thinking of another writer. I think also that this is not a thread for people with class rather more for a bunch of ratbags, nut bags , eccentrics and those with a vivid imagination or a well worn unreality. Now in my quiet moments I can identify with these disparate elements but I don't like to be reminded of my own deficiencies or be reminded of them by the ruffians on this thread. Redleg and OD excluded.

Excellent Bing we could talk for hours about cycling. Great response.

Not sure OD but the parting was rapid. I guess the contact should not have been made in the first place. In the case of the EFC, the contact was not made by the club doctor but by the coach, but in the case of MFC, contact was made by the club doctor who should have known better. He had not done his due diligence or was operating on the edge and taking a risk. However, it shows how quickly things can get out of hand when one person takes it upon themselves to operate outside the square.

had contact with Dank. past tense fortunately and the good doctor was dispatched in the nick of time.

And the Demons had a doctor who has made contact with Dank. From all appearances it appeared that he was going to be used as a "consultant" to the MFC. It did not appear to have the knowledge or approval of the club but it was getting close to an unholy alliance.

Correct. Freely sourced in gyms, internet, and independent operators. If I was a user, I would visit a gym that I know well where easy contacts and supply can be arranged. Body builders and ex-body builders are one of the best sources for muscle building supplements. Also you can take a trip to SE Asia and pick up stuff easily although customs might be a problem. Post is used to minimize detection. And if you want to be strong as a horse, there are plenty of vet supplements available. I am not so sure about EPO or growth hormone but presumably not that difficult to source, given the market and the every growing supply chain.

agree daisy. but you have nailed it. the cost is prohibitive and sports want to self-regulate. the more successful WADA/ASADA are in outing cheats, the more the sports bodies want out. as we found in the AFL/EFC scandal. they are close to the mark.

sad but true macca

Agree with most of your comments. In regard to doping, the challenge will be to keep up with the drug cheats as mentioned on the doco. How they use them, when they use them and the nature of the drugs themselves. At the end of the day, you can only do so much. We have to accept that there will be sophisticated dopers in all sports that will get away with doping and others who soon or later will be found out.

Just thought I would check after banishing myself from this thread for some time. Pleased that nothing has changed. Still the same characters trying to one-up and outwit one another. Too much competition. I will check back in 4 weeks.

Totally agree with these comments. I must admit, I would feel much more comfortable if we had Roos at the helm over the next few years, despite criticism of his game plan or match day coaching. I just think his overall impact on the footy club and footy department has been profound. He is a person of exceptional character and high values. His tempered and positive views and thinking has been really important when we have had reasons to doubt and worry. For some reason, I have an uneasy feeling about Goodwin. I know, irrational and without cause, but there you are.

I must remind myself not to reply to your posts Nut, as I do not think that I have sufficient intellectual rigor to debate with you. It is much easier to like or just agree. Its a bit like reading the Financial Review, I can only read when in the mood and when I think that I am more intelligent than I really am. Keep up the analysis and intellectual rigor Nut, I really appreciate your posts when I am in the mood.

One can understand the inducement of the professional athlete and in fact sympathize to some degree because doping in all its forms has been normalized and accepted by those within sport. The financial inducement and the desperate desire of athletes to have contracts signed and endorsed, in short, to succeed, is huge. We have to accept that doping in many sports has been around for 50 to 100 years. It has waxed and waned but it has been around. We love our footy but anabolic steriods have been used since the 1970s in the weight rooms. So whilst not condoning EFC, the use of doping agents was predicated on the assumption that it was okay because everyone was doing it and that it was required to get a competitive edge on the opposition. Perhaps an exaggeration but the assumption has some truth although perhaps not in the systemic program used by the EFC. However, the doco last night did elevate my consciousness to a new level. Clearly, the challenge now is dealing with the legal cheats. As more and more money comes into professional sport, there is now a major focus on research labs and scientists to legally find ways to obtain a competitive advantage. This is a whole new ethical and philosophical discussion. Is it cheating? What is cheating? In cycling, Team Sky has double the budget of any other world team. This gives them an enormous advantage over other teams. Is Chris Froome and his team clean? I suspect that technically they are because they would have so much to lose by doping given their public stance and the attitude of British Governments and that of the British cycling federation. However, the performance of Froome and his team looks very much like the past performances of Lance and his teams. But are they doping? I think not, but I suspect that they are way ahead in the area of research and sports science. They will have "trade secrets" that provide a competitive advantage to their cyclists and athletes. The performance of British athletes at the London Olympics suggested that they had a significant competitive advantage due to the money spent on preparation. This money is spent on the athletes, on facilities, on equipment, and on the most scientific methods of preparation. So increasingly, there will be athletes that may not break the rules and avoid being outed as cheats, but nevertheless still gain a competitive advantage by using a substance or method that is outside the accepted norms of training and preparation. The use of new substances and methods is exploding as the pressure to succeed increases and more and more money is spent on sport.

Supply of single malt no doubt OD.

Agree Macca, a disappointing program. Some useful points. First, that the long term health effects of doping can be life threatening. Two, that many PED are untested and unregulated. Three, that there is a strong link between the criminal drug dealers and those pedalling PED. Four, that there are ever increasing ways to improve performance legally, as shown by the stimulation of brain cells to dull pain during exertion. It may be legal but is it ethical? It may be seen as a legal way to cheat! The admission that this technology was being used. Five, that science is finding increasing ways to boost performance legally (but ethically?). For someone who has loved sport and loved competitive sport, it was depressing. In regard to AFL, the EFC saga is a reflection of an out of control culture that permeates sport.

A trade or not a trade. The success of which will be determined by whom we lose.