hemingway

Lets face it, with a few exceptions sports reporters and journos are not the smartest people on the planet. In fact if they were smart they would not be doing what they are doing. Football journos are probably at the bottom of the pile. In fact, half of them are not journalists, but merely reporters. Often think the term journalist gives credibility to a pretty ordinary bunch. Also there are so many of them nowadays all trying to break stories and get their name.......well, in the paper.

Like this post. A sensible view with perspective. Sure we have weaknesses and need to continue to develop players. However, stability, a sense of direction and maintaining a positive outlook is important. I think the losses are difficult because we have seen glimpses of how good we can be and seen glimpses of future success. I would much prefer that we have Roos than not have him. Time will tell how important these last few years have been, however, for the time being i have confidence that the club and the coaching staff are on the right track.

Take your point DD but does not mean that they all supported the tarnished one. I guess it really doesnt matter. He's gone.

With some. but its a bit like the dwindling rump supporting Tony Abbott, or the few delusional generals supporting Adolf in his final hours. There are many Don's supporters who stopped supporting Hird a long time ago, I know of a number who refused to take out memberships because of the drugs scandal and Hirdy's behaviour. There will be always be a small hardcore of Neo-Hirdists but he lost support of many Bomber fans over time.

Agree with the pro Jones posts. Our best player, the heart and soul of the team. No-one else comes close from a captaincy viewpoint. Has played this year with injury and heavy tags.

Just another hollow feeling. Amazing how each week, you summon up a little hope and interest to end up with that same old empty feeling. Cannot summon up enough interest to read Demonland or to think about the whys and wherefores or ins and outs next week. Next weeks game is depressing. I am not sure at this stage of the week whether I can face it. Two wretched teams facing up to one another. So far to go for both teams. A win will not prove much and a loss will just be another kick in the guts and a miserable end to the season. The side with the least turnovers should win.

Sounds like the opposite of Jack Watts. Saw Jack in the street this week and he is built like a scarecrow. Could not get over how thin his legs and upper body were, No muscle or bulk at all.

This maybe so but seriously what has happened to this world. What crazy nonsense. At times I want to go somewhere a long way away and not be exposed to the horrors of this world and also the inanities of the modern state. It seems more and more that the major issues that threaten civilization are ignored and we spend our time digesting this stuff.

The fact is that Dank was a conman and three clubs were dumb enough to get get conned. All were looking at getting the stuff that others were getting. The only difference was that one of the club's had a coach who took the view that whatever it takes. The 3rd club had a dumb doctor who thought he was at the cutting edge. He was conned and forgot what he had learned at med school in regard to ethical medicine medicine. He could have done a lot of damage.

Irrespective the Demons were very close to getting into bed with a very shady customer, presumably due to his "impressive" track record and involvement at EFC. Thankfully the liaison ended very quickly once the bombshell hit. Fortunate timing. Does not cover us in glory.

Not sure about that, I reckon that in keeping with his denial of administering illicit drugs at EFC, Dank is using the MFC program as support for this denial Along the lines of "look, the Demons also had a program......and there was nothing illegal about their program so why should EFC be any different.

Just more of the same from the HS. We are talking about the Murdoch press here so there should be no surprise. They took an editorial position on this saga a long time ago and it is not going to change.

Brilliant stuff. There is some real talent and creativity among our tribe here on DL Sweet Baby James has really got us going. What will happens when he exits the stage? There will never be another story like this one..

Indeed I think we are. There is now a sense of inevitability in regard to the fall of the main protagonist. At least in my books the main characters despite their failings had honorable and empathetic, and, in some cases, heroic qualities. They were uplifting stories despite inevitable sadness. This is more often than not the case in our life journey. There is nothing uplifting about the EFC saga, other than a lesson to us all in how not to behave. And shame.

Truly becoming a Greek Tragedy. The case of a man of importance who falls to disaster as a result of his personal failings and circumstances which he cannot control. Although his personal failings have been apparent for some time, it has now become evident that he can no longer control things (if he ever could). The tipping point has arrived and he really is on borrowed time. It really is like a morality play. A lesson for us all.

Don't disagree. I was just highlighting that we need consistent effort from all our players and not draft someone who will go missing when the chips are down. But both you and Mo make valid comments. We need a team of skilled footballers with a group of match winners who maintain a high level of consistency from week to week. Perhaps a la Garlett, Yarran can do that. However, like any paid employment, a persons track record is important.

Yarran has some appeal, but I think I would pass. What we need across the board is consistency as a team. We do not need front runners or players that run hot and cold. We need someone with good skills who puts in 100% each week. That's why Cross was such a good pick-up. Give me that earnest effort each week to patches of brilliance alternating with hibernation.

Whilst not condoning the behaviour of the EFC and its coach, we should not be to smug about the whole sorry saga. Dank seems to have been involved at GFC and presumably went to the EFC on the recommendation of Bomber and the Weapon. Dank got very close to the MFC presumably on the back of his fine work at the EFC. Our then Doctor at the time obviously thought well of him and his supplements program. If the EFC drug bust did not come when it did, the MFC may well have had its own program. Thankfully it did not, but I suspect this was due to timing and the club had time to act when the EFC bombshell landed. The Dank episode show how people can be easily influenced by snake oil salesmen pedaling a message that the buyer wants to hear, in this case, improved on-field performance. For years and years there have been doubts about other clubs and on an individual player level the use of perfomance enhancing substances has been rife. It will remain an on-going problem in all professional sport as sportsmen and sportswomen and clubs seek to get an advantage. There is no moral high ground in professional sport.

Agree with the last sentence OD, although the previous sentences are debatable. Overall he has not lived up to our expectations, however, I think he has played a role. He provides a contest in the air and on the ground and big man muscle around the ground. There is little doubt that he puts in effort and is a team player. For me his attitude gets him across the line. I just think that like most of our players we know what we have in Dawes and the endless debate on players like Dawes is pointless. He will play good games and poor games but he is still a better option than others on the good days.

absolutely Biff, could not agree more.

Always suspected that an education at Melbourne Grammar and Geelong Grammar was way elitist for RDB, similar to Kevin Sheedy's view of those educated at private schools.

I have not thought about Terry Johnston for 50 years. Wow memory is an amazing thing. Now have a clear vision of Terry. A very good tap ruckman but slow and took very few marks. Naturally, running was not his forte. And he had a body like a Noons meat pie. The face on the Demonwicki link says it all.

Bernie Massey was just as good as Tassie but Phil has the longest drop kick no doubt about it.

Cordner was fantastic in the U19s but this did not translate to the Seniors. Like many others, he seemed to have great potential in the early days but did not develop. Not sure the reasons but he was playing with an unsuccessful team when delivery to forwards was poor. Initially a big forward he did not have the mobility or football smarts to construct a game from nothing. He was not very mobile when the ball hit the ground. Despite his size he was not a physical player who could mix it with the tough defenders. He was a confidence player who never got enough of the ball. He seemed to be on the outer with Barassi and I suspect his qualities did not impress the great man who was never going to give him an easy game. I remember he had a BOG one day at centre half back against the Saints at Moorabbin. Alas his transfer to the Swans was unsuccessful and he was worse than he had been at Deeland.

He is a team player and does the team thing. His defensive pressure is good and he competes, chases and will give the ball off if required. He also knows when to take a shot and does not do the silly short pass to someone closer risking a turnover. He looks like a hard tough kid who looks a lot older than he is. It reminds me of my days as a junior footballer, when at the start of the match you would see an ugly tough kid coming toward you and realize that it was going to be a tough day. As to Hogan going home, well it may happen but as the old saying goes if you worry about the future you cannot enjoy the present