hemingway

I love loyalty and has seeing players leave the club.The reality is that we need to make some hard but hopefully carefully considered decisions on a few players including Howe. We cannot continue with players who have been around for some years and have not been able to improve or play consistently hard footy. Intensity at the contest is imperative. We need to build a skilled team but with attitude. We need a team of hard nuts like the top clubs. Guys who hate to lose a contest. I like Howe, I like how we discovered him, I like his screamers and l like the anticipation of waiting for a screamer. However, there is the feeling of Frawley all over again. If we can gain a consistent ball winner, then Howe and others need to be looked at. We have got some great young kids but we need to continue to develop the team by bringing in players to add to the core of young kids.

dpositive I have to admit that I am not the man that I used to be, so I will not be in attendance. I am afraid I am one of those supporters that deep into my life, I find the need to have the security and comfort of home, the MCG. In the good old days, I used to enjoy a picnic and bottle of red at the You Yangs or Corio Bay before the game. Sometimes arriving late into the first Q or 2nd Q. However, in those days we always gave ourselves a chance. Still there were many long sad trips home. Unfortunately I have become very damaged over the last 10 years, and not even a picnic can drag me down that highway to hell to a City where all its inhabitants seem to be in the place that I still call Kardinia Park. The fact that there are only limited invitations to opposition supporters does not help. I always like to see the presence of both lots of fans. Geelong have turned it into a private party where only card carrying members of the party can gain access and then proceed to purr at the sadomasochistic goings on. I take my cap off to Jazza and the others making their way down that highway to hell. You are the real patriots and have the satisfaction of saying "I was there" irrespective of the result.

Bringing my rant back to the awful truth OD. Its like the grim reaper. Inescapable. Depressing really and makes you wonder if following the game is worth it. Everything can be manipulated by money including the game itself.

Match day experience is code for a violent attack on the senses and sensibilities of spectators. Cop it because its good for you. We really need to get a movement/rally/demo/social media campaign going. Anything that will change this madness of noise, flashing lights etc. It makes enjoyment of the day almost impossible. Even watching the game you have the backdrop of flashing advertisements on the fence. I simply cannot believe anyone can condone this madness or think it is going to enhance match day. It is advertising/ marketing gone mad and just takes away from the game and the interaction of spectators. Most of us have concentration spans of more than a few seconds. It's like the computer/sound/advertising geeks have hijacked the whole show and match day spectators are the victims. Worst thing that's ever happened to the footy.

agree, and only check the score after it's all over. those furtive glances at the i-phone just spoil everything.

boys you are giving me the taste, what's the time? no not to early. where is that bottle? damn, it's empty. god help me.

now that would be something, I doubt it is in their lexicon. like OF I find the leak intriguing. it does taint the whole thing even more if that is possible.

Yep also agree. Always confounds me when someone kicks a goal they run half the length of the ground to the bench. Just when a players confidence and touch is sky high they are dragged. May be simply part of the rotation but it is also an example when process or systems just get in the way of good old common sense. Its exactly the time you want that guy on the paddock.

I am wary of sharp tongued female lawyers OD, they are particularly dangerous creatures. They are adept at suing every Tom, Dick & Harry when they feel or their messianic client feels personally affronted.

Its kind of what we knew or suspected but it is still a shock. Dank is obviously without remorse. You have to think he is mad, a completely unethical fruit cake. There is also someone else that fits that description. And then there are the players that group of poor innocent unfortunates that no one wants to blame. And folks thought that "Whatever It Takes" was just a slogan when it meant so much more.

Great analysis. I am not sure about Riley. However, he has not had much of a go. In one week out the next. What we do know is that a player is not going to develop and become a consistent ball winner without putting together games on a consistent basis. That goes for others as well. We are seeing it with Toumpas. Players have to build their confidence to perform. So if selectors think they have a future they need to give them consistent game time.

Perhaps Essendon players need to be going to their local vet instead of their GP for medical advice. Or the EFC dispose of Dr Reid and have the players head down to Flemington for check-ups. Cobalt anyone?

Toumpas has the ability. He needs an injury free period and to be given games to build confidence. Like must young men he needs constructive comment and positive support. I like his attitude to the game and his teammates. He could become a great player in the future. We need to support Toump and our team of developing players not bag them. They offer hope for the future

Thanks for the compliment OD. I could say the same for you. Either of us could win the "Downlow"

Bernie has a well rounded game and one that makes him the archetypal footballer. Has the inside game, tagger, outside game, toughness, good overhead mark and can break lines with his kicking and positional play. His kicking for goal from the 50m arch is just about the best in the business. Lacks pace but makes up for it with his other attributes. He has become a consistent performer this year and plays with a desire and commitment lacking in some others. Hard to separate Jones and Vince. I like them being on a par.

Where do I start Akum? Supporting Melbourne, it should come easily to you. Its a bit like asking how does one write a realistic novel based on historical fact with a narrative about the juxtaposition of human joy and suffering. More of the latter than the former. By the way I am quite good on relationships particularly those ending in separation and tragedy.

If Geelong play with the same intensity and dash as they did against Port and we play like we usually play, it will be very ugly indeed. Call me a coward but I will not watching or listening. Just hurts to much. Last night, I opted for a beautiful roast dinner with my wife and elderly father in law over the cave like qualities of the Jihard. My wife was surprised with my decision and encouraged me to go (this is unusual) as she was sure the Demons would have a famous victory. Quietly, I told her that a family dinner with the father in law was a much better thing to do. In fact the truth was that the mental scars of going to watch all the ignoble defeats over the years at the Jihard was a pain to deep to articulate. I did not tell her I no longer believed in the possibility of victory or in honorable defeat. That going to the football was a [censored]. When I told her the final score, she looked at me with pity and shared sadness. For the rest of the night she showered me with love and affection. That was some compensation. I am glad to have chosen dinner over indigestible defeat.

hopefully it is not a massacre but you are clearly a masochist.

Accurate assessment. Our younger players are the light on the hill. As a team we are still a long way off. The younger players give us hope.

Not sure that saying it was the players fault or coaches fault helps much. The reality is we are a long way off as a football team. All the same problems are there as have been in the past. Poor skills, poor decision making, too many turnovers, lack of 4Q effort/consistency, lack of two way running. We rely on the same players week in week out to rack up possessions. We cant blame injuries as every team has to cover injuries over the season. Sure we can see improvement in some areas and we have some good young kids. The kids are the only thing that raises my mood level above suicidal. They do give hope. However, as a TEAM we are way off. If we were improving as a team, we should have been able to clean up the Saints. They are fair to ordinary at best. The reality is that other teams (excluding Carlton and Brisbane) are improving and in most cases at a faster rate that us. The only reason I go to the football is to watch the young kids. We do have some young stars and potential stars that we have not had for a long time. We can only hope we can pick up more talent in the draft and the trading period. We need real pressure on places. We have not had that for a long time. Many of our players get games too easily and I suspect that breeds complacency and bad habits. Anyway, like most of you, I live in hope. I just hope I live long enough to be proud of my football team.

Thank you Jazza, reading your comments has been theraupeutic.

It's a ruthless business all great coaches have been ruthless with their lists. Norm Smith, Barassi the list goes on. We need to be ruthless if we are to have a future. We cannot give players games who are not going to advance the club

Very happy for Rivers. Unhappy that Bruce suggests he is a better player at Geelong. Was always a great player at the Demons. Just not noticed by the media for obvious reasons

No Rusty I would not have passed on Judd. You would need to have been dumb to have passed on Judd. Well I am probably dumb but not that dumb. My comment was that I would "be reluctant" to take a player with a history of injury. However, It is about calculating risk. The risk involves considering the nature of the injury, the seriousness of that injury, and whether is likely to be a chronic or repetitive injury. It is about assessing the quality of the player, his age, his price, and what he would bring to the team. It is about considering alternatives, such as picking Toumpas (major hip surgery at a young age) versus Wines (no serious injury at a similar age). Having said all that I have never thought that any one player is going to make "the difference." Has Judd justified all the money spent on him? Has it been a return on investment? I think not. It never catapulted Carlton into a flag contender. It would not have been any different at Melbourne. Has Judd been restricted by injuries. Yes. Has he been a better player at Carlton that he was at West Coast. I think not. Is that due to injury? Probably. It comes back to trying to build a team and trying to build depth on your list. You can't do that if you have a lot of injured players or players prone to injury.

this could be big. a wise elder, a minister of the cloth and a long dead novelist.