hemingway

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.

assumes one has a house old mate. okay for Joe Hockey and the baby boomers like you but most people can't afford one. but i agree, with aish, adelaide would be the place to go. and houses are a lot cheaper. a small place in the willunga hills overlooking mclaren vale sounds perfect

agree its a smokescreen and an attempt to string things out remember that at all times, hird and little have been following the legal and tactical advice of their own lawyers. they can be very persuasive in getting clients away from what is the most responsible and best thing to do for all. quite rightly, the legal eagles are trying to win for their clients. also I suspect that these two guys have messianic qualities that translates into a belief that they cannot do any wrong. In other words, they are so sure that they are right they cannot entertain the idea that the opposite is true. they are so used to winning and place so much importance in winning that they are consumed by it, and ethical considerations take a back seat. a guy called lance was the classic example.

Lance you are rational, sensible, balanced and able to articulate your view without rancour. One question, however, are you really an Essendon supporter? If so, we would welcome you aboard the good ship, Melbourne at any time. Can I host you to a game? As long as you like a good single malt

agree my friend. we do not have the luxury of nursing a player who has a poor medical history. Gawn is dodgy, Spencer has had his problems, we don't need another one. in today's game, I would always be reluctant to take an injury prone player, recruit or experienced player.

Lots of rumours at the time but one of those stories was that Judd was so concerned about the illicit drug taking of players that he told the club that he would not stay at the club if it continued. That the club had to take action to stop it. They did nothing, so he left.

god help me we already have a highly paid coach, coaching staff and admin. we must have very high overheads without paying for another millionaire to join our ranks. we have absolutely no reason to go after judd. i would rather we got junior or one of our many ex-players at hawthorn.

As others point out Gawn has the skill set, however, his knees have to hold up and he needs to be aggressive and committed at the contest. His knees are a major worry when you look at his history and his physiology. He is very knock kneed which does not help. So we need a back-up. Realistically that back up is Spencer. Also think it unlikely we are going to pick up another ruckman better than Spencer and Gawn. They are simply not around and clubs are not willingly going to trade a top ruckman. We have to play these guys as often as possible. I would prefer that we chase other players for midfield and forward options.

12-14 changes OD, really that many? always respect your opinion but can't see us making that many changes, given the turnover in last 2 years, reckon 5 or 6 at best, will still need to have a full list start of 2016. but interesting days ahead.

Roos has already said that there are players playing for their careers or a place on our list second half of season.

self deprecating is very undervalued trait. I think we would get on well.

if you have read of any of my works you would say "Cojones Grinter". Recommend For Whom The Bell Tolls for the uninitiated. There were plenty of partisans that had cojones just like our dear Rodney.

that would do me too doctor. The booing by opposition supporters of dear gentle Rodney was a wonderful sound.

Man you really missed something. Like missing Jack Dyer or Big Carl. Serious dudes who made the ground shake. Menace in every footstep. Rod Grinter could seriously play. However he was a very dangerous man when he got an opponent in his sights. Like a bull but he very rarely missed.

I am completely dee motivated to read your post but applaud your earnest efforts to prove what we all know. Forensically depressing. However, I had a dream that one day.........