hemingway

The other thing 56 as you understand these things: Its a favourite place of residence for folk from the old country. Its hard to pick the Poms from the locals with that odd clipped dialogue. The other group that deserve a special mention is the group of lazy inept tradesmen from the old country. How to rip off customers and do the least amount of work is a fine art. And the brain drain from Adelaide to Perth, Sydney and Melbourne started decades ago, well before the term brain drain was invented. The Crows supporters are the worst. Give me Port Adelaide any day. The locals as a rule are very courteous but distant. . Apart from that it is a lovely place and wonderful holiday destination. The Fleurieu Peninsula is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Special mention to Kangaroo Is.

Having lived in SA, I know exactly what you mean. A beautiful place, great food, wine, and the best beaches in the country if not the world. However, its a time warp and incredibly inward looking on all things. As for footy, nothing exists other than the SA teams. Blow by blow descriptions of training sessions and media coverage of the most minor details. Victoria is Mexico and Victorians are Mexicans. We don't exist. A huge cultural difference. SA is a world apart from the rest of the country.

My God, May and Preuss look like two tough hombres. Not to be messed with. You would want them on your side. We have one hell of a tough outfit.

Would seem to be a person that lights up a training ground or change rooms. Every organisation needs someone who provides humour, enthusiasm and positivity. And someone who the young guys can go to for advice or who will lend them an ear.

I can understand your sentiments OD. Many feel the same way particularly after Lance. However, for me, cycling is still a beautiful sport. The drug taking thing is a turnoff for many, but for me, it is simply a matter of degree. Professionalism and money in cycling came before many other sports. Cyclists for over 100 years have always tried to gain a competitive advantage by fair or foul means. In the early part of last century, Tour riders would take all sorts of things to keep themselves awake and give them energy. In the 60s, they turned to amphetamine use and then later to anabolic steroids, EPO, testosterone, and growth hormone. However, the use of illicit substances has been part of all professional sport for years. Perhaps not in the same systemic way as in cycling but nevertheless still present. At the same time, we can point to other sports, such as the football codes where drug taking has been rife for many years and where there have been attempts to use performance enhancing substances in an organised systemic way. What I do know is that of all the sports, cycling federations at the world and local level have done more to curb drug taking than any other sport. What's been done by other sports is window dressing and only masks over the true reality of what has happened and is continuing to happen. In any event, my original comments were not about this issue but simply acknowledging the passing of a truly great sports commentator in Paul Sherwen. Whatever, your view about professional cycling, Sherwen was a giant in the commentary field. He shared his knowledge, insights and enthusiasm with sports lovers around the world, and, together with Phil Liggett, has been influential in the uptake of cycling as a recreational sport and as a popular viewing sport.

It would be extraordinary if fitness staff could not give advice to players or give them a fitness/workout program if players voluntarily seek their advice. Even if they don't seek their advice, surely club fitness people can give advice in the off-season. Players should be maintaining their condition outside officially sanctioned club training days. I would expect all professional players to do this. This is not to say that this is part of the clubs official training program or mandated training periods. The consequences of not keeping fit are obvious. Players are more likely to get injured by not keeping fit than getting injured through over exertion. However, players are not going to be punished for turning up out of condition. It players are not able to use their own discretion about maintaining fitness and condition in the off-season, god help me. They may not all be rocket scientists but they are professional footballers and should know what to do.

La Tour will not seem the same without the mellifluous sound of Paul Sherwen's commentary. RIP Paul, you brought pleasure to many cycling fans with your commentary at the Tour, The Classics and the TDU. A class act in every way.

DS, you are setting a whole new training report genre. Originality par excellence. Its a game changer. Going to be very difficult for others to follow.

The complexity, rules and everything else associated with the administration of this game is a dogs breakfast. Perhaps I am getting old and cranky and this ever changing landscape is designed by marketing gurus to appeal to a new and young demographic. Increasingly I feel the game is being run by second rate executives who have to have a new soundbight every day to justify their obscene salaries. They think that the lemmings that follow the game have attention spans of half a second and need instant gratification. This is undoubtedly the future but at the same time something gets destroyed. The essence and soul is destroyed as TV executives, sponsors and all those on the greedy gravy train think it’s progress. Its becoming like reality TV with a blurring of the lines so we don’t really know what’s going on. Simplicity and the fundamentals of sports administration has gone out the window so we now just watch, listen and observe a circus like sport. Ultimately, it will consume itself. The loyal supporters of the game will drift away to be replaced by consumers who will chose their entertainment based on a range of variables. But the true simplicity of the game and its appeal is slipping away each year into the quicksand. And it will not return. Historians will then try and untangle where it all went so wrong.

It’s shaping up as the most competitive list we have had since.......I don’t know when. The battle for spots is going to be on for young and old. Sure there will be injuries and form lapses but still looking that it’s going to be tight for spots on the flanks, wings and midfield.

I have watched plenty of fights over the years and been in a few in my younger days, but it was one of the lamest excuses for a boxing match that I have witnessed. Simply disgraceful. And it was with gloves on! [censored] Cats. Try bare knuckle fighting.

The fix was on. Its boxing.

Come on Dee Dee, you can’t be serious. Probably still waiting on his new desk and coffee table. He was up and about for Natalie Portman. Good to see he’s got his priorities sorted out so quickly. I suspect the difficulty that Pert will have is that he is going to be compared against Jackson and his achievements. His contribution may be hard to measure unless he has a big showpiece achievement like MFC training and admin set up.

Agree Adam, Bitters has dropped his alter ego and sounds well......intelligent and normal. Who would have guessed that behind the mask lies an astute football judge. Regarding the player his bulk worries me. He is clearly a solid boy but I'm sure less bulk would benefit his game and make him less susceptible to injury particularly knee injury.

For some reason, I have never liked number 1. Bit like 31 post RDB. Or 13. In the old days, MFC did not use 13. So remove 1,31 and 13 please.

Sounds like a Liberal Party celebration. The boys doing a pub crawl. I would suggest quotas be introduced immediately.

Or have chook for breakfast!

Agree with your second sentence. Despite all the speculative opinions, we don't know what else may have affected his form. And I am not a fan. But, I can see the sense in allowing him to play another season given his contract status. Even if we see some Garlett magic in 2019, we will need to see consistent Garlett magic for him to be selected and retained in the team. And that means doing so at Casey first. We know that competition for spots is going to be intense.

so I was adam

He was also the last person to see poor Natalie Wood alive and perhaps the first to see her dead.

completely agree

Now that is well reasoned Jim. And I think I would concur on the 4 years.

Its an interesting one. Remember that its only half a season ago that there were more critics than supporters and even the media were asking questions. Goodwin's improved status came on the back of half a dozen games. Cycles and perception of performance are a constantly moving feast and the critics will be back in a flash if team performance is below expectations or Goody's game plan is superseded by new game plans ? Based on those half dozen games do you reward Goodwin with a long term contract such as 6 years or go for a more conservative period of 3 or 4 years and maybe throw in the option to renew at the end of that period ? Perhaps Goodwin himself may prefer a shorter contract ? Its unlikely but possible. Is it possible that the Demons could go off the rails or simply not make the improvement everyone is now predicting. Particularly given that many believe that anything short of a flag will be a fail. What happens if Goodwin himself has some sort of crisis and a replacement needs to be found ? Giving him a long term contract such as 5 or 6 years would be a vote of confidence and provide stability. At the same time, a long term contract may encourage other members of his coaching panel to ply their trade elsewhere with more opportunities. Is the coaching panel hiding a potential top-line coach? Long term contracts will not stop dissatisfaction and rumours (both inside and outside the club) if the Dees performance tails off. What happens if the President and the Board changes or there is a falling out between President/Board and Goodwin a la Norm Smith? You have to be very happy with a coach or any employee to offer a long term contract. The are many variables and things are in a constant state of flux. You have to be happy to the point of not having any doubts that he is the right guy. Are we sure he is the right guy and will you still feel the same way if expectations are not met in 2019?

Me too OD, although its a case where the ego doesn't protect the body against car metal and bitumen. Indeed, the ego would also be a bit dented. He keeps forgetting that hes not the golden boy anymore.

I am not the mind, and I am not the spirit soul, but gee I reckon my body's awesome. Remember that I am only chasing a ball around an oval. Apologies to all the Sadhu's and yoga and mindfulness devotees .