hemingway

Even as a young kid, I loved seeing new kids make their debut for the Dees. Nothing has changed. Its exciting to get that first glimpse of talent, when you think "gee this kid can play." So often a false dawn, merely tantalizing. Occasionally though, we get to see the "real deal" for the first time. Robbie Flower, Garry Lyon, Bayley Fritsch to name a few. Still one of the great things about AFL. So it will be exciting to watch Harry Petty run onto the ground and get his first touch. Let's hope he falls into the successful ""he's got what it takes" South Australian camp and not the "well he had talent, but we never got to see it" camp.

Having state of the art training facilities is very important.. It may not translate directly into wins on the field but it is another component of building and maintaining a successful club. It shows that the club is ambitious and has a plan to become a successful club. It is about securing your future. Most successful organisations outgrow their original or existing facilities. Outdated facilities eventually have an adverse impact on an organisation. Although we may have good facilities at AAMI, sharing it with a range of other clubs is not ideal. Suggestions are that it has become overcrowded and that we can't get things done without the consent of the other stakeholders. It may be a huge improvement on the Junction Oval, but the AAMI and Gosch's Paddock facility is a poor cousin to Collingwood's Holden Centre and Olympic Oval. Is it practical or sensible to think that we could continue to use the AAMi facilities for another 10 years? Most likely not. The longer we leave it to create our own facility, the harder it will be in 10-20 years time. Having your own facilities, sends a powerful marketing message. It tells all and sundry that it is a professional club. It is a competition between clubs for recruits, players, coaches, sponsors etc. Successful people want to be associated with successful organisations. You need to do everything possible to have the edge on other clubs or at least to be on equal footing. In the 1950s and 60s, players were attracted to play for Melbourne because we trained and played at the MCG. Sure we won premierships but we also had the best training facilities in the League. To get the best out of people you need to have a work environment conducive to high performance. Players and coaches are going to be more motivated and productive if they train and work in the best environment. Location, access, architecture, space, equipment, technology, work areas for coaches and staff, meeting rooms are all components of creating a productive work place. One in which players and staff enjoy using every day. If the Club does not plan to develop and grow in all of its activities, it will eventually whither. We cannot afford to stand still and have all the other clubs with a competitive edge.

As your name suggests, you are clearly a Man who knows his fruit and appreciates that there can be no life without the presence of Mr Banana.

Well poor old Greg. He disappointed us all with his big chokes in the majors. Now he disappoints again in the body image stakes. This is really the last resort of a desperate man confusing notoriety for publicity. It comes to us all, but there is a time in life when the wise realize that their best days are behind them and it is best to fade into the shadows. When a middle age man has to resort to nudity it shows that wisdom has not caught up with ego. Clearly, his golfing days are now in the distant past. Greg does appear to have a big bit missing. A little like a big bowl of fruit without the presence of the inimitable banana.

Endorse these comments. You can make tough decisions, but communicate those decisions in a manner that makes not only good business sense but shows that you have a heart. Respect or acting respectively is important in all relationships even in the tough footy industry.

Agree Daisy.

i do have a weakness in over analyzing these things. Hope your right Daisy, but I was more concerned about the public comments, given that the appointment was played out in the public arena. Everyone knows who the candidates were, so a bit of public praising would not have gone astray given the praising of "the absolute standout candidate."

Unfortunately, despite the logic and reasonableness of your comments, people don't like change. Also, in public administration, there has been increasing support for passive recreation over active recreation, particularly when sporting club/s are involved, even where the area is not heavily used by the public.

I thought Bartlett could have been a little more diplomatic than referring to Pert (an outsider) as the ""absolute standout candidate" given that the internal candidates were all current and valued employees. They would have been understandably disappointed to have missed the top job. A little more empathy would not have gone astray. Bartlett could have publicly praised all the candidates as worthy applicants whilst at the same time stating that Pert was the the Committees preferred candidate given his background, skills and experience, and the responsibilities of the position,

You do have an exciting life Red. You are very droll, goes with the profession. Either adjective or verb.

Not fatigue, just a dog with good taste and high standards of hygiene. I find that in SA and WA, locals, including dogs, are very wary of Mexicans . Uncle, I would be a little more concerned about Crocs, who have no such reservations, and indeed drool at the prospect of dining on "well nourished"" white folk from down south. Although, occasionally, even Crocs have exceptions, and will draw the line when confronted with malodorous excessively fleshy victims.

Agreed, there would be enormous push back from the locals, greens, and also perhaps the indigenous population. Yarra Park is regarded as sacred ground.

Uncle, sounds like you are traveling with your friend Alter Ego. Don't bother with the selection process, just take a sack of money, you will need it. Remember, they will not have seen a photo of you. In case all goes pear shaped, take a bunch of bananas for entertainment. May also come in handy if you get lost in the never never. Oh, one more thing, you better make sure they have motorized buggies for your "trek."

Pert has a healthy ego. He may well be a good appointment but there may be a downside if current staff leave. He will ruffle some feathers. There will be a noticeable difference to style of PJ.

Correct, reflects poorly on Malthouse.

We may well find that the internal candidates who missed out would be considering their options. They may have to wait another 5 or more years for another opportunity at MFC. That’s a lifetime these days. Perfect opportunity for another club to chase Mahoney. Collingwood? Eddie would love the [censored] for tat.

May have missed it but what has Pert been doing since he left Collingwood?

In a nutshell.

Don't worry, just buy a nice bunch of bananas for your physical and emotional well-being. However, you could further indulge. Perhaps try watching some repeats of Bananas in Pyjamas. You could take the opportunity to improve your knowledge on the banana. Its nouns, adjectives, synonyms, derived terms, foreign language meanings, pronunciation, racial significance, freudian relevance etc. There is also the banana's significance as a figure of speech, its allegorical meanings, not to forget its relevance as a metaphor or analogy. Really a limitless subject. Just think Red of all that time you will have researching, talking about and writing about bananas. Engage your analytical mind. You don't need to worry about footy or searching for salacious stories contained in case law and the ratio decidendi or obiter dicta of your extensive law library. We have enough salacious [censored] bits from other posters on this thread. That just lowers the standard and of course the tone. Wrong side of the tracks and all that.

Thought Febey's comment was not bad, but beware The Banana Thought Police. The barbarians are at the gates. They will take you down if you dissent or question the purity of the line.

we agree to disagree.

Must admit, I get a little sickened by the talk about trading in and out. I don't say don't do it selectively, but every time a name is mentioned, folks start talking about trading out players like a meat market. If a player like Tyson comes to the coach and wants out, that's another thing. However, if the mateship and culture is as good as is being stated, then it is important that we keep as many as our existing group as possible. We have a talented list and we will always need depth. Loyalty to the Club and to your mates is an important ingredient of any successful club.

This is pretty banal Red. Surely you can provide more detail. As a legal eagle, I thought you would have a more inquiring mind! The banana lovers are crying out for more. To engage us on this topic, we need a bit of titillation. What type of banana's were they? There are hundreds of varieties, all with different taste, texture and feel. Red Jamaica's, Cavendish, Apple, Dwarf Cavendish etc etc. Perhaps the boys enjoy Lady Fingers? I know I would, particularly post game. I could go on and on. How many do they devour? Just one at a time or an orgy of bananas? Are there any risks of enjoying too many? Do the boys feel satisfied after one or do they prefer having a couple. I am told that three can be enjoyable and beneficial for one's health and well being. Can be a cultural thing of course.

There are two possibilities : That ABLA (no, not my favourite Carlton restaurant but the banana brigade), is no more than a front for the marketing of Bananas. It has nothing to do with love, it is about profit. Better put, the organisation is a loosely knit brigade of profiteers. One rumour doing the rounds is that the head of this shell organisation is one of the Rakes of Melbourne's legal society. Apparently, there is also a well known entrepreneur (lets just call him Milo) who is making megabucks by shifting bananas around the country. The second possibility is that the organisation simply consists of a bunch of neurotic banana lovers who have become self important , obsessed, a little paranoid but with delusions of grandeur, and, who increasingly exhibit a strong authoritarian streak. They are not prepared to accept difference but are endeavoring to squash support for all other fruit and squash all opposition and dissent to their belief that the banana reigns supreme. It is about colour, body shape, taste and image. It is about deep seated prejudice. These people want all bananas to look the same. The bad bananas never make it to the supermarket shelf. They are simply eliminated along the way so folks only see the perfect banana. Indeed, when have you seen a misshaped banana in the supermarket? However, I am concerned about legal action and indeed much worse as sometimes legal action is accompanied by threats to the person. The fruiterers from the Footscray fruit and vegie market know all about the stand over merchants. It is possible that true banana lovers are being mislead and influenced by the propaganda from undesirables that have infiltrated ABLA. Apparently, secret banana parties are being held in the suburbs, where bananas are worshiped, devoured and often misused in all sorts of unmentionable ways, except to say that there are rituals with sado-masochistic overtones which have only recently emerged following the involvement of an undesirable character from Romsey. As everyone seems to be apologizing these days (politicians, heads of public sector organisations, police, footballers, banks, actors, film producers, and anyone else who gets caught out), I will take the opportunity to "say sorry"" and offer my apologies to the banana brigade and ABLA.

No perhaps not your Honour, but it’s definitely weird, perverse and even kinky. I see no evidence to suggest that the banana is superior to other fruit. It’s a fit up job, to keep up the morale of the banana or the banana industry. Perhaps even the consumer. With the greatest respect to the banana fanatics, it has got a little passé even tiresome to those with a broader and a more holistic view of the fruit industry. However, I do appreciate that it has Freudian significance but personally I detect a feeling of inadequacy from all the banana lovers.