hemingway

I call it creative writing or perhaps footy fiction. No doubt Caro is contracted to write a certain number of articles each season. She also has to maintain her profile and distinctive writing style.

Classic Caro, entirely predictable. Did not take long for her to get her angle, contact a few people and write her critique. The stiletto was sharpened and poison pen got to work. She will never praise a decision or action but alway “damn with faint praise”. Her style of writing always suggests he has gleaned information and insights that are credible and accurate. Importantly, this same style means that she is never entirely wrong.

Knees always make me nervous and when I think of what I have seen on the footy field, a little sick at the bottom of my stomach. There on both occasions when David Schwartz broke down. Now that's something you never forget. I just hope Jake had the best surgeon who did the best repair job. Much depends on the skill of the surgeon. He cannot afford to have another reco. Like The Ox, you wonder about the riskiness of his playing style as he jumps and intercepts off balance both on take off and landing. That makes me nervous. The Ox had to reinvent himself and change his playing style. He had to use his increased weight and strength and forget about jumping into or over packs. I suspect that Jake and his recovery team will need to consider the way he plays and whether he modifies his playing style. Whether it's 12 months or less for Jake, lets hope he has a full recovery and successful return to the big time. He is one hell of a talent that we want to see much more of.

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.

Yep, a top bloke and a top coach.

The unanimous comments of support from posters regarding this news is a great tribute to the footballer and the man. Universally liked and admired.

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.

That’s a worry. Fitness, diet, weight are pretty basic things that even non professional athletes and sportspeople understand.

Exactly.

No one needs to feed the machine. Just like this site, folks say stuff. You don’t need to reply or comment. Often best to hold your own counsel.

In a media release, Christian admits he has to lift his game. I get a little tired of these media releases, with players and coaches stating the bleeding obvious or feeling they have to respond to criticisms in the media. Sure, Christian needs to lift, but making these statements will not make it happen. In order to improve his performance he needs to work on his fitness so that he can match the fitness levels exhibited by the stars of the game. Take a look at Dustin Martin, have a look at the way he trains and the extra work he does to improve himself. Martin was once like Petracca, had all the ability but not the application. People and footballers can change. But is needs hard work, lots of hard work, single mindedness, sacrifice and a mind free of distractions He needs to have a good hard look at himself, at others, do the work that is required without compromise and go out on the field and do it, not make statements about it. He can do it, but is he willing?

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.

Fair comment, but at times he seems to be relaxed to the point of not exhibiting much energy or intensity. Watching him in the warmup against the dogs, unlike some of our other defenders, he appeared switched off. Its not really a criticism, it just is a bit unusual. It’s the way he is. But I would prefer to see a bit more aggro in a defender.

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.