GM11

The biggest problem with this whole farce is that the draft & priority pick systems have given a new perspective to list management. Worth remembering that list management existed in the same form before there was a priority pick system or even a draft. All club with no chance of playing finals sent players for surgery, played young players & experimented with positions. And it was accepted behaviour then even if the motivation was different. The motivation was created by the AFL.

In fact this is a direct admission of guilt to precisely the charges purported to be levelled against Bailey. Draft tampering & not coaching to the best of your ability.And this commission expects to be taken seriously. They are becoming more of a joke with every day that passes.

This is what irked me about the Neeld-Mifsud episode. Neeld was exhonerated & that was the end of it. I just felt that it was never finished. It should have been pursued to the point of a full apology to all parties. We are seen as an easy mark & it goes a long way in explaining why we are pursued and others not. I don't call this a victim mentality when it is so obvious that we are being singled out on this issue. We need to fight any adverse finding & show that we are not prepared to be the whipping-boy at someones whim.

We as members have a financial stake in this organisation. The legal system in this country is based around an accused having the opportunity to test the accuser & the evidence. Why should an AFL investigation be any different? If anyone chose honesty, as you say, then why hide from it?

Demetriou has clearly given the green light to list management & experimenting. It's on the record. Can they then prove our intent was otherwise. Very difficult I would have thought. Matters not at all what former officials & players opinions might be. Was anyone told to go out & lose? This is the crux of it. Without that smoking gun, it is all open to an individual's interpretation of events.

Win , lose or draw I hope all these names surface in the end. I want to be sure I am despising all the right people.

One thing that really p--d me off was seeing Gerry Healy (hope he hates being called Gerry) at the B&F. I just feel like this bloke has never given anything to this club. In fact just the opposite. The other thing that rarely rates a mention is the navy blue elephant in the AFL boardroom.

This is what makes me think they are pursuing individuals. In fact the club may be unscathed in this. Whatever, if there no evidence of a clear directive from 'someone to someone' then I say fight it.

Response should be to suggest discussing penalties after the investigations into other clubs (notably Carlton & Richmond) are concluded. If the response is that no other clubs are to be investigated, then jam your penalties and of to court we go.

Anyone who has been in the same room as Connolly (and I will assume that AD has at some time) would understand that he is highly likely to make light hearted comments that could easily be taken out of context if not heard first hand. He simply enjoys working a crowd.

1 Whitfield 2 Plowman 3 Grundy 4 Toumpas 5 Wines 6 O'Rourke 7 Menzel 8 Stringer 9 Vlastuin 10 Daniher

Or, to put it another way - ambulance chasing.

Was going to post along these lines. I couldn't have worded it better.

Interesting read, until I got to the MFC section, then I stopped. Sounds like he has been formulating his opinions by reading the dailys, rather than having any real info.

Think this spells it out in layman's terms. http://thenewsmanual.net/Resources/medialaw_in_australia_02.html

More quality from 'The Ague'. Photo captioned Jamie Whincup is Actually Will Davison.

Maybe not so thrilled when all her sources are revealed.

And wisely. They should only reply to any real allegations (should there be any) from the AFL, not this zealous media beat up.

Thanks Redleg. Don't be sorry. This says what I feel. I have now developed a real loathing for some people over this. Let's just not forget them...ever!

Greg Wells

'Holding the cap out' was a means to climb out of an existing financial mire. The 'financial acumen' is staying there. So far so good.

Better check that.

Superbly put.

I am fully with you on this. In fact if it comes to a spill I will support any of the current board members who remain. Whatever else, I believe in the integrity of Jim Stynes and, by extension the people he gathered to do a job. That includes Don McLardy. The proof is in the balance sheet. The recent history of this club is filled with white anters with dented egos.