Deers

With his black monochrome boots, socks down to his ankles and left-hand glove, T-Mac even looks the part.

Pass. I respect you enough to admit that I lack the wherewithal.

To you maybe it doesn't. But I think great debate stems from one individual challenging the beliefs of another, no matter how strongly acknowledged they are. T.G.R. had a knack of doing this. He didn't care who he put off-side, and debate normally declined into (private) schoolboy slugfests, but as a spectator you just ate them up. But enough, because we're getting sidetracked. I won't be attending Saturday, but am willing to donate if needed.

Neither forum has / had the higher ground. They were different in recent years only because one had a broken down sign-up tool. And for that reason, 'ology became a tight-knit family. Dysfunctional, but it was ours - we all seemed to feed off each other's thoughts. The lack of new members also meant that your "totes amazeballs" crowd were funnelled into here, but I digress ... I just feel like a foreigner here. Heck, I don't read Demonland per se - I merely search for what H, CiP or DA have said lately. Even then, H gets little resistence from anyone and the latter two resort to beating up on halfwits (deservedly so).

Off-topic: you haven't mentioned Craig Bird, who seems to get squeezed out of Sydney's midfield rotation and is out of contract at season's end. Under-rated rover / tagger / forward who put in his first full pre-season this year. He would be a walk-up starter in our current 22.

I liked the idea a few months ago, but have cooled since. We should focus our energies on the draft: building a strong, two-tiered squad of talented youngsters (Trengove / Watts / Gysberts et al & the 2012 class).

My guess is Tom Petroro laid it down crystal clear to other suitors: He's going "home" or he stays put. Port plays hard ball: You can't have your cake and eat it too, sport. Boak's going to come out of this worse off than anyone else, I suspect.

I was watching a [censored] team posturing as a good team. They try very hard in doing so - don't get me wrong - but bad eggs eventually rise to the surface.

Not dismissed. But I don't get how Viney was missing from their top 22. Or how Plowman is rated so high. I'm intrigued by the latter more than the former*; I'd like to know more. What does it say? "Missed the championships through injury but is the best rebounding key defender." Right. I barely know why the "draft expert" rates Plowman so highly for a key defender, nor do I know why he thinks we should take him at 4. * Obviously, he didn't include Viney because he expects him to go second round under F/S, but that wasn't explained well enough.

I used to write for a horse racing magazine, owned by the son of a prominent Melbourne-based entrepreneur. His lifestyle had a tendency to throw (Dad's) money about willy-nilly just to stroke his ego. This "play thing" of his was Exhibit A. The magazine was glossy and done up to the nines; its contributors included the most recognised names in the industry; it was promoted heavily on Sport 927, Best Bets and whatever else relevant media there was. But ultimately, it was a pointless bit of trash. The business existed out of a tiny corner in the Dad's much larger and successful office space. There was no editorial control, the contributors cared only for their inflated paycheck to arrive - hence the professionalism was equal to a Division 5 reserves team of fatsos and 13 yos playing their second game in a day. Credibility? 100/1 and drifting. Inside Football smells of the same manure.

Another stress fracture? Did Neeld work them too hard over the pre-season?

This year will be the worst of it - I'm as confident as a realist-optimist can get on that one. Neeld has gone about this year the right way in giving each player a chance to show their worth. At season's close, he should know to a large extent the root of our problems. To borrow a turn of phrase from T.G.R. (for those 'ologists playing at home), this club is a rose bush that needs to be pruned, not just trimmed of its diseased branches.

If he's not rated in the top five - yes.

Replying to stuie from the Gameday thread: 1) A loss doesn't hurt me as much now I know what to expect, so ... no. 2) I don't read Demonland. I don't care for what others think - with a few notable exceptions. 3) Ask someone who knows better. I try not to resort to platitudes. Do you think we have a "good image"? How is it measured?

Think differently; you'll feel better. We're not trying to do it, but without Clark we have zero chance in hell of kicking a winning score. And with three first-round picks beckoning, why care about it? I'll take a win if it comes our way; but a loss won't hurt.

He's the ideal third forward for mine, no matter what is said about him being a utility. We need impact players, not - for want of a better word - "jack-of-all-trades" types. I want a Jack Darling, not a Brendon Goddard. (If the two were of the same ability)

Would he be valued on his own merits to the equal of him as part of the West Coast structure? Don't think so. Tread carefully with FAs. I don't think Wellingham or Beams are half the players without the well-oiled machine @ Collingwood telling them where to go.

The twats weren't born when 'ology locked up the sign-up feature and threw away the key. It's getting me homesick.

C'mon, man. Recruiting in 1997 was both archaic and irrelevant compared to today. TJ would be lucky to go round one by 2012's standards.

I shouldn't dwell on just one game, but Stringer kicking 10.7 returning last April on one good leg gets to me. I don't care so much about the number of goals; moreover, the seventeen scoring shots (and I believe a couple more OOB) to me is a strong indicator of this guy's fierce desire to play. He didn't need to do much that day to dominate - against a pitiful TAC Cup opponent and undoubtedly bigger and stronger. He could easily have slotted a cool 6.1 and put the cue in the rack by three-quarter-time. With a bung leg, nobody would criticise him for it. Hell, how long has it taken Blease to get up and going to some degree? Attitude is everything and this kid's got it. I don't give a stuff if he appears slow or podgy ATM, unless the injury has permanently affected his performance. If he is ignored past pick 10 it's an absolute steal.

Jake Stringer was named on the interchange. Have you seen him on the ground?

Is there a broadcast of the games online?

No no - don't patronise me just because I exposed a critical flaw in your thinking process. It's not pointless if you included Clark in the poll - more a "waste of time" because we all know Clark hurts us the most by the width of the earth. Without him, you've definitely made it pointless. Instead of creating "pointless" polls, why don't you share some of your observations from today's game?

Don't ask it, then. We lost Clark and with him we've lost our compass. We went limp every time the ball crossed halfway. I don't care about the other three.

On record? Signed off on a lawfully binded contract? The more I read into it, the less I'm convinced anyone else is bidding. These uber-professional organisations don't have time for petty mind games I would've thought.