Call Me What You Will

I’ve posted this a few times - but the last 8 games of ‘87 (including the first two finals, but not the never to be watched or mentioned PF) was just the most exciting 2 months of football one could ever imagine. Never to be forgotten.

Back to the Jake gags - me and a mate went without fail at everygame: Question: Why is Peter Walsh called “whopper”. Answer: Because horse, hose and snake are already taken. Boom tish

Just listened this afternoon. What an absolute ripping bloke. One of the most exciting entertainers - any club, any era.

Now that we have Lever, any thoughts of simply taking the Watts deal/plan off the table??

The music is OK! No doof doof, however the choice of songs are perfect with the massive elephant in the room!

Our mate clown 15 getting involved again

Adelaide looking pretty good, but Geelong exposed as to what we have all known this year. No amount of Lingy hype, Duckwood or Dangerflog can hide the fact. Bwooce is "stunned"!

This oft forgotten game is up there with the 87 Elimination and First Semi Finals as examples of sheer brilliance by the lads in red and blue. I remember sitting in the Southern Stand just behind David Cordner who engaged in some fantastic banter about our "greatest No 28". A wet night at the G, but the excitement it created for the following week was profound. Of course Sheedy's unforgivable and never to be forgotten thuggery put paid to any chance 2000 might have broken the curse.

The AFL/Rules Committee/Umpires Department simply must do something about the complete disconnect between the "rules" and the "spirit" of the game. Add in the total incompetence of our alleged "senior" adjudicators and the we have our great game teetering on the edge of irrelevance. Rant over.

Maggot 15 - running away with players following , questioning, pleading. Very common occurrence. Where there is smoke there fire.

Maggot 15. Say no more

Up there with my most favourite "get me through the turnstiles" MFC players of all time - Flower, Jakovich, The Wizz, then........

I'm still banging on about the 2 Umpires at yesterday's Eagles game being Western Australian. I'm happy to be corrected, but No 22 and No6, are I think, listed as Western Australian. Does that not raise a whiff of an integrity problem in a game involving a Western Australian side in a game critical to the outcome of the whole competition? I know integrity and the AFL don't really mix, but fair dinkum....Incidently I thought the Crows were slaughtered at key moments. The front on tackle in the goal square to Crows McGovern - play on, and the free kick for the low tackle to the eagles back pocket, when he had taken the ball, taken the tackler on, been tackled over the boundary line and then dropped the ball. Unbelievable - that was clown No 6.

Just on the clowns - are not Maggot 6 and 22 both Western Australian??

At about 7.00pm tonight we are all going to know (or maybe even earlier), but if as we all expect the Eagles sneak past us (probably with a goal after the siren), then there is a massive opportunity amongst all the grief and gnashing of teeth, to use this moment as a "Ground Zero" line in in the sand. I'm not sure whether there will be a media circus "crossing to where the players are watching their fate unfold", but the moment it is decided, the players need to publically take control of this culture so that it can never, ever happen again at the MFC. It be the ground zero moment the future generations of players and supporters refer to - the day the culture changed. It will be a day up there with the sacking of Norm Smith and to a lesser extent the weeks that ended 1987. Everyone needs to know and remember. I'd like "Playing Group" led by Nos 2, 7, 11, 6, 4 ,13, 5 and the rest to first of all publically cancel Mad Monday. Symbolically, this is the first act after Ground Zero. Gather in other ways, perhaps with wives, partners and coaches but the nonesense of the past stops now. This Ground Zero attitude must then translate into the trade period, the draft, pre season and then into next year and then forever. Our first signpost for success will be 12 months from day. Ground Zero must come from the players, and not from a Peter Jackson email or a Simon Goodwin speech. This playing group has a massive opportunity to individually and collectively commit to changing culture - forever. To be remembered in years to come as the group that changed the culture of the MFC - forever. What a challenge and what an opportunity. The time is now! Over to you lads.

Have just got back from my therapist (luckily got in for an appointment late this afternoon). It's actually a relief - I visualised this nightmare scenario last week and have posted such fears a couple of times in the lead up to the game. As a club we simply cannot be masters of our own destiny, so now that it is in the hands of others, it is quite calming (or so my therapist says). I watched Goody's presser and sensed a certain calmness as well. Maybe the penny hasn't dropped yet, or maybe there is a real belief that Freo will win or West Coast lose. I've made another appointment for tomorrow evening. Until then, we are still alive and if we make it, and whoever we play, both sides will start at 0 - 0.

Yep, with or without the Crows playing selection games, having been saying this all week. Dees, just get the job done tomorrow!!

I lived through '87 and as I've posted in a number of forums getting to the finals was the most exciting, all embracing sporting 6 weeks of my life. It had been 23 years, there was the Robbie factor, it was a final 5, not an 8, it was skin of the teeth every nail biting week in those 6 weeks - any loss meant the dream was over. No one really expected us to make it. Then the extraordinary events of Round 22 happened and everything fell into place. (If you can, check out a Tim Lane's "live" coverage of the events of Round 22 on the Winners on ABC - still sends goosebumps up my back). Then, there was was the Finals - I agree I have never seen any side, in any era, play any better than Dees did in week 1 or 2 of the 87 finals. Then there was the tragedy at Waverley and it was all over. 2017 for me is a bit different. If we do not make it will not because we did not dare to dream, it will because we had a golden opportunity to do something special and we just dropped the ball a couple of times (Norf x 2, Freo, Hawthorn). Go dees versus the mortal enemy, and if that fails, for god sake, go Crows.

Great stuff HardBallGet and thanks for sharing with us when you got back to your seats! Now you know who I am on DL!!!

I just do not get this "we are there stuff". A loss to Collingwood with a win to the Eagles (with everything to play for) could very easily see us drop out. It has been my nightmare scenario for the last 3 weeks. Win against Collingwood and yes, start thinking about who we play. Lose to Collingwood and it will more than likely be irrelevant. Go Dees at the last (but very significant) hurdle.

Yep, only the Dees could finish the quarter that way. Back to the garden. I'm done!

Clown 3 - Leigh Fisher, does not bode well either. Could not play, certainly cannot umpire. Always looking around corners, missing obvious ones and plucking random decisions - usually against the red and blue.

Fundamental basic error by Clown 22 gifts Sydney a goal. Any comment on that one Scwabby?

Am watching from afar - Siem Reap in Cambodia. I note that clown Maggot 15 is listed to run around and impose himself on the contest. Not a good sign. Despite that, go Dees, and both Jacks on their special days. A massive day - not the be all and end all, but a win could really set up the rest of the year. Go Dees!

Strong club will not rush players back. I like that. Go dees in the top end!