Mazer Rackham

Take out all "intention". Example: soccer has no problem with the "last touch" rule. The AFL would dress it up with all kinds of junk about if the player really meant it, etc. Soccer: nope, doesn't matter how it happened. You touched it last. The AFL have made a rod for the back with the concept of "interpretation", which is bogus and harmful. The rules & their officiation will never be black & white, but the AFL seem to love to blur it into grey at every opportunity.

I see this as one more skirmish in the AFL's war against the NRL. A new front has been opened regarding head trauma. The NRL don't quite know what to do about it, but they know it's affecting junior uptake of the sport. The AFL want the mums of the land to say "you're not playing rugby" and they further want them to say "but that AFL is okay ... they try to protect the head". As in all things, the AFL is inconsistent and erratic on this. That's why they can let certain pieces of thuggery go as "part of the game" and other things, clearly "in play" (eg the Geelong guy who got tackled fairly but landed on his head) get cited. All part of their big picture war on other codes.

I was also upset at how we played. I have this weird fetish that in the highest level competition in the land, the umpiring should also be of a high standard. But it's literally amateurish, and the stewards of the game don't care. That's how I can be upset at bad calls.

There were many lousy decisions in a long weekend full of them. Short kicks. Moore ran 30 metres across the goal face. The annual sole free for "ran too far" paid against us. A kick out on the full paid a mark. A zillion players running through the "protected" zone. Clarry monstered but hey that's footy. Umpiring in crisis but the AFL do not care. Upset win so exciting!!

All fair points. My opinion: Weed is going backwards and at some point we have to accept he's not going to make it. * although Gawn developed into something a lot more than a good average serviceable player.

1. do we want good average serviceable players (esp KPF) when at long last, it appears we've got a shot at a flag? 2. how long before he emerges from his chrysalis as this vaunted good average serviceable player? 1 year, 2 years? 3. do we want to make a habit of keeping players on our list for 6 or more years, so that they can slowly and steadily develop into good average serviceable players?

Everyone's been saying for years, but what about Hawkins? He took a long time to come good. He was useless and then one day a switch was thrown and he was a star. But Hawkins is actually the exception. And even he didn't hang around like a shag on a rock until something suddenly clicked. He put in his good days and good quarters. Look at the forwards at other clubs. Himmelberg, King x 2, ThilThorpe, McKay ... everyone's showing what they've got in various doses. Sam has gone backwards to where we're playing one short. He is never going to click. Unfortunate, but the experiment is over.

They were blocking our leads with a player in space and none of our forwards could get a run at it. Nonetheless. It was extremely irritating to see their two NQR makeshift KPFs running around getting their mitts on it seemingly at will.

In the social club indoor soccer team

I watched some other games this weekend. All the teams I saw have key forwards who, even in bottom teams, or whose side was losing on the day, or was individually under duress from defenders, were still able to take grabs, create opportunities, and cause defensive havoc. Weed did none of those things. (The only one -- apart from Weed -- who looked right out of it was the King from GCS but he is too early in his career, and shows too much promise, to make any call on.) Weed may be the ultimate confidence player, but it's now clear he will never get confidence at this level. What started as normal player development devolved into an experiment in developing Sam as a project player. Like he was a younger Harley Bennell or a better Karmichael Hunt or something. But the experiment is now over.

Injury sub

But only after the siren! Bizarre and stupid rule.

CARL GROTH!!! SLOWLY I TURNED ... STEP BY STEP ... INCH BY INCH ...

So it's Collingwood, Carlton, St Kilda and now Giants. Quite the smorgasbord for Yze to choose from.

The best umpires are the ones you don't notice

I'm comparing the treatment Thilthorpe got with what Toby Greene gets every time the ball goes in to the Giants 50. If last night's decision was any kind of benchmark, GWS would be 15 goals in front.

I didn't see it live, but one night on Slobbo's football show, Slobbo was asking Buckley (the two can't stand each other) what he thought about various players. "What about Geoff Hayward?" asks Slobbo. "Yeah, good player ..." says Buckley, and a few other vague compliments, bluffing his way through ... only to be told that Geoff Hayward is a fictional player. Pretty basic booby trap and Nafe walked right into it. If he's with a fawning collaborator like Twateley, he is expansive and relaxed. In other forums he is stilted and waffles horribly in his own invented corporate speak. "What we're aiming for is to set up a scoring framework where we maximise our scoring situation and invest in scoring opportunities. We also want to limit our opponents' scoring situation and create a scoreboard dynamic where the scoring differential in our favour."

The umpires department should take a leaf out of the rubgy union ref manual and allow none of that sh*t. From any player.

Don't turn your back on the play! It's like a bowler not getting behind the stumps for the fielder's throw in. Or a batsman turning for a second run with his back to the fielder. It's so basic to the craft, it's a miracle that coaches allow it. We also see so many players who are one sided and practically helpless on their "wrong" side. About as good on their "wrong" side as I am on my "right" side. What are they being taught? They're also not allowed to do goal shooting practice. In case it interferes with the things that can win matches. It's upside down land.

Sounds like something Dennis Cometti might say.

Christ. Good get.

Crikey, apart from Norm Gallagher, that was the only one I got. Jack Elliot, Pig's Aarts

The big giveaway was the hint about a 45 year career. That means this performer must have started in 1976. The only other musician I can think of who started in 1976 was "William Shakespeare", a teeny bopper type who (from memory) sang Vanda/Young songs. But his career didn't go for 45 years. I think (going on memory again) it was 45 minutes.

I see demonstone beat me to it.

It turns out Ian Gillan was a keen Aussie Rules fan and on stage, would sing these words until the other guys in the band made him write more "bluesy" ones for the recorded version. Lazy Don't want to spread Lazy Don't want to spread Don't run two ways, want Joe the Goose instead Frowning At your teams score Frowning At your teams score Can't kick it straight, keep scoring points galore Oh my crying Ain't done no good Oh my crying Ain't done no good You're wooden spooners, no doubt like you should