timetobrock

hahahah, harsh, but true

word from a reliable source is a demon player will retire later this week my guess is the only senior player that can't and won't get a game again soon is the biz, so it's probably him sad news if it's true

Totally sick of Miller bashers Why do people expect him to be as good as riewoldt. it is clear to see he is not the most naturally talented player. he does make some bad decisions on the ground, but he leads constantly, presents, contests every ball at 100%. He may not kick many goals but he spends most of his time leading up the ground not sitting in the forward 50. Calls for him to go back to the reserves are premature. No, make that stupid, as he played well yesterday, and came back on after getting injured. Is it the same people that suggested last week that Bruce get dropped? Statistics can be used to prove just about any point you wish to make.

drop cameron bruce??? surely you are kidding. he has been one of our most consistent players all year. he runs hard all day to get the ball. The team is 0 and 6 and you want to drop one of our leading players? Who would replace him??? The reason he is in the leadership group is because he has played 4-5 years of consistent, high quality football. He is our fittest, most durable player. Perhaps the perfromance of Johnstone should be scrutinised more. Or Sylvia, who put in a number of pathetic attempts on the weekend. Bruce should not be dropped and merely suggesting it is foolish

Tip for the end of the season has to be Rivers. i think 100% of melbourne supporters appreciate how good he really is, and how he and whelan provide poise in a backline that desperately needs it. I also am amazed at how he leaves his opponent at just the right time to intercept the kick. He becomes an extra player when doing this. Also Jones for a second year player was great on the weekend, and most people around me marvelled at his endeavour and mostly sound decision making. Finally Petterd if he continues this form looks very good. Just great to see a rookie with such calm and confidence.

One may remember a certain Adelaide final a few years ago where Travis Johnstone played the best game of his life. In this match he did get the hard ball, he did use it and in a quarter he ran whichever opponent he had off his feet. Unfortunately he has never been able to replicate this performance and consistently dominate games for a whole season, which is what most of us expect. His performance this year has been very ordinary, but he is a big game player, and someome we need firing if we are to go close in finals. Bruce move forward - At this stage of the year, with TJ out of touch and Brock out, that is not an option. He is too good a midfielder. Trade Miller - He is the scapegoat of angry supporters and he shouldn't be. Why do we expect him to be Hall/Tredrea/Riewoldt? He is hard working, honest, and hard at the ball. Hansen is hardly a goalkicking machine either. To assume that simply trading Miller would deliver us the next Riewoldt is a bit optimisitc. Davey permanent forward - In the AFL there are about 5 players who are good enough to play exclusively as a small forward. Davey may be one of these, but he is more useful being able to play both roles. If our team was top 4 maybe we could afford the luxury of Davey as a forward pocket but for now we need him in the midfield. Get rid of Godfrey - He is earning his spot at the moment. But he really should not have stayed at Melbourne so long. An elite team should demand standards of skill. Whilst Godfrey's work ethic and dedication is beyond reproach, it has been apparent since his first game that his skill levels are not good enough for an elite team. He needs to go. Nicholson (already gone) and P Johnson also fall into this category. Give Bizzel an opportunity - A team ravaged by injuries, and Biz can't get a run. I'm not sure of Danihers prejudices but Bizzel was our best player 4 seasons ago. It seems now his delisting is all but confirmed as he got dropped last week for 2 first gamers. I'm all for looking for the future but really Daniher needs to provide an answer for this. Finally, the argument that melbourne don't give us 100% so I shouldn't go to games is a load of crap. If you don't go to the games because you are [censored] off about the performance, you really have no right to post here.

As a football commentator I would rate Gerard Whately as one of the best in Australia. His pre game introductions on 774 are full of genuine passion and excitement. He is astute, thoughtful, and most importantly he has a healthy sense of perspective.

Lawyer, law student or not, the Headland decision is a disgrace. It is not a dangerous precedent, simply because the AFL tribunal is not bound (nor even guided) by precedent like a court of law, and in the past it has never considered precedent when handing down its decisions. The public do not ask much from the AFL with regards to umpires and the tribunal. But the most common request is consistency. Umpiring consistency is non existent. The rule interpretations change from week to week. Often the decisions made on a Sunday are completely different to those made on the preceeding Friday. See the perpetually confusing holding the ball rule. But tribunal results are much more important than free kicks given during games. If the AFL stated that they would follow similar previous cases at the tribunal (perhaps cases from the current year and last year), and maintained this consistency, then clubs and the public could not reasonably feel wronged. In most tribunal cases there is an almost identical incident that occured in the past season. The tribunal could simply hand out the same decision, instead of implementing its moronic, nonsensical points process. But the Headland case could not possibly be followed in the future. Every player charged can simply say that he was deeply offended by a jibe from an opponent. For example a player was called a f....n poof whilst shooting for goal. He missed then punched his opponent in the head. He claimed that this jibe was particularly offensive (as well as socially insensitive). Whether or not he was offended, and whether or not the jibe was actually said is not relevant. It wasn't in Headland's case.