grazman

Agree. I think he will be the player that Essendon wanted Kepler Bradley to be. I didn't really take much notice of the people that were bagging him. CAC picked him and that was enough for me. Both Sellars and Riewoldt may be good players, but Frawley has shown enough to suggest he will be very, very special.

I can't believe no one has commented on Dunn.... did I miss something. He tagged Haselby and gave him an absolute bath. The Dockers weren't happy about it and were into him at every stoppage. Too his credit he didn't take a backward step and actually dished a bit back. He had 13 possessions to Haselby's ten... which considering how often he get's the ball in other games is a massive step forward for us finding another run with player (and one who can hit team mates lace out) I thought he was one of our best. I've been massively undewhelmed by CJ this year.... he had some blinding moments in the game, but he goes missing for very long stretches... I was a big rap because he has skills, size and pace.. he should get one more year, let's hope he develops some consistency. Newton was again very encouraging, the other forwards could learn a thing or two about second and third efforts from Juice.

I imagine most of us would hope this is the last year we ever want us to lose a match rather than win one.

Like I said before - you're getting hung up on the words... he stopped and propped directly in front of his opponent... he caused the contact - he wanted the contact. Everyone that's ever played the game knows what Baker did wasn't simply blocking an opponent. I wouldn't put too much store on the fact they believe his version of how it happened, what they clearly don't believe is why it happened.

Huh? Farmer had his face caved in fifty metres off the ball. That's a pretty good fact to start with.

Serve the boys all a very dodgy curry the night before!

I'm pretty sure the AFL Tribunal works on the balance of probability and not beyond reasonable doubt... but anyway to answer your point... It was clear there was contact between the two players - Baker admitted he initiated the contact. The ball was fifty metres away and Farmer broke his nose and was heavily concussed. Any reasonably prudent person would understand that the actions of Baker have caused unnecessary and dangerous contact and as a result tarnished the reputation of the game. Courts of law often rule on murder cases (ie Falconio) where a victims body is never found, but some things are safe to assume even if they aren't directly observed. IE. Baker sniped Farmer off the ball.

I've had plenty of players and coaches over the years tell me the same thing. "If you really want to hurt someone, hit them when they're not looking" There's no point in arguing around the fringes... Occams Razor is the best test. Baker deserves his punishment.

I just wonder given Sheeds stated desire to coach for another five years before retiring whether it is possible to have a long term understudy. Maybe in three or four years time (like Freo appointing Harvey for Connolly) but now would be a big call. Regardless I reckon Sheeds would attract some pretty good potential assistant coaches... which we'll need - because I can't see Kev doing much of the leg work.

Agree. Essendon players can do it and it has no real impact, because the brand is big enough to sustain the damage. We aren't. That aside my major concern is supposedly professional footballers who continually engage in activities that are prejudicial to performance. Alcohol is widely known to impact of fitness and recovery. I'm certainly not saying they shouldn't be able to have a couple of quiet beers, but really their managers should be doing the right thing by them and sitting them down and asking what sort of reputation do they want when they retire.... is it enough to have played maybe a hundred odd games at a couple of clubs? Reliable judges tell me that Col will be some sort of player when he gets a full preseason under his belt.... that aside I'd rather see him working his butt off like other players doing everything in his power to be the best he can be rather than hitting the sauce to the point of stupidity.

According to the Age this morning the five are: Sheedy, Hardwick, Bailey, Connolly, Riley Also mentions some of the preferences they are looking for in a new coach. I think the way I've listed them, stacked up against the preferences maybe the order of merit.

Look to be blunt - Yze isn't worth anything to trade for. He won't retire gracefully with a year to run on his contract like Nico. CAC is just stating the obvious... the club has a contract it is bound to honour... I think what was said in the article, the way it was said and the gaps in between indicated that the Yze would leave us for greener pastures if the opportunity presents itself, the club would let him, but that there is basically no interest from anyone else so he will stay.

Not until after Rd 22 though - if you get my drift. Blackwell is interesting - I think it was touch and go if Carlton were going to pick him as a FS... his disposal isn't good.

3LO highlighted that both Stokes and Ben Johnson were the only players charged thus far under the rule in the preseason. Both got four weeks and according to the commentators neither was anywhere near as bad as Ben Johnson.. I think it'll be graded as severe and I think he's looking at a minimum of six weeks.

There's still skeleton's in the closet down there though... I'd seriously doubt that it's true. but Footy's a funny game, particularly if Geelong don't live up to expectations in the finals.

Agree... but our inability to handle the emotional aspects is a real cause for concern. God help us if there isn't something done about it before we reach another Grand Final... You can't cough up an entire first half because the occasion gets to you.

I like Brock, always have. I like his work ethic, I like his leadership, and in particular I like his calmness under pressure. His disposal is top shelf. This year hasn't been good for him, he's been injured and that has hampered him, he's also learning that sometimes you need to temper your ego and concentrate on the basics if you want to take the next step (Rob Harvey would be a very good mentor for him) Anyone that doubts his captaincy credentials has rocks in their head... the boy is ultra competitive, but he's still immature, he will get better.

I think the concern with Dutchy was they couldn't put the shoulder back in right away and he may have a fracture as well. I think your right deanox in that the extent of the inury will determine his spot on the list. In the harsh reality of modern footy can we really afford to keep a 30+ limited skills, immobile KPP that potentially can't do a preseason - even one as brave as Benny?

I know this won't seem popular... but I feel Sorry for Johnson. As soon as he'd made contact he knew he'd made a serious, serious blue. Those of us that have played enough footy know that sometimes you do things on the spur of the moment and you think "What did I do that for" - it's so completely out of character, you aren't proud of it and you can't explain why. You could see throughout the game that he was really concerned about what he'd done. Dane Swan came up to him and said something to him and Johnson pushed him away and gave him a mouthful, he then went back to Swan and apologised. I'd be very surprised if he didn't seek Belly out afterwards... not that he could offer much by way of explanation. As far as the tribunal is concerned (even with their lack of consistency) he is in deep poo poo. It looked bad and was bad.

Yes I will Just as a point of clarification - for mine in order of importance. 1. Strong unified back six with two genuine class talls and a third tall stopper, one small stopper and three silky skilled rebounders (one to the bench) 2. A hard running midfield capable of kicking goals a la Geelong, West coast etc. Genuine class is instrumental (delivery under pressure), but just as importantly to apply physical pressure by tackling, smothering, chasing etc. One quality stopper is almost a given. 3. Dynamic multi pronged forward line. Two tall targets, a third running tall a genuine roving small (the other two flankers aren't really forwards, they're part of the midfield - either resting forward or pushing up) 4. Dominant ruck - in the abscence of this simply a competitive ruck. Possessions are desirable, physicality essential. I'm happy to sacrifice the Forward line to ensure the back six hold up.

Imagine if you can that it's 2008 and we have a twenty year old David Neitz showing excellent promise playing at CHB, but correspondingly we don't have a Michael Newton... What do you do? Leave Neita at CHB or push him forward to develop him as a Full Forward.

I think we can bounce back strongly in 08, but only if we develop a more accountable style and get back to learning how to apply physical pressure on our opponents (our tackling tonight was better, but far from great). I watched both games the Doggies and Swans played here in Canberra and the physical differences in the two sides was enormous, the dogs don't apply any physical pressure and their game plan has fallen apart like a chinese motorcycle. We were good tonight because our opponents let us be, last week were ... you get the picture. 08 needs to be based on how we want to play the game, not how our opponents let us play.

I was optimistic at the start of the season and there's no doubt that injuries have cruelled us. The nucleus of our side for 08 is substantially weighted to the Under 23 brigade: Mclean, Sylvia, Jones, Bartram, Rivers, Bell, Frawley, Moloney, Newton, Petterd, Bate, Garland and Dunn- they still have a lot to learn. Like all lists however, there are still deficiencies. I think if we could get the opportunity to draft the likes of Cotchin and Henderson then we will have come close to addressing at least half of the problems. To do that though we may have to trade some of our more established (maybe even popular) players to get the extra draft pick. And we will certainly have to make some far tougher calls in pruning some older players from the list.

I can only think it's because he's going to pull the plug at the end of this year. The real problem for Neita today wasn't his teammates. He dropped a lot of marks he normally would have taken and chose some really bad options.

I wonder if one of them will be Ratten?