Wiseblood

You take yourself too seriously. He's at the club, either deal with it or support another club. Easy.

And that's what we did for years - talk up the kids to give us hope. We have barely done that at all this year, and it's telling. I see it as a real positive.

Fair enough mate. We will have to agree to disagree. Cheers.

There's so much more to it than this simplistic view and you know it. Personally, and I can speak for others as well, I'm not okay with anyone cheating, and Melksham was part of that and he will serve his suspension. Then he will get a second chance at turning his career around in the red and blue and I'm more than happy to give him an opportunity to do so. If anything I hope sitting out this year really spurs him on and he becomes a really integral player for us off the half back line. Sitting out for a year is punishment enough.

Quality as always.

He'll be back in a year. He has the stigma of cheating around him but, to quote you, you're better than that. You know it's not just down to him and there is far more at play here than that. There might be a difference, but he will come back without any injury history and be ready to go. If he can play a good role for us over the coming years then the trade is a win, it's as simple as that. You know more than us do you, big mouth?

They wouldn't have known it would happen, but that would have considered all the options and outcomes, and this was one of them. They would have known there was a possibility of this outcome and planned accordingly.

I'm not sure why people are missing this point in amongst everything else. We've had a variety of players over the last few decades miss huge chunks of game time, yet we've stuck with them and they've come out well on the other side. Stephen Tingay is a prime example. Missed a few years and then came back with a vengeance in '98. There is no reason why Melksham can't do the very same thing. Missing the year isn't ideal, of course, but it's hardly the end of the world.

Big chunk? Turn it up. The contract the Dogs gave Boyd is what people would describe as a 'big chunk' out of the salary cap. Melksham's hardly compares to that. If he doesn't miss a year of footy then nobody would be in here calling this a terrible trade. He will only be 25 next year and moving in to the prime years of his career. He'll be right.

Wouldn't I? I'm impressed you know me so well that you can make such grandiose assumptions Curry. No bias from me, mate. Just common sense.

Yeah, no worries. No one in life deserves to be given a second chance, eh? The bloke was told by the club what he was taking was fine - maybe he should have taken a closer look, asked more questions, done a little research etc. but to lay the blame solely at their feet is wrong. I look forward to see Jake come back in November and become an integral part of our team when all of this is well and truly behind him.

Really? You've said plenty of dumb stuff over the years but this is up there with your best work. Well done.

True, but the beauty is that he has time on his side. We don't need him to play straight away. By recruiting guys like Melksham and Bugg, while also hopefully having a fit Petracca and Trengove to select from, we can give a guy like Oliver time to shed the puppy fat and build his endurance before he plays in the AFL. We don't need to expose him too soon. But when we do... look out!

What do we always talk about wanting to have in our side? Blokes who have a crack, win the footy, run both ways and give their all for the footy club. Oliver will bring all of those things in spades.

One difference - going by how he presents himself Oliver is not a complete [censored] like Sylvia was.

He'll be even more gobsmacked when Sam and Jesse form the best forward partnership in the league in a few years time. Welcome Sam!

Olisik just had one of the all time great orgasms. Well done son. Oh, and welcome Clayton. I reckon you'll be a gem!

I agree. Some might argue that he played in a different era, but Robbie's abilities would still translate to the modern game as well. You play the hand you are given and Robbie turned that deck into a royal flush. Someone like Gysberts barely turned it into a two pair. If Parish has the drive coupled with the ability then he'll make it.

As someone mentioned before, and numerous times before that, he was injured with OP (oestitis pubis) for the first half of the season and took time to get going.

When are you going to ask Parish to marry you, mate? I like how flippant you are with your comparisons for Oliver though to try and talk him down. He has been likened to players such as Wines and Cripps. Not bad really. And Parish is closest to an Andrew Gaff type of player. If he was all of the above, which you mentioned, then he would going at Pick 1.

They are distant cousins. I don't think it's a good thing that I prefer reading what H_H has to say though...

It will be Pick 10 after the academy bids. Pay attention mate.

He wasn't knocking the comparison mate, just making a comment about him being able to duck into frees like Selwood at his height. The way you jump to defend Parish is admirable, but if I was you I'd have a stiff drink on hand just in case we take someone else. It could be a long night for you.

If he said Parish was a lock at 3, which is clearly what you want, then you wouldn't question it.

Various people in the know. I can't confirm it, but there was enough word going around to suggest that's what clubs were looking for. It could be wrong, it could be right. Either way he tested poorly. We can all confirm that.