Jumping Jack Clennett

Not just horses! It's commonly used in human anaesthesia. Especially in the third world, and in emeregency situations, "in the field" in war. Lunatics who use it "recreationally" are playing with fire. A bit like Michael Jackson's doctor with his propofol.

Wasn't there a mobile phone call to a drug lord intercepted?

Incriminated so far:- Cousins Fletcher Chick Kerr Hunter Gardiner I've forgotten someone.....can anyone help? I'm not aware of medical evidence that "recreational" sympathomimetics enhance or detract from athletic performance. I'm tempted to conclude from my observation of the above characters' achievements......they don't do any bloody HARM!!!! Poor Ben always looked so puffed out. But he just kept putting in! Think how many Brownlows he would have won without the disadvantage of being a drug addict! It beggars belief that he wasn't caught during his career when he admits he was an addict. My conclusion? In a small town like Perth, word gets around when the "random " tests are imminent. Hence his mates escaped too. BUT, certain Tassie-Waverley Hawks seem to get away with it in our big city. Perhaps that's for a different reason.

It's hard to believe, but everyone tipped North in the first final and Sydney in the second. Our combined winning margin was over 200 points. We were tipped by no-one against Hawthorn, and only a miracle beat us. Everyone would have tipped Carlton,(back on our home ground, ) in the GF, too. That Carlton premiership side was one of the ordinary winners. Nothing like Haw in '88, or Ess in 2000.

Robbie didn't exactly carry us in the prelim. We still very nearly beat Hawthorn without much input from him,so we still could have beaten Carlton without him.(but the fact remains....the club doctor expected him to play.) I recently heard him say that he doubted he would have played ,too. In fact it was in answer to a question from me on talk back radio. However his memories of the time seemed rather dim.

Thanks for revising my" revisionism", Rhino. Just to straighten out your revisionism..... By round 17, we had just lost 3 in a row, our previous win having been in round 13, interestingly, against Hawthorn at Princes Park. We won rounds 17 to 22, ie 6 in a row.(6 out of 9 if you're talking H and away). Add the 2 finals...I make that 8 out of 9. As far as my contention that we would have beaten Carlton goes, surely it's a reasonable argument that we beat them 3 times the next year. It at least holds some weight. Yes, Carlton beat us easily in the first half of season 1987 on the MCG. But that was before the juggernaut started. We were a different side after round 16. Every final we played we were gross underdogs, and surprised everyone, including in the Prelim. Only a series of incredibly unlucky events beat us that day( forget the bulldust about the wind change helping us,goals were kicked at both ends). Have a look at the replay and think about the umpiring! It was incredible! They were sucked in by the experienced Hawthorn players over and over again. We'd have surprised everyone in the GF, too.Everyone had tipped North to beat us. They thought the 30-goal-scoring Sydney would kill us. They thought it was a no-contest against Hawthorn at Waverley. We may have defended badly, but we attacked pretty well in those last 10 min. We generated golden opportunities for the match-winning goal to Eishold, Campbell and Yates. Just think of the excitement and enthusiasm that beating the best team in the comp(Hawthorn) would have generated. No-one could have stopped us. I know it's pointless to look back on what might have been. But I can't help but think that one day, the gods will smile on us.(as they did on Collingwood with the Milne bounce, after so many unlucky GF's between 1964 and 2010.) ps Rhino. My apologies for not realising that you knew a lot more about Flower's condition than the Club doctor.

Maxwell is injured at present. I reckon he'll represent Australia in limited overs cricket very soon. He's mercurial,

Quoting Rhino...."Then it started to change....and we won 7 of our last 8 games" Didn't we win our last six home-and-away games then 2 finals? i.e. 8 out of 9. Actually, we won 3 finals, since John Kennedy hit the post at the 15 min mark of Q4, and it was called a goal.(much to Jimma's chagrin!). Carlton won the GF,then we beat them 3 times the next year(including a final), so I claim we'd have won the GF. As stated above, Northey had created an irresistible force, and only a series of questionable umpiring decisions, and poor kicking by usually accurate kicks(Campbell, Yates and Eishold), lost us that Prelim. I was told by the Club doctor at the B and F (soon after the GF)that Brian Wilson was the only plasyer who'd have missed the GF. He reckons they'd have been able to play Flower with pain-killing injections in his shoulder. "Dirty"Dave Williams, who was dead stiff to miss the Prelim would have been a useful replacement for Willo. ***Sorry "Melb Man" just read your post after sending this one. By the way, though Eishold's kick was a shocker, he was put on a ludicrous angle by the ump who was miles away when he marked it on the point of the goalsquare for a "gimme" goal. But he was given an acute angle, which made it a hard shot under pressure, and he went to water.

Watched SA v Vic on Foxtel tonight. Poor batting by us collapsing to pretty ordinary fast bowlers. But, great left arm orthodox spinning from Holland(who I thought was useless) to bring us back into the game. THEN a catastrophic blunder by (soon to be ex)captain White. About 15 for SA to get.2 wickets in hand.Cooper on strike. Jayde Herrick fresh, as yet unbowled. Who does he bring on? Inexperienced off- spinner, Salpietro, who gets whacked. When he finally DOES bring on Herrick, it's too late, but he does get 1/1/1/0. He must have been seething. White's captaincy form is slightly worse than his batting.(0 again today, trying to hit a middle stump yorker through square leg).

I watched some of the live TV streaming of the Vic SA match from Adelaide. Quiney and Handscomb made tons. Handscomb really looks the goods. So correct technically. Aggressive, but good concentration. Likely future Test player. Poor old White bombed again, this time at no.3. At least he decided to bat on an absolute road.

You missed me....am I too late? Can I jump up on the cart? I'm a beginner, so if possible please put me in the league for inexperienced players.

Fascinating Test in Abu Dabi! Great to see the Poms fold in the fourth innings!

What an exciting game last night between the Stars and Hobart! It worries me that two England(?occasional)players were such stand-outs(Shah and Wright).(though Victorian reject Birt...?any relation to Johnnie?)....did really ell,too.) What was Clint Mackay doing bowling gift full tosses? Did the wet ball slip? Normally Clint is a top class bowler.

Jack....I was actually at the SCG that day in 1903 when "Tip" Foster knocked up that 287 at the SCG. I was only 13 years old, so I don't remember it all that clearly.But I do recall that it was his debut! Not a bad start!

If only we'd played "Dirty Dave" in the '87 prelim final,I'm sure we'd have won. If we had won ,he'd have replaced the injured Wilson in the GF, and we'd have beaten Carlton then , as we did three times in 1988.

I can't stand Warne, but I was stunned by his genius last night. He seemed to be able to read the batsmen's minds. His control of length and line was phenomenal, despite his absence from top class cricket for years and despite the distraction of being " miked up". I know it's only hit and giggle in 20:20 but it's the bowlers who are made to look bad....but not Warne. I'm a Test Cricket fan, but I'm prepared to follow 20:20 if it keeps up the profile of cricket, and as long as the majority of players regard Test cricket as the pinnacle. I preferred the interstate 20:20.

What a great read is "the Red Fox"!!!!Thoroughly recommended!! While reading it I was taken back to those great times when we just assumed we' d win the flag! What a catastrophic calamity it was to lose Norm, and then Ron!!!!! But, on reflection, perhaps history might not have been so different had it not happened. We enjoyed an enormous advantage being the only side playing on the MCG...we even trained there!!Now opposition supporters outnumber ours in all but interstate games, and even that is debatable v. Sydney and Brisbane. Also I think we suffered by not having a suburban source of supporters like Ess. ,Coll. and Carlton. The termination of the alliance with the MCC exacerbated this. Was it bad luck, or bad recruiting, but Robbie Flower was the only genuine superstar we've had since Norm went. Compare that to Haw, Ess , North ,Rich,Coll and Carlton.

Well done Demons!! Who is the clever producer?

Quoting the learned,yet vitriolic ,Rhino...... "JJC, its been proven flawed and you and WYL just reinforce your ignorance. " ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where's it been proven flawed!!?? When I disagree with someone, I resist the temptation to call them ignorant. I know it weakens my argument.

"Win the toss...Bat". ( quoting WYL) I agree with you on this ,WYL, but I'm reluctant to discuss it because it raises such vitriolic sentiment in those of the opposite opinion on this forum. Most Test and first class captains agree with you, too.

Yeah,I've heard Sundberg is a real goer.Only problem is he 's TOO fearless.Similar in that respect to Ben Sinclair(keeps getting his head hit in). Being unable to crack it for a rookie spot to the Collingwood midfield should not be considered a negative.

Enjoying this!!! 0/112 after all out 47. Hughes and Watson should keep their heads down and take full advantage of the position they're in.

I'm terribly disappointed by the Bushrangers in the Ryobi Cup. Shocking, under-nine shot by Hodge to be bowled. Cameron White is just not up to state(let alone National) level as a player. Gutsy effort down the batting order by James Pattinson. A message from the coaches should have been sent to Herrick to stop trying to whack it(.....he just had NO timing), and try to deflect. Despite his efforts, he just couldn't score. Our state coaches either are not emphasising the basics to our players, or they're just not listening. The title holders are Maxie GAWN!!!! Great game to watch last night though. I'm not confident about the two tests v. S. Africa starting next week. But if we can do well against them there, we might be on the way back.

Rhino. You could have added some substance to your argument by pointing out "Ronnie's" decision to continue bowling Glenn Maxwell with his offies for 3 overs too long in thje Ryobi Cup match, which proved a match losing decision. By the way, I accidentally called it a T20 match , when it was 50:50. Is it "square earth" to want to bat first in those games, too? Funny how most captains seem to adhere to the "square earth" policy. I guess they're less knowledgable than us.

I really admire Andrew McDonald as a cricketer. But his captaincy???!!! He was lucky enough to win the toss in the T20 v. Qld. Sent 'em in on a perfect strip. The inevitable happened.Our young side batted under tremendous pressure. We lost to an inferior side. The Shield Match? Lucky boy!! Won the toss again!! Sent 'em in on a belter! Our guys failed under pressure again , and are now battling for a draw with little hope.