The Panglossian

I was very impressed with"SOS"s form yesterday. I'd be very surprised if he's not upgraded next year. He looks to me as if he could be a very useful contributor to our backline next season. Could he play midfield? His attack on the ball, his decision making, and his disposal all impressed me. I was a great admirer of his dad Shaun's guts, standing his ground in "the hole" to be crashed by the likes of Lockett. Shaun Smith, like another brave Demon hero of mine, Steven Icke, was a fantastic transfer from North. I'm so glad we have Joel as a Demon.

We've been pretty competitive v. Port on the Adelaide Oval, though we haven't beaten them there yet. The first AFL game there (?2012 or 2013) we lost by about a point, but we actually won. The home town bias of the umpires that day was beyond belief.

Herath's a good bowler. It was a good tactical move to bring him on in gthe second over. It probably caught Burns by surprise. A poor shot, but I wouldn't write him off on the strength of that one dismissal. Warner's shot was a shocker, but I always think bat to pad to stumps is a bit stiff.

Are you sure that's right, Barrie? I reckon Danny played after the drop kick had faded out. But he could barrel them with a torp. And he was so tough! Tassie did the big drops.

Torpedoes are banned by coaches, yet they allow dribble "check side " kicks with players running into open goals. Players love practising those fiddly skills like curvy dribble kicks from impossible angles. You see AFL players (and kids in parks) spending lots of time having fun practising those things. I contend that training and practising in the special skill of spiral punting should be a routine part of AFL skills drills, which would be thoroughly enjoyed by the players. I think it could be worth 2 or 3 goals a match if all Melbourne players were the best in the league at torpedoes. Have a look at "Fork ''em's" You tube post above. See how inspiring those torps were !

Demonlanders will yawn that I'm on my old hobby horse again, but there was an interesting incident yesterday involving Jeff Garlett doing a torp. The ball ended up at our full forward line, but had to be relayed back to a player with a free outside 50. Garlett had the ball right on the full back line. He effortlessly torpedoed the ball 65 m back to the waiting Demon. Yet I'm sure that if Jeff had to have a set shot from 45, he'd pass it off, knowing he couldn't make the distance with a drop punt. I think players should practise torpedoes,since there are occasions when they'd be the kick of choice. e.g. a set shot from 55 after the siren, or running from defence and spotting a forward 60 metres downfield requiring a kick over the back. Dunny occasionally lets one go from full back, and critics complain it often comes straight back. But in a situation when you're, say 3 goals down with three min to go, it's worth a "punt"( a torpedo punt!) Coaches ban torps ,because they're so liable to come off the side of the boot and create a turnover. However this unpredictability can be an advantage, creating "chaos" near the goals. Would anyone ever argue that turnovers never occur with drop punts? With current players' skill levels, and the large amount of time they have to practise skills, I think torps should be part of our training programme. I'm suggesting a "torpedo-inspired recovery!"

The umpires have high-pitched, squeaky voices!

Only vague memories, Tim. Please remind me who hit him that time.(was it that rough StKilda ruckman who later played for us? I can't think of his name)

Smith got crunched lots of times, and Lockett might have done it, but I think you might be thinking of Sean Wight, who stood in the hole,yards in front of Plugger, on the MCG. Lockett knew he was too late to spoil, so ran full pelt , both knees up , and crashed his back. I reckon it was worth 4 weeks, but the ump didn't even give him 50 m. It ranked with Judd's efforts , as one of the most vicious assaults I've seen on the footy field.

His Dad was one of the most gutsy players I've seen......not just a spectacular mark.He was prepared to stand in "the hole" and be crashed by the on rushing pack, time and time again( a bit like Steven Icke.

Looks like David Schwarz. Plays like Todd Viney ! Keep it up!! There's a touch of Josh Kennedy(Swan) there , too.Perhaps he learnt from him 2 weeks ago.

I reckon we'd have won but for the 11 from Johnsons first ball. No balls must be avoided at all cost.

I saw Lyon at the movies a couple of weeks ago. He was with his sons. They looked pretty porky...not like sportsmen at all. They're by Lyon from Brett Lovett's sister, correct? Perhaps they've inherited Brett's body shape. I hope they can play like him or the Loin chop!

Did anyone else hear Freddie Flintoff drop the C... word when he failed to put away a loose ball while batting in the BBL last night? Mark Waugh and Gilly tried to cover it up humorously by saying "yes, he said he tried to CUT that one , didn't he" ! I don't know how they managed not to burst out laughing.

I had no work on Thurs am so I stayed up. When I went to bed at 3.15, I couldn't get to sleep because my heart was still pounding!There was huge irony when Phillander was given not out caught at short leg, because his hand was adjudged by the third ump to not be in contact with the bat when the ball hit his thumb. We lost the (?2005 or 2009)Ashes because Kasprowicz was given out caught behind when his hand wasn't on the bat, and we only needed about 2 to win! It looked like we were going to not win this series ,due to the DRS preventing this error from being repeated. However it wasn't clear enough from multiple replays, to overturn the umpire's decision , in my opinion. With 4 overs to go, and two wickets to get, it was hard to be optimistic. The bowlers looked so tired. I was cursing the time wasted the previous day when Doolan couldn't hit it off the square. Also the time lost due to rain early in the Test, which wasn't entirely made up for by the early starts . I also felt Clarke under -bowled Smith.What did it matter if he served up some tripe and got belted? We had so many runs to spare.

Great article by Chris Cordner in the Age today ,criticizing the Australian Test team for their sledging and general behaviour. I agree with him that we can beat the English without this boorish larrikinism. In fact, I think sledging increases the steely resolve of the opposition ,usually. Let's pretend we're nice guys to Steyn, Morkel, Philander etc. They won't have the broken morale the Englishmen displayed when things started going against them for a change.

Hey Biff, what's Wade's MFC connection?Does he barrack for the Dees? If so, I can't help but hope he becomes Haddin's replacement,though I hope that's not too soon. Haddin has really improved his keeping in his thirties, so it's not too late for Wade.

Absolutely right, WYL.And I reckon it was a gutless decision by Clarke, with our collapse for 98 last Ashes Boxing Day at the forefront of his mind. He saw the clouds and a bit if moisture in the pitch and didn't have the confidence in his batsmen to tough it out for a session then benefit from the huge advantage of RUNS ON THE BOARD. We might still win this game, but it will take a heroic effort, instead of cruising to a trouncing like in the first three tests.

Oh no!

Let's hope we win the toss again, bat first again, and storm to 4 nil, with Warner smashing a ton in a big partnership with Rogers. We have to make up for that debacle in the last Boxing Day Ashes Test......what a huge disappointment that was!

Are you saying that Jonathon is a distant relative of the 19th century Trotts? Where did you hear that? Interesting!

Perhaps Harry Trott was shell-shocked?No I just googled him,and he finished cricket long before WW1. His brother Albert committed suicide 4 years after retiring from cricket. You're not referring to Marcus Trescowthick trotting back home , are you?

I reckon one of the crucial decisions in the first Test was Clarke's courageous choice to bat first. There always appears to be greenness in first morning wickets, tempting captains to bowl. But if you get runs on the board....even an average total, the pressure goes firmly on the opposition. Also, prior to the game we all thought England had the superior spinner, so batting first was a good idea. One slightly worrying point is that Rogers, Watson, Bailey and Smith didn't succeed with the bat(though Rogers was involved in a 60-odd opening partnership in the 2nd dig.) We can't always rely on Haddin and Johnson with the bat, though it looks like Clarke and Warner are in for a good series. I watched a bit of Dooland on Cricket Australia TV. He looks technically sound and reliable. Did anyone notice how much Cook and Carberry struggled against Siddle at the start of the 2nd innings. ?Both were very lucky to survive.

Farad Ahmed 5/58 so far.....cleaning up WA tail. ?? a chance for Brisbane Test!?

I' d like to have a word to the Pom selectors,and earnestly request them to include Jayde Dernbach in their Ashes squad. Leave out Jimmy Anderson and pick Jayde!!!!!!!!