Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Thanks @Mel Bourne, but not a great time to bump the thread 😂

Let's just make it clear - if Collingwood decide to put up an appeal on legal grounds to an AFL tribunal decision that rubs out Maynard for 2 weeks or more, what they are actually signalling to the rest of the league is that "Collingwoods premiership chances and our players are more important than anyone else's getting perminant brain damage". I know Collingwood are one of the 'big clubs', but the AFL should be putting a very hard word on them not to legally appeal the tribunal decision, as should the AFLPA.

The AFL has made it pretty clear that whatever the action, it's principal has about taking reasonable care to protect the head. Does there need to be a rule or explicit precedent to every 'football action' that if carelessly executed makes significant contact to the head? This point seemed to be lost almost completely on Buckley and Brown.

I actually do think Roo was stiff in so far as the contact was both on the more incidental side, I actually don't think it was intentional (i.e. I think he was instinctively putting his arm out to protect himself/His space or for ballance and McStay also happened to be down low) and McStay also wasn't evaluated as having received concussion. But given the borderline case and stance that the AFL's stance on protecting the head, I don't think it's worth arguing the toss with the AFL and the MGC have supported this stance by the AFL. Conversely Maynard did KO the guy - to me that's automatically easily degree higher consequence than JVR . If the tribunal uphold the suspension, which I'm almost sure they will, I think Collingwood need to think long and hard about going the legal option and I think it is a very poor reflection on them as a club if they do.

Listening to Buckley and Brown talk about this and making excuese for Maynard on 'On The Couch' last night made me just question their intellect (as if I hadn't already). I generally like them as comentators and think they offer a more reasoned ballanced and insightful viewpoint than alot, but last night they lost me. In particular Buckley described the contact to Maynard as "incidental" . If blokes getting knocked out is incidental, I don't know where we go to from here. I suspect it was a mistaken word selection and he ment accidental, but that's an asides. The point well made by hoast Garry Lyon is that we've accepted there is a responsibility of the player to have a duty of care during the football actions of tackling and bumping, then why not the same for smothering? But Buckley and Brown seemed to take the dumb stance that this was an unavoidable 'football incident' inherent to the game, which I think is wrong.

You do know who you're talking about here yeah? Do you fancy eating through a straw like my old mate Terry?

More games and more brains.

My tips would be (in order) Jack, Maysy or Clarry. There will be way more spite than the duck dinner game next time we play Collingwood. Will be rip the head off the Magpie time.

Seriously? PO

Amazing how well co-ordinated players can be when trying to win or do something with the ball, the turn into such clumsy oaths when there isn't any incentive to control their actions. Similarly, I think Tommy Hawkins got away with a reckless act when he threw his arms out everywhere and broke Steven May's face a few years back. ...Melbourne player, no story to answer here.

Spot on Macca. This "he lost control once he chose to jump" [censored] is just that. He was fully in control when he charged at the player with the ball, with no regard for where his momentum would take him. When he jumped he gave away further control and care for his opponent. That he then chose to protect himself at the expense of his opponent further demonstrates his disregard and recklessness. Football action my backside. The only football action in all this is Angus kicking the ball. If you want to stop players doing that part, take your bat an ball and go home, because we won't have a sport.

How could Goodwin possibly be fined for what he said? All he did was said look at the facts and that he'd been knocked out. Can't get too much more vanilla than that. The tone that he delivered it with and gravity of the situation really packed the punch. The fact that it took Goodwin to deliver this and not others in the AFL and the media is a disgrace.

The way he stood up in our 2021 season when he returned from injury was a huge part of our rock solid defense and of us winning the flag. Love the Pig Hibbo. A most worthy bearer of the No.14 and I think whoever next receives the jumper will have big shoes to fill.

This was Saturday morning I heard him batting against Maynard. Perhaps he'd had more time to reflect on his previous spur of the moment comments.

The same legal jargon peddlers that will no doubt also be getting their cut when players start making claims on the league for duty of care. They are such overpaid leeches on our society at times.

One thing I will say for Goodwin is that he rarely defends or makes excuses for one of our players that is in the firing line of the MRO for head high contact. We copped Kossies 2 match suspension for a similar incident to Maynards on the chin so to speak and the the only time that comes to mind that we have appealed reciently was for the JVR spoil, which as a massive level less severe. I do also like Goodies response post match against Collingwood, when he forcefully told the press to look at the facts of what had been the outcome with Guss. You could tell this one is very personal to him and the way he stood up to the press and stood up for what had been done to one of our own makes me proud of him as our coach. Conversely the way Maynard was immediately post match making excuses for himself trying to paint it as a football incident makes me sick.

Somewhat unsurprisingly James Brayshaw was amoung the few that was advocating for the rightful suspension to be dealt out, but he also suggested that if Angus was the aggressor he'd also be telling him that he'd just have to cop the suspension. I've had enough of all this 'football act' shouldn't be suspended rubbish. In my mind, the AFL have set the benchmark on this over the past several seasons. Kade Chanldler got suspended for 2 matches accidentally falling into the back of someone when being slightly over zealous applying a takle. Maynard's actions were on another level of reckless compared to Kade's - he should be looking at 4 - 6 weeks, not 2 - 3. Can't go changing the rules because of finals and Brownlow contention like Crips, that would be so weak.

No email on Friday for me either, it's only trickled through this afternoon at around 12:30pm. Similar thing happened first week of finals. I really don't understand why in 2023 we are left with such a messed up disorganised finals ticketing system that we need to log on and queue for tickets online at 10am on a week day? The stress, hassle and expense of getting finals tickets is really taking some of the joy out of being a part of finals for me.

At Southern Cross waiting for my old man to arrive from the bush and there's too much black and white stuff around for my liking.

I'm expecting him to hit full beast mode in finals. Underrated, but highly valuable impact type player.

They might be able to quell one of that magnificent trio to an extent, but another Jack-in-the-box like Guss, Rivers, Sparrow or Kossie is likely to be injected into the midfield to cause some chaos. In particular, I think Tommy Sparrow is another of those 'built for finals' types we have. With Tommy Mac back in the team and Hibberd down back to play the third tall(ish) defender role, I also think the conditions are primed for Joel Smith to play that defensive forward role that Melksham was playing. He's a great contested mark and I think it would absolutely suit him to have his opponent take him to the ball. Once it hits the ground, he's got some of the best jets in the game and a great defensive mindset and tackling technique to stop the fast rebound.

Wearing my MFC scarf on the train on my commute to work this morning and getting alot of "Go Dees" comments from passers by. The sleeping giant has awoken! Since 2021, we are everywhere down here in Melbourne, proud and brimming with a quiet confidence that hasn't been prevalent in most of my time following the mighty Demons 💙❤💙❤💙❤💙❤ ...that and everyone else is jumping on us, because they hate Collingwood! 🤣

Yep. My whole week has been building up to this point. Work is going to fly by today. The oppertunity to win and go straight through to a prelim is huge. Hasn't presented many times in my life and that isn't lost on me.

I'd really really like to play one of GWS or Carlton in the GF, but I just don't think it's feasible with the way the draw pans out, unless we lost our first qualifying final. Carlton have had a great run towards the back half of the home and away season, but I think they'll come unstuck in finals. If we win our QF, I see us comming up against GWS in the prelim and I think we'd have their measure this time. They did have a fair bit of luck go their way in Alice Springs, including us kicking 100 behinds and I think we are better than that now. I think they'll also be stuffed by the time they make a prelim and maybe will see an inverse version of Melb V WC 2018 or us repeat the 2021 Geelong style prelim rout. Despite Fagan's insistence they're in their best position ever to make it all the way, I still see them as somewhat flaky and I think Collingwood will bust a gut to beat them at the Gabba, leaving a classic Melbourne Vs Collingwood GF. Demons, Blues, Giants, Lions Pies, Giants Demons, Pies Demons

Thought this might be a reasonable place to acknowledge and congratulate Jayden Hunt on his 4th placing in the WC B&F. Although the current state of the Eagles list somewhat tempers the achievement, I still think it's a good effort from Jayden to be a consistently good performer in a struggling side. Jayden certainly gave the impression that he was a pretty solid citizen at the MFC and I'm guessing his contribution to WC will likely go beyond his 4th B&F on feild placing. Shows how far the MFC has come in the past 5 years, when we were the ones recycling excess tallent and experience from the lists of others, where we have now become an exporter of such tallent ourselves, with Hunt, Baker, Bedford, Jackson and to an extent Weiderman.