Mel Bourne

Look ultimately I wish the kid well. I certainly don’t feel any genuine malice, just find it a bit hmm…soft. And I do think it provides yet another cautionary tale for recruiting youth from the west. WA’s a funny place. I played in two bands with WA folk at their core, and it seems people from there fall into two pretty distinct categories; “I don’t want to ever live here again” or “I don’t want to ever leave”. The folks in my bands were very much the former, but whenever we played over there we’d meet up with their mates in the latter camp. There was always a bit of a strange underlying tension. There seems to be a lot in those two extra hours on the plane. But you’re right, it’s part of the game (though I agree with a lot of posters who’ve pointed out that it seems a bit more prevalent in the AFL than other major international leagues), and yes, one door closes etc etc.

Won’t lie. I find “homesickness” to be a pretty feeble reason to cut and run on a club that has given a person so much in so little time.

Aside from everything else, I’m not sure confidence is found on the other side of removing yourself from a team, mid-match.

Really solid take. Brayshaw has been outstanding for us this season. His intercept-marking across half back has gone next-level, to the point where Lever must be getting genuinely itchy out there (in the best possible way). Losing Gus would be a bigger gut-punch for me than LJ. But it would be great to keep things as they are for a couple more years.

Isn’t he just two years into a mega-contract? How does he wriggle out of that one? And if he can, what are the point of these mega-contracts anyway?

Tell me if I’ve got this wrong, but I’m imagining (hoping) that if the club were serious about enlisting him, there would have to be consultation with our indigenous boys (and probably Jake Lever) before proceeding. Can anybody else see this as putting those players in an incredibly unfair position? If any of them weren’t ok with it, would they speak up? Or would they see speaking up as getting in the way of the club’s supposed progress? Wouldn’t it be better to just avoid this scenario entirely? It’s not like Taylor Walker is the answer to our prayers

I’m curious as to how anybody who values club culture could also be onboard with recruiting Taylor Walker. I just can’t reconcile how the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

I guess it’s a balancing act. Though there are a disappointing amount of times AFL umpiring should face stern criticism from the media, I can understand the desire not to let the narrative get out of hand. Both because of the need to make Australian Rules umpiring a desirable vocation despite the low pay and general thanklessness, and also because if the overriding sentiment becomes “Umpires are useless”, it can trickle down in insidious ways to the suburban/country leagues. Obviously we can thank Toby Greene’s incident for the increased level of protection we have this season (ie the remonstration rule), but unfortunately it is warranted. Respect is always a two-way street though, and it will be a harder thing to mandate if more displays like we saw today occur.

I think an official complaint has more merit/power after a win.

Gawn/Jackson to be replaced by Spargo on Trac’s shoulders. Moving on….

Yep, inflation’s a [censored]. Regardless, I’m off to write a bunch “dEaR LOoK” cards with my left hand.

I agree that regrettably, the ice BBB is skating on is getting thinner and thinner. However I do think the delivery to him has just as much room for improvement. There are many times when I get frustrated that he’s so often caught out of position. But I’m not convinced he’s the one solely to blame for that.

Trac will return in excellent form after the bye. I can feel it in my waters. Dude’s been getting over a flu and those things can knock you around for a while without sufficient rest. He’s got enormous mental strength and when the physical catches up, he (along with Langdon who also will benefit hugely from the bye) will take us back to the top.

Really unlikely given the nature of the injury and the treatment required. Recovery is 3-5 months, then factor in having done no running in that time.

The statute of limitations should render any comment made in the ten minutes proceeding a loss to the filth as inadmissible in the court of Demonland.

Petracca, Smith, Langdon. Nowhere to be seen. Petracca in particular has been a shadow of his former self the past three weeks, or even more. But our forward line is a joke at the moment. A joke.

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. No connection. No composure. No forward line. No Grand Final. Forget it.

Mitch Brown is a very average footballer

Blaming Hunt and Tomlinson for our two recent losses is akin to blaming you for the decline in quality of the written word. Or to put it another way, THEY’RE not solely responsible for that.

Blaming Hunt and Tomlinson on our two recent losses is akin to blaming you for the decline in quality of the written word. Or to put it another way, it’s not THEY’RE fault

If there’s one team that wouldn’t understand the importance of trying to instil a healthy culture, it’s that turkey safe-house.

A lot of Swans supporters on the AFL Reddit page are saying Buddy deserved a week, and are annoyed the club is wasting it’s money. I really can’t see him getting off. Would be a blatant discrediting of the MRO.

We just look weirdly gassed tonight.

Show up, Christian.

Re-using THAT nickname is ridiculous, considering it belongs to the greatest full forward of all time. TMac is fine.