Matsuo Basho

I hope you aren't being serious about that Kallangurdemon. And if you are use this as an opportunity to take some long, deep breaths and reflect that it's only a silly ball game after all. A bit of light entertainment punctuating the important things in life. It's the seasoning, not the steak.

There you go. Wasn't only the pinching but the tough guy was also STOMPING on Shaun McKernan's feet with his studs. You can bet he did that to Fantasia too and probably others as well but they didn't pick it up on camera. Has been referred straight to the tribunal. What a dog. Embarrassing for Clarkson and that club. You could easily break someone's delicate foot metatarsal bones with a stud stomp. Should get four weeks. https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-06-15/hawks-skipper-straight-to-tribunal-for-pinching-and-stomping

We should get the best available in whatever position becomes available. If that's Brad Green great but being an ex-Melbourne player should be well down list of criteria.

OOC end of 2020.

Can't see Richardson surviving beyond 2019 if 'Aints get beaten here. Coffin meet nail.

The playing for frees thing was always a beat up IMO. Peddled by true racists online and from radio talkback callers to mask shameful prejudices. A lot of people who boo'd Goodes would not have done so for that reason. Like most on here I've been a keen watcher of footy for several decades and know a furphy when I hear one. Goodes was no better or worse at milking free kicks than hundreds of other players during his career. He would certainly been in the top ten for me if would could magically manifest a player from the recent past. 6ft 3' 100kg utility who could dominate in virtually any position on the ground, run like the wind and pinch hit at full forward. What's not to like.

Beep-Beep-Beep. That is a preposterous wriggle out of what you said. Form is directly related to fitness or lack thereof. Childish mutterings indeed.

We are going to finish in the bottom four, quite possibly with the number 1 pick. Many draft watchers out there have any insight on the top three or four kids? Who’s your fancied choice for the Dees? Best available thanks. We need talent, speed and freakish ability with the work ethic to go with it. No-one vanilla please (ie. Trengove, Scully, Watts, Toumpas, Brayshaw). Don’t be put off by a scowl and neck tatts or anything else deemed ‘unMelbourne-like’ this time.

They’ve got to suspend him for a week and send out a memo to all clubs that it won’t be tolerated. Why can’t the goal umpires who have plenty of time and opportunity to observe these incidents simply inform the field umpire at any given interval, or put them in the book themselves? How hard is it? It’s not just pinching which causes visible bruises, either. Defenders do it to the areas of the midfriff which are hidden by the guernsey and it is extremely painful. It’s not part of the game at all and frankly constitutes assault. Raking studs on the back of a player’s legs and ankles is the other one umpires often do nothing about. That should be punished as well. In suburban footy these are the types of dog acts which cause a player to swing an elbow into a jaw or punch some ribs in frustration. Then we blame that bloke for lashing out. Outlaw it all and throw the book at any kind of thuggery that doesn’t have any place in modern footy. It’s not tough, it’s not brave and it’s not in the spirit of the game. Stratton needs to ask himself this morning - “would I have done it to Tex Walker or Buddy?” Of course not. Pull your head in then.

Buy one framed and signed TMac guernsey get 14 free.

Totally. You’d be drinking meals through a straw for 6 weeks. I would hope if Stratton did that to one of our lads Viney and Melksham would send him home with a broken rib or three.

This game is the turning point where Hawthorn are finally finished as a force. They are done.

I don’t like watching footy at Docklands stadium ... even on TV.

Hawthorn will be middle of the road for at least another five years so at least we an take some solace that the little plick will never play in a GF.

Buckley/Filth pipped in GF again would do me.

You have a go then Drysdale. Let’s see your rankings from 1 - 16.

True but I only included data from 2011.

Anyone who would show up with manboobs and a beergut to give others directives on discipline and pushing themselves has got to be suspect. So I’ve at least got Stewie “Mountain” Dew covered. Im with LittleGoffy on this one. Bucks would be a great fireside chat over Barossa red. Clarko and the smarter Scott brother, yeah. Rossy Lyon might start to bore me after 45 minutes. Kenny Hinkley and Lukey Beveridge the surprise packets, really coming into their own later in the evening when proceedings move to the officer’s bunker for a Glenfiddich single malt.

Briefly analysing my index, breaking it up into “top 8 ranked coaches” and “bottom 8 ranked coaches” you’ll find that in the eight seasons since 2011: A) 7 of the “top 8” coached flags. Only 1 from the “bottom 8” (Beveridge). B) 6 of the “top 8” coached their side to runner up in the GF. Only 1 from the “bottom 8” (Pyke). C) 4 of the “bottom 8” have gotten their sides into preliminary finals as opposed to all eight of the “top 8” coaches. Telling? Rubbery figures? Pseudo-intellectual dreck? Over to you folks.

I’ve always divided the world into two types of people as well EO. Pedestrians that acknowledge with a quick nod or wave the vehicle and driver that comes to a courteous stop at a zebra crossing ... and the blinkered automatons who don’t. Also dogs. People who don’t go gaga over a happy dog with a wagging tail are a bit strange IMO.

2nd! SECOND!!! I accept it only part of the picture but nevertheless it is damning on TMac, Weid and Petracca in particular. The guys that have mainstays and fixtures there this season. There's no getting around it. It's delivery AND the ability or lack thereof of the talent we have assembled down there. We need to recruit outside class, a key forward and a quality small forward. In whatever order people to jig it. The whole set up needs a re-think. Trading players out like Petracca, Hunt and McDonald should definitely be on the table IF we feel there's a trade there to improve the overall 22. If we go in with the same group again we're going to get a similar or only marginally better result. It's not good enough.

Thanks but the other stat you need is the overall volume of F50 entries. How many have we averaged per game over 12 games and where does that rank us among 18 clubs? Are those stats available LN?

Rankings 12 - 16 were hard to separate no doubt. Pykey’s mad stare did convey a certain willingness to ‘get loose’. A bit of Jedi mind trickery if you will. Extra point loading for that.

Nice work at VFL level if you can get it.