Dame Gaga

Maybe? I don't know for sure. But now we know the drugs control him. "Such is life"? A life wasted now, if his family is asked.

This is true, but I was thinking in the context of elite athletes, which is what footballers now claim to be. It is not ideal to be either drinking in excess, or taking drugs, especially in the season. I also previously referred to Ralph mentioning Hogan and Cousins in the same breath. Perhaps Cousins thought he could control his drug intake while playing football, but since then it has all been tragically downhill for him. I do not wish this to happen to anyone, footballer or otherwise.

You are probably right, and Ralph would be able to back up his story, but us poor souls who follow our club and invest our money, heart and souls into the fortunes of these young men always hope for the best. Call me naive, but I try to be optimistic and like to think the best of people. Taking drugs has probably become the norm in today's society, and athletes are not immune from temptation, but I still don't like it. I have seen the damage it does. To call these substances "party" drugs is a misnomer in my opinion. There is nothing fun or sparkly about becoming a drug addict.

Surely more cameras to provide more angles to view and better resolution (the vision is often blurry) would be better than snicko.

I didn't see it, but if Ralph compared Hogan with Cousins, that is indeed shocking. These kind of statements should not be made without proof. There is too much gossip taken as fact these days. This revelation can be damaging to a person's psyche. I dearly hope Ralph is wrong and Jessie doesn't have a drug problem. Drugs are destructive, and hard to turn away from once on that path.

"We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out." - Winston Churchill.

Always wondered why ANY player would wish to go to Fremantle.

I agree. Isn't it a journalist's duty to report facts, not give a slap to the club without any supporting evidence? I know through experience people with mental health issues can be given every support available, but it is up to the individual to make the effort themselves as well. On the other hand, I truly believe instead of going home to be more supported and closer to his family and friends, poor Jessie inadvertently brought even more pressure upon himself because he is in the limelight in a two team city and hailed as the answer to Fremantle's forward woes since Pavlich retired. How can a young man who is already emotionally fragile cope with this pressure and scrutiny? He cannot. Something had to give. Stress can cause all sorts of illnesses, mental and physical.

Let's give thanks to Paul Roos and Peter Jackson for their fantastic work, and their foresight in giving us the coaching recruit of the decade. Making Melbourne great again! Just like a good relationship, there is a lot of love and stability at Melbourne. Yes, extend Josh Mahoney's contract as well to show the faith.

Lots of love in the room from the boys for Goody. Great news.

The big man has achieved a lot in only 100 games. Here's hoping he can stand with his team mates in front of the Premiership Cup for a nice photo this year.

This is Mick covering himself all ways. If Melbourne make the top four he will look astute. If they play ruthlessly it will look as though his criticism spurred them into doing so. If they actually win the Premiership he will look like a great predictor. A win all round for himself. Me, I'm just looking forward to the first game!

No debate from me. Of course he is the most irreplaceable. He is one of a kind. Life would be dull without him.

Good photo, but looks like Maxy stole it. He's not wearing a Premiership Medal.

I hope there is a coaches' Helpline. Some of them may need it this year.

The AFL big boys have to show they are doing something to justify their huge pay packets. Reminds me of the managers of the big company I once worked for. Kept sending us mindless memos of things they dreamed up to improve customer service. They never even met a customer, let alone knew how to serve them. To meet a member of the public would have been too much trouble.

Oh dear, I have been quoting George Orwell a few times lately, and I'm sorry, but I have to do so again. Comments coming from people in the television media and the AFL are scarily sounding like "newspeak". Welcome to Big Brother. He knows what is good for you, because you are too stupid to understand yourself what you want. Stop voting for a day Grand Final, a night Grand Final is best for you. "You are a slow learner, Winston."

Listened to Tommy Mac while in the car this afternoon. Always impressed by how well spoken he is. Actually thinks through his answers and no ums and ahs at all. Serious individual. Well done!

Who is this person? How can he say such innovation is necessary otherwise sporting codes will lose their relevance? Or that the teams keep rolling out the same mundane stuff? Doesn't he know the attendance record for the 2018 season was an all-time high and it broke 2017's previous record high? People are attending the games more than ever before. They are there to see good football and skilled young men, not stupid Hollywood inspired jumpers. Stop justifying these commercial decisions with gobblygook. I have to quote George Orwell again. This stuff coming out of some people's mouths is "newspeak".

Just watched Rioli's "bump" on Oliver in 2016 again. It was described by the commentators as a "beauty" and they raved about how good it was to have him back after he kicked the goal. What HYPOCRITES they all are. To paraphrase George Orwell- All players are equal, but some players are more equal than others.

This jumper looks like the Terminator had a few pot shots at it, but the holes didn't close up again.

According to Channel 7 news at six, Brisbane claimed their player was concussed. Someone must have leaned on them.

Watching the Channel 7 news, couldn't believe my ears when I heard Brisbane declare there was concussion suffered by their player. Suspect someone is toeing the party line here. Will be watching the 2019 season with interest for similar decisions handed out to big name/popular/Brownlow favourite/big media presence, players. And how successful they will be when they appeal their punishment. I'm pretty sure the outcomes will be different. Sigh of resignation...

Exactly. It will be interesting to see if they apply the same criteria to a favourite player at another club, or a Brownlow favourite if he does a similar bump. Or will he be praised for being a hard player at the ball?

I remember being incensed by some of Christian's decisions last year (not Melbourne players) and thinking the punishments were too lenient for some dangerous actions on the field. This year I will be following even more closely, and taking notes about his decisions because I cannot recall what I was so mad about. There seems to be many inconsistencies in his rulings, and some favouritism as well.