Gawndy the Great

Watch him get off.

Upset looming here. BT pathetic but nice again.

That is very much an eye of the beholder statement and whilst I personally agree with you, it would be dangerous for the AFL to hold a similar view and become stagnant. why do you think there is so much done to stamp out congestion or concussion or umpiring these are all very real issues. If the AFL withhold any license for a Tassie team, then you’d expect a big drop in attendance and viewership in that state. Whilst they are not a huge population, it would be enough to put a dent into the AFL revenue streams.

Disrupt or be disrupted. Just because this model works today doesn't mean it will be sustainable and the right model moving into the future. There are countless business examples how leading organisations no longer exist today because they think they were untouchable. The AFL has been gifted the number 1 spot in the country, not by any other reason other than the incompetency of the other codes. I mean just look at all the issues the AFL faces today - poor umpiring, fixturing, Victoria bias, dwindling junior participation, concussion etc. Any half decent leadership in Australian Soccer would have wiped AFL and the other codes off the map. It is only a matter of time until it regroups and mounts another serious challenge - imagine if Australia were to host a World Cup in the next decade or so. If you cannot provide a pathway and community in the major cities , then other codes will and that will give them the springboard to launch into the other cities. As i said, i knew my position would be unpopular, but we need to further nationalise in the best interest of the game.

No doubt this will be a largely an unpopular view, but in the interest of further nationalising the AFL, something has to give out of the Victorian heartland. We just have to many Victorian based clubs in the AFL. In the next 1-2 decades I would love to see a comp that fielded 3 teams in WA & SA ; 2 from QLD and NSW; 1 in Tassie; 1 in NT; 1 in ACT and the rest (5) in VIC. I am not delusional on the likelihood of this happening as it will require the relocation of several Victorian AFL licenses. Sadly this would mean Norf, WB, Saints & MFC at this stage would be the ones that would be most at risk (based on membership numbers alone) to relocate - that is just my opinion. I wouldn't mess with the number of team (18) in the comp, i think this is somewhat set in stone. The Suns issue can be resolved once they break the stalemate of success. All it will take is a few finals appearances and success - GWS has amassed 30K members and a lot of that is recently due to the GF appearance. Dont forget that the GC is the fastest growing city in Australia, so there is definitely no limit on commercial benefits available, which is why the AFL targeted the GC in the first place. I hope the first step is giving Tassie a team. I think Norf are in the driver's seat here. One poster suggested a fixturing option which would see a portion of away games based in Melbourne, that would give something to the local members - but no doubt the relocation will drive most of their supports away from AFL all together - albeit it will only be a temporary.

@david_neitz_is_my_dad what draft pool will you be part of? We need a key forward pronto. ?

Its about throwing a spanner in the works. Our system stacks up - no doubt as we have beaten almost all teams in the top 8. But we cannot remain complacent and settle for our system vs opposition to see who can execute better on game day. This is all about coaching, which in finals, is it will boil down to.

David King?

That is why we need a completely defensive minded contested midfielder in stoppage. JJ has the tank to roam the defensive wing and will work harder then Brayshaw in the spread. Brayshaw has the contested and stoppage craft and now with his improved attitude towards role playing, will be an ideal candidate to play that defensive role in the centre and stoppages - he wont do the stupid things like trying to take on 3 tacklers. He is smart and will help the team transition from in-to-out. If there is a tag involved, then Brayshaw probably stays on the wing and JJ or Harmes come in... nevertheless it would be worth experimenting to see if we could do something a little less predictable come finals.

I genuinely believe this was a good ol stitch up. The AFL handed down orders for Christiansen to pass this straight onto the AFL... possibly as one poster has said, because of the Fritsch incident against Norf or the half a dozen other incidents from other teams that resulted in fines etc. Why we end up being that club... is it luck? i hardly think so - we are easy pickings and probably dont have any relevant authority or Melbourne people in the commission or AFL management. Hopefully Viney's fires right up and comes out swinging (metaphorically unless of course he was Hawkins or Franklin) against the Cats in 3 weeks time.

i think the AFL noticed that our free kick differential against GC wasn't less than -10 so decided to take actions into their own hands.

Just in case people were looking for some facts. Selwood eye gouging If Viney gets weeks and this was in contrast let go, you tell my that doesn't make your blood boil? All I ask for is consistency. Just like umpiring on game-day we are getting absolutely torched. If you want to make a change to the rules for serious misconduct do it in the off season. The fact that it has gone straight to the tribunal, is an absolute setup by the AFL to allow them to side-step any precedent / decision matrix to make an example of yet another MFC player.

Well if you look at my commentary on this thread, you'll know that i never condoned the elbow. i have maintained that this was unnecessary. My view has been that on the acts so far this year that fall into this category (Selwood eye gouging, Mummy dropping knees, swinging elbows Hawkins / Franklin) have been let go with a fine. We have been on the receiving end of too many 'lets make a stand' verdicts and in the spirit of fairness this should be let through. Also the media are glorifying this ridiculously asking for 3-4 weeks + .. Get a grip. Collins pulled him down - Viney has said the same. but no doubt will pay the price purely on the fact that his elbow was placed upon his neck with low-medium force.

...and did it occur to anybody that Collins could bench press twice Viney's weight... so if he wanted him gone all he had to do was push him off?

I will be waiting with baited breath. Because we are owed a multi-million dollar precinct with state of the training and administrative facilities and a social club. Given our dues, I would even lobby for a special exit on the Monash FWY that takes us directly to the precinct. New imaging technology can be used to scan rear license plates of incoming vehicles to see if the infamous Melbourne logo sticker is present. ?

he wouldn't be a MFC support by any chance?

Because its peanuts mate. if it is a sign of more things to come then ok but until then, we can not celebrate mediocrity - its contagious and this is exactly what it is...mediocre.

i agree - why dont we get some of our beloved supporters in the media, to do a real story on how the oldest football club and founder of our game are having to train in what is akin to someone's backyard, whilst the Saints have been given millions in funding to move not once but twice in the last 2 decades; the Cats have gotten millions upon millions to upgrade facilities where you can look into the changing rooms, Doggies and Tigers... list goes on and on. it is incomprehensibly unfair. What irks me is that there are plenty of Melbourne supporters in the Melbourne corporate world and yet nobody is able to put aside their differences and lobby together to make us great once more. This is why winning a flag is much more than the immediate on field success, but will make us relevant again on and off field.

Geez the media are really beating this up. Understand it didnt look great, but geez doesnt anybody do a bit of analysis these days. And the continued overlooking of Joel Selwood's eye gouging and other off ball incidents is becoming unberable.

I’m shocked at how everyone is casually overlooking this - it is clear as day. I get that he didn’t have to put his elbow there but he wanted to be let go so he could move onto the next contest. he is getting crucified by everyone which is disappointing. If Collins at any point was under duress he would have let go and Viney would have moved on.

Not only is this the defence Viney should use, i think there is an element of truth in this. After seeing from different angles, it looks less and less severe everytime i watch it. If: 1. Hawkins can carelessly swing his elbows around and 'accidently' break May's cheekbone 2. Selwood can gouge peoples eyes and sit on people 3. Mummy casually following on players ribs with his knees 4. countless jumper punches and other displays of unsportsmanship behaviour the AFL have had many times to set a precedent for serious misconduct. It would be grossly unfair to decide to act now. Time for such measures is off season and introduce a set of tangible parameters that one can apply fairly and consistently. We will inevitably bend over like we do with all things relating to the overlords at AFL house. I love also how Whately glosses over Selwood on 360 in the precedents he has used to compare Jack's incident to.

its the only sensible thing Foxtel has done in its entire existence. I wouldn't be surprised that in 10 years time it will be the only thing Foxtel has left in commercial use.

That was quick... Even for you Lucifer ?

i find it absolutely ridiculous that this would even get cited and referred straight to the tribunal. Serious misconduct? There are countless jumper punches which are a bigger blight on the game that what what was simply a tonsil tickler.. never at one moment did he have his full body weight through his elbow.