BDA

possessed a mean left jab. was never the same after that Mills suspension.

Not that I need any excuse to drink wine but you’re right. A lot of small wine producers have been doing it tough between bushfires, Covid and now the effective closure of the china market. It’ll be Australian wines only in our household for the holiday period and beyond. I’ll definitely be giving some Bleasdale Shiraz a whirl as well.

Viney's looking a little chunky!

Say it ain't so! Hotel quarantine program. enough said.

The MGC precinct is the preference but if it’s too hard to get off the ground then I suggest we stop banging our heads against a brick wall and look at alternatives. From the club’s perspective you’d think the location which is selected would maximise revenues from memberships and be an attractive location to host conferences/social functions etc. Accessible via public transport important as well. And of course tick the “community benefit” box. The government is throwing money around like confetti at the moment. But things change quickly. If a vaccine arrives and the economy picks up the focus could change to debt reduction and we miss out. Another missed opportunity! Btw I wouldn’t be in favor of Casey as the home base. Too far out.

Tough market for graduates. You know you picked the wrong course when the best on offer is an opportunity to volunteer. There’ll be plenty of candidates I’m sure but the club should pay the going rate. Very poor form by the club. Maybe you're right @Ohio USA - David. The club does “own" people after all.

Getting our dysfunctional midfield working as a unit is a top priority. Sorting it out is the best use of Yze’s skills and expertise imv.

Sorry David but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such wrong-headed comments. Nothing wrong with fighting your corner but your comments and the position you’ve adopted is frankly ridiculous. Players are property! Getting paid is some sort of immoral crime! Plus getting abusive doesn’t strengthen your argument. And you keep telling us to read what you’ve written. We have and there’s no hidden meaning or ambiguity there. My advice is let this lie because your credibility as a poster is taking a real beating on this one. The best Generals know there are times when it is best to retreat.

Thanks for the update @Bates Mate He’s definitely moving much better. I just hope the foot injury is healed fully. His regression was so pronounced last year that injury could be the only explanation. If he’s lean and fit then great but I wouldn’t be playing ahead of Weid or Jackson nor would I risk him in defence. My heart is still recovering from Frosty’s cavalier ball use not sure I could handle TMac spraying it to the opposition every week! Plus Petty needs game time in defence. If he is fit he should start ahead of TMac.

Who announces wage cuts via email? Without any consultation? I can't think of a more arrogant and simultaneously clueless thing to do.

To Cazaly and back If we never play in Cairns again i won't be sorry

The Irish girls that come over for a few months get paid while they're here. Suggests that the rest of the list is paid during the season as well. I don't know for definite. Let me know if you confirm for sure.

I'd also swap gold Coast for Hobart if it meant i was in a team that played finals every year.

I don’t know tbh. You could be right but the Task Force suggest it will positively impact participation rates.

By comments with regards to the 2’s were in the context of the talk before trade period of TMac staying to fight for his place. To dissuade him of this notion I would have been very clear in conversations with him that a) He’s not best 22 b) The youngsters such as Jackson and Petty will be given playing time before him That being the case a year in the 2’s beckoned for him unless he was traded. I suggested he take a pay-cut to stay or secure a move. Those views were shot down in flames by the majority. There was obviously a meeting of minds as he did in fact explore his options. There were no takers. The market verdict was clear. My comments were not intended to be disrespectful rather a realistic assessment of his situation. If my tone was curt, it’s because I expect $700k players to perform (injuries aside). I don’t know too many premiers who’ve carried a highly paid passenger. Cap is precious and we’ve wasted a chunk on TMac. With respect to the weight gain, has this been substantiated by anyone at the club or is it something his management is saying. The implication is the club have mismanaged him. Big call seeing as he’s had Burgess, one of the best in the business, for a year trying to get him right. Sounds to me like someone making excuses for themselves. I’m encouraged to hear he’s dropping the weight and is looking sharp. He appeared to be moving freely in the short snippet of footage I saw. He’ll provide depth and cover injuries to our KPP’s (hopefully won’t arise). IF he does regain his spot and produces 2018 level form I’ll be delighted and more than happy to come on here and say well done. But for $700k a year his 2018 form is what he’s expected and paid to deliver.

The club has been unfortunate to have a succession of lousy directors and boards. No vision or drive, a very poorly run football club. Peter Jackson was the first competent CEO the club had in my memory and he had to be parachuted in by the AFL. Pert has a good track record and i believe he will deliver but until the first sod is turned and construction commences I'll have to reserve my judgment.

I think that’s an understatement QD ?

I respect your point of view Ohio. Your opinion is just as valid as mine. If a player can do a job and perform the club will retain them and as long as the player believes the team can win a flag they'll stay. If the interests of club and player align, happy days, if not then a parting of the ways occurs. Loyalty plays little part in it imv.

Players in the Gold Coast have the beach lifestyle, weather and surfers paradise. Hasn’t done much for retention up there.

This is the accepted wisdom but the task force have refuted saying other sports, in particular basketball, are attracting the youngsters at increasing rates. If you’re not attracting the junior players to AFL they will not in turn become supporters. Maybe the task force are exaggerating this point but it does stand to reason.

I think this is right. My guess is the GC will have to relocate there. It seems the obvious solution. Tassy want a team but don’t have one. Gold Coast have a team but have no members or broader community support.

But it’s a 2 way street Ohio. Collingwood showed no loyalty to Treloar and Stephenson so you can’t blame players for making decisions that are in their best interests. Loyalty left the building when the AFL went professional. Perhaps revert back to the amateur status, take all that TV money and distribute it to clubs and grassroots to spend on facilities and junior coaching. Players play for the teams in the postcodes where they were born. It’s the model used in Gaelic Games in Ireland. You play for the county team you were born into. No transfers. It’ll never happen, too much money involved, but it’s the only way to ensure genuine loyalty to the Guernsey.

I learned a new word today. Bumboozer: A kind of large marble in children's games. Not what came to mind when I saw bumboozer in Wiktionary but there you go.

The latest from the HUN below. I reckon the pies are trying it on but without written agreement how do you go about proving what was agreed? It’s the pies word against the doggies. I think it’ll be the AFL or the courts who’ll have to adjudicate. Also, how does it work in practice? Would the doggies have a contract with Treloar for the full amount and a side agreement with the Pies for their contribution? Or just the one agreement involving the 3 parties? Could Treloars and his manager be the tie-breaker. Wouldn’t they have been privy to the negotiations? “Figures close to the standoff say the Dogs are adamant they will not be paying Treloar a cent more than a “watertight” five-year, $600,000-a-season contract agreed with the cast-off Magpies midfielder. It would mean Treloar is still owed $300,000 a year — or $1.5 million — under the terms of his original Magpies contract. But Collingwood insists the Bulldogs agreed to further negotiations over who would pay what to Treloar after the trade went through, which the Bulldogs absolutely dispute. The Dogs are confident any money owed above and beyond Treloar’s new arrangement at the Whitten Oval is simply a matter for Collingwood. The only concession the Western Bulldogs did offer Collingwood during the frantic final days of the trade period, one figure said, was an offer to front-end some of Treloar’s wages in his new contract to assist the Magpies with management of their salary cap. But if Collingwood’s position is right, the Bulldogs effectively agreed to a trade for Treloar without knowing how much they would pay him. The clubs agreed to the trade one minute before the AFL exchange period deadline. But no paperwork outlining any financial details has been lodged with the AFL by either club.”

you just beat me to it @DeeSpencer