rpfc

Why hasn't Dawes retired? He gets an injury payout substantially more than his yearly contract - why is he, and we, continuing the charade if his body is cactus?

I don't want Watts forward - he is trying to become a midfielder, throwing him forward in his first game after gearing up to be a midfielder would be defeating that aim. And while the 4 points are important - a forward line can be constructed around Howe and Fitzpatrick. The key is for the mids/flanks to not bomb the ball in and that will be a key whether Watts is down there or not. Toumpas, Byrnes, Kennedy-Harris, Bail, Blease, and Trengove can all provide small/medium size options through the forward line. Having Dawes/Hogan there would have been great (let alone both or the other one aswell) but how the mids deliver will be the key.

It is a real shame he won't play but what did people, who think we are now doomed, believe Hogan was capable of in his first year? If Howe goes down - touch wood - that would effectively shut down our forward line. I look at our cherry ripe midfield and am confident that disaster will be averted - that's where it' starts and ends for us this year.

The magic bullet? Too soon?

Lovely...Could you please expand on how you came about this information? Lovely! Could you please expand on how you came about this information?

He was fine. He missed handballs a couple of times and kicked into the man on the mark at a crucial stage. As a FP/HFF in a team that got 31 Inside 50s he was surprisingly lively.

Someone has to help Spencer in the ruck. I don't see anyone but Fitz ready to do that atm.

Where should we be? What market are we not exploiting? What is the opportunity cost? The NRL are pouring money into their own backyard they have been so backward and inert in their thinking. NSW has 13 teams in the NRL, NZ has one, Qld has three, and Melbourne is left to carry the flag as the only expansion team. Exploiting already tapped markets has a ceiling you will soon reach.

I hope not. They really need to scrap the RL.

The extra TV money covers the outlay. It is paying for itself in the hope that it then grows exponentially. To increase markets you have to turn people into fans - it is easier to do that with a team. I know a few up in Canberra who were not AFL fans at all and have become AFL members to the GWS because they are their team. Leaving aside the fact that my eyes rolled when they told me that - it is exactly what the AFL wants to see, more eyeballs on more games with more ad revenue. If we are talking about the cost of setting them up in terms of image - they have been a terrible spectacle, but so have we and we are the furthest thing from an expansion club.

Sydney's west is too big to ignore. Expansion has to hit a market that can pay for itself. The NSW market is what is pushing up the TV rights value. You think the AFL can't sustain 2 teams in NSW. There is only one way to find out.

Well, the less said about their Youth Education Centre the better. Unless things get a little more serious in there, that will soon blow up in their faces. Most of their community training and education programs have been one day coffee making courses... The AFL and the Federal Govt are pumping the money into that crapshoot.

Well, that has stuck with you hasn't it? I took offence to the intimation I would have led my club to ruin. I wouldn't say that to any Demon - even an anonymous one. I suggest you move on.

If we keep tracking at 100-140 a day we will get to between 30,800 and 31,500. 32-33k is a bit ambitious before Rd 1.

Internal pressure from Members and coterie members after the Essendon game last year led to the aftermath.

Mark Robinson is a testament to the failing journalism industry and the cratered standards of writing and general intelligence in the medium. It is entirely abhorrent that he is a Head Football Writer of Australia's No.1 selling newspaper. Behind font he is simply daft and unimaginative. In front of a camera he reminds us of the progress made during the evolution of our species. But I am sure he is a nice bloke...

I try not to individualise drafting, recruitment, or development strategy - it's been a collective failure on all fronts for the club over the past decade. Those that want to hold grudges can do so, it looks petty anyway. But those who are genuinely looking for ways to get better (or reasons why we have been so bad) - can't ignore past failures as a point of reference. Ignoring the reasons that have led us to this point is not healthy.

Article in The Age today trying to pump the tyres of the Richmond CEO to be AFL CEO. You don't have to wonder who wrote it... http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/richmonds-brendon-gale-may-be-the-man-to-replace-afl-boss-andrew-demetriou-20140304-345d6.html

Last 6 days have seen another increase from 110 a day to 140 a day. We should get to 30k pretty handily by Rd 1. Win that game and 40k will also fall quickly.

Take your own advice - if you don't like people judging how we went in the 2011 draft - don't click on a thread titled '2011 Draft'...

the master - it's AFL360. Preparing for that show would involved no more than a promise to one-self not to enrage the ill-trained ape sitting next to Whateley. It's an hour out of his time, and there is nothing wrong with a bit more Melbourne in the media.

lol What the hell is the problem with talking about past drafts? Or is the drafts we do badly in we can't mention? Honestly, think before you post.

Isn't it funny - they don't see the benefit of a team in GWS, just like those that thought it was silly to go to Brisbane and to Sydney decades earlier. We would still be the VFL if these people had their way? Or would we look like the NRL where they have 4 teams outside of Sydney - 3 of which have struggled massively financially and then 'boast' about a warchest to spend in Western Sydney. Simply a laughable situation.

Hogan.

If Casey are playing after - just stick around and watch a bit of that and let the Hawks fans out of there in the rush. And The Hood - when Roos says they are fragile, I don't think he is intimating that they should be shielded from playing good teams. That is going to happen this season... We have already played two top 6 teams and held on own. Having a go at the best in a praccy match will be good if they don't dwell on the bad. And I am sure there will be a little bit of that...