Chook

I think we need to keep the symmetry created by the black book-ends, and also by the middle player facing camera, with those to the left facing right and vice versa. I think we should also wait to see who's made captain and put him in the centre, with the remaining four players being a ruckman (Jamar), a midfielder, a forward and a defender, just to give some representation.

All this talk of loyalty has got me thinking. Let's say you've been drafted by another club. Would you walk out on them just to play for your beloved Dees?

James McDonald lasted until the age of 34 before we got rid of him, and the only reason Bruce left was because we didn't want to rashly commit to keeping him come hell or high water. It's not as if we've systematically gotten rid of everyone over thirty years old, and the senior players who are still around would realize that. Not to mention the fact that I think some of our younger players might see Bruce and McDonald's departures as a chance for them to cement a spot in our best 22.

Grimes, Petterd, Jamar.

Me too.

This is the way we have to see it, for sure.

Erm . . . that would be incorrect.

LOL at BBP. Cameron Bruce wasn't helping us win critical games in August five years ago. Why would we expect him to do it now with a team of lawyers and a wallet as fat a George Costanza's weighing him down?

Would we look silly if we asked him back and gave him the Captaincy? Would he even take the opportunity? And what if he did a Brad Johnson next year? Then we'd really look silly.

So has he, it would seem.

If we took McDonald back, would that mean Bruce would also want to stay, since us asking Junior to leave was one of the reasons Cam got all sandy in his nether-regions?There's also the other JMacdonald whose toughness and leadership I rate pretty highly.

Jolly, Thompson, McLean, Bruce. What a spudley centre-line up. Who'd ever want those guys?

You can hear the champagne corks popping in Yze_Magic's house from here. Maybe Bruce leaving will free up some space to draft YM, finally.

And thus the last vestige of the down again, up again, "I'll try when it suits me" Daniher era is gone. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.

Hope to see him on the footy field next year.

Moloney missed a lot, as did Wonaeamirri. James McDonald also missed seven weeks, but that won't matter much this year.

Just watching the round 7 Melbourne-Bulldogs game and marveling at how a seventh gamer could make 43 other players look silly. Where's Big Kev when you need him?

Average people can be turned around by a good group. Melbourne is a good group to be in at the moment. He's a good enough player to be on an AFL list, and thus would be worth a look is all I'm saying.

But his time as one of our players is not.

Well done, 45. I guess that just highlights how absolutely wild each year's improvers and sliders are. It might be relatively easy to pick where one team might finish if you know that team well, but it's damn near impossible to catch 'em all, so to speak.

Good point.

James McDonald. For games played to pick value, he probably has the highest ratio of anyone ever. Longest-lived rookie, and a Captain to boot. I haven't been around for too long, but that's the one I'd go for.

I've been going through all of our matches, one per day, starting this week, and Bruce was quite good in all of them that I've seen - unexpectedly so. Cameron Bruce is one of those footballers who you don't notice because they work as part of a "machine," linking out of half-back, and through into the forward-line. Any player can do one or the other, but not many can do both at the same time. Bruce would often take a kick in or recieve the ball just inside our defensive fifty, quickly pass it on to another, then receive it about fifteen seconds later fifty metres away. And he would do this all game. That's very difficult to replace. So here you have a player whose good side is difficult to notice live, or when you're not looking for it. So when you have that in addition to one of the most spectacularly noticeable flaws - occasional poor disposal - which probably ranks just behind squibbing (something I don't really thing Bruce does) and poor goal-kicking as the most visible defects in a player's game, you have a team member who is likely to be criminally underrated by his "supporters." I hope we keep Bruce for another year, but not at more than he's worth.

Why wouldn't we pick him up. Probably not in the AFL Draft, particularly not early, but certainly in the PSD, I could see us having a crack at him, especially if we don't get Mitch Thorp.

There is no way on Earth Cameron Bruce's kicking is better than Jack Grimes'. Other than that, you're spot on.