Chook

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.

James Hird would have a few things to teach a guy like Bruce. And we all know how highly he rates him.

Well that's much better than the alternative.

That's for sure. One might even say he has a "chronic" lack of tact.

Is that "concerned" as in worried (I'm concerned about young Jimmy's marks in school) or as in interested (as far as I'm concerned, Jimmy's marks are none of your business)?

Oh. My mistake. Mmm . . . steak.

Mmm . . . Choko Royal. Sounds like an ice-cream.

So what? He might be fuming at Wellman's disloyalty. Maybe he thinks it's rotten of him to leave. Who knows.

What reaction? What did he say/do?

I sometimes feel 10 kilos heavier after eating Chinese too.

That's a very good point you've raised. I might not rate the importance of coaches as highly as most, but I do rate ones who can instill a good form of hive-mind type defensive zone.

The time for Cameron Bruce to do that was six years ago, and he did. In six years time, when Aaron Davey is reduced to one year contracts, it will be because his time has passed also.

Players, not coaches, make a good defence. I wouldn't worry too much about our back-line.

Joking. I'm not about to ask him to go barrack for Carlton, so don't worry.

No news on the signing. Just that it's "expected," whatever that means.