Chook

Yeah, I'd like to see Richmond and St. Kilda in there for Richo and Harvey, and Brisbane for Travis Johnstone.

What, you mean he's not real? Then where to the presents come from?

That's true, but for some reason I never had any problem with that. Travis' laconic running style is just so distinctive that I could pick him out from a team full of lookalikes a mile away. On Trav, does anyone else find themselves watching Lions games just a little more closely than they used to? Or is it just me? I'm embarrassed to admit they may now be my second team. A distant second, of course.

Yeah, it seems Richmond may have got a draft selection right for once.

Well, between beating 9thmond and losing to Port Adelaide, the latter might be the harder task.

I was there. And given I am in the minority regarding the quality of the umpiring, I'm not going to argue with you about it. Regarding the other point; tanking, I believe any team that puts players in for early surgery is tanking to a degree, so yes, the Eagles were tanking in that regard. But I don't believe that the players on the field or the coaches in the box were trying not to win, which is what the cynics here are saying. But I'll admit that I may just be hoping, for the sake of the game, that that's the case. I always try to believe that the umpires are doing a good job - at least as far as conforming to the legislation put down by the AFL. And I also hope that no team would ever try to take advantage of a drafting system designed to equalize the competition.

Good points. Even better point.

Yeah maybe.

Totally agree. Nothing more to add

The thing about Maric that I don't like is that he looks too much like Clint Bartram. So whenever he does something good, I think Barters has done it. Consequently, I always come away from a game thinking "Gee, Clint Bartram played well today, but I hardly even saw Maric." I think he needs to work on that aspect of his game. Mabe he should dye his hair bright pink like that Australian runner.

Can he be nominated next year? What are the criteria?

No he's not.

That's true, our average list age might decrease, but the age of the guys playing would be a little higher. I reckon West Coast will be in heavy debut mode, while we'll be playing guys who've already played their first game.

Just goest to show what a great year Brockie was having up until his injury.

What does that mean?

Probably not. With some of the guys to come in next year for us, our average age will increase a bit. I reckon West Coast's won't increase as much as ours.

Well, Ryan O'Keefe bleeds red and something, at least.

Who gives a hoot about that? We won, and that's all that matters. Why ruin a victory by harping on about something that may or may not have happened.

Do you all hate footy so much that you can't even enjoy a game once in a while? West Coast are terrible, and yesterday was not their worst game this year. They've only won 1 game at the MCG since they won the Grand Final in '06. I'm almost certain that tanking has never occurred on the field or in the coaches box. The only time it's ever happened is in the selection of players and the decision to put players in cotton wool, so that they can be 'Cherry Ripe' for the next year. Give it a break. The umpiring was actually okay. Supporters are always biased, and almost all of West Coast's frees were there, and ours were not there. We won the game anyway, so why ruin it by whining about the umpiring or whether our opponents were trying. Go dees!

No problem.

Our Average Age was 22.77, while West Coast's was 23.18. Not even six months in it. And I'm almost positive that our team today was at least a year or two younger than Hawthorn and Carlton's.

Totally agree. Except I think the word you're looking for isn't anathema, it's antithesis. But that's not to detract from what is otherwise a fantastic post.

I agree. It's not like they were suddenly crap in the last quarter, allowing us to run over the top of them. The were terrible all game - we were just worse in the first quarter.

I'm not a fan of players changing their numbers, so I hope Aussie and Valenti keep theirs. I'd also retire Neita's for a while, and give the new guys jumpers in the order that they come to the club.

Well, big Meesen was in the best for Sandy this week, so I'd give him a run if Whitey isn't right. If he plays, it's fitting that we're going over to Adelaide this week.