Skuit

On another note - the AFL website has selected Dusty as our 'bogeyman' for a 24-disposals/0-goals/0-marks match back at the start of 2015. I finally got around to checking the stats and it confirmed what I thought: Melbourne is Dusty's 'bogey-team', with his poorest career averages against us (and Carlton).

Is that from training Wrecker or observation of the games? AF said he noted an issue with Viney's gait vs Freo, so most likely the hip. Jones was also moving incredibly slowly at times on the weekend - akin to that round 2 vs GWS in 2015 where I think it was revealed later he'd been carrying something. Incidentally the same match where Viney's broken fibula came to light.

Saty - have you noticed Viney or Jones being restricted in their movement to any degree?

These sound like glowing endorsements compared to the commentary our defenders attract on here. Except Joel Smith. He's currently an automatic inclusion and sorely missed.

A silly boy seems a more fitting description. I lie to my girlfriend all the time - but it's the things I do which lead to those lies that are moronic, rather than the really sensible, justified and crafty evasion that follows.

On another note, Jeremy Howe would be a reasonably handy addition to our defensive unit right now. I wasn't sad to see him leave, and he apparently made it clear he wasn't interested in playing down back for us, but I have to admit that he was tracking okay down there and BenKen hasn't especially set the world alight. Apologies in advance for any potential derailment. Frawley - boo.

That makes him a liar not a moron. And I'm willing to bet on behalf of a friend that you're not the real David Neitz . . .

The players and their dedication to football provide me with entertainment every week. The AFL meanwhile provides mostly antagonism. But still, I'm on the side of the AFL - which is a non-profit organisation and funnels the money back into the sport, even if on occasion they distribute it to the wrong places. Most of the players today would have benefited from this current non-profit-sharing arrangement at some stage in their development, and they also have it much better now thanks to many of the equally-dedicated non-benefiting players of the past.

If we end up with Asahi as a BOJ sponsor I'll be forced to conclude that Saty is in fact Peter Jackson in highly elaborate disguise. Saty said he was looking for work around the time PJ came on board right?

Does anyone know the AFL's investigative powers and a player's disclosure responsibilities as to gambling? I'm curious why the AFL came looking in the first place. It reads like the actual breach was for allowing someone else to use his account - for not evidently nefarious purposes - and then covering this up for some reason? Wondering how the investigation was started and then concluded.

I recall an attempted Dusty fend-off against our lot a couple years back which resulted in a serious gang-tackle and holding the ball. It seemed as if we'd been instructed to go low and not to get sucked in.

Step away from the exclamation-key Picket and take a deep breath. I'll walk you through it. Martin is in blistering form, and, as you say, is 'a bloke that breaks lines and provides inspiration.' Seems strange that an opposition fan wouldn't be at least a little bit worried about him then, right? But even stranger then that the fan has reported a sense of concern only after that player has come under an injury cloud in the build-up. There seems to be some strange reversal of expectations going on. The next step is to challenge your neural connections to conceptually work out an explanation for this apparent anomaly. Something like; in the past, when a star player has been under an injury cloud in the build-up to a game against Melbourne, that player has tended to come out and tear Melbourne what is colloquially referred to a 'new one'. Nick Riewoldt may repeatedly spring to mind. Then you can deduce that the poster was being sardonic in reference to Melbourne's past, perhaps as a coping mechanism. Finally, if you can determine certain patterns in a poster's history, their 'schtick' if you will, such as multiple exclamation points and a tag-line like sheeeeit for example, you can be reasonably confident in your assessment of a post and know whether to take it seriously or not.

This jumper is fantastic. With no numbers, next time Hogan bofs someone we can just blame it on Stretch.

I wasn't remotely worried about Martin until it was reported he's under a fitness cloud in the lead-up.

That was my original (half-joking) speculation a page back. But it could also be a matter of ironing out the contract legalities with the AFL for a non-CUB deal - or, more simply, CUB seems to be going through a marketing restructure at the moment and it might just be them just feeling their way through. All guesses.

From June 2016 Trigger warning: Caroline Wilson http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-season-2016-beer-company-makes-big-cut-to-sponsorship-20160621-gpomq6.html

Well, Coopers does make some sense to me. It's evident they're making a big push into Melbourne, nabbing the Australian Open from Heineken, and they're prominent in the SANFL, with naming rights for The Parade in Norwood. Seems a decent fit. Can we sign a non-CUB deal?

You really should consider changing your username to Chromzoneloss though.

Melbourne is probably Martin's poorest performing team against. What have we done in the past?

Not sure where else to put this - but are we going to follow Essendon and Collingwood into mid-week with our ANZAC eve clashes from here on in? I'm all for it, but do the benefits outweigh the negatives?

A two-year deal could be feasible but we'd want to know we're firmly in the window and extra capable of snatching one with his addition to the squad. Otherwise, it has all the hall-marks of a major f/u and I'd rather the Bulldogs go sell their farm (again) along with Richmond, Hawthorn and North.

Bargain price? If the article is valid then we'd have to offer well above 400g to match Geelong and who knows what from the Bulldogs. And also give up our first-rounder to GC at the very least. I wouldn't necessarily say no but it won't be a freebie like Lewis.

Shouldn't be a question of valid bumping as this thread should be pinned. Anyways, at one stage in the Saints match I vaguely recall Viney hit a Saint who careened off another Saint and left them both splayed on the ground - reminiscent of the Tom Lynch-Alex Georgiou carnage. I don't have access to replays. Think it was after half-time. A still would be appreciated here if anyone has the time . . .

I remember at Footy park years ago they had a 'non-swearing' section. Does this still exist anywhere?

If you drink a bottle of Bundy and squint your eyes they could almost pass for Nathan Jones and Jake Spencer.