Whispering_Jack

It's finally happened ~ Chanderpaul retires from all forms of cricket

From the sound of things, you were probably sitting on his knee. You need to get a grip on yourself.

Did you ask him how the knee's going?

That could be because it's his wedding anniversary today. We need to cut him some slack today in recognition of the occasion.

Somebody's obviously ghosting for you Doc.

Very sad news but I must say, I was never into Bowie. The other big news of the day came as a bit of a shock. Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall - wow.

We knew it was a risk and we accepted it although I can say very clearly that we might well have underestimated the risk involved:- See my comments in http://demonland.com/forums/topic/38382-the-saga-continues-wada-appeals/?page=148 I regard a 12 month enforced holiday from the game a "major" sanction.

Landing in Devil's Island tomorrow. With a bit of luck, I might be able to import the entire banana crop to send to Demonlanders.

http://snpy.tv/1TowcXK

Are you certain? Next year happens to be a leap year.

Where's Redleg with his updated count? Isn't something major happening very soon?

The Weideman family and Melbourne go back a long, long way. Grandfather Murray was one of Collingwood's all time greats and his relationship with Melbourne was particularly firey. There's a story to tell here (and I will tell it) but in the meantime, this is how Knightmare sees the next generation-

I'll admit that I had Parish ahead of him all the way ... but I hope Knightmare who had him second in the overall power rankings got it right.

Murray Weideman looks gobsmacked.

Agree. I would have been happy to go with Parish and Mathieson to get a good mix of midfield talent with 4 AAs between them. I wonder if the reluctance to pick Parish has to do with the nightmares endured in the wake of the decision to take Toumpas ahead of Wines three years ago.

Parish might not test elite class for pace but he's quick. By that I mean everything he does is in super quick mode; his reactions, his thought processes and his decision making. They're all uncanny and instinctively move him to where the ball is so he appears to have more pace than he actually possesses (but he's not slow over the ground anyway). He's a footballer and my only reservation is whether he can bring that package with him into the AFL game. Toumpas who was a different type in many ways, couldn't bring his particular game to AFL level and before him, the same could be said of Blease.

Hey Redleg - was it Curnow who we were told was "leadership material"?

Never impossible - one of the candidates might blow it (and be replaced on the list) ... then again, he might not.

However, if you were in Jason Taylor's shoes and knew who your first pick was going to be, there are only five possible combinations possible. It would take some luck but the odds are reasonable for you to achieve the best case scenario i.e getting your two most preferred players from the six into the club. Remote.

Agreed, we're in a fortunate position. We get to pick what is effectively the first "live" selection given that Weitering/Schache are are foregone conclusion and then have some interesting choices for our second pick. Whichever way it goes, we get two of the best 10 young players in the country as at draft selection night.

I was at the club's trade and draft evening with Jason Taylor and Todd Viney and while there was a great deal of discussion concerning a variety of the matters relating to the club, I don't think anyone went away any the wiser about who the club is drafting at #3. We were shown highlight tapes of six players who the club presumably considers would be available within its range of picks #3 and #7. They are: Charlie Curnow, Aaron Francis, Wayne Milera, Clayton Oliver, Darcy Parish and Sam Weideman. I would suggest then that we will draft two of those players next Tuesday night and while the club has made up its mind as to who will be taken at 3, nobody is telling. Nor are they telling the player involved because they want the player to enjoy the occasion. So, the suspense continues although watching the highlights passage and combined with the more detailed games I've seen in the past, confirms in my mind that Darcy Parish is our best pick. My next two would be Aaron Francis and Charlie Curnow ahead of Clayton Oliver and Wayne Milera. I don't believe Sam Weideman is for us. Anyway, we'll know soon enough.

There are too many hypotheticals there for me to give you an answer as to what I would say after rolling my eyes at the suggestion if it ever was made (which I strongly doubt)..

Brett Anderson was interviewed on SEN yesterday evening and, in relation to the views he's expressed about who he believes Melbourne will take at pick 3, he stated that they were based on his analysis of this year's draft and that he was not taking in any mail whatsoever from the Melbourne Football Club. On that basis he's always thought Melbourne would choose Curnow over Darcy Parish but it could easily be Sam Weideman or Clayton Oliver - "I don't know if Jason Taylor would take Charlie Curnow".Since Anderson's views about us taking Curnow ahead of Parish were made public a few weeks ago, some Phantom Drafts have been put out there nominating Curnow as our choice - it's almost as if they were taking Anderson's strong views as being based on inside information. However, that position has now been dispelled. It could be Curnow, it could be Weideman but I still think Parish is the best available. Jason Taylor and Todd Viney are speaking at a draft function at the club tonight but I don't know if we'll be much better informed after that - it looks like the rest of the clubs are going to be kept guessing for a few more days. Separately, on the testing of Weideman, I don't think I've heard anything much absurd than the proposition that we're considering him to keep Jesse Hogan happy and at the club. I'm sure Hogan would be just as happy to see the club add some future elite midfielders who could pump the ball to him with precision no less than a potential KPP who has been injured and out of action since May.

No love for James Pattinson?

Princes Hill, Ivanhoe and Carlton North but today it must be Carlton, Albert Park and Hawthorn.