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Everything posted by Whispering_Jack
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THE SAGA CONTINUES - WADA APPEALS
Whispering_Jack replied to Whispering_Jack's topic in Melbourne Demons
Well said. -
Fixed up
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THE SAGA CONTINUES - WADA APPEALS
Whispering_Jack replied to Whispering_Jack's topic in Melbourne Demons
Essendon has hard decisions to make on the field but must first decide if James Hird will coach in 2016 The paradox at Bomberland is that while the drug scandal has raged on for such an inordinate length of time, it has, in all likelihood, masked other issues about James Hird's suitability as an AFL coach. People are asking, will he be there as coach in 2016 and what further damage will be done to the Bombers' future prospects by the prolonged saga? Robbo, the Essendon propagandist is having his two bob each way. He's asking whether the bloke can coach? Does he still have the respect of the playing group? Have the players been damaged irrevocably under the pressure of the long running scandal? I once expressed admiration at how the Essendon players had stuck fat and performed so admirably for such a long time under the cloud of the ASADA investigation but now it's all falling apart. Perhaps they've come to the realisation that the club's propaganda line which was supported strongly by media acolytes like Robbo, Chip Le Grand and Tracey Holmes and the Deakin Uni academic might be flawed? In any event, it looks as though they're buckling under the weight of it all and in that respect, I have sympathy for their plight because they are the victims of appalling administration at both AFL and EFC level as well as an unwieldy system of dealing with drug cheats, made more difficult by the obvious cover ups at Essendon. The AFL Tribunal's handling of the case didn't help matters either and we are now in a situation whereby Essendon is in a state of atrophy pending a result from the WADA appeal which is still a way off. To sack Hird would cost them a bucketload of cash, they still have no idea of the sort of team they will be able to field next year, their capacity to trade is restricted because very few are prepared to trade draft picks. They can't stop, reload and rebuild for a future with a new coach and a clean slate (would anyone want to coach them anyway?). If I was an Essendon supporter I would be regretting the day when David Evans was knifed and the Bombers walked away from the prospect of a deal that could have made this all go away by late 2013. At that time, things could have been fixed much easier without huge cost and the enormous toll on the lives of the players and supporters. And we all know the identity of the one person most to blame for all of this. -
For OD, that an rigor mortis are practically the same thing. In his case it was never undiscovered.
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Martin Flanagan at the Beach Oval
Whispering_Jack replied to Whispering_Jack's topic in Melbourne Demons
You can see why Sandy was so successful in those days. Their VFL affiliated players were strong types and could really play good footy and they had solid support from the MFC contingent. The alignment lasted from 2000 to 2008 and in those nine years, produced four premierships.Here are the winning grand final teams during the period of the alignment:- Sandringham Football Club - VFL Premiers 2000 Crowd: 8,652 @ Waverley Park B: M Grant A Coghlan H Tregear HB: T Broadbridge R Hayward C Liddell C: A Gehling D Macgeorge © R Maloney HF: S Pitt C Templeton M Febey F: B Beams N Saunter M Haynes FOLL: J Shanahan S Godfrey C McKellar I/C: S Chisholm D Lynch B Oakley L Williams COACH: G Yeats Sandringham 4.6.30 8.10.58 11.14.80 15.18.108 North Ballarat 0.5.5 3.5.23 5.8.38 11.11.77 Goals Saunter 6 Beams Pitt Templeton 2 S Febey Haynes Williams Best Liddell Pitt Maloney S Febey Haynes Macgeorge Norm Goss Medal: R Maloney Sandringham Football Club - VFL Premiers 2004 Crowd: 8,196 @ Princes Park B: D Bell R Ferguson N Carroll HB: T Broadbridge C Lamb P Walsh C: D Gallagher G Rigoni C Liddell © HF: L Williams R Crowe T Conroy F: S Armstrong N Sautner C Sylvia FOLL: M Jamar S O'Keeffe A Fisher I/C: A Biddlecombe A Bishop M Gadsden M Warnock COACH: M Williams Sandringham 3.3.21 7.7.49 9.11.63 9.13.67 Port Melbourne 2.3.15 6.5.41 7.7.49 9.9.63 Goals Sautner 4 Williams 2 Crowe Gallagher Sylvia Best Rigoni Sylvia Bell Crowe Sautner Fisher Norm Goss Medal: G Rigoni Sandringham Football Club - VFA Premiers 2005 Crowd: 9,000 @ Princes Park B: C Johnson M Warnock A Biddlecombe HB: D Ward C Liddell © M Gadsden C: D Gallagher S Godfrey G Rigoni HF: L Williams R Crowe C Heffernan F: P Johnson N Saunter S Armstrong FOLL: M Jamar S Motlop S O'Keeffe I/C: M Bate P Kennedy E Poyas P Summers COACH: M Williams Sandringham 2.4.16 4.6.30 9.12.66 11.17.83 Werribee 3.1.19 4.6.30 5.7.37 11.8.74 Goals Armstrong Motlop Poyas 2 Gallagher Heffernan P Johnson Sautner Williams Best Ward Poyas Warnock Biddlecombe O'Keeffe Gadsen Norm Goss Medal: D Ward Sandringham Football Club - VFL Premiers 2006 Crowd: 6,000 @ Princes Park B: A Biddlecombe M Warnock A Nicholson HB: C Bizzell R Ferguson C Liddell © C: D Gallagher P Read P Wheatley HF: E Poyas R Crowe S Motlop F: L Dunn N Sautner N Smith FOLL: S Neaves P Summers G Rigoni I/C: C Johnson N Jones C Lamb S Valenti COACH: M Williams Sandringham 4.3.27 6.4.40 11.9.75 13.13.91 Geelong VFL 2.2.14 4.4.28 6.5.41 11.7.73 Goals Sautner 3 Biddlecombe Motlop Smith 2 Dunn Gallagher Liddell Wheatley Best Read Motlop Gallagher Wheatley Summers Nicholson Norm Goss Medal: P Read Three current day Melbourne players - Lynden Dunn, Nathan Jones and Mark Jamar have played in Sandringham premiership teams. -
If you blokes are worried about things being quiet on this thread then perhaps it's time for me to revive my threat of closing it down again? This would ensure that RL comes out of his apparent self-induced stupor and also could scotch those rumours about Old Dee having reached the stage where rigor mortis has set in.
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Martin Flanagan's story in today's Age evokes some great memories of when Melbourne was the alignment partner of the Sandringham Zebras and that team had a very successful run of premierships. It was a lot easier for me personally to head down to the venue rather than to faraway Casey and I miss some of the great characters who used to frequent the place (and posted on Demonland) like jczebra and the Pig. The Scorpions are due to play there soon and if the roaring wind isn't blowing cold off the bay I might even turn up to see them. Footy's just Dandy at Sandy
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What to look forward to in the women's exhibition match this Sunday
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Somewhat belated but it seems Jake Lovett is coming good at the right end of the season because he followed up his TAC Cup Round 15 effort with the first of two appearances at the Casey Scorpions. Also Darcy Tucker had another good day out with the strong North Ballarat Rebels side while the other Darcy's also traveling along nicely as well. TAC Cup wrap: Round 15 review
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Have I missed something this week? Did Fremantle change it's coach?
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Delighted as one of Max's sponsors that he's shown great loyalty and extended for three years. I'm happy to reciprocate by extending my sponsorship for the same period.
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Hey Franky, I didn't say it stinks; only that you would have to be delusional to believe we can get him ahead of Geelong. And it wasn't a dinner at which I got my mail about Carlisle from but a breakfast and while I didn't pay for the meal, there's no such thing as a free breakfast and I did give a donation for the very worthy cause which was the purpose of the function. I hope that clarifies the situation. The only thing I found odd was that I couldn't bring myself to stick it up to the table host given Melbourne had given Collingwood a pasting on the Saturday before.
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Plapp’s balancing act
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Slight waft?I'd say it's more like a generous helping. Dangerfield will be at either Geelong or Adelaide next year.
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Now what's this all about? Saints of St. Kilda
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THE SAGA CONTINUES - WADA APPEALS
Whispering_Jack replied to Whispering_Jack's topic in Melbourne Demons
There's a lot of self-righteous indignation within the Essendon camp about the leaking of information but it seems to me that the most prolific leaking is coming from the mischief makers in the Bomber camp directly to the Herald Sun which is recycling tired old discredited stories to distract attention from the mess that the club's doping programme has created. Hence, they deserve all they're about to get. What they're doing is damaging their own club and adding to the woes of the 34 players. Before this is out, their names will surely be leaked out as well and even if all or a majority of them either escape sanctions or end up missing minimal game time, their reputations will be tarnished forever. Hird's has already suffered immeasurable damage (you only need to hear what his peers in the AFL community say in private) and the club is in a real hole because it's not really in a position where it can start afresh as Carlton can when it appoints its new coach at the end of the season. -
THE SAGA CONTINUES - WADA APPEALS
Whispering_Jack replied to Whispering_Jack's topic in Melbourne Demons
Those pages in the AFL Tribunal judgement are well worth reading to provide an insight on the lengths to which the Tribunal went to satisfy itself that it wasn't comfortably satisfied that the 34 players had committed an offence. With a de novo hearing at CAS and the rightful application of the burden of proof, there is every chance that the outcome will be different this time. Reading the decision convinced me (if I needed convincing after all this time) that the 34 in all probability ingested TB4 and a range of other concoctions that have no place in a properly designed supplements programme for sportspeople. -
Listed as a three week injury and could be out for the season according to the MFC website.
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THE SAGA CONTINUES - WADA APPEALS
Whispering_Jack replied to Whispering_Jack's topic in Melbourne Demons
Just catching up on my reading from the past couple of days and can't believe the concerted PR effort in the Herald Sun that seems to be calculated to discredit the WADA case. Someone should tell them it's not the public that's going to decide the outcome of this saga but the the adjudicators at CAS. -
With Melbourne expected to finish somewhere in the 13 to 15 range, we should be able to draft a player in the top half dozen of available picks leaving aside the academy bids and the possibility of a compensation pick (a la the James Frawley pick last year). So why raise a player like Bonner who is being touted as a mid teens selection? Because there is a chance that the club, having been involved in the trade deal that got us Dom Tyson and Christian Salem, could try to manufacture another one that could lead us to a player with these credentials:- "Riley Bonner Height: 189cm, Weight: 76kg Club: West Adelaide Position: Defender If you were tracking last years draft, Riley Bonner is like Harrison Wigg, but taller. Some recruiters believe that Bonner is the best kick of the 2015 Draft Class, and its not hard to see why. Bonner hits the ball hard, flat and gets serious penetration and purchase with a variety of kicks. Hes got speed, hes got dare and dash, his lateral movements rate elite, and his sidestep through traffic coming out of the backline makes him a tantalizing prospect for a club thats looking for a chief playmaker coming out of defence. The left-footer has a raking kick, but is super-efficient on his right a very rare trait for lefties. Hes shown both at West Adelaide and at Championship level that there is scope for him to play minutes with the midfield, and with his attacking nature, he projects to be a wanted man for those in the 12-20 bracket for picks in November." Paige Cardona ~ Paige's Draft Board A player who is considered "the best kick of the 2015 Draft Class" and can "play minutes with the midfield" would be handy, particularly if the other player in the deal also might happen to be a midfielder.
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2015 AFL National Draft prospects: The next batch
Whispering_Jack replied to Whispering_Jack's topic in Melbourne Demons
The TAC Cup Future Stars top 20:- 1. Brisbane - Jacob Weitering 2. Gold Coast - Joshua Schache 3. Sydney* - Callum Mills 4. Carlton - Aaron Francis 5. GWS* - Jacob Hopper 6. Essendon - Darcy Tucker 7. Melbourne - Darcy Parish 8. St. Kilda - Rhys Mathieson 9. Brisbane* - Ben Keays 10. Port Adelaide -Charlie Curnow 11. GWS* - Matthew Kennedy 12. Collingwood - Harley Balic 13. North Melbourne - Harry McKay 14. Adelaide - Ryan Burton 15. Geelong - Kieran Collins 16. Richmond - Sam Weideman 17. Western Bulldogs - Riley Bonner 18. Hawthorn - Kieran Lovell 19. Brisbane* - Eric Hipwood 20. West Coast - Callum Ah Chee * Academy bid -
The thing that immediately comes to mind is that you should never simply chase a footballer because you "owe" the club he plays for. Years ago Collingwood and Richmond were at loggerheads for years after the Tigers poached Phil Walsh away from them after one season. The Pies swore to get revenge and, as a result, made some bad recruiting blunders that were very costly to the club and sent them backward both financially and on the field. The question should be whether Motlop is a player who fits our needs, whether we can afford him and whether he can fit into our club in a way that improves our overall team performance and, in my humble opinion, the answer to all of those questions is an emphatic yes. No doubt there are a few clubs thinking the same way.
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With Heitier, I suppose it really depends on what your expectations are of someone playing in his position. Do you want a spectacular high possession game week in, week out that gets the votes from the average punter or one where he plays his role in defence keeping opponents in check and also adding the dimension of a line breaker who occasionally does something really eye-catching? After the pre-season matches, I was thinking of the former, expecting him to almost be a high possession winning midfielder but we are not a premiership side yet and in any event, that wasn't his function in the side. Sure, I would like to see him do more but it wouldn't surprise if you asked the coaches whether Lumumba had achieved what they wanted from him so far, the answer would probably be in the affirmative.
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WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - CHRISTIAN PETRACCA
Whispering_Jack replied to Demonland's topic in Melbourne Demons
From what I saw of him in the televised NAB Championships games from last year I would put him more in the Sylvia category as a player than a Darling. The word on him was that he had put in a lot of work to shed weight and build up his endurance in order to make it possible for him to eventually play in the midfield and based on his carnival and TAC Cup form (I didn't see him in the latter so I'm going on reports), he succeeded in that although he'll probably start as a half forward and work his way into the midfield over time. Of course, we all hope that he brings a different attitude to the game than Col who let himself down in that regard although the culture of all football clubs is much different nowadays. But a Jack Darling, he's not. -
There's a game on today at the Gabba called "The Weitering Cup".