Whispering_Jack

The MFC website finally has put up the Round 4 VFL player review. They seem to be more informative than in past years.

I think the AFLPA is looking at this issue primarily in terms of the players' civil liberties which its seeking to protect ahead of the other issue at play in terms of so-called "recreational" drugs. The problem is that, as we've seen with the two Collingwood players waiting on their B sample results, the lines between the two are blurred. My concern is that the AFLPA should be looking after all of its constituents, particularly on health and safety which includes drug education and rooting out those involved in drug cheating and I don't believe they've done enough in recent years.

I really wish that I could believe what Chris Dawes said this week about coming up against the Hawks and his personal battle with Chip but really ...

Leaving aside Anzac Day eve for obvious reasons, this was the first time this year we had a Friday night game that was close, exciting and a contest. I liked the fact that the lead changed; there was tension and excitement - all of those things we haven't had in those interminable beatings of other weeks, most of them involving Carlton. And guess what club is featured in the next two weeks on Friday night? It's scandalous that the AFL should give these fixtures which, apart from anything else, are so commercially lucrative and then people complain that the poorer clubs that get no such benefits from their draw get "hand outs" from the AFL. I hope there's a decent NRL game on for the next two Friday nights because I won't be wasting my time watching Mick's coming demise. I think North are being underestimated as a finals contender and, say what you like about the Bombers, their officialdom, their delusional coach, their players who might or might not have been duped over the drugs saga, but their team always goes out on the field and gives its best effort.

If anyone thinks Watts' inclusion or exclusion is going to make one iota of difference to the result today, they really have no idea.

... wake up.

Strewth, did I see one of those digital advertising screens advertising a brand of supplements?

Given that our other early picks were Jack Watts, Sam Blease and James Strauss, the entire draft is starting to look even more of a disaster than the Tom Scully one that succeeded it. What concerns me is the story I once heard about our dealings with Sloane and his family and certain promises that might have been made at the time which might even rule us out of contention if we wanted him now, some seven years after the fact.

The spreadsheet of truth About those injections: For more by Sean Curtain ~ here, here, here and here I'm starting to wonder if this imaginary player really exists and whether the Essendon players who have been painted by many as the "victims" of this saga really care about what was injected into their bodies or whether the truth will ever come out? Can someone remind me why the AFL Tribunal decision was never made public? Wasn't it to protect the names and reputations of the players who at the end of it all were, according to James Hird, found to be "innocent"? So now that the names of the Essendon 34 are in the public domain, what is the non-publication of the decision protecting?

I think in the context of women's footy that would be martinettes, wouldn't it?

Paige Cardona is a budding expert on future AFL stars but she and a few of her Deer Park teammates have landed in hot water over comments on Facebook about their game last weekend against Mordialloc AFL Victoria moves to suspend female Deer Park players over facebook comments. A case of officialdom going over the top?

Which 10 prospects will be at the top of this year's draft? ... and from bigfooty, Chris 25's "The Big Board" 1. Jacob Weitering (195cm, 90kg defender from Dandenong) 2. Aaron Francis (192cm, 89kg utility from West Adelaide) 3. Callum Mills (186cm, 73kg midfielder from North Shore) 4. Callum Ah Chee (182cm, 71kg forward/midfielder from South Fremantle) 5. Darcy Tucker (184cm, 78kg midfielder from North Ballarat) 6. Darcy Parish (181cm, 72kg midfielder from Geelong) 7. Greg Clark (193cm, 82kg midfielder from Subiaco) 8. Ryan Burton (190cm, 79kg forward from North Adelaide) 9. Kieran Collins (193cm, 94kg defender from Dandenong Stingrays) 10. Stephen Tahana (183cm, 79kg defender from North Adelaide) 11. Josh Schache (199cm, 96kg forward from Murray Bushrangers) 12. Luke Partington (180cm, 75kg midfielder from Norwood) 13. Jacob Hopper (186cm, 82kg midfielder from North Ballarat) 14. Rhys Mathieson (185cm, 79kg midfielder from Geelong) 15. Josh Dunkley (189cm, 85kg midfielder from Gippsland Power) 16. Harley Balic (186cm, 80kg midfielder from Sandringham) 17. Charlie Curnow (191cm, 95kg forward from Geelong) 18. Nick O'Kearney (181cm, 71kg midfielder from Calder Cannons) 19. Keiran Agius (187cm, 84kg forward from North Adelaide) 20. Sam Weideman (196cm, 91kg forward from Eastern Ranges) forward. 21. Ben Keays (183cm, 78kg midfielder from Morningside) 22. James Parsons (189cm, 79kg midfielder from Eastern Ranges) 23. Matthew Kennedy (187cm, 84kg midfielder from NSW/Collingullie) 24. Harry McKay (200cm, 85kg forward from Gippsland Power) 25. Tim Sullivan (199cm, 90kg ruckman from Glenelg) 26. Thomas Cole (185cm, 76kg midfielder from Bendigo Pioneers) 27. Ryan Clarke (186cm, 84kg midfielder from Eastern Ranges) 28. Riley Bonner (187cm, 75kg utility from West Adelaide) 29. Sam Skinner (197cm, 96kg defender from Gippsland Power) 30. Jade Gresham (177cm, 74kg midfielder from Northern Knights) 31. Dylan Smith (198cm, 81kg from Swan Districts) 32. Callum Moore (193cm, 85kg forward from Calder Cannons) 33. Jake Sushames (185cm, 65kg midfielder from North Launceston) 34. Kade Stewart (180cm, 67kg midfielder from South Fremantle) 35. Jordan Dawson (188cm, 80kg forward from Sturt) 36. Matthew Nunn (180cm, 75kg midfielder from Norwood) 37. Aidyn Johnson (184cm, 75kg midfielder from Bendigo Pioneers) 38. Will Snelling (177cm, 68kg midfielder from West Adelaide) 39. Maris Olekalns (180cm, 70kg midfielder from North Adelaide) 40. Levi Ridley (183cm, 74kg midfielder from Swan Districts) WA. 41. Wayne Milera (182cm, 71kg midfielder from Central Districts) 42. Cameron Hewett (189cm, 76kg midfielder from North Adelaide) 43. Oleg Markov (187cm, 78kg midfielder from North Adelaide) 44. Matthew Flynn (200cm, 99kg ruckman from Narrandera) 45. Bailey Rice (184cm, 81kg defender from Dandenong Stingrays) 46. Karl Brown (192cm, 90kg forward from Calder Cannons) 47. Yestin Eades (183cm, 80kg midfielder from North Ballarat Rebels) 48. Kyle Broadwood (195cm, 84kg defender from Woodville West Torrens) 49. Eric Hipwood (197cm, 82kg forward from Aspley) 50. Michael Hagan (174cm, 65kg midfielder from Darwin) 51. John Shaw (177cm, 75kg defender from Swan Districts) 52. Jordan Snadden (190cm, 79kg midfielder from East Fremantle) 53. Kyle Presbury (182cm, 73kg midfielder from Central Districts) 54. Mitchell Hibberd (191cm, 85kg midfielder from Clarence) 55. Brendan Dew (178cm, 66kg midfielder from Central Districts) 56. Josh Minogue (189cm, 80kg forward from Murray Bushrangers) 57. Harrison Himmelberg (192cm, 84kg forward from Eastlake) 58. Daniel Houston (187cm, 83kg forward from Oakleigh Chargers) 59. Mason Redman (184cm, 77kg midfielder from Glenelg) 60. Dylan Atkins (199cm, 88kg ruckman from Sandringham)

I would like the team to deliver the same message on the field on Saturday and actually carry it out as well. (wishful thinking but one can hope and dream)

WADA appeal against Essendon a 'witch hunt', claims lawyer Graham Smith, a Melbourne lawyer believes that by exercising its lawful right to appeal the AFL Tribunal's decision in the case of the Essendon 34, WADA is engaging in a 'witch hunt'. My response to that is that, just as there is "good" thymosin and "bad" thymosin, there are "good" witches and "bad" witches and if WADA is hunting for the "bad" guys in a quest to uncover the truth, then it's fulfilling its charter for the benefit of world sport and I'm all in favour. This goes to the heart of the reason for the appeal and it's a pity Chip used the example of Hexarelin rather than TB4 but, in any event, it should be clear that there is a strongly arguable case that the AFL Tribunal demanded the far stricter standard of proof being beyond reasonable doubt rather than that of comfortable satisfaction as required for an anti-doping offence even though it said it applied the latter standard. This is why Smith's comments on WADA's appeal are ludicrous.

Greg Baum gets it ~ WADA appeal into Essendon verdict: Too big even for City Hall I think one of the commentators in the aftermath of the AFL Tribunal decision claimed it was an advantage that two of its members had played football at a high level. I couldn't disagree more. That close connection more likely clouded their senses of what it took to deal with the elements of the case and to conclude to a standard of comfortable satisfaction. Perhaps it was inevitable but we really never came close to the truth and perhaps we never will given the shady nature of the witnesses who were either coerced into not giving direct evidence to the tribunal or simply refused of their own volition. The tribunal seemed to draw little or no inferences from the fact that they did not make themselves available or that the data about the programme they presided over was removed from the face of the earth leaving me at least in little doubt that the players were injected with the substance Dank imported and that it was exactly what the Chinese company he imported it from actually manufactures. Baum nails it with this -

The good news is that James Frawley will be back. Oh ... wait

I was surprised at how well Whateley handled the interview and how he pulled Hird up on his call that they players were innocent. A few random things to note that will have an impact on the CAS hearing:- * the Workcover investigation could throw some light on the nature of the substance ingested by the players. Hird claims it was "thymodulin" or something labelled as such. The Tribunal found that it was not that at all - it was either TB4 or something else but it couldn't be comfortably satisfied as to which of them. * Dank has appealed the AFL Tribunal's verdict against him. If he follows the appeal through he's going to have to give some evidence and be subjected to cross examination. * the appeal involves reopening the case and a rehearing of the matter. WADA will therefore have the benefit of knowing what factors caused the AFL Tribunal to come to its conclusions and refocusing the direction of its presentation to the Court.

Promising start from Gerard Whateley and James Hird on AFL360. Intro from Whateley: "WADA steps in to appeal the Bombers' not guilty verdict again jeopardising the futures of 34 players." James Hird: ... "2 and a half year investigation, emphatic not guilty, innocent" says the man who appealed against the ruling of a Federal Court Judge during the course of this saga but has a problem with WADA exercising its right to appeal what it considers to be a bad decision by the AFL Tribunal.

In the interests of balance, this article by Sydney sports lawyer Darren Kane sets out his interpretation of the result of AFL Tribunal decision which is now being appealed against - Why ASADA's case against Essendon fell apart. My recollection of previous articles by Kane is that he has been a supporter of the line that insists on the innocence of the players. He has the benefit of having read the Tribunal decision but I have my reservations about his interpretation of the facts referred to in the decision and in particular the part about Essendon's receipt of, or payment for the "TB4" which doesn't appear to match what I've been told about the invoicing for substances at the heart of the case.

What is WADA: a handy guide

I'm going to re-post Dees2014's thoughts from a few weeks back on the possibility of a WADA appeal. Although long, it should answer a few questions:-

It didn't take long for the Essendon propaganda machine to go into overdrive:- I can just imagine Warner waking "a source close to the investigation" at sparrows for a quote. The mind boggles.

WADA to lodge appeal against AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal decision on 34 current and former Essendon players

Possibly up to six months or more. Another season derailed but hopefully, a lot of people will get their wish and the truth will come out.

On a Saturday when the Saints come back from 10 goals down, and the Giants beat the reigning premier, the stage was set for a fairy-tale triple header with Melbourne facing the in-form Sydney. And while there was some sort of comeback as the Demons kicked five or the last six goals to add some respectability to the score, a first half solitary goal and a six goal deficit meant the match was over by half-time. The only fairy-tale was a first game, first kick goal by Billy Stretch, but given that was all the Demons could muster in 50 minutes of football, only those supporters who believed in fairies had any hope of a resurgence. The Swans showed the Demons what was necessary to play top-line AFL football but sadly the message will bypass many who took to the field. They are simply not up to AFL standard themselves and show no promise of ever reaching that standard. Tommy Mac and Nathan Jones know what it is all about, but the critical observation is that the next best of our players, Hogan, Lamumba, Vince, Cross, Tyson, Brayshaw, Salem and Garlett werent at the club 2 years ago. The team is still filled with the old guard who learnt their football from the likes of a player who had gone west and found out that discipline and commitment is a prerequisite to getting a game. The simple lack of depth of quality in the side is now strikingly apparent. Many have questioned how Watts, Howe and others continue to get a game, rightly so. Stretch, a draftee who didnt play last week is called up to the senior list to fill a gap. Spencer is elevated to the firsts, yet cannot jump off the ground, kick nor mark the ball to this day. And when Dawes and Tyson sustain leg/knee injuries during the game and can only move at half pace, the stocks become even lower. Meanwhile, down at Casey who is pushing to replace these types.no-one of merit. The names that keep getting suggested on this site are those that have been tried and failed before. And so the senior list is filled with these NQR players. The few glimmers of hope for the fans is that there is some genuine talent already here. Hogan continues to impress, Salem is poetry in motion and has that fierce desire to compete at all times. Stretch, even in his first game, was not overwhelmed and although still lightly built has skills similar to his old man. Tom McDonald continues to grow each week and surely must be a certainty for AA selection on his current form. He has played on the best forwards in the competition and has nullified the likes of Cameron, Riewoldt, Walker and now Franklin. His determination and emergence as a player who last year had disposal and decision making problems is a true credit to himself. Yes, the fairy tale wasnt forthcoming. Yes, we werent blown away by a team that played in a Grand Final only 7 matches ago, and that surely shows some improvement from where we were. And yes, there are some players who will develop into something special. If we want some fairy-tales to emerge they will only happen with hard work. They wont happen for those players who are living the dream and nothing more. For them the fairy tale will become fractured in 3 or 4 months time! Melbourne 1.1.7 1.3.9 4.5.29 7.8.50 Sydney Swans 4.3 7.6 11.9.75 12.16.88 Goals Melbourne Garlett Hogan 2 Dawes Newton Stretch Sydney Swans Tippett 4 Kennedy 2 Goodes Hannebery Jetta McGlynn Parker, Pyke Best Melbourne T McDonald Salem N Jones Hogan Vince Sydney Swans Mitchell Kennedy Tippett Jack Parker Jetta McVeigh Changes Melbourne Nil Sydney Swans Nil Injuries Melbourne Dawes (right knee) Tyson (left knee) Sydney Swans Hannebery (left ankle) Heeney (right knee) Lloyd (ankle) Substitutions Melbourne Watts replaced Pedersen in the third quarter. Sydney Swans Goodes replaced Heeney in the second quarter. Reports Melbourne Nil Sydney Swans Nil Umpires Margetts Findlay Harris Official Crowd 26,894 at the MCG