Whispering_Jack

With all of today's goings on, I plumb forgot that something was happening involving footballers on a field, albeit at training. Thanks again to TDI and please ignore that Wild Man from Borneo rubbish. Anyone who's ever been to Borneo knows that the locals look nothing like that distinguished man in the photo.

Nothing has changed in terms of Essendon being able to sack Hird. However, the outcome of the AFL Tribunal might give them reason to sack him and therefore today's result has probably brought the day closer.

3.23pm Members of the legal profession seen singing and dancing in the streets arm in arm with their bank managers.

The great thing about bookies' odds is that whilst they might be reasonably good indicators of how things are going to work out, they're not infallible. A few years ago, I entered a tipping competition that had 29 participants and I decided to base my selections purely on the betting odds published in the newspapers. I finished in equal 11th spot in the competition with two others which means there were 10 tipsters out there who beat the bookies and, in turn, the bookies finished in front by virtue of them finishing ahead of 16 tipsters and behind only 10. That's obviously a small sample but my guess is that this is how it works. The bookies odds are framed on a consideration of a number of issues and past form is one of the foremost. I suppose that's why professional punters spend a lot of time studying form guides which for the most part are about past performances. I think therefore that given how we've performed in the last couple of seasons we belong on the line of 17/18 for the flag and where we are vis a vis Gold Coast for round 1, the rationale being that they've beaten us at the last three starts and the expectation is that they will have Ablett back. Our odds will firm if it becomes obvious from our form in preseason matches that our starting team will contain half a dozen new faces and our style of play is markedly better than what we displayed in our last 10 games which were all losses.

If you've had enough (as I have) of the continual rotation of replays from the 2014 AFL season, there is an alternative footy fix to whet the appetite for 2015 on Foxtel's NITV (indigenous) Channel which is now showing the NT Thunder through their 2014 season in the North East Australian Rules League. Games are shown on Thursdays at 7.30 Thursday.

Patrick Smith gets it - AFL should enforce suspensions

It was my one and only pre season session for the summer and I don't think I'll get the time to see another one so I'm limited in terms of comparison with other such sessions but I wouldn't say I was underwhelmed by the skills on display. It was also not a high key day given that the players were returning from an eleven day intensive workout at Maroochydore and they trained mainly in the wet. I'm not making excuses but I think you might find the odd spilt mark and one or two miskicks at most club training sessions like these in late January and if people are suggesting that the majority of training runs have been sloppy or poor then there would be room for concern. I didn't see it that way although I agree that there wasn't the intensity there of a team training with the finals in sight. That's probably because the finals happen to be a long way off and the start of the season proper is more than two months off. I was more concerned with seeing the new faces and I was impressed by them. Lumumba, Garlett and Newton all looked likely to fit in from game one as did Hogan who looked like he was still a little way off being 100% fit and I've already mentioned the youngsters elsewhere. I noticed Sam Frost's size but didn't pick him up much in general training - it would have been much easier if the players trained with their numbers on their backs. So I was happy with the new blood and given that we haven't lost much from last year, we should be way in front in terms of the list. Added to that, most of the drills looked fairly positive and attacking in style which leads me to believe there will be less emphasis on the negative and more accentuating the positive (which I thought we were crying out for in the last half of last year and is important as we approach a new season). On that basis I can't agree that we trained like a 17th placed team, I don't believe the coach or players think that way and that's what matters more to me at this stage of proceedings. I remember watching Collingwood train on the same piece of ground about three years ago in our early days of Melbourne pre season training in this precinct (we had finished training on the next door oval). It was a windy day and the Pies were making a lot of mistakes fluffing around with the footy and I really was underwhelmed. They still made the finals and in fact, finished top four.

... and after watching Lance Armstrong's performance on tv tonight, I wonder if he and James Hird were separated at birth?

On ANB's injury ~ Demon down again with knee injury. Sounds like he got lucky although it wouldn't surprise if the club took a conservative approach because of the fact that he reinjured the patella so soon after coming back the first time.

It simply amazes me how impaired people's judgement and perspective can become when the subject is football. You have to really wonder in which universe can a suspension be overturned in the manner suggested in this article? When is a suspension not a suspension? Essendon’s 2015 preparation won’t be disrupted by AFL anti-doping hearing, says James Hird

I don't think it's been possible to hide away from the controversy that's been dominating discussion at Demonland over the selection of Jimmy Toumpas two years ago ahead of Ollie Wines. This year, our first two picks are big bodied midfielders Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw, both in the Wines mould and the questions being asked by some were whether they are the man child types who dominate less developed kids and will they prosper at AFL level? They both looked good to me today - they ran well and moved smoothly. Along with the SA brothers in arms ANB and Billy Stretch they showed a fair amount of skill for newbies. I missed ANB's mishap at the end and I'm not so sure that any of our young midfield recruits are going to be instant successes. Petracca impressed me the most. You can see his basketball background shining through and he reminded me of the old Beatles number - there's definitely something in the way he moves. If you want a comparison with a past player, then it's probably Adelaide's Mark Ricciuto.

Academy teens get a taste of life in the AFL

First out on the track was Max Gawn, looking very impressive if I may say so.

Some items from the AFL Players Association FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF LIFE AS AN AFL PLAYER STRETCH AND NEAL-BULLEN 'BROTHERS REUNITED'

This is how afl.com.au's Peter Ryan views our ruck stocks - Apart from Max King who was picked up as a rookie at the end of 2013 we haven't recruited any ruckmen in the Roos era which indicates to me that the coaching panel don't believe that replenishing our ruck stocks is a major priority over getting the rest of our midfield right.

On the subject of centre half forwards and key forwards generally, I found this quote interesting ~ Riewoldt a perfect role model for Saint Paddy So there you have it. Petracca was the consensus best player in the draft (I believe even Alan Richardson said so at one stage), but the argument to take McCartin was compelling for the Saints. They chose him partly on needs because they know Riewoldt's time is nearing an end and the Lance Franklin and Tom Boyd transfers demonstrated the inflationary market for key forwards. For them, better an outstanding young KPP than the best player available, even if that player could be of the elite of the new generation of players, a potential Michael Jordan. Which brings to mind the story of the Portland Trail Blazers who drafted Sam Bowie (who?) over Jordan. The lesson? Even the most successful people make mistakes - heaven knows that the MFC have made far more than their share in recent times.

As a side issue, I have to note the following selections in the 2010 AFL National Draft:- 11. Thomas Lynch (Gold Coast) 12. Lucas Cook (Melbourne) As often happens with young key position players, they take a while to develop. Both Lynch and Cook struggled early and when Cook snagged four goals at Casey against Collingwood VFL in the Queens Birthday round of 2011, I thought he might have forced his way ahead of Lynch at that point in time ... the rest is history and another example of either bad luck and/or poor judgement on the part of the club during that particular period in time. Anyway, with hindsight, we should have taken a midfielder like Luke Parker who the Swans took with pick 40. Isaac Smith was taken in that draft in the teens.

The AFL Tribunal is hearing the case. Yes, ASADA is effectively acting as the prosecution. My point is that it is completely inappropriate for the AFL to be conducting back door negotiations in these circumstances.

Le Grand has written extensively about the doping scandal and most of what he's produced has read as if it came straight out of the Essendon Football Club storybook. I do love the reference to so-called "secret" talks. Nothing stays a secret very long in AFL circles except for things like the contents of the syringes which were injected into the veins of the Essendon players during the time when the doping scandal was unfolding. They're so secret that the Bombers don't have a clue what they were except for the fact that they can cure cancer. Le Grand was nominated for a Walkely Award for the crap that he's been writing on the subject which says something about the standards of journalism in this country. As for the secret talks, at least we now know where the story of the "two match" penalty came from and we can take a fair guess at the source of that particular leak. Of more concern is that if the AFL was involved in these talks with Gordon and Crameri's lawyers, it raises some disturbing ethical questions about the AFL bearing in mind that one of it's own tribunals is in the midst of sitting in deliberation on some serious allegations concerning an AFL club, its players and officials.

Could someone also do a report on the food available at or near the venue and on the amenities for spectators and players please?

There was a discussion the other night on SEN about what position was the most important in an AFL team these days. The consensus was that in previous generations it was the centre half forward, citing the likes of Laurie Nash, Darrell Baldock, Royce Hart, Dermott Brereton, Stephen Kernahan, James Hird and Wayne Carey. You could also mount an argument in more recent times for Jonathan Brown, Matthew Pavlich, Nick Riewoldt and of course "Buddy". I'm sure there are others I've missed and Melbourne had a couple of handy ones in Garry Lyon and David Schwarz. But the feeling was that in today's football the centre position has taken over - it's the midfielders like Gary Ablett, Josh Kennedy (Swans), Sam Mitchell and Jobe Watson who hold the dominant position on the football field. You could go even further and argue for the entire midfield division but that may be another area for discussion altogether. Just when I was leaning towards the view that your main midfielder is your most important player, I came across this - Ablett v Lynch: Who is the Suns' most important player?

It's a long way out from the premiership and, at this stage, their assessments of teams are necessarily based on most recent performances with only minor adjustments for changes in between time. The odds will change but if we're going to rise in the estimation of Sportsbet of anyone from the general public we need to put some performances on the board.

Burgos Diary Day 11 And that just about wraps it up folks ... we're back home and at training on Monday at Gosch's.

There's a link above the map of Casey Fields through which you can view the larger map of the areas around AAMI Park and Gosch's Paddock.

Indeed, it does and thanks to the club person who updated the site which now reads:- They even have a nice map to find the venue for those who have never been to that part of the world before.