Whispering_Jack

The day has come and the teams facing off against each other are the same as in 2012 with the Hawks having won it last year. I usually don't care much for grand finals when my team's not involved but for what it's worth, I'm leaning towards Sydney and the Buddy factor. The weather's fine and that should suit the Swans' tall forward brigade who will be served by a midfield which I rate just ahead of the Hawks and wouldn't it be justice if that line, boosted by Kennedy and McGlynn, wins out on the day? Now, as much as I like Chris Fagan who always came across as a good bloke at Melbourne, I positively dislike the concept, promoted by the First Lady of football, of the entire Demon connection over there (soon to be augmented by a certain defender?) and my preference is in favour of Sydney and the emerging Roos connection at Melbourne so I'm tipping that the premiership cup will return to the Harbour City. Swans by 31 points. Although there's a sameness in terms of teams at the very top, there's a pattern emerging of some of the traditionally strong clubs (most of them Victorian) joining the Demons in the bottom half of the competition. We might have taken some meagre steps forward under Roos in 2014 which hopefully will turn into strides in 2015 but it's good to see Carlton and Collingwood heading southward in our direction under coaches who (rumour has it) aren't particularly popular with their playing groups. Add to that list the Crows who have already sacked their coach and let's not forget the Bullies out west where there have been rumblings as well. Richmond finished one place ahead of their rightful spot - thanks to a breeze of a draw, they did a Bradbury to fall into the eight - but there's not much improvement in sight from them. There's not as much development happening at the franchise clubs as the AFL would have hoped and Bluey McKenna's job is tenuous to say the least. The Saints are also in a bit of strife having won the wooden spoon and about to lose a lot more of their top end talent to retirement. That brings me to Melbourne which might appear to still be in the basket case category but, much like the Port Adelaide of two years ago, has a good coach at the helm. A lot of the club's deadwood from what's been described as its poor culture of recent years is on the way out and the transformation will continue in 2015. The word is out that we're going to be extremely active in the month to come and, let's face it, we have nothing to lose because the players due to exit (including Frawley) gave us next to nothing in recent years so we can only go onwards and upwards.

Good luck but for legal reasons we have a policy of not promoting sites that stream illegal broadcasts of AFL copyright material. Poster bing181 suggests the AFL's own international streaming site: http://watchafl.afl.com.au

The debate continues even on grand final day. This article contains some advice for the 34 players who will shortly receive re-issued show cause notices from ASADA ~ No need for Essendon players caught up in doping inquiry to kowtow to ASADA Here's what the relevant code says about burdens and standards of proof ~ "6.1.1 ASADA or [iF] shall have the burden of establishing that an Anti-Doping Rule Violation has occurred. The standard of proof shall be whether ASADA or [iF] has established an Anti-Doping Rule Violation to the comfortable satisfaction of the hearing body bearing in mind the seriousness of the allegation which is made. This standard of proof in all cases is greater than a mere balance of probability but less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Where this policy places the burden of proof upon the Athlete or other Person alleged to have committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation to rebut a presumption or establish specified facts." I'd like to see the facts tested in an AFL Tribunal which would undoubtedly require assistance from legal counsel on how it should deal with the evidence but I still feel that some players will make deals. Meanwhile over at Crikey, former Yuendumu resident Bob Gosford tells Why Essendon and Hird must appeal. My reading of the article is that it's "nonsense on stilts. He draws some analogies but doesn't produce a single valid or plausible legal argument against Middleton J's rulings.

Pathetic - took it off within a day or two.Here's the Hun's story about the gaffe ~ Family outrage over incorrect teenage terrorist photo on front page of Fairfax papers The Age and Sydney Morning Herald

Around 105kg.His SANFL grand final stats were 15 disposals (11kicks 4 handball) 6 marks 43 hit outs 1 goal 2 behinds and more than 100 Dream Team points.

Rumour that Danger met Pendelbury for coffee today. Any chance of them both coming to Melbourne?

Has nominated Port Adelaide. Reported that Essendon is only interested in players by way of exchange.

They could apply to the AFL for special draft assistance because exceptional circumstances apply and they would have a fair chance of convincing Professor Mark Evans that they have a case. After all, they're a franchise club and lack experienced players plus its unfair, MABO, the constitution and the vibe are all in their favour.

It seems that it's always that way but then something happens and suddenly there are 10 blokes on the rehab list in early February, all of them said to be about four weeks away and in no time it's the end of April and the same blokes are 1 to 2 weeks away ...

Why, why, why?

The only issue I have is with the compensation because I don't think it's particularly correct or even relevant to the issue of his conduct and that of his management. The Scully camp was blameless in chasing the big money offered by the AFL for him to join GWS but it was its role in the subterfuge and the lies involved that left a bad taste in the mouth, especially since it was done with the collusion of the AFL which was setting up GWS and gave no help to a constituent club to counter what amounted to its own approach to a 19 year old player asset of the club.The compensation was never like for like. We never received appropriate compensation for a number 1 draft pick with two seasons invested in him. We ultimately received room in our salary cap to get Mitch Clark and then the ability to secure Chris Dawes, Dom Barry and Jesse Hogan but really, it's three years down the track and what have we really gained for our troubles given what's happened with Clark and Hogan, the limited productivity from Dawes and a handful of games from Barry? The bright side of the equation is that the AFL reckons we're going swimmingly, that our kids are fantastic and that the sky above us is all blue. When I heard that, I immediately went out and reserved my tickets for the 2015 grand final but in the meantime, I'll continue to feast on every mishap and every blimp in little Lord Voldemort's career and may there be many.

From afl.com.au on the most outstanding individuals in the history of each of the clubs MELBOURNE Norm Smith towers over all other candidates for this mantle at Demonland, given his intimate involvement in 10 of Melbourne's 12 premierships in a golden 25-year period (1939-64). A brilliant, selfless full-forward, Smith led Melbourne's attack in four premierships (1939-40-41 and 1948). He bagged a game-high seven goals in the 1940 grand final against Richmond (just a fortnight after being knocked out by Tigers enforcer Jack Dyer in a second semi-final loss) and was arguably best-afield in both the 1948 drawn grand final and replay boilover against Essendon. Smith then embarked upon a phenomenal coaching career that netted six premierships in 10 seasons, including a record five flags in six years. Smith would emphasise to his charges: "You don't lose Grand Finals." He rarely did, losing just three (and drawing one) of the 14 he contested. Little wonder the medal for the player adjudged best afield in the grand final bears Smith's name. - Ben Collins

The above is a quote from today's Herald Sun article which discusses Dayne Beams' request to be released to Brisbane on compassionate grounds to be near his father who has cancer. The inference here (and I know it's written by a couple of journos from the Hun) is while the others mentioned are "off limits" Hanley is expendable which surprises me. It's almost suggesting to the world that they should make a play to get him. Hasn't Brisbane gone down this road before with a bad outcome for its playing list?

Liam Jones wants to explore trade options after frustrating season with Western Bulldogs He's been in and out of the Bulldog line up since day one and yet his club desperately needs good key forwards. Interesting.

Essendon players facing doping charges expected to head to AFL Tribunal to beat notices When the show cause notices were issued back in June, I believed that the players should have grabbed the six month sanctions then on offer. The case would have been done and dusted and there would have been certainty in the lives of the players and clarity in the direction their club could take going forward. I believe that there still will be deals once the players are shown the evidence but, after what's happened in recent months I can see that if the truth is to ever come out, the best chance would be for the cases to go before a Tribunal. Apart from the personal issues involving the athletes and their careers, there is also the reputation of Australian sport on the world stage and the fate of the regime of effectively dealing with doping around the world at stake.

Without doubt because any organisation that can produce something as foul and deplorable as The Footy Show deserves to be sued by the Dankster.

@paigecardona: George Burbury will find his way to another club. Has had a ton of bad luck, but the upside is enormous. #allheart

Stephen Dank loses doping defamation appeal It would appear that problems with bad paperwork follow the Dankster around like a bad smell.

But they look like getting Mitch.

Burbury looked ok a couple of years ago. What happened?

Ran a 11.1 in the APS 100m in 2013.

Schoolboy sprint star Jayden Hunt spent the last half of 2014 off the track with a back injury but he's been selected to represent the club in Saturday's main event, the grand final sprint - our last chance for 2014 glory. The full field:- 2014 Grand Final Sprint participants Adelaide Brodie Smith Brisbane Lions Daniel McStay Carlton Kane Lucas Collingwood Ben Kennedy Essendon Patrick Ambrose Fremantle Zac Dawson Geelong Jordan Murdoch Gold Coast Jarred Ellis GWS Adam Tomlinson Hawthorn Billy Hartung Melbourne Jayden Hunt North Melbourne Luke McDonald Port Adelaide Andrew Moore Richmond Bachar Houli St Kilda Clint Jones Sydney Swans Daniel Robinson West Coast Will Schofield Western Bulldogs Jason Tutt The heats are on at 12.30pm and the final during the half time break.

Possibly, a rookie chance somewhere but I think it might be problematic at Melbourne.

Highlights of the Grand Final ~ and a story on Toby McLean McLean's final charge

Here's an emotional post from a Collingwood fan qldmagpie 67 on Nick's Bulletin Board which explains the human side of the story.