Whispering_Jack

Wednesday looms as a big day for sport in this country. The opening day of the First Test v RSA or Geelong v Clllingwood. I'm in a quandry as to which one I should watch.

Having read the reports here and the media publicity, it would appear we've fared well in the washup from the day's training and match practice. A lively training session and a 60 minute simulated practice session with our new and younger faces showing something. Yes, there were skill errors reported but every club is rusty with skills at this stage, especially in extreme heat. Importantly, there were no injuries noted (at least nothing major) and a few of our injury concerns came closer to being ready to play. Chris Dawes and Jack Viney didn't play but they took part in the training. So leaving them and those who were ill and weren't advised to play in the heat, we're left with a short list of four injured - Mitch Clark, Colin Garland, Aidan Riley and Luke Tapscott. Of that list, only Riley who was placed on the LTI earlier in the week, has been ruled out for the opening of the season although Clark and Garland would be touch and go. The conservative approach adopted by the club towards injuries seems to be working. Photo Gallery I have mentioned it before but the white strip looks better than our away strip from the last couple of years. I would like to see us trial it if we must wear a predominantly white strip to avoid what the AFL authorities and colourblind people might perceive as a clash with the Richmond uniform next week.

Thanks for all the reports - they made up for my not being able to be there. I've made some minor edits by way of corrections - hope they're OK. Incidentally, the white jumpers looked quite good. Prefer them to our official away strip.

For those who couldn't make it, does anyone know what channel the replay's on tonight?

How about the world cycling public who believed for more than a decade the Lance Armstrong was clean? There are a lot more ASADA staff in Sydney and the organisation also has access to legal advice (aside for the recently appointed judge) but that figure obviously explains the dilemma and the fact that the investigation appears to have become Sydneycentric - WADA may not believe fanciful tale of two cities. Masters makes some good points here and in particular the question why the investigation has barely touched Dank's involvement at Gold Coast is particularly vexing, especially given the AFL's involvement in the early part of the investigation and the fact that the AFL has such a stake in the Suns becoming successful.

Francis Leach adds his views on the situation as ASADA continues to come under fire Drugs in sport: One year on, its just one big joke but, whilst the length of time taken to complete the investigation is a source of frustration to many, I don't believe ASADA is under an obligation to allow this to be played out publicly any more than does the ACC whose investigation into organised crime and the importation of illegal drugs prompted all this. Every once in a while we read about a major bust netting $millions of illegal drugs - these are often the product of lengthy investigations by crime authorities and nobody bats an eyelid. But because the subject matter involves prominent sporting clubs and their employee players we demand to be informed before the investigations are finalised. There may well be good reasons why this should not be the case.

I was at that game and it's true that Rivers was given the job of minding Hogan after Jesse kicked two early goals. However, it wasn't a case of Rivers giving him a "bath" so much as the fact that the ball hardly came into the forward line after that anyway and when it did, the delivery to the forward line was abysmal. The Cats controlled the midfield, dominated the inside 50s and beat the Scorpions by more than 10 goals. I think its likely that the tables would be turned this year if Hogan was given reasonable delivery by a half decent midfield.

He certainly did play mostly in defence last year and played some very good games at Casey but when I suggested he might be the stand in for Garlo if he missed some early games I was informed he's been training up forward during the pre season. Hence, he'll probably front the Tigers next Friday night at CHF or FF.

Great idea. Roger should be able to handle cut & paste about 12 players on his own.

I hope everyone understands who is being insulted in that last cartoon.

Right. Knee slapping humour worthy of a spot in the Fringe Cringe Comedy Festival.

The heading's been changed from the original grammatically incorrect heading and I say that with some positivity.

We've been playing in the State guernsey for the years except for one slight variation - it's a red V and not a white one.

There were a number of issues bubbling around Collingwood last year relating to culture and discipline and I believe that essentially Bucks and Neeld are of the same cloth in terms of their harsh, demanding natures which doesn't sit well with the modern highly paid footballer. We've seen Heath Shaw and Daisy Thomas go and there has been tension between the coach and some of the more experienced players such as Harry Lumumba, Dane Swan and a couple of others. As the Tiriel Mora character said in The Castle, "it's the Vibe" and I sense there a troubled year coming up for the Pies.

Absolutely ... and Richard Ings also gets it right when he says ... .However, this is all about an investigation and not public perception and we need to remember this fact.

Paul Roos Twitter recap

There's enough ambiguity there to mean a number of different things but its surprising that someone like Roy Masters would find it newsworthy.

The people who want ASADA to hurry up either have a vested interest in the failure of the investigation to come up with sanctions against wrongdoers, have an axe to grind against the organisation or both. The majority of that first category in Victoria are people connected with Essendon or who have an interest in ensuring that the club doesn't lose players from the issue of infraction notices while the second category includes those whose reasons range from political to professional. One of the main critics of ASADA these days is its former chairman Richard Ings. His concerns appear to do with the way ASADA has been operating and he's also been a critic of the fact that a year after the big announcement of our big sporting disgrace there's little to show for it. In other words, the announcement shouldn't have been made 12 months ago and that ASADA should have kept its powder dry until infraction notices were ready to be issued. I don't agree with that - the news was going to come out anyway. There's no doubt there have been mistakes (e.g getting into bed with the AFL) but in the end - and I think there is still some time to go - players from two codes will be banned from their respective sports. Regrettably, that now looks like happening in midseason and will play havoc with the two competitions which is clearly not ideal for either the AFL or the NRL.

Matt Burgan's spellchecker is knackered?

It just keeps rollin' along - Doctors, supplement industry figures among 13 people compelled by ASADA to give evidence

I think it's a noun.

I have no idea about the quality of the work he contributed towards that case. I'm referring to his extraordinary comments about Essendon's programme.

Since breach of the confidentiality would have laid him open to potential criminal charges, either alternative would have been disastrous, let alone looked bad.

This Hardie character purports to be a champion of sportspeople oppressed by tough anti-doping policies and, while he might have a point about the frustrations suffered by some at their treatment, he overlooks the fact that it's a necessary evil in seeking to ensure that clean athletes who want to get to the top of their sports through talent and hard work aren't trumped by the chemists.I regard it in a similar light to the inconvenience caused by x rays and having to go through metal detectors at airports. I don't like some of the unfriendly, gruff security people but, in the end, I'm happy to put up with it if it makes my flight safer. The statement attributed to Hardie about Essendon's "well documented and controlled" programme is risible. If the author of this article wasn't engaging in a tasteless student prank, then it doesn't speak kindly about the academic standards of this institution. Meanwhile, in the real world, the chasm between Fairfax and the Murdoch press is demonstrated by how their journalists are interpreting the appointment of Judge Downes - ASADA investigation: Former Federal judge Garry Downes steps in to help speed things up The Minister says the Judge has been appointed to "assist ASADA" but the Murdoch press suggests that he's somehow investigating it.You be the judge.

When I read that he lectures in law it piqued my interest so I checked his bio:- I'm speechless.