Whispering_Jack

A bit of both I would say. On the one hand, we should be mindful of the fact that England showed a bit more fight in its last innings and its batting line up is slightly stronger on paper in this match but on the other, they're just one more batting collapse away from losing the Ashes. If we can bat on today and nudge into the 400's then it might be enough to push this mob over the edge, particularly in the face of a barrage of hostile and intimidatory bowling of which our quicks should be capable on this track (and hopefully aided by field placings more attacking than those employed by the Poms).

Indeed. It's time to batten down the hatches people because yesterday's farce is a portent of darker days to come for Essendon, Hird, Demetriou, the Commission, the AFL and the sport itself. By all means, draw your own inferences from shonky back room deals to the AFL's capitulation but this was not your usual settlement to avoid the financial drain of a long drawn out legal battle. There were other reasons why this was never going to see the light of day in a courtroom and we all know them. Now the focus will turn from shonky back room deals to the main story and ASADA sits in the eye of the storm - the slaughter to come won't be pretty for anyone; and certainly not for the Bombers and their million dollar pretty boy "ex-coach" who began digging a huge black hole for themselves when they embarked on their drugs programme two years ago. This week's sideshow might have resulted in a Pyrrhic victory for all concerned but it won't extract the Bombers from their black hole and its done nothing for AD's standing or his sagging reputation - they're all royally stuffed although Vlad will probably get away with a quiet retirement announcement at some later date. The closing words of George Orwell's Animal Farm come irresistibly to mind: "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

According to the Herald Sun, Mitch Clark tweaked "his ankle a little bit" today - Melbourne feared but Mitch Clark injury just a tweak. The story wasn't big enough to take the attention away from the farcical back room dealing at the AFL over James Hird's contract, the third test and even the commencement of the Third World War. The media has such a strange set of priorities.

Haven't been down to training yet and probably won't until the new year but given that Dave Misson is still in charge of elite performance, it's to be expected that training is more intense this year. It's what he has consistently been saying about the progression in training after starting from a relatively low base a couple of years ago. This was always going to be the year when his training regime would start bringing about some concrete results.

... and a well compiled ton to Smith. If he can keep up the improvement in his batting, he could be a contender for the captaincy down the track.

What's par for the first dig on this track? 375? 400?

I think its a great result for the AFL, Vlad and the Bombers. It paves the way for a merger with the Mexican drug cartels, a 27% increase to the end-of-year bottom line and $½m pay increase for the CEO. It's high 5s all round tonight.

Yeah ... I heard that taking viagra can be dangerous.

It would be very unfortunate if any of our players were sanctioned as a result of ASADA looking into the MFC but if that day comes then I hope we respond more responsibly and honestly than the Essendon Football Club whose behaviour on the issue of what it did to its own players, staff, supporters and ultimately itself has been reprehensible.

Sorry to break the news to you sue but the Bendigo Bombers went out of existence at the end of 2012 when Essendon cut off its contacts with that club and went its own way. The Bendigo VFL team now goes under the name "Bendigo Gold" and I wish the Essendon AFL team as much success in 2014 as the Bendigo Gold had in 2013.

I think it's time for this thread to be locked (at least temporarily) because it covers subject matter being mentioned in other threads about this issue. I will reopen if and when it's appropriate.

Thought I would kick off the thread about today's training with this item from melbournefc.com.au on our preseason training so far which highlights our two JT's: Trengove, Toumpas impress on the track We need these two to step up and bolster our on ball stocks.

The story has two layers and the article is telling us that the most important of these is still in play - The second layer is the sideshow which is IMO a major embarrassment to Essendon/The Hirds on the one hand and the AFL/Demetriou/Fitzpatrick/Clothier on the other. The AFL has brought out its big guns to tackle the Hird camp by threatening action which would financially cripple the EFC. There's every chance that later on, the same AFL might have to make some decisions about infraction notices as a result of the ASADA investigation. The situation is really giving credence to the Bombers' new tag of "Messendon". Those who were critical of McLardy and co for negotiating a contrived outcome in the "tanking" case rather than spend millions in court costs to clear the club's name should now recognise the wisdom of their decision to settle.

The best I can do is to try to find out whether they were suspended with or without pay. BTW, does Stu's missus speak to reporters outside the front door of the family mansion?

The South Australians have already started assembling a 2014 under 18 squad to defend their national title and our Billy is starring in the early testing for the 56 participants on the current training list:-

Pretty sure I've made the point elsewhere previously about how he's seen in the corporate world and the growth he's overseen. It doesn't necessarily excuse him for a number of examples of poor governance and, in some cases, incompetence. Some might overlook these things, some won't. I heard he's being headhunted for a big gig in the world of tennis and I hope he gets it. Tennis is a sport of which I'm not particularly fond.

Troy is a good get for Casey where he played some very good footy whilst on Melbourne's list.His signing comes on top of news from the Gippsland Power Under 18s that two of their best players have signed on with the Scorpions. Ed Morris was the Power's 2013 B&F winner and Nate Paredes won their most disciplined player award. Both are around the 178cm mark. I think Casey is proceeding with a general policy of fostering local youth these days rather than going for big name signings. The policy has some merit, particularly where the club isn't flush with funds.

Lance Armstrong was an even better cyclist than Hird was a footballer. He's an even bigger jerk.

The Hirds are a strange lot and aren't behaving rationally. The Hird camp should be shutting up - they might be popular with the Bomber rank and file but are causing inestimable damage to the Essendon brand. Demetriou has also been wounded by this (as he was by the tanking farce) but again not fatally. Nevertheless, I think he's on his way out anyway and will leave with a legacy of having built on what his predecessors achieved but with his credibility in tatters. If he's not careful, he might end up as unpopular as Ross Oakley was at the end of his term, only better paid.

Essendon, the AFL, Demetriou and Fitzpatrick all deserve each other and there should be no sympathy or relief for any player involved. Like it or not, there is a strict liability code that applies to anti doping law and that applies to all players involved. The Essendon players are not without blame insofar as this is concerned.

Nobody's perfect and JKH is no exception but I suspect that he will have a high efficiency rate when he gets established as an AFL footballer and I think that will be sooner rather than later. He has a bit of class about him.

Roy Masters of the Sydney Morning Herald is usually well informed and it's worth noting what he writes here - NRL on right track as AFL's efforts bomb

I haven't made it down to training yet but I watched parts of the Vic Metro game at Simonds Stadium from earlier in the year and both Christian Salem and Jay Kennedy-Harris were impressive in their own way. JKH in particular has terrific balance and poise and looks to me like one of our brightest prospects for many years. Forget his lack of height. He looks like a good one to me and some of these training reports seem to back that up. Can't wait to see him in action in the NAB Cup.

At 176 serves a year there would be a lot of horses around keen to join you in getting that further education.

Good point above about bidding at the auction but let's not forget that auctions themselves can be dodgy sometimes.