Whispering_Jack

Thanks for you hard work and loyalty to the club Cameron. Best of luck for the future.

I heard they were going to call the yearling "Luke" and the filly "Molan". Good luck CAC!!!

Just goes to show that the great American philosopher Thomas Paine was right when he said - "To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead."

So there's a subtext to the story that's about a mother's relationship with her son. These stories are often tragic and perhaps this was Sue Dunn's cry for help? I feel for her and hope they can reconcile but its their business in the end. And I think it's great that despite the rift she still comes to watch her son play but if she really wants to do the right thing by Lynden she should refrain from commenting about anything to do with the club because her actions might hurt or affect him. That's just how football is, especially when you allow yourself to come under the gaze of the media.

Didn't she say 5 months ago that he was gone over tanking? Not exactly Nostradamus is our Caro?

OK, I assume they've stopped talking about us. Can we concentrate on next Saturday night's Tattslotto results now?

At the post match presser.

My quote for the week and I kid you not. ""People only see the bad stuff, don't they?" Mike Sheahan On The Couch 8/4/13. Hypocrite.

You're referring to the AFL now, right?

Yeah, I'll bite. I once was team manager for one of my son's Under 19 side in the amateurs. We were graded to play in the highest section in the competition against the traditionally stronger clubs. We lost our first game by 16 goals and our second by 22. Our coach, who was a former Hawk who played under John Kennedy believed that in order for the players to bond as a team, it was important not only to work hard at training (and that he did) but also for them to get to know each other socially, so they would get together at a different pub after each game (drinking in strict moderation) and talk to each other about their footy and other things. He came up with numerous other ideas that were all designed to ensure that every member of the team was a mate and it worked (cost us a bit in expenses though). By the middle of the year, we came close to beating the team that thrashed us in the first game (they kicked 0.13 with the wind in the first quarter the second time) and drew in the wet with the mob that beat us by 22 goals in round 2 (at their home ground). We finished the year with 7½ wins and in 6th place which would have been unimaginable when looking back at the end of round 2. It's not exactly the same in the professional cauldron of AFL but I'm glad the guys are out watching sport and enjoying themselves. There's plenty of time for them to train and that sort of bonding will help them on the field. Read any book on team coaching and you'll realise that you can't turn a group of robots into a successful combination.

More importantly, are the beards still intact and was Patrick Smith watching with them?

His other disadvantage is that I'm one of his sponsors. However, I really do think the inclusion of this bloke with his 208cms and natural raw talent hidden by the time it's taken to recover from two knee injuries will make a difference in the not too distant future. Hope he stays healthy because he could be the next big thing.

Thanks for the thread folks. Saved me the bother of watching the programme.

Thanks dees_rule_4eva. Couldn't have put it better myself. I understand there are people baying for blood but I don't believe in the scorched earth policy expounded by many on this site, especially when there are no viable alternatives. All I want to see is a positive attitude running through the club. That's what I think you need to change the status quo OD.

... and this week's opponent West Coast.Great work guys ... you are the club's heroes (while the team is playing the way it is ATM anyway).

Rory Taggert is coming back from an extended period out with a back injury. Yesterday, he played for Casey's development league (reserves) team so don't expect him to play senior AFL football any time soon.However, I am a big believer in bringing in the kids when you're in trouble as we are at the moment. That won't achieve instant gratification for some as would sacking the President, CEO, coach and half of the football department but in the medium to long term a few breakout games from some of the young kids like say, Max Gawn, Luke Tapscott and Dean Kent in the next month might well lift the confidence of the team and therefore the club a lot more quickly than some might think.

Breach of the code of conduct. The rest is confidential.

How refreshing. Some positivity instead of the self-defeating negativity abounding elsewhere on this site. How long can we keep this up?

It's not trolling but it's a loaded poll started by someone who's so obsessed with this issue that he doesn't understand how stupid he looks for starting them. Thread closed.

Scathing articles are Smith's stock in trade. Substance is another thing. I don't accept what he writes just because he choses to be scathing. We are performing abysmally on the field at the moment and we've been poor for a long time. I think I know some of the reasons why but while I don't have all of the answers, I don't subscribe to everything that's been thrown at us, nor do I accept that we're "irrelevant".

I wrote this for the site after 186:- WE'VE BEEN THIS WAY BEFORE by Whispering Jack Last week's 186 point defeat at Skilled Stadium was not as bad numerically as the clubs Round 17, 1979 loss at the hands of Fitzroy at Waverley. The margin in that game was 190 points but there are already arguments as to which was the worst performance. Demonland poster Redleg was the Team Manager in 1979 under captain coach Carl Ditterich who had taken over the reins at the previous year's wooden spooner from Dennis Jones. He was also at Geelong on Saturday to see what was to become Dean Bailey's last as coach of the Melbourne Football Club. Redleg believes that today's style of football with its zoning and presses is far less conducive to blowout results than it was back then. The current side is also far more talented than the one that took the field against the Lions on that day of records 32 years ago. He is gobsmacked that a side containing so many top draft picks and one that had the talent to be the core of a team that has won three times this year by around 15 goals could put in such a wretched performance. Back in 1979 the club brought big Carl back for a second stint after he first crossed from St. Kilda under the controversial 10 year rule (the competition's forerunner to free agency). This time he was to be the playing coach. The club also recruited flamboyant Collingwood star Phil Carman along with Magpie Wayne Gordon, the three Elliott brothers from St. Kilda, Glen, Robert and Bruce, Stewart Gull from South Melbourne and Cameron Clayton from the Tigers. Among the promising youngsters introduced that year were Gerard Healy, Peter Giles and Tasmanian Tony Martyn. Much was expected from these players but they hardly delivered in 1979 - the team rose one place to finish 11th in a 12 team competition. By Round 17 things had turned sour for the Demons who went into the game without Ditterich, Carman and the team's star player Robert Flower. The team for the game against the Lions was: Backs L Fowler S Smith B Denny Half backs C Clayton P Giles G Hutchison Centreline A Martyn G Elliott P Seaton Half forwards G Healy A Dullard R Elliott Forwards M Byrne R Biffin P Thorne Followers G Baker G Gaunt G Wells 19/20 J Durnan K Whitfort Redleg recalls the game was an unmitigated disaster. Apart from missing those key players, the team lost one or two early with injury, the Lions seized the initiative and their momentum grew as the game went on. Nothing went right for the Demons and, as Fitzroy got on top of them, the players' heads dropped. They were trying hard but basically nothing worked. Changes were made throughout the game but the Lions were on a roll. It was a humbling experience for Redleg as team manager. The team lacked talent. There were a few who were past it and others who only got games because others were injured. Some of the better players were not playing and it told on the team but Redleg insists that they never once stopped trying. The end result was Fitzroy 36.22.238 to Melbourne 6.12.48. Goals Gaunt 2 Biffin Durnan Healy Thorne Best Gaunt Fowler G Elliott Clayton Seaton Giles It was a hollow feeling for the team manager as he entered the rooms after the loss. Ditterich was livid. One or two committee were there and that was about it. There were no supporters to console the players; they had long ago gone home. "Carl told me in no uncertain terms that it was up to me to (expletive) talk to them, and he collected his gear and went home. Redleg sat with the players. The mood was glum and nothing was said for about 15 minutes. "A couple of them kicked their lockers. A few others showed some anger and then I just got up, told them to shower, then move on and put this behind them. I said I'd see them at training on Tuesday and that was it. No committee meetings, a bit of bad press and Carl was there at training as if nothing had happened." On the Tuesday, Carl made no reference to the previous weekend's debacle. He had moved on, the players had moved on and all thoughts were focussed on the game against Essendon the following week at the MCG. "Let's just beat those (expletive) pricks!" And beat them, they did. "There were a few changes, Carl and Robbie were back. 'Piggy' Walters was in at full forward. Steven Smith went to centre half forward and Peter Hamilton came in to full back. The vibe was positive, confidence was restored and the team won by 29 points with Piggy kicking nine goals, Smith and Wells, four each. The turnaround that day was amazing and Carl stayed at the end to address the players in the crowded rooms." Redleg remains an optimist and believes Melbourne's result last week was an aberration and that the playing group, as it did back in 1979, has an enormous challenge to regain credibility in the eyes of their fans and the football world. "I've seen the game's most massive turnaround in the space of a week - 219 points. I know it's possible because I've seen it before and I know what a tough taskmaster Todd Viney can be. Just like Carl, it's hard for anyone to look blokes like those in the eye if they don't put their heads down or go hard at the football.

Do you agree with everything Smith writes? If so, you have my pity but in the meantime, I don't need you to tell me what to think.

While I agree the beards should go for different reasons, he's drawing a long bow with that one.

Such as nothing that's relevant in 2013 or to this discussion at all.

While KC sneaks off for a bite to eat, I notice that the Casey Scorpions Twitter is telling us:-