Whispering_Jack

Well that's ok but if you don't like the idea, blame Maurie. It's his idea, after all.

Having seen Neville Jetta at today's training, I have a feeling he might be ready to take a big step forward. I don't think he's had a proper preseason since perhaps his first at the club and IMO a run in a game such as this could start him off on a good footing and give him some confidence after all of those injury setbacks in recent years.

It was a very lively session with Jack Viney, Jimmy Toumpas and Chris Dawes all showing they will add plenty to the mix. I think the fact that we have far less players in rehab should be a plus as well. Of course, we won't really know until we've seen the group under match pressure from another AFL club. I look forward to the reports of the regular track watchers.

I had no idea but when I know what they're going to charge me with I'll plead guilty (but with no intent).

Well done. You take the IP and I'll take royalties

I'm going to have to learn a lot of players numbers this year ... and buy a can of Aerogard. Mitch Clark and Jack Trengove walking past with footballs in hand. Mitch just kicked a footy that almost landed in the moving equipment van. No probs with his accuracy this year. Boys just warming up.

Yep. And many of them are putting on their GPS's.A bearded Jack Watts rolls in a bit late. No sign of Novak Djokovic.

First group out were Jack Viney, Daniel Nicholson, Tom McDonald and Max Gawn who made the other three look like dwarves. Max puts on his GPS and is having a kick with one of the coaches. Looks like he's set for a bit of running. The rest of the group preparing to enter the arena.

Well ... I did get the idea from Che Guevara!

I've been giving this some thought and I've come up with this one. To eliminate tanking, I would change the system for the next ten years to give preference in order to the length of time since a particular club won its last premiership. For the newbies that haven't won a flag at all, I would use as the benchmark, the year they entered the competition (GWS and GCS have had ample concessions and Freo gets a good spot anyway). This would have given us this order for the 2012 draft: 1 Western Bulldogs 2 Melbourne 3 St. Kilda 4 Richmond 5 Fremantle 6 Carlton 7 Adelaide 8 North Melbourne 9 Essendon 10 Brisbane Lions 11 Port Adelaide 12 West Coast Eagles 13 Hawthorn 14 Collingwood 15 GCS 16 Geelong 17 GWS 18 Sydney Swans The incentive to tank has been eliminated and the Doggies keep getting #1 every year until they win a premiership (I might consider putting them between Carlton and Adelaide however, because that's when Footscray became the Western Bulldogs and this would lift Melbourne to # 1). The idea is to give the clubs that have gone through hard times, the opportunity to rise without tempting them to list manage or, god forbid, break any AFL laws. Thoughts?

The AFL season kicks off on February 8 with Richmond taking on the AFL Indigenous All Stars in Alice Springs. I'm not sure when the squad gets named but, based on pre season training reports, we should be represented by Aaron Davey and Neville Jetta would be a chance as well. The last of these games scheduled in Alice Springs two years had to be cancelled because of wild storms. It's a great way to start a season and given our connection with the Northern Territory, hopefully Melbourne gets the game next time it's planned. Meanwhile, a team of indigenous youngsters is in South Africa promoting the game over there - Flying Boomerangs

His club rubbed Heath Scotland out for only two games after he pleaded guilty to a fairly viscious assault and was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond (without conviction). IMO, after reading the outlines of some of the witness statements, he was lucky in that both the court and his club imposed lenient sentences. On that basis, Mitch gets an extra 10 push ups at the next Carlton training session.

Can I assume that unless tonight's tennis is a record breaking marathon, there's ample parking nearby?

The AFL committee that determined our compensation for losing Rivers and Moloney as free agents (combined value = 3rd round pick) probably answered the question better than anything else.

Please keep things civil and on topic folks, otherwise posts will be deleted or worse ...

Well, in the end, I didn't need to start a fight with those young GCS punks to create a distraction from the tanking rubbish. One of them was able to do it all by himself - Young Gold Coast forward Jacob Gillbee charged with drink driving. Blew half of what Liam did over in Adelaide which shows that these Gold Coast lads still have a fair way to go . Incidentally, spare a thought for Redleg who decided to stay on the Gold Coast for a few more days to enjoy the brilliant sunshine up there. I left on Thursday and the sun was shining but it hasn't stopped p1zzing down ever since. I think it might even be too wet for him to post on the site.

Those "Old School Sicilian parents" are only reflecting the society in which they were brought up. They're not so horrible and it's as much for people like them as their loved ones who are gay, that make education and awareness within the community so important. In the next generation or in the generation after that, the stigmas that cause tension and pain within such families will hopefully no longer exist.

Tomorrow, I hope to make it to training for the first time in over a year and with the anticipation of that event, I'm feeling a bit like a kid again. Back in those days (when I was a kid), I was an unabashed fan of Bugs Bunny whose character has been described as personifying "supreme heroism" and "humanity's aspirations to prevail over all difficulties and antagonists". Let's not forget that Bugs' heyday was back in the 50s and 60s when Melbourne was highly successful in fighting evil and winning premierships. Well, after enduring what was a very painful season in 2012 and having then to put up with sheer nastiness over the off season from characters like Caroline Wilson (I liken her to Elmer Fudd complete with shotgun at the ready to blow the brains out of our beloved Demons) and other media antagonists like Jon "Pepe Le Pew" Pierik, Jay "Hippety Hopper" Clark and Greg "Daffy Duck" Denham, it will be refreshing to go down to AAMI Park to watch some actual footballers, even if it's just to while away an hour or so watching the players do some pre season training drills. And how appropriate it is that the session is taking place in the shadows of Rod Laver Arena as they pack up the remnants of the tennis and close enough to the G where the curtain is about to fall on an uninspiring summer of cricket? Those sports are virtually done and dusted and the footy season beckons. All that's needed now is for the AFL head honcho Foghorn Leghorn Vlad to light up his exploding cigar and blow away the iniquitous tanking inquisition and the universe will once again be in harmony. But that's for another time and place and for now, I want to tick some (match) boxes. I want to see the box ticked that shows the players improving in their KPI's. I want to see greater enthusiasm, better skills, positive attitudes, keenness and competition for spots on the team and I want to see healthier, fitter bodies on the park. I want to see evidence that our intensity has gone up from last year's 60% of "elite" to 80% as promised. Show me Speedy Gonzales, the Road Runner and some tough guy characters, but most of all, the spirit of the hero, prevailing over all those who connive to defeat and dominate us. On with the show, this is it!

That's another reason why we're so unpredictable.

Everyone knows the names Dawes, Petersen, Rodan, Byrnes etc. and other clubs have good young players coming onto their lists as well. In that respect, we are as well known as any other team.However, IMO we're embarking on 2013 with so many unknowns at play. We don't know how much the constant off field drama, outside criticism and the changes brought about by the new coaching regimen including the revamp of the leadership group affected overall team performance last year but it's fair to say that the impact of these things was negative. However, so much has changed and with many of the more poorly performed members of the list falling by the wayside in turning over one third of the list, with so many players appearing fitter and better prepared and with the possibility of younger players ready to take some big steps forward, we just don't know exactly how everything will gel together in 2013. So while I'm optimistic about things, I think the use of the word "unpredictable" is most apt.

1949 - Stanes Most likely the father of Tim Stanes, founder of Demonology. I think Nasher is in communication with Tim from time to time and, though Tim hasn't been in the best of health lately, he might be able to get some detail about his dad's career. He definitely played in the ressies at around that time.

You have a question mark against the club of origin in the bio of Campbell Heath who was on the club's list in 1991 (but didn't play a senior game). He came from Oakleigh Districts. (One of my sons played against them in the juniors).

Thanks BLWNBA. I never miss the AFL Prospectus. It's a mine of information even if (like me) you're not into all that dream team stuff. Their assessment of our list sounds reasonable although I wonder where they put Nathan Jones in the midfield mix (not in the top 35% of midfielders???). Obviously, we have the capacity to improve dramatically with more unknown factors (including the influence of the coach) than any other club. Because of the massive list changes between September '12 and now, we are going to be the most unpredictable team in the competition. Therefore, if all goes well for us (e.g Viney & Toumpas living up to our expectations and a couple of players lifting a la Dayne Beams), we could rise up higher even than their predicted 13th.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that, from reports I've just received, Aussie and his team, the Tiwi Bombers are traveling nicely ATM. They won tonight and Aussie kicked a goal and also did some good work in the midfield. In another game Brendan Fevola returned to the NT but failed to impress kicking only two goals for Waratahs who lost a vital game. One of their other gun forwards, Waylen Manson, pulled out before the game.

And my growing disenchantment with the game is not being helped by the scheduling of T20 on Australia Day. Once upon a time that day was reserved for the Adelaide Test, then it was used for ODI's and now this ... If they ever do that to footy, it'll be all over as far as I'm concerned.