Whispering_Jack

The question is how shyzen are we if we can only beat the Giants by 25 points with that spud in the side?

That's about it in a nutshell. Clubs in our position have to plan for the medium term and the long term once their hopes of making the finals are done and dusted. Winning games doesn't remain of paramount importance but developing your players and creating the best possible conditions for the club in the future remains a priority. Once you're in that situation, you still can't tell your players to lie down in a game but you're under no obligation to play your players in their best positions every week for the sake of gaining a meaningless four points. I personally detest being put into such a position but, equally, I detest Brock McLean who came on television and claimed he left the club because of what happened in his final year. Given that we were told McLean left the club after he was offered more money from Carlton who stand accused of rorting the system in the recent past, I detest his posturing to the effect that there were lofty principles involved. And as for the three commentators who interviewed McLean I detest their smugness and the disingenuous way in which they conducted themselves. If they were worth the value of a grain of salt as interviewers they would have asked McLean the right questions and we could all have avoided the ridiculous witch hunt that followed.

I also like the look of Kennedy who is doing well playing with the Glenelg senior team in the SANFL. The ABC replays the SANFL and WAFL games from the previous week late on Wednesday and Thursday nights and Glenelg has featured a couple of times recently. The comparison with Boomer Harvey has a lot to do with their lack of height and, while he also has some other of Boomer's attributes, he's still a long way off that and is no #4 draft pick. At 13 however, I wouldn't hesitate notwithstanding that we should be drafting another small in Jack Viney.

Scorpions want Viney to line up in finals

The thing is that the AFL has consistently allowed clubs over more than a decade to experiment with team selection and placement of players in situations where winning isn't necessarily paramount (e.g Fremantle against the Hawks in the final round a couple of years ago). Demetriou's pronouncements have always been about players and that is where the focus ultimately has to lie. Unless the goalposts are moved and the AFL opens Pandora's Box. And in case anyone doesn't believe me - AFL again denies tanking exists

Don't touch it. I suspect the jockey might be tanking!

Jurrah gone, but not leaving Demons

More candidates for the mystery injury of the week. Looking at the two line ups, you can see a significant difference between the Magpies and the Demons. Collingwood has 17 AFL listed players available compared with Casey's eight. Things are going to be tough for the Scorpions from this point on.

Leigh Williams did get hurt at Casey but let's face it, we need a mystery injury every week and Williams looks like he's it this week. He was doing well before injured. And it is Kyle Matthews who has recovered from two shoulder injuries. He kicked five goals about this time last year on his return from injury, so here's hoping!

Well said RB.

Just a note that Freddie's still going around in WA and still harbours hopes of making it into the AFL. I think we did the football world a disservice last year when we didn't select him in the rookie draft. Now that Dunny's mo is gone, here's hoping that Freddie returns without his

Jack or Lucas?

At the start of the season we lost Jimmy. Perhaps, we'll get a new one after it ends - Jimmy's way. I like what I've seen of this lad.

This is probably a more accurate version of our injury list. It comes from today's Age:- MELBOURNE James Frawley (quad) test Stef Martin (foot) test Jack Watts (ankle) test Mark Jamar (calf) 2 weeks Clint Bartram (knee) season Jamie Bennell (knee) season Mitch Clark (foot) season Aaron Davey (foot) season Max Gawn (knee) season Cale Morton (shoulder) season Ricky Petterd (Achilles) season Rory Taggert (back) season With three weeks to go (and the last game's in Perth) one wonders whether the Russian shouldn't be pulling up stumps for the season. I also wonder about the change in grading of Rory Taggert's injury from "indefinite" to "season". Does it really matter any way? And I'm also bemused by this week's opposition. Does this suggest anything to anybody? GWS Not available

Ricky Petterd confirmed out for the season - Petterd to miss rest of season

He's not officially delisted yet but given his history, we'll add him to the list of delists.

He was rough and gruff but had a heart of gold inside. He briefly coached one of my sons at the Dragons and he was a revalation. His contribution to football in general and to the revival of the Melbourne Football Club when he was reserves and under 19 coach under Barass was immense. My condolences to the family.

I have always maintained that Kevin Sheedy is an absolute genius but he's really outdone himself this time with a performance of sheer brilliance. Sheeds' forte is the smoke and mirrors gambit which he set up this time by claiming that anyone who suggested he was tanking by omitting six (soon to become eight) players from the team that beat Port Adelaide was "a disgrace". Then his team took the field and produced the most godawful performance I've seen on a football field since 186 (in fact it could have been worse because we lost to a premiership team while, apart from Ablett and one or two others, GCS are pretty much shyzen). Would the AFL investigate this appalling sham of a farcical travesty? Would On the Couch make smug allegations of misfeasance against Sheedy while smirking away like schoolboys on a prank mission? Would AFL Insider dissect the game in minute detail to detect any wrong doing from the selectors or within the coaches box? Not on your Nellie!!! The difference is that while Melbourne officialdom reacts to taunts and slurs in a gentlemanly manner, Sheedy goes for the jugular. Demetriou wouldn't have the nuts to go after a club which the AFL owns and wants to ultimately see thrive (else they do a $100 mill or more) and Healy, Sheahan and Roos would quake in their boots at the very thought of copping a serve from Sheeds about such disgusting allegations. The GWS now have Lachie Whitfield in the bag. I can't wait to see what sort of excuse for a team they name to take us on in the nation's capital next week. I heard that Julia Gillard was a chance for a back pocket and Tony Abbot might be the sub. In any event, if the weather's fine, we must surely be a chance to win our first 100 point plus game since ... (somebody please help me here).

Got his 100th goal for the season and was first in the VAFA to achieve that feat this year. Congratulations!

Last week the pundits slammed Melbourne because, after leading by a big margin at ¼ time, it failed to smash the Suns and hardly outscored them over the last three quarters. This week the same thing happened in this game with Melbourne. Both teams kicked 12 goals after ¼ time. No doubt the critics will bag the Saints for letting a big percentage booster slip out of their grasp.

Incredible. We're beating them in every stat except on the scoreboard. Inside 50s 26-21 and they're nearly double our score!

I hope we're using up a lifetime supply of stupid self-inflicted cock ups in this one season!

I'm off to the G for the match of the day (... er well, um, it's surely going to better than Gold Coast v Greater Western Sydney?). It's an away game at the MCG but did I read correctly somewhere that a membership ticket gets you into this one?

Of course the coach had something to do with North Melbourne's success. So too did the makeup of the list Barassi had it his disposal. If you think he could have achieved what he did in such quick time without the inclusion of those three players, then you're delusional.

Another experiment?