Whispering_Jack

Ivan Milat has a GWS jumper?

Should be back on deck by the end of the week.

Sam Blease is one of us:- From Sam's twitter -

Not only that but we can't believe they were still available at 36, 52 and 54.

Good summation and in an ideal world I'm sure we would all like to see our contracts honoured to the fullest degree. However, I doubt that it was possible or even desirable after the events of 30 July, 2011. Even the Bulldogs whose conduct of Eade's departure has been lauded by some, recognised this when they parted company. In most cases, lame duck coaches not only don't work but the consequences of keeping them on are disastrous. One of these days, I'd like to find out the truth about what really happened, whether there really had been decisions made and changed on the futures of Cameron Schwab and Dean Bailey and what was behind the horrendous team performance in the afternoon. It was an interesting time in the club's history and depending on which way you look at it, either a calamity or a miracle occurred at Skilled Stadium on the day.

I could do that WYL but suspect that I wouldn't get far. People like Demetriou, Anderson & co are the money men of football and while I accept that financial strength is important for the sport to continue, I doubt whether they're particularly interested in the game's history and in preserving the richness of the game's heritage. All they're interested in is the money and marketing and if the game in western Sydney can be promoted with the odd ... er, exaggeration of the facts, then so be it - the bums on the seats are what seems to matter the most. And if they tread on a few toes and upset existing clubs, then what the heck!

And what an exciting coverage it promises to be? A sea of charcoal and orange with the Homebush crowd listening appreciatively as this young songstress belts out the new GWS club theme song:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPM5dhwHw6o&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The next open training session is: Gosch's Paddock - Monday 7th November at 10:00am. Reports most welcome on this thread.

It wasn't so much the sacking but rather, they way in which it was done that was problematic. Bailey should have been told to his face that the club had no confidence in his ability to continue as coach. It should have been relayed to him personally and there should have been scope for discussion on the proper way to handle the announcement. I got the impression that the situation was almost forced by the presence and pressure of the baying media. Whatever the case, it didn't look good that Bailey wasn't told by someone face to face. Other than that, he would have been a lame duck coach had he carried on after 186, a position that was untenable for all concerned.

It's not that. I believe it does have a lot to do with confidence and self-belief following a run of injuries. Often when that happens, an athlete can start doubting whether he still has the physical attributes necessary for him to perform at his peak. Flash articulated this himself when I heard him speak at a function at which the Liam Jurrah book was launched (not the oficial launch). He talked about injuries, getting older and slowing down and I got the impression, he had convinced himself that he could never regain his speed. I think he needs to put such thoughts out of his mind. He can freshen up physically and get positive about what he can do and if that happens, we'll see the Aaron Davey of old. This pre season is very important for Flash and I think the new training regime at the club will help greatly.

Waylen Manson kicked 8 for Waratah v Darwin yesterday to make it 32 in 4 senior games. However, let's not get too carried away. It was a one sided game against weak opposition and one of his teammates booted 11. Fun and games next week with Brendan Fevola due to make another cameo appearance.

Neither accurate and neither of which would stand up in a court of law as you would well know. Perhaps you might want to explain to the punters what happened to your each way tip Bauer in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington. An apology to Her Majesty for botching up the selections in her race would seem to be in order, would it not?

The trouble with inventing a football club in an area that has no real association with our game and among people who have no real affinity with it, is that it becomes necessary for people to invent (or reinvent) history as well. Sheedy: "People who really wrote the rules of the AFL, Tom Wills and Henry Harrison, they come from outer western Sydney, they come from out of this area, they were born here, they come from Parramatta and they went down to Melbourne and they created the rules of the AFL." Really? Well, let's test that statement. Suburban Paramatta is 23 km west of Sydney. Blacktown, which is where Sheedy's Giants will be based is a further 11km to the west. Rooty Hill which is culturally and spiritually the home of GWS is even further west. I do acknowledge that both of the game's founders, Wills and Harrison were born in New South Wales (albeit at a time when the Port Phillip colony was in it's very early stages of establishment). Most of the white folk settled in this country were New South Welshmen back in those days. But were they born "out of Paramatta"? Well ... no, not exactly there or nearby as Sheedy would have viewers believe. Wills was born near Gundagai, New South Wales to parents Horatio and Elizabeth, the first of their nine children, in 1835. Gundagai is 390 kilometres (240 mi) south-west of Sydney - it's a long way from where the dog sits on the tucker box near that delightful little town to Sydney and Paramatta. In the late 1830's it was a few day's travel by coach if you had a reason to go there. But Tom Wills almost certainly didn't come close and even if he had, there would be no boyhood memories of the place because the family moved to Lexington, a 125,000-acre (510 km2) property in the Ararat District in western Victoria in 1840 and Tom was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne. H. C. A. Harrison was born at 'Jarvisfield', near Picton, New South Wales, the son of John Harrison and his wife Jane, née Howe. But a year later, the family moved to the Port Phillip District, and took up land on the Plenty River about 20 miles (32 km) from Melbourne. Picton is a small town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, in the Wollondilly Shire. The town is located 80 kilometres South-west of Sydney, close to Camden and Campbelltown. It's closer to Paramatta than is Gundagai but if you know the area, the route would have been long, circuitous and dangerous in 1836-7, especially if you're carrying a one year old child. After that, the Harrisons lived near Melbourne and long after that - more than two decades later - the first rules of the game were created. And so ... yet another GWS fiction is exposed. How fitting is it that this lie is the cornerstone of this club's first promotional video?

I'll make up for it by giving you all a tip: Flemington Race 8 Number 1 Bauer Back it each way. Redleg says it will win.

Not prepared to give the programme any more free publicity and besides, it's been flogged to death like this thread and the banana fetishists around here.

And I think we've all had enough of this sensation seeking pickle. If he's feuding with one of our officials and this is his justification for his irrational hatred of our club, then it's time to cut him off. Fan's right in this respect at least. Let's concentrate on journos who get it right more often than not - like Mike Sheahan and, dare I say it, even Caro. It's time to lock this thread and the final word to Mr. Denham is ... as always ...

I got the most enjoyment reading the comments section to the article in the OP. Good to see that the football public isn't fooled by the BS spin about being a Giant for life. They say that money can't buy you a good name and this sad saga proves it.

And this is my message to the man who wants to be a Giant at least until next Tuesday unless a better offer comes along in the meantime:

Nobody else was interested in going so it's Thai food tonight instead.

I'm thinking we should be magnanimous to O'Meara and Crouch who not only have done nothing wrong but whose fathers aren't getting a cracker out of their respective new AFL clubs. They really don't deserve to be lumped together with the other bloke. In view of today's publicity, perhaps the thread could be changed to: "I want to be a Giant until at least next Tuesday" Thoughts?

Thanks for that. I think he's in for an interesting time over the next few months in what is going to be his first pre season.

The foremost authority on matters Casey (aside from our KC) Brendan Fevola has just tweeted this:-

Actually, I think it was her ex-husband (or one of them).

If the mugs keep shelling out $1m a year, why not? On the other hand, if the Wellington Whoppers offer him $3.5m a year in 2017 then why not fly across the Tasman just to have a look around?

Thanks for that Kev. Time trials at Princess Park - that's a new one at Melbourne I think (we've usually done the tan). I agree you need a strong tank to go midfield but where does that leave young Sammy Blease who, by all accounts, struggled with his running on Monday in repeat 400s? Still, I seem to recall that two years ago Brock McLean blew most of his Carlton teammates away with his first timetrial at Princess Park and look at him now.