Whispering_Jack

Never tried it in a court of law but only because of the concern that it could become a self fulfilling prophecy and the judge in question might fling it back in my face

Winning is what brings the most happiness and joy to supporters and surely life is all about the pursuit of happiness. So the ultimate aim is undoubtedly to win a premiership. But is that the essence of a football club's existence? Sport is not simply about winning games or winning premierships just as life should never just be about winning an advantage over others. Within the framework of our game there are several stratas and I think that even a cursory understanding of how football operates would demonstrate this to be the case. I'm uncomfortable therefore that there can or should ever be a sole aim or purpose for a football club's existence. There's a lot more to our game than just winning and you can get enjoyment out of the journey in several ways without becoming too fanatical about the end result. In saying this I'm not for a single minute denying what the ultimate should be for any football club. The point has been made that if a premiership became unobtainable for a club then there would be no reason for it to continue to exist. That's probably close to the truth and it's one of the reasons why the AFL is becoming less attractive to me. We no longer have a competition based on a pure sporting principles when the programme of events is determined purely by commercial interests, when player payment rules are openly abused and when clubs are encouraged to fail in order to gain a future advantage in recruiting players. Which brings us to the current debate about tanking. We all know what it means for the Melbourne Football Club in the context of the next few weeks and in the context of recruiting for the future. Essentially, we get the player most regard as the best young talent in the country or we don't get him. Either way, we'll also get one of the others in the top four or five but if we weren't so transfixed on achieving the ultimate would we be prepared to compromise every principle of sport to achieve that aim?

Peter German's match review is up on melbournefc.com.au Here's what he said about Tom McNamara – the only Demon to play in the Casey reserves:

John Butcher returned to form at the weekend and booted five goals for Gippsland Power and another game or two like that could have him back on the Demon radar (if he was ever off it). I think I'm right in saying that VFL clubs are entitled to play one TAC Cupper every week now to the end of the H & A season and the Scorpions' allocated TAC Cup team just happens to be the Power. The Scorpions play North Ballarat in the ABC VFL Match of the Day at Morwell in a fortnight's time in a special promotion for the CFA. This presents a perfect opportunity for the Scorpions to select Butcher as their 23rd man TAC Cup player. The likelihood is that we will also see Jack Watts on return from injury on the same day. Imagine ... Watts and Butcher in the same game for Casey ... followed by a sneak preview of Scully the next day because he's a certainty to line up for the APS in the annual derby against the AGS which will be the curtain raiser to our game at Etihad Stadium against North Melbourne!

Only one change for this week. Colin in, take your pick out. If the past few weeks are a precedent we'll probably have someone suffering an unexpected injury late in the week. If Cousins plays like he did against Essendon yesterday, we'll struggle but I don't want to give too much away because I think I'm doing this week's match report.

Thanks for a fantastic contribution Grazman. I almost felt that I was there myself ... right down to the freezing cold conditions and the hopelessness of the occasion. I'm just wondering when Sydney is going to win its next game against Melbourne. Given the circumstances, the team selection, the missed goals and the dreadful umpiring, they should have slaughtered us. I reckon that despite the result, Melbourne has a lot more to look forward to than Sydney and thankfully, we won't hand an more "home" games at Manuka to them on a plate.

That's exactly why I'd be prepared to cut him some slack on this one. At worst or best, the jury's still out.

It was a sensational win in the circumstances to the Casey Scorpions. Most of us thought they had no hope after all those changes at Melbourne left them with so few AFL players against a big list from Richmond including Tuck who is one of the competition's leading possession getters and Bowden who is still surely in Richmond's best 22. It goes to show that the Demons, even with a depleted line up against the Swans must still be a show. Players like Miller, Newton, Valenti and first gamer Jordie McKenzie who have ought their way into the team will be fiercely determined to prove a point and, coming from a winning culture at Casey could cause some surprises this afternoon.

Just out of interest how do you think tank tops in red and navy would go in a summer range?

Something doesn't quite add up with the Casey team. How does Lynden Dunn get picked on the interchange for this team when he's listed in the starting 18 for the Demons v Sydney?

Careful. I reckon the Swans are tanking. Richards could have played !

I like the concept. The draft deserves a better presentation and time slot than it does at present and, of course in the event that Melbourne gets a priority pick this year, it will hold great interest for Demon fans. The problem is that the concept will be short lived because in 2010 GC17 will have a swag of top ten picks (even if they swap one or two) and the draft could end up a bit of a turn off!

Interesting article in today's paper about Dean Bailey's views on tanking. The last paragraph says Jack Grimes is in doubt because of concerns with his back. Oh dear!

We are talking about Canberra, aren't we?

Emma Quayle makes a lot of sense when she says that "if the Demons win, it will mean they're getting better." It also makes good sense to be able to draft two of the top three young footballers in the land. The problem is none of us have any control over these things and I don't believe that any one club can do that although Fremantle (minus Pavlich, Sandilands and now Tarrant) and West Coast (Cox and Kerr) seem to be making a good fist of it. I personally think we will easily beat Freo when we play them later in the season and we're at least even money in our next two games against Sydney and Richmond (Richo will be playing for Coburg that week). So the likelihood is that we're going to finish on 5 or 6 wins and possibly as high as 13th. We'll probably be kicking ourselves when Docker Tom Scully wins his second Brownlow in 2014 but what can we do about it? Let's hope the AFL comes up with a better system than the current one because the spectre of tanking and list management takes away from the enjoyment of our game.

The Long Journey function last night was a roaring success and our indigenous players were fantastic. I hope to put together a report on the evening but once again a big thank to The Fork and to all who contributed. It was one of the best MFC functions I've ever been to and one that made me proud to be a supporter and member of the MFC.

We've now won 5 of our last 6 quarters.

Too true. But without the two 50 metre penalties it would have been a 170m kick which, with all due respect to Danny, might have been just outside his range .

I think the criticism of Jack Watts is a bit over the top. He's playing a differing role today, pushing back when required and is definitely getting involved physically on a day made for small men. I think he's showed a fair bit of class. Miller is starting to impose himself on the game and PJ doing OK in the ruck. It's a day made for players like Bartram (who has been a prolific ball getter), Wheels and Bail's getting a bit of it. I'm also liking the game of Danny Hughes.

On Matthew Whelan. He was drafted in the 1999 National Draft and made his debut in 2000.

I don't want to sound critical here but I went to the Casey game last week and those facilities on the outer side of the ground appear to have very little going for them in terms of spectator amenities and offer no shelter from the elements. You would have to be a very hardy soul if you were going to be watching the game from there today with the high wind chill factor. It might be pleasant there on a nice summer's day but I thought this ground was supposed to be catering for winter sport. I was also disappointed that the portable seating on the hff was removed. Standing in the void left behind was a bit of a risky proposition because a group of little leaguers decided to have some match practice among the spectators. It was good fun avoiding their errant kicks. So, if I venture out there today I think I might take advantage of the social club and watch from the balcony (hopefully, they keep kids with footies out of there !)

I'm extremely honoured to have been chosen along with Judee to make the presentation but all of the credit goes to Luke (The Fork) for giving this initiative so much momentum and to everyone who contributed for getting it across the line. More importantly I hope that this journey of Liam Jurrah's goes from strength to strength, that it puts the small indigenous communities of the centre on the map and that it brings about better and happier lives for their people and in particular, their children. I hope to catch up with many of the contributors at the function and thanks to all whose generosity made this possible!

Heavy tag all day.

I met Don McLardy and Peter Spargo the night before the St. Kilda game at a club function on the Gold Coast. The club's in good hands and this should be a comfort to Jimmy.

I hope Leigh Matthews was on today's commentary team. His comments on Naitanui's performance would be really interesting. Most of the rest of the media too!