Whispering_Jack

Ening his career at the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL - http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0...7-21543,00.html

I think you and I might have been standing a little too long in the sun at Glenferrie Oval last Sunday.

Just wanted to say it was a pleasure coaching the team. Every member worked his butt off for the colours and I'm really proud of you and the terrific sporting spirit in which the game was played. Thanks to Rollo and melbournefc and to everyone who helped out and gave their support including Redleg, imtoohot's father, GOTO, Tim, David and marfa and the others whose names I didn't quite catch. I'm sure everyone slept well last night after the experience. It's been a while since I've coached and I can't remember doing it in 31 degree heat but we got a real appreciation of what must be involved in rotations because we tried to keep them coming as regularly as possible to ensure we'd have fresh legs at the end of the game. Unfortunately, our timing was a bit off because we had it all meticulously planned for a 20 minute final quarter and they kicked the winning goal at the 24 minute mark. That's football, I guess! The Martin Heppell medal for our BOG went to imtoohot and I'd particularly like to commend the half a dozen or so players who tagged # 15. I think we managed to blunt his influence reasonably well after the first quarter. We now have an enormous challenge to regain the Big Carl Cup and to sing it's a Grand Old Flag at the end of the game. Hopefully, someone can get on to the Saintsational site to thank them for the game and congratulate them again formally on their win and for providing the four blokes who helped us out. They were great!

Lads, There's only two days to go and I can feel the excitement building up to a crescendo as the game nears. I've heard on the grapevine that most of you are following my training advice and not only that, but you're champing at the bit at the prospect of taking the field on Sunday against our traditional enemy. That Big Carl Cup means a lot to me and it should mean a lot to all of you. My assistant, Redleg, was actually team manager for the great man when he coached the Demons in 1979 and he has some great stories to tell about his experience in the role (but please don't even think of mentioning the game v Fitzroy that year to him). Anyway, I want to thank you guys for maintaining the discipline in our quest to retain the Big Carl. It's really important to me as the coach to know that you're totally dedicated to the cause and that you've made such massive sacrifices in terms of your lifestyle over the past weeks in order to be cherry ripe for this game. As a coach I really have to feel for blokes like Worsfold who must be filled with fear and trepidation whenever they turn on the telly to watch the news knowing that one of their own players are going to be in the headlines. No such problems with me. You blokes have got your heads screwed on properly. You're a coaches dream and I'm sure you'll all remember those important 1% ers that help to win games: basic things like "don't forget the sunscreen, the mouthguards and the water bottles!" Keep it up and I'll see you on Sunday when we'll be going for the ride of our lives. Sincerely, Your coach. BTW, do any of you have tattoos on your midriffs?

Have to agree. I've really missed Chilliboy this year but Y_M has stepped nicely into the void. Just wondering if you're able to predict the number he'll be wearing when he joins the club?

I've just finished reading the first part of the Dean Bailey interview on melbournefc.com.au and I somehow can't imagine Cousins fitting into the ethos that the club is trying to establish. He won't get to within a light year of the MCG even if he remains a person registered to play in the AFL in the future.

It was against Fitzroy and Melbourne won the game by 24 points. I wasn't into counting kicks and handballs in those days. We're hoping to organise a Demonland/Demonology function for early November and I'd like to invite Kelly along to talk about his role as a development coach as well as his experiences as coach in the TAC Cup and at Freo. Don't tell anybody though because we haven't invited anyone yet. Hopefully, one of the players will be there too!

My feeling is that in order to qualify as DB's love child any given player is going to have to produce consistently on the field and on the training track.

Little bloke, winger, from Kyabrum in our Goulburn Valley zone who wore the number 23 and made his debut as an interchange player in round 2 of 1980 sitting on the bench with Greg Hutchison. Real name is Noel. I think Kelly might be his nickname. Played in the glory years of the 5 year plan under RDB whose coaching career was quite underwhelming. Who knew that at the end of the 5 year plan we would be back at square 1?

Is that what they do with ice these days? Smoke it? Wow!

What Cousins needs is an AFL club where he will feel right at home, perhaps where even the President has had his brushes with the law. Does anyone know if there's a club that fits the criteria?

He was drafted as a bottom age player, had an interrupted pre season and missed most of the first half of 2007 with injury. He had a couple of really good games with the Sandy reserves but looked all at sea when he was called up to play his only senior game for Sandringham. He'll be starting from scratch again next year and I suspect he might have to spend more time at VFL reserves level before he gets a call up for the seniors at Sandy. Look for him in red and blue in 2009 if at all.

For your information Redleg is a barrister with years of experience in the law and I know that in his professional life that he's seen the destruction wrought by drug takers not only on themselves but on the people around them, particulalry their families who are the real victims of the drug culture. Working in the law myself I've also seen that and it's not pretty. I feel for Cousins' family right now - they must be going through hell whether this latest incident is drug related or not.

He would need to improve a fair bit on 2007 but at least he has the right attitude.

I have no problem with any of that provided - (1) a role can be created whereby we can get the most out of him in much the same way that Brisbane did in Alistair Lynch's latter years, and (2) he doesn't carry the burden of the captaincy in his delining years. We're embarking on a new era with a fresh coaching panel and they shouldn't be tied by loyalty to someone who contributed so much in the past. By allowing Neitz to retain the captaincy that could prove a problem to both the coaching group and the player if his form or fitness aren't up to speed during the year. Neither of them need that problem.

Agree with that but I don't think we implemented it poorly, rather that we didn't implement it at all. What we were doing in the Nab Cup, the practice matches and the early rounds was not anything remotely like a run and carry style of game. That's why the whole thing was so laughable and appalling. I don't care what Dean Bailey calls it in 2008, as long as it turns out to be good football and winning football.

Gentlemen and for the benefit of political correctness ladies, There are nine days to go and, as coach, I've been trying to do a Bomber Thompson and keep a lid on it but Rollo has requested that I address you at this stage in order that you all fully understand the importance of this game. Just a couple of things to remember as the day draws near - Firstly, we should never underestimate the importance of being both physically and mentally prepared for whatever sporting pursuit we undertake. I'm therefore ordering all of those who smoke to keep it down to one packet a day until the evening of Sunday 21 October 2007. After that you can do what you like but until then I want everybody to demonstrate some personal discipline and observe this rule. I'm sure you'll appreciate it late in the third quarter when the opposition starts coughing, wheezing and falling by the wayside. Secondly, I think it's time to start a special set of exercises to get your strenth up for the big game. Tonight, when you open your first stubby or tinny for the evening, try a simple arm extension and bend before you start gulping down the amber liquid. This will do wonders for your muscle tone in the upper arm regions. Try to keep it down to no more than a dozen stubbies or cans a night for the time being so you can remember how much training you've put in on any given night. Finally, don't listen to any gossip or rumours about whether you might or might not be delisted from the team. It's just that time of year again! As coach I have the utmost faith in you as my players in much the same way as the board stands 100% behind me. Cheers until next time!

Congrats from Mrs. Whispering and me as well but I think you owe it to readers here to divulge the startling news that this is a mixed marriage and that the groom follows ... er, I'm reluctant to write this but it's Collingw&%$. Despite that I'm quite sure that Melissa will have a wonderful life with her betrothed and that she will have much pleasure at least on every Queens Birthday at about 4.40 pm and hopefully on many more occasions as well.

The irony of a deal that would see us lose Trapper for pick # 20 is that we could have had an extra pick in that region for nothing had we tanked the last game of the season against Carlton and picked up an extra priority pick at the start of the second round of the draft.

Who needs Chilliboy when we have the old dependable YM. At least it's fun.

Was that quick enough? This thread is now locked.

Pick 3 currently belongs to Carlton and is bound for WCE via the Judd deal. Your scenario doesn't look too good ATM.

Yvonne Fein is a playwright and novelist, editor and lecturer. Her writing has appeared in journals and newspapers locally, in the US and the UK. Among her works are the novel, April Fool, published by Hodder, and the play, Celebration of Women. She's also a Demon fan and has penned this essay on following the footy - JOY OF AN ARMCHAIR AUSSIE RULES FAN by Yvonne Fein With the advent of laptop computers and the internet, vicarious living of the armchair variety took a great leap forward. Armchair travellers can now go anywhere in the virtual universe, armchair warriors can fight battles of the future as well as the past and armchair fashionistas can visit the latest haute couture parades as they happen. No longer do that have to resort to buying ruinously expensive magazines or waiting a whole season for the trends to reach all the way down to the Antipodes. I confess I have never been a great fan of the armchair mode of experience. I like my travels to be replete with sensory experience, and I have no interest in wars past, present or future, except perhaps with a view towards working out how best to avoid them. Nor have I ever been a fan of watching fashion. I'm more from the trying-it-on-and-buying-it-whenever-possible school. I admit, therefore, to a certain amount of surprise, at the immense enjoyment I find myself gleaning from being an armchair Aussie Rules follower. Although I barrack for Melbourne, I have only ever been to one match. Persuaded to attend by my beloved in our courting days, when he was still trying to find out what really excited me, by half-time we had both worked out that live footy wasn't it. Nevertheless, these days I will happily join him in front of the telly to watch the final half hour of any given match. Not that I'd ever watch alone. Where’s the fun in that? One of my chief pleasures is delivering a running commentary on the state of the game and basking in the surprise my beloved unfailingly exhibits at my profound knowledge of tactics and statistics. (My daughter, who occasionally reads over my shoulder as I write things, generally providing moral and creative encouragement, has just informed me that she's about to expire from acute boredom and is walking way in profound disillusionment. All I can do is continue in the hope that my readers will not be similarly afflicted). An even greater surprise came to me when I found an even more intense way of enjoying the play. And I use the expression, "the play" advisedly, for it is high drama indeed. I made this discovery having arrived home one afternoon after driving into Caulfield from one of Melbourne's outer suburbs and realising that for the duration of the entire journey, I'd been listening avidly to a match being called by the ABC’s Radio 774. Yes, believe it or not, even better than the televisual experience is wireless footy. The gentlemen who call the game infuse it with a great deal of personal excitement and passion. At slow moments, they exercise a wonderfully laconic wit that seems to me to be quintessentially Australian and, best of all, they know their subject so well - and, I suspect, also have the information of internet statisticians at their fingertips - that they can regale their audience with fascinating snippets of trivia. Like what happened to Dustin Fletcher in Essendon's clash against West Coast at Subiaco Oval. Or what the penalty was that was given to Alistair Lynch after his fight with Darryl Wakelin during the 2004 Grand Final match? They can even tell you the name of the Sydney trainer who died due to a heart attack in the final quarter of the Swans match against the Kangaroos. None of this sounds all that riveting as I type it now, but at the time, I was absolutely captivated by and immersed in this radio world of blokedom. It was friendly, it was good humoured and even if my time might have been better spent listening to a political digest from the BBC on the ABC's News Radio station, it was surely a victimless crime. Even this morning, in the aftermath of Geelong's grand final victory, there I was, on the way to my parents' house, tuned into Lindy Burns in conversation with a reporter out at Kardinia Park who was interviewing football tragics queuing up to make sure they got in early to an event no one was sure was actually going to take place. Would the Geelong team make a morning-after appearance on their home ground? No one knew but they were queuing up just in case. And I was listening to them giving their reasons. I heard a teacher from the Alice, who had come down for the weekend to see her beloved team take the flag for the first time in 44 years, admitting on air that she had had too much to drink last night. I heard old men saying it was the best day of their entire lives and I heard young men weeping with joy. I'm not sure what it means, this vicarious pleasure I take in a game I've never played and only once gone to the MCG to watch. I don't understand why it fills me with such pleasure or why I feel so entertained when I listen to its aficionados expounding its finer points. Still, there it is. It's not such an intense experience that I'll miss it in the off season, but maybe that's because I know I'll have many long, lazy summer drive-times to listen to Radio 774’s broadcasting of the cricket. Bring it on!

Yvonne Fein is a playwright and novelist, editor and lecturer. Her writing has appeared in journals and newspapers locally, in the US and the UK. Among her works are the novel, April Fool, published by Hodder, and the play, Celebration of Women. She's also a Demon fan and has penned this essay on following the footy - JOY OF AN ARMCHAIR AUSSIE RULES FAN by Yvonne Fein With the advent of laptop computers and the internet, vicarious living of the armchair variety took a great leap forward. Armchair travellers can now go anywhere in the virtual universe, armchair warriors can fight battles of the future as well as the past and armchair fashionistas can visit the latest haute couture parades as they happen. No longer do that have to resort to buying ruinously expensive magazines or waiting a whole season for the trends to reach all the way down to the Antipodes. I confess I have never been a great fan of the armchair mode of experience. I like my travels to be replete with sensory experience, and I have no interest in wars past, present or future, except perhaps with a view towards working out how best to avoid them. Nor have I ever been a fan of watching fashion. I'm more from the trying-it-on-and-buying-it-whenever-possible school. I admit, therefore, to a certain amount of surprise, at the immense enjoyment I find myself gleaning from being an armchair Aussie Rules follower. Although I barrack for Melbourne, I have only ever been to one match. Persuaded to attend by my beloved in our courting days, when he was still trying to find out what really excited me, by half-time we had both worked out that live footy wasn't it. Nevertheless, these days I will happily join him in front of the telly to watch the final half hour of any given match. Not that I'd ever watch alone. Where’s the fun in that? One of my chief pleasures is delivering a running commentary on the state of the game and basking in the surprise my beloved unfailingly exhibits at my profound knowledge of tactics and statistics. (My daughter, who occasionally reads over my shoulder as I write things, generally providing moral and creative encouragement, has just informed me that she's about to expire from acute boredom and is walking way in profound disillusionment. All I can do is continue in the hope that my readers will not be similarly afflicted). An even greater surprise came to me when I found an even more intense way of enjoying the play. And I use the expression, "the play" advisedly, for it is high drama indeed. I made this discovery having arrived home one afternoon after driving into Caulfield from one of Melbourne's outer suburbs and realising that for the duration of the entire journey, I'd been listening avidly to a match being called by the ABC’s Radio 774. Yes, believe it or not, even better than the televisual experience is wireless footy. The gentlemen who call the game infuse it with a great deal of personal excitement and passion. At slow moments, they exercise a wonderfully laconic wit that seems to me to be quintessentially Australian and, best of all, they know their subject so well - and, I suspect, also have the information of internet statisticians at their fingertips - that they can regale their audience with fascinating snippets of trivia. Like what happened to Dustin Fletcher in Essendon's clash against West Coast at Subiaco Oval. Or what the penalty was that was given to Alistair Lynch after his fight with Darryl Wakelin during the 2004 Grand Final match? They can even tell you the name of the Sydney trainer who died due to a heart attack in the final quarter of the Swans match against the Kangaroos. None of this sounds all that riveting as I type it now, but at the time, I was absolutely captivated by and immersed in this radio world of blokedom. It was friendly, it was good humoured and even if my time might have been better spent listening to a political digest from the BBC on the ABC's News Radio station, it was surely a victimless crime. Even this morning, in the aftermath of Geelong's grand final victory, there I was, on the way to my parents' house, tuned into Lindy Burns in conversation with a reporter out at Kardinia Park who was interviewing football tragics queuing up to make sure they got in early to an event no one was sure was actually going to take place. Would the Geelong team make a morning-after appearance on their home ground? No one knew but they were queuing up just in case. And I was listening to them giving their reasons. I heard a teacher from the Alice, who had come down for the weekend to see her beloved team take the flag for the first time in 44 years, admitting on air that she had had too much to drink last night. I heard old men saying it was the best day of their entire lives and I heard young men weeping with joy. I'm not sure what it means, this vicarious pleasure I take in a game I've never played and only once gone to the MCG to watch. I don't understand why it fills me with such pleasure or why I feel so entertained when I listen to its aficionados expounding its finer points. Still, there it is. It's not such an intense experience that I'll miss it in the off season, but maybe that's because I know I'll have many long, lazy summer drive-times to listen to Radio 774’s broadcasting of the cricket. Bring it on!

THE TRADING CHRONICLES 2007: ZERO HOUR by the Oracle FATHERS, SONS AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS "Representatives of the 16 AFL clubs will all meet at Telstra Dome on Monday, 8 October 2007 to discuss their options for the Exchange Period, which concludes at 2.00pm on Friday 12 October 2007. The clubs will meet from 10.30am-2.45pm at Telstra Dome" - AFL Exchange Period Rules and Regulations. To observe the opening of trade week is akin to watching grass grow. The usual scenario on this day is that nothing much happens apart from the normal introductory discussions and some huffing and puffing in small doses. Generally, we have to wait until the third day comes along before the first trade is done but most of the action takes place in a whirlwind final half hour on Friday afternoon. The problem is that every year there are usually one or two big trades going down that require intricate arrangements to be completed between a number of clubs. Until the larger dominoes fall, everything else must wait. As a result, the whole process almost grinds to a halt in the early part of the week, boredom sets in among those who watch the events closely and the action only hots up towards the final day. Last year the problem was the closing of two separate big deals that involved Jason Akermanis and Peter Everitt respectively. The latter was finalised in the last few minutes before the Friday 2.00 pm deadline. This year's worry is the possibility that, despite his manager's insistence that it be resolved by tomorrow, the Judd Saga might continue until deep into the week causing everything else to go into lockdown. In the past, player managers have complained that this presents a major barrier to consumating the lesser deals. Some never make it across the line; careers can be made or broken as a result. One of these days the AFL will wake up and do something. One thing the AFL has done is that it has introduced an interesting adaptation to the father/son rule. "Any clubs wishing to nominate eligible players as a father/son selection for this year's 2007 NAB AFL Draft must do so by 2.00pm Friday, 5 October 2007. The bidding meeting for any nominated players will be at 10.00am on Monday, 8 October 2007. Each other club in the competition has the option to bid, in reverse ladder order, for that nominated player. If a bid is made, the club that nominated the father/son player must use its next available selection if it wishes to retain hold on that player. If the club nominating the father/son player declines to match the selection nominated, the club with the successful bid must use that selection at the Draft. Any club that makes a successful bid on a father/son selection is bound to the pick they nominate. If no bid is made by another club, the club that nominated the father/son eligible player will forfeit its last selection in the draft to select the player" - AFL Exchange Period Rules and Regulations. This year the sons of Ricky Barham (Jaxson to Collingwood), Larry Donohue (Adam to Geelong) and Anthony Daniher (Darcy to Essendon) have nominated under the rule. Previously clubs could use a third-round pick on their father/son selections but now, other clubs can bid for the players. The new system is obviously in its embryonic stage and we don't yet know how things will pan out when put into practice. The main interest today will centre on Darcy Daniher, a tall key position player who starred for the Calder Cannons in the recent TAC Cup Under 18 Grand Final victory. Once the father/son issue is out of the way, proceedings will start in earnest. The key rules to note in the trading/drafting process are A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for a player or players on the primary list of another club; A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for the draft selection or draft selections of another club; A club may exchange a player or players on its primary list for a combination of a player, players, draft selection or draft selection of another club; A club may exchange a draft selection or draft selections for a draft selection or draft selections of another club; No more than five players shall be exchanged by any one club. No more than three players shall be exchanged by any one club in any one transaction, or series of related or interdependent transactions. A club cannot on-trade a player received in any exchange until the following year. A club may exchange a draft selection it has received from another club, provided that the selection is not traded directly back to that club. Where the exchange of a player(s) and draft selection(s) involves more than two clubs, it is not a requirement that each club involved in the transaction make an exchange between each other. Any draft selection received in an exchange does not need to be exercised. However, any club that passes on a draft selection shall be excluded from exercising any remaining selections at that same meeting. Each of the clubs will have its own priorities for the trade week and the recruiting managers have had their say on the AFL Website. Melbourne's General manager recruiting and list manager Craig Cameron puts his aspirations for the week this way - "We'll probably have a fairly low key approach and we'll look to trade, but we'll think we can build our team around our 23 and under players. We've still got a number of older players that we think can be really good contributors as well. We'd like to get some more draft picks in if we could – second- or third-round picks – and if we could trade in a player who is in that 23 or under age bracket that helps us in a specific area, then we'd like to do that too. Overall we'd like to get some more picks for November." That position reflects the fact that Cameron has been building a list over the past four or five drafts and some of the youngsters selected are now closing in on their prime but have yet to reach their peak. At the same time, new coach Dean Bailey, has promised supporters that the emphasis will swing towards development of the club's youth stocks. The introduction of the right chemistry could see a massive improvement among this group as a whole in 2008. Getting back to the trades and numerous players have already been mentioned in despatches for possible player swaps. Some are named because they happen to be out of contract, others because they may not be wanted by their own clubs or because they are wanted by others. Some are perennials in trade talk while others are speculative at best. Among the names that have come up are - Adelaide - Matthew Bode, John Hinge, Ben Hudson, Luke Jericho, John Meeson, Luke Perrie. Brisbane – Jed Adcock, Robert Copeland, Anthony Corrie, Richard Hadley, Beau McDonald, Troy Selwood, Justin Sherman, Cameron Wood, Carlton – Adam Bentick, Paul Bower, Brendan Fevola, Adam Hartlett, Ryan Jackson, Josh Kennedy, Lance Whitnall. Collingwood – Chris Bryan, Ben Davies, Alan Didak, Chris Egan, Josh Fraser, Guy Richards. Essendon – Kepler Bradley, Ricky Dyson, Courtney Johns, Mark Johnson. Fremantle – Ryley Dunn, Justin Longmuir, Ryan Murphy, Byron Schammer, James Walker, Robert Warnock. Geelong – Mark Blake, Tim Callan, Steven King, Henry Playfair, Brent Prismall, Kane Tenace. Hawthorn – Michael Osborne, Mark Williams. Kangaroos – Leigh Brown, Matt Campbell, Brad Moran, David Trotter, Shannon Watt. Melbourne – Aaron Davey, Ryan Ferguson, Chris Johnson, Travis Johnstone, Brad Miller. Port Adelaide – Brad Symes, Damon White. Richmond – Andrew Krakouer, Richard Tambling. St. Kilda – Andrew McQualter, Steven Milne, Fergus Watts. Sydney – Paul Bevan, Darren Jolly, Luke Vogels. West Coast – Chris Judd, Ben McKinley, Mitch Morton, Mark Nicoski. Western Bulldogs – Farren Ray, Jordan McMahon, Sam Power, Wayde Skipper. You can bet that most of these names will come up for discussion during the week along with many others but only a small percentage will change clubs. That's the way of trade week. Last year, the number of trades done across the board didn't even make double figures. That may have been partly due to the perception that the 2006 draft pool was strong. Conventional wisdom this year is that it's not as deep as last year. Draft picks are the other bargaining chips of trade week. This is how they line up before the exchange period starts – Priority – 1 Carlton Round One: 2 Richmond 3 Carlton 4 Melbourne 5 Western Bulldogs 6 Essendon 7 Fremantle 8 Brisbane 9 St. Kilda 10 Adelaide 11 Sydney 12 Hawthorn 13 West Coast 14 Collingwood 15 Kangaroos 16 Port Adelaide 17 Geelong Priority - 18 Richmond Round Two - 19 Richmond 20 Carlton 21 Melbourne 22 Western Bulldogs 23 Essendon 24 Fremantle 25 Brisbane 26 St. Kilda 27 Adelaide 28 Sydney 29 Hawthorn 30 West Coast 31 Collingwood 32 Kangaroos 33 Port Adelaide 34 Geelong Round Three - 35 Richmond 36 Carlton 37 Melbourne 38 Western Bulldogs 39 Essendon 40 Fremantle 41 Brisbane 42 St. Kilda 43 Adelaide 44 Sydney 45 Hawthorn 46 West Coast 47 Collingwood 48 Kangaroos 49 Port Adelaide 50 Geelong Round Four - 51 Richmond 52 Carlton 53 Melbourne 54 Western Bulldogs 55 Essendon 56 Fremantle 57 Brisbane 58 St. Kilda 59 Adelaide 60 Sydney 61 Hawthorn 62 West Coast 63 Collingwood 64 Kangaroos 65 Port Adelaide 66 Geelong Round Five - 67 Richmond 68 Carlton 69 Melbourne 70 Western Bulldogs 71 Essendon 72 Fremantle 73 Brisbane 74 St. Kilda 75 Adelaide 76 Sydney 77 Hawthorn 78 West Coast 79 Collingwood 80 Kangaroos 81 Port Adelaide 82 Geelong The draft will go to further rounds as required to fulfil each club's quota of players. And so the week begins ...