Tricky

Yeah and suspended

In addition to players being hit in the face under the guise of an attempted "spoil", I was also very frustrated on Friday night by the following being flouted: Diving (Barry Hall, all night) Kicking in danger Intentional rushed behinds There will be more, and countless mistakes by the umpires, but these in particular seemed to me to be blatantly ignored. How can the players expect to second guess whether or not a rule is being enforced for a round until they either get penalized OR their opponent gets away with one on them?

I know how you feel but IMO it's worth us all following his progress. It's the unrelenting "play him now" vs "don't play him yet" ping pong that makes me want to bang my head!

Could be this one I think: Final touches as bubble stadium unwrapped some more pics...

It's true. See Cam's twitter with a pic of the jumper - here : http://twitpic.com/1l6cxa

OK i'll bite - what are you basing your intimate knowledge of his attitude on out of interest?

OK - that's 8 pages, well done all. I vote for a new thread: "Soft Bones" - anyone with me??

Totally agree - never enjoy a loss, but bigger picture is still bright. It was bound to happen after the media hype on us during the week and after huge effort exerted over the previous 4 games - these are mostly kids, and they will get tired, and we will win & loose more games this season. Throw in Eddie's Hat, and you could see it coming.

I heard somewhere (on SEN I think) that players had to have been with their club for a minimum of 3 years before being eligible for poaching?

I would like to preface these comments by noting Swampfox's point - the unfortunate reality is that we MUST learn to play this stadium. Having said that, time to whinge....I am also a big HATER of this stadium. A ground where security have to block off the only walkway around the ground level,twice for each interval, to allow the coaching staff to access the ground? That couldn't have been better planned? Not enough entry gates & ticket boxes - busy games are a queuing nightmare - and all to watch sub-standard, congested basketball style games on dangerous and frankly S*#%house surface. Did anyone see James Mcdonald furiously kicking mounds of sand in the air after his foot got "bogged" in a hole during a forward line contest? I can't remember in which quarter it occurred, but it was a blatant venting of frustration towards the surface. IMO - North did the right thing playing tall. There is very little room to get a run & carry style game happening on this S*#%hole of a ground. Both teams adopted the flood and the majority of forward 50 entries were a case of crossing your fingers and bombing it in. In fact for the most part, it reminded me of watching a local Aus Kick game where the entire team on both sides runs in a huddle over the ball around the entire ground.

Don't necessarily agree on Chook. Not sure what the "writing on the wall was" exactly? McLean set for Blues Farmer & Thompson had their home towns luring them, so sort of understandable (just don't come back - but that's whole other thread). For mine - CJ & Brock deserted and are well worth a good old fashioned show of disapproval, aussie rules crowd style. BOOOO!

I'm not friends with any of my ex-girlfriends either

Got that right... but some with additional vigour and spite

Agree - booing TJ is crap form. I felt the same way when it happened to Woewodin - Save it for those who leave voluntarily....I know who i'll be booing this year against the blues.

From a "nugget" tweet: "Japanese for dinner with my boy!! Jarrod Riv dogg (as he likes to call himself), great feed, ok company haha, http://tl.gd/vj8n1"

Also I noted during the 5 mins of TFS that i could endure last night, was that 6000 members from last year have not resigned. C'mon people!

Agree.

Dees to give Watts VFL time "MELBOURNE remains confident that rarely-sighted key forward prospect Jack Watts will play a significant role at AFL level this season despite his slow start to 2010."

Good points pringle - we would need to take into account the break down of the 10000 - EG % of $160 premium v $50 "recognised" members. Probably fair to assume a larger portion are the latter. My point is that these people would otherwise not have signed up at all - so better some $ than none, furthermore they count towards the official recognised stat, which is all important for attracting sponsors etc. Any membership is also good for the club as it is generally recurring income that can be relied on and allow for future $ projections & budgets. We have a fully dedicated membership dept, whose job it is market for attract new members from across the board; MCC certainly won't be saviors of the club....but every bit helps.

Would it count as membership? IE add to the official stat, which is all important in attracting sponsors?

Agree - as per the old thread: Carrot for MCC members

Not arguing importance of one over the other, however the relationship is special and thus in an entirely different league to that of Collingwood. Formally "symbolised" by the signing of a document by both club presidents last year with the following wording: "The relationship between the Melbourne Cricket Club and the Melbourne Football Club is as old as the game itself. Our clubs share both heritage and heroes, sparked by the spirit of Tom Wills in 1858 as he sought a means of keeping his Melbourne cricketers fit during the winter months. A game was born, and so was the Melbourne Football Club. If the MCG is ‘the paddock that grew’, we cultivated it together, through hope and hardship, with characters and colour, and with a shared heart that always beats true."

"Remarkable" on a MFC match day, to allow the club with oldest connection with the MCC to have a small stall off to the side of foyer - why do you say that? YES the current MFC board has done much to address the relationship between the two clubs. Could we coax a few more MCC members to sign up....probably Is that what this thread is about? Yes.

That would be great I agree, but these MCC members are at the game already, decked out in their gear and can simply take up a $50 "token" membership to show their support and count for the official stat. Let's face it, it should be easier to squeeze a fifty out of some of these guys than the average joe who needs to come up with over 5 times that for the cheapest membership on offer. I'm also aware of the MFC stall in the foyer (where existing MFC members pick up their scalves). This is good, but maybe not proactive enough. Just sayin, even a few more thousand would help the stat, and seems accessible.

I say no - close the door behind the deserters, onwards & upwards - Go Dees!