Redleg

I watched every second of the game on TV and like everyone else it was cringeworthy, however as Geddy Lee said there were a number of factors that contributed. I have added some more. They are the best side in the AFL. They are physically far stronger than us. They are far more experienced than us. They have enormous self belief in each other. They are more talented than us. Their team was close to full strength, we were missing many of our best players. We played a number of youngsters. It was wet and that helps the stronger and more skilful sides. They are four weeks away from the finals and we are playing out the year. They backed themselves, with a player always running to space in the forward line for the turnover, which came often. Their team has been settled for the year and ours has been disjointed through injury. Our younger players are tiring after a long and disappointing year. Our ball skill fell away under relentless pressure. They beat the second best side the Bulldogs by 10 goals this year. They beat the second best side in the Grand Final by 20 goals last year. Etc, etc,etc. Losing like that doesn't we mean we didn't try, it just means they were a hell of a lot better. If I played Federer I wouldn't win a point but it wouldn't mean I wasn't trying. Same thing last night.

I work with 25 and will pass on your comment. Don't disagree.

Hope you feel better soon and that it wasn't too serious.

I know a bloke called KC who with his wife Tracey lives in Casey and he knows a bit about footy. He has seen 12,000 games on the TV in the main bar at the Casey Arms. I will ask him if he can help out next year.

Agree. You can't win matches with a team of 20 year olds.

And a former Demon player.

Yes.

Or maybe he just believes that Collingwood should always (22 games) be the home side and therefore keep the gate receipts.

It was a light hearted comment made at a private gathering, by a supporter. He is not an official of an AFL club. Also it was supposed to remain in house.

Strange. Cale got votes from the coaches and kicked 3 goals with 26 possessions, while the Roo got 22 possessions and no votes. If the coaches thought Cale was third best on the ground and the Roo was not in the best coaches five, it is strange. I understand the Coaches don't award the weekly Rising Star but most in the AFL would feel that Cale has been pretty good this year.

He has been given another chance by Bailey and has improved. He is now at a level where it would be nice to see him playing in the same side as his brother Robert on the G in the red and blue.

Interesting. Well done. Can be added to other conspiracy theories. Try this one on, Melbourne's only friday night game of the year is against the unbeatable team on the night of the Olympics Opening ceremony which is live on TV. How many will go to that game. Another financial nail for the Dees.

Every time I see Sewell I regret us not "FORCING" Ferguson to agree to the swap. If we were truly ruthless we could have told him he would play the next year at Sandy and his career would end. Maybe at Hawthorn he would have resurrected his career and we would have had Sewell in our mid field.

Given GC17 will be given several PSD priority picks in the coming years i would have gone out on a limb and signed him for 3. I would be looking to extend his contract by a year some time next year. I think this kid has real talent.

Let's hope so.

The minimum donation is $5,000.00 after a $1,000.00 entry ticket. There are apparently 140 acceptances so far and obviously some will be in a position to give more than the minimum. This function could raise $2 million to help with the club debt. The club will then look to the members and other initiatives to erase the balance. If we could then get $100.00 a member after the function it would erase the debt and we would save $500.000.00 a year in interest

Think you will find it won't work that way. It might detract from the donating if done that way. Also you don't really want donors on a board with the best players of the club. There will be a board for the players and another for the donors.

Rest. We should now play Weetra and Meesen for the rest of the year and give White, Yze and Holland the last game if they are not in the side by then. That is proper list management. We should find out if these guys can play! Injured senior players should now be rested and get right for next pre season.

And what about the Didak jumper punch to Slattery full on the nose with force. Dropped. I thought love taps to the guts were not punishable any more (Hall, Lloyd) or is that just for name players.

Correct on both points. I see nothing that Harvey should be proud of in that comment, most players would feel ashamed. As for McLaren he is the worst umpire in the AFL by a mile. His failure to pay holding the ball against Lochie H number 5 when he tried to beat five demons and was caught and then paid it against a demon who was grabbed as he got the ball at the resultant ball up with no prior opportunity was pathetic. The whole Southern stand obviously agreed as he was booed for the rest of the game. By the way how many goals did McLaren give the Roos today, anybody know.

So do the AFL.

Very funny!

What do you base that view on? Do you know how he performed in his four months as an administrator of the MFC? Do you agree with offering $5million dollars to Brown without apparently the approval of the football department or the Board? Do you believe that the Board has a duty to have the best CEO it can work with? Do you believe that the Board should set the direction of the club? What do you see as MacNamee's strengths as a football admininstrator? What is worse MacNamee feeling aggrieved or the members feeling aggrieved if we go out of business? ETC.

Bingo. Give the man a cigar. This has the same naive smell of the Moore Templeton recruitment, that these two could win a flag. Brown as good a player as he is or has been, carries a number of injuries that in time will finish him off. A five year million dollar a year contract would finish off Melbourne as well. Did the CEO have the blessing of the footy department and the Board to make these alleged offers or go down this path, I think not. By the way Brown won't leave the Lions anyway and we would just be used to push up his pay and then look foolish. In my view a stupid move. The way forward for us is developing youth, recruiting more youth, improving our performance on and off the field. Bailey seems to be heading in the right direction. Under him, unlike the previous Coach, young talent is being nurtured. Just look at Garland, C & P Johnson, Aussie, Martin, Valenti, Dunn, Morton etc. How many games would they have got this year under the former Coach. This year we may add another 8-10 players in the drafts and through trading. We are on the right path on the field, now we need to fix it up off the field.

You surely are not suggesting that he as CEO is responsible for their recruiting/trading, which is the reason usually given by the media experts for their often disappointing poor performance. A $15million turnaround and large membership is not to be sneezed at. That achieved while they are not as popular as West Coast who had the foothold established. I am not advocating a CS return only throwing in a few points.