The Great Pretender

I'll take the latter because if Dank was a consultant to Bates then there's no reason why there can't have been oversight of Bates' work at the club. As many others have said, there's no need for a rush to judgement at this stage until we know all of the facts.

As a supporter of this football club, I expect the team to come out fighting every time it plays and not just when it's under the pump from all and sundry.

Holey Moley it feels like I've stepped into a nest of 9/11 truthers.

I think we saw on Sunday that you don't need age or experience to be a leader. Jack Viney showed in his first game at the age of 18 more leadership than the majority of the team. Jack Grimes led with desperation and tried to restore pride into his teammates. They have set that example to follow for the rest of the season - every game without exception.

Just out of curiosity, have you actually read the book?

It was lovely listening to Finey on SEN after last night's game giving Wilson and to a lesser extent, Patrick (old fossil) Smith the payout of all payouts. He came of a long run up and went BANG. He said Kero should be called the Age Chief Gossip Writer. He joked (at least I thought it was a joke) that she's the only footy journalist he knows who goes to the ground to do a pre-game radio show but leaves before the first bounce.

Nor does being an ordinary player. Look at the case of Dean Bailey when he coached us.

They have a lot to consider because of the contradictions in the evidence of the witnesses which seem to have been drawn along the lines of which side of the feuding parties they happen to belong.

Wilson never gives in when she's on a vendetta and this should please Bomber fans to no end. Heat may be easing on Bombers but message deserves flak OR I might well have been wrong but I'll never admit to it And even though she's probably not responsible for headlines, the one above could provide a clue to her informant on a few of the issues involving the Melbourne Football Club.

Wilson's only "evidence" is a comment about "several" players having stated they had seen Dank in a facility occupied by three sports clubs. That's hardly evidence of any substance and more likely, is evidence of mischievousness on someone's part if not hers. If she is getting information and not making the whole thing up, it's likely that the source is one of the malcontents who want to destabilise the club. These are the same ingrates who started the Mifsud/Davey lie, who exaggerated the "vault" story with fictions about conspiracies far beyond the truth and who continuer to seek to undermine the coach to this very day. Such people know they can safely go to Wilson and give her a story that she can embellish to suit her now very obvious agenda wherever the MFC is concerned.

I find it interesting that those who argue against Neeld like to point to the fact that in each of Bailey's last two seasons, we won 8½ games and that Neeld is somehow a failure because we won half that number in his first season. Their logic is that if he can't get us up to the level of around 8 - 10 wins this year then he should be sacked. That's a load of bull. By the end of Bailey's term, we were clearly on the decline with a team that had a poor culture and was incapable of handling the press employed by the better teams in the competition. Neeld has started again from scratch and has cleaned house. This is his second year as coach. Bailey coached the team to four wins in his second year. I'll back Neeld to beat that figure this year. In any event, it's folly to simply go on the number of wins. I think by the end of year we'll be able to see tangible evidence that Neeld's plans are making inroads. It will be in the style of play, the confidence levels, team skills and many of other indicators rather than just the results of matches.

Club twitter says open training is on from 9.45 am at Gosch's Paddock tomorrow. If anyone's going down, could you please keep an eye on Mitch, Jack T, Chris Dawes and Max.

Goes perfectly with his dunny brush haircut.

I assume our New Zealand international player will get his groundbreaking introduction to the game at Casey?

Steve Smith is a spinner? When did he last take a wicket in the longer form?

I don't know why you're so surprised about Russell bagging the club when we have supporters and even an ex-president kicking the club when its down. Treat yourself to a banana smoothie and relax about it.

Blowed if I know why we haven't picked up a nippy crumbing forward who can kick goals.

There's no need for jokes around the place when dealing with the club and its leaders after a couple of years under fire.We held an AGM two weeks ago and there wasn't a word of dissent against McLardy or his board at any time during the evening. There was ample opportunity for critics to question the administration over any aspect of club policy. Since then he showed himself to be statesmanlike in steering the club through the difficult "tanking" negotiations. Where were the snipers who want change when the club had its AGM? Where were the people to put their hands up who want to take over and effect the change you're talking about? I know where the snipers were when times were tough and we were copping criticism over sponsors, poor performances on field, questioning the coach's appointment, the Mifsud/Davey affair, Brock McLean on On the Couch and countless other issues. Some of them were talking to Wilson or snitching to the AFL or bagging the club in the media and elsewhere. Leaders need to roll up their sleeves and work hard when the going gets tough. We don't need division and people who would throw us publicly under the bus because they have personal axes to grind. I say well done to Don and go Dees tomorrow night and throughout 2013 and beyond.

Are we being investigated for breaches of AFL rules or for something that's legal but offends some people's moral values?

I understand that but don't accept that people have licence to condemn others over what is as yet unsubstantiated information. I was commenting on the irony of the situation.

I find it quite ironic that the mods on this site find it necessary (and quite rightly so) to suppress posts about rumours of the alleged activities of a certain (opposition) player and his future at his own club while a so called "leading newspaper" in this town allows its own journalists to routinely publish rumour and innuendo about other clubs. Why do they allow Wilson for instance to write that "Melbourne will be harshly punished. Cameron Schwab and Chris Connolly will be finished at the club" (back in November) well before the outcome of the tanking investigation is known, indeed before charges are laid and those in question are allowed to defend themselves. Similar attacks have been mounted on Essendon and its officials and coaches on the drug allegations before the facts have come out and an investigation taken place. Why does an alleged drug cheat with an already chequered history and his club get more protection than respected figures in the game?

Meanwhile Kero wants James Hird sacked. Hird future hangs in the balance

3AW's Tom Elliott tweets that Andrew Demetriou just doesn't get it. Any other business that suffered the equivalent of tanking and widespread drug use in its ranks would see the CEO sacked, but is this likely at the AFL? For some reason it seems not. Perhaps the Commission will do him a favour today and wipe the tanking stain off the books.

Standard BDO behaviour ... Nothin in it - The Video

... and the lesser lights will always sound stupid too ...