Go the Biff

Thanks mate - you take some ripping pics. Love the early ones of Magner in space followed by Magner with Jack Viney all over him

FWIW I thought Sylvia was quite consistent in 2011 without scaling the heights he's capable of. Let's face it though, unless he gets 25+ touches & snags 4, he is always going to get a hiding on here

Is Picket Fence holding you at gunpoint ?

Some anonymous posters have a good track record. Deegirl is one of them. It wouldn't be the first time she's beaten the media to the punch.

Thanks for an informative report. The bit I've quoted intrigues me. I know Craig Bellamy is big on the Storm practicing their skills at the end of training when they're buggered as he believes it stands them in good stead, particularly towards the end of games Not sure that AFL clubs do the same as often they are focussed on injury prevention but I think it's a terrific idea & well worth the risk. It's one thing to be able to pinpoint a pass when you are fresh but to do it with legs full of lactic acid requires a far greater degree of skill & concentration. I would think that the more you practice skill execution under that sort of duress, the better off you'd be in the course of a game. Just another of those 1 percent differences that can win you a game.

Not so sure. Given the fitness & condition of out list pre-Neeld, the fact that we employed Hocking & Puolo could be construed as systematic tanking. I wonder if they asked for a reference on departure.

My opinion's limited by what I've read & viewed in highlight packages, not having seen either play live. So it's probably worthless. On that basis though, I think O'Rourke brings a touch of breakaway speed & class that is missing from our midfield mix so I've voted for him. That said, I fully expect the club to opt for Wines Toumpas, in the unlikely event that he slips through to Pick 4 would trump both though

I think Redleg posted an approximate difference between the contract values.He's been prolific lately so I've no intention of trawling through his posts. And as Jose points out, at the time Brock was sinking rapidly down the ranks in the midfield. With two new midfielders being recruited, it's fair to assume he saw the writing on the wall & went for the cash & contract. The rest is just window dressing. The "Blind Freddie" stuff he spouted on OTC is just [censored]. McLean cops a fair bit of [censored] for instigating this investigation with his OTC comments but I doubt for a minute that he went to the studio thinking he'd be talking about Melbourne. He'd rediscovered form, resurrected his career & kicked the winning goal out of his arse. In my view he was ambushed & didn't have the smarts to deal with it. A simple "I've moved on from Melbourne & just want to talk about the Blues" would have sufficed.

I think that was an assisted passage - he wanted to go to Adelaide as he was marrying an SA lass. We helped. To the OP I reckon it would be cool to clone our dual Brownlow Medallist Ivor Warne-Smith. Let's face it, none of us saw him play. For the current team, Steven Tingay Just to see the best again, Robert Flower

I think you'll be disappointed. Ralph is the one who has consistently given this story air. He is a freaking zealot on the topic. He'll be in his element - except for the fact that Caro has scooped him when it got hot.

I rarely see Port play but when I have, Surjan seems to have a real crack & appears to be an on field leader. Not sure why he's got the lemonade although I think he cops his fair share of injuries. I've read we've shown interest in Ben Warren. That is almost my Ben-Hurian tipping point. I would rather drive across the Nullarbor & bring back Cale, telling him all is forgiven, than to see Warren in the red & blue. I think we need a "none of the above" option

Nothing to see there. A reminder though, that even the strong clubs pick up their share of spuds. It's not exclusively our domain.

I think I already do. From North's AFL site : http://www.kangaroos.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/4912/newsid/150291/default.aspx “It wasn’t a great year for me but I’m the first to admit that,” Gysberts said. “I’ve just got to put that behind me and take advantage of a fresh start at North now and do everything I can to play more senior games. North is an exciting club that’s headed in the right direction with a great young list so hopefully I can make them an ever better side.” Gysberts will meet his new Roo team-mates when training starts on Tuesday, October 30 and will travel to Utah for his first altitude camp. “I know the camp will be tough but I’m really looking forward to it. If it helps me become a better player, I’m all for it.” Yeah, right. Where was that for the last three years kid ? Smart choice of club. He'll be up against Adams, Bastinac, Cunnington, Greenwood, Swallow & Ziebell. They have him covered from A-Z

Fair enough but I'm not rating Gysberts on 2012. Partly for the reasons that Fence mentioned & partly because I suspect he's found it all pretty easy throughout his career & this was the first time he's really had the acid put on him. Some kids need more than one kick up the arse before the penny drops. We need a lot from our midfield but clearances are king in footy at the moment. Farren Ray won't help in that department. He can run himself ragged but if no-one's getting the ball out, he might as well be in the stands with us.

Of that group only one (Jones) has a proven ability to get the ball in heavy traffic in contested situations. And much as I love Jonesy, while he gets it, he ain't too flash at getting it out to someone. You'd hope Grimes & Trengove can become inside ball winners. Maybe Viney & Pick 4. At the moment though, we need someone who can get it out of traffic, especially while out first ruck taps the ball to his bootlaces That's Gysberts main claim to fame. That's why I'd be hesitant to readily dismiss him

Nice work Chook. You should have held off revealing for another day or so - could easily get this thread into double figures

If it's the CJ thing you should cut yourself some slack As I recall the credibility of your source was second only to the player himself. Hardly your fault he led you (and plenty of others) down the garden path. FWIW I enjoyed the ride - was an exciting few days compared to most of the last decade. I did learn that hell hath no fury like a Hannabal scorned. FMD you were savage when it went [censored] up !

Watched some Melbourne games from 2012 and 2011 the other night. Not recommended viewing. However, having another look at Gysberts has made me very keen to keep him. He gets the footy in the tough spots but he also did a lot of running to receive which surprised me. His kicking was better than I thought as well. Really good hands. A couple of other random thoughts from my viewing - not as worried about trading out Martin - in his stellar year he got a lot of footy but did little with it - Given a choice between Evans & Nicho, I'd take Evans - despite one game where he tried to set a new world record for Out on the Full - if you could morph Bennell & Jetta into one player you'd have a bloody good footballer. Sadly their respective strengths & weaknesses mirror each other - Watts was bigger in 2011 to my eye so the Misson running program might make it hard for some blokes to keep muscle on - we might have been crap with LJ & Aussie but it was fun to watch

Can't imagine St Kilda being that interested in a bloke recovering from an ACL

I think he offers a lot more than he's generally credited for here. He put himself through a massive pre season prior to 2011 and reaped the benefits. Never really got rolling in 2012. It appears from the outside that the FD consider Pedersen an upgrade so Stef is outta here. I think his best is yet to come. He should do well wherever he ends up

If he's kept on I would like to see him given a chance to cement the small defender spot. Can't see him making the grade as a small forward

What he said

I think Shaun Rehn came back pretty well from a couple of re-cos. Might even have joined Ox in the triple club.

Same here. As I understand it, part of Clark agreeing to come over to the Demons was that he was to get the spearhead role. Given his success in half a season, I doubt he'll want to change that.

OK, it's only a still photo but jeez he reminds me of Dusty Martin. Minus tatts.