Go the Biff

Of that lot, the 'Pies look the most vulnerable at the moment. I'd be happy to pick up our next win against them on QB.

It's a pleasant change to have posters struggling to decide who they would see as being surplus to requirements. A year ago the same thread would have had us struggling to decide who justified being kept. Just another small sign that things are on the up.

That was the mail over at Demonology from a bloke who's usually on the money

Never met a footy or sports journo that needed a reason to get [censored]. And I've got [censored] with a fair few of them over the trip. A few have very short arms.

Voted - get on board people. I can't believe they let Jackson's opinion in Adelaide turn into a story in Melbourne. Typical of the appalling standard of sports journalism in this city. Fat lazy pricks incapable of finding a real story of their own.

Newton led the scorers with 3 goals in that game. Doubt that lightning will strike twice though.

No doubting your passion Typical Ducker but you're wasting your time here. You see, we don't give a [censored]. There was a time when I had a bit of a soft spot for Freo - after all with CC, Schwab, Icke, The Wiz etc there was a significant Melbourne connection. Pavlich is a gun & a delight to watch play. I don't even mind purple. But I'm over all that now. If you spend more time on your own boards instead of ours you'll find no shortage of Docker fans lambasting Schwab & Connolly for the current woes of your club. These are the two blokes who turned that club around. Where once it looked like collapsing in on itself, it's now well supported & financially viable. Connolly was the bloke who gathered a squad & got them playing good enough footy to storm into a preliminary final - a result your supporter base would kill for now. Instead of firing mindless barbs at us, maybe you should have a squiz at those at the helm of the good ship Freo now. You've got a coach who looks bereft of answers, a playing group that appears to have lost all faith in their coach and a captain who appears to have lost faith in his club. But if you choose to go Ducking your problems in favour of slinging off at us, that's your prerogative. I'll agree that the original thread title was over the top & some of the posts ill-informed, but those posters were only commenting on the available info at the time. And where did that info come from ? An incorrect journo ? No. A misquote in a newspaper ? No. A comment purposefully taken out of context ? No. Your bloke, Steve Malaxos, [censored] up. That is the sole source of the latest round of Freo-bashing. Fix your own house before you comment on what our walls are made of. Good luck for the remainder of the season.

Did Zomer shag your girlfriend or something Eastie ? You don't miss too many chances to give him a slap

4 - 6 weeks ! Jesus, don't put that curse on him !

Reckon he would be turning 15 around now.

If you have a look here http://forums.demonland.com/index.php?showtopic=14001you'll find that Sylvia, according to a number of eyewitnesses, did have a run on Saturday. Your assessment of Wona's availability seems spot on though

Some of your best work. How long have you been waiting to use that line Y_M ?

Give him a "Nick Smith"

PJ asked Beamer id he was ok to which he replied yeah, just a bit tight. He didn't elaborate Agree on Sylvia - competitive beast he is. Agree with Aussie too - he looks completely different, all the puppy fat has gone. Not sure I agree on Newton though. He didn't look much changed to my eye & Jones comfortably had his measure in that wrestle, having no trouble keeping the larger Newton pinned on the ground. Jamar in a moonboot - apparently has a "hotspot" in his foot. Miller is an out & out leader Strauss really looks a player - light but moves & uses the ball beautifully. My first time out there - beautiful ground surface............and it has goalposts !

I don't think you remember correctly. I don't recall him "harping" ever. In his detailed analysis, he questioned whether Brock had much scope for improvement. Unfortunately it appears the attacks from the keyboard warriors have seen him withdraw his writings from the public arena. That's a pity as I & many others enjoyed reading his views & appreciated the fact that he got off his arse & did his research rather than relying on 90 second YouTube clips. And that he had the balls to back up his predictions with reasoning. Not everyone gets it right - Adam Fiora anyone ? They all got it wrong the years that Chris Grant went to 105 & James Hird at 79. Every recruiter has picks every year that they'd like to have again. None of them put their lists up for public scrutiny prior to the draft though. Just for fun though, I pinched some of his comments from an old BigFooty thread (2001) Late picks i.e. >40 who could bely their draft position: *Jamar (Rookie draft 6) Will definitely make it if given the chance, IMHO. Seriously underrated. *Brad Miller (Melb) (55) No certainty but a good outsider bet. 2 grab marking tall inclined to occasional turnovers so has a bit of work to do. Natural leader and determined, athletic tall. I see him as a potential A Dunkley but he must improve his disposal. (2002) EARLY PICK QUERIES (in draft order) – I wouldn’t be that surprised if they make it but I have concerns whereas many people would label them "definite": JOHNSON, Paul (24) [WCE] Lion-hearted powerful giant. Leading-forward and part-time ruck. Magnificent kick, special small-man skills but NQR tall-man skills, especially poor overhead. (2003) EARLY PICK QUERIES (in draft order) – I wouldn’t be that surprised if they make it but I have concerns whereas many people would label them "definite": MCLEAN, Brock (5) [Mel] Chunky 6' tireless, courageous, hard-nut. Lacks polish and speed but is footy-smart, indefatigable and gives 110%. BARTRAM, Clinton (60) [Mel] Hard-running goer but lacks class, has a 6cm reach disadvantage and kicking lets him down. Handy, but not special, pace. If he were to make AFL, it would probably have to be as a run-with. He probably doesn't have enough tricks or silk for other roles. That would play to his major attribute viz endurance. BUCKLEY, Simon (53) [Mel] 189cm athlete rather than footballer. Long kick but lacks smarts. Amusing - I wonder if anyone still sees Jamar as underrated ? The rest of them have pretty much the same qualities & question marks as Wiseby identified. I'd love to have read his detailed analysis on Watts, Blease & Strauss but it seems those days are gone.

Yep, if you say that I'm tipping you'll definitely be first

If they are going to do it then they should go the whole hog. Hold the function at the G and have the XC60 pull up next to the statue of Barassi. Jack emerges from the passenger side door in Melbourne jumper to the flashes of media cameras. Column inches to be had out of that. And then, if we need a bit more spice, future captain Brock, who is driving the XC60, drops a burnout & fishtails across the park towards Punt Rd. McLean wins a $10k bet (ideally from Nathan Carroll) in doing this which he donates to the club. More column inches & a bit of a liven up for the Volvo image !

Many moons ago - a Friday night match, against North I think. I watched one of our new young players go round. He didn't get a lot of the footy but he slotted two beautiful goals from the half forward flank & showed a fair bit of composure. Promising youngster thinks I. After the game, in hope of scoring some free drinks, I went to meet some mates who were in a corporate box. Part of the deal was that after the game, a couple of players come & visit the corporate box for a chat. So while I'm enjoying the free beers, in rocks David Flintoff. He had some skinny little kid tagging along with him. At that time, my mum was collecting autographs so I thought I'd get "Flints" signature for her. Nice bloke David Flintoff & he duly obliged. As he handed back the pen & paper, the skinny little kid in his squeaky, skinny little kid's voice pipes up "Do you want mine too mate ?". Didn't have a clue who he was but I thought I'd humour the kid anyway & handed over the sheet. When he handed it back the signature had a little 52 on the end. Only then did I realise the skinny little kid was the guy I'd watched slot two goals from in front of the members' stand. That was the start of Stinga becoming one of my all time favourite players. He went from No 52 to 15, the number worn by one of our greatest wingers in Stanley Alves & he did the number proud. Later, when Robert Flower asked the playing group who thought they could take on his famous No 2 it was Stinga who spoke up & said "I will". Stinga went on to honour the number of the greatest Demon winger. While injury certainly diminished his output, his best was awesome. When Freo joined the comp, Stinga was one of the main players, along with Stewie Lowe, that they targetted to recruit to their new team. Such was the regard in which Stinga was held. He took one of the bravest, most skilful marks you could ever see running full tilt with the flight of the ball. It was against the Crows in Adelaide & is indelibly stamped in my memory. It summed up just how good his best was.

True - had his issues that boy. Some very [censored] off parents at Ranges when he got picked up ahead of their kids

If you can't post what's the point of hinting ? Reliable source - wish I had a dollar for every one of those I heard about in trade week ! Johnson's form entitled him to an offer of a one year contract. No more. If he thinks his performances at MFC entitled him to any more then he's farting higher than his arse. He had to wait for Brown & Ward to retire & for the club to hit its lowest point since the 70's before he could get a game. If he wasn't Alan Johnson's son I'd have wanted him off the list two years ago when he'd shown about as much as Daniel Hayes. In fact given he's been tapped up by & is heading for Carlton, I hope CJ's remaining career emulates that of Daniel Hayes !

Thanks for the encouragement HT. Back when I played, when the footy was up the other end it wasn't totally unacceptable to be leaning on the goalpost dragging on a cigarette you'd botted from a mate over the fence. Might struggle in your competitive environment ! And Rhino summed it up - the fact that we are crap doesn't preclude other clubs having crap players as well. RH falls into that category.

Houlihan - pfft. I'd rather we drafted me. I'm fat, old & unfit but at least I'd give a [censored] & have a crack !

Three but bumped out to five as 'Pies & Freo each had a priority pick. Pies took Fraser with #1 and traded pick 3 to Richmond (who infamously took Aaron Fiaora). Freo took Haselby & Pavlich with 2 & 4. Still a few useful players to be had though.

Probably a fair assessment. I did think though, that he was trying to be more considered in his ball use in the games prior to his (latest) season-ending injury.