george_on_the_outer

Does anyone seriously think that TJ has improved his trade value one iota from what we got for him last year? Has anyone seen the blinder of a game that would cause observers to sit up and take notice? Or the change in attitude, with a hard-work ethic? .........'fraid not..... still relying on his sublime skills and others around him to do the work. First of many good decisions made by DB since he arrived at the club.

I applaud the first evidence of some serious thinking outside the square by the club in the past 40 years! 1. If this comes off, we will have a first rate summer training facility. It is the same reason Richmond are moving to Craigieburn and St.Kilda to Frankston. 2. So we are now thinking even further outside the square...should we play games such as against Fremantle or Port at Casey.... Facts: we can only attract a crowd of 20k on a good day at the MCG against these clubs. For this we break even. we lose money if it falls below these figures. our history of playing similar games at Princes Park found us with crowds of 9k...would we get any less at Casey? we still lost money for those games, because Carlton charge extortionate rent. Windy Hill, Glenferrie, Arden st, Moorabbin, Brunswick, Junction oval don't meet AFL standards today, and are too small. we can get advertising and signage revenue at Casey, which we get nowhere today, including the MCG 9k at Casey would probably produce a profit Casey has a potential upside in future members. MCC members continue to watch games for at the MCG, with only a pittance of money coming to the MFC. Long way to go yet, but this is looking like a no brainer

I seem to recall that the profits from the Leighoak were promised in a scheme of arrangement to repay the tax department for the outstanding bill of $2M that was left in the top drawer. No small wonder that a profit hasn't been made....

Sister-in-law who lives in the area says the best value is the Safeway car park. Everywhere else is 1 hour limit....

Must apologise as I'm hundreds of miles away at the moment, and cannot access my email lists.... So for all those people who have joined the player sponsor group, there will be a get together with Clint Bartram at the Fubar in St.Kilda 7pm next Monday 19th May at 7pm I will email everyone in the group when I return later this week, but for others who have not joined we would welcome you along, have a drink with the group ( and Clint ) and get to learn the ins and outs of being an AFL listed player. Hopefully Whispering Jack can fill the blanks in on the address etc.....

Thanks to TimH and his 2 sons for signing up for 2008....and to Raymondo from WA yet again!! Welcome to Kylesut for the first time to our group...

Thanks to Whispering Jack and his 2 sons for joining the group again.....

Thanks to Nick B and Judee who have signed up for 2008

Thanks to Rachel R. and Brian & Shirley for signing up for this year.......

There is no point having a booming kick at FB if it isn't used. Possession is the name of the game today and Wheatley is not good enough to provide the accuracy. As others have noted the quick kick-in is required, yet Wheatley walks in to do the job with no urgency. Closest player to the ball should be kicking it in to get it moving, and delivered to the simplest, easiest option. It means the opposition have to react immediately, and collapse their zone defence, which creates holes for the next kick.

Quite simple really...he was playing in the mid-field. He was stuffed running around in the engine room, so don't expect his "run from behind" tackles and speed like we have been accustomed to when he was sitting in the forward line. Personally, I would prefer him back forward (is that English?), as we were sorely missing the pressure that he provides on the opposition defenders, the turnovers he creates and the goals he snares from crumbing.

Hitouts are something which is useful as a statistic to Dreamteam fanatics and nothing more.... In football the only statistic that is relevant is hitouts to advantage. Don't blame the mid-field if the hitout is 20 metres over their head to no-one in particular. Don't blame the mid-field if the hitout is directly into the arms of the opposition....but don't blame the ruck if the mids overrun the ball or cough it up with the first possession. True son of the club that he is, Jeffs best days are behind him. Not through any fault of his own but the centre square rule has killed him because he cannot use his leap to win the contest. It is no surprise that 200cm rucks are the norm now not the 196 type that he is. Then around the ground the 200cm giants just stand in the way at throw ups and boundary ball ins. Personally I don't think there is any advantage in having a ruck on the ground most of the time these days, unless they can do other things like Cox and Lade do. I have wondered before who will be the first coach to realise that no ruck but 4 mids will beat 1 ruck and 3 mids at the centre bounce more than 50% because there is noone to hit it to.

....or is it because Ron Walker is chair of Fairfax?

I'll be there. Good opportunity to hear the coach "up close and personal"....and you get fed to boot!

I watched a fair bit of the training over the summer of 2004-5 when Alwyn was trying out. Quite frankly, he showed absolutely nothing during those sessions which would warrant even a rookie selection. Disinterested, no evidence of the freakish pace of his brother, and nothing "magical" about him that would make you say: "maybe this kid has something worth looking at for the future...". Remember we took Aaron as a rookie gamble, again only after virtually every club had passed up on him. Our position about Alwyn was no different from the assessment made by 15 other clubs, including Essendon. To his credit he went to the SANFL for a year and absolutely blitzed the competition. It was no surprise when Essendon then jumped at the first opportunity, especially given the ageing, slow list that they have. Finally, is there room for 2 of this type of player on the field? Probably not, unless you wish to forgo a mid-fielder or forward. Yes he will do well at Essendon. He isn't as good as Aaron, and he probably wouldn't have made it at our club regardless.

There was a lot of negativity around at the end of the season following the injuries that we suffered last year, and people were trying to slate it home to the conditioning and training staff. Some injuries are simply bad luck. Nothing can be done about a knee or a break. Soft tissue is probably the area where medical and physiotherapy staff have the greatest responsibility to assist the players get back on the track. But is it luck, great medical facilities or younger bodies that gets the player back on the track this week or the week after? Probably the responsibility of the training and conditioning staff, in terms of injury, lies in the muscle preparation with the good old "hammy" as the major source of time out of the game. Once it happens then the medicos take over and the duration of time out is dependant upon the extent of injury. ( and perhaps the younger body again..) With our current crew headed by Bohdan B, they are first class preparers ( is there such a word? ) of athletes. They have been doing it for years. And they prepare the bodies according to the task at hand. Marathon runners need different preparation to sprinters. Weightlifters different to gymnasts. So what do AFL footballers need? They need to be marathon runners who can sprint, and muscle bound weightlifters who can leap and gyrate on a pin point. It ain't easy. So logically, if they cannot prepare the perfect body for the game of AFL, they prepare the best upon the coaches instructions. And this is the important point....if the coach says make them lose muscle because he wants them to run faster, then BB and his crew can do it. If the coach wants more muscle so they are not pushed out in a contest of strength, then the running might get reduced. Look at the example purported to be happening at Footscray where "muscle up" is the order of the day. And this coming from Eade who is one of the great advocates of the running game. So what I'm trying to get to is that the preparation for our game is heavily dependant upon the direction of the coaches. Last year the training staff were told to trim the players down for the running game. Did that work? Probably not. Did it cause more injury? Maybe made some players more susceptible to certain types of injury. Was it the fault of the conditioning staff....absolutely not. Back to the question...I don't know if anyone can answer it from around here, as we don't have access to what is going on in weights rooms and what sort of running is happening. However, there have been snippets from players that indicate that this year, the miles in the legs is being achieved by the training drills, rather than pounding the tan. My observations are that training is going much longer than last year, and there has been an increase in the time spent in the run and carry and touch football drills. It goes for an hour at a time. Then they do it again some more. The players are exhausted at the end, and then they have to do more beep test type drills. Is this a better preparation for the game today? We will see, but BB and his crew are obviously preparing according to the coaches instructions. Yes it's different. Will injuries be less? Who knows. Will the players be stronger? Who knows. Is this the best preparation for the type of game we intend to play? Yes. What is that plan?....wait for the first game

When Dean Bailey arrived at the club he would have examined the list to see who had upside in some way. TJ didn't, Miller has. And the reason is that he is a big bodied mobile. This creates a lot of possibilities. And the one that everyone keeps overlooking is mid-field. He has been spending a fair bit of time with this group pre-season, read into that what you may. Dunne and Newton up front, Frawley and Rivers down back....we have options that release him. I can't wait to see the opening games. As for Franklin, as others have already noted, he doesn't beat you in the air. For someone who is that big he is very ordinary overhead. However, he is very mobile and quick, so you have to play a quick or a combination on him. But then he only turns it on every couple of games and is rapidly becoming another Richo on the field. Am especially awaiting further with his off-field antics which no doubt will resurface again this year.

It is actually very easy to explain.....when was the last time that CAC got a draft pick in the top 3 or 4. Yes Mclean and Sylvia...are they stars yet? Who knows.... But you have to go back to Travis Johnstone to find the previous of these picks, and that area is where you find the Stars you speak of. To put it simply, we haven't had the picks with which to select stars.

North have shot themselves in the foot. Brayshaws plan is nothing more than P...and Wind, and the fans have fallen for it. New sponsors...have added $300K to bottom line. 5 white knights....as if? What about the $5M debt....... And only 2500 turn up at Dallas Brooks. Even our club had a lock out on the night and filled both top and bottom auditoriums. Danger for us is a re-run of the Fitzroy saga. When North finally go broke and they are seeking to do anything other than relocate, up will pop the merger proposal......guess who with?

I'm with you furious.......the best football from Miller happened when he was throwing his weight around. Opposition players would sidestep when he was coming through. It was the last time that our opponents were afraid of a player wearing a Melbourne Jumper. The sooner this is reinvigorated the better for the team and the Club. Belt them Brad!

Done........

Spot on... 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'.....George Santayana For those of us older than 15 we remember why the last Interstate series died a long slow death.: Clubs not interested in their players being injured and unavailable . Players not interested because they got injured playing for a meaningless result. The only ones who kept the fire burning were non-Victorians when there was no national competition, and players from clubs who had no hope of any success in their career outside this event ala Whitten. We now have a national game. South Australians barrack for SA sides, WA the same, Qld and NSW likewise. Who cares if the manufactured code of Rugby League gets the TV coverage from the same TV station that props up the sport in the 2 states where it has some credence? The AFL are myopic on this. The proposed round was meant to be a "rest" round for the players. If that's not going to happen, how about putting it toward a 30 game season, scrapping the pre-season cup and getting a fair draw for all clubs.

I don't think Aaron Davey has anything to worry about, unless double D can run a sub 10sec 100m....., but Robbo surely has..... if you watch the AFL video of this kid he is a strong leading forward with really, really sticky hands. He kicks better than anyone else recorded by Champion data, and he keeps his feet in contests.

Every year we have a new group of people come onto the site and start bagging the club for not running TV ads like Hawthorn and North and probably Richmond will. And every year the answer is the same....as Rhino has pointed out. It simply is not worthwhile financially! As others have said, they are extraordinarily expensive to make, and then even more expensive to run. For what? It actually doesn't convince those who will be a member to join up, because they will do it regardless. The membership phone ins that the people from Demonland-Demonology have produced far more membership renewals for the club than any TV ad. The club did some research years ago about the response rate to a TV ad programme. It produced only a minimal return at the aforementioned extortionate cost. The club has only limited resources ( as do all clubs ) It has to use them wisely, so it targets members in manners that get the results, not that make people feel good. And finally credit again to Rhino.....the best way to get people through the gate and signing up is on-field success. So I hope that this year we have a serious crack at things like the NAB cup, because it has not been on our radar for the past 10 years, and we still have nothing to show for that strategy.

....Richard Lounder, Anthony Banik, Aaron Fiora, Richard Tambling......does it matter who they pick?