pitmaster

Might be a paywall but look top left: https://edition.theage.com.au/shortcode/THE965/edition/aad3490d-83ba-8e90-e203-75255b736013?page=477b9e6e-4a0c-6eca-95bb-e3c3840d4894

Thanks. Interesting. Maybe he'd have been the "dud brother" in the tradition of Jay Viney, Tom Flower and numerous other good but not quite good enough footballers.

WE'VE MADE IT!! Quiz in the Age this morning wants to know if demonland is a fan forum, tattoo parlour, seedy nightclub etc

Riak was already gone a couple of picks earlier.

What a great team that was: White, Neitz, Schwarz, Viney, Lyon, Febey X 2, Shanahan, Ingerson, Tingay, Woey, Yze, Doggy Brown on debut and even the little remembered Craig Smoker was hot with some great tackles and handy goal. And Jeff Farmer absent.

Three games in Adelaide. Must be some kind of first. And of course, Geelong, GC, Gabba, NT...plenty of frequent flyer points.

Did the Blues tank that one? Did they fear an in-form Dees? We'll know soon enough.

Only if you say it quickly and don't dig in to the detail.

Not that I was a Pert-must-go, more a Pert sceptic, I offer you Josh Mahoney. Favoured for the job once before. Now at the AFL.

Interesting. Will dd36 return serve or has Ttacca just fired an ace? (Me, I'd like to think so. And this also accords with one of Michelle's social postings.)

I think it's important to understand who these people are in the context of sports journalism. It's struck me this trade period how the more serious, or perhaps I should say responsible football journalists mostly avoid the speculation about potential trades. At The Age - a much diminished product but nonetheless the one I read most closely - Jake Niall and Michael Gleeson are seen nowhere near these trade talkfests. What passes for a responsible person at the Herald Sun so far as I can tell is Mark Robinson (I know, I know) and I don't see his byline attached to anything like that linked to the usual culprits. These journos you talk of operate on radio, social media, and internet/TV. The expanse of radio/internet/TV airtime they must occupy to justify their existence seems to force them into endless verbal garbage. Usually around trade time I bury my head in the sand and wait for the period to end and then see what comes of it because in my experience 90% of it is bull dust. This year for obvious reasons I was sucked in. Trac in particular was an issue but in future I'll be leaving lightweight flibbertigibbets like Morris and McNoClue to their own devices. If someone like Niall starts to write it, then I'll give it credence.

Not in my experience. Its housed in part of the G opposite the MCC members' reserve. It's a 10 minute walk from the MCC area to the MFC offices.

Since neither the Blues or the Pond Scum have a 2025 first round draft pick who else thinks Trac's prospects of moving just diminished significantly? And that is before you think he has ahead another year of shared commitment, sacrifices and achievements to restore the bond with his Demon brothers. But really, with no first rounders on offer how could they deal?

You'd need to widen your social media universe but be assured there are pictures of Trac (as opposed to the kids discussed here) working on some fearsome strength building machines in Salzburg, Austria currently on instagram. He really looks to be working incredibly hard at building - or restoring - leg and body core strength. Go Trac!

Prior to Pert's appointment which was massaged by the AFL, the front runner for Melbourne CEO was then footy manager Josh Mahoney who was the football department's preference. If Pert departs I hope Mahoney, who is currently at AFL HQ, is at least given the chance to be heard should he be interested.

We didn't win the Brownlow. Peter Moore did. And his heart remains at Victoria Park.

1. But it weakens Melbourne's position. 2: Oliver does not need to know. 3: True, but that the meeting was on was known well before it took place. It was actually announced in the morning prior. I can't say for sure it was Geelong's doing, but it is entirely plausible because they stood to benefit.

Age 29 and with 53 games to his name. Bloody hell. We really must have thought we could reform this character. Now he is effectively a swap with ANB so it looks even worse.

If there was a hammer emoji I'd have used it because this comment totally nails it. Well said. Oh, look what I found: 🔨

Leaking does not always happen as a matter of dysfunction. It is also done strategically. For a clue, always ask who stands to gain from this? Further, who knows the details, in this case the meeting place? Answers below: Geelong FC and Geelong FC

And to repeat my take on it fwiw, I reckon Geelong let Oliver's visit become public knowledge in order to embarrass Melbourne. Consequently MFC could have been seen as having to rid itself of a "cultural issue" whatever the price, the emphasis being "whatever the price" because they knew they had nothing to match his true value. Sneaky as, and all the heat comes back on Melbourne as a basket case while Geelong are seen as squeaky clean. I think I might just go watch the 2021 prelim now as my compensation.

No it wasn't directly connected although considering Japan's run through south-east Asia you could say it's all connected. Harold Ball was murdered along with three other medics who were trying to reach a battle group before the fall of Singapore, but were intercepted by some Japanese. I believe he was decapitated. All MFC major trophies including also Sid Anderson, Bluey Truscott, Ron Barassi Snr are tributes to players who lost their lives as servicemen during WW2.

Are you guys for real? Harold Ball was an Australian Army medic, 33-game premiership ruckman, executed on a beach in the Pacific by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Morris says Melbourne are saying one thing publicly (he's ours) and something else privately. Gleeson is essentially saying the same thing when he reports sources saying Pert has been asking about for takers. There is a uniformity about these reports that I think is disturbing and if it is Pert at the root of it then he can buzz off. Footy Department is not his territory. Those criticisms of Pert from Collingwood are starting to resonate. Happy for him to go now and bring back Josh Mahoney from the Bombers to be the CEO footy people wanted originally.

I wish someone had a record of his predictions' success rate. That might wipe that smirk of his face. The smirk I think, reflects his awareness that he gets away with a lot of rubbish in his job.