pitmaster

Strewth...what are you suggesting? That the Blues would tank to avoid fourth spot and a first week of the finals meeting with the Saints?

I don't rate Carlton highly and as much as I'd love to beat them we aren't there yet. We're getting ahead of ourselves if we forget how lame Freo was - truly soft. Bottom line - as encouraging as the win was with so many of the best 22 out, we didn't beat much.

Robbo certainly. Bell, Buckley and Bartram probably. In a just world Newton would go. But people are making early calls on Meesen who showed brief promise. And Jamar must stay. Macca I hear will go on

Fine post - strong positive thinking and mostly right - tad rose coloured on the list - martin and maric eg have something still to prove and I am not sure about the coaching list - would like to see T Viney in there

Unless there is a significant change to the injury list we are unlikely to win a fourth game. Having been surprised at the lengths we had to go to against the Tiges I am back to my earlier position of telling people Tank? We don't need to tank! 2010 starts on October 12 when all but the veterans begin their preseason. If we knock off the Dockers, that'll be great but that medical room will need to clear some out.

And AD who goes up in my estimation - very sound reasonable bloke right now

It's pretty clear, what with the November references to VCE exams and the occasional remarks about tutorials that this forum has some youngish (that is to say, under 45, contributors) so at the risk of sounding like an old fart here's a history lesson. What you saw yesterday was not tanking. It was '70s- style coaching and I guess I can forgive Jake Niall and Michael Gleeson in The Age for not getting it since they are still wiping bum fluff off their cheeks. Nowadays coaching talk is all about strategy: zones, rolling zones, flooding, run and carry etc. Back when Barassi and Hafey were big and innovation was the huddle, in turn countered by the anti-huddle 'outriders', coaching genius occurred within a game with the inspired move of a key defender up forward where he would kick a couple of late ones, or the midfielder sent into defence, or the career wingman who was give a shut down role. That's all they could talk about on World Of Sport, some game turning positional shift. Of course, that meant players actually had positions to play, which is less often the case now. So get off Bail's back and don't fuel this corrupting tanking talk. He is obviously a coach returning to the classics for inspiration. Anyway, that's the best I can do - it's taken me all night to think of it but it's not bad and I am going to run with it. That's despite the fact that as they lined up for the last quarter it took a while for me to wake up. I was sure we were kicking to the city end, but Warnock? and Frawley? For the record, Mathew W looked OK up there and I really wanted Ricky P to kick that goal at the 27 minute mark so he would know he could do it.

Didn't see the game so please enlighten me. Did CJ really cop a bagging and if so, what were their exact words?

Glad you raised that - clearly not touched on my viewing - home town job that one.

that makes seven!

Just transferring my heart felt views from another topic to one more relevant - the more I think about this, and read others' views the more I realise I was too easy on her. Her voice is grating - too nasal and more ocker than I have heard in a commentator for a long while. The worst elements I found in her work were firstly that she does not really understand the game and while she knows what is going on she was not able to anticipate what was going to happen so failed to get excited as Bate's long shot ran on and on with the wind to be esorted through by Jurrah. There were a couple of other instances like this including the Morton one referred to earlier. Like so many others she cannot pronounce PettERD and seems to be having trouble with Jurrah who is getting Jarra. How hard can it be? But my biggest issue with her was that she does not know when not to speak. I got sick of the fact that she rabbited on when there was no need. In short, she would not shut up at all. I also bristled at her reference to the "three Melbourne supporters that are here" getting upset at an umpiring decision. I mean really, talk about falling into the misrepresentations right from the start. She could be a break with the past - first woman commentator etc, but no, she wants to play just like the boys. Weak as. If slinging off at us in a difficult time is the best she can manage then rack off sister and go sit with Duhwayne.

We failed to use the wind properly in the second quarter - ran too much with it when a long kick would have put pressure on their defense. Also, our forward structure broke down with too many pushing forward to assist in that running game so when the ball did come in we were out-numbered.

Spot on Hannabal. Anyone finding fault with her is going to be a target fort he mysogyny charge but I agree with other posters:her voice is grating - too nasal and more ocker than I have heard in a commentator for a long while. The worst elements I found in her work were firstly that she does not really understand the game and while she knows what is going on she was not able to anticipate what was going to happen so failed to get excited as Bate's long shot ran on and on with the wind to be esorted through by Jurrah. There were a couple of other instances like this including the Morton one referred to earlier. Like so many others she cannot pronounce PettERD and seems to be having trouble with Jurrah who is getting Jarra. How hard can it be? But my biggest issue with her was that she does not know when not to speak. I got sick of the fact that she rabbited on when there was no need. In short, she would not shut up at all. I also bristled at her reference to the "three Melbourne supporters that are here" getting upset at an umpiring decision. I mean really, talk about falling into the misrepresentations right from the start. She could be a break with the past - first woman commentator etc, but no, she wants to play just like the boys. Weak as. If slinging off at us in a difficult time is the best she can manage then rack off sister and go sit with Duhwayne.

Watching Cats and Wharfies - totally different interpretation on tackles. Had these umpires been at our game the Bombers don't get those first three goals. And that troll Lonergan would not get frees for ducking his head.

You respected Leigh Matthews? I remember what a nasty sniping thug he was so I guess I am coming off a lower base. Fine footballer when he went for the ball - an animal at other times - very good coach, but respect as a bloke? Naah. As for what he said about Watts, we're over reacting aren't we? He said he had not seen last night why the kid went No 1. So? Has anyone else seen it at AFL level. I don't think so. He showed some promise last night. Compare Watts' laser straight kicks at goal to that wobbly one from Miller. Took a nice mark, but Matthews was saying he was not having the impact of Rich, which is right. But Matthews did not say Watts should not have been No 1 - just that he isn't showing it yet. Anyways, next week he will be back at Casey. He's had a taste of the pace and the pressure and now he gets it eased back some to refine his game.

The reason I hate these ins and outs threads is that they are so irrational. People wanting to drop Cheney to bring in a kid makes no sense when Cheney is a well performed kid. If he looked like he needed a rest (a la Bennell) that would be a different matter. This week's changes, with reasons could be: Out: Robbo/In: Miller (forward for a forward: one with presence who will push up the ground and provide support for kid Watts; the other inconsistent and embarrassing.) Out McDonald (knee)/ In: Bennell - Macca is clearly not right, Bennell is well performed will give us some zip Out: Bell/ In Jurrah - not like for like but Bruce can fill Bell's role while Jurrah might do anything

I was disappointed two years ago when so many Demons wanted to lose to Carlton in round 22. I value any win especially against the arrogant Big Four clubs. That said, most football followers would say Carlton were smart and picked up a sensational follower. After QB, I am ready for a grim 11 weeks since I don't think we have to tank or talk about it. Only fate can stop us getting picks one and two. The threats are Richmond, WC and Freo one of which might finish below us. And WC, if they fail to win another game, would also score a priority pick. That is not going to happen. Let's take a look at the draw. WC play Richmond twice. us at the 'G, Freo, Essendon and Norf at Subi - that's five games in which they have a realistic chance, and I'll give them three of those which takes them to six wins. Freo, also on three wins has a tougher draw but winnables for them are Brisbane at Subi at night, WC, Port at Subi, us at the 'G and Essendon at Subi. I'll give them two which makes five wins. Richmond are the big threat but they have WC twice - at the G and Subi - Us, Sydney, Norf and Essendon at the 'G - and with the new coach factor I reckon them for three, maybe four wins, taking them to six. We have winnables against WC, Norf, Freo, Tigers - but I reckon second time they'll be fired up - and I don't discount entirely beating Sydney or Essendon but I can't see us winning more than three - for a total of four. Should I relax?

Interesting. And the match committee forgot also how well Miller started against the Pies earlier this year when he was marking everything. And did anyone else think Miller would have been handy to offer some protection to Watts? They chose the wrong time to send Miller a message. He's a must in after his form at Casey.

Where do you score that stuff you're on?

Young sides are up and down. We have been good for weeks. This was a downer. It was always going to happen sometime this year and may well again. Aside from D Bell who has had many chances I would not be drawing any conclusions from this.

Sylvia. Jamar. We can stop speculating about Daniel Bell's future. We have lulled Collingwood into a false sense of competence.

I think what vanlo means is that the article is as strong as it is because of how open Colin was. When did you ever read a profile so full of quotes from the subject? Congrats to Emma since she got him to open up but the meat of the piece is in Colin's words. He made it as good as it is because he was so honest.

While it's a terrific read because Colin has been so frank about the personal stuff and his self-assessment there's also some hints in there that the club has its act together. The peer assessment, the commitment to giving the bloke the chance to turn it around - even DB plucking out Douglas Bader's biography - shows the club has some systems in place to try to draw the best out its members. It also suggests there much more to come from Sylvia - his remarks about Cooney are especially apt. I've made that comparison myself and wondered just how much daylight is between the two of them in talent as opposed to application.

A tad over-simplistic. Tilbrook was talent with a crook back which we did not know about - we never had the best of him. That said, I did see him haul us out of trouble at Arden Street one Saturday with two thumping last quarter goals launched from near the gasometer. We got a draw having been down by four or five goals earlier and I left the ground to the moans of Norf supporters whinging about college boys - kept my mouth shut (and kept my teeth) The hope was we could build a team around him but it never came to that. As for the Diamond Jim moniker that was based on the fact he came across for $25,000!