pitmaster

I am as keen a watcher of membership numbers as anyone but I think it's pointless until some games begin - even preseason stuff. I suspect the reason we are a bit ahead of last year, and a bit further ahead of the years before that is down to the fact that the club has improved its member retention through things like automatic sign ups, Demon For Life, email communications and the like. I know I join earlier than I used to, so whether we are 50 or 500 ahead of last year is pretty meaningless. We won't know until round three or four if we're really improving our core numbers.

The 'little man in the boat' does have a literary history, but it is not Hemingwayesque.The writer I remember introducing me to the term was a scatological old devil by the name of Charles Bukowski. You'll find his stuff around if you look hard enough.

The Age says we want to move to Elsternwick Park - the home of the VAFA. Anyone know about this? I guess it's too silly to suggest we want to take on the ammos to win a few more games...I'll leave that sort of gag to the Coodabeens, but the club seems to be thinking about relocating from the MCG precinct. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/st-kilda-melbourne-looking-at-move-to-elsternwick-park-20141231-12g64d.html

Steven Armstrong? As for the main topic, very happy to see the Jones boy defy the pattern of the recent past. He thoroughly deserves the expression of confidence that a four year deal implies. Now to see him enjoy some real success and a handful to challenge him for the next B & F.

Collilngwood on Queens Birthday (because it's time) ...Collingwood (again) ...Carlton (to return them to mediocrity) ...Essendon (because their supporters are starting to freak out at our run against them already) ...Norf (to watch their coach's bottom lip quiver) ...Adelaide (because I am going) ...Geelong (because they can't hack it at home) ...but mostly Hawthorn (for more reasons than can be listed here).

I am confident the year in defence was part of his education. If he went missing as a forward in the past it might have something to do with the fact that there were few other effective targets. Give Dawes one Hulk Hogan as a foil and Garlett as a crumber then Howe starts to receive less attention and maybe missing less often. I see him going forward again and being pretty effective along with Watts playing as a wing - high forward to those other three who will be the nucleus of attack. Should be pretty interesting, really.

I'd like to put a stop to this panicky thread right now by pointing out that during the time we trained at the Junction the criticism was that we had separate football and head office operations and secondly, that we had divorced ourselves from our home, the MCG. The Junction is no answer.

American Pie has to be one of the most over-hyped songs of all time and not much good at that. It's always struck me that he was peeved that English musos had eclipsed the US players in popularity, hence all those digs at Jagger as Satan in the lyrics. Good ole boys is also code for white racist trash, something which seemed to pass Don Mac by. I'm just glad you didn't pay for those tickets - you could have done something more useful with the money, like tear it up and watch it blow away in the breeze. Very karmic.

I am going to Adelaide round three this season. I'll see this magnificent "match day experience" the Adealide Oval is supposed to have produced for myself. Forgive me for thinking it will be over-hyped shite influenced by American style corn. I expect to hate it. If it changes my mind I'll let you know.

I thought the end of year fade out had been worked over pretty well in the media at the time. It was supposedly lack of conditioning and match fitness. I don't even know what "Roos had lost the players" is supposed to mean in this contex. It's such a bland generalisaton that could not be proved either way. To go back to the conditioning issue, match fitness is a lot more than running and stamina. It has to do with playing with injury, coping with getting physically belted at least half the time you go for the ball, and getting up again and sprinting, bullocking and shepherding. It's heavy duty stuff, hence all the wrestling that featured in preseason. Roos was telling anyone who asked at end of season functions that there was another 15% fitness improvement to come from this preseason. Maybe that means we will run out of steam four weeks from the end of the year, rather than eight. Who knows? We have no choice but to watch and learn but I hope our group analysis can do better than "lost the players". Neeld lost the players, of that there is no doubt. Roos, in one season, with his rep, I don't think so.

That nails it. I had high hopes but he just did not get it enough so that thumping kick did not count for anything. Sorry to see him go but he had plenty of time to show us what he could do.

I could not disagree more. This probably puts me in a bad light but when he did his leg - and it was obviously serious right from the moment he hit the ground - the unbidden thought that came to me was "as much as that is hurting him, it won't hurt us much". As with Addam Maric, I never saw anything there. Blease at least gave us cameos.

God that was embarrassing.

But no left foot. Appears from those highlights to be entirely one sided.

You really do need to take these threads with a big dose of salt but clearly we were jammed up by the Saints. Guess we did not want another Jack Hannath situation developing. Still, none of us yet know if all the handwringing over that one was justified, so chill people. We clearly wanted Frost badly so that's what we have - a second athletic tall like McDonald who can butcher the ball like Frawley. So let's get Yze back from the Hawks and teach them how to kick.

Roos has said publicly he won't take Wright. Does not trust the draft for talls.

In the case of Clark, absolutely none. Clark did his foot in a marking contest when he landed awkardly and his trailing leg slammed into the ground with great force. If you were at the 'G at the time you'd have no doubt Misson had sfa to do with it. He never did land well (remember his near broken neck) and should have been given lessons by the boy from Dodges Ferry.

Reading the judgement it's clear that Essendon has copped a comprehensive belting which begs the question were their lawyers taking them for a ride the entire time? They don't even get close to a win.

Topo bad bomberblitz has a serious case of the Pravdas. No court result threads thanks boys. Jeez they're weak when it doesn't go their way.

Wouldn't that just be blind?

Very amusing to see Crow supporters saying they have waited too long for a premiership. They have no idea. Besides, the two they won in the '90s would have to be two of the least deserved premierships ever - they were not the best side in the comp at the time although they were brought well to their peak at the right time. But who wouldn't want to play St Kilda in a grand final (1997)? Or have the opposition kick themselves out of the game like primary schoolers? (Norf in '98). If this is all cooked up by Roo to look after a mate it is destined to end belly up. A thoroughly welcome result.

Simpson would do me, but for Blease? No chance.

But back to the main point others of interest to us would be Paul Johnson (8 votes) and Jack Hannath (1 vote). I don't know how many WAFL games Hannath had but he managed only three senior games. Perhaps not such a steal after all.

Talking of Barassi, he joined Melbourne when we stank. A wooden spoon in his first year (OK, we HAD won a flag five years before, AND lost a grand final two years before that but he arrived when we were rotten) and that hardly held back his "development".

Image wise Mitch - or his [censored]-headed agent Colin Young - has done himself an extraordinary amount of damage. That won't stop clubs lining up for his services though because as he showed us, when he crosses the line he becomes a force of nature.