Hazyshadeofgrinter

Our ridiculous fixture was mentioned in the media this evening! What's next? The Rapture? Human Sacrifices? Dogs and Cats living together?

What a ridiculous table. Can you list the proportion of games played in the forward line as well?

Hey, don't get me wrong, I like the kid. You will not get any argument from me about his accuracy close in, and his tackling was great last season also. But people seem to go on about him like he will be the saviour of the club or something. I can see why people would get carried away with him because he was one of the few positives from last season (in particular his form in the incredible Freo game that you mention) and his frog-jump is pretty infectious. People also seem to get a little worked up over indigenous players for some reason (maybe a hangover form the wizard) it is surprising how often you hear him descibed as "speedy" or "flashy." He clearly has a cult appeal - I just don't think that he justifies the level of expectation that surrounds him currently.

Out - Chalk In - Cheese Swap one of the worst tasting sandwich ingredients I have ever eaten with one of the tastiest. Y_M

I'm guessing that you meant key forward, right?

The highest paid player in a team should be the best football player over the course of the season or close to it. They should be expected to poll a lot of votes in the club Best and Fairest and they should regularly feature in the best on ground for the club. I don't really buy this stuff about the highest paid player having to be a hard nut or a media spokesperson, although these qualities are useful in a Captain. Age, list managment and salary caps can all distort the highest paid player equation. edit: P.S. I am deliberately not buying into the thinly veiled jab at Bruce and trying to play a straight bat. As such, this post should not be read as a comment on Bruce either positively or negatively.

Now that you mention it, I'm not sure. It might have been an old idea that I got mixed up with a new one. I'm not privvy to any secret info on this.

Maric was named in the emergencies for the Adelaide match and is a good chance to play this weekend. He is a small forward who has stated that he hopes to develop into a sneaky rat Milne type player. He is renowned for having a very accurate kick. In addition to his preffered role of goal sneak, Maric has also been used as an attacking midfielder. I just think that he is a little over-hyped. He can only kick ~35m and he is quite slow. I'm still glad to have him on the list though. I love his enthusiasm. Personally, I'm screaming out for picks, not goals.

So far, it has been a poor season from Bate in general. And Bate's mistakes are often made even worse for supporters because you can quite often see exactly what is about to happen from the stands (turning circle, below the knees etc.). Let's hope that he can "turn it around" so to speak.

I have reported your post for irrelevance as I do not wish to encourage your trolling any further with a direct response.

I wouldn't get too carried away with Austin. He was a good find last year but is a little over-hyped in my opinion. Addam Maric is another exciting small forward prospect that is worth keeping an eye out for.

? From wikipedia: 2000 18,227 2001 22,940 2002 20,152 2003 20,555 2004 25,252 2005 24,220 2006 24,698 2007 28,077 2008 29,619 2009 29,706 (My highlighting - record years)

Are you talking about years still to come? I know 2007, 2008 and 2009 are record years, but I don't think 2005-6 are.

That would be "Bubba". I am almost certain that you are reffering to the same passage of play that I mentioned earlier, seems I'm not alone on this one after all.

Like I said, I think Un-Australian is a stupid term. It's a perfect example of a class "A" political weasel word. As far as I can tell, it is intended to describe a lack of "Australian-ness", but Australian-ness is such a poorly defined concept that it is almost meaningless. Australians are theives, life-savers, junkies, basketballers, lawyers, all sorts of things, so surely Australian-ness is all of these things also. But then people only ever seem to identify positives in their idea of the national character. Of course, if we examine the way that it is used and who uses it, we see the particular brand of Australian-ness that is being reffered to with the term Un-Australian is an idealised jingoistic Australian-ness. This presents us with the irony that, as jingoism isn't particually Australian (historically at least) - the term Un-Australian is somewhat Un-Australian (maybe another reason that I don't like to use it). Wrapping yourself in a flag and marching around in a cheap display of ostentatious patriotism is certainly not a very Australian thing to do (at least until recently), so this kind of jingoistic behaviour can be called Un-Australian also - and the aformentioned irony makes this insult all the more effective because the flag-wearers are precisely the kind of nationalistic right-wing nut jobs who like to define Australin-ness so exclusively and who put the greatest stock in terms like "un-Australian" which they aren't used to being on the recieving end of. Dreamin' man put it quite succinctly earlier in the thread when he wrote that:

Don't want to divert the thread? Then don't. At least you managed to avoid questioning my identity and correcting my spelling mistakes (e.g. "pruposes" (sic)) this time. I'm happy to debate how reasonable or otherwise I have been in another thread (why don't you start one instead of hi-jacking every other thread in order to snipe at me?) although now that you have raised it, it's funny how you seem to think that I am only unreasonable about one topic - seems to me that you are the one with the "obsession". Pathetic. Please do not reply to this post in this thread.

Make that three!

Speaking of fringe players turning 22, you forgot to put Newton on your list. His contract isn't up until the end of next year but I could see him getting paid out.

"Un-Australian" is not a term that I like to use much - but it is perfect for describing young Australians who wrap themselves in flags.

I know! While I'm at it - the bushfire money is questionable and the internet filter is a stupid idea. Good to get that off my chest.

I'm not sure that proposing a flawed kid with Key Forward potential at spot 43 is anything for the drafting researchers to be ashamed of. I tend to think that Newton displays deficiencies in both the courage and commitment departments. Most people here seem to agree with the latter, the former is more controversial.

I think that the proposed Melbourne vs. Sydney game at Manuka is a clever idea. I also think that there is some substance to the symbolic representation of opposing sporting teams as proxies for warring armies/tribes. And furthermore, I acknowledge that a period of silence at the 'G can be a moving experience and that the majority of people at the ground tomorrow will probably be at least a little moved in rememberence of the diggers. But am I the only one here who thinks that the AFL and the media are laying it on a bit thick? I noticed that they played the last post before the Saints /Power match. It's not even ANZAC day yet. The "traditional" Essendon vs. Collingwood match, which comes with it's own special medal no less, has only been around since 1995. When does a respectful acknowledgement of the significance of the public holiday become a cynical, marketing exercise? For the pruposes of the public reverence of dead soldiers, despite the gladiatorial hyperbole, is a footy match at the 'G any more appropriate a forum than a rave at Gallipoli? I'm interested to hear what people think.

Really? That's news to me. Do you have links to all of the Newton threads that I have started? I'm surprised how often my name gets brought up. Particularly when it has no relevance to the discussion. Sorry to hear that you have a sore tummy. Irritable Bowl Syndrome perhaps?

He has looked very strong this year. Martin also. Let's hope they can keep it up.

Pretty self-explanatory.