Tony Tea

And at 10 million, even Buddy is a dicey prospect.

Stronger? Out of those five teams and their picks, I would suggest that only Buddy is a good pick-up. Chaplain and Knights are foot-soldiers, Pearce & Sylvia flakey, Lynch & Young a bust, Rivers not much more than back-up.

Buddy to Sydney is okay by me. The moment free agency was announced I lowered my expectations for Melbourne and accepted our status as a Premier League style feeder club and that we would never win another flag.

Heath Shaw is a sweeper, the easiest position in modern footy. Shaw has done his best work sitting behind the Collingwood press with O'Brian and Maxwell. But that really only worked for about a season and a half when Collingwood had ambushed the competition with their new tactic. Once teams sussed what the Pies were up to, the better teams were able to push up on Shaw and Maxwell and force both of them into rubbish disposal. While O'Brian has the power to run the lines in traffic and find kicking room, Maxwell and Shaw are neither quick enough nor strong enough to find the space needed for precision delivery. Shaw would be handy if he fell into our lap, but pick two is madness. He is worth nothing like that.

Are we to conclude Andrew has been using his mid-season overseas trips to seek bigger jobs? If so, he has been shopping around on company time and on the company dime, and ought to be sacked right now.

Footy speak: "I can categorically state that I will definitely not be coaching next year. I start coaching at Melbourne tomorrow."

I played footy in Lake Grace. A sandpit of an oval.

I have sympathy with you there, Steve. The way Freo players have carried on over the last 10 or so years is bizarre. They are clearly the kings of over-celebration - goals in lost matches and wins against rubbish side, you'd think they had won 10 flags in a row. But I lived in WA when there was only the Eagles, and they were just as bad. Probably still are, with Nik Nat on the front of the West when he gets a pimple, buys milk or pats a dog. Freo have won no flags, the Hawks 9 in my lifetime. Go Freo.

Kicked by Crowley.

Demon royalty.

Oh, sorry. You were being serious.

Good one.

Brad Miller is Pia's WAG.

Teflon Josh.

Fingers crossed Roos teaches Watts how to win contested footy a la Josh Kennedy. (The Swans one.)

How would they go without Ablett?

Me on September 5: Me on September 10: Wonder how close I'll be.

Demetriou on September 10: "GWS has plenty to look forward to, including Tom Boyd." Melbourne will not get No.1 as a priority pick.

If the AFL does not give Melbourne a priority pick after our last seven years, imagine how bad a team will have to be to eventually warrant one.

Paul Bryce.

I assume this is the same Richard Colless who poached Terry Wallace to break his contract with the Bulldogs.

What if we don't win a flag for another 49 years.

Paul Keating (almost): “In an AFL always back self-interest."

We should de-list Brian Royal again. Just to make sure.

Never knew Demonology was still going.