whatwhat say what

fingers crossed it's not that serious...

i actually thought watts was pretty okay - in patches - in 2014. and that game of his against richmond was sensational - as good as jones was in the last, i thought watts was actual matchwinner. watts has always hinted that he has the ability to be a very, very good footballer. toumpas i just don't see as a modern afl footballer. he's too slow by thought and deed, and lacks any discernible weapons, while his disposal is iffy at best. as yet, too slow to be an outside midfielder, not good enough to be an inside. i have hope that he can show far, far more in 2015. as others have said, i'm holding judgement til we see what his third year on an afl list brings.

the same board that's been further strengthened by new additions who are very much in the pro-hird camp.

titus is one of us!

gil doesn't need to say anything at this point. feb 18 is the current date that's been bandied about as tribunal starting to consider their recommended course of action - which can of course be appealed by wada if required. the peptides don't have their first nab challenge game til march 7. tribunal comes out and announces back-dated six month bans within a week of that, and gil announces changes to nab challenge schedules as it won't even effect the premiership season. and then we wait to see whether there's an appeal.

Fremantle bound, the first player they've targeted they're likely to land. McPharlin's replacement.

Capital gains will suck up a fair whack of that I'd expect?

Oh I would love him at the Dees, don't get me wrong, but I think if he was to leave meth coke it'd be for playing with his brother and a recent period of incredible success.

robbie grey was considered a super talent and a bit lazy, a bit soft, and injury-prone his underage year. went pick 55 iirc. it took him years to a) get his body right and b) have the desire to get the most out of himself. ironically a severe knee injury may have been the catalyst for the change. he's been flying for two seasons now.

Great photos. Hogan looks massive. Gawn still in 37?

is a gun, but he'll go to geelong.

it seems to be that the re-branding will incorporate the 'mfc' entwined letters that have become part of the look and feel of the club in recent times, and i'm guessing use of the mcg as a symbol to associate with the club. looking forward to seeing what the graphic designer comes up with - simplicity is key.

I admit that I absolutely loved Hird as a player. When he was an on the couch resident I advocated for him being chased, hard, by our beloved Jim as the next coach post-Bailey. Now though...geez. Talk about going from revered to reviled. I maintain that try should be coming down like an almighty tonne of bricks on the Bombers: - Hird banned for life - players banned for two years, reduced to 12 months, potentially - all involved support personal banned for 12 months (eg Bomber, Goodwin, Wallis etc) It's the only way a lesson can be taught. Won't happen tho I don't think.

It was seriously some of the most biased reporting I've ever heard. She spoke to: - Martin Hardie - a lawyer for Cronulla players - two Bombers supporters who attended court Whatever happened to a fair and balanced abc?!?

Tracy Holmes about to have a feature on the case on abc grandstand / radio national for those interested. Everyone's favourite Deakin law 'expert' her guest. Even Holmes is saying four judges, Martin, four judges...

i wonder if the 'star witness' is going to be brett prismall.

Those portrait shots of Watts are awful - he looks like an 11 year old runt. I just hope it's a combination of lighting, angle, whatever.

Watson is delusional if he actually believes that.

How is that back peddling? He didn't make it and to me it seems that he now doesn't want to try. We should've picked Ball.

Just calling it as I see it. He wanted to be picked up as a rookie, but when he's not he's clearly decided that the ammo life rather than the hard graft of battling away in SANFL, vfl is the way to go. He's clearly decided his time as a potential afl player is over. It's a shame.

It sums it up when rather than try to make it back to top level football by going to the vfl or back home to the SANFL he's taken the easy life of playing amateurs for the coin on offer. It would seem to me that he probably never had the wherewithal to make it at afl level in the first place. I was in the room when Vlad read out "pick 18, Melbourne, player 123456, Luke..." And I got all excited thinking you little ripper, we've called collingwood's bluff, and we are picking a top class talent who is ready to go and that we have the coin to pay. And then it was Tapscott not Ball. Shame.

It'll mean when they do get whacked it'll be in the season proper. I have zero issue with this.

Toumpas continues to sound like a concern.

bit harsh on robbo and the wiz - both played finals in their time at the dees, at least saw some level of success. well, far more than any other player over the last seven seasons.

Other coaches subscribe to the theory that a ruckman is far less important than he's ever been, almost to the point of being redundant. sam jacobs is probably the best ruckman in terms of putting the ball to adelaide's advantage more than any other ruckman, but the likes of dangerfield, sloane, thompson and the crouch bros. can't capitalise on his dominance because there's better midfielders than they on the opposition who're able to either stop them breaking away, getting it into space, or alternatively wrest the ball back from them. I like wj's mentioning of 'the entire midfield division' - if you bat deep there (look at hawks, swans, et al) then you're in a good spot. You could make an argument, thus, that perhaps the most important position is the 5th, 6th - the players who push up from half-forward to influence the midfield. But i'll stick with the centreman / midfield combo theory.