beelzebub

Some seem very easily confused that impatience is the same as there being no reason not to.. If he can, then he ought to. No ?

Thanks for enlightening us to the end thatyou cant read there webber. You in with the assumption that I expect him to be a game winner from day one. I dont. No reasonable person does. You make a few wild statements purely on the back of either your standpoint..or ignorance. matters not..same end. Watts is older than both of Scully and Trengove. It is a commonly held beleif that Midfielders take a whiles to gain teh tank required of that job and yet here we have two kids running around.. and with one esp in Scully the most likely to be the last man standing inany game. Point? You cant make too many general assumptions . There is no One-Size fits all argument that can be applied to all players. If Watts has the talent and the germ of ability ( and its all but unaminously agreed he does ) then what is to be gained from him passing the day and amassing easy gets in the magoos ?

That High Tower is clouding your senses. What relevance is it that hes not a midfielder..oh yeah..this myth that you cant play at either end if your a kid.. try telling that to Fletcher and a myriad of kids who have. Its utter crap!! We allowed Watts the luxury of fulfilling his academic requirements whilst getting paid. thats what it is, simple as that. If not for some injury setbaks he would have lined up at teh pointy end this year in the seniors especially as we hvent anyone there yet. Everyone seems in agreement his has suficient talent to be just this side of precocious with it. But he isnt.. From my viewings hes very adept and clever with his abilities. He HAS it. So again...as you put it...how many times .... why do we not play him and build his game time etc ? No logical reason not to

So on the basis of some's thinking we dont play Watts til some magical day when his "growing" has pinnacled ? He needs to learn and develop his craft at the level hes expected to play and thats AFL. If hes fit he can play there. He may not be at his potential from day one..but who ever is. would we have kept Jurrah back in the maggos for so long ? Hes still develping, hes still maturing as an AFL player ( albeit sidelined). Scully isnt near his potential yet either...but we're playing him.. Its called experience. McKenzie has grown immensely in the time hes been allowed to play. And boy he was rusty to start with ( npi) Is Watts as big and strong as he will be..of course not. Do we cotton ball him til then..? Be an absolute waste if that was the case. He'll learn more about his craft playing on the better AFL level backs than at VFL level. He has the talent..he needs to hone it.

I have a sneaky suspicion that despite all the rhetoric from the club that there are creeping frustrations that quite frankly Watts isnt a little further along his path of greatness than currently positioned. I do think the patience exhibited by the club is genuine but I dont think it will prove infinite. Granted a few niggles have set him back from previously announced timeframes but without the overshadow of studies ( now finished) cramping his focus and given our need for a key forward I would rather Watts got senior time sooner rather than later. If its all about getting games into legs and the bonding on the field of combat then keeping him down any longer thanreally required seems counter productive.

Firstly: Hardly sliding back under stones.. some of us simply put thee notion out there that Bailey was ultimately responsible..and more importantly accountable. Hes proving to be up to the task at least its vastly improved ( Melbournes efforts). He's responded to the criticism thatnot onlyeminated from these boards but resonated around the general footy world. Strangely though there are others like myself who didnt actually want him sacked replaced or otherwise... we just wanted him to show his wares in a winning climate not the "management" mode previous. We hae a long way to go . Its looking quite positive and thats what I imagine we all want. Secondly:Scott almost appears to making excuses before needing to. They've recruited some pretty good talent , theyve got top line facilitities, and theyve made some curious decisions in recent years.!!

Possibly Scotts lot might be better with a little Green in place of Blue...might reflect his view more

Wasnt that long ago the unwashed were suggesting we ( Melbourne ) had no brand...that we didnt stand for anything. They just had no clue, no understanding of the deep heritage and culture that is the Melbourne Football Club. And heres a man ( CS) who lives and breathes it

The streaming seems stinted. They used to do it quarter by quarter.worked fine.. now.. its to omuch and kills 'puters. They obvious ly never heard of 'it aint broke dont fix it !!'

quite frankly...good. Let it be known this is Melbourne Demons territory...... tired of sharing with others !! This Heart mob are Johnny come lately's ..good luck to them anywhere else.( in their second rate comp)

Am crossing my fingers and rubbing my Budhas tummy often... my thoughts of a pos 9-10 fiish no so outrageous now. The team is starting to click... and with a little luck .. will continue to and then more ( with others still to return and others debut ) GO DEES !!

Thanks for the heads up.. a great read. ( I read other pages too ) He is a good communicator with a sensitivityfor his position ( in and amongst many things ) His piece about his father was very poignant. He certainly understands what this club is about

Hide from fraudulent behaviour?.. Nope ..wholeheartedly agree...once youve been turned in youre in for it. It's the size and nature of the "it" I would argue here is disproportionate to whats happened.. For during their premiership years they were only about a 1/4 mil over the cap.. yes naughty for sure..but I ask...and in the context of other teams and other codes this is draconian...and dare I say extrmely short sighted of the NRL There are apparently anywhere up to another 5-6 teams now well and truly in the spotlight. You can bet that Waldron wont go down alone. If hes for the pillory he might as well share the love. Then what happens ? if other clubs are found to have been very naughty too then surely similar penalties must be invoked otherwise sydney centric favoritism will be the cry of the day. Choose your metaphor.. house of cards..dominoes...chain..etc etc. Once that train leaves the station it cant return. One in all iin..one out all out. Do we then have a situation where 2-3 clubs are playing or no points? The season would be in tatters ( again ) If i were Storm Id be looking around for other villians... to share the pain. I only think the AFL is wonderful...by comparison.. I still think Carlton ought to be investigated thoroughly..and sanctioned ( again ) if need be...but strip them of points? Isee that as counterproductive....fine them and remove drafts picks...for as you say RR..that really hurts !!

make that 4 mins from self destruct and counting !!

btw...why isnt all this over at Other-Sports ?? just curious

see..no need or desire to strip points.. the AFL is far more effective at remonstrating than the fools at the NRL. Again.. the AFL wont strip points..theres no precedent for it(and nothing to be gained) The NRL is at any given time 5 mins from self destruct mode. Also...there would seem to have been a greater desire to 'parent' the clubs in question over their trangression compared to the bully tactics of League. Still..what do you expect !!

How is what Storm has done any diferent from the alledged activites at carltank.......youre trying to tell me there isnt a systematic approach to rortig over there ar Visy park ?? Both working outside the rules is a planned way to better their positions. The AFl is beating its puffed chest at the moment as it knows the NRL is eud de shite at present. AFL hasnt and wont strip points despite any false bravado. its not its way. Its holds the transgressor by the goolies... spanks it proper and maintains its grip. It knows it needs teams around and healthy.

The AFL wil linvestigate StKilda...thats a given. And it will probably find some misdoings. worst case it may fine them or penalise draft picks. It will take a cracker to the nut...not even a hammer!! I dont hink Vlad thinks simplistically at all...I think he has threads going all over the place. He must know of what goes on at many clubs. Wood will too. what he chooses to do is another thing. He looks at larger pictures. i dont particularly agree with many actions but the AFL is stil around.. its a very strong comp and teams are getting back on their feet. Rightly or wrongly the AFL's approach is far more encompassing than the ridiculous effortsw of League. Ironically Stormhave probably only gone over the mark by a similar proportion to that which the AFL allows as increases to salary caps for burgeoning teams. Such a different way of going about things isnt it !!

The problem with the NRL is has no real soul...its a toy of the NSW media run purely as a money making enteprise by Media barons.... By comparison the AFL has longevity, heritage and tradition..let alone continuity ( though a war or two did try its hardest to upset things) Yes..a couple of teams may have moved on and morphed but nothing compared to the NRL. NRL is essentially run to appease an interest of mainly New South welshmen who love their little game and enjoy a stoush with their northern neighbours, this only really initially lip service and to offer a whipping boy...however that boy grew up and started thumping its creator.. drum roll.. create Melbourne.. a new whipping boy and a token appeasement to those who feared the expansion monster of the AFL. Cue, the created yet again thumps the creator !! cant have that..so lets kneecap them at the earliest opportunity...and so they have. In a way its brilliant timing to enter the hometurf backyard of the NRL with an AFL expansion team. I cant see how Storm can survive.. League will dissapear from Victoria. Real Rugby diehards can get their fix via the new Rebels.. I know a different game.. but who cares. Funny how differently the two codes go about things.. NRL are so wet behind the ears its embarassing

Im not advocating that wholesale rorting need go neither unabated, unchallenged nor penalised. But a sledgehammer to a walnut ?..even a reasonably larger type walnut ? Yes...clever stuff NRL.. diminish your competition...again ...idiots!! Demetriou must be having a chuckle to himself

rubbish.. look at the history of our game and how we've ( AFL ) managed it We dont go about it by destroying teams. Hell for the most part we just keep our heads in sand ( AFL) Carlton rorted for years..still are. A more appropriate fine would have been to strip it of its current points.By all means fine it. , require it to prove by audit that it was within salary cap with a prescribed period.. possibly a month. As the NRL provide for moves... possibly allow other clubs to contract9mid season draft ) any players that the Storm cant aford should salary cap required pruning of its list. The NRL are idiots..simple as that

Its A Storm in a Harbour !!.. This games ( NRL ) is a joke... a basketcase. Struggles to get people to games.. teams struggling now that the pokies arent their private cash cow. This far more about a NSW game remaining a NSW focus. How better to promote the game than shrink it !!lol. A league...lol.. a comp just this side of being broke itself. Talk about kneejerk reactions by a bunch of amatuers !!

a little perspective.. if it was 1.7 over five years were talking a miserable 350 year. Yes..its been a ruse but weve all known what s been going on in AFL land for years. In the grand scheme of things its not a huge amount of money. l The whole NRL existence is a dodgy afair. The clubs in their won right can hardly stand on their feet. The business model for that game has been mucked around with many times and all but crumbled. I wonder how many other NRL clubs might be scrambling for the shredder!!

Have to laugh.. the news is Sooooo Sydney centric.. youd think it was the only show in town..lol...or rather Sydney was the only town with a show. So many of those Shinytown folk must be rejoicing in the pending demise of the Storm. Ive personally have no problem with people following any code.. its a personal thing after all. Not everyone finds AFL its preferred choice.

I do applaud Jaded's sentiment but this far better describes a reality. It can get all tooeasy to get super-emotive and criticise others whilst not living teir lives or their particular finacial situations. I fo rone would rather the membership numbers refelct the true nature of where we are at...not the hyped siutation say at North where reality kicks in when all the ghosts disappear.. Like Jackattack there was an accountin g hiccup some years back ..am sure that too resulted in a misreading of memberships..if onlyby one. Is there really a lot of point signing up peoplel whodont really want to go ..etc. Better tobuy another rafle or such. If the club needs to have anidea of realmemberships and what it can bank onyear to year then surely REAl figures...evenif lower serve teh club better for budgeting etc. As others suggest there will be those who have passed on.. those that werent real members in the "following sense" there are those that simply have a higher priority for 150 bucks.. ( maybe a new born etc) Strange as it may seem for many...life is bigger than footy...hard to believe I know !!