beelzebub

I have no problem with threads ..lol.. however.. curb the enthusiasm for just a tad to scroll back through recent threads to see if youre not doubling up needlessly. Sometimes topics need a new lease on life.. sometimes they dont Oh..we dont need so MANY CAPS either !!

I think we wil be seriously contending finals in 2-3 years.. Tha means, not just making up the numbers.. but there with a show. Wouldnt it be lovely to beat Collingwood ...3 times.. :D but id settle for twice and a record flogging of the Tassie Sqawks...just to shove it up big mouth !!

I wonder if Mike just getting a little bit excited ( on the quiet of course..) lol :D He wil have seen much come and go. Seems like he thinks Bails is teh real deal. Quite an early call on that really

woohoo...not too shabby at all . Go Dees Hopefully there will be incentive packages to sign up before years out for next year. Some better payment schemes etc. We want a base of 30 looking at 35 in the next couple of years.. well done all

15 Western Bulldogs Telstra Dome 16 Fremantle Subiaco Oval 17 Kangaroos Melbourne Cricket Ground 18 Essendon Melbourne Cricket Ground 19 Geelong Melbourne Cricket Ground 20 West Coast Melbourne Cricket Ground 21 Port Adelaide AAMI Stadium 22 Richmond Melbourne Cricket Ground Thats our run home. I think its reasaonable to call 15 & 19 as losses Which leaves Freo, Roos, Dons, Weagles, Port and the Toiges. As it happens they are al lbottom eight sides and arguably the easiest run home of any team. The Roos and Tiges still harbour final eight spots. Id currently feel these are winnable.. but I dont think we will The games against Freo Essendon the Eagles and Port could be interesting I believe Choco is under a fair degree of pressure to resurrect some street cred down Alberton way .At AAMI our likelyhood is for a loss. We just dont do well there. A fairly close game I think though. Much depends on the attitude of little Johnny and his band of rag tag feathery fiends. The Eagles as a club dont relsih bottom. I stand to be corrected but I dnt think they have finished last for ...well ever and must be 20 odd years since they were even clellar dwellers. I dont think they will start any time soon. West Coast play the G as good as any team going around. This is a winnable game.... Essendon will fancy themselves...which team comes to play ?? who knows.. on their day they will win..I think theres a chance there also. Freo...Freo....Freo... at Subi no less.only a 33% strike rate there..they have a 53% hit rate There are two games where there is possibly no great incentive to win for the opposition..other than pride..or 'local' pressure. They also are our greatest rivals to the best picks. All of the above..is simply the WHAT The WHY is as stated many times ...to finish last is to give oneself the best vantage position for trade/draft etc. Now much is said about the number 1 pick. That its not always the best. Very true...20/20 hindsight suggests there have been better choices. But concensus at the time was that many of these players were the best of the best at that time. So what went wrong. Much depends on what team a player is drafted to.Even more goes towards teh efforts of the recruiting staff and scouts etc . This is becoming far more refined and deeply worked on as the years go by.Its much more a refined science than it was 10 years ago. But there are two elements to al lthis #1 wsnt so crach hot after all stuff. The first is the selection position. The second is who you pick. Just getting the first look in doesnt guarantee success , not if you dont choose wisely. Histotry suggest many choices werent the best. That doesnt negate the value of being first in best dressed..just emphasises that you dont want to waste it. Only one team gets first pick. Sounds ludicously simple.. but it really has ramificatons. This year is even more important as for a wile we will no longer have an evens /stevens effort at the draft. Some sugest its double or treble so important to get the best pickings THIS year. Again finishing last means we get dibs on #1 nat draft..#1 in PSD. It also take some other teams out of the equation regarding on trading etc..WE GET TO CHOOSE. The HOW many have mentioned various sublte shananagans. There's selection. There's the 'injured' list..Theres off to hospital yong man and get fit for next year. There's Lets play someone out of position "just to see how they go". There's reduced interchanges...might just take the edge off of them. Mis-matches..or making chnages a bit "late" allowingthe oppo to gain a foot hold etc.. In just as many ways as you can try to win a game, so can you thwart it. What if we win...well we win..lol good for them. But is a little bit of short term congratualtions really worth it compared to longer term strategems ? Do you want to win the battle...or the war ??

We are a different kettle of fish. We arent trying to emulate anyone. Its all very noble to suggest winning for the sake of winning..after all there's supposedly some carry over effect into 09.. No theres not. One season ends..another starts. Different personnel to some degreee, a different balance to the side. More experience for some.. another preseason for others. It changes. Some might be happy letting things just "unfold" , astute organisations dont !! They try to control what they can. We've already explained the HOW.. you just dont want to accept the WHY !!

I disagree.. as with anything theres a time and a place. You rejuvenate the land by burning it.. In fact often certains seeds will ONLY germinate after a good burn. On the surface there is only one goal of playing a game..to win. But dig deeper and there are many subplots going on in a game. If you are in reasonably good shape and wel lhoned then losing certainly isnt the ideal. When you're not..it can be a tool.

ok..spanner in the thinking.. or topic for debate. Loved Neeta.. but always felt we were compromised on match day having a Capt who was really only at teh sharp end.. Your sphere of influence when things arent happening is limited.. Ive nothing actually against Miller in this regard..its soley the FF as capt. Id prefer not to

very much so...all in the cause of 'experience' actually all cynicism aside..sometimes babtisms of fire are required.. sometimes its a genuine tool of learning to 'have' to continue in a seeming lost cause scenario... it hardens the mind. You either step up to it.. beating the opponent ISNT the goal . Being able to apply oneself even when all looks lost is invaluable.. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the result..just how it was obtained. You can learn much about a persons resolve in these situations..often more than when things are going well. This is actually an invaluable benchmarking exercise for coaches. You want to know who wont buckle. And you can do all this whilst finals arent an 'interuption "

OH..sorry.. Well.. maybe we might need to "rest' a couple.. you know.. young kids, dont want to burn them out We might need to explore the 'potential' ( not to mention any trade value ) of Players like Meeson.. Newton.. Weetra and Carroll ?? Possibly White gets a return..esp near end of season .. so he can go out with fanfare.. and rest a "performing " ruck or two. Such things might be done agaisnt teams we could oitherwise give a shake !! Arguably our injuries limit our choices but there still exists a little leeway for inventive selection..and indeeed positioning on field. Some of this can be done in the guise of genuine interest to see how some might go doing specific roles. For some its a last look before the last tick goes on the travel voucher !! You can disagree..fine by me

Suffice to say ...not everything portrayed by the media in a one team town will necessarily be on the money !! lol

SHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!

It may be a tad foolhardy.( given our precarious position ) ..but common practice is to borrow against the value of land ( hint) to build !! We need 1/2 mill.. we're given a 1/2 mil assett...get them grey cells going !!

We're currently paying for the luxury of not having to put up with his waxing and waning.. Money well spent !!

So as not to have invectives confused.. my thinking is simple. ( Yes I know thats been the concensus for years..boom boom !! lol ) If we finish last.. we have OUR selection first round... We get box seat also with PSD...which negates any secondary trading requirements ( most likely ) and we get pick 17, to do with as we please If we dont finish last.. all that is compromised.. There is a HUGE difference in effect as to where we finish. Now I could be rude and suggest to not understand that is to be completely THICK... but thats not my way

must pop down the tailors for an adjustment maybe cynical.. hardly condescending..lol

Wisdom always tempers enthusiasm with timing. Its not an easy course to tread trying to balance going forward with overall preparedness. You dont run a thoroughbread at ful gallop in every race...you wait until there's purpose. Its called intelligence. Dont be so naieve as to think that WC and Freo cant make life hard for us on and off the pitch ! reconsider all you like...its your prerogative

The merits of Johnno have been debated ad nauseum here....concensus....enjoy your time in the sun Travis !!

Winning or not winning a spoon is irelevant...gaining the ability to get the players we want/need IS. Couldnt care less if we got a spoon...such memories are easily erased by a cup!! My concern presently is is we dont finish in the box seat then we will have to trade clever if we are to get Warnock. If we're last its a monty!! 2008 is about positioning.. 2009 is about getting serious. Prioritites people...priorities !!

He's just a Surfboard and a Playstation at heart !!! B)

oh dear...he might be too OLD to bring into our lineup In a word ( or two ) NO THANKS !! been there...done that !!

you know...there are reasons you get rid of people in the first place !!!

Johnstone...??? who ..!!!

Who knows...he might have moe time with the demise of the GP. He certainly knows his way around that part of town and he is a real Deeman. but really..wouldnt ya love Crackers to whack Hutchy one !! lol ( oops did I say that !!...I'm sorry!! ) Given that Jimma wants the board reduced in size..who would stand aside ?..and so soon. Might be warranted but wouldnt look too good. Needs to be done professionally if its true.

He didnt have a case with 200g in it by any chance