mauriesy

No, the issue was how to judge someone's character. Most unacceptable behaviour doesn't require a criminal charge to indicate "character" is lacking. And these were only known incidents ... how he behaves around the club is unknown to most of us and would have influenced Carlton's and the Lion's decision. Depends on what job I had and what standards I was expected to uphold. And if I'm any sort of role model or the public face of an organisation, I don't think prancing around with a dildo in a public place would do my chances much good.

Quick? It's been seven years since the 3am incident at Crown Casino, five since the barman assault in Ireland, three since the nightclub urination incident and nearly two since the Brownlow medal drunkenness debacle. After Fevola left Carlton, there's been the Bingle photo scandal, the flashing allegations, and the New Year's Day 2011 public nuisance charge. We should be grateful that Melbourne is looking like a fine, upstanding club at the moment. Maybe it's luck, maybe it's because we've gone out of our way to select on character, and avoided or rid ourselves of misfits like Fevola (a certain backman comes to mind).

Current membership levels of Victorian-based (this morning's figures) Collingwood 53,244 Hawthorn 44,644 Essendon 38,686 Richmond 33,700 St Kilda 30,369 Carlton 29,198 Geelong 27,668 Melbourne 25,253 Western Bulldogs 22,503 North Melbourne 18,056 North are bad, but compared to the others we're not exactly taking home the cash with Armaguard either.

No he's not. He is not a team player, he doesn't train very effectively, he hasn't got his personal life together, he disobeys team rules, he constantly gets into controversy, he goes out on the p**s too often and he is an extremely bad influence on young players. Football is not just kicking goals. Two teams have now realised it and I doubt there'll be a third.

Yeah, but not as an AFL footballer.

Fevola is finished, gone, kaput. After the cancerous experiences of two clubs, no one will touch him with a barge pole, not even Sheedy at GWS. Time for Fevola himself to assume responsibility for his own actions and life, get his act together and rescue what he can out of it. And I've had it with people who blame others, the "system" and everyone down to their first-grade school teacher for their lot in life.

Hope so. I haven't ploughed through all those Whiteboard Wednesdays for nothing.

Melbourne has been getting an incredible amount of positive press in the last few months. This article is another that shows the club in a very good light. We're worlds apart from the Saints, North and Fevola too.

Could be.

No, they could all be rubbish, developed from Chinese whispers about rumours developed from idle chatter.

You could however sign a contract with contingencies allowing for an increase.

The whole Scully saga is so far based on unfounded rumour and some oil poured on the fire by media performers with vested interest, such as McGuire and Sheedy. Yet you are making the above statements as if they are facts and casting aspersions on Scully's motives. For all we know, Scully himself may be doing nothing of the sort. These sort of statements make Scully look like a mercenary when the opposite is most likely true. (On the other hand, what's wrong with maximising your earnings? That's the whole reason the doomsayers are speculating he'll go to GWS.)

You underestimate Garland.

Like it or lump it, Tom is actually only halfway through a two-year playing contract with us. What's the rush on his part? To assuage all the Demon supporter hysteria? I reckon we'll all regret the way our supporters are panicking. Many things will happen this year. Tom will likely rise further in his path to stardom. The new AFL media deal and the AFLPA player payments submission will have huge effects on player payments and certainly raise salary caps. Tom would be mad to rush into new contract negotiations, either with Melbourne or GWS, until these things are sorted out. I can fully see his management's point of view.

Maybe there's a rich benefactor out there who could offer Miranda Kerr an ambassadorship for world modelling or something, on the side of course. Now she's a mother, has her value gone up or down?

Liked this from the AFL web site: "AN UNDER-STRENGTH Melbourne side will kick off round one of the NAB Cup with five of its best 22 sidelined. Key players James Frawley (pectoral), Michael Newton (broken wrist) and Ricky Petterd (hamstring) are all injured, while Nathan Jones (soreness) and Mathew Warnock will also miss the round-robin clash against Adelaide and Port Adelaide."

Perhaos they're just hanging on to him until frontal lobe development kicks in.

Strange words, "faith" and "delusion". Both are perjorative and based on belief rather than fact. The FD simply decided that for 2011, Michael Newton offered more to the football club than all the other young footballers who hadn't been picked up in the ND, PSD or RD at the end of 2010. The crunch time for Newton will now come at the end of 2011 (or 2012 in the unlikely event he somehow manages to get three years on the RL). I don't see that that's a cause for either faith or delusion. It's simply a matter of the best (or least worst if you're a pessimist) out of several options. I agree with the FD (and therefore Rhino). It's just a management decision, and no, I'm not "deluded". I wouldn't have thought a rookie-listed player costs the total club budget much at all, unless he gets some additional match payments, in which case at least he's playing.

No love for Frawley as a potential future captain? Has plenty of good attributes.

I like the new colours.

Thanks for the comprehensive report. However, given it is the first training sessions for the year, the conclusions highlighted I think are jumping the gun a bit.

Pretty innocuous stuff. Every newcomer needs to "adjust to the demands of training". Every young player needs to "get their body right". Every older player needs to "capitalise on a great season".

It would indeed be nice. It would make us richer than Manchester United! B)

If you improve your KPIs, the teams you are playing against will normally worsen theirs. You can't all gain more KPI stats.

I would have thought if you improve all the KPIs (e.g. quarters won, tackles, inside 50s, rebounds, stoppages, clearances, individual player possessions etc.) that everyone has listed, then more wins will naturally follow. That is if the KPIs actually mean anything and are valid. PS. After a 1-point loss and a draw last year, I don't know why everyone automatically puts the QB match against Collingwood as a loss.