mauriesy

Given the way Carazzo tagged Davey, I love this: Blues cry foul over tag tactics.

Bail shouldn't even be mentioned in this thread.

According to this page: http://stats.rleague.com/afl/seas/1957.html the drawn match in 1957 was played in Round 13, Saturday 13th July at Victoria Park.

I would have thought we'd be happier with O'Bree in.

So you disagree with Rhino about Dunn, but now you agree with him about Dunn?

Who's teaching Watts to play forward? No one. He comes to training, does a few drills around some witched hats, has a few kick-to-kicks and runs a lap or two. The coaches sit on the sidelines barking a few instructions. Five minutes goal kicking, then he changes and has a pie before he goes home. Jeez.

My first three changes were only in case of injury. You wouldn't think I'd drop James McDonald would you?

Hughes for Sylvia (possibly Maric). Bell for James McDonald. We need someone as a tough defensive stopper to terrorise the likes of Didak or Medhurst without worrying too much about possessions of our own. McKenzie for Jones. Dunn for either Miller or Watts. Frawley for Rivers. Cheney a possibility.

Couple of weeks for a ruptured bonnet. Perhaps Jack should choose his litterbug mates more carefully. Wasn't Didak in the passenger seat was it?

Yes, but we still got #19 Green, #20 Wheatley, #50 Whelan and #64 Bruce ... lucky. 2000 was an even worse disaster after Scott Thompson left.

Only that there has been voluminous training, counselling and information given to players about the problems of contact with young girls with stars in their eyes. The perils of such relationships have been thoroughly and endlessly covered in player sex and relationship education initiated by the AFL. The issue therefore seems to be that these players have probably been thinking with an organ somewhat lower than the one they ought to have been thinking with.

So one lucks in and other lucks out? I guess that's sex though.

If she's doing VCE she'd most likely be 17 or 18. 'Teenager' is very wide ranging. Probably not much problem with her age at the time either, it was only two months ago. Interesting dilemma: if she had sex with the two together, who takes responsibility for the kid ... just the one with the DNA match?

Wonaeamirri came back on the flight that left 6pm Sunday.

This will be a week when "general soreness" might be cited a bit. As much as we like to talk about changes the day after the match, what happens will depend on how players recover during the week. Speculation is fairly useless. You'd think Bate, Warnock and Bruce would have to come back in if fit. Gysberts and Maric are chances if some other players don't pull up well.

Rucking in the backline means leaving your man for a moment. If Frawley is covering a big player like Mooney, Podsiadly or Hawkins, that is "Frawtley" with danger.

And for posterity!

We did win the 2nd quarter against the Lions convincingly.

In regard to players like Dunn, I think if we have players of the calibre of Morton and Watts (and eventually Jurrah, Wonaeamirri and Gysberts) pushing for selection, we can no longer accept an "average" game from anyone. We need to adjust our thinking towards excellence, not the merely good. That's the virtue of having exciting talent and class players coming into calculations. Not much point in settling for a cheap passable red when you can have a Grange!

One of Frawley's kick-ins was smothered after he kicked it to himself and played on. It came back immediately as a goal and was worse than any of Grimes' errors. It was wet and everybody on the ground made errors. Get over it. I reckon Grimes' kicking has been OK for most of this year and can't see why there's the sudden push to specifically pick him out for errors.

I don't think you can separate out just a footballer's record. If integrity wasn't important in football, we might still have Nathan Carroll or the Blues Angwin. Besides, the criteria for entry to the AFL Hall of Fame include that "the Committee may consider a candidate's individual record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship and character. That was always the sticking point on Carey's admission. OJ Simpson certainy wouldn't get admitted. Many wouldn't go to the Hall of Fame if it meant being confronted by a murderer, rapist or habitual felon, regardless of how good they were at football.

He lost a subsequent civil trial on the matter (but hasn't paid any of the damages awarded). Also, a jury found Simpson guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping in October 2008 and he was sentenced to nine years in prison, currently being served. If AFL clubs are now placing a strong emphasis on integrity, I don't see why the AFL Hall of Fame shouldn't have a criterion on the idea. That's not to say Carey should be left out.

If OJ Simpson was an AFL player would you put him, or keep him, in the Hall of Fame? (I'd put him in the Hall of Infamy.) Things can be given and things can be taken away. Like Melbourne Storm premierships.

It's easy to get 'atmosphere' when you can put 70,000 spectators around a turf area that's only 8000m2 (Docklands is 19,500m2 or 250% larger) in the biggest sporting event on the planet.

I have been trying very hard to like Underwood. I can even come around to her voice, which is still grating but seems to have been toned down, at least in shrillness. But when every goal on an angle is "slotted through", every goal on the run is "rammed home", every string of possessions without a tackle is a "training drill", every tackled player is "driven into the turf" and every kick over 20 metres "goes long", I think she has a lot of work to do. She is far from natural, and I have never heard her say anything ironic, humorous, contemplative or insightful. Dennis Commetti she ain't.