Nasher

Evans is contracted until the end of next year, I thought. That means he has time coming out the wazoo. With Spencer signing today, Strauss, Blease, Tapscott and Nicholson are all surely toast now unless a miracle happens. That would make 6 if added to Clark and presumably Byrnes, which is a lot; there is time enough for one of them to change my mind. I said in a previous thread that Barry may go, but I expect he'll be awarded one more year for additional time to prove his worth as we will have moved on more than enough players as it is.

I'm comfortable with the logic and therefore the decision. He and Jamar are currently the only players on our list capable of playing first ruck. I doubt he will play a lot of footy while Jamar is in the side, but he's adequate and necessary backup while others develop. It also feels like he's been on the list forever. Surprised me to see that he's only 24 - he's still really just a pup in ruckman years. It seems funny to still be thinking of a player like Jake in terms of potential, but he's big, strong, aggressive and committed. I reckon he's still got stacks of improvement left in him.

People thought I was joking when I said "this site is moderated?" last time you complained about the moderation around here, but I wasn't. There is currently not one moderator on the list who is online often enough to be effective. It's bloody hard to find people who are both capable of not getting too involved in the argy-bargy, *and* are present a lot; the two things tend to be mutually exclusive. Are you volunteering? The reason the 'g' word is censored is because it's used overwhelmingly in an abusive fashion. Same with the 'f' word (the one that ends in 'g'). I don't strictly agree with censoring every word that could be remotely imagined to be offensive, but that's how it is. For what it's worth, I doubt the angle you've taken on "gay" (I'm assuming my status will by-pass the filter?) had been considered before. I will draw it to Andy and Jack's attention.

Man, that's come about very fast. Congrats Tom!

Sounds like a big lead up to a nothing story. On Frawley, I'm still convinced he'll stay.

I don't think we should turn this thread in to a pissing contest about who backed Dunn last year and who didn't. I've deleted all the posts that attempted to turn this in to such a contest and will delete future posts as such as well.

Unsure what point you're trying to make. Presumably he signed so soon because he wanted to. Not all players want to 'hold out' for the best possible deal; some players land on a deal they're happy with early in the piece and just want to get it out of the way so they can concentrate on footy.

One more thing: if he manages to hold his form and fitness - and I see no reason why he couldn't given his age and the fact that he's hardly ever been injured - this contract should see him well on the way to 200 MFC games. It feels like an awfully long time since we've had one of those.

This one was never in doubt in my mind, but should keep a few of the panic merchants around here quiet for a bit. Without meaning to give a backhanded compliment, this is the first time that Dunn re-signing has given me that *yessssssss* feeling. He definitely took the scenic route, but has developed in to a strong, reliable and important player. His promotion to the leadership group shows where the club thinks he is at, and I couldn't be more pleased. Well done.

*Blinks* Wow. That is so unbelievably stupid that it's actually alarming. As if sending a pictures of his penis to a teenage girl isn't evidence enough, but the guy must be seriously lacking in the intelligence department.

As much as I love a good conspiracy, I think a more likely explanation is that he did something highly inappropriate, which was bound to become public, and as it was at the end of a lengthy changes of other unprofessional conduct, they sacked him for it.

Don't the club have an obligation to put players forth for interviews? As much as I'd love it if Dawes did fulfilled our media responsibilities all on his own, I think the odd dull Watts interview is just something we have to accept. And I'd much rather he was interviewed while things are rosy, rather than when we're being flogged and he is under a ridiculous amount of scrutiny.

The 3.20 timeslot was a blocker for me being able to attend this year. I'm still spewing about it.

That's only because the average footy club is a few decades behind on the social evolution scale. Give it time. I expect my children's generation would be much less prejudiced than my generation, which is much less prejudiced than my parents'. This particular appointment should prove to be a huge step forward in that regard.

In what way is he not following instructions? I've seen him on TV do exactly what Saty said; appear in the contest from half forward and impact it physically. I thought it'd be even more apparent from the ground?

I read it to be that it is actually Pedersen's instructions to do that and Satyriconhome is just relaying them to us (rather than it being Satyriconhome's idea).

Pedersen's transformation wasn't even just between last year and this; he looked hopeless as recently as about round 3. He was working hard by all reports, but just wasn't impacting games and definitely wasn't the dependable one grab player he has become. Now that he's found a bit of belief, he's become a whole different beast. I wonder how much Dawes' leading by example has made. I had this thought in the game where Dawes and Pedersen both laid a truckload of tackles (vs Adelaide perhaps?), Pedersen seemed to have upped the ante on the pressure stakes once Dawes rejoined the side. That he was able to continue it with Dawes out was a big positive.

Heh. Looks like he meant that, and had a moment of clarity right in the nick of time. Would rightfully have had the book thrown at him if that had connected (and I would have been filthy with him).

Glad I'm not the only one to appreciate Dom's great hair.

I liked him, but wasn't too disappointed when he went as he's a pretty generic player. He isn't better than any of our starting back 6; he's probably a better defender than Terlich, but doesn't offer the same offensive option. Didn't the pick we got fir him net Tom McDonald?

I thought he's struggle to make the side at the start of the year. Pass the dunce hat, please.

Why bother with coaches at all if it's up to the players to pull the trigger? Ask any of the players if they're trying any harder than they were last year. Leadership and mentorship from experienced people who know what they are talking about is critical in any team activity, none more so than football. I'd say the opposite to what you said is true: good players only get you so far, and you need the best coaches to enable them to reach their full potential.

We get an article that offers some real insight in to what a player goes through when they get the chop, and this is your contribution. We all know where Bennell was at when he went. Not too many of us would have done much differently had we been in charge of the list. He also was unfortunate enough to be part of arguably the worst coached side of all time. He has gone on to establish a decent career at a solid club.You are dead set the worst poster on this site at the moment, and that's amongst some stiff competition. Grow up, mate.

Out: Our Grand Final In: Just another H&A game where we try to suffocate our opposition to prove we are a real side, and come away with four points. I would love to hear Nathan Jones or Chris Dawes say words to this effect during the week, and nip that noxious crap in the bud before it begins. I can already hear the Collingwood supporters, players and coaches belittling us now and making excuses, and it hasn't even started yet.

Is this business of Roos saying 'enough is enough' and the playing group - who have nominated him as captain for three seasons in a row - 'speaking' going to happen before, or after Grimes plays 22 games as (co-)captain of the MFC in 2014? Grimes today registered 2 clangers. Dom Tyson registered 8. 8 clangers! Lynden Dunn registered 4, the worst of which came at a time where we still could've won, and was seemingly at odds with team orders as it drew the ire of the coach on national TV. I think we should all carp on about how awful Grimes was though.