Nasher

Yes, that's exactly what they did It really irritates me when people just assume when players slip through the net it's because the recruiting team aren't doing their job. You've got no idea.

Miller to the back line -- excellent. We've officially done the full circle. Miller offers nothing that the large bodied Warnock and Frawley do not. Despite his limitations there's still a need for him in the forward line. He's completely surplus to requirements in defence.

I'm just going to assume you're kidding.

Lots of people provided good answers in this thread to deal with the situation. And if you (and harry) are just making generalisations about people being hysterical over the loss, you chose a piss poor thread to do it in because 1) nobody's doing that in this thread and 2) it made you look like a dill as it appears that you are telling a 6 year old to harden up.

As I said before, that is complete garbage. A totally inappropriate response to a six year old. She is not going to get the message, and she's going to want to do something else next week if you said that. It's not going to be effective for a 9 or 10 year old either. If we were talking about a 15 year old, this might make more sense.

There was no 'general hand-wringing or gnashing of teeth' evident in this thread (btw, I completely agree with you on that point, but it hasn't happened in this thread, so at the very best your post was completely out of context). There was no context in this thread other than the very clear one regarding a young child's bitter disappointment, to which Curry & Beer's response was "boo hoo, get over it". By saying "well said", you agreed with that premise. If you are a parent of young children, I'm sure you can understand why that rubs me the wrong way.

It wasn't well said, it was up there with the most pathetic posts I've read in a while. And all that waffle in your post about sticking true to the club and whatnot has nothing to do with maintaining the support of a six year old. Kids this young do not owe the footy club this level of loyalty. They just want to enjoy a day out with their parents, and when the team is unable to offer anything at all to cheer about, they're unable to offer anything that children will be interested in. It then becomes up to the parents to keep it interesting. Obviously neither of you have young kids. (Note to pitmaster: this is me getting 'upset' about something )

Is that really what your response would be to a 6 year old?

You realise I was just essentially categorising them by age, right? Someone asked who they thought the "core" of the side was. I listed my "core" which is pretty much just the regular players in the 25-29 age bracket, with how they played in the recent match contributing exactly zero. There's not a lot of opinion there. I'm actually not upset at all. And relative to the reaction of so many posters on Demonland to the recent match, I think my level of "going off" has been extremely low. I try my absolute best to post with my head, not my heart, so I'm not quite sure why there's a perception of me "going off".

Well, my heart just broke too. My only advice would be to make sure it remains fun, even if the team's losing. Do something else fun (get an icecream for example) before or after the game to make the whole day fun, not just the football. During the periods where the side is playing like complete arse (50 minutes of no goals would be one of those....) distract her with conversation, explain to her some of the subtleties of the game (if she's interested), just do _anything_ to keep her mind off the fact that the results of the footy are not enjoyable. As dirty and offensive as it sounds, you could even help her recognise the interesting aspects of what the _other_ team is doing (but maintain 'support' for the right team). Fun is the most important thing for little kids. Did I mention to keep it fun?

Nobody in their right mind would include Dunn when talking about the core of the team. And those players are not the players I'd say get talked up in general on Demonland.

These are the players I'd put in the "middle aged core" of the side that played: 1. Matthew Warnock 7. Brad Miller 22. Brent Moloney 27. Jared Rivers 28. Joel Macdonald 36. Aaron Davey 40. Mark Jamar Anyone disagree that these are the players that we need more from? The issue is that the amount of raw talent in that list of players is pretty ordinary. Davey is the only one with any potential to be a match winner, and he's not able to consistently influence the outcomes of matches. The rest are all just components of the team at best, and filler at worst. As long as this list of players remains the 'core' of the side, our side is going to be garbage. It's not until the talent we've got that are currently babies (Grimes, Morton in the first instance, Scully, Trengove, Watts in the second instance) and these blokes become the 'old' that our side is going to be consistently good. In short, Green is absolutely right in that our core stinks, but I don't think it's as simple as them 'standing up'. The other thing of note is that that appears to be a very small group. I'd love to see how that compares to sides that are currently 'up' like Geelong, St. Kilda, Collingwood etc. Just as a footnote, I'd include Green, Bruce and McDonald in the "old blokes" category rather than "core". Even including them as "core" doesn't raise the talent quota all that much.

No doubting he's the best player on our list at the moment. I said the same thing last year. I'm just hoping he's able to enjoy some better times before the curtains close on his career. He'd be a fantastic second fiddle midfielder in an elite midfield.

It has been weighted in the past. Not sure if that's going to be the case this year.

Don't all post at once!!!

I don't know about that. Did you see 'Lost in Space'? :D

~$25 is pretty reasonable for threeish hours of entertainment. Compare that to going to the movies, for instance.

Is it really necessary to point out it's his opinion? That is surely obvious to anyone reading. Besides, I thought it was pretty clear he was just winding you up

The only time I've ever booed at a football match was a few years ago when Ben Johnson gave Belly a hip to the head and knocked him out cold. Booed every time he got near it after that. Beyond that, I can't really be bothered wasting my energy booing, especially not for players who we were more than adequately compensated for when they left. I just don't see the point.

Hehe, you wouldn't be championing his selection if he wasn't Victorian! I just get the impression White's not on the Australian selectors' radar, that's all.

There is absolutely zero chance of Cameron White ever holding a permanent test spot. Rightly or wrongly he's been stereotyped and discarded for tests just like the likes of Michael Bevan and Nathan Bracken were. There's three possibilities contingent on Hussey going. Until Hussey is gone which is surely on the horizon (next two or so years), the status quo will remain -- Hughes, Smith and co will fill gaps as they appear, but the core team will remain constant. Once Hussey is out the door, the three possibilities I see, in likelihood order are: 1. Hughes to open, Watson to go down the order, Smith to remain on the fringe. I hate the idea of breaking up Watson and Katich from the opening partnership and I'm sure the selectors will too, however I think this is the best way to get all of the best available players in to the side at once. 2. Openers stay as is, Clarke to move to 4, Hughes in the middler order (5 or 6). Hughes is an opener, but this has worked in the past with the likes of Hussey, who was a permanent shield opener before finally getting the nod. Nobody seems to be a fan of this option, but I am. 3. Smith in to the middle order (6), Hughes to remain on the fringe (biding time until Katich is in the gun, not yet on the horizon). Smith is a good bat and a good bowler -- is he/can he be elite with either? Hughes is a pretty safe bet for being a fantastic test batsman for years to come. I'd prefer to go with the near-sure thing, rather than hedging my bets with Smith. North's century changed the entire equation, really. The selectors showed an enormous amount of faith in him by bringing him to NZ despite a woeful summer. They're not going to drop him now that he has finally paid back what he owed them.

Even if there is something to be concerned about with Trengove (which there isn't in my eyes), why waste energy worrying about it now? Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Whatever happens, happens. I never understand why footy supporters want to worry about this level of "problem" -- i.e. one that is completely beyond anyone's control. Takes the fun out of it I reckon.

And sometimes it is best to simply say nothing.

I reckon most of us around here had already deduced that anyway, but it's nice to see confirmation.

James Strauss is my tip to cement a spot in the 22 very early. Not exactly going out on a limb I know, but it's my gut feel. Petterd is already best 22 for mine.