Nasher

To be very clear, abusing somebody by private message is every bit as frowned upon as doing it publicly on the forum.

Yep - there was a moment when a GWS player (do they have names?) kicked a goal from nowhere, and all that could be heard was the sound of crickets, and the weak groan of the gears in Derwayne's brain trying to work out what had happened. It was eerie seeing GWS players tussling each others hair with no crowd noise. We also sounded very vocal on TV.

No doubt it's embarrassing, but it doesn't help when we're playing against a team nobody gives a rats about.

Please tell me you are kidding.

Maverick Weller. That tackle really was a thing of beauty. High degree of difficulty, caused a free that would otherwise have been a goal, and would have hurt the recipient like a bastard. Great stuff.

If only it were at Etihad, eh? Could have sank three of them at once.

It's yesterday's argument anyway. I really doubt we'd be that much better off if we had NicNat instead of Watts. Both are good players with flaws that will prevent them from reaching the top shelf. Both players are a case study in how elite attributes don't necessarily translate in to an elite player, and that even very early draft picks are still just a lottery, no matter how sure a thing you think the player is.

What, no ANB this time? Disappointing.

Our time and energy is not limitless. Sniff about, sure, but focus the bulk of our resources on targets that are actually likely to bear fruit. This one isn't one if those.

Sorry, realised at the time but had to run. Fixed now.

Does bringing in great players on great money ever really cause instability? I've heard supporters use that line often, but I can't recall any evidence of that happening in my lifetime. I would have thought in the professional era, most players would look past the envy of the big income earners and would be quite happy to have a superstar added to their side to enhance their flag chances.

Oh, were they? There's nothing like blatantly making stuff up to argue against a point nobody made.

To be fair, I doubt that view was shared by the overwhelming majority. The great thing about forums like this is the variety of views; the cost of that is you get the odd silly one pop up.

He basically just tackled him by the arm, having had no choice after Weller gave him the "don't argue". It would have seriously hurt, and also happened to leave Weller no legal way of disposing of the ball. Loved it.

Squad for WI tour: NSW Michael Clarke Steve Smith Brad Haddin Josh Hazlewood Nathan Lyon Peter Nevill Mitchell Starc David Warner Shane Watson QLD Ryan Harris VIC Fawad Ahmed Chris Rogers Peter Siddle WA Mitchell Johnson Shaun Marsh Mitchell Marsh Adam Voges Tas and SA not represented. Harris was named with an * next to his name, and is apparently not going. Not sure why he was named in the squad, then... Lots of the usual bitching and moaning on facebook and stuff about NSW being over-represented, but it's pretty hard to name anyone from the squad who doesn't belong there. Everyone has their opinion on Watson, but he's obviously still well in favour with the selectors. There are even a few other NSW players whose cases could be pressed, such as Pat Cummins. Peter Siddle is lucky to be in the squad IMO. Good to see Adam Voges selected as a reward for good form. Players being overlooked for being too old despite great form is hopefully a thing of the past. Hopefully they've learned something from Chris Rogers being overlooked for many years. Anyone know where James Pattinson is at? He took 0/131 in the Shield final and only bowled 5.5 overs in the second innings. Injured again? His brittleness has to be a worry, although we seem pretty well covered for talented quicks at this stage. Really pleased that Fawad Ahmed is in the squad. He is far and away the best spin bowler in the country IMO.

Without meaning to turn in to a whinging bitch after such a good finish, I'd love to see the MFC put in high class performances like that, where ability need to combine with some serious calm to deliver victory against one of the absolute best oppositions. AFL is my favourite sport, and I've almost started to forget what it is I love about sport after so many years of our team sucking. This match - and the Aus vs NZ match earlier - have reminded me of that.

When Elliott and Anderson were new at the crease I was thinking hmmm, don't have much faith in this fairly non-descript middle order. Thought they both batted sensationally - kept the runs ticking along, then picked up the pace at the right time. Shame Anderson got out and wasn't there to finish, though Vettori being there definitely added to the theatrics. I was barracking hard for NZ and felt so nervous I narrowly avoided missing the last 3 overs due to the need to chuck my guts up. Great, great stuff. Up there with the best finishes ever, I reckon.

Sadly I think he's being serious. deeflating, meet (Sir) WYL.

Thanks for sharing dazz - but I reckon this is a bit of a "no duh" type story. I've never understood why everyone flocked to the conspiracy theory ("Neeld vetoed the decision") when the simplest idea was the most likely: the guy in charge of recruiting picked the more highly rated player to the surprise of absolutely nobody with any credibility.

Amazing how the two innings were almost mirrors of each other actually. In addition to Southee and Johnson sucking immensely, it was hard to split Boult and Starc's performance with the ball after both absolutely tore through the oppositions middle-lower order. In the first three overs of his second spell, Boult had 5/1. Wow.

Great finish. The McCullum Show aside, it was definitely the bowlers' day (Johnson and Southee being wayward notwithstanding). Boult was amazing as was Starc. Tim Southee had a game to forget all round - a golden duck to go with his 2/65 off 9!

Three posts in a row about the Heat being put to the sword, Smithy. Not a fan?

Watching the t20 tonight. I know it's not the full picture and I doubt Hogg was suggesting was suggesting picking Boyce, but he was bowling complete rubbish. If he ever gets picked, expect Jason Krezja like figures. Ahmed on the other hand looks very sharp. I haven't seen much of him bowl before, but he hits the spot and spins it. I'm very impressed and if Boyce and Agar are the level of competition he's up against then it's only a matter of time before he's in. What's Ahmed's fielding like?

Assuming it's one of Watson or Burns to go, Agar slots in at 8 with Ryano at 9 (what a luxury), with everyone from Johnson up to shimmy up a spot for mine. Interesting choice - he hasn't stood out at Shield level, though I have trust in the group in charge of the team at present, so if they say so. I'd just like to take this opportunity to declare my man-love for Ryan Harris. He's proven to be a truly dependable, tough, aggressive player. His journey has been amazing too - was a genuine B grader until his very late 20s - just goes to show that it's never too late to hit ones straps in this sport. Even with his wrecked body I reckon Ryano for 1/2-3/4 of a series is better than a whole series of the next best.

Shaun Marsh! Noooooooooooo. Shattered.