Dee*ceiving

I am with you Pello, the timing of DB's contract extension was poor. End of season would have been wiser, there were no other obvious suitors courting him so it's not as if we had to lock him away or lose him. The club is paramount and signing Bailey when we did has robbed us of some felxibility and ammunition at years end. You'd hate for Paul Roos to do an about face and say he's considering coaching in Melbourne next year and we've got Bails locked in for another year after 4.5 wins in 2010. That would be a disaster.

If it were a choice of retaining 1 of he Meesen or Johnson I'd give him the nod. But we need to see him at AFL level in that role before the year is out to see if there's discernible value. Losing all 3 might be risky with only Spencer and very green Fitzpatrick and Gawn for back up. Remember we'll be looking to play finals next year. 6-8 wins will be a fail for Bails. On the other with Goldstein progressing well at North I wonder if Hale or McIntosh could be lured into the red and blue? I am certian continuosly playing Jamar without respite will shorten his career. Would we have won a game this year without Jamar in the side? Questionable for mine. Reasonable back up is required.

190cm now at 17...he'll add 3 to 5 cms to that by 20

Also a recipient. It's nice to feel appreciated! Great work MFC!

How is it that he could have been part of the North Melbourne Premiership in 1996?

Correct Sylivinator. Front ending is a win for the club, the player and the filthy player agents. Money in the pocket now is way better than money in the pocket later.

You may very well be right mate, hence the law is not perfect. Regardless of the venue I think a male would be mad not to at least ask the female in question if she is over 18 (should he have any doubts whatsoever). If she blatantly lies about it then I can't see how he can be held accountable. Asking to view her ID isn't feasible.

He's not eating enough if you ask me. Needs to get some protein into him. He is heaps slimmer than Mitch and Jarryd. But his build is similar to what Robbie Flowers was throughout his career (and probably today) so it's not necessarily detrimental

The player(s) will just deny recalling any previous meeting that made it obvious her age was < 18. If she has admitted to lying about her age then I can't see what they have done wrong. Whoever said this is a personal issue between the player(s) involved and the girl is spot on, but stories like this sell papers and get people watching news so it will be covered...ad nauseum.

Being in Darwin I don't see how he could have picked her up other than in a taxi. Surely he didn't drive there from Adelaide and I doubt he would have hired a car. If he rode in a taxi to the airport and then back in a taxi with her to the hotel due to safety concerns (it was 2 am) I don't have a problem with it. However he probably should have mentioned that to the support staff earlier in the day and they could have made alternate plans so he didn't have to break curfew. He also could have put her on an earlier flight. But I guess he's not that smart. BTW - i reckon redleg was being sarcastic, Chipper smashed him

If she lied about her age, and it seems they have proof she did because it's on her facebook page, there is no criminal wrong doing. Whoever is the father however now has some moral and legal obligations to the child. Regardless it's an unwanted distraction for a footy club and I hope, like the rest of you, the third player involved is not a Demon. Watson mentioned before the 7.30 news this moring there was some political involvement regarding the allegations. He was supposed to divulge some more information after the news but I was out of the car by then. Anyone hear what he had to say?

Port were always going to have one last dip in the final quarter. Everything they touched turned to gold in the first 10 minutes and when the deficit was cut from 33 to 15 they had a real sniff and found an extra gear. The fact that we didn't just hold on but in fact trailed and regained the lead twice is an amazing effort. The Jamar factor definitely contributed, he was stuffed towards the end of the game and putting Sylvia in at the centre bounces was ludicrous. It should have been Miller with the strict instruction to jump at the man, HARD. Giving a free kick away in the centre of the ground would have been a better result for Melbourne than 3 or 4 decisive centre breaks. Once Jamar returned to the ground, albeit completely spent, he still managed a couple of clever hit outs and took a one hander in the goal square with half the population of Alberton hanging off him. He is a mountain of a man!

Must win this week to be any chance but reality tells me we'll win 5 - 7 more games. Which obviously won't be good enough.

Coaches have often thrown defenders forward at key times when things aren't quite working. Sometimes it's a masterstroke sometimes it makes little difference but not giving it a chance is a bit 'head in the sand' for mine. North Melbourne in the 90's and early 00's would often send Glenn Archer forward in desperate times and he won more than a couple of games for the Roo's. Sheedy would do it with nearly anyone. Matthews would use Justin Leppitsch. Sydney would even use Paul Roos on occassion. I remember the Demons using Marcus Seecamp as a pinch hit forward more than once, with some effect. More recently we've seen Brendon Goddard deployed forward when required and lets not forget Brian Lake tearing the heart out of the Demons with 5 minutes of damaging, albeit lucky, play at the end of the game only a couple of weeks ago. Garland gets swithched forward for a qtr against the WCE in a game we are likely to lose any way and he fails to impact the scoreboard, no big deal. He goes forward and jags a couple however, and not only might we steal a win but his confidence is on a high, we have an extra string to our bow and opposition coaches have to plan for another variable out of their control. It was a perfect opportunity to experiment and see what the kid can offer and DB missed the boat. In fairness he hasn't missed to many boats recently, but i hope he doesn't miss the next one.

Bate out is a blow to the forward line and dropping Hughes denies us another marking option. We'll have plenty of run but few options to kick goals. Not liking our chances at this stage.

If Bate is out we have no choice but to play Miller. And in fairness to him he has done everything within his power to justify selection. He has clearly kept his chin up, worked hard forced the coaches hand. Other middle aged players sent back to the seconds whilst a team is maturing a young list would have thrown the towel in and resigned himself to the fact that the rest of his career will be played at that level. That doesn't appear to be the case with Millsy. Even if some of his hard work can be attributed to the sniff of a year or 2 witht the Gold Coast you can't fault his endeavour. Give him a crack, keep him close to goal with the odd stint in the ruck to spell Jamar and jam a firecracker up his arse so he bust some heads while he's at it. What's he (& the team) got to lose?

You say that now, but i reckon once your given an opportunity by a team, presented a jumper, given your first game, accepted into their culture and make new friends that previous allegiance would start to diminsih. Supporting a club and playing for a club are 2 very different things...not that i'll ever experience it at that level.

No way JW will play in the ruck

I agree with JACKATTACK. The are the machines of the devil, pokies. But...if someone has to profit from them, and it can't be me it might as well be the MFC. I feel bad for the Tigers and Bulldogs though. That stinks of insider trading and I hope it is investigated. Once again the Blues are happy to use underhanded tactics to improve their own at the demise of others.

I've submitted my vote!

Neville Jetta is the perfect candidate to mould into a Matty Whelan type IMO. The FD should also consider having Addam Maric spend some time in the back half for Casey to strengthen his defensive game and make him realise that the hardest and most important work happens backward of centre. Neither of these 2 look close to getting a game as a small forward at the moment with Bennell doing a fine job and Wona seemingly close to a senior recall. BTW - Bartram has been tremendous this year. If a player could be voted most improved after a decline, he'd be it. Currently in career best form. Remember he was really good in his rookie year of 2006 before being cruelled by injury just before the finals.

The end can come quickly, see Tyson Edwards at the Crows, but Junior has played long enough and well enough to choose when to draw the curtains on his career. Bruce is going nowhere. Another solid effort, in trying conditions on Friday night. He was the best of our 100 game + brigade.

You're maths seems accurate Nasher. I guess it's possible she is nearly 20 and most if not all of the 2 year relationship occurred after she turned 18...Possible. I love this last quote though. ""When he was at Melbourne he was still aggressive, but as soon as he moved to Collingwood it got worse," she said. "He's done so many bad things to me."" Even more proof that Black & White Stripes turn a [censored] into an even bigger [censored]!

Dawes would be a better option than Anthony or Hawkins, unfortunately he looks to have hit his straps and is unlikely to leave the Pies. What about David Hale? I think we should have made a play for him last year as well. Provides a decent key position target inside 50 and a back up ruckmen. Slightly off topic, but i wonder if the FD have considered manuevering Neville Jetta or Addam Maric into a small lock down defender. They are both a little light on but probably a similar height to Whelan. Jetta is quite a good tackler from what i have seen. I think Wona and Bennell will keep them out of the side for the goal sneak position.

PJ offers more in the ruck and around the ground than Stef Martin at this stage of his career which frees Jamar to spend more time in the F50 and spell him on the bench. Stress related injuries are common place in today's footy and asking the Big Russian to continually ruck on his own for entire games will eventually lead to a serious and potentially long term ailment. We'd all agree that's the last thing we need just as he is really coming into his own.