BLWNBA

Largely agree with this. I’m a Melbournian living in Canberra and have been for the past few years. I see a lot of anecdotal comments from people on Facebook etc. suggesting that Canberra is the ideal location. Personally, I’m not sure where this sentiment comes from. I’ve worked across three departments and I can genuinely count the number of AFL supporters on one hand. Either people have no interest in AFL (NRL easily seems to outweigh AFL support/interest), or those that do follow AFL largely come to Canberra from the Eastern/Western states and support a team already. Those few AFL supporters that are born and bred Canberrans support the Giants. There’s no room for a ‘second’ team in Canberra (even if GWS are only ‘adoptive’). Many people who haven’t worked or lived in Canberra also don’t necessarily appreciate how transient the population of Canberra can be too, with many people only being in the territory for a defined period.

Meh, I’m not fazed at all if he leaves. I would’ve welcomed a trade with open arms this year if it could’ve been facilitated. If anything, that’s optimism. I think he’s one of the most inconsistent and overrated players we’ve had in years.

I mean, unrestricted service exists in the whole of the ADF, most APS positions in terms of CGA’s require the person to relocate to Canberra, Ambulance Victoria will often require new employees to nominate stations as a preference - but the reality is that they can be posted anywhere regardless of distance. I just don’t buy into this whole, ‘I want to be drafted but on my conditions’. I accept it’s a unique circumstance, but that also exists in far more positions than what people think (albeit with varying degrees of control and autonomy). If you don’t like the notion of being drafted to an interstate club and are unwilling to accept those chances, then perhaps the AFL isn’t the system for you. There’s no shame in that. Like many things in life, some individuals are far more in love with the ‘idea’ and ‘notion’ of doing something, than the actual real deal. Of course, not everything is black and white and I accept there are mitigating, contributing and extenuating circumstances that can contribute to these scenarios; rarely, if ever is something black and white. However, as I said, I wouldn’t necessarily agree that AFL footballers exist in a totally unique sphere regarding the notion of control and autonomy over their location of employment.

Wouldn’t worry too much about that, matey. Pickett will only be on our list for one more season anyway :p

He’s a contemporary KB. I think he’s hilarious. The amount of people he is able to bait weekly astounds me. Like you said mate, it’s what he wants and it works a treat.

Agree with both points. Also, I think it’s fair to suggest that the improvement of the sides around us seems to be quickly surpassing the plateaued side we presented week-in-week-out (before I get shouted down by other posters, I do acknowledge the injuries we also carried).

Dees will miss the top 8.

Gross hyperbole. Pickett is worth nowhere near $1m per year. That’s insane. If he can get that, he should take it and run. $500k is worth close to what he’d get on an open market.

Read. Then contextualise.

I think this is fair. Personally, I’m not as confident as our ability to make inroads at the pointy end of the year going forward. Obviously it’s speculative but it seems that the sides ‘around us’ have improved incrementally above what we’ve been able to. But I’m not completely writing us off regarding the coming years. I’ve thought for a few weeks now that there seems to be shades of the 2017 Tigers about us.

Salem hasn’t been the same since coming back from injury. He’s been ordinary since then, at the very least. At the moment I’d rather Bowey in, but Salem seems to be using all his credits in the bank from last year.

I would suggest the entire implication of ‘just enjoying the ride’ and ‘anything’ which comes next, is a ‘hell of a lot better’ than anything we experienced prior to the 2021 premiership is absolutely correlative of suggesting ‘near enough is good enough’; at least in the context of this discussion. Expressing serious concern about our demonstrated shortcomings is hardly ‘wrist slitting’, especially when it’s off the back of a premiership. I never suggested the club wasn’t currently well run, nor did I infer that the current FD erred in their decisions. I did state there’s an inherent ‘weakness’ or ‘softness’ within the MFC supporter base, which is, in my opinion, unlike that of any other club.

And that’s the ‘cheerio, near enough is good enough’ attitude that’s seen the MFC float in a sea of mediocrity and ineptitude for the majority of the past six decades. It’s a cancerous culture which placates the supporter base unlike any other supporter base in the AFL.

Third hand reporting - but SEN spoke of a report by Kim Hagdorn that Jackson is increasingly ‘likely’(?) to sign a 2 year deal with Melbourne. I couldn’t ascertain if this was on SEN WA and I wasn’t able to find anything further. Apologies if I’ve skewed the wording or taken it out of context, I was multitasking as it came on. I still think he’s likely gone.

Personally I think that’s a highly romanticised take in the contemporary context, but that’s just me. Obviously, I’d love for him to stay - so here’s to the romantics!

Agree, I’ve been saying this for a while. The more success you have, the easier it is to leave. Like you said, what more can you offer?

Absolute dead ringer for his old man in that first photo!

Nothing like some forum gatekeeping, hey?

I was actually saying to someone recently he seems an absolute shadow of his former self since injury. He looks scared of contact and his disposal has become very, very questionable.

*Shankspearian Tragedy.

Another week, another post where someone is upset with something in the media 🙄.

This is hilarious and on that note, happy Friday.

Chip Frawley.

I might be in the minority here, but I actually think the opposite. The more success he has at the Dees, the more likely he is to leave and the easier it will be to depart. I absolutely hope he stays, he’s a genuine generational player, but if he was lucky enough to get two (hell, maybe I’ll dream and say 3), I could easily see him leaving Melbourne for the lure of cash back home.

The etymology of what you’re saying is correct regarding the APS, but none of 11 member schools refer to themselves as being ‘public’ as the UK equivalents do. All 11 member schools are classed as independent and contextually are ‘private schools’, using the ordinarily accepted wording.