BLWNBA

I heard this too, I didn't really think it was tongue-in-cheek though. I felt he was definitely posing the question as to whether we'd look to take him.

@roy11 Sorry mate, I thought we were talking about Duursma and not SOS here.

Unsure why there is talk of no compensation, but suspect it's based on the assumption that the net value of player(s) North would lose in the trade does not outweigh the net gain of incoming players. As a general statement, based on Duursma's age and potential contract at a new club, the baseline would be satisfied.

I can't really say I've seen much of him substantively to make a call either way, but definitely agree to an extent with the on-paper similarities. Upside being forward craft, strong hands and marking ability, and an ability to finish with high upside and athleticism, but questions over his endurance and midfield craft.

Yeah I agree, although I will say that I'm agnostic as to whether we would be able to develop and get the best out of him (on historical grounds). Personally would see him as a big upgrade on Kolt (on potential). We've been tracking him for a lot of this year, it sounds like the interest since has draft year has been enduring. Personally not too sure how we'd get it done, especially if Lever isn't going anywhere.

Read it this morning, was an absolute waste of time. Very little analytical value at all and it just rolled with the status quo. Not saying it's altogether untrue, but yeah - nothing ground-breaking or overtly insightful.

We've got some preliminary interest in Zane Duursma, could give some legs to the mooted Norf interest in Lever.

I'm not trying to railroad you with this, it's a genuine question. But is your understanding on this that he has signed and the announcement is being held back, or is he unsigned for some specific reason? Personally see the second option being concerning at this stage of the year.

@spirit of norm smith are you familiar with Charlie Abbott (St Kevin's)? I haven't seen a lot about him, but he seems a promising selection. Ranked in the top 50 APS prospects, but doesn't seem to have much reporting outside of that. I'm also unable to determine if he's currently playing in the Coates Talent League or just in the APS. "Charlie Abbott (St Kevin’s College) Abbott is an imposing key forward who put together some great school footy performances this season, headlined by a five-goal haul against Carey Grammar. Not only was he a strong mark, but Abbott had a thumping set shot and could slot goals from distance as well from difficult angles."

It's one of the mooted changes for the 2026 draft. Essentially, the first round will be 'open', so if a club elects to utilise their first round selection on a player, clubs will be unable to match their selection. Therefore, the first round would be open slather; however, F/S and Academy selections will be able to be matched from Round 2 onwards.

Hit the one year extension this season, contracted for 2026.

I think you need to work some more intersectionality into your post. Christian? Tax payer? Confused on MSN though, I thought that was decommissioned in 2014?

Agreed!

I don't know the exact specifics of either player, but Ralph has previously stated TAM does not meet the draft eligibility requirements and never has. Unsure specifically what that eligibility, but it must be either (or a combination of) not meeting the following: Cultural Background: Player born in non-English speaking country OR At least 1 parent born in Asia, Africa or Oceania OR Both parents born in another non-English speaking country (not Asia, Africa or Oceania)

It was an entirely an opinion piece, but it seems to have spread throughout various outlets today. However, I'm yet to see anything presented which is not an opinion on May's trade value or position in our team.

Chris Cavanagh: 26 August 2025 'Who your club could target' MELBOURNECurrent Picks: 23, 52, 59 There’s a bit to play out at Melbourne, which is preparing to name a new coach ahead of what could be an interesting trade period. The Demons traded their first-round pick to Essendon as part of the deal which secured them Xavier Linsday at pick 11 last year. That means that unless they secure a first-round pick through the trade period, they won’t enter the draft until the second round. Kalani White has nominated Melbourne despite being part of the Gold Coast Suns Academy. Who will still be available when that pick rolls around remains to be seen, but Melbourne could do with some key position talent at either end of the ground. Father-son prospect Kalani White – who is also a Gold Coast Suns Academy member – has nominated the Demons as his preferred club ahead of the draft and will help in that area. The 198cm tall – who can play at either end of the ground – is the son of 236-game ruckman Jeff and is likely to be a late draft pick. The Demons also have access to Dandenong Stingrays defender Toby Sinnema through their NGA program. Sinnema racked up 15 disposals and a goal in a recent VFL debut for Casey.

Would've thought someone so focused on strawmanning by syntax and grammar would do better than that, but each to their own. Cheers, big man!

Stunning retort. If you want to play semantics, you'll need to be more specific - but going to the intention (as intention is very important) with regards to legal matters, and affording your own words their ordinary, natural and every day meaning, then yes there has been; and had you substantively and intellectually read my reply you would know and understand that to be the answer.

Also, I'm not overly offended that you do have an opinion - I don't mind genuine debate at all; but if you're going to try and strawman someone, at least be accurate.

I don't tend to get involved in these sort of back and forth, I often think that there is little point as the person on the other end is unlikely to give credence to a response, nor will they change their mind. But I digress slightly. While from a semantical standpoint while you're correct that there wasn't a 'gay panic defence', that is actually a misnomer and incredibly ill-guided. The entrenchment of a homosexual advancement defence (as it is known in Australian jurisprudence) via case-law, enabled this defence to have the full force of the law. In fact, in the case of Queensland, this was enshrined by virtue of s. 304 of the Criminal Code Act (note: prior to the abolishment, it did not use gender neutral language which is now in the section "unwanted sexual advance" and "by the person"). The first recorded case of the homosexual advance defence was employed by the defendant in R v Murley (1992), a Supreme Court case in Victoria, with the case law then becoming entrenched in NSW pursuant to a number of cases occurring between 1992 - 1995, with the most influential being the seminal case of R v Green. In Green, the accused reacted to 'gentle' touching by the Victim, who was then punched aproximately 35 times, had his head slammed into a wall, and was stabbed around ten times with a pair of scissors. Despite the NSW Court of Appeal determining that a romantic and amorous could not satisfy the traditional test for provocation, the High Court upheld the appellants appeal finding that a non-violent sexual advance could indeed satisfy the test. In such a fashion, and with nuance, cases like Murley and Green paved the way for homosexual advance defences to be both legitimised and entrenched in the law, subject to statutory and parliamentary intervention. What is then implicit within that, is that jurisprudence remains complicit in the legal argument that the fatal use of force against a gay male is legally excusable, in so far as that the action is not in fact murder, but akin to manslaughter (at worst), and is somehow less reprehensible than other forms of interpersonal violence. From a psycho-social perspective, at least in the Australian context, the theory around this defence was arguably the notion that lethal force can be employed against another male, as it is a natural reaction from a heterosexual male which would arise and cause loss of control in the heterosexual male, when hetero honour was threatened by a homosexual male. This was successful as a partial defence in Queensland as recently as 2009 and 2011. By way of a comment, in the Victorian jurisdiction this has been tested - and dispelled in R v Johnstone [2011]. I'd also refute your comment (for the sake of accuracy, to use your words), that there never was a homosexual advance defence - and that it was the law of provocation. That is plainly incorrect, an attempt to strawman the argument, and a poor attempt at playing semantics. Substantively it is incorrect. The (partial) or complete defence was based in the laws of provocation, but that is not akin to saying that it is the law of provocation. If anyone has actually stuck with me through this, it's appreciated. It is definitely a bit of TLDR'er, but if we're going to discuss these societal issues - we need to be nuanced and discuss them with accuracy, IMO. **For context, gendered language was heavily used in case law prior to the abolition of provocation, so it was essentially homosexually explicit.

Current scouting report notes: A big and powerful forward who can also rotate through the ruck, Ah-Mu has some impressive traits and has had some eye-catching moments and matches this year. He kicked six goals from 10 disposals and eight marks (five contested) in a trial match for Vic Country’s under-18s in April and went on to have a solid under-18 national championships campaign for the side. Ah-Mu kicked seven goals across Vic Country’s first three games, including two majors from 12 disposals and 10 marks (four contested) in the match against South Australia. Likened to Adelaide’s Riley Thilthorpe, his overhead marking is a clear strength but he also presents strongly on the lead and is a booming kick. When in the ruck, Ah-Mu competes well and can follow up at ground level to win clearances. In addition to games for the Stingrays and Vic Country, Ah-Mu has also had some monster games for Haileybury College in school football this season. Of Samoan decent, Ah-Mu’s father represented the island nation in both athletics and rubgy. 2025 National Champs 74 ranking points, 10 disposals, 4.3 marks, 1.3 contested marks, 7 hitouts, 4.5 score involvements, 1.8 goals, 1.3 tackles (4 games) Strengths: Overhead marking, strength, versatility and scoreboard impact. Currently ranked outside the top 40 draftees, but within the top 80.

Posted the exact same thing on the Melksham and McDonald thread. People don't read past the headlines at all, though I absolutely agree that the prominence of click-bait headlines on Hun articles is now starting to rival that of the Daily Mail.

It wasn't really a rumour per se, it was an opinion piece by Scott Gullan suggesting that May could be the missing piece that the Dogs need to challenge for a flag. The title definitely mischaracterises the piece in traditional click-bait fashion.

TC will reportedly also get a one year extension, though I would suspect Fullerton will be off the list.