RalphiusMaximus

Funny thing. A while back there was a thread trying to predict what our results would be for the remainder of the year. I said the Freo game would be a thrashing because they would see this as a chance to boost their percentage against a really bad side, and some muppet had a go at me for being negative when the team was improving under Craig. I find this funny. All there is left to say now is, are any of you still claiming that we're better off with Craig instead of Neeld?

Well, the guys who have been mentioned as possilbe assistants are all the sort who won't run from a challenge, so it's entirely plausible that they are considering joining the fun. It's shaping up to be a very interesting few months around Demonland.

Forget the results. I want the scans up there so we can make our own diagnoses and debate who has the better credentials to assess the damage and come up with an entirely unrealistic timeframe for his rehabilitation.

Also, we can always move Jack onto the wing Richardson-style. He could do some massive damage there.

What were the other four?

Disagree entirely. His coaching cost us a winnable game. We stuck with an overly defensive setup when we had them on the ropes and failed to overhaul them in the final quarter. Yes, our kicking for goal was terrible, but at the end of that game we let them have an extra defender and that reduced our ability to get shots on goal when we needed them. He was unable to adjust to the situation and let the game slip away when we could have pinched it with a more attacking mindset.

It was a hell of a contrast between Neitz and Watts on the footy show. It just reminded us all of what the club was like 10-15 years ago. Amazing that they managed to stuff it up so badly in such a short time.

I was an arrogant over-confident [censored] when I was younger, and I could very nearly back it up too. I know how I would have been in his position. It might not have been a great look, but I would have been a lot more confident and I would have been talking the club up for next season. I got that too. He seemed to me to be genuinely unsure about where his future is. His handling of the questions was very poor and he probably should have been coached better, but I would say he's still very much undecided. For the rest of it, I really take exception to his little line about the club being on the way up three years ago. As has been mentioned, he is one of the players who was supposed to be making that happen, and he simply doesn't have the onfield presence we need him to have. It was particularly jarring given that Neitz was there and seeing the footage of him crashing through players and throwing his body in just accentuated Jack's inadequacies in those areas. He's never understood that the way to get the team playing better is to work harder and lead the change. I just hope he is ashamed of performing in such a meek and insipid manner in front of two club legends tonight. It might be the spur he needs to pull his finger out and fight for a win or two.

So, do we add Voss to our list of candidates?

I do indeed. In this case I agree with you too. There is indeed video footage on the club's website. It clearly shows that there was no injury at the time that the two players were pulled apart. I would say it is conclusive evidence that he is innocent. Hence my stance that it is [censored] weak of the club to back down and cough up a pathetic excuse that he might get to play a final assuming Casey are still afloat in four weeks which history suggests is highly unlikely.

Is an exercise in logic which states that when faced with competing hypotheses you should stick with the one with fewer assumptions until there is sufficient evidence to make a more accurate assessment. It is a rough guide and can in no way be considered as evidence in and of itself.

Maybe one of the "conditions" of the financial package is that we don't challenge?

Oddly enough, if we challenge, he gets to play the last few games with us AND the VFL GF if we make it.

I just don't think Swallow is worth more than that. In fact I'd say pick 2 is paying overs given he's not really setting the world on fire up there. Maybe a straight swap for Watts would work instead then we could still use pick 2 on Sloan.

What about just pick 2?

No way is Swallow worth Watts and pick 2. That would be just about enough for me to walk away.

Wellman. He's a bloody good coach.

The egg came first. That's simple logic. In this case, the egg in question is Brian Royal who has stuffed up every coaching appointment we've given him.

Club FB page says he's challenging as of 2 hours ago.

Utterly bizarre. The footage clearly shows Clisby being dragged away by several GC players and Sexton holding on to him with both hands. If anything, that is the motion that damages his shoulder as his arms extend above his head. It's an entirely self-inflicted injury. We should be fighting this on general principle. Especially since it will make no difference if we fail. Three weeks or four, he's still out for the rest of the year.

I will... Shrug. No biggie.

I don't disagree that he should be cited, but you need to bear history in mind. We have repeatedly seen that there is a get out of jail free card when you injure a Melbourne player. Look at Col Sylvia as a case-study. He's been taken out by blatantly illegal acts during the pre-season several times, and there has never been a charge laid against the people who did it. For whatever reason, there just seems to be a bit more leniency for players who do this sort of thing to Melbourne.

Steven King on Jeff White. Kicked him in the head, broke his face. No report. Brown won't be cited.

Well, for one thing I think Ben Holland needed a good belt in the face But it's not just the one guy, it's the overall strategic change that came with it. We stopped getting that sort of player into the club and look where it's gotten us. No Dustin Martin, no Jack Darling. They were both on the "poor character" list. Tom Scully was considered an upstanding and professional young player. As it turned out, he's not so much professional as mercenary. We've placed too high a value on character and leadership over actual football ability. Really, how many leaders do you need in the one side? Give me a couple of thugs who fight like hell for every ball and can kick and I'll be happy. I don't care if they go out and get drunk every now and then or get suspended for a high elbow to Chris Judd's head. I just want them to fight.

Bit of a correlation there. The club decided a few years back to clean up their image and do away with "the wrong sort" of players. Look at what's happened since then. We have clean-cut, nice young men who have no mongrel and no fight and can't win a contest to save themselves.