RalphiusMaximus

Or at least keep a close eye on him while he plays for someone in WA.

While I can't really contribute to the discussion of inner suburb living given I've never lived in one, I congratulate you on moving to the best city in Australia. Welcome, and hopefully we'll see you at the 'G.

I just really want the club to stand up and say NO to anything the AFL tries to throw at them over this. There can't be more damning evidence than that which has been discarded previously when this issue has been raised in relation to other clubs. If the AFL try to have a quiet chat about what we'd be willing to give up to make it go away, the response should be "Not a damn thing." Everything that we have seen in the media has been said previously about other clubs and nothing was ever done. This is nothing more than a witch hunt for a perceived easy target, and we need to stand up and comprehensively disabuse the AFL of that notion.

Agree. Especially when it comes to defensive units. They give higher value to the players who play loose and rack up disposals than to the ones who prevent opposition scores and shut down their man.

WC will let Cale run on the wing and he's going to have an impact for them. Especially in the wide open spaces out west.

I was mildly concerned with the bit about them being great runners but lacking in strength conditioning.

Why are we still talking about this guy? It's over, he's gone and he never played a game for the senior side. Time to drop the discussion and move on to something relevant.

Another one? How many of our players have moved there in the last few years?

Not a myth at all. It's not the travel but the heat and humidity in Darwin that cause problems. Look at teams who play games there. I think there have been a couple of wins the round after (vs startup teams and such), but generally it's a loss.

I'm a little torn on this one. As a business opportunity and making closer ties with NT communities it makes a huge amount of sense, as HG has pointed out. A great er presence could give us access to some freakish talent if nothing else. However, as a supporter I feel we need to keep our strong ties to our spiritual home at the MCG, and hate to see us volunteering to play games elsewhere. If we want a fortress, let it be in our true home and make teams afraid to face us at the 'G. There is also the issue of recovery. I know they plan on having our team cope with the conditions better than anyone else, but the fact remains that teams playing in Darwin almost never win the next round. From that perspective we are basically conceding a win every time we go north unless we can arrange a bye the next round as a regular feature. That could be a disaster if we are borderline top 8.

Not happy. I really hope nobody (fans that is) takes it out on the kid if he plays against us next year. Sounds like he was shattered not to be coming to the Dees, but he's got a spot on a primary list, so best of luck to him. It has to be pretty hard to have his plans changed like that with no warning.

From the look of this thread, Jordie is in danger of becoming the new whipping boy. Still, I think Spencer has shown us all that it's possible to improve disposal with a bit of effort. He's been doing much better with his kicking lately, even with his dodgy technique. I'm sure Jordie is working on his kicking skills as well. Maybe they could pair him with Strauss or Watts to work on it?

Awesome Article Really good look at a day in the life of the MFC here. There is also some really good information about the innovations and technical improvements that the club have made that I am really excited about. Points that stood out to me: -We have our own app that the coaches use to film drills and give instant feedback to the players on the spot. -We film every session and make the footage available to the players on the same day (and it seems to be saying that they edit to show each player their own performance within the group too). - Yes, we DO have enough GPSs for everyone to wear one. - Everything a player does is monitored and scored, and the scores are displayed for the entire team to see. - I love the comments from the new players that we are going in the right direction.

I don't think anybody can realistically say that we didn't "tank" as people are calling it. The question is whether we broke any rules doing it. The AFL can't retroactively declare that playing a substandard side is illegal and stick charges on us. For a start, this is something that has been done by teams repeatedly and for various reasons, such as Fremantle resting their best players on a road trip to Tassie at the end of the season. Clear tanking by the definitions given, and not a word said. We have to be judged on the standards that were set out for us at the time. We named a side that may have been weaker than we could have fielded (I note Sheedy's comments on doing this winning him a flag). We listed that side at the appointed time, so there can be no outcry from betting agencies that they have been misled. The side on the park was clearly trying to win the games, as is clearly shown by the Richmond loss. We can even use Vlad's words that as long as the team on the park is trying to win it's fine. Indeed, we could use the words of Paul Roos as well, to paraphrase, "Go forward, but for God's sake don't kick a goal." In all of these areas we have behaved in accordance with the rules and guidelines set out for us by the AFL AT THAT TIME. Anyway, enough about tanking, we're in this thread to celebrate the net gain of Anderson leaving.

If you think the design of the uniform isn't important, have a look at the debate surrounding bathers in swimming competitions. Look at the tops worn at the last rugby world cup. Making a playing uniform out of basic cloth is no longer the only option, nor is it the best option. There are fabrics which are designed to reduce fluid loss, improve impact absorption and no doubt they can come up with something that is harder to grip as well. I think it is an area where a small investment could see significant returns, and I absolutely agree that each player should be in an individually tailored top to best suit their size and shape. Optimal performance in every area is the key to success. This is just another place we could be adding a couple of percent.

Well, this would explain why the reports on the last training session had him moving poorly. Obviously it was troubling him and he rightly took it to the club medical team who spotted the problem very early. I say well done all round on what could have been a much worse problem. Six weeks is an annoyance, but it's far better than a full season, or indeed a career. Once again I think he has shown himself to be an example to the rest of the team, this time in understanding that there was something wrong and getting it looked at rather than trying to tough it out and making it ten times worse.

So does this mean that the AFL is going to stop screwing with the rules every season? Maybe even show a bit of accountability and integrity? Probably not, but I can dream right?

Interesting to see Anthony Tipungwuti in there. Could be a way for the club to have a look at him without being obvious about it.

VERY interesting little bit of footage. It gives a real feel for the drills we keep hearing about from the training watchers.

Interesting that Jurrah isn't listed at PA as well. The reports at the moment say they are going a bit cold on him and he's let himself go a bit during his extended off-season.

I have absolutely no concerns regarding JT. If anything, he was too focused on team acts this year. If you actually watch his game, he is doing all of the hard things, trying to set the standard for the rest of the team, and didn't quite get the balance right between that and getting the ball. That being said he was still right up there in possession counts, and that will only improve as he settles more into his role.

So the new recruits joined their groups for the break-down and coaching between drills. Which groups did they join? Is Toumpas a mid or a HBF? Is Terlich HB or HF? That could be a really interesting piece of news for us.

I think the extra time training with the senior side will make a big difference to Viney and he will take it out next year. Probably the same thing for Hogan the year after.

Interesting. I noted a similar thing when Trengove first came to the club. His first session he was paired with Gys and it was very clear that Trengove was doing a few steps to get the Gys' kicks, while Gys just stood there and the ball hit him right in front of the eyes every time.

My dislike of GWS is only partially because of what they did to us (and like many here, I am inclined ot think that they may have done us a favour). I object to the AFL trying to force team into an area that has no particular interest in hosting one at the expense of a legitimate bid from a place that is desperate to get a side into the AFL in Tassie. I think that it will be a black hole endlessly sucking money away from the competition and thus the other clubs, and while they are assured of short term success with the obscene concessions granted to them by the AFL (without due consideration given to safeguards to prevent them from misusing those concessions as they have), I do not think they are going to be a viable club in the long term. There is simply no supporter base for them. All in all, I dislike the current administration for their rapacious attack on the rest of the competition with their concessions, but that is a passing thing. The real issue is that they are going to be a blight on the competition for years to come.