RalphiusMaximus

I'm going to be going through that footage again for my new signature I think.

Wow. Sounds like Beamer had a big win. Very nicely done. Congratulations to all the winners tonight.

Just to stir the pot, I did notice that Jack and BJ looked very chummy on the panel...

So we have a new nickname for JW?

Jordie McKenzie. I know he already has toughness and workrate, but one thing all of the Collingwood Mids can do is kick. I can see a drastic improvement from him in this regard over the next couple of years. I expect our mids to be far more dangerous around goal in future.

Wow. He's hitting the ground running. I think a few players will need to be looking over their shoulders if this keeps up. It is interesting to see who has been moved on. A few days ago we had one of our club officials (Lyon?) say that we wouldn't want to loose all of the learning and experience we've put into the coaching group, so if we've gotten rid of these ones it would appear to strengthen the position of those who remain. Personally, I'm really hoping to see the back of both Mahoney and Royal as well, but I suspect at least one of them will remain with us.

I would prefer we didn't go there. He's a big guy, but he's not the best footballer around and we really do have a lot of tall forwards already developing. All we'd be doing is keeping Cook and Fitzpatrick from getting games in the senior side.

I think there would be a few clubs looking at him this year. He is exactly what we lack, being a hard as nails inside mid who can not only win clearances but can find space in tight places. I didn't agree with delisting him at the time and I think he's more than shown that it was a mistake. He might not be a superstar at AFL level, but he is a solid B grader who would fill a role for us.

Forwads: Fitzpatrick Green Davey Dunn Maric Jetta Morton Mids: Bail Sylvia Tapscott Bail Bate Martin Backs: Bennell Grimes Rehab: Strauss Some really tough ones there. Personally, I think Morton could be worth trying as a forward more than a mid, especially given the number of mids we can field when the team is fit. He could find a bit of a niche there and with his height and mbility he's a pretty hard matchup. Martin is still primarily a ruck, so I guess he lives in the midfield. Davey should go back to the forward pocket and be the defensive forward we all loved in his early career. I've thrown several of the borderline guys like Jetta in as forwards as well because it's an area we are really lacking in. Let them compete for the spot and see who comes out on top. Bennell I still think could be a great back pocket if he can learn to be accountable, and that's where I'd be training him.

Why mess with a successful team. He could only disrupt the dynamics if he came back.

Podcast here folks. Just had a listen to the interview. He handled himself pretty well really.

Funny how Schwab was the only person sitting on that committee, isn't it? You'd almost think that he made all of the decisions on his own the way people carry on. And here I was under the impression that every club was represented, as well as a few extras. What i wonder is whether Gubby Allen knew he was going to be recruiting for GWS while he was on the committee, and whether he then manipulated events to help in his preferred strategy. If he did know, then I can see him moving heaven and earth to torpedo any suggestion of an age cap on poached players.

Honestly, I think they handled themselves really well. There was a strong emphasis on the fact that this was an unprecedented amount of money being thrown at a young no. 1 draft pick (and thus worthy of unprecedented compensation) and also that while they would have preferred to keep him, this is not that great a setback for the club in terms of our list building. Very good effort from the VC and CEO all up. I would love to know exactly how much we offered him with the 5 year deal Schwab mentioned. They said that they were responsible and in keeping with our list building plans which would suggest that it wasn't a massive offer although it would have been heavily front-ended.

I would suggest that a strong club refuses to sell memberships to people who do nothing but attack everything they do.

Here's the presser from MFC. Haven't watched it yet, but people have been asking for it.

Then don't be. If you feel that way then hand in your membership and go support Richmond.

I'd pay to see that. They can only poach one player from each club, regardless of how many previously taken. If they want anyone else from our list they have to trade like everyone else. I think it's safe to say we'd play hardball over any further trades with them.

The did steal their thunder. Melbourne Tweeted about it this morning before the presser. Did you want them to hold their own rival press conference at the same time or something? As for Tom, I like many on here gave him the benefit of the doubt, and am sad to have been proven wrong. Sorry to say I can't really wish him the best up there because doing so is also wishing success to GWS, and I have maintained that it is a farce and doomed to failure and a parasitic existence sucking money out of the AFL (and the clubs') coffers while drawing sub 20,000 crowds. Sorry Tom. At least you're getting paid lots.

Slight problem here. He's already signed with GWS. Didn't you know? This is why he took the 1 yer deal at the pies. They want him as next year's marquee signing, when they will have more room in the salary cap.

I do love the logic that bringing his parents with him is a sign that he's going. I'm sure that Dermie has never asked anyone's advice about anything in his life. Personally, I still listen to my parents' advice on big decisions because amazingly enough they know lots of stuff and have some really good insights. That doesn't mean that I let them make the decision, but it's always good to have another opinion to help sort out your thoughts. I wonder what people are making of the fact that he only had a carry-on bag with him. Does this mean he's signing with Melbourne because he didn't have enough luggage, or does it mean that he's getting so much money from GWS that he can buy clothing up there? I guess it's just too much of a stretch for some people to think that he's doing exactly what he said and is going up there look around and chat to the coaches. Hell, maybe he's bringing his parents along because it's a huge decision and he'd like their input. That's a stretch. Perhaps, rather than assuming that he's already decided to leave and is just covering his ass, we could assume that he really wants to stay and is thinking that they'll have to show him something pretty special to change his mind. Maybe his manager (who stands to make a great deal more money out of GWS than Melbourne) has urged him to head up and take a look before he signs with Melbourne, just in case. Yes folks, this is speculation on my part. It fits the evidence before us just as neatly as the speculation being indulged in by everyone else on here, including the "it's patently obvious that he has already decided to leave" crowd. Once again, we don't know. None of us do. Screaming at each other, frothing at the mouth, beating ourselves about the head with inflatable bladders or sitting in clock towers at lunch time will not change this fact and will not have any impact on which way Tom leaps. I will however declare that correcting monumentally poor grammar is still acceptable.

Oddly enough, I was sitting about where I am right now.

If you must know, there was a minor formatting error with some bold type. The tag was in the slightly wrong place. If you object to having your work improved, all you need to do is write in an intelligible manner to begin with.

Grammar dude! It's not the mother of one of your parents! Aside from the grammatical Chaos, I once again will say that until there is a signature on a contract, Scully is not gone. He is in fact a rather nice representation of Schrodingers Cat. He is in a state of flux in which he has the potential to be either a Melbourne or a GWS player. Until such time as the contract is signed he remains in this state. We might also view his career as analogous to the cat, perhaps even more aptly. Only when the contract is signed will we know whether Tom's career is alive or dead.

Excuse me?

Personally, I'm looking forward to the saga ending so we can have a "Humble Pie" thread where everyone can pipe up and admit they were wrong. Well, everyone from whichever school of thought ends up being wrong anyway.