RalphiusMaximus

Funny how much the lower back can influence the hamstring injuries. I had fun this year visiting various people because I kept pulling my hamstring. A doctor sent me to a specialist sports physio. The physio declared that the hamstring problem was linked to my ongoing lower back problems which were in part due to being very strongly right-side dominant. After the physio I wound up with a bio mechanics expert who watched me walk in his door and immediately declared that there was a problem in my right hip that was causing all of the other issues. Apparently I was walking funny. So we have a hip causing lower back problems which were in turn causing hamstring problems... Regardless, I haven't had any problems with my back or hammy since seeing him, so I guess he must have been on to something. I was just reminded of all this because of the mention of working on Gysberts' back in relation to his hamstring.

It's not out of the question. Look at the baby Bombers of '93. We are a young talented side full of running and a lot of players who are used to winning in their junior teams. They will be confident and take the game on. With the dream draw we've been given and a good injury run we can scare the hell out of the rest of the competition this year.

Campbell to Dunn The next bunch.

What did Fev do? So according to this he was walking on the road and when told to get back onto the footpath shouted at the police and offered to fight them if they'd take of the uniform. He then put his hands in his pockets to make it harder to cuff him. It's idiotic and entirely typical of him, but I don't think it's the disgraceful and sacking-worthy offence many have made it out to be.

Interesting to see the way things were looking to them back in November.

Interesting that there's all this talk of termination when there's very little information on what he did. He was taken in for obstructing police and refusing to move on when ordered to do so. That doesn't sound like an earth-shattering incident. They probably had very little tolerance for his behaviour because he's Fev and has a reputation. I'm very curious to know what it was he actually did.

Whatever way you look at it, last season was a bit of a disaster for Cale. He did his knee early on, struggled when he got back playing and never really had an impact for the side. Clearly the knee bears some of the blame, but if anything he went backwards this year. He needs to get his confidence back, earn his pot in the first 18 and really kick on. On the bright side however, this time last year people were all about how soft he was and lacking in contested situations. Sadly he disproved the theory by taking a mark flying back into a pack and wrecking his knee, but disprove it he did. Now there are questions about his disposal and speed, and I would be thrilled to see him disprove them in the coming months, perhaps with slightly less damage to his body this time.

I would be very upset if one of our young guns decided to go with the money, But I couldn't blame them. The amount of money that could be thrown at them is enough to set them up for the rest of their lives. I live in hope that the camaraderie and prospect of winning grand finals in front of huge crowds would be bigger lure, but reality says that it won't be the case for all of them, especially if there is one struggling to keep a spot in the side like Morton was this year.

Funny. I got that book too.

I always think of Troy on Boxing day. It's funny that someone I never met could have such an impact on my life, but it never fails that some time today I get a little choked up thinking about that day.

I have a question that may be relevant. What are the financial incentives for players who play in finals and grand finals? I'm pretty sure they get bonus cash outside the salary cap, but how much is it? Would the fact that GWS is unlikely to feature in finals for a while be enough to offset the salary cap advantages they enjoy?

Sorry, I just had to point this out. :D The latest set of articles include things like her admitting to engaging in group sex with players. This is a kid who desperately needs some parents to step in. Actually, she needed it a couple of years ago before she started chasing footballers around the country and shagging them en masse. Still, you'd hope that somewhere there is an adult trying to get her to pull her head in and perhaps join a convent.

I agree to this entire statement, however I'm uncertain how it applies to this particular situation. This girl is a sexual predator. She stalked these poor dumb bastards, initiated contact, lied about her age, shagged them and then tried to make money out of the situation. When that failed she tried to make money off naked photos of their teammates. Yes, the players were idiots for allowing themselves to be put in this situation, but don't think the girl is a victim. What she is is a disgrace to the species.

I would not be at all surprised if this happened, but we are also likely to drop some games I have in as wins. Last season we lost a couple early on that I had seen as certainty's only to get up and thrash Brisbane and draw with the pies when I had those matches down as certain thrashings against us. I have no doubt we will see something similar this year. As above to C&B, I don't doubt that we will drop some of my winnables. However, as with the season gone, we will also pick up some of the unwinnables to compensate. I think it will all even out. I'll live with being called overly optimistic or even naive because of my positive outlook, and of course if we are hit with a bad run of injuries it could significantly alter things, but I still think my numbers will stack up at the end of the season. Feel free to quote the hell out of me in 8-9 months if I turn out to be way off the mark.

I agree, when you put it like that it sounds absurd. However, if you go through the draw for next year one round at a time, mark off which games we should win, which we should lose and which are 50-50, then tally up the results you'll get a pretty similar figure. My take on next season so far shows 11 clearly winnable games and 4 50/50. Assuming we win half of the 50/50's that puts us up to 13. If we were to win them all, it's 15. Simple. As with last year, I won't be at all surprised if there are some massive changes, but if one side performs above expectations, it's a safe bet that another will perform well below. That is the way it worked out this year when I had Fremantle as easybeats and Brisbane as a strong side. It all evened out in the end. It's worth noting that I'm confident of a few wins interstate this coming season. I think West Coast is very doable, the GC should be ours for the taking, although I consider them a real danger, especially late in the year when they've had a chance to gel a bit. Richmond will throw everything at us, but we are a year or two ahead of them and should have their measure. North Melbourne is a side we should be aiming to beat, but who continually walk all over us, so I'd love to see us knock them off this time. R1 v Sydney (MCG), Sunday March 27 Win R2 v Hawthorn (MCG), Sunday April 3 (t) Loss R3 v Brisbane Lions (MCG), Sunday April 10 (e) Win R4 v Gold Coast (G), Sunday April 17 Win R5 bye R6 v West Coast (PS), Thursday April 28 (n) 50/50 R7 v Adelaide (MCG), Sunday May 8 Win R8 v North Melbourne (ES), Saturday May 14 50/50 R9 v St Kilda (ES), Saturday May 21 Loss R10 v Carlton (MCG), Friday May 27 (n) 50/50 R11 v Essendon (MCG), Friday June 3 (n) Win R12 v Collingwood (MCG), Monday June 13 Loss R13 v Fremantle (MCG), Sunday June 19 (e) Loss R14 v Richmond (MCG), Saturday June 25 Win R15 v Western Bulldogs (ES), Friday July 1 (n) Loss R16 bye R17 v Port Adelaide (TIO), Saturday July 16 (n) Win R18 v Hawthorn (MCG), Sunday July 24 Loss R19 v Geelong (SS), Saturday July 30 Loss R20 v Carlton (MCG), Saturday August 6 50/50 R21 v West Coast (ES), Sunday August 14 (e) Win R22 v Richmond (MCG), Sunday August 21 (t) Win R23 v Gold Coast (MCG), Sunday August 28 Win R24 v Port Adelaide (AS) TBC Win

He looks kinda like George W Bush in that pick.

With the draw we've been given, my pas for next season is 13 wins. Looking at next year I've got us at 13-15 wins, clearly putting us into the finals. More than 15 would be a spectacular success. Less than 13 disappointing. My wish list for next year is fairly simple. I want Petterd and Jurrah to play most if not all games. I'd like Watts to kick a bag of 4 or more at least once. I want the backline to get even more stingy. I want Blease, Tapscott and Gysberts to get Rising Star Noms. I want to see us not being bullied by the teams with older lists. If we can manage all of that, I'll be thrilled with the year.

No mention of Garry Lyon in the list either. I assume he still supports us.

Interesting to note with the draft camp results for 2009 that Fitzpatrick was = 10th in the 20m sprints and first in the repeat sprints. Very good results for a 2m tall player coming off CFS.

Marquee player? I'm not sure I'd call Judd that.

Agreed. With the cricket the way it is, there's just not that much of interest in the sporting world to distract me from the fact that it's still months 'til we get to see the team play.

I'm wondering if the senior players were perhaps instructed to give the new guys a hard time? Something like what they do to new recruits in the army to break them down and make them easier to train perhaps? From this report it sounds like the new guys really got hammered both physically and psychologically today, and I can't imagine that that would have happened randomly in a well-run club. If senior players were doing that to the juniors off their own bat it would be more along the lines of bullying and we'd probably be seeing a pretty big push to eradicate it. From what we've heard at least two young guys copped pretty impressive sprays while another was (probably) hit hard enough to end his training session. Hope the coaches know what they're doing.

A smallish red-headed hardnut? Sounds familiar...

This has been my concern also. Having worked so hard to rebuild form the bottom up, it would be shattering if the Spice Girls of the AFL manage to snatch it from us. One factor that gives me hope is that they will have to offload a lot of their top picks over the next 5 years as their salary cap concessions are reduced. They simply won't be able to pay that many star players.

Are you saying diving isn't equally prevalent in the AFL? It is a blight upon the game, as it is in soccer. We even see a similar situation where certain teams and players are renowned for doing so, and the officials still refuse to act on it. While in soccer it is the obligatory roll around clutching a knee, in Aussie rules we have tricks such as throwing the head back whenever tackled, dropping to the knees when tackled from behind and lifting an arm to force a tackle high. I despise diving or staging for frees in any game. It is a disgrace and players caught at it should be banned. On that note, how many players have been suspended by the AFL for diving? Off the top of my head I can't think of any. Ever. FIFA on the other hand have on at least one occasion done so, handing a two match ban to Rivaldo for a blatant dive (which the referee bought).