praha

Gee I hope you're right.

No they won't. 15k Giants there yesterday, a lot of free tickets, corporates. Play either Hawks or Bulldogs, both will get a healthy contingency up there. It's a Prelim Final. It'll sell out.

Funny that Richmond are reportedly offering Prestia 800k for 5 years. They must be prepared to do away with some of their "stars". Martin's season saved him but they'll have to part with 1 or 2 of Deledio, Cotchin or Riewoldt. They're desperate to free up space *and* bring in picks. We can't offer the latter which will make it tough. Trading out our 2016 pick was probably the right long term decision but this year's trading period is going to be special. Shame we don't have much to offer.

I believe we should recruit no one, and hinge all our bets on inexperienced potential, and experience in the likes of Garland, Dunn and Dawes...

Whisper today Hogan to Freo for Fyfe. But I pushed the guy away and told him to steer clear of my personal space. I hate it when randoms start whispering [censored] in my ear.

Demonland punters are notoriously elitist when it comes to recruiting. Almost no one is good enough unless they're under 22 and have had NO injuries. Anyone would think we've played finals for 20 consecutive seasons and have a-grade talent knocking down the door in the VFL... I would take anyone with a proven record that has a history of performing on the big stage, regardless of age or injury history. Guys like Del Santo, Thompson and Wells all fit there. I'd be happy with any of the three, even if just for one year.

Richmond must be prepared to offer Prestia $800k a year for 5 years to get him to that rabble. That is the most Richmond photo ever.

Jesse had a very solid year. Played more of a CHF role, had some great games where he pushed up and got involved without scoring (Freo game comes to mind). Easily top 10. Poor last month but aside from that, no second-year blues that some hyperventilating fans thought he had.

You guys seen this? I know it's only stats but Petracca Petracca Petracca. http://m.afl.com.au/news/2016-09-06/the-stats-files-rating-2016s-rising-star-contenders

I know for a fact that Clark did face mental demons. What I don't like is that I feel he used them to position himself for a better deal. To suggest he needed a "change" because of the demons he faced, only to nominate one of the most scrutinised teams in the land as his preferred destination, goes to show he used his mental health issues as a bargaining chip: it had nothing to do with wanting a change for the sake of his health, and everything to do with being at a winning club. I've had to deal with a colleague doing the same thing in recent months, where they've had to deal with confronting mental issues, only to then use these issues to leverage better business deals. It's sickening. So I sympathize with people who question the legitimacy of his issues. I know he was depressed. But I question the legitimacy of his reasoning for wanting to leave.

Precisely. He may have been able to handle it better -- he basically came in and said the players had shocking standards, which is an attack on the playing group -- but really, the entire environment was toxic. I still get furious thinking of 186. Neeld came in basically right after, and it was very clear that he faced an uphill battle. He had players battling management, and vice versa. Fans were and still have been kept in the dark about that day and ultimately whatever caused that continued throughout Neeld's tenure. Schwab and co. tried to correct it by hiring someone of Neeld's ilk, but it was never the coach or players that were the problem. I seriously think that had we got Roos in 2013 while Schwab was still in charge, Roos may have either been sacked or would have quit halfway through ala Blight at the Saints.

Neeld's time at Melbourne was underrated. He came in when Schwab and Connolly were still running rampant. He wanted to go the hardline and this was at odds with some players and management. He clearly didn't have support. He made tough list decisions and brought in experience, albeit low-tier talent. He landed us Hogan. His approach was no different to Roos': bring in experienced footballers, improve training standards, focus on defense and onfield accountability. He may have been a tough game-day coach but dare I say he set the team and club up for Roos to come in. Not much, but a little. I do think that with today's squad he'd have done a lot better. He had a shocking list and did what he could. Tried a quick turnaround but obviously didn't have the support. He also had the balls to hold guys like Moloney, Sylvia, Davey to their account for their lacking leadership and defensive accountability. People say Bailey was a scapegoat. He got out before it really went to [censored]. Neeld was the ultimate scapegoat for what was at the time a shocking professional environment.

Spencer has been re-signed until 2017 and I suspect that unless we bring in an experienced and proven ruckman of the Mumford ilk, Spencer will continue to sign one-year extensions. He's not going anywhere. It would be suicide to dump ruck stocks when your back-up ruckman on game day is Jack Watts.

This could work with a more experienced side, which I think was why he was so successful at Port. It was a "you're either with me or against me" approach and players had the experience to know that they had to go with the coach. Not as easy with the youngest team in the league. I'd say no, simply because I don't think he's ideal with a young team.

The AFL must be clamouring about trying to manage its PR game ahead of the inevitable bail-out package for Queensland footy. My bets on salary cap concessions, priority picks, and maybe exemption from anti-drug rules.

Hawthorn could have offered him 550k for 7 years and he wouldn't have taken it. Been saying it for ages. Richmond offered him a deal he was never going to turn down. Even if he wanted to stay in Queensland. His injuries and urgency to get home all played a role in accepting what is a very, very lucrative deal. Good luck to him.

Is marijuana classified as an illicit substance? I remember back in 2010 seeing two AFL footballers leave a coffeeshop in Amsterdam (also saw Andrew Bynum from the LA Lakers in the city around the same time, although not leaving a smoke shop).

I should apply for a gig with the Fox Footy team.

Cortana is better value. And she puts out... ...better responses.

Saw him at the Coles Express filling up his Holden Ute. Young footballers on hundreds of thousands a year, and this bogan buys a ute? No.

I agree but I don't see how getting Thompson at all compromises our ability to seek out those sorts of players.

Anyone who thinks we don't need experience and players with exceptional habits have rocks in their heads. Our "leaders" are mostly average players that go through the motions, rack up some B&F votes and are our "only performers" whenever we get smashed. Few players on our list go above and beyond where we need them to go considering their experience and position at the club. Thompson would be a valuable addition. Would you rather keep M. Jones and Terlich, or sign Thompson on a one year deal for the combined worth of both of those contracts? Ideally, if he comes in as a mentor and coaching assistant, even better.

We're undoubtedly the media's favourite team outside the 8. They've been better and more consistent than us in 2016, beaten us twice, yet I've barely heard anything about them "making the finals" or how great their rebuild has been or anything like that. We're definitely the media's love child and have been all year, but when we get smashed everyone goes back into their hole. After almost every win this year, everyone was talking us up (apart from a few wins where it was about the other team 'losing' and not us winning, ie. both Collingwood games). Sure, they're getting some love *this* week, but probably due to their low percentage and how relatively under-the-radar they've been, we've received the grunt of the positivity. When we play bad it's relatively quiet but there's the standard, "How bad were Melbourne, again!" article and coverage. It seems most people in the media want us to do well. Nothing sells better than a fairytale. I'm sure the media would have preferred us in the top 8 instead of North. They are the most uninspiring top 8 team I can remember.

Well you point out that "after all, Essendon played a bottom 5 team", which I interpret as meaning that being critical of Melbourne losing to a top 2 team isn't the same as having an easy final game against a bad team. Except we also lost to Carlton, which imo makes Connolly's critique here all the more relevant.