praha

I don't want a drug addict at my club. Just like what several experienced people in the drug rehabilitation industry have stated, the celebrity environment and environment where alcohol and drugs are readily available is hardly the place for a recovering drug addict. And I doubt that he has 100%, fully recovered from addiction after only a year being banned, especially considering he left rehab after what, 3 weeks? I'm not convinced he is good to go and I say good luck to any club that drafts him. I have no sympathy for drug addicts. People feel sorry for them because of their addiction, but remember, they take the first hit on their own accord. And it takes A LOT of hits to become an addict. Yes, I've had coke before. Yes, I've smoke marijuana before. Both several times. I'm not an addict and I haven't had either in over 2 years. I expect Cousins to retire after a year or so. Don't be fooled by every other hack on the radio who claim he is in good health and on the right track. I don't care what his experience is like or how good he is. I don't want a current/ex drug addict at my club. Even if he is recovered. How any of you can say that he is a good candidate for leadership is moronic. He's been mentioned alongside underworld figures, has a gang-style tat across his stomach, has admitted to taking coke/ice/whatever. I'm honestly sick of all these people feeling sorry for him and other addicts. He recovered (or say he says). So good luck to him. But don't praise him. Condemn him for having to recover in the first place. Also, beyond the whole drug thing, he is in his 30s and the club needs to develop. Seriously, what an utter disgrace that the AFL has allowed him back in. It's all marketing. Money Money Money. The day this league becomes like the NBA/NFL with a no tolerance stance will be the day this league gets some sense.

I can't believe so many of you are focusing on the CJ part of that article. I don't think the guy deserves the attention. To me, anyone who doesn't want to be at this club is the enemy. He is scum. That article highlights Bailey's determination to the club, not CJ's inability to resign and be faithful to the club that gave him a chance.

Everytime I see "Talking Carlton", I read it as "Tanking Carlton". Funny stuff.

I will boo him till my throat is sore when (if) we ever play against him. I can't wait till we are flying at the top of the ladder, and we come across teams like Carlton and Collingwood that have picked up these young players for nothing.

He played 7-8 good (never great) games in 5 years and people are crying about his loss?

If the fixture is to be influenced by anything, it should be on field performance, not off-field performance. Carlton have sucked for 6 years and get a wonderful draw. Collingwood get a great draw no matter where they finish. Either way, NOTHING should influence the draw. It should be 100% even, with each club getting the same amount of Friday, Saturday and Sunday games.

I'm also tipping a huge crowd. 25,678. Sorry, I meant a huge crowd for a Melb-North game.

Good point in the article, but I hate Caro's style of writing. Incoherent.

I hate this whole, "getting a better fixture because you pull better crowds". What an utter disgrace. This league is going to be like the Premier League in the UK in 10 years, with only 4-5 major teams and everyone else just making up the numbers. Why not be like the American leagues and distribute TV appearances based on performance? If you have the worst record, you only get 2-3 national games. Make the playoffs and you get 15-30. Collingwood didn't make the finals for 2 years in a row from 04-05, yet still got a miracle draw. They always do. Their record doesn't mean anything. They could finish 10th, average crowds of 60k a game and get 7 Friday night games, 9 Saturday games, 3 Saturday night and 3 Sunday. We'll finish 5th, average 35k-40k, and get 1 Friday night with 8-10 Sunday matches. The only way to have an even draw is to have a 30 round season, each team plays each other twice, one away and one home, and there are 2-3 breaks inbetween. Eliminate the pre-season cup and introduce Exhibition games, where each team plays 2-3 games of 2 35 minute halves. Seriously, the way the fixtures is done is stoneage and unfair. The AFL is making matters worse for low drawing clubs. Rewarding clubs with high attendances and not performance is only going to create an even more lobsided competition. Don't be fooled into thinking the league is rewarding/punishing onfield performance. It should have no implications on the draw. Only on the TV appearances. Everyone should have an evenly distributed draw.

You can't fix a problem without acknowledging it. People are so "negative" because they care too much imo. If they didn't, they would just sit back and not care about the problems. That's not saying that all people who are positive don't care, but I'm just saying that it's OK to criticize sometimes.

Terrible draw. Can't we once, just once, play Geelong only once and only at the MCG. Every year we either play them twice or meet then once at SS. What's so bad about giving us Saturday games? Even a twilight? I'm convinced: The AFL hates the MFC and wants us to die a slow and painful death. What a disgraceful draw.

We're losing a whole bunch of experienced players and bringing in younger, inexperienced players. It's not that our list is bad. It's just going to get younger and more inexperienced. With inexperience comes pain and failure. Now Fremantle. That is a bad list.

Really? I'm sure we would have been out of the finals had we lost? I was 8 lol

1994 Elimination Final win over Carlton, 2000 semi win over Carlton, come back this year against Freo.

Nah, I just expected someone to come in here to stick up for him

Actions speak louder than words indeed. I remember Gardiner making a similar speech, talking about how it made him sick to the gut that we hadn't won a flag in 40 years and that it was partly his duty and the players etc. to bring it back where it belonged. We all know how that ended up. The only difference is though that Gardiner rarely spoke directly from the heart, instead mostly from a sheet of paper. Schwabb's was from the heart. You can tell. But, it also makes me worry. I think his dedication stems from a knowing of how badly in shape the club is. He's emotional because he knows we're on the brink of non-existence.

The more distant we are from the shambles of a coaching squad Daniher put together, the better. And please, don't come in here with your, "he was great for us" crap, because the way I look at it, we sucked a majority of the time he was here, and that makes me unsympathetic towards his departure.

I left it to someone else to start this discussion after seeing this, but didn't expect the original OP to see it in a positive manner. 1pm start. Sunday. Grand Prix at 5pm. Those are 3 factors that on their own would see a decrease in the crowd. I'm starting to think the AFL (Andrew Football League) is forcing us out, along with North. Idiots. And then Andrew comes out and says we have no brand. Well, how about helping us, giving us a Saturday arvo game against a top-drawing club and give us the opportunity to start the year off on a high note (off field), instead of fixturing us against a team that will see a crowd of no more than 30k. Idiots.

Tough, but true. Letter in the Your Say in HUN today.

Wow...surprised we got a mention there.

Is that Moloney with his back to us, stretching on the floor next to Sylvia?

I don't believe it. I don't believe it!

More admins...

Fixed.

What I had to say: