Little Goffy

The real quality journalism comes in a week's time. One article in two parts; part one using the dopeler effect to pile up conjecture about Martin and part two declaring that Collingwoood 'obviously' would love to have him, and goes something like; MARTIN A PERFECT FIT FOR 'PIES Recent revelations of wayward Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin's intimate connections with players are Collingwood have fueled speculation about the future of the talented but discontented star, who considered leaving the club last year and has had numerous conflicts with Richmond leadership over his time with the Tigers. Collingwood desperately needs to add some attacking power to it's increasingly blue-collar midfield, and Martin would provide a clear replacement for lost star Dale Thomas, who, like Martin, was heavily influenced by intimate connections at his new club and was discontent for some time before finally leaving. Collingwood are able to offer the young star the prospect of a stable and successful club with regular finals appearances. With the loss of Thomas and progressive retirement of several top players, Collingwood would also be able to offer Martin a contract more lucrative than Richmond's offers, and beat out rival clubs for his services. Martin's arrival in 2015 would complete the potent midfield that would be the foundation for the Magpies to return to premiership contention in the new Buckley-led era. A midfield led by the likes of Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Beams and Martin would be a potent weapon feeding Cloke for years to come. See how I manage to slip in past-tense references to Richmond, and make it sound like it is Martin's activities that are 'fueling speculation', make a list of names that imply 'true facts' and even massage Collingwood egos along the way. Plus, in the same paragraph I describe Collingwood's midfield as 'increasingly blue collar' but also 'a potent weapon'. Golly gee whizz, boy oh boy wowee I'm a real journalist I am. I feel a little sick.

Two points - It seems we've been very lucky overall with the players we lost/traded in recent years, right back to Travis Johnstone for pick 14. Could people making excuses like 'they never had a chance to develop in such a bad team' just shut the h3ll up, seriously. Some of the game's top players spent huge chunks of their careers, early, middle or late, in absolutely train wrecks. Just, shush.

'Something Bartel-like' was Trengove's future according to the pre-draft talk, though there was a bit question mark put on that in the last couple of years because of his issues with acceleration. As Bartel showed, it's not so great a problem having a mediocre top speed if your first few steps are quick and smart, and you can think at the same time as run. But then again, the pre-draft chat about Scully was 'a zippier Simon Black'. Wishing the best to all, I hope both reach the level they were touted at when they were teenagers.

Lol, sounds like Goldilocks to me. "This coach is too soft" "This coach is too hard" "Ahhh, this coach is just right"

Is that you, James? But seriously, simmering anger waiting to be validated is always ugly. That the whole massive issue was first sensationalised by the governing authorities, has then been cast by the spin merchants at Essendon as some kind of conspiracy against them, was given a blunt-trauma 'political solution' by the AFL governing body, and has wallowed in a bog of half-information, leaks and counter-leaks by all parties, and after more than a year of this critical issue which goes to the heart of the AFL's viability and credibility as a sport we seem to be less informed that at the commencement of the whole sordid affair... sheesh, excuse people for being cranky. What we do all know is that the Essendon club leaders have repeatedly affirmed that while they have no actual idea (or records, which is just absurd) of what was injected, they are sure that there was nothing 'inappropriate'. It's an above the law attitude that in itself needs to be ripped down in every way possible. And finally, just to recap on what is known. The Essendon Football Club engaged in a prolonged program of unidentified injections administered by 'consultants'. A program for which there was no mechanism to ensure legality or safety. They established institutional structures, expectations of behaviour, and 'physio' methods which enabled them at any time of their choosing to engage in a systematic doping program without the knowledge of the AFL, other clubs, ASADA, or even the players themselves.

Now I'm just worried that with Kennett and Franklin gone and Clarkson making measured, sensible contributions to football politics, I might end up liking Hawthorn. In the past, there has always been a good reason to find them at the very least irritating.

I think that people are right on the money when they say more long kicks to powerful forward targets. The way we are prepared to give up space and time to get more 'comfortable' ball use will mean that there is a lot of space between the player holding the ball and the goalsquare. We already saw a lot of hard-working and patient efforts to provide short kicks to methodically gain a bit of ground, I think that will be supplemented by smart, long, hard leads from a CHF line (Dawes' speciality) which break up the opponents defensive patterns and mean that a quick burst can get inside 50 before our opponents can push back in good order. Personally, I'm convinced that the 'modern' game calls for having two CHFs and a FF in place so that there are always options to kick to and to provide a way of covering that final 70m as quickly as possible. With the bonus that for us, the ball is moving fast, but for our opponents a dozen midfielders and defenders are all having to run back to try to cover the breach. I also think that having a more potent ruck in place would have the effect of allowing us the occasional direct break forward from a centre bounce, or at least give us that half-second advantage so that our spreading for space wont require giving up quite as much ground initially. I've long been fascinated by the evasiveness and awareness of Sam Mitchell, which I think on it's own saves Hawthorn 10m every second time they spread from a stoppage.

You don't get a nickname like 'Crackers' by being an astute, impartial observer of club administrative decisions. But I think we all know there was a huge need for serious change at the club, and we all accept that a few stalwarts, even some who might have been up to their task in general, were going to lose their positions in the process. I'm sure they'll be alright though - as noted about Keenen, they have an influential friend willing to put in effort (and indirectly mention them in their column) to support anyone in a jam.

I recall a game back in the Ratten days when Carlton beat Collingwood and I was with some Carlton supporting friends/family in standing room on the ground level. Maybe 40 or 50 Carlton supporters had set up camp there, directly behind a Collingwood members area. Not a Pie was allowed to leave without a chorous of 'Goooooood-bbbyyyyyyeeeeee!' and they did not like it. Not at all. One bright spark kept trying to mock the Blues supporters, saying that 'Now you think Brett Ratten is a genius again', but he started the night drunk, and finishing it with "Bwert Radden... genish" as about all he could say. I may not like Carlton a lot of the time, but their supporters do a great job of winding up Collingwood supporters and for that we can thank them. Collingwood. Self-entitled pr1cks. Doesn't matter if you've got [censored] on your shoes or a yacht or both, same attitude like they are all that really matters.

We just don't look fragile. When we do good things, it doesn't feel like it is one person doing one thing good, sometimes followed by another if we're lucky. It actually feels like we mean to be doing what we're doing. *head explodes*

Thaat was a very enjoyable quarter. Serious tackling - intent and technique looked good from McKenzie's early and on defensive 50 right through to Howe's late one on forward 50. Kicking to leads! Leads! Real leads actually being offered and honored! Noticeably good spread from stoppages, and noticeably good defensive backup to give relief options. Unfortunate about the shots on goal, could be three goals up but I'm happy with this game so far and we look right in it.

In the absence of definitive evidence, conjectures are supported by emotional escalation and the formation mutually hostile groups for which the chosen conjecture(s) are a talisman of membership. Initially 'soft' differentiation between groups is reinforced over time as hostility leads each group to disagree with members of the other on any available subject of conjecture, eventually leading to an irreconcilable division between the groups and a commitment to the declared conjectures even in cases where new and decisive evidence becomes available. Welcome to Demonland; origin of the 21st century conflict known as "The cult wars of Mitch Clark and his foot". Can we call the breakaway "Mitch's foot is stuffed, go Pederson" faction the "PodiPedo Peddlers"?

Suddenly I see the similarity qqwith losing Syliva A perfect midfielder, one of the best at finding space and delivering rapidly into the forward 50 or kicking goals. His major weakness is getting first hands on the ball and maintaining a consistent workrate overall. "Really good at dancing, can't walk".

lol, now I don't know what to be optimistic about. "The Tigers will be without forward Jack Riewoldt, who will miss one week with quad soreness, and ruckman Ivan Maric, who has been managed through the pre-season after groin surgery and is now recovering from an ankle injury that will take one to two weeks."

I'm just quoting this so it appears again. Also, I've finally found my way to the AFL Global website, and since ALL internet connections in Vietnam are unlimited download, I'm gonna be watching whole games quite happily. Set it up just in time to have a chuckle at Brisbane's new beginning. At least we know what our benchmark against Richmond is! But seriously, I expect an... interesting... game for us tomorrow. Buggered if I know how it will pan out - I wouldn't expect even our new improved midfield to be able to keep up with the fast-breaking Richmond midfield, which after all is so perfectly attuned to the requirements of february. But I'm hoping for a respectable result and who knows, a bad day from Jack Riewoldt and a solid day from our other defenders on their half-arsed forwards, and Spencer going all team-first predator on Maric... we can prevent them from getting away from us and keep ourselves right in this game. Pardon my optimism, I know it is unseemly.

Trengove seems to have lost the puppy-fat look which concerns so many people, and looks fit (or it might just be the well-cut training top). Is that Jack Fitzpatrick just above him? Looking coordinated and normal-faced?

Sigh... some of us are working on the present and future. We all feel a little bitter about the gross waste of time, money and inspiration that occurred through the previous administration. But there's a difference between that and "Mitch Clark injured his foot = Cameron Schwab's ruining us". Also, Frawley's decision will hinge as much on success as on money, I'm sure of that. We have vast piles of salary cap room anyway, so the amount we are paying both Clark and Dawes is not really going to be a factor in Frawley's decision. What will be a factor, as stated by him, quite clearly, is whether the club is looking like making real progress and becoming a proper professional team with real prospects. Both Clark and Dawes can have a major hand in that - both are exceptionally professional presences and both capable of filling absolutely essential on-field roles. Let's say both are fit by round 3, they may well define our season.

I had at look at this in a bit of detail a few years ago. I examined about a dozen clubs over I think three seasons, looking specifically at: Number of players who played every game in a season (including finals if applicable) Result: An average of 6 per club with a surprisingly low standard deviation. Number of players who played most games (I think i set the line as 18+ out of 22, adjusted for finals depending on me mood) Result: Coincidentally, another average of 6 per club, though this one was a little more varied. So from that you can conclude that most clubs see about half their 'best 22' play solidly through a season. Sydney was a positive anomaly at the time, with a noticeably high number of players who played 'most' games, which as no one will be surprise to see, suggests really good conditioning, injury management and medical, as opposed to dumb luck of being injury-free. Melbourne, yep, we were particularly short on players who played a full season. For instance, remember the B&F year a few years back where two of the top three accepted their awards while carrying bandages/casts? What a year. And it seems we still have a serious problem with getting players through a full season, even acknowledging that the portion of our team 'settled' into the best 22 is much lower than most. Just 2 in 2013 is alarming.

I wonder... does anyone else think maybe the reason people are impatient and cynical about the ASADA process could have something to do with AFL HQ's often knee-jerk and highly political responses to issues? Or their cultural lack of transparency, fiefdom-building bureaucrats, and blanket-cover spin efforts? The fish rots from the head.

I think we're onto something here. Round 13, we need volunteers out collecting 'helpful donations' in 'support' of poor old hard-luck Essendon. Maybe we could even have a raffle... the prizes would be interesting.

Because using rape as an analogy for careless grammar is sooooooo high-brow. Anyway... "Those damn Akkadians are bastardising our script again" said the Sumerian.

This is unacceptable! Sack the bored! But more seriously, it is a bit of a newspeak clanger.

Can a case be made that the Essendon Football Club has brought the game into disrepute by actively flaunting their disregard for the AFL's decision on their undocumented performance enhancing medication of players? Marketing based on the fact that they were pulled up for systematic breaches of every conceivable good and fair practice is about as low as it gets, no?

If I may update; Essendon just advanced itself to my least liked club on account of their incredible arrogance. Seriously, imagine if a club had launched their membership campaign by commemorating the day they were pinged for salary cap cheating or tanking. Just revolting. I now genuinely hope they are formally charged by ASADA, just to screw them for their hubris, and to screw the Demetriou-era AFL for thinking it was a higher authority than the law.

Merit selection + no rushing of players back in. I think to sort out the list and see who is really moving right, we should be approaching the preseason games on the same basis as main season, but with an emphasis on avoiding any risks regarding injury and the like. After all, we are planning to reach our peak in september, yes?