Dr. Gonzo

Especially if dealing with Essendon

I agree, a reverse strip or even the pale blue if the 70s/80s would be prefer to the Bintang. Unfortunately the AFL told us some years ago that we can't have a red clash strip though now Essendon has one. Probably worth going back to them again as we all know they change with the wind.

Semantics

We clash with Essendon and Carlton though. Unfortunately we just have design a better clash strip as this issue isn't going away.

We were told by the AFL we couldn't have a predominantly red strip as red is a "dark" colour and were forced to create a white one. Yet Essendons clash strip is predominantly red go figure.

Do not want. "No d9ckhead" clause. I told my wife the cats are one of the teams he may go to and her response was "ugh, no thanks"

I didn't think it would need to be pointed out, but in a discussion board related solely to potential MFC trades these are the kinds of discussions you'll find. Good luck trying to shut down these discussions.

Remember when there were comments that some players under previous regimes had already achieved their goals by playing senior footy? Jack seems to like the lifestyle of being an AFL player, but doesn't want to sacrifice any part of that lifestyle to be a successful player. Colin Sylvia mk2 is dead right. Time to cut our losses and make him someone else's problem.

Lol he is not going to dictate terms. Once a club makes it known to a player he's not part of future plans you'd have to be an idiot to say "fine but if you trade me I'll only go to a top 4 club". That's without even co siderig the top 4 changes year on year. We're Richmond a top 4 side last year?

You don't see any correlation between players running out of steam due to youth/not preparing themselves well enough and an unwillingness to take the game on in the latter half of the year?

Harder on him than the younger players. The amount of excuses the supporters give guys like Watts are part of the reason we've been a rabble for so long. Nah it's not Watts' fault he doesn't train/prepare hard enough or take his job seriously, it's the coaches and leadership groups fault for pulling him up on it. Give me a break.

I've been on the fence with Watts. On one hand he has the talent to be a match winner and one of the best users of the footy in our side. On the other hand he lacks the application and desire to be a genuine superstar of the club. The fact Jones came out publicly about this and Goodwin had to send a message TWICE this year speaks volumes. Looking at the way the Dogs have handled Stringer and its a no brainer for me. He's had 9 years in the system, if he doesn't get it by now and especially after the message he got last pre-season then he will never get it, not at the MFC anyway. I'd be surprised if he's still on our list come November.

That's even more fanciful than some of the trades that get mooted here. The Eagles would probably be lucky to get a late 1st round pick for Gaff, more like a pick in the 20s.

Devon Smith may get them a first rounder

Brad Scottt admitted as much last year. If you don't think they are trained to "exploit" the rules you are incredibly naive.

Plus they owe us for Thompson

Yeh $300k seems ludicrous no wonder he started looking elsewhere

Pretty much every player trains to do this. The giveaway is their knees hitting the ground to protect themselves rather than just falling flat on their stomach/chest which they would if they were falling due to the momentum of the tackler.

I'd say "watch his legs"

I agree the sport is probably one of the most difficult to umpire. The rules and the directions as to how to "interpret" them heavily contribute to this. However what I don't get is when everyone knows that player A uses a tactic to play for free kicks (eg dropping the knees, shrugging the shoulder) the umpires aren't on to it and seem completely oblivious to it. Surely they should know "Selwood uses this tactic, don't fall for it", "Rance scrags", "the Bulldogs throw the footy" etc. They should be on to these things and expect them to happen so they're ready for them and can stamp it out of the game early (just like any good umpire does with any type of tactic or behaviour). Instead the AFL refuse to acknowledge their umps can do any wrong, refuse to do anything to fix it and make things more difficult for them in the process.

Because players with the ball drop to their knees then dive forward to pull their opponent down on to their back.

Would've been better off with a straight swap for Varcoe in hindsight

No thanks, would rather Motlop or Menzel

The umpires should be professional/full-time, should study tape and should be looking out for these tactics and know which players are worse than others at doing it. The fans know, the commentators know, the players know yet the umpires seem oblivious

He did duck/dropped the knees.