Dr. Gonzo

Etihads not as bad as people make out, it sucks but putting up with it to see the Demons play is a small price. The major issue is our form there, if we could win some more games there it wouldn't seem nearly as bad (as is true for most of our performances over the last decade).

Yep very excited for Salem especially the reports of him playing across half back, we need his class coming out of the backline as that's been a definite area of weakness over the last, well, decade.

I could be wrong but weren't steroids only made illegal in the 80's?

Way to completely misinterpret what I said. I don't give a stuff what anyone's feelings are but to put down others because they are understandably upset at the news is ridiculous. Have to laugh at your "level-headed" comment as well considering your posting history on here, you'd have to be one of the more bipolar posters on the site.

Some of them are terrible - Geelongs in particular. Collingwood and Carltons are pretty poor too.

Those of you trying to take a "holier than thou" attitude and putting down those who are disappointed, upset, [censored] off or depressed about this news are pathetic. If you prefer to look on this as a "glass half full" situation good on you, that's your prerogative - but denigrating others upset that yet another of our "young guns" has a season ending injury before his careers begun and putting them down as whingers and losers is disgraceful. If we can't find sympathy and wallow in our despair on a MFC forum amongst fellow die hards then I don't know what the point is (and yes I get the whole it's only football/get some perspective - I'm not distraught over it but it's [censored] annoying!)

50 year rule will kick in after round 13, 2015? Here's hoping...

You need to have a pretty big asterisk next to guys like Peterson and Ray Lewis who have made "miraculous" recoveries from injuries in the NFL.

Kreuzers career has been destroyed by injuries. Good analogy.

[censored] you football can't you at least wait until March before kicking me in the nuts again?

I've read a few posters who seem to think there was some fishy stuff going on at the Lexus Centre in 2010. Remember the drug testers following Dane Swan to Arizona and Swan cracking it for being woken up for samples at the cracks of dawn. If I remember the inference was that there was recreational drug issues but perhaps it was something more sinister.

We beat Richmond last year no reason we can't beat them again. They've got a soft underbelly.

PJ, like Roos, has been talking about a succession plan since the moment he walked into the joint. Now we're to believe he's got his knickers in a knot because Bartlett is headhunting someone else? Makes no sense.

You and me both mate but after trying it out for myself I can say that I am impressed and it really does make sense. You don't have to be a Nazi about it but eating more vegies meat fruit and eggs and less rice pasta and bread (and sugar) is certainly preferable.

Were already going to WA don't wanna have two interstate games.

The AFL should advise Essendon boycotting the NAB Challenge will result in a "bringing the game into disrepute" charge with fines and sanctions (draft picks). If Essendon are out of the picture it's simple, we play Saints and GWS figure something out.

That's a ridiculous assumption. So it was only cos of McLean we lost to Essendon by 148 points leading Schwab to get sacked and making Neeld a dead man walking?

I'm a walking sporting curse!

Tanking is so overstated it is unbelievable. Who gives a stuff if a team tanks or not, every comp in the world that has a reverse order draft has tanking. It would be absolutely ridiculous if a team didn't tank, in fact in 2009 only would have been livid if we were stupid enough to win 5 games AGAIN. After 2007 and the Kreuzer Cup I was furious not because Carlton tanked but because we didn't. That's why in 2009 I was relieved we finally had the balls to do the professional thing and plan for the future like Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn, Essendon, West Coast etc in the years before us instead of doing the meek thing and being bullied by the media (who interestingly enough mostly support those other teams and didn't come down on them nearly as hard) into stuffing ourselves. The only difference between us and those other clubs tanking is that they had no guilt over what they'd done as they knew it was the right thing to do. We still had this ridiculous notion that we hadn't played fair and it ate our club from the inside out. We could've handled the senior players better but winning one extra game and losing out on a top 2 pick would've been ludicrous. Not to mention the fact that no player has ever taken the field to lose. Look at the Patriots supporters, they don't give a stuff about Spygate, Deflate-gate or any other accusations of "cheating" - the only thing that matters is the 4 Lombardi's and their decade long domination of the division and I applaud them for that - and I'm a Jets supporter!

I'd prefer he said nothing or alternatively say that as a professional sports club it is our aim at the start of every year to play finals just as every other team would be aiming to play finals. That's not spouting BS that's just being obvious.

In Feb 1998 did you think we could play off in a Prelim? What about Feb 1987? It's a very long shot and extremely unlikely but it's not impossible. It's sport, sometimes illogical and unexpected things happen.

It's a minor point to quibble over but I think it's important to realise it's not you or I or any of the other diehards that could be affected by these comments, we'll sign up and turn up anyway. It's the supporters who may only go once a year or those who dropped off the membership list 4 or 5 years ago who might hear it and think "why bother this year?"

At the start of every season the initial target should be the make finals and then re-evaluate during the season. I don't care what anyone says that should be the starting goal. You don't have to come out saying "our goal is to win the flag this season" or any other brash statements, you don't even have to say anything. However if you are going to say something all you need say is "like every other club we aim to play finals each season" doesn't have to be a standout comment that puts the spotlight on. I think it's bad PR especially for some of the "bandwagon" supporters who might think well we'll wait til next year now, it's like your telling them the season is over before it begins so why would they turn up to games or buy memberships? I don't think anyone thinks we'll win the flag in 2015 and even finals might be a long shot but to come out before the season and say our aim is to play finals NEXT year kind of puts a dampener on the illogical beliefs and hopes of sports fans.

On the other hand 50k members is an ambitious yet obtainable target and trying to get out of our disastrous Casey deal is great.

Whether or not you think we will make finals in 2015, it should at least be the AIM to make finals at the beginning of each season. To say our goal is to just make ONE final by the end of NEXT year is pretty poor PR if nothing else. I don't think we'll make finals in 2015 but it's not a foregone conclusion. Lots of things can happen in a season, look at 1987, 1994, 1998 - why put a ceiling on things?