...

He got straight back on the bike. Nothing to worry about.

Willco.

I was there and heard the whole thing. Storm in a teacup! Kelly O'Donnell was supervising the tackling session when it happened. He was making sure blokes weren't getting twisted in the tackles because he was obviously worried about knees and ankles. Then he said something to Watts about being flat-footed (as stated previously in this thread). Then he said, "don't you shake your f'ing head at me when I'm talking to you!" "F'ing smartass". "Come and speak to me after the session." Then there were back pats and bum taps all round as some of the other players near Watts just told him to get his head back in the game. It was a minor incident. It probably happens all the time at all footy clubs. THE END. No scandal. No developmental problems. No feuds. No abnormal behavior. No reason for its own thread! Anybody else notice how big Cheney is? He is a massive bloodnut. Warnock is a true leader in the backline. Gysberts handles the ball beautifully. I spent $20 at McDonalds on the way home and felt sick after it.

Thanks so munch for the reports. We under-rate Bater pretty consistently. One of my uncles is a mongrel C'wood supporter, and he rates Bate as one of our best players.

I don't care if Tapscott's only as good as Moloney. I love Moloney. I wouldn't mind if we had 4 or 5 of him.

Happy Birthday to Mad Max.

Thank you for posting this. I have thought of of Troy often since his passing, and have thought of Trisha. My perspective on this... We are a beautiful country with little to worry about, so we find things to worry about. We argue politics, when, in reality, nobody loses their life as a result of an election in this country. We profess hatred (or close to it) for young men who play for opposing footy clubs, yet we don't really mean it. When you think about WW1 and WW2 and how many young footballers (amongst many many more) lost their lives, how could we reasonably feel such malice towards another Australian? I believe, in fact, that we don't. We just pretend to for entertainment. And let it roll on! We loved Troy Broadbridge, and we miss him, and feel sorry for his wife, and for ourselves. And rightfully so. We will remember him as he should be remembered.. not just a footballer, but as a quintessential young Australian male, with a beautiful wife, a career, and a future which was destroyed. Rest in peace young man.

They should keep the V and just use a velcro seam down each side. Then when the player is tackled, the jumper just comes off in the opponents hands, leaving Scully to run into open goal, bare-chested. Who am I kidding? As if they're going to catch Scully anyway! And yes, I'm bored. How long to go?

Thanks for the report. Good to read....

Mate, it's not that. The recruiting staff are pumped on this one. Heard it from one of our recruiters at the MoM night. I love Dunny, and hope he makes it, but this kid might be a step above. Time will tell. I can't give more detail than that... I could [censored] it, but that's not very useful. Just talking to the staff about him, I got the strong sense that they were very happy with themselves over this pick. Melshim was the other choice, but the staff didn't elaborate either before or after pick 11 was read out who they preferred. So kick back mate, the future is rosy. The only real sport in this from now on is to see just how long it takes for us to dominate, rather than if!

Well said. One of the best things about the MoM night (apart from the quarter piece of sandwich I had to wrestle Neita for) was the opportunity to have a few brief chats with the coaching and recruiting staff. On Gysberts, Mahoney mentioned that he handles the ball very cleanly when under pressure in the pack. It was actually the first thing that came out when I asked him about the pick. They also see him as a good running midfielder, not just an inside player.

So did Mahoney at the MoM night.

Deja vu - Barry Dawson 11.05pm -yesterday. It's a dog eat dog world this journalism thing, but happy to know e're on the same page. Almost literally...

No. He didn't go into it. The only remarkable aspect to his statement was how emphatic it was. The crowd ripped up in applause. Not many Luke Ball fans were present... I know here you're coming from Lil Stinga, and I feel your pain, BUT The belief and confidence in our choices tonight were irrepressible. Our FD were on a mission. The picks were not random, they were cold and calculated. The only surprise was that Tapscott presented as late in the darft as he did. As for our later picks, I think they're expalainable on our needs basis.

Well hello! Just got back from the draft night function and would like to share with you all some quotes and insights (from the FD, not from me) on who and why... The night started with Chris Connelly telling us that without a doubt our first 2 picks would be Scully and Trengove. Scully first because he had proven over two years that he was a consistent performer and had earnt the right to be number one. That said, had it come down to a decision b/w the two, it'd have been difficult. Then number 11. The plan was for Lucas/Melksham/ Gisberts (not sure on spelling) but that if Melksham went to the bombers, Gysberts would be our man. And so it went. Butcher was mentioned as a slider, and as the only true top 20 KPF that the Demons rated. Talia's name did not come up. Pick 18: Connelly categorically stated that at no time was Ball actually in the plans and that he "in no shape or form, represented our plans or strategies, and that our talk of him was indeed to attempt to keep a couple of others in the chance of slipping to 18". At pick 18, our targets were Max Gawn and Fitzpatrick. Tapscott was mentioned, but I dont 'think they expected him to be available at 18. He was. We won. You effing beauty! As if that wasn't enough... Gawn lasts to pick 34 and we get him. As if that wasn't enough, pick 50 dealt us Fitzpatrick. Taylor was strongly thought about, and subsequently went to the Tiges with the next pick. I spoke to Josh Mahoney after the event, about Fitzpatrick, and his size etc... plan is that he will be a forward > ruck. Spoke to Kelly O'Donnell re. Max Gawn, and apparently he'll need some work, but the club is pumped about getting him and would have taken him at 18 had Tapscott not been there. Massive lump of a lad. Asked O'Donnell about Temel - "Don't know heaps about him, but probably lacks in an area... will end up on someone's rookie list " Hmmm, not hugely helpful, but apparently never in contention. Connelly made a statement about Jordie McKenzie - "Any other year and we'd have just straight out elevated him onto our list. But we spoke to Jordie and he agreed to remain a rookie to give our club the chance to draft even more young talent - hats off to him for his..." That's all I can remember at this stage.

Let's also not overlook the depth required to make a good team. At any point in time, one or two of our backmen will be injured if history is a guide. It is more likely to be Joel MacDonald one week, Rivers the next, than it is to be a toss up b/w those two or any other. FCS, people are including Garland in the backline as though his stress fracture will miraculously heal and he'll not sustain the usual string of minor injuries on his way back to consistent football. They'll all play plenty of football, and the weeks where one is injured will not hurt us as is has previously. Big smiles people, please....

He could attempt the twin hand reversal, hence halving the load (at least the initial load).

BP should make a public display of tossing a coin before pick 1 to determine the order. That way, nothing can be read into. Heads it's Scully, tails it's Trengove. Toss it up, and go with the result. The only way that could be reported is that we didn't care. Best outcome for both players and for the club.

I can't believe I missed it. Great news. Old Casey hey... Is Trengove from Elizabeth? If so, he'll feel quite at home.

What we think of the Luke Ball scenario (so far): We wouldn't pick him at 11 b/c we'd rather a younger draft pick, but we'd take him at 18 if he were the best available, and we'd be happy to have him. We think he's a very solid player, but not a superstar, in fact, most of us wouldn't have him in our top five. We think he'll play until he's 30 or so years old, so we think his body will hold together, and that he'll be worthy of a selection in four years time despite the presence of Scully, Trengove, Moloney, Jones, Grimes, Blease, Strauss, Davey, and a few more. There's enough I agree with there to overlook what I don't agree with. Fair enough. Edit: There's a small band of recalcitrants who will hate his guts, at least initially. There's someone who will feel sorry for him as he receives $500k per year for a job when he didn't deign to reply to an interview offer. The majority of us don't mind the way he basically held the MFC up in front of the football community, took a sniff, and then screwed up his face and vomited. We're still happy if he comes on board.

Aw shucks. Thanks mate. My first poll. It was on line for approximately 30 seconds before I realised I'd balls something up. We live and learn.

In the absence of actual football, the talk is all that's keeping me sane. I do feel you though.

True, the poll does not address that, and it wasn't intended to. I was just inferring that from the 'interesting' result you noticed. If people are worried about overlooking young talent at pick 11, but are not so worried at pick 18, I think it is reasonable to postulate that they believe whichever youngster is available at 11 will be too good to pass up, but that by 18 that will no longer be the case.

At this stage, there are two emerging points on which the majority (of not many voters yet) agree. 1. Luke Ball is regarded as a very solid player. 2. We'd be happy for him to be selected at pick 18 if he's the best available, but not at pick 11. I'm mildly surprised. I've taken umbrage to the way Ball has not responded to requests to speak to our FD, has nominated for the ND forcing us to miss a well-earned top 20 pick to take him. I feel he's really given us the finger, and he thinks that if he behaves like a prat, he'll be allowed to slide through to Collingwood and undermine the integrity of the entire drafting process. Apart from those minor details, sure... I'd love to have him wear the jumper that our previous players have worn as a matter of pride and privilege. He's also going to walk in the door on more coin than any of our top ten players, of whom, according to this poll, five or more have higher value than Ball. But, it would seem that I need to take a teaspoon of cement and harden up! Nothing a few beers on a Saturday afternoon at the MCG won't fix.

Maybe it reflects that people expect a good prospect to be available at pick 11 but less likely at pick 18. Not sure...