The Chazz

As I said, the only one I'd be comparing him to would be Terlich. Clisby, in his 8 games, has a better uncontested possession average than Terlich, so that COULD tell us that he runs and spreads more. FWIW, I couldn't really give a toss about our stats from the past 5 years. They are pitiful, most areas are not AFL standard, and I don't believe it gives us a true indication on individual's ability. If I did want to entertain any stat at present, it'd be turnovers per game, inside defensive 30's (not 50's), and whatever the stat is that tells us our halfback lines score involvement (ie was Clisby/Terlich/Dunn involved in a passage of play that directly resulted in a score for us), as well as the oppositions equivilent (telling us which of our half forwards are working hard). Howe had good stats in his first season, the opposition played tighter on him in 2013 and his effectiveness dropped. I have no doubt the same will happen to Clisby (if he is playing in the seniors), so it'll be interesting to see how he pushes through that. I rest my judgement until such time passes.

I can see where you are coming from WYL, but I don't think you're right. We'll never know though!

Chippy, interested to know you think that way? Sure, things like marketing costs, travel & entertainment expenses, etc are a bit of a joke, but these types of syndicates aren't set up for people to make money. Of course the managers/directors will, but it's their business and they are entitled to make an income from it. $3,500 to say that you've raced 2 or 3 $1m horses with Gai Waterhouse, for some people that's all it is about, and I hope they get enjoyment out of it. For every critic, there is someone that can see this as a cheap way to experience racehorse ownership. The prospectus clearly states the financials, and I'm sure some people will accept that and still purchase.

Jimmy is highly unlikely to reproduce such was the reaction and effects of the treatment. A very drastic action for someone to get "payback".

My place is full of bloody redbacks at the moment WYL, and I only owe the bank money (mortgage), and haven't missed one repayment. The Bendigo Bank are tough bastards.

That tells me that he has more uncontested possessions than most inside mids that we've got, which I would expect. Also tells me that he's doing what he should be doing for an outside mid/half back flanker. The only one in that list you could compare him to would be Terlich. If Jones, Cross and Vince had more uncontested possessions than Clisby it would be a worry. To be honest, I'm not sold on Mitch. Nothing personal, just am far from having him in my best 22. Might make it, hope he does, but I'm doubtful at this stage.

Right there with you on that Obba. I think Blease has the most XFactor out of any one in our team, we just need him fully fit. Hopefully it's 2014 that things fall in to place for Sammy, as I have no doubt his clock is ticking.

So do you think an "associate" picked up a white tail, opened it's mouth, put it's fangs on Jimmy's ass and pushed down? Interesting theory.

Most clangers: Nicholson Least influential in a game: Bail Most weeks out injured: Jamar Most direct passes to opposition: Grimes Time spent walking after opponent: Bail Selfish acts: Blease Squibs: Pedersen (Cam - if you are playing in the backline and an opponent runs back in to the pack you're about to hit - TAKE THEM OUT. If he doesn't make body contact, I call that a "squib"). Could've just thrown Nicholson, Bail and Grimes up in the air and left them where they landed.

$5m would've been a cheap investment had Jimmy not been bitten by a white-tail and having a severe reaction to the treatment (would be equivilent to you or I getting struck by lightening in terms of how unlucky it is). You only have to look at its breeding to see that the chances of getting an above-average performer were better than your average lot. If he managed to pick up a Group race, they'd send it stud, probably put a $50k service fee on it (for a start - All Too Hard in his first season is asking $66k). Fairly healthy return over the next decade, assuming Darley or Vinery hadn't bought him for 4-times their purchase price. Besides, I'm not sure why you're highlight racing syndicates as being the quite risky ones. All horse ownership is risky, doesn't matter if you are part of a syndicate, a sole owner or Sheikh Mohammed. Betting syndicates can be as dodgy as buggery, and shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as horse/racing syndication. The "splitting hairs" call proves your ignorance on a good part of this topic.

The line in the Herald Sun summed it, "it attracted everyone from pensioners to the penthouse". I've seen multi-millionaire businessmen invest in things that have gone belly-up. Greed? To some degree for some, but not all.

Hear what you are saying Bluey, but given that it will attract comments like that of "angrydemons" above, I'm not sure if it's the most constructive place to get a message across.

Old, while I understand what you are saying, these parasites prey on the weak, and are generally very good sales people. Of course some people are just too easily sucked in and are oblivious to the "too good to be true" cases, but it's the vulnerable ones that I feel sorry for. Too many times they target those that aren't in the greatest state of mind, and the consequenses can be costly. The suckers that put $$$ in just to make a quick buck, yeah, I don't have too much sympathy for them (it has happened to me before - won't go in to too much detail, but while part of me is still peed off at the bloke that did it, the rest of me blames myself but doing so with "how silly am I" grin on my face!), but it's the vulnerable ones that feel that this is the answer to breaking some of their financial shackles, often those that are older, they're the ones that upset me the most. Sure, they probably should know better, but sometimes that's not the thought process at the time. I still vote for this thread to be locked, with the key thrown away.

I would think that this is a very touchy subject, one that has potentially affected the lives of a number of people, and could be seen as criminal behaviour. Should we really have a thread about this? My call is for mods to shut it down before it gets out of hand (given that 99.9% of threads on this site eventually do!).

That was Alex Georgiou, JJJ, he's often mistaken for Brad Pitt.

In no particular order; 1. Matt Jones - had a promosong debut year at AFL level. First saw him "live" at Southport, thought he could become a best 18 player. Interested to know where his ceiling is. 2. Jake Spencer - I have never been a fan of Pencil, but I saw things in him in the games he played in 2013 that showed he had improved. Given his age and the position he plays, I will be interested to see if he wants it more than Gawn (I do love Maxy, so hope he responds if there is a challenge). 3. Jesse Hogan - just cos!

Hence why your quote was $3k dearer than anywhere else!

Depends on who you speak to Old Dee. The fact that AHG is an ASX200 company, some would find that we only deal with the elite companies now. Personally, I think the companies that we've been associated with in the last decade are in competitive marketplaces and given the ease of finding a cheap price for products, whether directly through the supplier or through third party agreements. I realise that all clubs/companies are in the same boat, but from us members point of view, we can only give our sponsors the opportunity to get our money, it's up to them how much they want it. Some will shop around, and if you're anything like me, saving $3000 is well worth shopping around for. Even a company like Hertz can often be dearer dealing directly with them, even with the member discount. Websites like vroom vroom can often give you a price that even the Hertz yards can't give you. I don't think you're unlucky with your dealings with our current/previous sponsors, but I don't think we deal with second rate sponsors either.

A Collingwood supporter that's employed? C'mon Old Dee.

Thanks Old Dee - you're the first to press my new like button, so I'll never forget you. That said, deep down I was hoping it may have been BBO that took that scalp, but I'm sure our experience will make me all the more prepared for when that moment arises.

Or, we can say that we were really, really crap in 2013, and that the injection of new players should see us improve to just plain crap. That'll still be a quantum jump, but will it be enough to win Round 1? Will tell you mid-March.

And what point will he want to prove - that he's a good VFL player and that is all? Did that enough last year - didn't need to change VFL clubs to prove it again.

The problem is that our midfield is coming from so far back. It was barely third world. Even with the injection of new faces, both young ("enthusiasm") and old (experience), as well as the natural(?) progression of our own, we are absolutely bridging the gap on a number of teams, but we are still far from competing with most. I will be a lot more confident when we play them the second time around, but no doubt will pick us in round 1 too.

It also took us 3 years to get fit, while it took Port Adelaide 5 months. Doesn't matter how long Roos has had to mould his team, especially when comparing it to a different team that in reality has had less time, it's the 22 blokes that run out on the day. Like so many others, the St Kilda game will be won and lost in the midfield. Our forwards and backs have them covered, but they still have a level of quality in the guts that regardless of how long their coach has been there for, they have played a lot more footy together as players compared to our "new" midfield. There is still a lot of uncertainty with regards to our mids in my opinion.

She: "Why did we come down here, there's no criminal activity going on" He: "Thought we could just come down and have a look"