Curry & Beer

this is beautiful

thanks mate gee Hogan is a huge lad for a 17-year-old

as mentioned by others, this bloke has a long way to go to win me back - his season (along with Moloney's) are two of the biggest drop-offs in impact I have ever seen. I don't know about his injury, but there is absolutely no excuse for shirking the contest and dropping your head as a supposed senior leader. To be honest I am surprised he was not shown the door.

surely our turnover rate will immediately plummet now that Morton is gone

Good call.He and McLean were recruited to be a-grade midfielders and due to that not working out we have Nathan Jones almost playing a lone hand against sides with several genuine midfielders. There are 6 or 7 other young hopefuls but their time to shine is years off. I agree our ladder position will be hinged most on Sylvia.

Well said The reality is that we ever want to become a REAL football club we need to produce several elite players. As a club we have NOT shown in the past that we are capable of developing players to this level. At this moment the only 2 near it are Clark and Jones. We are all of course looking to the likes of Trengove, Watts, Grimes, McDonald, McKenzie, Blease, Howe, Viney, Toumpas etc to become these players but clearly we are a long way from this happening. The contributions of Dawes/Rodan etc will help us somewhat to be more competitive with some of the lower sides but they will not make us contenders. Of course the overall function of the coach and the side is crucial, but unless we see some of the above players actually turn into all-australian standard players as individuals we will get nowhere. That's our challenge.

is this about drug use or depression, because they are not the same thing. This kid's Dad is surely right about drug use being rife in the comp and in young society in general, but just because that has resulted in depression in his kid doesn't mean it has had that effect on anyone else. The bloke would probably be depressed anyway, for a whole bunch of other reasons like so many non-drug-using people. I'm just saying that making a direct connection between drug use and depression is idiotic and the opinion of people that have never been near a drug in their lives yet act as an authority. Drug use does not equate necessarily to being homeless turning tricks on the street. Have you ever thought that perhaps people with a predisposition to depression tend to seek out drug use, and not the other way around? Don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about because I can guarantee you I do.

Man do I feel for this kid, playing at an AFL club and partying every weekend, I can see why he was so depressed. I bet he was scoring heaps of chicks too, the poor bastard.

That's crazy talk. You are just like the media vultures who demand he plays a higher standard than everyone else. He finished 16th in the BnF despite missing 7 games. His 18.5 disposals a game was the third best average at the club behind Jones and Grimes. His supercoach average was 3rd at the club, his dreamteam 9th. At the start of 2012, he had just turned 21, meaning he is a good 3-5 years away from his best football. If you think he is anywhere near the fringe of the side you have no idea about football, simple as that

is anyone else as pathetic and tragic as I am, that you watch replays of last years games, even the ones you know we were pathetically awful in (which was nearly all of them) just so you can remind yourself first-hand of exactly how bad we were/are? I am watching one now, with my head in my hands cursing at the ineptitude. I am also noting that every second bloke that has the ball is no longer at the club. This is closely linked with a hunger to see some more footy.. no matter how painful it may be. Anyone else like to torture themselves?

that rhymes the other two are Trengove and McKenzie.. but I left them all off that list for a reason

this was something uttered about him when first drafted, and honestly I can see him being that player. Personally I think the question marks over his hardness at the contest are largely unfounded.. it is mainly the result of media propoganda - even so, that is his only weakness. He is a smart, athletic, skillful and of a size adequate to play most positions on the ground. FFS that is exactly why he went at number 1. If it was up to me I would have him in the centre square round 1 next year, but far wiser heads than me make that decision. If they float him across half back utilising his nous and class, so be it. If they stick him up forward, where Clark, Dawes, Pederson, Jamar and Howe allow him to receive little attention he might completely run riot. I've been to training a bit this PS and I have no qualms whatsoever about where the kid's head is at - he's not aloof, he doesn't lack confidence, he doesn't feel pressured, he just attacks it with a smile on his face because he knows how good he is and he is going to prove it... eventually. I have him in our very best assets pile along with Clark, Jones, Howe, Grimes, T.McDonald and of couse Viney and Toumpas.

and we are an easy target if it was collingwood in the line of fire they would hold back so as not to ruffle the feathers of their biggest paying group as it stands we are a sitting duck in this competition in every meaning of the term, 6 years of pathetic football, a failed rebuild, a failed coach (bailey), a stack of 'elite' draft picks yet to bear any fruit, eternelly tetering on the brink of financial collapse, and now our integrity called in to question - we have been the whipping boy for far too long, I'm sure many sympathise with me when i say I want SO BAD for us to start winning games of football, I want SO BAD to be walking away from the G having beaten the Hawks or the Pies, I feel like I will explode if I have to wait much longer... and make no mistake, if the day ever comes when we are kicking some arse, i will be carrying on to everyone I know like the greatest [censored] on Earth, because w eill have earnt it more than just about anyone* *To be fair, the Saints and the Dogs have one flag each.. ever. The tigers have made the finals twice in 30 years. They've earnt a little success too.

disagree the vast majority of the opinions voiced here with regard to 'tankgate' are attempting to explain OUR SIDE of the story, which is that this entire issue is a giant load of bullocks. If it wasn't for us, the only place on the internet for dees supporters to read about the issue would be through the lens of the mainstream media, which is clearly aimed at slagging the heck out of us. 15 years ago, the only opinions would be those of the media vultures, forums like these allow the people to have their say.

I'm surprised hardly anyone has included Joel Mac in the team. What is very obvious is that they are trying to put some more experience out there and Joel is our 6th most experienced player, but at the same time is only 28 so has several years left. He has recently been praised as a 'spiritual' leader by Leigh Brown. Surprisingly, he came in 6th in the latest time trial so clearly he is in very good physical nick. In terms of being hard-at-it, another quality Neeld obviously rates, you couldn't ask for more. For those who say he is a limited player, I can recall a number of varied situations where he has done some great things including important contested marks in defence. I expect him to get plenty of games in 2013. MacDONALD FRAWLEY GARLAND WATTS McDONALD GRIMES BLEASE McKENZIE TRENGOVE BYRNES DAWES HOWE PEDERSON CLARK RODAN JAMAR SYLVIA JONES JETTA DAVEY VINEY TOUMPAS Depth: Barry, Dom Bail, Rohan Nicholson, Daniel Magner, James Tapscott, Luke Gillies, Tom Sellar, James Dunn, Lynden Spencer, Jake

Heart (hardness at the ball, work ethic, attitude) Athleticism (speed, agility, endurance) Skills Brains (awareness, decision-making) For mine these are the attributes of a player that are more important than what his height and weight are - the reason why those numbers are discussed so much is because they are readily available on a team sheet

saw the kid at training today, I see what others are talking about with that smoothness/slickness of movement and ball use, looks like Michael Jackson dancing, he definitely has whatever that is, that maybe 1% of players have - however, whether this translates into doing any actual damage on an AFL field is another story.. he could be a Cyril Rioli or a Jamie Bennell

Should we play Viney, Toumpas and Barry every single week? If we do, are we deliberately reducing the chance of winning by playing the young and inexperienced? Or are we simply trying to fast-track the development of these kids? Or do we genuinely think they will contribute more to a win than three older, more experienced depth players eg. Joel MacDonald, James Magner and James Sellar If we don't play these kids, are we deliberately reducing the chance of winning by holding back young elite players from the best 22 and instead playing three older, more experienced depth players? Or do we just think think these kids are not ready and should not be rushed in to the big time? Or do we actually think the older depth players will contribute more to a win than these kids? You can see the paradox - whatever we do, anyone can sit back and apply any of the above logic to suit their argument.

good call.. we get a chance to see what Dawes and Pedersen can do without Mitch's influence on how they set up, should be valuble for the coaches. Then when Mitch comes back we will be in a stronger position strategically

to take the question seriously - a group of people will start ranting about 5 upcomin consecutive premierships (these are the folk that TGR used to call 'cheerleaders') the rest will sit back taking it in, knowing that our history shows no matter how well we are going it may all collapse at any second and that optimism generally leads to disappointment i have no doubt that if a miracle happens and we get a good season going, jones, howe, sylvia, grimes, clark and frawley will all do an ACL in the same match, just to bring us back down

we have had a heap of players recently go through sustained injury, the point it looked like they were finished - most recovered, among them Sylvia, Moloney, Rivers and McLean.. on the other side you have Bartram.. point is that in this day and age it is more than likely the medicos can 'fix' you

great stuff pates! the carlton bird should really consider relocating to Melbourne don't you think?

hypothetically for mine, it would have to have been a top 5 pick to consider it.. considering that would have meant another midfielder (on top of Viney + Thumper) I probably would have even knocked that back in favour of keeping the more utilitarian Watts conclusion: absolute horse s--t

yeah I have, and I also went around committing all sorts of crimes and screwing over the people who were helping me

actually I am the only one who has judged him as a person, an individual whom like everyone else is responsible for his own actions, instead of using his background as a get out of jail free card like so many 'enlightened' folks around here have