Rogue

I think you're misrepresenting his argument. montasaurus suggested it was foolish to base an assessment of someone's financial circumstances on the type of job they hold - montasaurus didn't assert that it was foolish to point out that not everyone is able to help the Club by purchasing extra memberships and it seems he agrees with you: Fwiw I agree with (both of) you - these 'calls to arms' are great, but ignore the fact that for some, simply buying their own membership is a struggle that needs to be weighed up on a year-to-year basis. PS. How about we keep the cheap name-calling out of it.

What have the crowd figures like? I heard commentators mentioning the size of the crowd was a little disappointing on the first day. What's his role? If he's not bowling I can't see how he can claim a spot in the team as he's far from the best #6 we could play. You're probably short on bowlers in the first scenario unless one of the bats can reliably bowl a few overs. You're definitely short on bowlers in the second scenario, particularly given our inexperienced attack. Johnson's not an all-rounder. His batting might develop, but it's got a fair way to go IMO. PS. In case anyone wanted to chime in on Lee, he's not an all-rounder either.

I think that having four great bowlers has allowed us the luxury. However, with five bowlers there's always someone who's not getting utilised enough to hold his place. I think it's important to have a fifth option that can at least tie up an end with some level of threat. Talking of batsmen that can bowl a bit, Katich is more than handy IMO. I wonder if he was also carrying a shoulder injury in India - it would explain why he wasn't used. Btw, I agree with you re: planning for the Ashes, and IMO there are almost half the spots up for grabs. Haddin's secured his spot atm, while Johnson and Clark should be two of our quicks. Ponting, Hussey (despite a blip atm), Clarke and Katich should be afforded an opportunity, although it'll be interesting if Kat can keep his form over there. That leaves another quick, a spinner, an opener, and a middle-order bat / all-rounder spot up for grabs. For the quick, I like Hilfenhaus and think he'd perform well in England. It'd be nice to have a bona fide swing bowler. Lee will attempt to play on, while Bollinger and Siddle are also thereabouts. With regards a spinner, McGain deserves an opportunity if he can regain fitness and form. I heard a radio interview with him and he's aiming to play for Victoria in Jan, and despite his age I'd look to give him a berth. It's almost pot-luck after that, but I think Casson and then Kreza have been treated poorly. Hauritz is a spinner of the type that Australia generally views with disdain - a relatively accurate spinner who isn't very threatening. I don't think Hayden will make it to the Ashes and his form in '05 doesn't suggest he'd be a key player anyway. Jaques and Rogers should be considered in that order, although Hughes is a tantalising option. As for the 'all-rounder', it's a case of last man standing with Symonds, Watson, and Noffke battling fitness issues. grazman, I also haven't been convinced on on the need for an all-rounder, and thought we could have been better served in the past by a player who could hold his own. If Haddin can convert his Shield batting prowess to Test match performances it would give us a very capable top six and with a few bowlers who can bat a bit we may be able to churn out enough runs. However, our bowling attack is likely to be pretty inexperienced so we may need some support there. Regardless of who we choose I think they need to be given a reasonable opportunity. It's fine to drop young players after a few games, but they need an extended run unless chosen as temporary injury replacements. Haddin has a better record with the bat and bats higher than McDonald at state level so that would make sense. However, McDonald's batting average over the past few years is pretty good. I think that says more about our spinner than it does about White's bowling. Cameron White's bowling is unspectacular even at State level, where he's been reluctant to bowl himself. Maybe he could make a decent future captain but he'd need to cement a spot in the side first.

The comments here remind me of those after Judd decided to go to Carlton. Anyhow, I think it's fair enough that CJ decided to change Clubs:

They would have been well aware that the PSD was imminent.

I certainly don't!

Okay - if you're right that makes one decent ruckman.

Most of his points raised there were shown to be pretty valid.

Considering he and Siddle went to India, and Bollinger and Hilfenhaus went on the WI tour, you're probably right

Nice

Haha, sorry - I thought it was a closed question. I'm not really sure why they chose that time tbh. Perhaps they felt it was a good time to announce Maxwell's ascention, given that he's relatively young and certainly not in the (footballing) class of his predecessors. Or perhaps it was just coincidence What do you think?

That's a pretty interesting thought - you could well be right. I was only thinking in terms of draft picks - we might have got a slightly better final pick in the draft (hence it not being a big deal). However, if you're right, the benefits certainly outweigh the slight upgrade in one of our late picks.

Yep.

I was happy we picked up Watts over NN. It seems Warnock priced himself out of our market so unless we wanted to pay over the odds we couldn't have done much. I would have liked a ruck or two though, even if rookied one. I'm not too fussed about missing out on Prismall, while getting something for CJ would have been nice these things happen.

I agree with Nasher. I mentioned Hilfenhaus earlier in this thread and hope he gets a look-in. He could be a handful in South Africa and England, our upcoming tours. Bollinger'd feel unlucky though. Hysterical. Pretty sure a) Australia were far better than they are now and B) South Africa are far better now than they were then.

Yeah, no point burying it. On that note, I thought Collingwood's captaincy announcement timing was interesting.

The devil's in the detail and I don't believe much detail was shared. Most boards (as in a distinct collective of directors) say the right thing, but - as you said - we haven't been able to find a sustainable model yet.

Last year we played at Geelong, Cranbourne and Ballarat - all within an easy drive from the 'G. Anyway, I support having teams play in regional centres etc. You're unhappy about missing out on a few NAB challenge games - imagine how you'd go living out there ;p

Likely to last until the end of the series IMO, particularly if we win this game.

Just because deference to olders and respect of authority could apply to an individual from any culture doesn't invalidate Distance Demon's comments on the culture of the community Jurrah's coming from... What's the point that you're trying to make? Are you suggesting that there aren't cultural differences along the lines Distance Demon has asserted? Sure, there seem to be some over-generalisations when it comes to Aboriginal players (ie. attributing explosive pace to every Aboriginal footballer regardless of the individual's athletic abilities) but you seem to be going to the other extreme. *shrug Anyhow, here's some comment from BP on Jurrah: He sounds like an interesting prospect. I wonder exactly what sort of role the Club sees him playing once he develops.

Apparently the population 'centre' of Melbourne is around Glen Waverley and moving eastwards every year. Not sure where I read that - probably on here.

I think your attitude on these forums pre and post-summit are pretty distinct - the 'infection' is there for all to see . However, it is a little ironic that you're now full of the same verve that those you criticised for their excitement with the Stynes ascension exhibited I think that most teams deserve to be ranked above us. While I expect an improved on-field performance in '09 we're still going to be blooding youngsters and relying on inexperienced kids in important positions. We don't have a strong group of players aged at their peak, and our remaining senior players are probably past their best (McDonald, Bruce, Robertson, et al.). I'm looking forward to '09, but don't see that there's a strong case for us to be ranked towards the middle of the ladder. Any enthusiasm generated by our most recent bunch of draftees should probably be bottled for at least a year.

Maybe a little. I don't see that we deserve to be rated above 5-6 other sides atm. It's interesting that the passion of Stynes and co. has rubbed off on you. Playing devil's advocate for a second, how much have they actually achieved so far? Anyway, speaking broadly, I think many people share your enthusiasm for the Club atm.

It's the most news-worthy story. Most people are interested in what happens to Cousins, regardless of whether they like or loathe him. It's certainly more news-worthy than former AFL players like Carr and Skipworth being recruited, or guys like Davis and Carroll missing out (let alone no-name kids who were passed over in the ND*). *excluding Jurrah, but he's not a house-hold name

A base MFC membership is at a similar price to the MFC/MCC premium m/ship, yeah.