Rogue

Indeed. Not sure if you've participated on many messageboards before H_T, but it's generally considered poor form to reply to your own posts. If you make a post and then want to add to it before anyone else has replied, try the edit button A humourous look at posting etiquette: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting Deanox would refer you to the bit about posting in an existing thread versus creating your own ...that your comment about RR's posting is off the mark, considering he only posts 20% as much as you p/day.

I don't either, and wouldn't want my POV painted like that. I never said there was a big need to push him through to the AFL yet - simply that there was still a chance. The attitude of '2009, regardless' isn't one I support. If his form merits a spot by round 22, he should get one - no cotton wool, thanks. Fwiw, I disagree with your assertion regarding White et al. not being good enough to hold a position anywhere - all of them are thereabouts if in good form. If we were trying to win games, a fit and firing Holland up forward would be a handy target, given our lack of tall options in the forward line. I wouldn't say our current rucks are streets ahead of White, and Yze's also been given games this year.

Rushed :D edit: too slow, Nasher!

I think it does. None of them play the role Grimes does, and it's an area where we've had significant injuries - McLean and Moloney won't reappear this year. If there were a few old mids who were getting a send-off game, it'd make it pretty tough for Grimes, but Yze, Holland, and White all play a different role. If this was round six, I'm not sure people would be saying that a round ten debut is very unlikely, given he's had his pre-season, played out a stipulated number of games at Sandy 2s to get match fitness up, and has shown very good form.

Brief answer - The players have agreed to a salary cap which limits their earnings, so they thus want a floor - a minimum the players will get. The AFL also wants teams to be spending at the floor, because the point of capping player salaries is to make a relatively even competition - if there was no floor and teams were paying significantly less than the cap, it wouldn't be even. The value of having a relatively even comp is accepted by stakeholders (AFL, Clubs, players) for obvious reasons - interest would be significantly less if only a few power Clubs could win it each year (and thus revenue from attendance and broadcasting, etc etc).

Nice one! :D

Pick #16 was a good get, the others were fair enough given the players taken after them (we didn't waste our picks).

To be fair, the comment mo was replying to was as simplistic - along the lines of wanting Lovell because he's done well with our kids. He's been in good form, and may have played Sandy 1s before now if the Club had not chosen to play him in the 2s for x weeks. I disagree with those who say that we should not pick him given his injuries earlier in the year, and also don't want to see him picked for the sake of it. However, if he can transfer his good enough form to Sandy 1s, there's no reason not to pick him if it's on merit. There's no use wrapping him in cotton wool - he's done his pre-season, played the stipulated number of games at Sandy 2s, and is now playing in Sandy 1s. If he merits a call-up, he should get it. Which of Holland, Yze, and White will be fighting Grimes for a spot?

Can't see that we picked terribly with Thompson. Yeah, that was a good get. I agree - not much after the guys we picked.

The tone of the article is that we've been forced to make cuts, but as you suggest, we'd be looking at reducing our TPPs anyway, given the position of the Club on and off the field. Our injuries would have contributed fairly substantially to TPPs over the last season and a half, as mentioned in the article. Fwiw - apparently the 2008 salary cap $8.5 million, with the salary floor coming in at $7.65 million (wiki salary caps article).

Fair call.

...and many people may not even know it's there.

Assuming Miller is unfit: Out - Garland (inj.) In - Frawley Out - Davey (inj.) In - Petterd (if fit) Emergencies: White, Carroll, Bode Jones didn't have a great game at Sandy, and thus doesn't deserve to come straight back in. White could be handy rucking with Jamar, so we can leave PJ up forward to give us an extra target. Considering White was BOG for Sandy, I wouldn't be surprised to see him come in.

Still a chance for a MFC debut, if he can continue his good form at Sandy 1s. Why is that? Is he a particularly good Coach? Not that it's necessarily a reflection on him, but Sandy hasn't been great this year.

Correct - that's been mentioned previously. There's also the free event at the end of August, after our last game of the season.

Check here and here for some of my thoughts

Fair enough, as long as you don't complain about figures from other Clubs taking little pot shots at us Haha.

Two wrongs make a right?

"The family of distressed Tasmanian Government minister Paula Wriedt has flatly rejected speculation that her emergency hospitalisation was linked to talk by television personality Sam Newman." Since we're speculating, perhaps it could be the straw that broke the back, but I imagine the political and family pressures cited by the family are the major factors. http://www.theage.com.au/national/mps-hosp...80805-3qd5.html

On the Collingwood thing, I'm sure it was just for show. However, we do score $500K from each QB game, as we're always taking the gate - wouldn't want to upset that applecart.

Valid points regarding the attitude of some to the Casey deal. However, with regards attendance at the council meeting, I think you're drawing a very long bow to correlate attendance at a council meeting on a weeknight with attendance at a football match. Refer to the healthy pre-season crowd for the Melb v Roos NAB Cup match at Casey - I was there, but not at the council meeting - to allay your fears

Fwiw, Newton just signed a two year contract with the Club.

If so, then there was no 'payout' at all - we had simply already paid him for work that he had done (ie. wages). I think it would be unlikely that there was no severance pay. It seems more likely that the 'payout' is equal to three months of work, as has been reported: "McNamee lasted only 106 days, but will receive a payout believed to be $115,000, equal to three months of his annual salary at Melbourne." http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/stor...5016161,00.html "The Demons are contractually obliged to give the departing chief executive a payout of about $115,000." http://news.realfooty.com.au/sport/paul-mc...80723-3jmn.html If there was in fact no payout, we've done a terrible PR job.

My understanding is that there was a three month 'payout'... However, with Spargo acting as CEO for nothing for at least that period of time, it's a non-issue.

As he said, they've only been in the gig six weeks, and I'm sure it's tough to get to grips with everything that's going on in that space of time. Wouldn't be shocked if it got canned, but we'd need somewhere else in Melb IMO.