bing181

Considering he didn't even play till Round 12, and had done next to nothing in the preceding 2 years, that would have been a fairly reasonable assumption.

Like who? In any case, Martin was traded 2 seasons ago ... where was the Steff-love and the "we should have kept him" this time last year?

Be surprised if Hogan plays firsts this year.

He has a few mates. Looks also like the Westrupp experiment hasn't paid dividends, hard to see him getting another year.

Worth repeating, and something the AFL should be acting on.

They can't get 6 months unless they offer "substantial assistance". i.e., some serious dobbing in. 12 months if it's "no fault and/or negligence" which they may be able to make stick, so that's probably the best they could hope for. Otherwise, 2 years. Otherwise, WADA comes in over the top with the heavy artillery.

Social Litigator Day 2 ... and ..

My understanding is that ASADA has both the power and the right to get information from the AFL. The AFL have the power to oblige players to answer questions ... and in fact, the reason that ASADA don't have that power, is because all the relevant sporting bodies with whom they may work do have, and so it's unnecessary. The issue here is that the AFL didn't get that information independently, and then pass it onto ASADA, the information was gathered through joint interviews conducted by the two organisations. So technically, there could be a problem. But ... It doesn't actually matter, because even if this is all thrown out, ASADA will just a) call the AFL and say "can we have a copy of the interviews or b) get the AFL to re-interview everyone, but with the original testimonies as a record and a "you previously said that xxx" so they end up with the same information, or c) interview the players again themselves with the AFL/ASADA testimony as a reference - in which case, the players can't hide behind self-incrimination, because once again there's the "you previously said xxx" - with the same result. As such, the case becomes irrelevant, as ASADA will eventually get to the same place, and issue SC notices. And as such the judge may well issue a slap over the wrist re the procedure, but let ASADA go ahead with issuing show-causes, because the end result will be the same whatever he/the court decides. Not sure if that helps ... (!!)

Ah hindsight. Can't live with it, can't live without it.

Was really impressed with Barry - for where he's at in his career. Always seemed to get a (clean) disposal in. He's probably a couple of (pre) seasons away from being seriously damaging, but plenty to work with for someone with so little football experience. Doubt he'll be playing too much as a tagger in the longer term. Felt that playing on Hill was done as part of his education as much as anything, and to reinforce Roos's defence-first credo.

Agree, and it's not as if there are a heap of others hammering the door down. Maybe Salem, all the other possibles have been tried and found wanting. Though Grimes may be ready, in which case someone has to give way.

Good to see Fitzy amongst it already. (looking for some early positives on what promises to be a testing day ...)

Not wishing, not caring OD. But the bottom 3 teams are all 'hoping', and widely canvassed in the press in the case of St Kilda - who are hoping against hope for a gallant loss this weekend.

Need to check contract status on some of those though. Fitz has a year to go for example.

Pedersen excepted, by Roos' standards that's some heavy culling, especially to bring in kids like Barry in a game against a team like Hawthorn. Interesting also that Roos' flagged it before the official team announcement - making sure the message gets across?

Melbourne Footy ‏@MelbourneFooty 19m Dom Barry, Viv Michie, Matt Jones, Max Gawn, and Daniel Cross all return to the Melbourne side for Round 20. #AFLHawksDees

Worth repeating.

Having read a few of the post-debacle reports around the place, wouldn't surprise me if this was a minimal-change week. Perhaps it's more Roos style: making the players accountable, giving them the responsibility for getting back on track (as opposed to bringing in players from the VFL) etc. etc. We shall see.

The Guardian. Say no more.

One of the things that was 'supposed' to happen this season was having a fear-of-god forward line: Clark, Dawes, Hogan. Once that fell in a heap, we were always going to struggle big-time getting winnable scores on the board, Roos or no Roos.

Ah yes, but our ladder position is not determined by our wins and losses ... it's determined by our opponents' wins and losses.

Me too. Coupled with PJ's reference to a "poison" culture. Tanking is but one part of it, and I can't see that in what he's saying, Roos is sheeting it all back just to that. Tanking, poor development, a lack of senior players, some bad luck (Clark, Hogan, Jurrah), a revolving door of coaches and systems ... It's going to take more than a season or two.

See #3

I know, I know. I mean, why don't they just go back to training Tuesday and Thursday nights after work. There's a reason all clubs start training in October. If it didn't make a difference, they'd all start training in February or March like in the good old days. But it does make a difference, and if you miss out on that training, you miss out on that difference.

Not a bad idea, even if there have been comments about his defensive work, but Harmes is a rookie. Not sure of current upgrade status or possibility. Jetta has one, but can't remember if Georgio is still on the main list or not.