Prodigal Son

What about Albi Morkel and Jarrod Rivers-seperated at birth! Aussie is better looking but I think Serena would still get a game

On field there is only two choices. Brock and Brad. They are both very good players and they both do the stuff that leaders need to do on field. Brad (I think) would improve with the added pressure of being Captain. Brock still needs to consistently get on the park and I don't think he needs the added pressure.

I wrote to the club about this back 2003, didn't get a reply. but if we have to sell anywhere Hobart makes more sense than most places suggested. Tasy is very North /South devided - there would be plenty of room for two part time teams. Hobart is only slightly smaller than Geelong in population. I imagine a Hawthorn Melbourne game would become a real blockbuster. In a couple of years their will be 9 teams(including Geelong) playing outside melbourne and we will be one of the teams doing most of the travelling-We should work into the deal that we play at least half of those sides in Hobart. Historicaly Melbourne was settled from Tasy. We have quite a lot of Tasy players and ex players who could promote the club.

I don't know if this is the real deal someone on the board may have been their to verify but it still made me laugh My fellow Australians, I've been invited here to talk to Centre Square, in these big marquees on Punt Road Oval. And speaking of Punt Road Oval, let me tell you something for nothing - Jack Dyer would be spinning in his grave if he could see the place right now. Full of a bunch of Collins Street corporate criminals, Chapel Street designer cats and Toorak poodle r**ters who have about as much interest in football as Paris Hilton has an interest in astrophysics. Captain Blood didn't break every bone in his body and commit multiple acts of on-field heroism and homicide so he could see his beloved home ground turned into an over-priced pre-match party for chardonnay-swilling spivs and their assorted hangers-on attending their one footy match of the year, whilst tens of thousands of hard-working honest battlers who love the game and love their team are denied the chance to attend the greatest game in the world. I've had a gutful. Whilst this bunch of Armani-wearing, Audi-driving, Prada-carrying try-hards monopolise priceless vantage points in the MCG, millions of genuine footy fans who have followed their team through thick and thin have to make do by watching the game at home or down at the local pub, whilst the Melbourne spivocracy get to sit on their fat posteriors in a marquee and wouldn't even know the way to the MCG without a tour guide. Since most of you haven't attended a single match this year and know nothing about football, let me give you a few tips - Geelong wears blue, Hawthorn wears brown, and in case you were wondering, there'll be no fashions on the field at half-time, and no, the Lexus Centre across the road is not a prestige car dealership. Centre Square is not only unfair. Centre Square is not only inequitable. Centre Square is downright un-Australian! And so are all of you! In fact, I bet you're all so un-Australian that you all hate the Anzacs, you booed Cathy Freeman, and you want to cull cute cuddly koalas because one of them once jumped out in front of your Range Rover on the way to Mount Hotham. But it's not just you who are at fault. I also blame the AFL - those out-of-touch, opera-loving elitists at AFL headquarters who are responsible for this unconscionable abomination need to take a good hard look in the mirror. That is if they can handle the sight of moral and spiritual bankruptcy staring back at them. I also blame the government. Our new Prime Minister has clearly failed his first test of leadership if he thinks it's acceptable to allow an event like this to go ahead without a pre-emptive strike by the SAS. The PM is doing nothing to ease the squeeze on working families on the bottom rung of the ladder of opportunity who just want to see their team in the Granny. But he'd better get his act together and do something about it, or millions of angry footy fans will do it for him. Revolutions have been started and governments have been overthrown for lesser outrages than this. And people ask why we need capital punishment. So cut off your silver tails, tear up your fur coats and get fair dinkum. Our great Australian game is the greatest game in the world - the game of the people. Not some once-a-year marquee p*ss-up for an overpaid, over-dressed pack of passionless corporate cretins who only turn up for the free chardonnay and then spend the actual game looking about as interested and excited as a line of Easter Island statues. So don't bother coming across to the MCG this afternoon, because you're not welcome. The next train out of Melbourne leaves Richmond station in 10 minutes - so make sure you're on it. Or, better still, under it. So don't be un-Australian - everyone here in Centre Square can get stuffed! You know it makes sense. I'm Sam Kekovich

All just seems like normal buisness discussion that's been blown up a bit.

You have committed the gravest sin on demonland. Apparently Godders &"better kick" is an oxymoron. Godders should always begin with "the much maligned". and don't tell anyone but his kicking efficiency would be better than 75% of the demons this year.

Thanks for the laugh

I saw it in the paer too (just a throw away line) couldn't find it on net I thought there were worse players than Jeff White on Friday but I have been pleasantly surprised wth Jamar and Jonstone this year. Jeff has three weeks to get a gig next year probably elsewhere.

I'd even go further than three umpire adjudicating differenetly I beleive they treat backs forwards and Mids differently, so you could have upto 9 interpretations of the same rule. The rules committee probably didn't consider the effect of all the rule changes (to speed up the game) on the umpires and I shudder everytime I hear someone suggest we need another Umpire.

I noticed people in the crowd blaming Mclaren for decisions that were made by Umpire No 24 even though he had some hair! Saying that I groan when I see Mclaren is umpiring a Melb game. Whenever there is more than one person officiating on a game you get inconsistency. I watched a game of school boy rugby on saturday and the ref made a number of ordinary decisions but they were consistent .

First draft pick? I was a bit concerned when we were playing well in the first quarter they were going stuff up!

Strange He said on the radio today "That it was the greatest football night he has ever been involved in."

I went to college with a BASSINGTHWAIGHTE- his Knick name was B16.

I don't know which was which but at one stage the bigger one was doing a handball drill with Juice and his skills were ok but compared to newton he looked rushed then I started looking down the row when you compared most to a newton or a davey those guys have all the time as they can handball without skipping to get balanced- hard to explain. One minor point moloney was training without those heavy "bike" shorts he had on last year and seemed to moving very freely hopefully he is past his OP.

I went down for about an hour and I think that two of the new boys were training based on the evidence of everyone was shaking there hand and saying welcome. When I arrived they did split into two groups one to traditionaly warm up and stretching while the other was very low impact with a lot of handball. I assume they are not in full training. Bartram, Petterd, Juice, Sampi, Davey, McLean in the second group but were later in all the drills. There was not a lot to report that with the exception of Junior . It looks to me that Junior is carrying his left (?) arm and only running but is otherwise ok. Everyone was involved in lots of handball drills and for once I was impressed with there skills. I hardly saw a dropped ball and at some stages there were probably 20 balls going backwards and forwards. Juice, Bartram and Petterd were all clean handed when they did drills involving both hands and at speed off a net. When I left they were into kicking drills and that too looked encouraging with none of the sloppiness I remember seeing this time last year. The fitness guy had a couple of people monitoring heart rates (over heard ranging from 170 to 110) and also distance the ball moved in a given time for each group had some machine set up that recorded it on a computer and he was backwards and forwards to the guys pushing them on. This was a very organised session (ground was covered in coloured plates for different drills, which they moved seamlessly through ) and, although I liked Daniher, today had a very different feel to sessions I previously attended, I think I might like the new coach better! Paul Gardner was there for a while and I reckon he would have walked away thinking that it looked and felt like a footy club.

He won't sell home games. This will get Roos to Carrara. They'll play 6 homes games at west sydney and get compensated big time by AFL and they will be all the interstate teams. They will make the AFL fixturing easier because everyone requests collingwood as an away game. I'd suggest there fixture would be 5 home at West Syney - interstate teams 1 away West Sydney - Sydney 6 home games at MCG 10 away games at MCG, special deal for pie fans I'll bet It all makes great business sense for the magpies, it gets the afl into a second team in QLD and a real presense in West Sydney and you have to admire them for thinking way outside the square

I think there was a clue in the footy record (last game) as to why we were so bad this year Disposal efficiency (hitting the target) Average 78.3% (75% considered poor) rank 14 They didn't give the whole team. Listed are the ones they did and it will surprise some Colin Sylvia 67.9% Travis Johnstone 71.8% Nathan Jones 73.2% David Neitz 74.4% Simon Godfrey 75% Cameron Bruce 76.8 What is really scary about these stats is that their kicking efficiency is worse I thought our skills had improved upto 2006 but we went backwards this year. We can only hope that our skills can be turned around and that the high level of injury contributed to these woeful stats I haven't been able to find team stats for Disposal efficiency, if anyone comes accross them they would be interesting to compare previous years with 2007.

Beverly O'connor is quoted in Sunday Herald Sun "they are dreaming" and "Paul Gardner has her full support". She felt football presidents today needed some independent means to afford the time while she was still out there making a living.

What about Bruce and Green as Co captain for this year only. It would share the load for what will be and arduous year. I like Brock but I think he is still has to get consistent particularly with his body. I'd also like to take some of the pressure away from neita let him concemtrate on footy and his aging body.

Interesting article about the treatment Godfrey has been receiving. He gets a good rap fro his stopping jobs and I love the description of him as a "Serial Pest" www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21745228%255E20322,00.html

Absolutely correct If we had 2 more godfrey's and no TJ and Aaron last week we probably would have won.

must read post (so that's a yes)

Interesting Robbo didn't mention his Knee problems at start of the year