P-man

Well. So much for the good start.

Expectation isn't high so we may be in with a shot today. The Dogs are on a high and have made Etihad something of a fortress, but they haven't played anyone of note for a long time and we tend to match and set up well against them. As Roos said, the start is very important.

Jeffy needs to work on his set shots in the off season. Maybe have a chat to Lindsay Thomas. A chill just went down my spine typing that last sentence.

Ho hum. The wait continues. Just how aggressive is this flu exactly?

It's been a long 13 weeks, but the Garry Lyon mini-me is back. Would love to know how he feels about the Arsenal's opening round loss at home to West Ham. Alas, we remain in the dark on that front. Hopefully he takes out any residual anger on the Dogs this weekend. Welcome back Christian.

Viv's third opportunity in a row. Needs to step up this week after an improved showing last week. Gonna be tough on the fast deck at Etihad but fingers crossed for the lad.

hh came up with it and insisted it would catch on. He may actually turn out to be right, which is cause for some despair.

His legs. You could tell me he was a rugby player and I wouldn't blink.

http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/sorce/ ?

This is how I've reconciled it. For all the good and the bad we've had with Dawesy, there hasn't been too much of a sting in the tail in terms of what we could've gotten for Pick 20. Broomhead, Hrovat and K Mac all look to be handy-ish, but nothing to lose sleep over at this stage.

Super. Although if they are starting T Boyd it will even itself out.

Ditto, but there's always relief when it happens, no matter the circumstances.

jumbo, your thoughts? So Brisbane are now set to lose both Burger AND Stef? Yikes. There are some real problems up north. I rate Stef and enjoyed seeing him tear it up last season, but it's more than evident he can only play first ruck. Anything else that includes him spending time in the forward line and his impact is significantly reduced. Gawn is our man. Unless Stef wants to be second in line, which I doubt, I'm not sure we'd go down this path. He'll find a home though. Essendon could do much worse.

Fark yes. Love you Maximus.

Peppery. I'm sure there will be many who are happy for the supporters who have sat through the steaming turd that has been the last decade. Or indeed several decades. But I'm expecting some grinding of teeth. Which I'm okay with. Being hated is a good thing.

We wrote the rules. We are the originators. If any club has the "luxury" of a simple and neat logo, it's us. The current logo is a shamozzle. It tries desperately to be meaningful and achieves the opposite. It may have worked if the number of different elements was halved.

I can tell you right now we won't be. There is a widely held perception that the MFC is an AFL lovechild. It's okay now that we are non-threatening, but watch them come out of the woodwork once we actually do start to challenge, bemoaning the Frawley and Scully compensation, the Roos and Jackson appointments etc. Facts can go out the window very fast. I've already adopted an "us against them" mentality in readiness. We won't have many well wishers when (if) we become a top four side.

I don't hate it, so it's an improvement on the current cluster****. Although the uncrossed F is now annoying me. Thanks dc.

Disgusting and putrid I agree get thrown around too willingly. Insipid can be useful though when you're looking for something to describe a performance that was below really poor. Really, really poor? Truly, unbelievably, staggeringly poor? Insipid does the trick, with less syllables. #syllablesmatter

Praha - Not sure if you've read elsewhere but there were a few who were hit with the flu during the week which provides context as to why some were a little down on their standard output on the weekend. Vince I think would be one as he was no where near the level he's been for the past 5 weeks. Jones may have simply been well contained by Jacobs.

One of my favourite people in football to listen to. If he waffled on (which he doesn't), at least there's substance to what he says.

Salem seems ready. Lumumba should be the one to make way, but we all know he won't. I'd be looking to give a couple of the kids a break. Glad to hear Roos acknowledged some of the good things Michie did. He certainly wasn't the worst out there, horrendous kick at goal aside. In: Salem, Vanders, Newton Out: Harmes, Brayshaw, Neal-Bullen M Jones the sub.

Which you are welcome not to read or comment upon. Nice work Deespicable. Agree that Jones and Vince are the only two A graders. Standout disagreements would be: - Tyson has had a season down on form for whatever reason, but in the past few weeks has returned to a level I think we can expect. He's a B grader right now, hopefully to make an elevation over the next few years. - Too early to call Brayshaw and Salem B graders. Obviously huge scope for improvement. Both look destined to become A grade. Brayshaw especially. - Lumumba is a B grader when playing at his best. At his worst he is a D grader. Let's call him C.

Grimes deserves to hold his spot more than Lumumba right now. Simple as that. Collingwood are the clear winners on that 3 way trade to date.

6. Hogan - went into beast mode today 5. Viney 4. Dawes 3. Tyson 2. Gawn 1. Howe