Robbie57

Not just the sceptics for cool $1M a year you want someone that there will be little doubt they will be on the park for 22+ games. If he misses 6 + games this year with a recurrent knee injury its a big risk for any team investing that amount of money. In my view he wont be in the mix for GWS now until this is resolved fully,the irony is the pressure it puts on to Eddie who was quick to try and destabalise us. Thomas and Pendlebury have just gone up the GWS must have list.

This is not good news for him (or you). No doubt there will be a lot of discussion about his knee now. Lets hope its not too serious for his sake. Talk of his future will now be on hold as well. I have a feeling this will be longer thatn 4 weeks.

What a blow for him after putting in so hard on the track (which no doubt is the cause). The only upside in this is it will put a cloud over his head for any recruiter.

I hope they dont bring Chip back too early.

Assuming no injuries the 15 min mark of the third quarter slide them into the flow before the other side realises it. I think there will be a definite first mover advantage here. If its left too late that will not maximise the opportunity to spread the workload. It also gives a fresh player time to warm up and have an impact before the final last quarter drive. Still its going to be a bit like chess. Will Tapscott be our first sub?

We are now in the business of breaking those records as we march upwards. No more AAMI hoodoo. We will own North this year. A win at the cattery. (I was there for the last win; one of the best days of my life.) And my personal favourite bundling the Dawks out of the finals (hopefully this year, if not next year)

MY error,I see I was away when this happened and missed it. That is a big out for them and I agree they are not last years side.

The mighty first game! Our pre season has been mixed but I don’t think that means much coming into the real deal. The much vaunted "forward pressure" style of game plan will come under scrutiny as teams devise methods of getting around it. I would like to see Aaron playing at half back with precise kicks over the forward pressure. (As an aside: One thing that stuck with me from Malthouse last year was him discussing the tactics used in other codes. He clearly gains inspiration from this. You can see it in the filth's forward play, come in from the wing cross the ball into the square and wait for the header(mark) or crumbing goal. My bet is by round 11 there will be a new game plan being lauded as the way forward.) Back to the first game. We are a red hot chance here and its one of our must wins for a top 8 finish. Our game against the dawks was incomplete but showed we are in the mix with the top 8. Bailey will adopt a no excuses year. Watts may get a reprieve if Dunn is not fit. Bailey tells him you have got to earn a place this year. (and in my view he will in time not only earn it but be indispensible). The Goodes train; whilst I have enormous respect for him both as a person and a player he is not the beginning and end of the swans. He goes missing for long periods in matches (and the season) and can be very hot and cold. Who ever plays on him must have some size but more importantly an engine. Jones is not my choice he will be needed possibly to counter Malceski who led the swans in possessions last year. Dunn is perfect but unlikely to be fit. Maybe Martin is the man with the directive, just stick to him like glue we not counting your kicks today. Mumford/Jamar looks like a nil all draw to me with the edge to the Russian. The game wont be won here. The big battle is in the mid field with Hannebery and Jack. We will miss Trengove taking one of these guys out of contention. Bails will tell Sylvia, Scully and Moloney he expects a physical game from them with their counterparts ending up on the wrong end of some fair but solid clashes. The swans will miss the in and under play of Kirk. Their mid don’t look as hard this year. If we go hard at the ball in the mids we win. Our secret weapon: How good was it to see our boys training on the G. The swans don’t play the G well as much as they protest its not an issue, it is. Its shape and space is vastly different to the SCG and it shows whenever the swans play there or at Telstra up here in Sydney. They are not at home on the range! Pre campaign maps are handed out at training this week identifying the areas of the G owned by the dees and are undiscovered country for the Swans. Up front bailey goes "all stars", Maric, Wonna and Jurrah. Demons by 15.

Or "Prince William meets a Prince of a man."

The quote should be "jimma is positive for me" - Fev. Fev should count his lucky stars he is now in contact with the big fella. Lets forget the footy here what counts is whether Fev grabs this opportunity to learn a few lessons from a truly inspirational bloke.

Thanks JRiv. This is excellent news. We need forward pressure and I feel he might be the x factor we need. Put Maric in the mix and we might just have some thing a bit more varied and interesting.

A new thread asreported elsewhere "we also have Wonaeamirri whom played a blinder at Casey over the weekend." This is excellent news can anyone provide a full report? I will be thrilled if he comes back into the side sooner rather than later.

I will do the same except I cant go to the game but I will watch it whenever it is. Go dees.

All those years ago he was one of the players who gave me hope for the dees. Great Fighter. If anyone can best this situation its him. Best wishes Sean.

HT spot on. This is tragic. For far too long he has behaved in a way that is simply unacceptable and many let him get away with it (where are they now?). I hope he recovers from whatever is ailing him be it a medical condition or a state of mind. He should be under care and supervision and given a lot of support especially beyond footy and a training field. He should not return to an enviroment in which his mental attitude or ailment could affect others at this time its clear he needs professional help and a longer rehabilitation (how could anyone believe such serious issues could be fixed in 60 days?). A trip anywhere at the moment seems to me to be very unwise especially overseas. His days should be filled with meaningful activities not a poker table. I hope he finds some sort of fulfillment away from footy and the bright lights.

Jack will be a great player for the club. At the moment as he is developing and he may not win a spot every week. I think as supporters we need to do just that....support. In my view that requires a shift in focus by many here to the positives. Its positive that our coaches are setting high expectations for a place in the team but that doesn't mean a player wont make it in the longer term. I am sure players cant resist reading some of this stuff (we know the media does) so we should bear that in mind before letting rip. I remain very excited at the potential of our list and i reckon most of them are going to make it to premeirship player status.

Doesn't that go for most players under the new regime, no doubt he has been told that. We are treading a fine line between performance expectations and developing a premiership team in a couple of seasons. He will not be the only one who is in this position, Bate must be there as well.

Short term thinking of the worst kind. Whilst I hope Fev can deal with his issues and get on with a healthy life this will limit the development of our recruits.

He deserves to look after himself and if the post about him wanting to set himself up with a home is correct then that shows he is sensible. Is there any demon financier out there who can help him get over the bank isssue? The more support we give him the longer he will be with the club. All clubs face the cap issue at some stage and compromises on that will have to be made unless you are GWS. I now think the fact he is waiting on the negotiations over player payments is a good sign he wouldn't be factoring that in on a GWS offer.

I am about to agree with ADC here..... Big fan of Joel and a great pick up for the team.

Clearly a done deal. Been in the team a year and is off. Apart from Big footy's bid rumour has it the man in the sandwichboard* outside Flinders Street put in a bid as well sad, we all got used to his Japanese schoolgirl anime picture. *(its says: the end is at hand 1 Peter 4.7")

Just made a few calls around some very reliable and well placed sources here in Sydney. Whilst ADC's management say he has not signed on the dotted line of any GWS website the important distinction here is "GWS website". I am told he has signed up to do so. He has been promised a payment per post which demonland cannot match. Dont expect him to come out and sya "i am not going" because he has a year to play on here before the GWS site is really active. rfpc is right he is gone. (well done rfpc best post in a long time.)

I promised I would not bite at your ongoing Scully campaign but this takes the cake . You didn't ask a legitimate question what you did was make an implication that there was more to his situation than a low level knee complaint, in fact you were the one who went off topic. (for the record you said:Since the all the media controversy, it appears he hasn't trained ,hasn't played, hasn't said anything and this knee soreness is being reported very low key.) Your Scully obession is reaching pandemic proportions and none of your suggestions would help the situation at all. You have made your point in every 4th or 5th post on the subject so we know your views and there is no need to go on about it. What I find puzzling is you have made some good contributions elsewhere on the site.

He handled that with style and ease. Pack up another "wants to play for the club his whole career" the fact so many are making that statement is exciting in itself. we are developing a team of guys with self belief.

A disturbing development on the AFL website. And no facility for anyone to comment on the editorial. Of greater concern is that its premise is deeply flawed. Other clubs and no doubt supporters forums have and will complain about unfair treatment rather than "lie back and think of the AFL" (with apologies to England) they certainly would complain if they were to lose a number one draft pick within 2 years of being in that position (bottom of the ladder). Imagine the reaction if this had been Collingwood. . When a player goes all clubs take it on the chin. However that does not mean they shouldn't complain about a bad rule or situation. As he fairly states it is a strange on but then goes on to extrapolate about our attitude to different situations. Furthermore there is absolutely no evidence that the Club management is casting the club as a victim. Does Phelan have any insight into the values of this club? Clearly not with his commentary. Any club that is being given the opportunity to build itself back up from the bottom should not have the mechanisms put in place to achieve that taken away from it. The comment as it goes on does not compare like with like (Mr Phelan you are comparing apples with oranges, not apples with apples)as we like other clubs did face the prospect of losses to the gold coast. Comparing a four year player from the back blocks with a number one draft pick just demonstrates the point. True a good case can be made tht a club that has invested in the development of a player should be entitled to a return on that investment and I think there is a case to be made that certain players should be exempt. As a comment an epic fail, as a piece of logic an even greater fail. And the AFL should not be publically lecturing the clubs and their supporters in this fashion it shows a total lack of respect for YOUR CUSTOMERS.