hardtack

Apologies... I hadn't realised that casting aspersions at others was inappropriate only if one ADMITS to not being across an entire issue.

"He worked bloody hard to get in the team and now he may be out of it for good" - that was what I was referring to as "rubbish"... you immediately assume that there is a very good chance he will not get another game with the club. Ok, maybe not rubbish... maybe just a mild case of MFCSS :-)

As I have stated twice already, I am not across all of the news relating to this issue (and I am sure there is much that you do not know yourself), but I can only assume that there is a point where Misson has to place trust in his medical experts (he obviously could not foretell what was coming). Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Sorry, there was a typo in my response... I meant to say "if he (Bates) was NOT divulging anything, what could they have done?"

H_T, I really couldn't say, but I doubt they would have been privee to Bates' private sms messages to Dank (and vice versa), so if he was divulging anything, I'm not sure what they could have done.

As I said, I have been away from the news for the past few days... could you please point me to this admission where it relates to the Dank issue?

"the Board have embarrassingly demonstrated that they are not on top of what is happening in the Club"... who made this statement other than yourself? That is YOUR view of things and is merely speculation on your part based purely on your disdain for the current board.

Absolute rubbish! Yes it was an undisciplined act and yes it was stupid, but there is no way he will be out of the team for good... he is exactly what Neeld wants if we are to be the "hardest team to play"... he will learn the error of his ways, Neeld will have given him a stern talking to and a pat on the back and on the strength of the rest of his game, he will be back when available for selection. We need players who are prepared to go in hard and Nev fits the bill... he will be given the opportunity to redeem himself and he will have learnt from that experience.

Yes, that hit must have knocked all memory of the earlier shot at goal he had shanked out of his mind, so he was unable to draw on that to make the appropriate adjustments ;-) But in all seriousness, yes it was a gutsy effort.

Yes DC, I must admit that I had you in mind as I typed those words :-)

I'm perfectly calm... and yes, you are right, I am in the 'no' camp at the moment... that may change dependent upon what emerges from the latest bout of mud slinging. One thing though, apart from wanting the current administration removed, what exactly are your wants? If you expect to use social media to build a positive step forward, shouldn't you be stating your required outcomes? Shouldn't you be presenting some kind of "policy"? All I see you saying is that you want change... but I don't see anything definitive with regards to what change you expect to see.

If my ambivalence is interpreted by you as such, then that's nice... happy to be of service. I agree that social media has a place in the inspiring of change and yes, the effectiveness in attracting supporters to training was a fine example... but we are talking about a football forum here and most contributors are supporters and members who want to see the players succeed... so of course it's not a great leap to expect people to be inspired to support the club on the field. I'm sure there may well be quality business minded people who visit these forums, but there are also numerous keyboard heroes and self-promoters and so many with their own agendas who would love to see the club dismantled but with no real vision where the future is concerned. You have stated that you would not consider getting behind the club financially as you only want your company to be associated with success, yet here you are prepared to put your trust in the faceless members of an internet forum expecting it to be a doddle to build an effective movement for change at an administrative level at the club... well, unless you have a solid plan for change (and thus far I don't believe I have seen anything from any of those calling for the dismantling of the current administration), I honestly cannot see anything coming of it. All I see on here are people who seem to be motivated by personal grudges.

All you needed to say was that you run a successful business.. the rest is just there to impress. I'm not sure that it says a lot about your business acumen that you are looking to an internet forum to find persons capable of joining the board of the oldest football club in the land... people who are faceless and could, for all you know, be entirely without credentials.

What is the company? I could come on here claiming to run a successful multi-million dollar company (anyone could), but I would expect people to question the veracity of such a claim without hard evidence.

Let's hope it's us that are getting excited every time Le Cras touches the ball next year... assuming we make a play for him.

You didn't know mjt has 5 demerit points on this site for crimes against the English language? (watch him bite again... he won't be able to resist)

That is not entirely true... for much of the second half of season 2012 he played very good football across the back line and was appearing to be cementing a position as one of our better defenders; this was after disciplinary action was taken (relegation)... I think the break didn't suit him and once again he is starting a season at quarter speed. Hopefully, having to sit and watch the team go around last week, will have given him the jolt he sorely needed.

As they are discussing on AFL360 now, it was probably more about his attitude than his form... he was taken out last week and no doubt has been told that if he doesn't snap out of it and perform this week, then he may be looking at a long stint at Casey... as no one can doubt his ability and potential, it makes sense to me.

Perhaps this is a response to the problem of not being hard enough?

Yeah, god forbid that we train hard!

Could this be seen as an indication that Dawes may make a return in this game - ease him in and give GWS a headache?

The guy with the trolley is the perfect representation of mjt...with every step he believes he is moving forward, but in actual fact he is falling further and further behind. He likes to consider us as fish taking his bait, yet mjt manages to bite everytime a line is thrown in and no doubt will continue to do so every time he believes someone has leanings toward the left side of politics...it's a conditioned response (pass the pavlova).

Hang on... can someone please remind me just exactly what Craig's role is at the club? He and Misson have been concentrating on fitness I believe, so I would say he is hardly the focal point for any blame regarding ball skills (yes he advises the assistant coaches and assists Neeld, but he is ultimately not entirely responsible for those particular skill areas). And looking at his record at the Crows, over 8 years of coaching, he had them in the finals five times including two preliminary finals. Not a bad effort I would have thought as the only real blemish was his final two years at the helm and I would say that it was probably nothing to do with his skills, but more to do with "familiarity breeding contempt" (seems some on this site become a little too familiar with the MFC football coaching staff a little too quickly).

Yep, as an interstate member, I will also be looking forward to any reports that are posted. Thanks in advance!

But first make sure that your Twitter account displays your real name... the players certainly don't hide their identity (if it's to be about accountability, then set the example).