hardtack

I agree completely about a break being the best medicine... interesting to see you say that Williams is looking forward to resuming training with the main group; he is listed as 3 to 4 weeks with a bad back, so either he has made a speedier than expected recovery, or whoever compiles the injured list is a glass half empty kind of person :-)

Hell, I'll nit-pick... the question was "Who will be our elite 5 for the 2014 Demon flag?"

I certainly hope he's not getting paid for that! Disgraceful!!

Actually, according to the fixture, the possible venues are: Etihad Stadium Simonds Stadium Blacktown International Sportspark AAMI Stadium Patersons Stadium Metricon Stadium Manuka Oval VISY Park

Wagga?

This is one issue I have - too many consider Jones to be old, when in actual fact he just turned 24 in January.by 2014 he will be 26 which is probably when players are reaching the peak of their powers. Over the past couple of seasons we have seen him make great strides and if his NAB Cup performances are any indication, he looks likely to move a few more rungs up the ladder this year. So as a very left of centre view, I would rate the 5 best for us that year to be (in no particular order): Jones Petterd (if he can get consistency into his game) Jurrah (if he can stay injury free - I am still uneasy with the way he lands after marking and am always concerned he will do some major knee damage one day) Martin (on the proviso that he can stop fumbling) Howe Oh, and I really feel for young Viney as he has not yet set foot on the ground in a Dees jumper and already he has been labelled the new messiah - way way too early to be using the words Viney and elite in the same sentence.

Sorry, I was being facetious, but I still do appreciate you taking the time to answer on the off chance I was being honest :-). I actually use it on my iPad when I'm traveling overseas...before i leave i purchase some credit on Skype for calls to landline/mobiles and then just pop into a Starbucks or similar place with free wifi, and call my home phone to talk to the family for next to nothing. Calls are always crystal clear.

What is this Skype thing? Please tell me more.

People tend to forget that people of Chinese origins have been in Australia almost as long as people of Anglo/Celtic origins and I think you will find that they are already quite well represented in the crowds at the footy on any given day. For this reason I am not so sure that just because we have (assuming we get) a China based sponsor, we will suddenly have a surge of members from Australia's Chinese community. Hopefully it will mean more inroads into China for the AFL (and the MFC) which will see further benefits flowing in the form of more sponsorships and media deals.

Considering one of the main local teams established in China as a result of AFL/MFC involvement is called (I think) the Tianjin Demons, I don't think they are likely to be too concerned. http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20111011135253854

Don't say that WYL! Now you have given Mono and olisik additional ammunition...LJ is moonlighting! Anyway, having read RudeBoy's excellent Liam Jurrah Story, I believe that he and his community are together committed to his having a successful AFL career. He will be back in time to start playing once his injury has resolved itself.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Evans a rookie himself?

Then couldn't we then extrapolate from that, that the Dees are equally not serious about this, yet we still beat the Pies and so we are still better than them (even in a half hearted contest) ;-)

Well, there are a couple of ways of looking at it. Yes, the coaches are experimenting with players (rookies and new starters getting game time), game plans, and player positions and hence it is not a true reflection of how any team will approach their games in season proper... but then again, the coaches will be sending their players out to implement genuine strategies and to play to the best of their ability in doing that. Look no further than the performances of teams like West Coast (I think), Essendon and the Dees in last year's NAB Cup... their performances in the pre-season were pretty much representative of the way their respective seasons panned out.

I agree... although he may not have had a bag-full of possessions, Bennell did some good things... in particular one spectacular pick up of the ball running out of the back line which he directed to a team mate and then his handball in heavy traffic from deep in the back line to Jones who then handballed over the top to set up what eventuated in a Dees goal (to Dunn I think it was).

I suppose it's possible that there will be positions that have no elite players in the competition; for example, there may be no full back who could be considered as being in the top 1% of all players in the AFL.

does it really matter?

Some people are just too hard to please. A win in any form of the game and at any time of the year at Etihad is going to do their confidence an enormous amount of good, let alone a win against a team containing a good number of GF players from last year.

Etihad hoodoo put to bed!! Great win against a reasonably strong Pies team.

Have to be pretty happy with that considering we are playing a pretty strong Pies line-up.

MelbourneFC tweet: "Tom McDonald & Rohan Bail will be our subs tonight. Gysberts, Dunn, Blease, Fitzpatrick are not playing tonight from initial 29-man squad" Disappointing that Blease isn't getting a run.

Steve Johnson's tweet was interesting: "Surely there was no need 4 a flight 2 Wang... takes 2 hours 10 minutes (on speed limit) from CBD. Hope the cats get 2 play there next year!"

Judging by the attendance (or lack of), it looks like those in Tassie feel the same.

The Sydney Demons usually gather at the Camelia Grove Hotel in Alexandria which is not too far from the city. Catch a train to Erskinville (two stops from Central on the Bankstown Line) and walk down Henderson Road for a few minutes (or, if you're cashed up, grab a cab).

Excellent stuff! Almost made me take out a second membership :-)