hardtack

Ok, that makes sense re the flights so yes, it is a very reasonable thought.

Just a couple of things... in what way is Jan 25 an auspicious date on he Chinese calendar? I am currently in Shenzhen and after reading this asked my friend what was so special about the 25th, to which I got the response "nothing". The 23rd however is special, because that is Chinese New Year. Also, not that it matters, but I am just wondering how a Guangzhou to Heathrow route puts China Southern in direct competition with Qantas; does Qantas run a route to London via Guangzhou? (I would have thought they would be trying to raise their profile as a budget carrier for flights from Australia to China) As far as China Southern goes, I can recommend them... I have used them on my last two trips to China and although they don't have all of the bells and whistles that other carriers have (in seat video for example was non existent on this flight), they are efficient and friendly and very reasonably priced.

Seems like the new training regime is having the desired effect if Magner's tweet is anything to go by: "Well done to all the @melbournefcboys who had the 3ker this morning! plenty of pb's amongst them!"

Are you suggesting that the MFC didn't have his knee checked out by their own medicos... or that they simply took Scully on his word? I am more than happy to accept that he does have a dodgy knee. And to all those commenting that they wouldn't believe this time as Scully is a proven liar... similarly, I doubt the time would have been passed on to the journo by Scully himself based on what he noted on his wrist watch.

Well, maybe it depends on the situation, but at the Shanghai game where he was Captain, I saw him schmoozing with various officials from Kaspersky and local dignitaries and he appeared quite comfortable, and they appeared quite attentive to what he had to say... of course I couldn't hear what the conversations were about, but he didn't appear uncomfortable at all.

Ok, I suppose the comment about "interviews" threw me... but I would contend that onfield barking instructions/giving encouragement to players he is comfortable with and knows intimately (not in the biblical sense), is a very different situation than having to speak into a microphone and even speak casually with someone you aren't familiar with. I think I once stated a long time ago in a similar thread, that appointing Moloney would probably see him becoming far more focused as being a Dees supporter as a child, this would no doubt have been a lifelong dream... I know that applies to others as well (Grime?) but Moloney strikes me as someone who would benefit from the added pressure rather than buckle as Green seems to have done.

What is this obsession people have with media performance? I really don't care about how he presents himself in interviews as long as he is getting the message across to his team mates on the field of play and at training. I'm sure that he would be "groomed" if the club wanted him to be captain and were concerned about such things as media performance.

From what I have seen of him, he seems to be very vocal and he certainly leads by example - he also has a 100% record as captain - in Shanghai ;-)

Well, it looks like all will be revealed sooner than we may have been expecting, according this this article (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/jcurve-takes-new-turn-for-injured-dees-20120111-1pvf7.html#ixzz1jBwZLg1D) in Real Footy: "The new captain and leaders will be unveiled the week leading up to the Demons' first NAB Cup game on February 25, rather than in the lead-up to round one."

I still believe that if it isn't Green it will most likely be Moloney with Jones as VC. I doubt Neeld would be so immovable as to believe that Moloney's single indiscretion would preclude him from the captaincy... in fact I would think he would view Moloney's resolve to improve himself post-incident, that it may even improve Moloney's chances. If not Jones, then I would not be at all surprised to see Rivers fill the VC position.

Haha, yeah... and even funnier is the fact that I removed Petterd who I had with 25 - 30 along with Davey. But fantasies aside, I am a little surprised that no-one seems to be picking Davey to make a reasonable contribution.

Jurrah with 62 Clark with 55 - 60 Green with 45 - 50 Howe with 40 - 45 Watts with 35 - 40 Davey with 25 - 30

But the pricing discussions were directly related to the Footy channel. The sticking point/issue for some is the fact that they must take the (in their case) unwanted Basic package in order to be able to have access to the Sports package. That is entirely relevant to the discussion of the Footy channel and access to it - they want something more affordable that will allow them access to the footy coverage. The counter points made by myself and others regarding general affordablity are a usual part of any healthy discussion. No one was getting abusive, no one was hurling insults at Rhett as a Foxtel representative and no one was giving away state secrets.

Careful, or you shall have to be sent to room 101 where someone will give you a stern talking to.

I have many in mp3 format... among them one of my favourites... an episode in which false teeth all over England are disappearing and mysteriously show up as castanets at a Spanish Restaurant.

not really a one liner, but another great Neddy Seagoon: <sound of knocking> "Who is it?" "It's me!" "It can't be... I'm in here"

Yeah... in a past life he was a butler and now he is employed by Foxtel. Actually, I don't think he has stated what he does at Foxtel... for all we know, he could be there on work experience :-) Rhett... I know you are the son of KB, but out of interest, what is your position there? Obviously you have a vested interest in AFL, but am I correct in assuming (from your various Twitter handles) you are more involved in the general marketing/PR of Foxtel? Also, Jack7 makes a very good point about the cost which I hadn't considered... I no longer buy a newspaper in the mornings (read online) so all I am doing is redirecting my $2 to the Foxtel bill - and if you have kids, Foxtel is not a bad investment as there is plenty on there for them... not that I'm condoning long hours of TV viewing, but as far as material that is relevant to their education, there is a lot on there. So yes, it is $2 well invested.

DC, he's not making it up...I assume that he is referring to the cost of pay per view on the Main Event channel where you might watch a WBF Title bout but it will cost you about $20 for the pleasure. His is simply a conclusion drawn from that. I re-read your post I last replied to and owe you an apology for misreading...you wanted a 6mnth Sport channel subscription without taking the base package, which I (mis)read as wanting it on top of the base package. And yes, it is Oracle I am referring to...and you might be surprised at the mess they could make of it; particularly if some of their internal systems are anything to go by :-)

I actually wasn't suggesting that there was any connection between Foxtel and the db software provider... was just stating that sometimes what might be considered simple, isn't always so. It is possible to purchase the basic raft of programs for $45pm and get the Sports channels on top of that for $16 extra per month (I doubt it would be much cheaper if you could get individual channels). Also, I may be wrong, but as far as I am aware (and from memory after talking with Foxtel reps), it should be possible to deactivate the sports channels for as long as you like, so you would only pay the extra while you have it activated, presumably for the duration of the footy season.

Regardless of what any of us think about the programming options/packages/pricing on Foxtel, I get the feeling that Rhett isn't in any position to influence Foxtel's policy on such matters.

Yes, to an extent it is about commercial monopolies and greed... but do not for one minute believe that just because something is computerised it suddenly becomes simple. I work for the world's leading database software provider and believe me, they can sometimes make the most simple looking processes ridiculously convoluted and complicated. As alluded to by big_red, the costs of being able to create your own programming schedule by selecting individual channels, would end up costing as much, if not more, than the standard packages they already have in place.

After the rocket from Neeld, I'm looking forward to seeing how Davey and Watts take up the challenge. Also looking forward to seeing how the revamped forward line performs as well as Bennell down back... I get the feeling he will have a breakout year. I also look forward to the continued Rise and Rise of Nathan Jones.

I doubt that any provider in the history of pay television has ever offered users the option of taking a single channel... the logistics involved would be ridiculously complicated when you consider how many channels there are and the number of permutations you could end up with if the viewing public had carte blanche. For simplicity's sake, they need to operate from a basic service that can then be built upon.

Maybe you should have had a quiet word to Neeld and Misson as they obviously have no idea of what they are doing?

I believe hat Neeld did exactly the right thing in publicly "encouraging" the likes of Watts and Davey to lift the respective games. In doing so, not only was he sending a very clear message to those players (who he would have spoken to in much more depth privately anyway), but he was also making a very clear statement of intent that this club will no longer accept mediocrity and that all members and all opposition and all media pundits should take note. Personally, I think it would be far more humiliating to be delisted by a club after failing to live up to your potential.