hardtack

Regardless of the step up, with those sticky fingers of his, I think he is well on the way. He seems to be quite a solid unit as well, which means he should be able to stand his ground in a contest.

Nice DD.. I do think Howe needs to be in there (possibly at the expense of Gys on the IC?). The only flaw I see in the conditions is the requirement for having played at least 10 games of AFL... how will anyone ever achieve the 10 AFL games required to qualify, if they don't qualify to play in the team because they don't have enough AFL games to qualify :-)

Ok, we have Ablett and Viney... that's two who have turned out to be top class players in their own right (although Jack Viney is yet to prove it at the top level). It would be interesting to see how many sons of great players actually amounted to anything on the football field... I'm with the genetic schimetics side of the argument I'm afraid. I prefer to think that the skills in sons such as Viney and Ablett are a result of having watched closely and absorbed the way their fathers played the game as well as those other players they would naturally have come in contact with through their fathers' association with the clubs. Yes, their physical attributes are unarguably a result of good genetics, but their skills and application of those skills are more a result of "osmosis" - some are better learners than others.

Indeed... but for some strange reason, I am feeling more optimistic this time around.

There is so much potential right across the list now... let's hope that with the current coaching crew, it can be realised.

Yes, and the figure skating... lots of "flute" and "sloop" references. And who could forget their summer olympics presentation with Fatso the fat arsed wombat and all of their grand final calls (NRL and AFL) with Lionel Rose's "I Thank You" substituting for the national anthem. Great list of the nicknames they gave to players here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_and_HG%27s_State_of_Origin_commentary

I hear that he ate their picks list.

Exactly! With the likes of Tuck and Valenti, we know that they have already blown it at least once... with this guy, all we know is that he was B&F at Sandy and may well be ready to grasp this opportunity with both hands. Worth a dip!

I think I saw something about rounds 1 to 11?

My pack was waiting for me when I got home from work this evening... I'm in Sydney, so I hope that gives other inter-staters hope that theirs will arrive soon as well.

He wouldn't be Lynden without the Dunny brush! (Gives him that George Cole circa St Trinians look.)

I don't see what the fuss is about. If we were to play in China, why not use the same strip we used in last year's demo game in Shanghai and use Melbourne Dragons as the translation into Chinese for that game only (with the exception of Puff, there is not that much of a difference between demons and dragons anyway). As a cultural concession this would keep everyone happy and no one would have any cause to be offended either for reasons of beliefs (the Chinese) or club history (the long suffering supporters).

Could this be telling us something about tomorrow's rookie draft? Thanks for the report.

I would think it was used simply as being symbolic of China as well as being representative of the team; to quote wikipedia: "The dragon is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck. With this, the Emperor of China usually uses the dragon as a symbol of his imperial power."

In which case, another showcase should be considered late in 2012, the year of the Dragon.

Are you saying that the club did not have their own specialists/medical team examine Scully, but rather rested him based simply on the word of an his own physician, despite the rumours surrounding his impending defection... or are you saying that the MFC knew of his defection and that they were implicated in a cover-up by stating that Scully was being rested for knee soreness when they knew this to not be the case?

look closely at the label and you can decipher the words "genuine polystyrene"

10 Pin bowling or Curling?

Don't know if it has been asked already, but could this be a case of us scratching their back in return for a big sponsor deal? Just a thought.

Actually, I would have thought that the article could just as easily be construed as complete proof that he does have an issue with the knee... it is certainly a much more feasible explanation for having him do a lighter training load (75%) than his team mates... as was mentioned before, all Shoddy needs to do is watch who follows Sulky in to work out how well they are traveling.

Agree also... not AFL, but I'm sure the #46 will mean a lot to people who love sport. The owner of that number is in a sport where the world champion is supposed to wear the #1 for the next season, yet this person refuses to part with the #46... I'm certain many of you know who I'm talking about, because his name is synonymous with that number.

Can't recall who it was, but last night I noticed one player tweeting something about "time trials tomorrow".

Sorry, I should have used an emoticon... my comment was meant as a joke.

Yeah, as a kid, Hassa (and by association, Len) was my favourite player.

And then you woke up?