hardtack

I doubt very much that Fitzpatrick is in the mix just yet and I get the feeling Neeld is expecting bigger and better things from Bate in 2012... however, if he (Bate) fails to repay Neeld's faith, then he may well get the full support of his club in finding another home for 2013. However, I would have to agree that Spencer, Dunn, MacDonald and Strauss are all on very thin ice... don't agree that Jetta is in trouble and I still believe that Bennell has too much potential to be shown the door just yet.

I'm sure DR was gla(n)d to be of service :-)

I bought this from the Amazon Kindle store as my 9 y.o son had homework for which he had to write a short piece about the person he most admires - we went through this together as a reference. Nicely done and thank you so much Rudeboy!

Yeah, nice shots. T may be an illusion, but I got he impression both Fitz and LJ have bulked up a bit?

And another: Young Gun is firing up forward I like this bit "I played in the backline at the start of the year but I didn’t get too much of the ball,” he said. “I moved up forward and have been able to kick some goals. I struggled against Scoresby but, apart from that, I think I’ve done all right.”

By the look of the Gys, I doubt he sees much of the sun at all - maybe should have the nickname of "Milk".

Thanks for that DD... perhaps Gysberts needs to join Jones in the surf.

HH is for Harold Hay, Herbert Hill and Hell Hath (no fury) - another 'ology poster of ill repute.

DD is for Dunkin' Donuts - popular with their #1 shareholder, father of an ex Dee and now recruiting for GWS

CC is for Chris Connolly (edit: beaten by a whisker - RR), or if you are living north of Victoria, CC is for corn chips - popular with Mexicans

While I agree with what you and WJ have said, why try to intellectualise it... when all is said and done, what it all boils down to is that Baz is simply one of the very bogans he saw fit to condemn (and I repeat, possibly a lapsed pies supporter to boot).

I've actually been wondering whether the likes of Blease and Jurrah (and Watts?) are actually unfit or if it is more a case of them lacking endurance. All of them are more "short burst" runners with great acceleration, and I suspect that is how they have trained/been trained in the past. It's great to see them now getting pushed to develop their endurance levels, but I wonder, and I'm completely lacking in knowledge in the subject of fitness, is there any possibility this can affect their ability to accelerate to the same degree?

haha... the thought "lapsed pies supporter" crossed my mind earlier also.

Not at all... just your generally unwarranted aggressive tone tends to slot right into the bogan profile.

What was that about boganesque behaviour?

ok...just let's not go there!

What's to stop us getting both Lovett and Manson? Judging by the reports, Lovett is not expected to be picked up, so if he is still there late in the piece, then by all means we should maybe go for him.

We all reside in that bunker :-)

Well old dee, the way I see it is that people on here are talking up Sellar as having cost us little so we don't lose much if he fails, but there is plenty of upside if he succeeds (I know you are not one of them) - and he has 5 years for just 21 games at Adelaide who weren't exactly setting the world on fire over that period. So in what was essentially a thin draft (as correctly alluded to be jcb above), surely Manson is worth the risk... we have (I think) three other picks with which to get a McKenzie or a Pod; and besides, wouldn't we be kicking ourselves just as much if Manson turned out to be a gem? (and from what has been said about his skills, that seems to be more than possible as long as his attitude can be turned around).

I agree. Am I right in thinking we have 4 picks in the rookie draft? Being "remainder stock", rookies are speculative at best anyway, so we have absolutely nothing to lose (and everything to gain), by taking Manson on.

Yes Old55... that serves to reinforce my point; nowhere in there is he quoted as saying he wants to be a part-time footballer - if anything he is saying that he is trying hard to apply himself more "for the love of the game".

Funny, because in one of the articles posted on the MelbourneFC website, it mentions the fact that he appears laconic yet manages to keep in the clear... sounds a little like a description of Travis Johnstone or Col Garland? I'm really looking forward to seeing him in action (perhaps he might get a run in the NAB Cup?).

Well, according to the news report I read yesterday after it happened, they (Carlton) were fairly confident he would be fit in time for the beginning of season 2012. Still, I suppose it means he will begin the year without the benefit of a full pre-season, which means he will only be superb instead of his usual brilliant :-)

Out of interest, where is this "quote"? I have seen the article where his manager(?) discussed the fact that any club investing in him might want to bring him into the fold slowly so that he can "acclimatise", but I don't recall seeing any such quotes attributed to Manson himself.

Did it even happen? The players are usually moaning on twitter about how wrecked they are after a session, but there isn't one mention at all today; just totally non footy related tweets.