hardtack

Wouldn't "Aussie Rules Supporters Entity" be a better title - the acronym works better. Edit: curse you Biffen... you beat me to it! :-)

I don't really care if they are our 4th and 5th best... I am simply saying that I believe they can be effective when we are pushing for a top 4 finish. And was I dreaming when I was reading comments by many media pundits regarding the Jamar/Moloney pairing being one of the best in the comp?

Moloney and Jones are well above "C" grade. As I said, your opinion is no more valid than anyone else's, and you have said nothing to change that... in fact, you may have even managed to undermine your own position.

Nice to see so much respect being shown for Aussie... and even if they are supposed to be "jokes", I'm afraid they're in rather poor taste. Call me a humorless prcik if you like, but in this case I'm happy to wear it; the guy has had a hell of a time over the past 12 months.

Doesn't anyone else find the idea of having Demetriou on your back a bit, well.... creepy?

phat jokes are allowed?

Yes, I think it's a bit sad that people tend to judge individuals like Moloney and Jones on the team's performance... they would both fit comfortably into a top 4 side and hopefully the rest of our midfielders will take a step up to make that a reality in the next 2 to 3 years.

I doubt that many would have known that without researching... apart from Bob*2, that is :-)

Google is your friend: I would think it probably is "Neuro Linguistic Programming"

In your opinion... which, by the way, is no more and no less valid than that of anyone else who might believe they could lead the midfield to a top 4 finish.

Yes, but that has always been and should be, the case... however, the fact remains that Beamer, Jones and Rivers had excellent seasons by anyone's standard and that should not be diminished or dismissed as being simply good performances in a club that performed poorly.

And so based on the fact that we will have essentially the same midfield as last year, who do you expect is going to push Beamer or Jones out of their positions considering they were two of the best?

Regardless, I still think you are premature with your assessment having been just a handful of sessions so far. Watts is a very smart kid and a naturally gifted player who will slot straight in. He put in a very strong season 2011 and was obviously feeling it towards the end... I have no doubt he will be rejuvenated by the Xmas break and we will see a much more committed Watts in January.

I'm pretty certain it was Taggert I saw described elsewhere (possibly Real Footy?) as Dustin Martin-like; a player I would have thought is very different to LeCras.

Remind me please, what month is it now and how long do we have until season 2012 commences? Watts put in his best season last year and moved ahead in leaps and bounds. I really think it is a bit premature to be judging him on his efforts in a handful of practice sessions so early in the preseason.

Mark "jacko" Jackson had a very, errr, unusual gait.

Well, you probably get to see him a lot more than I do, but on the few occasions I have had the pleasure, he has always been very very quiet. But I do think a pairing of he and Moloney would be perfect for the club.

Unless he suddenly discovers his inner extrovert, I doubt very much that the Jones boy will be appointed Captain anytime soon. He should definitely be in the leadership group as he does set a great example when it comes to work ethic and improvement, but unfortunately, he is far too reserved to be a Captain (a position I believe needs to be filled by someone who can be a little intimidating when necessary - Moloney is a perfect example). I think though that he would make an excellent Vice Captain to Moloney's Captain.

+1

I'm not sure about a bigger table, but I imagine they will get a taller table; if there is any business to be conducted during the evening, they will no doubt want to have enough headroom.

Thanks for going to so much trouble to give us the detail Maldonboy38 - greatly appreciated!!

Fair enough Rogue, but regardless of that, the fact that the Swans were able to draw approximately double the crowd that the NRL "match of the week" could attract, in a city where active supporters are few and far between, speaks volumes for the drawing power of AFL; out of interest, what kind of crowds do the Storm attract?

I agree with RF on this one. Sure these kids go into the draft knowing they could end up anywhere, but as RF says, they are very young, and I think that even though the prospect of moving to Sydney or the Gold Coast may be very appealing to a 17 or 18 year old with stars in their eyes, after a year or so, it is not surprising that the gloss wears a bit thin and they start to miss their families and friends. It doesn't surprise me in the least that some of these kids will want to go home. I moved to Sydney over 30 years ago to join a band and after a few years became settled with a job and later a family; so I am here no matter how much I miss Melbourne.... and that is the funny thing, after all of these years I still consider myself a Melbourne person and would still rather live in Melbourne. However, as I am here for the duration, I do want more opportunities to see AFL and more particularly the Dees, without having to travel 1000km... so if the addition of GWS helps in that regard, I'm all for it (even if I do have to travel 300km to Canberra to see them next year).

"Are you some sort of self appointed Ambassador for the area? You get trigger happy; that would indicate some sort of attachment to the area which you don't appear to have." That's not argumentative? Ok... whatever. I do find it odd though, that you assume I am after an argument and yet are replying to a post in which I admit to Apocalypse XXX1 that I was overreacting... in other words, I was making a conscious effort to reconcile, rather than argue.

Gee, very out of character for you to jump in looking for an argument RF, but since you ask, as a Sydney based AFL supporter I would love to see the game do well and I recognise the fact that for it to succeed in Sydney, it needs to succeed in the Greater Western Sydney area. If that makes me some sort of an ambassador, then I'm happy to wear it. Why do you seem to have a problem with it?