hardtack

All I can say is 'that's great' - on both accounts! For all you who say you dont wish injury on other players and feel sorry for them, ra, ra, ra - don't speak utter tripe!

I'm a member.....are you?

With an attitude like that, yes, perhaps you are a "member".

no bitterness here, but a previous post said he felt sorry for him, i just simply stated im not sorry to see the back of him and stated why

Well I wouldn't have thought that an all uppercase "I DON'T" followed by a "stuff him" was simply a statement from someone who didn't really care. At least, that's how I interpreted it anyway.

Agree Nasher on your assessments. At this stage I am not sold on if and where Jetta cuts it at AFL level.

I get the feeling they will possibly look at using him in a defensive role (I seem to recall reading something along those lines somewhere - possibly a Casey report?) - perhaps as someone who can keep the smaller forwards honest but can also pressure the bigger bodies with solid tackling; maybe as a backman in the Whelan mould.

I DON'T......stuff him

he was slow when we drafted him, got slower as the years went on, and this will only slow him further...if he can go any slower

You seem pretty bitter for someone who, judging by your comments, should have been happy to see him walk.

People tend to forget that the game is a career for these guys and that Brock is now in a position where he could ultimately be delisted and effectively unemployed with no safety net. I wish him well - after all, he did come to the aid of the aid of the club when we were in need financially and I suspect he only jumped ship after carefully weighing up his options and coming to the conclusion that his future was pretty limited.

I actually had a premonition that we would beat Geelong at the cattery this year and that I would be there to see it happen courtesy of the Powerball win I will have on the Thursday evening of the week before the game.

Yeah! He just gets little bit frightened.

Apart from the one episode in the Pies game, Bennell has been hard at it and has shown he learned from his mistake. Now off with you to the back paddock with the rest of the sheep.

Anyhow this week Jack Watts is being rewarded with a senior game because he has taken steps forward and responded to a challenge from the coach.

Great to see.

Agreed. And as for the rest of your explanation... fair enough.

There is a stance in the middle that is supported by the evidence.

There is nothing wrong with the OP asking a question.

Of course there is nothing wrong with asking the question, but I have to ask, what exactly is the evidence that you talk of. I certainly haven't seen any incontrovertible evidence in this, or any other thread.

And how is your dig any different.

Not really a dig... it is a comment relating to the fact that people can make statements that discredit without having to back it up or expose themselves in the process... just as politicians use Parliamentary Privilege.

Your comment might be more plausible if I was to reveal BennytheJet's true identity and make unfounded claims of him engaging in questionable behaviour while keeping my own identity hidden.

Im not anonymous - a lot of people here know who I am or have met me before at one of the forum games.

A rather strange interpretation of "anonymous" in relation to a public forum... but, whatever. Anyway, the real point was, "care to back those statements up?".

Seeing young Jack:

drooling drunk on a weeknight when he had training the following day;

challenging friends to drinking contests; and

smashing down shots like they were going out of fashion,

makes me think that he may have some attitude problems.

However he has plenty of time to get it right so not a great deal of concern

Sorry for adding the above - sick of people deluding themselves

Ah, anonymity, the forum equivalent to Parliamentary Privilege... care to back those statements up (assuming your tongue wasn't planted firmly in your cheek)?

The only issue I have with him now is his obsession with Barlow.

The GFC will take Pettard, and i think its not such a bad thing... He seems injury prone, although i admit he has shown a bit this year...

Our best forward line should read:

Bate / Jurrah / Green

Wona / Watts / Bennell

Lots of forward pressure, a big strong leading forward, 2 big left footers ont he flanks and LJ to throw in some freak action as he seems to do...

PettErd injury prone??? The guy has been very unlucky on two occasions (collapsed lung and now dislocated shoulder). It is not as if he is suffering from chronic hamstring injuries or a shoulder that pops out every other day...and yes, I do realise he had shoulder issues two weeks running, but I am inclined to think that the first injury (hyper-extension?) probably made the second more likely.

We should be trying our hardest to get his signature asap.

If you have read Steamins posts regularly, you would know that he has had some decent mail on JW before, so i am fairly certain he is is an old school mate, or something of that description.

And wouldn't you be a pessismist?

So we have two reliable posters in Bails and Steamin'...unfortunately one says this week and the other says the following week; flip a coin I say!!

I reckon the last thing the Dees want is to fuel the Watts v NikNat debate.

I have noticed a few people taking this line. To me that is the "glass half empty" take on things. I would argue that the game against the Wet Toast is the perfect vehicle for his come back because:

1) we would probably be expected to outplay them and so he would be given plenty of service from the midfield, and

2) if JW can bag a few, it puts the whole NN v JW debate to bed.

Give him his chance at redemption I say!

He could win both. Saw both the other goals and Gram might get close, but Bennell's looked better :D

Considering the conditions, Bennell's goal was far and away the top of the crop.

I warned you guys about consequences of wearing Pink ahhaha

It was Pink overkill in the extreme. The point was made. No need for us and the umps to be changing uniforms. Should have been game on as normal.

PS: I am only stirring

Considering that most pundits had us losing by 5 goals or more, they certainly didn't play like "panzys" (sic)... maybe we should play in pink more often :-)

Take a look at the ladder now.

The top 8 probably won't change. Of the teams outside, Brisbane might get in but Brown's clearly not fit, Drummond's gone for the year, and away from the Gabba they're not great. Then there's us, but we have a tough second half to the year, plus we're not that good just yet. Then there's North, who suck, Essendon, who suck, West Coast, who suck, Hawthorn, who have the talent when their best 22 is out there but that won't eventuate this year, Adelaide, who's best 22 is better than most of the other bottom 8 teams but probably isn't good enough to make finals, and Richmond.

In the top 8 there's Carlton, who are up and down like a yo-yo, Port, who we all believe to be flaky and crap outside of Adelaide but are 5-2, Freo, who everyone expects to drop off at some point but are 6-1, 2nd on the ladder, and playing great footy.

The point: we'll probably end up where we are now.

If results go as could/should be expected this weekend (Swans over Doggies, Geelong over Brisbane and Dees over Wet Toast), then we will be 8th (possibly even 7th if Port get up by enough over Carlscum)... so it will change, if only momentarily :-)

I think the obvious solution is that we do not allow the opposition to score; no score = no behinds = no kick in.

However, when we do let them in for the odd score, we seem to be generally quite good... last Friday, if not for a very poor effort in the first quarter, we would not have been in a position where those errant kick-ins could hurt us. But sometimes I do wish we had another Wheatley to bomb the kick-in long and down the guts.

He has kicked 7.2, 4.0, 5.6, 12.1, & 8.6 in the 5 games played this year. The Team has only won the last 2 games though. He is having a ball. Well done Robbo.

Yeah, and I manage to beat my 8 year old pretty much every time we have a 200 metre running race. (I liked Robbo but let's face it... his time was up as a force at the Dees)

BTW Hardtack, have you seen their jumper? I didn't know it had been released. According to their website they will be Red, Ble and yellow. Representing, the sun, the surf and the sand. Surely you aren't suggesting that they will be wearing those strips there VFL team wear? Misinformation

I would be interested to hear why you believe they will not be wearing that strip? If you look at their website (and it is an AFL website) all of the images feature that strip and their merchandise all features those colours and logo.

Perhaps you may want to read a little... you will notice that even the new club's mascot is wearing that strip. Otherwise, perhaps you might care to enlighten us as to why we should believe it will be anything other than what they are currently promoting?

If we make the finals it will be in 8th spot, and they may be the danger of then having happen to us what happened to Essendon in the finals last year. Is this experience good for them or counter productive? What's everyones thoughts on that?

I would love us to make the finals this year. Who cares if it is 8th and we get done like the proverbial dinner... I get the feeling that the current playing group would take away the positive that we were widely expected to finish last again and that they have therefore by far exceeded all expectations; in fact, I get the feeling that some of the players would actually lift in a final and that we could get past the elimination round.

What I like at the moment though is the fact that if the Saints win by just a few points tonight, we actually move up the ladder one place, despite our loss on Friday.

That's not entirely true though, there was never any proven evidence that an assault occured and all parties deny it apart from one person who thought he saw something from afar in a dark alley at night.

Well, to the best of my understanding, he was issued with a court order "not to harass, threaten or intimidate" and was fined $2,000 by the club and put onto an alchohol awareness program; yes it did come down to it being his word against that of the witness, but the action taken against him would indicate that there was at least something to it all (even if it was not a physical assault). Basically, I was just making a point to the OP and addressing the fact that clubs have a responsibility when it comes to putting wayward players onto the right path.

Lucky to get rid of this bloke. Don't want someone at the club who behaves like this!

We do have someone at our club who was on record for having assaulted his girlfriend in public (no need to spell it out as most would know who it is anyway)... however, he seems to have matured and come good thanks to support and guidance from the club and has become a much much better player (and, hopefully, person) for it. Buckley is a fool for doing what he has done, but hopefully Collingwood will be smart enough to help straighten him out (I wouldn't bet my house on it happening though).

Rudy can't fail! Sounds "special"