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Sorry for interrupting guys but I played last year and IWAP is correct there is no way a player can lose a position they simply gain one. Perfect example was Chris Yarran last year. Didn't play one real game forward but at the start of the year was an F and after Round 4 was a (b,F) for the entire time. Also IWAP even if people get zeroes its so much better to play every round. You get depressed if you have no UF on bye rounds believe me!

Only stayed for 2 and a half quarters so here is my take of the proceedings. KC may need to adjust anything I have missed in the time I wasn't there. Sam Blease- Gee personally find this guy frustrating. His highlights are exceptional kicked a magical goal on his left but far too many times skill and mental errors let him down. U turns into traffic and constantly missing targets on his preferred foot are disappointing. He loiters around the back like a designated kicker so it isn't good enough to miss simple kicks. Doesn't work hard enough around the ground sits on the fat side alot waiting for kicks but when he does a good thing its great. Can put his head over the footy and won some deserving frees today also. Nev Jetta- Seems to have really really built up the upper body. Really looks fantastic and his base (quads, hamstrings) also alot bigger. Better frame meant he is alot stronger over the ball. Looks to be playing more of a backline position these days and made some good decisions today. That leg injury still seemed to be somewhat hampering him and was getting firm treatment as I left. Decent day but no real highlights. James Strauss- Very good first up effort. Like KC said only played a half but had 8-10 touches playing on the Box Hill smalls and really looked solid. Far bigger frame than last year and tackling was a highlight for him today. Two excellent holding the ball decisions. Got crunched a few times and leg seemed to be fine... didn't notice any real running limp or whatever that had been previously mentioned at training. I think he may play next rounds NAB Cup. Jordie Gysberts- Disappointing really. Coming back from injury but struggled to find much of it and decision were often rushed. Give him few weeks and I'm sure he'll be back into it. Certainly looks bigger both height and weight wise which is a good sign though. Tom McDonald- Reasonable today from limited opportunities. Kicked a few good goals but his hands overhead leave a little to be desired. Not sure what position they are tailoring for him at AFL level. Lucas Cook- Quiet today but didn't look out of place. Developing is the perfect word does some things really well but does get lead to ball on occasions. Signs are positive though. Kelvin Lawrence- Was quiet from what I've seen. Genuinely also looks identical to Jetta too!

Ill be going for the first half/3 quarters anyone else venturing out?

Other than the enormous respect I have gained for the MFC admin today with their handling of the situation, I also think an enormous amount of respect must go to the media today. On countless occasions they have taken stories of player mistakes and blown them way out of proportion, completely vilifying the player. The reasonable and insightful nature of the majority of the articles today most notably the Flanagan has shown a side of decency I was never aware of. They had a chance for a quick story throwing a young-man under the bus but instead they have hoped to teach all AFL- followers the tough side of life this particular member of the game has. A pleasant change.

This is very important. Everyone on demonland is calling out anyone who is giving a voice of reason to the victim here also. There are alot of families in suffering today in Alice Springs and a community like Schwab said is split. I hope for Liams sake this decision doesn't split him too much from the one's he loves. It's fantastic for us to say yay bring him back to the safety of the MCG but removing him entirely from Alice Springs would be no doubt devestating for his partner/wife, family and extended friends also. It's not as easy as saying get him out of there.

Should all rock up to the airport kitted out in Melbourne gear and flags. Let him know he's back to his 2nd home

Fantastic!!! How'd you find it out? Radio?

Did anyone watch AFL 360 last night? Not a huge fan of Mark Robinson but his thoughts on this situation are exceptional. Just discussing like ourselves, how we can try and empathise with his situation but we will truly never fully understand it. Really riveting segment at the start of the show with him and Gerard. Try and find it

On a side note, I can only be proud of the performance shown by the Melbourne Football Club in regards to Liam. The support and backing they showed him today was absolutely fantastic and hopefully correlates to him opening up and trusting them when he gets back and has a chat with them. Very glad Jim didn't have to cope with this as well. This will really band us together as a club I hope once Liam is back.

Usual Pleasentries upon arrival.. Cam Schwab- Liam has been charged we are trying to get him back to Melbourne asap. - ultimately the court will decide what the result will be here but we will try and assist and support him as much as we can during this period understanding that we are dealing with incredibly complex, emotional and delicate situations. - Liam has always in our estimations a person with great honour, against the odds been one of the great football stories who has dealt with everything he had to deal with, also with great maturity which we are hoping he can do so while dealing with this particular issue. - How much and what can happen from onwards can only be speculation, how it unfolds with the courts will be dictated in the main, what happens from this point onwards is all in the future. I will answer the questions as I can understand the sensitivities in this matter. Q1. Will Liam be going to court today? Yeah hopefully that will be dealt in the courts this morning and he will be back on a plane this afternoon. Q2. Have you spoken to him? No we haven’t. Q3. What was the going-ons with him heading back to his community. Was it under the supervision of the club? He basically returned to the Alice Springs to be with his family. The sister of his partner passed away quite suddenly and he has been assisting her through that process. Obviously in between that a significant court process has been heard. We have come to realise that often Liam is torn between his responsibilities of being an elder and the responsibilities of his community and that of being an elite athlete and AFL footballer. Q4 What sort of support is the club offering? As much support as we possibly can. I think everyone understands how much the club has supported Liam in the past 3 years that he has been here and we continue to provide that same support and attitude. Q5 Cameron did you want him to come back a little sooner? He communicated with the club fully; he had a complete understanding of where he was at and what he was doing. Obviously what happened yesterday came as complete shock and as a surprise like you guys we have tried to piece together what has happened in the past 24 hours. Q6 What are the charges and how much can you elaborate on them? Really can’t elaborate anything. Q7 And the charges are? As per released. Q8 Did you have some fears for his safety and that’s why you wanted him to come back? I think there is always those fears. Anyone who understand the area and anyone who read Martin’s article in The Age this morning would understand the conflict Liam deals with. When he goes home obviously we do become a little fearful but he also goes back with our respect with us knowing everything he has to deal with and how he still is a leader within his family and his community. Q9 Have you got guys flying up there? Yes, as you can tell its not easy to get in and out of Alice Springs but we do have people going up there today to get him and bring him home. Q10 When he comes back will he be in a different living situation? Will you have someone living with him? He is already in a fantastic living situation and we have never had any issues with that whatsoever. Q11 Will you be keen once he’s back to get him back into the flow of footy? (Presuming to get his mind off it) Once he comes back we’ll be keen to sit him down and firstly see where he is at with everything. He’s obviously gone through a very traumatic situation and we’ll need to see how he is coping with all of that. Q12. When will you do that and will you be of assistance? He will be back today and yes the club will be of assistance. Q13 Are the players aware of the situation? I think everyone has been aware of the situation its been well documentated. Liam has constantly been back and forth to home but this is literally a situation that has split his family and his community. Q14 What verbs would you use to describe the situation? Complex, emotional and having some empathy to understand the situation. We’re learning as we go as well. Q15 Has this raised issues with Indigenous footballers and whether we need to do more? The AFL is doing some great things in allowing everyone an opportunity. The most important thing is we don’t deal in stereotypes, I think that’s important. We provide support for any peson whos involved in our game. Liam is the centre this time and we will provide him the support the same as any other player. Q16 As an elder does ti make it more difficult? Not really we still feel empathy and we will work through it. Q17 How are the club working through it? Josh Mahoney and Neil Craig are both talking to the players as we speak and running them through it. Q18 What support are you providing and is it sufficient? That’s a great question we are providing great support and we’re learning as we go. We’ve been too his community on a number of occasions and it is something very different to what we are used to so we must have great empathy for it. But at the same time we would never be presumptuous to think we ever really understand it fully. I think the way the media has dealt with it today and the articles I have read reflect that and I really appreciate and respect that. Q19. Is this the most complex issue you’ve had the dealt with? Absolutely it’s a complex one but lets not forget about the quality of individual here and what he has put up with throughout his career. Our expectation is he will continue to work through this with the maturity he has shown thus far. Q20 After this latest episode is there a chance he may just say this is too hard? Look we’d have to sit down and talk with him about that I think it’s important we just take it one step at a time. The first matter to deal with is obviously the matter at hand. And the rest.

Usual Pleasentries upon arrival.. Cam Schwab- Liam has been charged we are trying to get him back to Melbourne asap. - ultimately the court will decide what the result will be here but we will try and assist and support him as much as we can during this period understanding that we are dealing with incredibly complex, emotional and delicate situations. - Liam has always in our estimations a person with great honour, against the odds been one of the great football stories who has dealt with everything he had to deal with, also with great maturity which we are hoping he can do so while dealing with this particular issue. - How much and what can happen from onwards can only be speculation, how it unfolds with the courts will be dictated in the main, what happens from this point onwards is all in the future. I will answer the questions as I can understand the sensitivities in this matter. Q1. Will Liam be going to court today? Yeah hopefully that will be dealt in the courts this morning and he will be back on a plane this afternoon. Q2. Have you spoken to him? No we haven’t. Q3. What was the going-ons with him heading back to his community. Was it under the supervision of the club? He basically returned to the Alice Springs to be with his family. The sister of his partner passed away quite suddenly and he has been assisting her through that process. Obviously in between that a significant court process has been heard. We have come to realise that often Liam is torn between his responsibilities of being an elder and the responsibilities of his community and that of being an elite athlete and AFL footballer. Q4 What sort of support is the club offering? As much support as we possibly can. I think everyone understands how much the club has supported Liam in the past 3 years that he has been here and we continue to provide that same support and attitude. Q5 Cameron did you want him to come back a little sooner? He communicated with the club fully; he had a complete understanding of where he was at and what he was doing. Obviously what happened yesterday came as complete shock and as a surprise like you guys we have tried to piece together what has happened in the past 24 hours.

I've got it recorded give me 10 minutes and I'll type it up.

Absolutely did. This was his best. Spoke about how much credibility Liam has for all the work he has done, spoke about how we'll be trying to bring him back tonight and didnt shirk a question. Absolutely brilliant.

Plan on sending 100 trade offers today to keep minds of it. Finally got a day off work and I'm going to sit at home watching the worst day of news ever. Might be time to buy a few movies

Completely unfair there I am hurting as much as every other supporter. I can not advocate the actions of what happened on Wednesday night and I don't think anyone would; was simply stating that Liam should have done a better job to remove himself from these situations and if he does and I'm sure he will stay on with the MFC will need to do so in the future. Never miss an opportunity to pot though do you.

That I do understand. People, myself including will be saying things over the top because in our selfish nature we just want things back to the way they were. At the end of the day playing footy or just as a person it's scary to think of Liam other than that smile after kicking goals. Shall we band together and get behind him, in the hope that these charges are exonerated for the footballer and more importantly as you mentioned, the person. Well said Dee-Bortoli. The hardest thing is physical assault like this is an issue that hits home so hard. Sadly, there will be individuals, families amongst us who have been affected by such actions and it is unacceptable. We all want to be behind him 100% but from a personal perspective, I find it difficult to keep backing him up as it goes from involved to investigated to charged.

MFC player or normal citizen, brutally shanking a member of society in the face with a machete is far far beyond the line where I should begin to feel sorry for them in custody. I have no sympathy even if he is found guilty of carrying around the object in question praying he was not involved in the assaults because he assumed responsibility of leading his community, and the events of Wednesday night have undoubtedly left the community in worse shape now.

The 3 serious charges are i) To intend serious harm w/ weapon ii) Causing serious harm w/ weapon iii) Possession and usage of a prohibited and dangerous weapon.

Two 23 year old men have been charged with 3 offences. 2 of them relate to intentional and reckless cause of bodily harm or something like that and the 3rd charge is the possession of the weapon (being that of the machete). Even listening to SEN Tim Watsons tone talking about it is nothing short of sadness. I remain optimistic still but I'm losing it by the minute.

Charges laid. Where to from here?

Irrelevant as to guilty or not here is my say on the incident. Jurrah is guilty of putting himself in that position and it is here where my sympathy for footballers ends. I often feel they get the rough end off the stick in how much scrutiny they recieve however, Jurrah and Sylvia must be made accountable for their actions because they themselves made the choices to hang around the people(s) who are committing these mental lapses. The club itself has done a fantastic deed in allowing Liam to his time and space as requested; they were well within their rights to deny that action and all this says to me is a lack of respect by Liam to the MFC. I know he probably bleeds Red and Blue but a sane man cannot tell me you don't walk away when your mate pulls out a machete. The thought of him having one in his hand and potentially committing a crime is even more f***** and christ almighty I cross every muscle on my body its not the case.

Know this is completely off topic however I wanted it on the main board and furthermore it's something that was bought to my attention is really something everyone should view. It goes for 20 minutes but as a 21 year old male very rarely are you moved by videos but this was extraordinary. This was put on youtube today and has just over 250,000 views. http://vimeo.com/37119711 Please watch it and thank me later. Furthermore, please mods leave it a day than take it down. Cheers.

Jetta/Strauss train either look like playing this weekend? Cheers JCB

Yep yep you're right I was just under the impression that you could make infinite signings before Round 1 begun. All good though, it makes sense.

I've just had my first waiver cleared and it very clearly has stated I've used one of my trades for the year. JA is there anything we can do about this or no..