Webber

Could try it, but the footy gods would know my heart wasn't in it.....

Maldon boy, as someone else who was conceived the year of our last premiership, I have occasional moments of horrible imagining that it was my entry into the world that cursed the club. Many thanks to you for allowing me now to share that burden ;-)

The reality is that all this emotional and time investment in a miserable losing team, where there is seldom any joy, only STRENGTHENS our resolve. Otherwise, what is all that investment for? It's brutally ironic that the worse things get as a Dees supporter, the less option there is to stop caring, as the sense of waste would be just too overwhelming. It's NOT an option. One day, Sisyphus adorned in his Red and Blue scarf will roll that boulder to the top of the hill, stand atop it, shout to the world "all good things come to the Dees who wait" then fall to his knees weeping with joy.

The AFL talks about equalisation, and in every respect as far as they are concerned it has to do with revenues and resources. This is the easy stuff for them to get right, they just need to dish it out where it's needed. IMO, the biggest point of inequality outside of this, and almost never talked about, is the gift of home ground advantage to select clubs. Geelong are the most disproportionately coddled club in the competition. They received a mountain of state and federal funding for the refurb of Kardinia Park, a ground which they get to play on in 50% of their games. A ground that has peculiarities of shape, and a crowd which probably has less opposition supporters there even than the West or SA teams. The influence on the psychology of the umpires and players is unquestioned. The other Melbourne clubs are by contrast playing in three circumstances ..... Neutrality ( against other Vics), gross disadvantage ( against interstate or Geelong away), mild to moderate advantage (interstate's at home). As a relative minnow when it comes to crowd attendances, we seldom play Geelong away from their home ground. For the past few decades, the MFC has had the poorest home ground advantage of all clubs, excepting arguably Richmond and North Melbourne, and it is only logical that this impacts on our win/loss ratio, as it does the other way for Geelong.

Jones slow??????Matt Jones not quick????? Odd!

You may be right about his influence around the club, and with the young ruckmen. He is a good tap ruckman, or at least provides a negating influence at the ruck. He is however effectively non existent in general play. The stats are unarguable in this respect, and as such is a huge liability, considering the influence of Gawn and Spencer in general play. The sums just don't add up when considering keeping Jamar as a player. His worth is negligible.

Could Fitz become the tallest wingman ever seen. He's got all the attributes.

Totally agree. His quality for his age at that ridiculous height, is very rare. He is going to be an enormous part of MFC going forward ( injuries and jumping ship not withstanding!)

Pretty sure he's in the top 5 in the AFL for inside 50's this year. A good midfield to bounce off(at MFC or otherwise), and the consistency of effort and work rate we've seen from him this year would make him very damaging. Seems his head might finally be right, and the past is just that. Based on this year, it's very hard to argue we shouldn't try to keep him.

Nonsense

If he's tackled before the ball comes back to him, then it's a free kick for holding the ball.

Interesting, if strangely aggressive response GNF. I think your definition of socialism might be a little far to the communist end of the spectrum, and basically lack veracity. The AFL does not tolerate or reward ineptitude, laziness or criminality, but it is indeed a buffer to disproportionate advantage. Thank goodness for THAT application of socialism.

You say you hate socialism GNF, but it is required for the health of our sport. Is this because it works specifically to address the ills that exist when you create "haves" and "have nots"?. If this were reflected in society, which aspect of socialism as a principle do you 'hate'?

Agreed, speed isn't everything. I reckon Sam Mitchell is the best ball user in th AFL, and he's definitely slow across the ground.

Just on the Egan comparison, there really isn't one. He fractured the navicular bone in his foot, essentially the cornerstone of the arch. This is not rare, but is a risky fracture IF the bone develops "avascular necrosis", which is death through loss of blood supply. This ends careers because there is no structural integrity to the arch for heavier weightbearing. It turns to mush. It's cruel and somewhat random. MC's injury bore no effect on the navicular, so there is NO risk to him as it relates to Egan's. There are good diaggramatic pics re: Lisfranc via normal online search.

Am a physiotherapist, and have seen lots of Lisfranc injuries over many years, to footballers largely. The treatment is just graduated progression, with anti-inflammatory support. Not corticosteroids though......there lies a slippery slope. MC is back running, and for all the right reasons, his fitness for next season is much more important than this.

This. They will be monitoring the irritation he gets with increasing weight bearing, and given that this season is effectively about next year, erring heavily on the side of caution. The last thing they want is a chronic irritation. In respect to the stability of the Lisfranc repair, that's not in question. It's about not getting into an ongoing synovitis, which is an inflammatory irritation of the joint and surrounding capsule.

Agree this. And has elite skills....a natural footballer.

Gawn did more in the first quarter than Jamar has done for a whole game all year. He understandably was knackered in last quarter, where Minson took over, and there was nothing as you say that Nathan Jones could have done. But PLEASE no more Jamar. He is simply a liability around the ground.

Flanners is not only the best football writer in Australia, but one of our best writers on any subject. He combines the knowledge of a historian, the passion of a fan, the romance of a poet, and the intellectual consideration of a true pragmatist. All at once. His brother's not half bad either.

He's all class, and the players will love him for it. There's a reason he is so respected in the AFL, and we saw it in his press conference. Would love to think he'll be at the MFC next year in some capacity, but not sure how....

He's a gun, and great to watch. He along with Jonesy, sets the standard for on field performance from the rest of the playing group. The absolute consistency of his efforts makes him very easy to admire.

Thanks for linking to your piece WJ. The connection of Tom Wills with Marngrook is an interesting one, and seems to make some commentators oddly adversarial. The best evidence I've heard is through interviews with the Wills family. As much as he was was ostracised by his family later in his life, there was no contention from them as to whether he played Marngrook with the local Indigenes around Moyston or not. He did, which makes the comments of those who suggest there's no evidence of an influence on the original inception somewhat ignorant. The fact that he knew and experienced the game brings it to bear on his part in the rule making.

Excellent find indeed 7-UP! Tommy Wills is about to be re-discovered as having the cultural status he deserves, not just in respect to footy, but as regards his relationship with indigenous Australians. Martin Flanagan generously opened a painting exhibition I had earlier this year, with a series of Tom Wills related pieces, and spoke exclusively on Tommy and his historical impact. He also currently has a screenplay on the Tom Wills story being worked up by a film production company, and has written a terrific lyrical biography on him : 'The Call'. Martin also gave the John Button oration at Geelong footy club in 2011 on Tommy, and it's a great essay taster on him. You can find it online. Greg De Moore, a Sydney psychiatrist, wrote a biography : 'Tom Wills, his spectacular rise and tragic fall' about 5 years ago. Also a bloody good read. So I reckon the Tom Wills story is about to have a rebirth, and not before time. He is a fascinating and enigmatic character, and embodies so much of how Australia sees itself. As mentioned, I've done a series of TW pieces (of which my profile pic is one), and as an act of shameful self promotion, they can be viewed them on www.richardwebber.com.au or on Facebook as 'Richard Webber Artworks'. There's a triptych reconstruction of the Shaun Smith mark of the century on there as well, for a bit of nostalgic worth!

Nice post FerDaDee, and it shows a couple of things. Firstly that adversity can breed stronger bonds and a desire for solidarity. Secondly, that consistent success doesn't translate as directly to supporter numbers growth as may seem. Sure, it helps a lot, and makes selling the club to potential supporters easier, but St. Kilda are exceptional to this 'truth'. They have been worse for longer, and without the ultimate success than any other AFL club, but their support is vocal, large, and has a distinctive personality of its own.