Webber

Great idea. Central, easy and attractive to visit. Huge exposure to a youth market, and a potentially valuable link to research/science educational facilities. The main benefit is exposure like no other club would have.

The voice of reason. Careful with that......

Good post inanunda, and highlights the biggest problem facing the future of the AFL. As a contact sport, tackling is central to the game. The rules surrounding possession/tackling/dispossession have no consistency of interpretation. NIL! It is literally a toss of the coin for each tackle as to whether play on or holding the ball will be granted. What other game allows a 50/50 result that is impossible to guess, for its key defensive act? The following situations, which we see a plethora of times every game is just killing our spectacle : 1. a player takes possession and is IMMEDIATELY tackled, by two players, who force him to ground. He had no opportunity to dispose before the tackle, and none after.....the decision.... Holding the ball. 2. A player takes possession, takes a number of steps, looking for disposal options, gets tackled and loses the ball in a manner other than kicking or handballing...... the decision..... play on. By all applications of logic, this disparity is irreconcilable. And yet, it's never been more prevalent.

Agree with all, excepting that the problem with 'forget about the umpires' as a philosophy is that it excuses the rubbish adjudicating that is blighting the AFL. It's not about us, or excusing our performance, it's about the quality of our national game. Mick Malthouse has recently said the game is becoming harder to watch because of the rolling maul trend, and he's right, but the MOST unwatchable thing about the game is the decision making raffle being served up by the part-time professionals in charge out there. Yes it's a tough job, yes they have to deal with changes of interpretation that seem to flip around weekly, yes they have to deal with coaches/players who push the limits (tagging), but the utter lottery of what we get served up game to game (Dees or not) is offensive to every other part of our game.

This is the rule, and it has been pretty consistently applied since it came in. Yesterday's was an almighty howler, and ended up having an effect on the result of the game. It's that simple. The AFL know it, the clubs, the media and the public know it. Carlton lost a game against Geelong recently due to umpiring, and the discussion was short lived and glib. The football world needs to bring the state of umpiring to the forefront of discussions. From the holding the ball interpretation, to head high/ducking confusion, to DRS, it is a woeful mess, and sullies our game.

I've said it before, but umpiring has become the stand alone ugliest aspect of our game. It destroys enjoyment, and it too often influences the result of games (Carlton v Geelong?, today? ). It's become the aspect of the game that nobody talks too loudly about from the clubs, as they fear punishment. It is simply an embarrassment to the otherwise great spectacle and professionalism of our game. Somebody with REAL influence needs to make it THE issue of the future of our game, because it's a blight.

So you have a 3 week memory capacity then?

I had a couple of portraits I'd painted of Tom Wills kindly put up on the 'footy almanac' website by John Harms a couple of years ago. Martin saw them and got in touch with me, pointing me toward his John Button oration of 2011, a great essay about Tom Wills and his meaning to Australian culture. I had read his novel 'The Call', about T.W. as well, a must read for anybody interested in the genesis of our game. When it came to exhibition time, (and with a number of other footy inspired paintings on show), I asked him if he'd like to open my exhibition. He very generously agreed, giving those there a frankly riveting account of Tom Wills and his significance to Australia, his relationship to indigenous sporting culture and it's inclusion. He is as he writes. His passion for and knowledge of Australian football from a cultural and historical perspective is I think singular, and as we all know, when the media is full of the irrelevant dross that distracts us from the pure thrill of our game, there's always Martin Flanagan to remind us how good our game and it's people can be. Long may he continue.

Great reading, and a big part of what footy should be about.

Most peculiar, mama!

You might want to look at that deliberate OOB again, he tapped it over with his hand, nowhere near his knee. There were a whole bunch of shocking decisions elsewhere though, including 2 in the 2nd quarter that lead directly to Bummer goals.

6. N. Jones .... A grade all over the place 5. L. Dunn ..... Monumental presence down back 4. D.Cross ..... Huge worker, calm, dogged and utterly reliable 3. J. Viney ..... Growing game by game 2. J. Grimes ..... Underrated. Again. 1. D. Tyson ...... Persistence = last quarter reward.

I've also heard Collingwood do it, but no other club. It's mundane when the kick comes from a dodgy free kick, but in my experience exclusive to the pies and bombers when it's a potential game sealer from a mark. Just ugly supporting.

The boo-ing while Salem was taking his kick absolutely encapsulates the Essendon supporter culture. I would be ashamed if my club's supporters did that....beyond ordinary.

You may be blessing the average AFL footballer with more attributes than they possess, deanox. And don't forget that trust and teamwork are the catch cry of all clubs, and I have no doubt they were predisposed to trust much more than to question.

They would, and they shouldn't be able to, as you say, but moreover it should be incumbent upon the club to specifically educate them in the dangers of ANY substances, injectable or otherwise, and regardless of who administers or provides them, from within or without the club. In this case, the players will be penalised for the appalling failings of the club, and for their own failings of ignorance, naivety and trust. There is an element of scapegoating here, and I do feel sorry for the players, but the end result will be more vigilance and better governance across the AFL, and that's a good thing.

And when he takes 80% of his marks rather than 30%, on account of experience and better service, all of a sudden 'too top heavy' becomes a height advantage. If only the team could be selected with hindsight.

Once again Matt Jones gets a whipping from some on here.....yawn......I just read Roos comment on the best teams having players who can and will run hard both ways all game. The two Jones' and Dan Cross immediately was who I thought he was talking about. Next tier Vince, Tyson, Viney (last 2 still getting the tank). I would put my house on Matt Jones being in the first handful of players Paul Roos selects every week. I would also put my house on those on here continuing NOT to get it.

Yep. Third game this year, 19 possessions, 7 marks. Doesn't make every post a winner yet, but is most certainly holding his own based on Monday. Classic knee jerk Demonland whipping boy seems to be Maxy's lot at the moment. Roos has all but said Salem will get a rest, possibly JKH as well. Kent will get the gig against the Bummers, and McKenzie or Riley based on whether two get dropped, and stated form at Casey.

The 'harm minimisation' you speak of held them to 8 goals. It's a defensive basis to a developing game plan. The same one that Sydney and Fremantle use, but with years more familiarity, and a few more stars. Swan has been down on form recently, and Dan Cross played him tight and hard. Cloke was beaten by McDonald, and got some brilliant service in the second half from their midfielders. To say we were meek is to disrespect the defensive effort that they couldn't match with confidence, speed and polish going inside 50. Remember last year? Which version do you prefer? I know which one I do.

They speak for themselves. He was one of our best today, but lacking a clear way inside 50 as was the case for all of our midfielders.

Agreed A o B. Matt Jones and Ro Bail are our only genuine speedsters, which is why Jayden Hunt was drafted I suspect. We do need more, and maybe off halfback. Colin Garland can involve himself in attacking run much more than he is, but I reckon is still getting the Roos style under his belt. Jeremy Howe, if he stays back, will also learn to use his run more and more. Still, drafting for run is a priority I'm sure. Billy Stretch?

It's therefore an obvious policy by the umpires to intervene less. The problem however is that we earned a good number more free kicks than 5 out there today. Some of the holding on Dawes and Gawn at marking contests was ridiculously obvious. And Macaffer's holding on Nat Jones would have doubled the count on its own. Once again, the biggest problem facing the watchability of our game is not flooding or stoppages, it is umpiring. I just wonder when the AFL are going to admit to the utter unpredictability of interpretation that we deal with every week. At least to themselves.

Matt jones 23 disposals. What game did you watch joeboy?

Interesting stat : we were the equal second lowest free kick recipients in AFL history today. Seem right?