DEE fence

This resonates deeply with me, no need for music thank you, it is the thing i hated when i went to the basketball and even ice hockey does it. I also love my music, 20 second grabs from songs does not help them either. I reckon it would be good to push the grass roots thing more we need to differentiate more than ever, i mean whats next cheers leaders??? (am a bit torn on that though)

I am very glad the club has retained counsel, i just hope they use it wisely and that all players, staff and administration understand that the hymns that will be sung are those chosen by Mr. Finkelstein. If the club needs to go to the well on this then they should, I'm ready.

Not sure which thread to put this in, seems like a few more could be merged As a former Policeman (not a gun investigator but qualified enough to say calm the procreation down), I have been quite amazed at some of the things written in the news and on the forum, so wanted to add my two cents. 1 first of all it is a civil, not criminal matter so the rules for a finding of fact are based on 'balance of probabilities' not 'beyond a reasonable doubt') findings are based on evidence, heresay unless certain exemptions are made, cannot be allowed into evidence. 99% of everything I have read has not been direct evidence but would be dismissed after consideration by a judge. Mr. Haddad is mentioned as a UN investigator this means nothing but it does sound good. If he had been with the armed robbers squad or the hommies then I would take him a little more seriously, but he was not appointed via any balanced recruitment process, nothing personal but he is just a good soldier not Dirty Harry. Any reasonable silk will take large chunks out of a statement by a peanut like Brock, you can make statements too good and they look cooked when you read them. 2 a witness can only provide evidence of what he or she saw, so former sponsors ... Meh means nothing except 2" of news print. 3 there are literally dozens of witnesses, does anyone have any idea how long this would take to hear and depose, think Milperra Bikie Massacre, that took two years this would be longer, no one is going to be up for that not the AFL not the club (actually I'm wrong the lawyers would love it). My point being that if the AFL hits us with punitive sanctions we should make very clear to our board that we want them to challenge them in court, I really deeply believe a compromise will be worked out that doesn't gut the club. 4 there was no direct profit or financial misconduct, while draft picks are gold, their tangible value is very hard to debate, they cannot be redeemed for cash and which individual profited? there is no criminal conspiracy to defraud (a criminal charge) unless you had the board as a group put there hand up and confess, which considering their personal financial positions, they would not jeopardize, and even then proving the 'for benefit' bit would probably set a legal precedent. My point is in other areas that the AFL has come down hard on there has been a clear financial trail, whether gambling or salary cap rorts. In this case it's 60 different muppets all with a slightly different tale to tell, can anyone really prove what Bailey did as a result of a conversation with Connolly or Schwab? 5 football clubs have always sat slightly outside the law, this has caused me much consternation because I am a great believer in the rule of law, which directly conflicts with my love of the club. I think the AFL gets this and that is why they have generally been keen to stay away from the courts. AFL is part of Australian culture that is why it has been cut some slack in the past and will continue to do so-Societies being protective of their culture (I could tell you about some really obnoxious cultures I see here in Africa). For all the [censored] we hang on the AFL it's been pretty good at moving forward, thuggery, violence towards women, alcohol, and race are all issues that they have been moving forward on over a period of time to make sure the good aspects of our football culture remain, I don't think they will tear all that down which is what would happen if they really tried to kill us over tanking. The good aspect of football culture that stands out for me is getting a group of young men to play together for a common purpose and with each other, it breeds good people and allows an outlet for all the crap that goes with being young and male, short of sending them to the army or on a cattle drive. But it is a fine thing to balance collective responsibility (the club ) versus individual actions ( the player ), and sometimes this loyalty means that societies rules get bent in a football club, for the greater good I'm happy with that because they (the afl) have been getting rid of the excesses mentioned previously. 6 The AFL got the priority pick thing wrong, the lesser evil for them will be to amend the rules and incentivize winning games over draft picks via a lottery. This is typed on a dinky widget so please excuse typos/ grammar/spelling mistakes.

As a former Policeman (not a gun investigator but qualified enough to say calm the procreation down), I have been quite amazed at some of the things written in the news and on the forum, so wanted to add my two cents. 1 first of all it is a civil, not criminal matter so the rules for a finding of fact are based on 'balance of probabilities' not 'beyond a reasonable doubt') findings are based on evidence, heresay unless certain exemptions are made, cannot be allowed into evidence. 99% of everything I have read has not been direct evidence but would be dismissed after consideration by a judge. Mr. Haddad is mentioned as a UN investigator this means nothing but it does sound good. If he had been with the armed robbers squad or the hommies then I would take him a little more seriously, but he was not appointed via any balanced recruitment process, nothing personal but he is just a good soldier not Dirty Harry. Any reasonable silk will take large chunks out of a statement by a peanut like Brock, you can make statements too good and they look cooked when you read them. 2 a witness can only provide evidence of what he or she saw, so former sponsors ... Meh means nothing except 2" of news print. 3 there are literally dozens of witnesses, does anyone have any idea how long this would take to hear and depose, think Milperra Bikie Massacre, that took two years this would be longer, no one is going to be up for that not the AFL not the club (actually I'm wrong the lawyers would love it). My point being that if the AFL hits us with punitive sanctions we should make very clear to our board that we want them to challenge them in court, I really deeply believe a compromise will be worked out that doesn't gut the club. 4 there was no direct profit or financial misconduct, while draft picks are gold, their tangible value is very hard to debate, they cannot be redeemed for cash and which individual profited? there is no criminal conspiracy to defraud (a criminal charge) unless you had the board as a group put there hand up and confess, which considering their personal financial positions, they would not jeopardize, and even then proving the 'for benefit' bit would probably set a legal precedent. My point is in other areas that the AFL has come down hard on there has been a clear financial trail, whether gambling or salary cap rorts. In this case it's 60 different muppets all with a slightly different tale to tell, can anyone really prove what Bailey did as a result of a conversation with Connolly or Schwab? 5 football clubs have always sat slightly outside the law, this has caused me much consternation because I am a great believer in the rule of law, which directly conflicts with my love of the club. I think the AFL gets this and that is why they have generally been keen to stay away from the courts. AFL is part of Australian culture that is why it has been cut some slack in the past and will continue to do so-Societies being protective of their culture (I could tell you about some really obnoxious cultures I see here in Africa). For all the [censored] we hang on the AFL it's been pretty good at moving forward, thuggery, violence towards women, alcohol, and race are all issues that they have been moving forward on over a period of time to make sure the good aspects of our football culture remain, I don't think they will tear all that down which is what would happen if they really tried to kill us over tanking. The good aspect of football culture that stands out for me is getting a group of young men to play together for a common purpose and with each other, it breeds good people and allows an outlet for all the crap that goes with being young and male, short of sending them to the army or on a cattle drive. But it is a fine thing to balance collective responsibility (the club ) versus individual actions ( the player ), and sometimes this loyalty means that societies rules get bent in a football club, for the greater good I'm happy with that because they (the afl) have been getting rid of the excesses mentioned previously. 6 The AFL got the priority pick thing wrong, the lesser evil for them will be to amend the rules and incentivize winning games over draft picks via a lottery. This is typed on a dinky widget so please excuse typos/ grammar/spelling mistakes.

Also, we might have to throw a few administrators on the fire, that is our punishment. brer rabit comes to mind.

am sure its been said elsewhere but the last six teams need a lottery for picks and the AFL admits tanking is impossible to police as coaches must always have the right to experiment with their teams which means they might get it wrong. betting on anything with a cortex is pretty stupid, yet the AFL is wedded to income from gambling like much of the state. do you think any punters will sue btw?

Can't bench press 50 kg? Surely an exaggeration ??? That is a nothing weight I'm pretty sure as rubbish as our list is they could all do more than that...

I reckon he deserves a bonus he's one of the few things about the season that would make kids fans of the club.

I want to see a game plan and a contest, not super fussed about the number of wins, but I do want to see a spirit to the way the team plays, that suggests they are putting everything in, and not thinking about their social engagements. I also don't want to see us pumped by more than 10 goals by the top sides. Personally the things that matter to me is seeing people trying to smother the ball, not sitting back on their heels but making the tackle, and laying a shepherd for a teammate rather than letting them get nailed, these little things will be the signs of a team spirit that would make me think we are moving forward. The wins will look after themselves because its the tough little things that are the (pinching from Any Given Sunday) inches we need between massive failure and sweet success. Evidence that they are playing for each other will be the sign that we are on the right path, not a win because we are someone else's speed bump. There is no fairy dust, 2013 is going to be some bloody hard work, its not like the other sides are sitting around singing kumbaya. edit for grammar and clarity

it is premature to get rid of one of the few big bodies we have in Jamar, even after Neitz lost a step no opposition ever took the gorilla lightly, why on earth would we get rid of one of our heavy cannons

I forgot about Goddard, and Richo was RFC's Schwarz but with a happier ending.

Some good comments here, Healy hurt, Stinga was indeed a tragic loss post injury, cannot believe Jurrah is gone I keep hoping I will wake up. Junior and Woey leaving damaged the club.

Having just had an arthroscopic procedure, that thankfully worked, I was wondering about Max Gawn and of course to this day I still dream about what might have been with Schwarz. Big footy had a thread about Gawn but that was more about whether to delist him (which would be moronic IMO, hasn't finished his chance yet). So anyway my question is (and I did search so if its on DL and I missed it I'm sorry) - Who has made the best comeback from a ACL\PCL reconstruction? Paul Salmon to me is the stand-out for recovery and post construction FB career, Mr. Goodes also seems not to be a slouch in recovery, Any other thoughts? Prevailing stats say that 90% of ops are successful and the recurrence rate hovers around 10% so all in all doesn't seem to be a huge risk hanging onto Gawn, and that Schwarz was bloody unlucky.

While I thank the MFC FD for giving me hope, it is all air till the QB match.

Sean White (proof that you could poke God in the eye), Walsh and Wheelan as equal seconds, Lovett also pretty bloody good.

I'll bite, where is the fluff? Point of the article is there, that the club continues to look everywhere for good footballers including indigenous ones. And that its not easy swapping cultures, and bluey i know you'd struggle outside your goldfish bowl. When did jurrah ever claim to be anything? He looked like he liked playing for the club as far as his body language went. BTW I reckon we got the best out of Farmer and Charles, the star that burns twice as bright burns half as long, 10 years out of a footballer is the exception and not the rule, so would I like all my stars to have longevity, of course, is it going to happen, that's fluff... On a brighter note, I really enjoyed the original post, thanks for the effort keep it up.

To be clear, I have no knowledge of Mr. Barry Prendergast and how good or bad he is, just that there has been more than a few disparaging comments here about him, which was why I posted the forward looking thread. Thanks also for bringing up Jim Cardwell, he stands out in history, how do you say no to 'Do you want to come and play on the MCG, son?'. I also fully agree that good recruiting is a trifecta of the coach, the FD and the recruiter seeing eye to eye about who, what and how obviously the more functional the back office the better the front office is going to look. The more I looked into Wells the more I could see that he really does have an extraordinary level of empathy to understand how a kid will turn out, but it was also pretty clear from 6 different articles on the Geelong board that it has been an integrated FD that made his selections work. and thanks RPFC, didn't have a clue that Taylor was coming on board-my fingers are firmly crossed. I do my own recruiting, i.e. employing officers to work for me managing the security of UN staff in some terrible places (and looking after UN staff is like herding cats) and I find that the typical ex afghanistan/iraq SF type is usually pretty crap at doing the communicating/encouraging (soft skills) as against the hard skills that most of these very sorted blokes(and some women) have. Its why I posted, its a bloody hard job, lots of investment in time that you don't see for ages and if it goes pear shaped you eat the consequences for a long time.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/12/22/133121_gfc.html Seems a top contender from the articles on him, sadly no insight into how he does it, or the relationship between coach and recruiting

Mr P is obviously on the nose with many here, and it is a sore subject with many as the likes of Cook et. al. appear destined for the bush, so I want to know, being far away from TAC <18 comps and the like, who has the most respect when it comes to choosing the cattle? I always thought MFC suffered a bit back in the day because we didn't have a zone that had Assumption college or the like in it, but now days how is it done? I would really enjoy some knowledgeable insights into how the clubs that have recruited well have done it? Is there a 'football whisperer' I personally would pay extra to the club if they said we want bloke 'X' he has the soft skills to identify great kids and we need to pay him X. Cheers

Jeff White was worth every dollar we ever paid him, granted the rule change at the bounce killed him, but he was always worth while, problems did not start or finish with him. Yze on the other hand ...

Rivers is still essential to our list, our back six were not terrible this year and I feel he is the link, if he goes good luck to him he's been ace, but I think he's been our 'fletcher' (not as much of a mongrel mind you, and not as good a spoiler) but on the whole really does those little things you need from a smart defender that other don't have.

Never have I agreed with so many posters in one article, we are all feeling the love hey?

It says something how many people have come out of the wood work to post about the JV recruitment, the club has obviously ticked a big box with it's supporters. I pay my membership every year thick or thin, in the knowledge I might only see one game every second year, but I have to admit, it will give me more pleasure paying for the family for 2013.

Awesome news re JV, and what made it sweet were the tweets as mentioned by others, leave spud Dawes at Collingwood, I don't want Collingwood discards and as if they would let the cream go. But back on topic, the next season for me will give the MFC a chance to draw a line under the 'tanking' years and become a fair dinkum club again.

They should fit poles to the base of the thing and make the players do laps of the G carrying it together. ...and to lift the curse they should get the administration to do the same thing...