monoccular

Should that be >>>> ??

I guess several clubs may have been interested in trading for Watts, as many were for Choke. If the only reason it didn't happen is that "they ran out of time" then it would surely be a serious indictment on Norf that they couldn't get it done in 4 weeks! And what they offered wasn't enough. Question is: what would have been? Irrelevant [censored] IMO.

Maybe these folk would prefer a Neville Chamberlain type as Chairman or President to just appease Herr Dimitriou.

I know he ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he did have the opportunity to kill this off before it started, but he didn't.. His choice....FAIL Sure Anderson tried to big note himself by running with it, Vlad chose to swan off to the Olympics during his working hours, and Caro used it to fuel her bitter twisted family feud, but Brock has to take primary responsibility for not saying NO. Regardless of a raffle etc for draft picks, any club with any sense who has a player carrying an injury that may effect him the following year will rest him and/or send him off for treatment as soon as their finals prospects have ended. Pity that ND was either too stubborn or too stupid to make that call with Jeff White, struggling with his shins, especially at a time when we also had the Jolly / Jamar dilemma: what an opportunity to play them head to head. Maybe they would have discovered that they could use both, and find an alternative role for Jeff......who know....never tried, and White was never the same again either That is classic "list management" and "player management" and should continue.

Sad but so very very true. We gave him an enormous opportunity to progress his own, and his peoples' cause and raise the profile of those from these incredibly remote communities........and he blew it, not once but twice and more. He has set back the cause of his people many years: brand me a racist if you will, but clubs, with limited list space and "cultures" to develop, just cannot afford such risks. PS: What a bloody incredible excitement machine he was in the R&B. What a waste.

Most Kicks: Jones Most Handballs: McKenzie Most Disposals: Jones Most Tackles: McKenzie Most Marks: Howe Most Goals: Dawes

Good though not brilliant: always totally reliable and had a never say die attitude. One would say a great club man and on field leader - though maybe not captaincy material, but who will ever know. Sadly recurrent knee injuries killed his career.

Sure we were never going to win but we did better than 14 other teams* those years anyway. Still, it remains irrelevant to a tanking thread. *some pedant please correct me if there were fewer teams in 1988.

Not that any of this is really relevant to this tanking thread, but actually in 2000 our team did very well in three pressure finals, (do you forget the stirring fightback against the soon to be perfectionists of tanking?) only to crumble (as did by the way Northey's 1988 team) in the big ones against what were widely acknowledged as the hardest teams of their eras and by far the hottest GF favourites in memory.

Is it paranoia when the whole world really is conspiring against you?. It will be further evidence that we are actually tanking if he plays, or on the other hand if he doesn't, using the Inquisitor / Watts theory, it seems.

You sure must be gullible, or incredibly trusting if you would beleive one word coming out of AFL HQ after all the BS emanating from their ...... the last few months. :-)))

Careful - if we don't play him enough*, or maybe if we play him too much* it will be just more incontrovertible evidence of the deeply ingrained tanking culture of our club. * strike out whichever appeals to journos and / or AFL Inquisitors on any given day.

Well have they ever thought of asking us mugs in the stands if we would maybe prefer to have a bit of peace and quiet, after the club songs as the teams run out of course, to just have a chance to talk and banter with those around us, old friends, new friends and "sparring partners"? How boring do the powers that be think it is - it is not when one can converse; it is when one can't even hear oneself think. If / when it turns into NBL or NFL with blaring crap and cheerleaders I will head back to VFL or VAFL to again enjoy the wonderful game of footy. AFL - how about a plebicite?

In his book Jim as much as said he was torn, as most of us here would have been at the time, between winning meaningless matches and winning draft picks, given the system that the AFL had set up, but categorically denied ever deliberately trying to lose games.

Thunder of course does not necessarily herald rain: it can herald unwanted spot fires, which can get out of control and wreak widespread destruction.

I had to put your full quote here - it is one of the funniest posts I have seen. It also shows that any disrepute the game, or rather the AFL, is suffering at present is the work of these keystone cops - it is absolutely unbelievable if this is really what they have promulgated as "answerable evidence" of our Club's alleged misdeeds. Unbelievable.

The "Integrity Department" of the AFL are very obviously the ones who are tanking. Maybe as these two clowns were obviously such poor draft choices for the "Integrity Inquisition Department" they are hoping for higher picks next time around. Do they get priority picks. Seriously, if they want us to answer why Watts wasn't player more in his first season why not actually ask just about any impartial observer who has ever actually seen a footy game. The clowns seem not to have done so. Maybe they are tanking for a replacement for Misfit as well - clearly he was a far worse pick than 426 was for us. In fact, Misfit, Clothier and Haddad make our Bailey/ Cameron era drafting look actually first rate.

I guess there is skinny, and then there is skinny with class and something else in the head that all our rejected skinnies lacked. Sure hope HE is the one!

Nice reports and many thanks, especially Messrs Hur and Mellie. Good positive stuff. Bring it on

It is all of the AFL, in particularly the recently departed coffee boy, Brock McLean, and the clowns on OTC who exploited his limited intelligence who have brought the game into disrepute.

...unless you knew that it was exonerating. Sure, IF when McMahon's kick sailed through they said: "Bummer, there goes $cully 18 months early" or words to that effect they would sure as hell want to wipe them. IF on the other hand they cried and cursed at that time then play them loud and clear for all to hear.

Waterboarding

Perhaps, like the AFL Inquisitors are alleged to have done, the club paused the recording at critical moments.

Not only a lucky bounce for Brown to get the ball, but a very lucky break in the goal square to make it a goal. And how dare PJ, as a defender, play in front of his opponent and beat him to the ball. Shameful behaviour. I don't recall seeing, on their very selective clips, the reaction of our coaching panel in the box when Brown goaled - presumably they punched that air, cracked huge grins and back slapped!!! Clearly Bailey, Connolly and Schwab are capable of miracles: pity they didn't couldn't use their mystical powers to win us a few more games. :-(((

so about 13 percent of the pages of "the indictment" document - and probably (from what has been leaked) about as much substance! 740 to go to keep up with the interrogators.