Slartibartfast

Fantastic article. I like: "It is sheer reckless stupidity when talkback radio is over-run with the conclusions that Adam Selwood is a pedophile or Des Headland a lunatic. It's worse in the popular footy chat rooms. The abuse in these forums beggars belief both of the participants and the correspondents. You'd be forgiven for concluding Aussie rules inflicts nothing but desolation, division and bitterness. They can be miserable websites, written by miserable people, for miserable people to read. It reflects perfectly the depths we have reached." It's interesting to see the content of posters when things get tough, and those that post less rather than more.

It's where we differ. He's hurt his club. He's hurt the ALF. He's hurt Headlands daughter. He's been significantly hurt himself. And he's hurt Des Headland. If I do something that hurts someone else, even if the consequences are unintended, I'm responsible. Hell Bob, do you need a law to tell you what's right and wrong?

SBob you're right in that the AFL have made a rod for their own back with their treatment of past issues. Sadly they have left discipline to the clubs for general player misbehaviour and therefore there has been no consistency. The clubs now recognise this and want the AFL to take responsibility for general discipline. The reality is that if Headland hadn't overreacted to the Selwood sledge the game isn't brought into disrepute. But Selwood sledged with the intension of getting a response from Headland. He's therefore responsible IMO even though he did not intend to get that response. But you're right. The ever astute ABob is playing the devil's advocate to some degree and putting a good case. Of course these issues are not black and white and of course it depends where you're coming from. I want this game to thrive and I want to be proud of it. Selwood made a mistake IMO. It would be an even bigger mistake to do nothing about it.

Bob bringing the game into disrepute is against an AFL law. I hope the AFL deal with Selwood appropriately. Great post RR.

One thing everyone can do is support the club when it's in trouble rather than venting their spleen. Then there are a range of options like going to the game and SUPPORTING. Going to training and supporting the guys. Posting some encouragement, some players do read these sites. Heaven help you but you could do volunteer work. You could think of fund raising ideas. You could ring up SEN and offer public support. You could write to the footy department offering encouragement and support and if your financial situation was such you could contribute. You could even put your ball on the line and stand for the Board. There are lots of things if you want to. Ah, I hear you say. I don't have the time or the money and I wouldn't give it to them given their performance anyway. More fool you and as they say "you reap what you sow". Good on you GL. BTW, thanks for the question Bub.

Yes, fair enough Sylvinator. So what are you doing about it?

TJ is ok and seems set to play this weekend as reported in the Age.

Yes you're right, it would be very courageous Prime Minister. Actually it would be unjustifiable IMO. It reeks of desperation and he hasn't earned it. Many were calling for Smith last year but he didn't get a game until the very end. People then realised why. Newton has not been as good as Smith. He's more brilliant, he's a much better prospect, but he's nowhere near AFL footy. This competition is tough. Playing someone who is so clearly not ready just gives the opposition an advantage. The reality is that unless our key players start playing well it doesn't matter what we do with no's 16 to 22 on the list. Losing Brock for 6 weeks is massive, lets not compound it by taking a huge punt on a player who hasn't proven himself at VFL level yet. Romantic, courageous but wrong.

It's all opinion DD. Every team in the bottom half have an argument to finishing middle of the table. Thornton. Waite, Whitnall and Fevola represent a fair spine. Murphy, Stevens, Simpson, Scotland, Carrazzo good runners. Fisher can be dangerous forward and they have some good youth in Gibbs, Walker, Kennedy and Russell. Do I agree with 8th. No. Can I see it happening? Yes. Predictions are just that. Geelong out of the eight last year? Ha! Collingwood 5th last year Hahahahaha. Clint Bartram to play 22 games. You're kidding. Personally I think his prediction for Hawthorn is stranger, but he could be right.

Why?

Warnock played the last half at FF replacing Col after he went off.

Agree SS. It's not about talent, it's all about fitness.

Well done DD. Being able to spot OP from the sidelines is a pretty good effort. Which side do you think he was favouring? Did you notice a problem with his kicking, that's one of the places to look for it. Look, sorry to be sarcastic but really, unless your a health professional or an insider at the club how could you tell. The players train outdoors about 3 times a week in practice drills and yet BB has them in once a week for OP testing. If he can't tell when if someone has OP in training how could we know? Sylvia was fine today. Rusty but fine. The reports of his late start to the season seem to be wrong. He'll be back week 3 or 4 I'd say. On Bartram. His game seems to have be damned with faint praise, particularly compared to last week. I didn't see last week but he was good today, getting possessions at will and using the ball pretty well. He did get caught a couple of times but I doubt he'd try the things he did today at AFL level. Really promising game with the big difference from last year his possession count. Barty may well develop into a high possession midfielder later in his career. Warnock struggled to get the ball. That's a worry for an AFL player in todays company. Oh, and YM, get excited if that is what you want to do!

Why do people have Bruce in the gun so much? Bruce is one of the most skillful players in the league. He is clearly one of our best. Last year in 24 games he never had less than 14 possessions other than when he did a tagging role on Peter Bell in the Freo final. Nine times he had more than 25 disposals. From where I sit in the stands he doesn't look to be a leader, that I agree with. But "long acts of disappearance"? Give me a break!! Perhaps it's time to adjust your expectations Jaded!!

It's one man's opinion. Put up your own list and see some of the comments that role in. And it's a great talking point. If Melbourne win the flag this year we'll have 4 players in the top 25. IMO Travis's year last year was very underrated. He averaged over 20 possessions a game and as we know, he uses them. Davey is overrated IMO. Little output, flashy contributions and far to much weight given to his "near run downs".

Relate body shape to the way the game is played Pringle and you'll find it much easier. Bobby I hear all this news. But in four practice games I can't really remember us coming home strongly once. Hope you're right.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who saw the incident as to what happened. Was it behind the play, was he lined up in the play, was it a punch or elbow? Is there any way he could have been said to be going for the ball? If it's a genuine king hit out of play I have a view that any suspension should start from the time Dunn is able to play again. Why should the offender get a lesser penalty than the victim? If Nixon gets 6 weeks it should start when Dunn is available for selection.

What is much more important than any of his stats is what's going on inside his head. From the outside we've got little chance of knowing this.

It sound like Dunn was involved in a very nasty incident. Rivers is a worry. But the other interesting news is Sylvia is not mentioned at all other than he no longer appears in the "injured list" printed in the Age. The Melbourne website still has him 1 week but I think that is a week old. If this is correct he may play a half against Willy on Sunday. Disappointing for Frawley to miss 6 as I was looking forward to his development. But I have a feeling there will be plenty of time in the future to watch this kid play.

Agree RR. Archer is tough. So was Voss. Neither snipe. Guerra is a thug. Spot the difference. I want tough players not snipers. I think we have that.

Franky we've been down this road before. At this point in time I reckon Danners agrees with me (or the other way round ). Let's hope we are right as then everyone will be happy. BTW, where do you stand on Yze?

Perhaps so, but does one afternoon against a VFL club make up for his past? If he finally tries I'll be pleased but I'll also be cross. Why hasn't he done that for the last few years whilst he's been collecting his (not insubstantial) paycheck? IMO it takes more than one game to demonstrate a genuine change of attitude.

Bell? You've got to be kidding. Bell has his shortcomings but one of them is not his kicking. Bell started on Chapman in the first and kept him kickless and when Chapman was moved into the midfield he played on Djerrkura and Varcoe. He kept them goalless. His game was in tight where he got the ball in contested situations and handballed to the likes of Ward. Belly would have had about 15 possessions of which only 4 or 5 were kicks. And I don't recall a turnover. You can't compare Bells game to Ward and Brown. The latter two play as unaccountable running HBF whereas Bell is always given the oppositions best small forward and asked to shut him down. Bells opponents this preseason have included Williams (Hawks), Brown (Richmond), Chapman (Geelong), Burton and McLeod (Adelaide). Guess who Daniher thinks is our best medium back?

Here's my view: Buckley: I like the look of Simon. Got a bit of the ball and looks comfortable on the field. He won't play round one and he didn't really impact the game, but as a second year player he's shown a great deal of improvement which is very encouraging. Jones: I was slow to warm to Jones but now I'm converted. He was fantastic today doing a lot of heavy in and under stuff and lots of running. Another in his second season and we have a winner in this kid. Easily one of our best IMO. Bizzell: The Biz really started well in the first quarter but faded a bit as the game went on. I think he will play round one subject to a suitable matchup. Holland: Benny was good on Ottens in the first half but got towelled by Mooney in the third. Didn't see much of him in the last but appeared to give away an obvious free in the goal square. I think Benny will push to make the team round 1 on that form. Brock: Very out of it early but got a little bit of it later. Needed the run and I reckon he'll get another for Sandy next week. Bate: Good first half? I didn't see it. I thought as the game went on he got into it but it wasn't the game I was hoping for. Bater's just going at the moment and wouldn't be a certain starter for round 1. Miller: Thank heavens. I've stood behind this guy and will continue to do so. His form today was very good. Ran hard, held his marks, was clean and strong. He got plenty of it and I think now he is over his OP his kicking has improved with some really good long kicks to position, particularly to Robbo in the second. The Dunn v Miller debate has been decided, at least for now. Neita: not one of his better games but didn't get many opportunities. Ward: Did what Ward does. He played a good Ward game. Petterd: Is courageous and when he gets the ball is composed, but really found it hard to get into the game today. I really like him but he won't play seniors soon. TJ: BOG for mine for us. He just got it all the time. Flattened Chapman with a completely fairly hip and shoulder. CJ: Continued on his good form. Played loose in the backline in the third quarter. Copped a terrible knock in the second that might put a father son pickup in doubt but fought back well. Garland: Struggled to get into the game and really can't draw any conclusion from this game. Belly: VG early and his opponents on the day failed to trouble the scorer. Tackled really hard and at one stage in the last seemed to move up the field. He's getting more composed on the ground. Solid game. Moloney: Another big plus for the day. Very solid and strong in the packs and ran hard. Put him in for round 1 and welcome back Brent. Robbo: Lots of opportunities and was wasteful, but to be honest I was just glad to see him get the opportunities. A promising game from Robbo. Brown: A doggy game. Full of run and courage and sprinkled with disposal errors. Rivers: I didn't realise how good a job he did until he wasn't there. Played on Mooney in the first half and both were pretty much unsighted. When he didn't play the second half Mooney ripped us to pieces. White: Quiet game and seemed to get a bit frustrated at times. Ferg: Was solid until he was put onto Mooney who gave him a footy lesson. Played on Nathan Ablett a bit early and did well. Davey: Our biggest worry and on form would not play R1 IMO. Terrible today. In a game where the ball was running free on the ground a fair bit he was nowhere to be seen. Jamar: Liked his game. Competitive in the ruck and took a couple of good marks around the ground. A better Russian game. Whelan: Solid but not spectatular. The game was played in very windy conditions which meant the skills were shabby with lots of kicks missing there marks. We played run and carry but we didn't get it into the forward line with any confidence. We had a bit of class out, but all our forwards were there other than Pickett and we struggled to score. Whilst it's not slash wrists time we are not in top form either. Having said that there were plenty of rotations and we didn't try and win. In the last with the game in the balance (if a practice match is ever "in the balance") we had Brock, White, TJ, CJ and Moloney on the bench. Take from that what you may. All in all an enjoyable day and some really nice positives with Miller and Moloney heading the list.