Slartibartfast

Says the man who has posted 18 times on this thread, bettered only by Bub. If you can't see the irony here you're not trying.

Watching the demise of Steve J. Arrogant twerp. It's a beautiful thing.

Thanks Jnr. Just thought it was fun and worth revisiting. Prompted when I saw a well known personality sitting behind Mick last night.

How Aussie football stars have been sucked into having gangland connections

It was. Just another cheap shot.

Get off his back FCS. He has been passed by many, he's not in the team, he's put his body and head on the line for this club almost to a fault. You're acting like a pathetic stalker on a number of issues. Move on.

And what makes you think attitude, mental ability, determination and courage aren't inherited or at least genetic traits. Look at young kids and observe the difference in these characteristics. Anyway good to know you're a big fan of Jordie, Ro and Jake who all have the attributes you respect most. Oh, hold on.......

Lumumba did worse than Watts in our first game. He ran under the ball, he didn't even stand there to mark. Watts at least stood there. Westoff last night in his first marking attempt last night did a "Watts". I thought Carey's comments on Watts dropped mark in the first half of the third quarter were unfair. It was pizzing down, the ball was slippery and Watts stood under the ball to take the mark and dropped it. It was a skill error, not one of courage. Lumumba would have been a yard closer to the kicker and not got anywhere near it. Watts has been done to death, there is nothing else to be said really, we just watch and see what happens.

So what are you saying about Roos? And don't bother telling me what to do, I'll watch with interest thanks. You can do what you like.

Hmmm.... That's a huge criticism of Roos if he stays in this week. I'll watch with interest. Oh, and I'm astounded he's playing without confidence, couldn't imagine why.

Who for? Newton, Viney?

I hope they have. The more quality opposition Gawn and Spencer get to play against the better.Does anyone know if they let dogs into the Oval (no pun intended)!

Just watched the first. I'd rather listen to these commentators than Derwayne Russell. Fitzy exceptional, Spencer good in the ruck, Pedersen an amazing goal from 50 into the wind, Stretch, Toump ok. Michie very quiet, must have done a lot better later. Commentary poor at identifying players but that's understandable I reckon.

Before the season I queried Roos' ability to teach a team to kick goals and was very pleased to see after round one we'd kicked 100+ points for the first time since he started. This was in contrast to our inability to kick goals in his first year. Many here, and indeed Roos himself, have commented on the apparent lack of confidence of our team and the way we are quick to go into our shells when things start to go wrong. FWIW I think we did well in this aspect against GCS and were ok against Adelaide but we were terrible against GWS. Ken Hinkley made (not for the first time) the following comments in an interview which was reported in this mornings Age in an article by Rohan Connolly: "I'm a big believer that confidence is about scoring. If you're not scoring you lose confidence. and once you lose it, whether you're defending a stoppage or playing attacking football, it just seems to disappear. I think the scoreboard's important." In our two games since GWS we've failed to kick the score we did in that game alone. While it's correct to point out that Saturday's weather was not conducive to scoring the conditions in the first half, although blustery, were mainly dry and we only scored 5 less points in the second half compared to the first half. Conditions in Canberra were very good as were the conditions for our first game. Roos came to the club recognizing the mental fragility of the players and I'd image Hinkley faced the same thing when he went to Port Adelaide, they were a basket case. Hinkley chose to score and we chose to defend. PA's list is far better than ours but I don't think Hinkley would have done anything different if he'd been appointed coach of Melbourne. It's a striking point of difference between two good coaches. My view is that if we get behind by a few goals it's very unlikely that we'll win because our game is based so much on defense that we don't have the ability to catch up. I reckon the players consciously or subconsciously would think the same and this would sap their confidence. I wonder if Roos' defense first philosophy is outdated (or just simply wrong) and like successful coaches before him he's failed to move with changes in the game. Hinkley taught PA to kick goals and is now working on improving its defense. Roos taught us to defend and is now trying to teach us to kick goals. If PA get behind they never think they are out of it and yet if we get behind I never think we can win. It's an extraordinarily different mindset. Richmond play an attacking brand of footy which relies on run from half back and risk taking. That gives us an opportunity to score as well. It will be instructive to see how we go on Friday and I think Roos would do well to consider Hinkley's view very seriously if he hasn't already.

The reaction is funny given the queries about him before the first game.

Come on Saty, you must have spoken to some of the players - what did they say!!

Werridee this is to help you. Good luck with comprehension. Are you serious? Yes My attack was that he is a VFL standard player. No it wasn't. You said "Favourite player Bail hey. You keep high standards there. VFL fan are you? And my football knowledge is poor." The reference to "you keep high standards there" was using Bail's ability to attack a poster. Your target was the poster, not Bail, he was the tool you used to attack the poster. Your purpose was to attack the posters football knowledge. It's nice that your sticking up for your son and all but don't you think your going over the top? Your comprehension is poor. I said "I know him and his father". I didn't say I was his father. If you thought I was his father your follow up comments are astoundingly misplaced and distasteful. When the next poster posts that Dawes, McKenzie, M.Jones etc are not up to AFL standard or Toumpas and Watts should be traded I'm expecting the same response that you have given me, I mean it's only fair or is it a leave my poor boy alone scenario? Seriously my heart bleeds. See my first comment. If you have trouble joining the dots I can't help you. I don't think I've seen anyone suggest Bail is best 22. You seriously miss the point. I just find it amusing when the club has Nate.Jones, Hogan and another 20 players that get a game ahead of Bail someone would choose Bail as their favourite player. A favourite player is usually your idol, someone you specifically want to see play and for me it definitely isn't Bail unless your a fan boy or a family member. You need to understand that "favourite" doesn't mean "best". You might have favourite players based purely on their football ability but others look for deeper aspects of their character and abilities to admire. You clearly don't understand this. Your so called attack wasn't about points scoring, trying to be popular or respected it was just an opinion\observation. I only come on here to have an opinion (I like talking football) I don't care about the other rubbish. I'm not really sure what you're trying to say here but frankly it's probably better that way. Attack posters but not players? Ridiculous. Is this a football forum or a who can attack someone the best forum? Sadly this forum is both and you fit squarely into each category. So do I at times. You or anyone else can come after me just don't expect me to allow you to walk over me, it's not my style. I'm afraid Werridee most walk over you whether you like it or not. Hope these comments help Werridee. Someone once said that with free speech comes responsibility but you've not caught on to this. If I was Ro Bail's father as you thought can you imagine how rude and tasteless your comments are? If you can't see that then I genuinely feel sorry for you.

I don't care if you want to personally attack another poster and just for the record I don't think many round here rate your football knowledge. You're certainly not a "must read". But to attack a player so as to score petty points against another poster who probably doesn't rate your opinion anyway is tasteless in the extreme and show you to be a person of both limited judgment and maturity. Ro Bail is one of my favourite players. I know him and his father. Both are terrific people. Ro has put his head over the ball so often for his club that he's one serious knock away from never being able to play footy again at any level. I happen to admire his courage. I admire his athleticism. I admire his discipline and application. He's not someone to build a team around but he's someone that the players are happy to play beside because they know he'll play his role to the best of his ability and get the most he can out of himself. As a person he makes you look silly. How about next time you want to score points against another poster you don't do it by way of denigrating a player who represents our club. Even better, how about you grow up and if you can't do that, just shut up.

But you've never liked him. To point out a couple of mistakes in an otherwise exceptional game is mindboggling. http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?/topic/36757-im-officially-over-tom-mcdonald/?hl=mcdonald

What Newton's primary role? If it's to kick goals he's been ok. If it's as a mid he's been disappointing. I thought it was the second and hoped he'd be the high possession good kicking mid we need. He's showed little of that to date. What did he play yesterday? And if it is the goal kicking high half forward he needs to apply forward pressure. Jury well and truly out for me.

The Aussies should give back the Ashes. Should have bowled half volleys outside off stump to Jon Trott to get him back into form.

Not sure I agree with this. Does that mean we don't tackle Ablett hard and try to test out his shoulder? Whatever happened to "if you're on the ground you're fit" argument? This is a highly competitive sport. If Clark is not in a position to take a few barbs then I'd suggest he may not be in a position to play. Also if he's having a bad day and getting upset, do we give him the ball to make him feel better? Na, get on with it Mitch. You're fit or you're not.

Now there is an oxymoron if ever I heard one.

Mate, put your brain in gear. It's not that what you said was wrong, it's just that it was such a crap thing to say. And you've followed it up in your last post champ with "he made such a big contribution in that one game more then (sic) Bail in his whole career".

Good one Dazzle. That pleases you does it? Could also ended Matt Jones as well. How about Michie or Riley? For heavens sake, can't we just enjoy the success of the weekend without having to dance on the grave of a player who gave his all, received lots of concussion as a result but just didn't have the skill set to really make it? You can be a jerk sometimes.