binman

I could not agree more. So much for bawdens promise of transparency and clarity about the rule. Also how on earth did they determine impact was medium?

I get people are upset but having a shot at Gleeson is rubbish. Read the above article to understand why. And by the by it is really stupid (and sadly typical in recent times where knee jerk is the standard reaction) of people to bag him out for his question to Viney asking if he could have spun out of the way. One it is his job to prosecute the case. Two Bond (who was at the hearing) said in response to dimwit Healy and Russell's incredulity about Gleeson's comments (he's got no idea, has he ever played etc) that in fact it was clear he was only half heartily suggesting it as an option, said it with a slight grin and was actually giving Viney the opportunity to clarify he had no other option (a dorothy dixer that Viney accepted). Context not apparent in tweets from Schmook. Bond was actually quite forceful in his comments and made it clear Gleeson was doing a good job. It's one thing upset demon fans not understanding context and being sucked in by social media quite another for so called journalists and media people to not get it. Des Gleeson is the perfect man for that job and it really annoys me to hear stupid unwarranted criticism. He is a bloke that deserves a bit more respect as reflected in this quote: 'It is no fluke Des Gleeson was known for his integrity when he carried out his duties in one of the highest offices in the horse racing industry. For 35 years Des was a race steward and he did his job so well that he spent the last 12 years of his career as Victoria's chief steward.' http://www.moynegazette.com.au/story/1238365/profile-des-gleeson/

And i doubt mids get many more disposals on average. Its the back half whose numbers would have increased given they're the ones doing much of the chipping around (with some midfield help)

In good form there Saty. Liked this line: 'Asked Dave Misson about Watts, said he will be fine, which could mean he will play or be out for 6 weeks' Thanks for the reports guys

good comparison. Also a left footer, which is a big plus I reckon as it gives him a bit more time.

Wayne Carey on tf reckons he'll get 5 weeks. The others agreed. What carp

no he won't (rest him). No chance. In an interview on dee TV stone says assuming his form is good he may well stay in the side for the rest of the year. He may never be dropped.

The same goes for Terlich in my book, in much the same way that it used to for Dunn and more recently Bail (who by the by has proven why it would have been folly to drop him and why a coach would not drop him). Jones, Terlich and Bail are all best 22 and will not be dropped. They play their role, gut run both ways and are fierce competitors. Byrnes is the other one some people are calling to be dropped but as others have noted players are judged by Roos on their capacity to play their assigned role and i'm assuming Byrnes is doing that. he stays. Roos has also said that players will only come up from the twos when they are absolutely banging the door down and have played 5-6 weeks of good to great footy (eg Jetta). From the reports from Casey there doesn't appear to be many in that category.

I agree. I am assuming they've looked at it and said 'jeez we don't know, let the tribunal sort it'. And spot on,we can contest it without fear of copping an additional week

No changes, unless injury forces them.

Good post. If indeed he has decided he is going your hypothesis would be very Roos like (and smart) even though he has said previously in such a scenario (knowing a player is going) he'd play him in the magoos. The Hawks would love him given Lake might only have another year. It would be a terrific almost like for like replacement (though Lake is a better player, albeit one near the end of his career). Still i'm not convinced he's gone. We can pay him some good coin and by all accounts he is a loyal bloke. I think he is overrated by non dees fans (ie by those who don't watch him each week) TBO, but i would love him to stay - even if we pay a bit overs (which i doubt would bother his team mates too much given his service) and we miss out on the compo pick we would otherwise get. Great vote of confidence in the club and he is a super popular teammate by all accounts.

That's awesome Clint, just terriifc - many thanks. Just about to watch the HD replay on my new 27 inch monitor. Ta

Did we win?

I've always wondered about that. Lets say a non believer lives a positive life full of caring and sharing, it wouldn't be very christian to refuse them entry into heaven. I mean its a bit churlish to say - look you've been terrific but given you don't believe me you can bugger right off

I'm with you on that Jabberwocky.

Who asked you (insert emoticon here)

As if a mere disciple could predict the ways of the Zen master

Well i certainly was in the should be dropped camp. That said i'm strangely happy that Roos has decided not to. For one thing he played a complete dead bat to suggestions he might be dropped and immediately took the air out of the watts wrong with watts clamour. I am of the firm belief that Watts problem is related his confidence. Dropping would have reinforced to him that he is no good. But also perhaps going back to the twos would helps JW avoid scrutiny. I know this is a bit of a contradiction of my previous point but maybe playing under the glare of of senior footy is more helpful than running around at Casey. I trust Roos to take the right approach and if this it it then terriifc.

It felt like 233 goals!

Spot on. I agree with Eddie - the big clubs shouldn't be penalized for their success. But by the same token they should not get a ridiculously huge leg up by being able to play so many premium games that sponsors just love. It is the ultimate in short termism (and further evidence of them putting short term profit over long term health of the game) for the AFL to argue that maximizing the dollars for the TV rights depends on having the big clubs playing against each other in stand alone marquee time slots. Give all clubs a a crack at those games and over time clubs will improve and there will be more cracking top shelf games and less a gap bewteen the best and worst games. Imagine PJ trying to sell 4:40 twilight games against GWS on Fox to potential sponsors and the corporates (which apparently is where all the money is now for home games)

Great article WJ. Sure it was ugly but we near four goals down at quarter time and only lost by 30 points - against a side that as you say has top 4 pretensions. Against Gold Coast - a side with aspirations for the top 8 - we fell 4 goals behind and fought back to only go down by 8 points.Even against the eagles where we got pummeled, i thought we at least kept fighting. For me this represents a huge step forward as over the last decade so often once we got to 4 goals down we just folded like a pack of cards. To keep fighting and scrapping right to the final siren is at the heart of the culture Roos is trying to instill, hence his comments about ignoring the score board. We better get used to ugly games because there'll be a lot more. But nothing is as ugly as getting flogged by 1403 points as occurred against the bombers last year.

Been some great comedy on DL of late. Big, bad Rob Wilson is DL's new comedy hero - who by the by needs some practice with his punctuation, assuming he meant he has been a member for 34 years rather than GTG as his erudite riposte suggests

At least part of it is that his potential is so obvious.

I love these old threads. A bit scary. Maldon Boys' post on page 27 has proved to be pretty accurate

. Pure comedy gold. Calls people morons and makes a grand statement that he would never be back on DL again. Posts the above not 3 minutes later. Also cant help but make clear he is bh. Just in case people didn't understand his genius. You rascal you with your ability to create new identities. Gold