Pink Freud

She tanked

It was and that's why he deserves what he gets.

And some people (not you) think Caroline Wilson's an accomplished journalist so everything she writes must be true.

You've failed to comprehend my post so your question is moot.

You said that Niall's article "perfectly sums up events" for you. However, what he was doing was much more than summing up events. He was in fact, providing his opinion which lamentably backs up that expressed umpteen times before by Wilson and others at this lamentable newspaper which gives little or no opportunity for alternative viewpoints that question those of its own apparatchiks. You call that good journalism, I call it utter garbage. Furthermore, I don't need any eyes at all to see through your baloney.

The interesting part is how the article ends The rule was renumbered and is the current 19 (A5) but the AFLCA was never able to have the rule changed.This means that if you accept that Connolly was joking when he talked about Zulus and Jimmy falling out of his hospital bed then you have to follow the precedent set by the AFL over Paul Roos and throw the whole thing out rather than let the Supreme Court make that decision. The farce continues ...

Surely not as good in your estimation as Caroline Wilson?

The gospel of a lightweight thinker who tries to bully with aggression but won't answer the tough questions.I've treated many of them in the past (not that I'm suggesting there's anything necessarily wrong with BH).

Surely, the Commission can't hear charges (if any eventuate). It's far too conflicted. You would need to cross-examine Demetriou on his public statements and understanding of what constitutes an offence under the AFL's tanking rules and if the issue of the AFL not investigating other clubs who have been suspected of doing the same thing such as for example Carlton, then Mike Fitzpatrick would have to excuse himself. If we don't get heard by an independent tribunal, then the AFL lays itself open to costly litigation it can only lose.

And based on the information from the AGM they get replaced by sponsors who will pay more. Do you have a problem with that little man?

If you're second to the ball more often than not then you're going to turn it over less than you otherwise might.

A couple who appeared to be up to it but were troubled with the game plan are gone too. We really have Neeld's team now and there will be no excuses in 2013.

As soon as you state definitively that you believe we tanked in 2009 you are in the debate and have indicated what you believe tanking to be and that is what is so farcical about the whole scenario that the AFL established with its investigation. They've changed the priority pick rules and they did so for a reason. Demetrioumshould be ashamed for his head in the sand attitude over all of those years.

To be fair, the Back Page Lead article was somewhat tongue in cheek. I think the analogy is good. The other article cited shows that there was suspicion about Armstrong for almost a decade before the authorities acted. Similarly, there has been unrest in AFL circles for a long time and the AFL virtually buried its head in the sand and Vlad denied it existed. To allow Carlton to get three consecutive #1 picks and then act nearly four years after the fact on Melbourne smells a bit fishy especially when the AFL commission is presided over by a former Carlton champion. I'm not saying he's done anything untoward but it has the potential to embarrass.

I don't think it was ever suggested that Gerrard Healy was the one who wanted to undermine Schwab was it?

The timing of that interview was interesting. When was McLean interviewed? When was CS's contract due to be renewed?

The investigation was surely into whether the Melbourne Football Club actually committed any breaches of the AFL's rules and not about the philosphy of its football department insofar as list management was concerned. In any event, all of the evidence to date indicates that MFC's list management was consistent with Demetriou's directives and what had been done before by other AFL clubs which had met the AFL's approval. The only guilty party here is the instigator who told the On the Couch panellists that he left because of the experimentation when he left because the club he went to offered him more money. I trust that the MFC makes this abundantly clear when it makes its submission to the AFL.

... putting an end to the coaching careers of a number of people including Dean Bailey who only a fortnight ago (through his manager) denied that he tanked. Has he now recanted on that and if so, can his evidence be relied upon? Do you have a source for this information?

Absolutely nothing new here since the investigation story broke in late October/early November or to be more precise - nothing new since 2009 when Demetriou gave the club the green light to list manage at the expense of necessarily winning games. In other words, to do what several others who have not been subjected to six months' scrutiny all did and were allowed to get away with. The discussions and all of the supposedly sinister meetings that are alleged are nothing more and nothing less than what you might expect of clubs in circumstances like Melbourne's in 2009, Carlton's (2005 - 7) and a raft of others. This is not much of a case to answer because Demetriou answered it for us a long time ago.

The AFL won't make any decision on charges until the MFC submission is lodged. My inside info is that the AFL tanking case is weak at best and dependent on questionable evidence. Suggestions that officials brought the game into disrepute by comments at in house meetings are virtually impossible to sustain and would almost certainly see the matter end up in the court system.

Not really an ideal scenario for one of our skippers. Hope the fitness guys can keep him in reasonable shape for the rigours of the season because we need him improving and at his best after an ordinary year on the field from him in 2012.

Laurie Fowler was dumped by Richmond coach Tom Hafey at the end of 1974 and went to Melbourne where he won the Keith "Bluey" Truscott Medal in 1975, 1979 and 1980 and represented Victoria at interstate level on a number of occasions. Whilst at Melbourne he was retained as a player by Dennis Jones who coached for one year for a wooden spoon. Does that make Jones the dud a better coach than the great Tommy Hafey?

It's going to be an anti-climax once they've done the draft. What do we count down to after that?

There are two articles in today's Age about Richmond, one by Wilson about Trent Cotchin and the other by Michael Gleeson about Tiger boss Gary March wanting to change the AFL draw. Inexplicably, neither article makes even passing mention of comments by then coach Terry Wallace of how Richmond tanked its last game of 2007 in order to secure the draft pick it used to get Corchin. Disgraceful journalism and an obvious cover up by the Age.

Indeed! Former Collingwood forward Chris Dawes says he has experience to provide leadership at Melbourne