Pink Freud

This time last year they beat us by the same margin in the NAB Challenge Match at Visy Park. Big deal. It was a pre season game and Bailey was trying out some things that didn't work on the night. My spleen can vent on other things.

Nathan Jones and Brent Moloney in the same midfield doesn't work. Too slow. Good call, bad call?

OK, so let's assume that it's game on and our aim is to, at the very least, play a game or two in September this year. What is it that will improve our record from 8½ wins to the 11-12 wins we need to make the finals bearing in mind that we've lost two players in James McDonald and Cameron Bruce who not only provided great leadership but also have been regularly in the top 10 in our B & F? Give me a reason to believe in tomorrow!

What is he now? Copper or bronze?

Victory over Adelaide in Round 3. We didn't win a game during the pre season, were thrashed in round one and robbed the following week. We needed to prove to ourselves and to the world that we were capable of winning again.

I remember that first game of 1997 when we shocked North. Sean Charles and Jeff Farmer were simply electric. IIRC they each kicked three goals and led the Kangaroo defenders a merry dance. The season unravelled soon after that though.

Thank you very much.

Well put.

How does this work? Does Campbell automatically become a senior list player or does he have to be nominated by the club?

I think those blokes must have had it so tough in the early days. I remember going to finals games at the G (early 70s) and hearing crowds racially abuse a bloke like Syd Jackson. You don't hear that these days!

He was pretty big in the first place.

Fair go, the bloke put his heart and soul and plenty of own hard earned into the bid and into reviving soccer in this country. Definitely not fair to bag him because one of the rival bidders was so well versed in the art of backsheesh.

Dropped in briefly to watch training this morning with the idea of viewing the new blokes more than anything else. I was most impressed with Lucas Cook, who despite his light frame, contested well in the drills. Troy Davis and Tom McDonald are probably a bit overwhelmed at now being part of an AFL squad and I would suggest it might take them a while to acclimatize. Jeremy Howe was part of the rehab group so I was most disappointed that he wasn't flying around taking speccies at training. There were quite a few players in the rehab group and, of course, Aussie was missing. I had to leave early so I couldn't ask any questions but a mate of mine told me that went to a lunch in the city where Barry Prendergast was a guest speaker and he did a fantastic presentation on how his team went about assessing prospective recruits for a draft. Given the selections he was working with, he said he was delighted with the outcome. He also went into previous drafts and how he researched players such as Rohan Bail whose selection my friend thinks he might be one of his proudest achievements. Also asked if Max Gawn was capable of getting an AFL game in 2011. Only if he can manage to build up his upper body to meet the demands of modern ruckwork. Does anyone know when training moves to Casey Fields?

Methinks, there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. Respected journalist Kim Hagdorn was telling this story way back in September - HANSEN TIPPED TO RETIRE Connecting the dots it's fairly obvious that irrespective of whether you agree or disagree with West Coast's handling of the player in question, the fact that he was contracted for another year makes his recruitment as a mature age rookie a viable proposition for another club but of course, it guarantees nothing. Who knows, the Eagles might have indicated a willingness to take Hansen back if nobody takes him in the rookie draft as we did last year when we delisted Meesen and Newton. What matters to us if the newspaper reports are true about our supposed interest in Hansen, then I'm sure we will test out that body to ensure that it can go around for another year. The fact that the Eagles were advising him to hang up his boots two months ago and ultimately dropped him off their list doesn't sound too promising for Hansen irrespective of whether they dudded him or not.

In debating it's unwise to accuse people of missing the point and then changing the point at their next exchange. Better to be consistent and stick to the point .

People don't you understand these footballers? They just want somebody to love, that's all.

Magnificent! In just one fell swoop you travel to London in the 60's/70's, attend a Peter, Paul & Mary concert, meet Charlie Chaplin, view the 1926 Grand Final in the company of the game's co-founder and the club's first premiership captain, solve a mystery and recover a stolen jewel. I must lead a boring life!

That seems to me to be one of the most disingenous posts I have ever read. Where's Fraser now? Where's Lockyer? Where's O'Bree and where's Medhurst? If someone would have made an offer for Davis he would have been out as well. You've actually proved Deeman's point twice over.

I don't quite understand your logic Choko. According to the Sunday Herald Sun today - Cameron Bruce walks out on Demons "It is understood Bruce was happy enough with a one-year commitment, even though the Demons were offering slightly less than what he wanted. "But he also wanted assurances and positivity about his own place as the club embarks on a determined youth drive." You are not only suggesting this is untrue but that the real reason is that he was reluctant to commit to the club because of the way it made Junior Mac (a player three years his senior) move on at the end of the season. In other words, that Melbourne should have departed from its standard policy with veterans and offered him more security by agreeing to an extra year on his contract offer. Either way, that would be a case of the tail wagging the dog and an unacceptable way for the club to deal in the circumstances. I also question whether an over 30 would have much currency in the trades so I think that argument holds little water, as does your analogy with Jack Grimes.

To the contrary, I would suggest that AOB has won the argument hands down and that you're the one engaging in semantics. These were the reasons you initially gave by way of criticism of Clark's draft:- Bob's analysis demonstrates that you're all bluster and no substance. Your draft doesn't differ enough from Clark's to satisfy me that it's any better or any worse which makes it, in your words, "a rubbish effort".