nutbean

Getting the ball out of the backline has always been about movement and workrate. We have moaned for years about not getting the ball moving from full back. IMO this has never been about strategy - it has been about laziness. Our fullback has looked up and seen statues in red and blue jumpers. You watch the good teams - running patterns, leading over and over again until someone is freed up and then breaking hard to make the switch effective. On the switch, it is essential that this hard work continues with the next option(s) up the field. Too many times we switch and the next player in line hasn't worked hard enough to get free. So the player with the pill stops and waits which turns off any advantage of switching in the first place. We keep talking about intricate games plans - but the number one part of any game plan is work rate to get yourself 3 or 4 steps clear of your opponent. Free space ( gained by workrate) makes any game plan look like a winner.

Paul Kelly looks like a spin bowler... I

Billy was with the Ferrets - and we always sing "don't fall in love" and to make it that extra bit specialthey whack a projection of countdown circa 1970ish and the the Ferrets singing that song. Rebecca's Empire had some great muso's in it. Shane O'Mara ( who is Rebecca's husband) and Pete Luscombe ( Rockwiz and Paul Kelly's go to drummer) and Bill McDonald who also plays with Paul Kelly. Went on Saturday night to the Zoo and saw Paul Kelly do the Merri Soul Sessions - PK, Vika and Linda ( if you havent seen them sing live you must - there are fantastic), Clairey Browne, Dan Sultan and Kira Puru - a great night. Ash Naylor was playing guitars - he is also a great musician who i have seen play with everyone.

Billy has gone through a tough time - his wife passed away late last year. He is just a really good bloke who just loves music. He does a version of a Little Help from my Friends ( cocker version) that goes off. You gotta get down to the singalong -started off with about 20 of us and now sells out 200-300 pretty quickly.

I'm a bigggg Tim Rogers fan.. His voice is pretty shot but it doesn't really matter...

i have no idea if this is indeed fact or fiction. I do remember the last time we fiddled and farted around was when we delayed extending Northey's contract and the Tigers came in and swooped ( pardon the pun).

I am quite friendly with Rebecca - who is an absolute gem of a person and hysterically funny. Besides her Rebecca's empire stuff which I really like, she has sung behind pretty much everyone. She backed Stephen on an album produced by Steve Kilbey - those two in the same room ! the stories !! oh my lord. OK - here is my confession - this sounds terribly daggy but is great fun. First Wednesday of every month at the Caravan Club, Rebecca Barnard and Billy Miller do a singalong. Billy Miller is like an encyclopedia and name a song and he can play it. Rebecca could be a stand up comedian. It is the most fun you can have with your pants on. So we pretty much sing anything and everything for 2 hours. But it gets better - every year Billy and Rebecca are invited to play at the Palais for a fund raiser for the Sacred Heart Mission and they get great people to give up their time for night - hosted by Brian Nankervis. The singalong crew get to do backing vocals for Billy and Rebecca on stage and last year we also backed Tim Rogers. My only performing claim to fame !

Ha ! You mentioned him previously and thought wow when you said what he did for a living. I love stories who do rather odd things for a living. My squeeze has a cousin who lives in Portugal - he specialises in cleaning big statues for a living. Very specialised work as some of these statues date back many centuries. He then has developed a piece of equipment that runs a very low voltage charge through the statue that doesn't hurt the structure of the fabric but the pigeons don't like. He has enough work to last him 4 lifetimes - how do you put that profession on a business card ?

Based on how and if he recovers and what the medico's see as his future. If towards the end of the year he comes back and trains and starts to play at Casey even limited time the staff will have some idea of how he is going. No one is suggesting that he doesn't have the footy smarts and talent - it is purely whether his body will let him play at the highest level. I suggest by the end of the year the medico's will have an opinion and a new contract will be based on that opinion. If there is some confidence that he can physically get back to the Trengove of his first two years as opposed to the slow as treacle and can't kick over 40 metres Trengove of the last 2 years then he may get another contract. The problem most of us have is I have used a fair amount of the word "if" above. I hope he can come back.

I really like it. Great sound and plays right into the area of music that I like. I didn't really hear the Angels. I heard a punchier sounding The Church - you don't have Steve Kilbey's ego do you? I also liked the guitarist using the beer bottle as a slide - borrowed from Chris Cheney ? (who I am sure borrowed it from someone else.)

I think Peter Luscombe is drumming also of the Rockwiz band. I was also at the DOTG Elvis Costello gig in Melbourne - He had this beat box thingee that wouldn't work and we had to clap our hands to keep him in time. Then he got into an endless loop on the chorus of a slowed down "down throw stones" and couldn't get out. It was sad and it was obvious that he had hit the bottle before he had hit the stage. I have seen several times since and it really depends which Stephen Cummings turns up. Saw him late last year and he shared the stage with Shane O'Mara who is an exceptional guitarist and Cummings was in scintillating form. You never know what you are going to get but when he is on he is fantastic.

As an aside - Stephen Cummings has written a book called "will it be funny tomorrow Billy" - it is a laugh out loud book and he spares no one including himself. It was also made into a movie - which was really well done as it is a mix of Stephen Cummings reading excerpts and the person he is slagging off also reading the same paragraph - and commenting - really funny stuff.

I am going....cannot wait

I'm going tonight under protest. Quite like Paul Simon. I was a huge fan of the Police and saw them at the first Melbourne gig at festival hall where they absolutely lifted the roof off the place - senasational. In later years Sting has become a giant sized plonker who should be locked in a room with Bono so they can bore the socks off each other.

Saty, (thanks for the report) Interested in your opinion on Pedo. I thought he was in serious trouble under Neeld - almost looked disinterested. Would it be correct to suggest that Roos may have not only brought out the better part of his talent but also had a very positive effect on his attitude ?

I am a devotee of the caravan music club in Oakleigh and they get some great live music down there. About twice a year Harry Angus ( from the Cat Empire) and Darcy McNulty and two others from Clairey Browne and the Banging raquettes play the club in a band called "Jazz Party" They played in November and got nice and toasted and had to be thrown out at 1am - just wouldn't stop playing - it was a great night. They get together infrequently due to their other commitments but if you see them advertised definitely go and see them.

This will be death by 1000 cuts.

I trained. unfortunately the 9:05 was cancelled. The 9:35 arrived 5 minutes late. I fell asleep and missed my station. I bused ( to get back to my original station)

from Titus O'Reily Colin Sylvia and Ross Lyon have a little chat Ross Lyon: Come in Colin, have a seat. Colin Sylvia: You want a chicken nugget boss? Lyon: It’s 11.00. Sylvia: I know, breakfast menu was over. Lyon: Colin, I’m sending you down to the Peel Thunder. Sylvia: Is that a night club? Lyon: No, it’s in the WAFL. Your lack of professionalism is something I simply can’t accept here at Freo. Sylvia (chicken nugget spraying from his mouth): What are you talking about? Name one time I haven’t been professional, not counting last year. Lyon: Yesterday you didn’t finish the time trial. I found you drinking a thick shake under a tree. Sylvia: In fairness boss, I was pretty hung over yesterday. Lyon: That doesn’t exactly help your cause Colin. Sylvia: I’d argue with you but it seems like a lot of effort and I’m pretty tired. Lyon: Well enjoy the Peel Thunder. Some players have used a situation like this to come back reenergised. Sylvia: Yeah, I’m not doing that. Lyon: I know Colin, I know

I don't believe that Mcleans outburst was for altruistic purposes. I also think you are right. Something had to give. I am just not so sure that the AFL would have gotten involved and installed Jackson into his position. I'm not sure we would be where we are so quickly without the tanking debacle. I'm not thanking McLean for it as I did not like what he did. But I also won't back away from my view that the tanking debacle was the catalyst for where we are now.

I thought he turned over a new leaf when he same to us. He was great for the first 6 games, got injured and went straight back to his old ways. For a few minutes I thought we had struck gold.

This won't happen. The party will not let this be revisited. Read the quote from the Lib MP who has called the spill motion. "My office has been inundated with emails about Abbotts leadership. I haven't had this much negative feedback since we were planning to back Labor on the ETS". (I've paraphrased).Another article a couple days ago suggested that he has "promised" the Lib heavyweights that if he was to get the top gig he would not revisit a carbon tax or an ETS.

100%. Current lot doesn't give you great confidence? My great disillusionment is because there is no one in the current political arena that gives me any confidence. Full stop. I hark bark to Howard. I did not like most of his policies and would not vote for him. I know some dyed in the wool labor supporters will howl me down but I absolutely respected him as a leader. He was a strong effective leader. ( overstayed his welcome though).

I see the whole McLean interview issue as "durian - king of the fruits". Smells like hell but tastes like heaven. I absolute hate what McLean did - unnecessary and should have kept his mouth shut - contrast his statements to James McDonald who had every reason to have sour grapes over the handling of retirement but would not unload on the club. I absolute love the outcome. I know it cost us money and humiliation but I question if we would have Jackson and Roos in place if this did not happen. ( I would have liked to take what was behind curtain three though - no tanking investigation, no fine, no humiliation and getting a good clean out with Roos and Jackson riding in on white horses )

Can't find a spot for Rudd in there ? I certainly can ! (IMO - nobody is worse than Bush)