nutbean

The one thing about politicians is they are quick to damn other politicians foibles but have little insight into their own.

sigh... have a look at who has taken the most marks for our club this season have a look at who has taken the most marks in our forward line have a look at who is second on our goal kicking this season have a look at who has the 4th most marks in the league. I don't think his season hasn't been particularly great but if you want to talking about earning match payments - we could be a zillion dollars in the black this season because by your logic we could probably slash our match payments based on who earned it to about 20% of the actual amount.

I remember it well. What i had forgotten and you could clearly hear is the Demons supporters chanting "Hawthorn" - who would have thought

unfair on Sylvia - remember he didn't have a preseason...

my enthusiasm for the game - retired ( or pummeled into submission)

I knew he was gone the minute Hogans Heroes said he was staying.

We are now relying on Damien Barrett for our information ? . When free agents ( or GWS/Sun uncontracted player concessions) have opted out of a club prior to the B&F counts - these players havent gone to their clubs counts. If you listened to what that steaming pile of a journalist said - it is just a confirmation of protocol. There is an expectation he will go and if he goes he wont be at the B&F count. I don't believe for a second that Frawley would have said now that he is refusing to go the B&F as the official word is that he not made us his mind. I don't believe that he hasnt made up his mind - I do believe he has not told the club he is going. For those who think he has - please explain to me why exactly he would do that ? Once he confirms he is off it will be immediately confirmed he is not going to the B&F.

Yet - Mitch Clark said he wanted to go home as the reason he wanted out of the Lions and came to us for big money - yet look at the love for him on this site - absolutely no difference IMO. I profess to "loving" footballers who look beyond pure monetary gain and show loyalty. I also understand that in this age loyalty is now a diminishing quality. Come the next two weeks Frawley will be just another footballer at another club. I will make the distinction between Frawley and Scully - Frawley absolutely mumbled incoherent nonsense and like WYL I think his mind was made up to go - however I do not once hear Frawley say "‘I’d love to end my career and say I was a one club player, and anticipate that will be the case,’’ Scully said. My biggest problem with Scully is not that he left - it was his press conference - he didnt fumble his answers like Frawley , he wasnt vague like Frawley, he didnt make obtuse and nonsensical statements like Frawley - he was clear. precise and accurate and lied through his teeth.

No probs Nashre...

ahh Robbie - you came out after half time and turned the game on its head. ahh Robbie..........

Hey BB ? Not feeling as confident that EFC will be slammed ? I don't think one person disagrees on what should happen. There is some disparity on what people think will happen. I am not convinced that the corruption will not continue and we will see a "wet lettuce" punishment as others have so eloquently put it. We watched as Melbourne were cleared of tanking and then given a huge fine (which basically came out of the AFL's coffers anyway) and a couple of suspensions. You are right in one thing - it comes down to how hard WADA/ASADA go at the EFC because it is clear that the AFL are exactly of the same mind as Essendon - they just want it to go away.

i have to assume it was....

I say.. really ? So you are expecting 17th to Premiership in 2 years Please tell me my sarcasto-meter is broken.

it is quite an insular environment.

Saty - were you at Chaddy at lunchtime ?

Watts or Nic Nat - they were equal in standing as number one picks. I think maybe Nic Nat was a little ahead but it was known that he wanted to stay west.

His kicking was noted as a bit up and under but was more than complimented by elite hands ( which he does have ) I watch a bit of TAC at Oakleigh chargers ground - the disposal is average at best - watch clips of the players and you will also see that there are lot of kicks that go to no-one i particular or are turned over and then read the biography and see that the player is an elite kick ! I am with you that recruiters keep later selections under wraps but the word on who will go 1-10 is pretty well spot on the money.

Be it hype, be it paper filler - all one needs to do is google Scully from his draft year and even before we finished bottom he was the only one ever mentioned at pick one. If you go back through his history , there was plenty of talk about him at the age of 16. He was a freak of a junior footballer and there is only footballer that had a better resume as a junior and that was Judd - Judd didn't go number one because of his shoulder problems You can only go on what was written at the time but there arguably hasn't been a hotter favorite to go at pick one than Scully was.

Why do we have an expectation of potency because we have added to kids to our midfield with zero AFL experience. For every Wines who hits the ground running I will give you 10 other draftees who are still playing in the magoos or having limited impact. I would like to opt for one of two and then do a Tyson/ pick 9 deal for the other pick

98% spot on ! I don't care about the attention or the focus - but at least you have a year or two's form to see how they have developed so far.

Ill go one further - at times he looks lost and gets to where the ball just ain't but I temper that comment with the knowledge that he is a first year player and learning the craft.

OK - Ill play the ball - here is a link to the draft class of 2014 and how they have progressed - http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-06/the-big-step-up The vast majority of these boys either haven't played a game or have played a handful - very few have been regulars. Please tell me why you think that is - or should we have shot at 80% of the draft class of 2014 for lack of output ?

ridiculous - I would want Ballantyne as well ( dislike him intensely but we need a bit of mongrel)

Have you stopped for a moment to consider why ?

You were fairly dismissive of junior form. Every example you give Morton, Watts and Maric - you only have their previous body of work to determine what they can and can't stand - anything beyond that is guesswork and thats why so many draft picks are wrong. Morton was always an outside mid - how on earth does one test to see if he a body can take on weight - would anyone have guessed that Morton would remain a stick insect ? Your last paragraph about recruiters not wanting to take a risk and players rated by general consensus. This consensus is not being plucked out of thin air - it is by watching them play, by seeking opinions on leadership qualities, work ethic and personality traits. You keep ignoring the one glaring fact (IMO) - no matter how much homework you do there is still a huge amount of luck involved. I will repeat again and draw another anology - I can go out and buy the very best ingredients to make a gourmet dish - if i put those ingredients into my $5.50 Kmart cookware and my cheap and nasty oven it will turn out just ok - the cookware doesnt heat evenly and the oven is inconsistent in its temperature. So is the MFC - we have continually taken talent and thrown them into our cesspool and scratch our heads as to why they dont turn out to be winners. Cook, Strauss and Gysberts were definite mistakes - but don't you wonder why we have not taken one elite footballer from the draft in decades ? To suggest it is all about the players we picked suggests that we have got EVERY pick wrong as we have not had an elite footballer come into our ranks in a decade. So this year we get a coach who knows what he is doing and assistants that are 1st class - we have a stable administration and what happens - we get in Tyson who has been a revelation, two of our picks are showing a little ( Salem and JKH) and we see general improvement in the likes Jetta, Dunn, Howe and others. Has Jetta gone from a back pick to a good pick or has something around the MFC changed this year ? Lastly on Scully - you wouldn't have picked him in your top ten ? Then you should definitely be a recruiter as you are stating something that no other recruiter in the land thought at draft time.