nutbean

Just back from New Zealand and had the privilege of a helicopter flight up into the glaciers - absolutely stunning. I asked the pilot how long he had been flying the glaciers and had he noticed any changes. He said 20 years and "dramatic - what were once white glaciers are now lakes or plain mountain side " He said the pace of the retreat of the glaciers is mind boggling. Just one mans observations.

We were a stinky cesspool of a club - lots of things during those times didn't quite go as they should have.

It's not lip service - it's mandatory upon arrival - [Insert new arrivals name] said "I have been really impressed with standards set by the group and this is the hardest preseason I have ever participated in (because I really didn't work hard enough at the club that traded me)."

it's done, he's gone, don't care.

Actually they are a really good insurance company... No one else seemed to know what was going on before this all hit the fan - not sure how the insurer would have known. It appears that Hird has got ahead of himself and is now trying to claim legal costs and the insurers have knocked him back (is that correct ? - if so nothing unusual if the insured didn't have the insurers approval to proceed and they would cover costs) - I was tongue in cheek about chubb and to be honest they are really good company to deal with.

It is pretty simple - you just have to watch. When the team has red hot go for 4 quarters it rarely loses. Effort for 4 quarters is the difficult part. How often last year did you hear Roos (and for that matter most coaches over time) say - we played really well for 3 quarters but our we dropped off in the XX quarter and it hurt us. So Roos has said he wants a team of competitors - Ill go one further and say I want a team of competitors who will compete for 4 quarters. Its a big wish but that should be the aim. 4 quarter effort results in wins.

its like the tail magnering the dog...

Or as they will affectionately be called - "the Hanson twins" (slapshot - now there was a movie !)

I just watched all the clips again so I will give it a go. reads the play extremely well - gets to where the ball is Exceptional evasive skills in close - the "jink" he does is really sublime Very strong through the hips so he is able to stand up in tackles. This strength more often than not allowed him to shrug tackles Very strong overhead for his size good decision maker but I doubt a highlight would show him constantly turning the ball over His handpassing was very good - his kicking looks ugly but seemed to find its mark. A positive and a negative - he likes to tackle but quite a few times he slung his opponent in the tackle and we know with slinging that it is a very fineline between ok and suspension.

If the hype on here about the players we drafted in the past had become a reality we would be looking at a four-peat this year not Hawthorn.

It doesn't really matter if he is starting 18 or not. I commented over the last two years that whether Tyson is in the starting 18 or named as interchange, he started most games on the bench and came on the ground first rotation after about 3-4 minutes. With quick rotations and so many running through the midfield you will always find a mid that we consider quality sitting on the bench for the first bounce.

I am thinking of changing insurers away from Chubb purely based on the company they keep.

Like Brayshaw - he either earns a gig straight up or he doesn't. Being a first year player should not exclude you playing round one if your form warrants it. The difference now is we don't need to gift 1st year high draft pick players games just because they were high draft picks.

Yup and I never really understood this....

In fact you saw opposition teams try to isolate him as he was seen as the weak link - both at the Hawks and the Crows. Not sure if it is footspeed or agility but he always seems to be pitted against much taller opponents.

I can somewhat clarify as I handles our companies insurances and we use Chubb. It is not a matter of him being covered by insurance for legal costs. If we want to take legal action or reject claims that may lead to legal action taken against us that we believe will be covered by our insurance policy we need approval to proceed with our course of action from the insurer BEFORE we proceed - the insurers then will advise us which direction to take as the are they bunnies who have to cough up the dollars.

Not wanting to be pedantic - that should read "journalists need to report accurately, but I find they never do".

I prefer "We need Roos to stay because the job is not completed." I believe the Roos is a culture changer. I believe Roos is a developer, strategist , teacher and mentor. Will this ever be complete ? The answer is no and the game and our club will be ever evolving. To have a person of Roos credentials still at the club to be part of the continual evolution in any way he wants to be involved would be a huge plus in my mind.

The only thing I take out of this is they are talking - all the rest is media speculation and conjecture. As most have said - I don't believe money will be a sticking point. If his management wants to talk with a view to him staying in Melbourne I think the only real negotiation point will be the length of the contract - we would probably want a 500 year contract with a 300 year option ( and options on kids/grandkids/great grandkids) and he may want a little shorter time

I so wanna say something here but I think it would earn me at least a post deletion or at worse a holiday !

I am not sure about straight into the guts - and I am not a believer in rushing players but if you put your hand up - you put your hand up - whether you are 1st year player or not. Brayshaw certainly earned his place in the team from the get-go. I think the difference is that they wont be played immediately just because they are a high draft pick - also Roos and co manage them well by giving them a break during season as he did with both Hogan and Brayshaw.

Hey Choke ( or anyone) Are you old enough to remember men's only "pleasant Sunday mornings" at the MCG change rooms ? - I went to one when I was a puppy - I guess 40 odd years ago. Lordy lordy - it was during the Barassi era and after it started to unfold Barass who was there excused himself as it was out of control. Without going into detail - I did say it was Men's only but there were a couple of females there who "entertained".

stats and more damned stats - however Jeffy scored 71 times and shorts 88 times for the season Adelaide were second best in the the AFL for inside 50's - av 55 - We were 3rd worst with 44. Adds weight to your argument on how good Jeffy could have been if he could have kicked a few more and we got it inside 50 with more regularity. ( on the flip side - Shorts has always been a better kick at goal than Jeffy - 66% efficiency vs 59%)

If he turn out as good as I think he will I think we also need a husband/wife, uncle/nephew and an any blood relative ( or acquaintance) clause in the contract.

Whispering Jack is better than Clayton Oliver