durango

When new rules are brought in the umpires tend to go overboard with their interpretation and the AFL then should to step in and get this rule right because it is making a farce of the game when a umpire abuse is the reason a team wins games when a player throws his head back or raise his arm without any verbal comments. Players are human beings who get frustrated when the lose a contest, so long as players don't rush up to the umpire in a threatening manner or verbally it should be ok.

If Gil has created this rule then his legacy to our great game is a joke where the punchline is S??t

The one thing I hate about modern football are statisticians running the resting of players after they kick a goal and not seeing that this player is hot and should be left on the field to take advantage of their form not sitting on the pine. In the GF I believe that Burgess decided to take the reins of the player movement and guess what! The statisticians only look at GPS numbers not watching the play and getting a feel for the games ebb and flow. When I was at the MFC I told a statistician there is only 1 stat that counts and thats the result on the scoreboard but he argued with me because he had the football IQ of a gnat since he did not understand the game only numbers.

I noticed that a week ago Rosman was being touted as one player to be delisted at the end of the year. About 12 months ago I made a observation that he would be a better player as a CHB with ball in front of him and finally the coaches have made the move due to the depletion of our defencive stocks at the AFL level. He is 194 cm which is close to 6 foot 4 and half inches in the old money, he was lost on the wing where he did not know where to run or man up due to his lack of football in the past 4 years. I hope they leave him there for the rest of the season to grow into the footballer he could become. For those who saw the 1970's and 1980's Gary Hardeman only blossomed when played at CHB this could be Rosman?

The word is delist but at this stage no players have had their position stamped but maybe there will be trades for some fringe players?

Player leave clubs like Scully for money or expectation of more likely success at the new club. Players like Hogan thought he was better off at Fremantle by being close to friends and his mother after his father died. I think his friends led him astray and injuries depressed him.

No you cannot get multiple nominations in one year but since Bowey is Under 21 and played less than 10 games at the start of the Season he was able to get a second nomination but it does not mean he will be the rising star this year unless he has an exceptional 6-10 games this year. I expect he will eventually be move forward to the wing or half-forward because he could do more damage to the opposition in these roles provided we get players to replace him on the half-back.

I watch in horror when Salem got injuried making 5 of our 1st choice back 7 out but players like T Macdonald, Hunt, J Smith, Tomlinson and Brayshaw really stepped up to fill the breach. I have never been prouder to see the MFC come out of adversity and win running away.

I don't like Harmes as a HB because 2 years ago they tried this experiment and it failed because Harmes is a natural attacking player but gets lost when to defend and when to attack which means he loses his creativity and becomes a liability rather than an asset. I hope I am wrong but this may become a weakness in the defensive structure.

I think the scary thing is that the players are in the 2nd season of development with Mark Williams who does not believe that players ages are irrelevant and constant improvement of players like Oliver, Petracca, Brayshaw, Neal-Bullen, Pickett, Jackson, Langdon, Rivers, Bowey, Sparrow, Jordan, Salem, Spargo, Fritsch, Petty, Lever, Harmes, Tomlinson, Hunt, Dunstan, Weideman, J Smith and Viney will be the catalyst for a good season. The player mentioned are either in their prime or on the cusp of prime, we have 6 players over 30 which is a bonus some just turned 30 like May, Melksham and Gawn with the oldest player in the club being Hibberd at 32. We have players like Laurie, Rosman, Howes, Woewodin, McVee, Van Rooyen, Turner, Moniz-Wakefield and D Smith who are in the 1st or 2nd year and have not played much football in the last 2 years and may become AFL footballers. The team last year played 1 player who was recruited in 2020 so we were not depended on 1st year recruits to make up the bottom 6 players in the team. The only problem I see if the injury gods stay away the team will perform well, hopefully if we get injuries it will not be to the core players and not very long.

Unfortunately the Umpires of today are part of the new generation when you tell them 'no' they get upset because mum and dad never said 'no' or they played a game where every body got a participation medal. It is what some call the woke generation but some day they will wake up and find that world does not give you anything without hard work and set backs. When I was an athletic official the head official once said 'we are there to support the main players and not be the center of attention so me must make ourselves invisible whilst inforcing the rule'.

I think that Petracca is more explosive than Oliver but Oliver has become a better player each year and 2022 could see him become the AFL best player if he could convert more of his attempts at goal.

I wonder what will be considered decent of an umpire just shaking your head or a quick 4 letter work when you are upset with your self for giving away a free kick. This rule could go into the annals as the Putin Rule invented by Gillon to appease the umpires.

To get longer term off-field success the club has to show the supporter that 2021 was no fluke, look at the WB in 2016 they were a young team who had injuries and won the flag from outside the top 4 yet they did very little in the next 4 seasons so supporters drop off without more immediate success. So 2022 has to show our supporters we are a genuine contenders for 2022-2025 and then we will get sponsors and members signing to be a part of the on-field enjoyment.

I think that origianlly the North game was going to be 6 quarters but NM reported that a lot of players had Gastro, de ja vu Geelong.

Brian Dixon won 6 premierships as wingman and later became a parlimentarian and minister.

At this time of the year all new contenders are tipped by has been coaches or journalist who never played a game and are unable to understand that game has moved on from the past. The GF showed that unless you understand that having a deep midfield without explosive players like Petracca, Bontempelli, Oliver, Dangerfield, Walsh and Martin then you are nowhere in the race to the premiership. Look at the premiers from 2016 to 2021 each premiers had the mix of explosive midfielders surrounded by a good midfield. Only the MFC has the luxury of having 2 of these types supported by Viney, Harmes, ANB, Pickett who may become an explosive type in the future, Jordan and Sparrow with wingers like Langdon and Brayshaw. Fremantle has Fyfe who is injury prone but has had no experienced support surrounding him with the result they struggle against teams who have great midfields. I believe the reason PA did not do better in the finals they lacked a player of explosive qualities.

Players like Sparrow, Rivers, Bowey, Pickett and Jackson have played less than 40 games and are under 22 playing their 3rd or 4th season of AFL so they are nowhere near the finished product so you expect the odd bad patch during a game or season. The team played good football and when they rested Salem, Petracca, Oliver, Gawn, Jackson and May in the last quater the team did not miss a beat.

I have watched the Grand Final and in the 3rd quarter his 2 way running was exceptional he stopped Schache from taking a mark and punched the ball later in the back pocket created a exit target for May on numerous occasions. He did his job very well and got the rewards, he probably could play in the centre if the club can find a winger to replace him and he would repace Sparrow in the midfield but at this stage he is a winger and he has accepted that is his role at present. I would love if the match commitee tried Rivers in that role against Carlton next week. Melbourne last year tried to get Issac Smith but to play his role allowing Brayshaw to play a central midfield role but it did not happen so the selectors decided to use the next best player who played 25 games as winger.

I think he is still learning to play as a winger and will be better this year because he has seen what a good 2 way runner can achieve in the GF where he played his best game of the season and what a time to produce this game. I think the WB were deliberately playing his wing because they thought he was the poorer of the 2 wingers and how wrong they were.

I love the new attitude at the MFC with most players realising the success comes with sacrifice and as Gary Player once said "the harder I practice, the luckier I get" is applicable to 2021 season where players did 'train the house down all season' and the 4th quarter of the grand final showed the results. Petracca has realised he just cannot expect that potential without sacrifice will be just potential thru out your career rather than stardom, it is pity players like Colin Sylvia and Jack Watts did not embrace this philosophy. As far as being the Captain of the MFC there are several players who could be the next captain including Viney, Lever, Salem, Oliver, Petracca, Brayshaw and one from left field Jackson

This year the fight for places will push players to new heights or they will be replaced by others players like Jordan, Hunt, Bedford, Mitch Brown, Chandler, Tomlinson, Dunstan, Melksham, Weideman, Smith, Baker and Daw have played AFL, they want a chance to play in the 22 again and get some silverware. Whilst players like Laurie, Rosman, Howes, Woewodin, Van Rooyen, Deakyn Smith, Moniz-Wakefield and McVee are learning their trade and pushing to get into the best 23 or become an emergency for the best 23 showing they have the talent to become an AFL footballer of some substance. This competition for spots will only make the team better, along with the pressure of the other 17 teams wanting a big scalp in 2022 and a place in the 8 at our expense.

I posted that my dad said it to me in 1965 when the club sacked Norm Smith and he passed away in 2007 at the age of 87 also my cousin who every year since 1965 told me that this will be our year passed away in February 2021 at the age of 82.

I have watch the last bit of the 3rd quarter from the time the ball is out of bounds with Brown and Williams contesting the ball with various commentaries at least 20 times and will never tire of the feeling of joy that I get seeing the Bulldogs supporter and players hang dog look which I guess matches the face of the Bulldog mascot.

Schwarz pre-knee operations or Gary Lyon pre-back problems