PaulRB

If we rise to between North and Richmond lets assume we beat all teams beneath Richmond in 2012 (i.e. Brisbane, Port, Bulldogs, Suns, Giants) and 1/2 teams between North and Richmond in 2012 (i.e. St Kilda, Blues, Bombers, Tigers). and 1/6 teams at North and above... Then the results for the season would be... Port Adelaide - 1 win Essendon - 1/2 win West Coast - 1/6 win GWS - 1 win Brisbane Lions - 1 win Carlton - 1/2 win Gold Coast - 1 win Richmond - 1/2 win Freo - 1/6 win Hawks - 1/6 win Collingwood - 1/6 win St Kilda - 1/2 win Western Bulldogs - 1 win Sydney Swans - 1/6 win Geelong - 1/6 win Brissie - 1 win North Melbourne - 1/6 win GWS - 1 win Gold Coast - 1 win Freo - 1/6 win Adelaide - 1/6 win Western Bulldogs - 1 win That gives us a grant tally of 9 (wins) + 2 (4 x 1/2 wins) + 1.33 (8 x 1/6 win) = 12.33 wins for the year. Ha ha ha

Yes, how could we top this? Team pre-season reveals them to be well off AFL level fitness Forward involved in suspicious car crash (and leaves the scene) Revered President dies of cancer Coach accused of racial discrimination Star forward involved in machete attack and plays one game for year Previous years B&F has sulks and has mentally left club mid-season. Key star forward breaks down mid season with foot injury. Club accused of tanking in 2009 and under investigation by AFL Club comes under concerted attack in The Age led by a frothing CW Casey in financial trouble not paying it's players since round 5 and may fold... Year is not over yet... Go Dees

Hard thing when predicting our fortunes for next year is the extent we'll bounce back. two years ago we were sitting beneath the Roos and above the Tigers in the pecking order. This year we were renovating, next year I'd hope we can surge back to at least between those two teams... if not higher. The key is us gathering some momentum and confidence... our draw is good and we couldn't possibly have the headwind of the numerous dramas we had this year recur in 2013. Not beyond the realm.

Fantastic! Loving it!

IS the club actually actively pursuing this option? Hopefully they have seen this coming and have some of the planning in place as it would be woeful if we were to have a dysfunctional VFL partner in 2013. Would seem we'd need to act soon and act decisively to get a Casey Demons alternative up for next year.

I think we need to put all our attention onto winning our next flag. As soon as is possible.

Jeremy Howe

I'd prefer we settle with them, increasing their "sponsorship" tenfold.

The Age has certainly extracted it's pound of flesh from the MFC this year. With the amount of juicy stories we've produced in 2012, they really should be thanking us, not beating us up.

Losing picks 18 and 36 wouldn't be so bad.

I hope you're not suggesting that a forward kicking a goal over their shoulder from 40 m out might contravene a team based approach to attacking the goal and require he be dragged?But that's the opposite to tanking, ... It's just soooo confusing... how are the AFL going to make head or tail of this funny business.

This is hilarious! Trying to play "guess the player" with this group of hard core obsessive Melbourne supporters. Very funny.

Nothing in The Age today... Have we weathered the storm for the moment? I guess it will reemerge when the AFL is due to meet and (presumably) discuss their investigation on the 19th..?

What is an "anti-gravity treadmill"? Have they sent our Mitch to the IIS for his pre-season? Altitude should help as well...

Chimpy seems to get injured every second year, ok stats...

I beg to differ on Scully, he's going to deliver to the MFC two champions in Hogan and Wines that will serve us well on the path to the promised land. Given Wines affection for Viney he'd be a flight risk for GWS in two years should they take him. So they won't.

Watts Blease Sellar Jetta Tapscott Trengove Dunn Grimes Jamar Gawn Nicholson

The biased shrill and vengeful tone of her continued campaign has become tiresome and dogmatic. Don and the club's minimal (and legalistic) response was spot on, and probably enraged CW into her latest round of rabid ramblings. Readers of The Age will tire and be repulsed by her continued attempt to name and shame the club without evidence and without the club having an unbiased right of reply. She's been given a long leash on this campaign but I imagine her editors at The Age will tire of it also, and tighten the leash soon.

I agree. Surely a priority of our glorious media would be to present a factual analysis of the performance of all teams that have "won" a priority pick (and narrowly missed them) in the past decade? Perhaps a report by a well credentialed statistician to any trends in the available data for teams finishing within reach of the prized priority pick. Or would such an even handed perspective take the wind out of CW's sails on this issue? Is it dissapointing that the brilliant minds in the Australian Press have not managed to examine the data and present this data in an unbiased way...

Would or should part of the Clubs response include a factual analysis of the performance of all teams that have "won" a priority pick (and narrowly missed them) in the past decade? Would a report by a well credentialed statistician reveal any trend in the available data for teams finishing within reach of the prized priority pick. Not now, but maybe? should the AFL be swayed by the chanting of the crowd that CW is trying to stur up? Surprised our brilliant minds in the Australian Press have not managed to examine the data and present the data in an unbiased way...

In an area like this one, where the rules are ill-defined, it's the actions (and consequences) of others that serve to guide us...

Caro might not run out of steam, or witnesses or memos... but the public's interest, in the continual flogging of the perennial underdogs that finished 16th for a crime most would see other clubs of also having committed, will wane quickly.

Indeed, the best solution would be for the AFL to conclude the accusation of tanking is too difficult to sustain and prove given their vague rules in this area and the nature of the offense. It would then need to tighten the rules in this area or or remove temptation of gaining higher draft pick for losing games of footy.

I like the clubs approach to date and the statement today. We'd look like duffers responding to every vapour and rumour being peddled by the media, so we keep silent until we know: what rule or law we are accused of breaking, how the rule break alledgedly occured, what evidence is available to support this accusation, what the likely penalties or sanctions are, and What re-course, legal or otherwise, would best suit the club in order to fight the sanctions. Caro will run out of steam by cup day, and quicker if the club refuses to take her bait and act on or respond to her accusations.

Bang! - Giants turn to tippett Oh how I wish to be an expansion club!