Kento80

Are clubs allowed to sack their whole list and employ players from all the other VFL clubs between matches? That's about the only way for the "outs" to really be fair and balanced. In all seriousness though, Green, Russian, Maric, Jurrah and Garland need to go for a trip. And I never thought I would mention Jurrahs name in regards to an out. Joel Macdonald should be in, at least he has some mongrel. Then I'd say Cook, Scully, Davey and Gawn. Changes have to be made, and they need to cut deep.

Seriously???? Inexperience creates 31 goal defeats??? Where on earth did you come up with that idea, cause it's a doozie. There is not a single excuse for that shite we had to watch tonight. This is the first time in my life that I have watched a game and not even finished it. It is still on, but I'm not really watching. I can't watch. I have seen 3 quarters of malaise, 3 quarters of tactical ineptitude and 3 quarters of death. I can't focus on this anymore. This is not inexperience, not at all. There are issues, and they run deep. Anyone who denies this has their head stuck firmly where the sun don't shine. By christ I hope we have the intestinal fortitude to see through the next phase of the rebuild of our once great club, or it will be a club no more. We've a long way to go yet.

I agree on Grimes, guess I just forget about him since he hasn't played since the last ice age I'm not suggesting Beamer for captain, but I still think it is fair that he is in the LG. For my money, Captain should go to Trenners asap. Sure, he'll make a few blues whilst learning the role, but he is poised, and controlled, well spoken and actually leads. It would be a vote of confidence in the future of our club IMO. It would be a (as far as I am aware) unprecedented move to go so young, but in this instance, I believe it would be worth it in the end. And, let's be honest, it couldn't get any worse could it.

Jack Trengove - Leader. Jack Watts - Leader. Jordie Mackenzie - Leader. Brent Moloney - Leader (terrible night, but I truly believe we can call it an anomaly). After that I am stuck.

I heard that he was up knocking on the Geelong coaches door, pleading for them to take him back B)

+1, I'm still firmly expecting he will stay with us, but I wish with all my being that this bloody season would just end so we can all get back to worrying about normal things such as coaches, new draftees etc, instead of worrying why TS wasn't singing the song with as much gusto as the rest of them.

I'm in the same boat as you cowboy, I made the mistake of reading (and commenting) on this thread before actually watching it. Now that I have I think that this is a bit of an over-reaction. It is obvious to all and sundry that Greeny is no seasoned media performer, but other than that, there really was nothing to get too worked up about. It was no where near as cringeworthy as when he was on TFS earlier in the year, and really he didn't let anything out of the bag that was of any real concern. Just because he doesn't sprout everything off like your usual AFL Player/Media Machine, doesn't mean that he is trying to cover his tracks, it just means that he has trouble talking in a relaxed and comfortable way in front of the media.

From what I know of the situation at the club (and that isn't heaps) I would reckon you pretty much hit the nail on the head there master.

I'm going to watch it soon, but from what I am hearing here, it sounds fair to say that any talk of Sculls wanting to wait to see how things pan out by years end (coaching, admin etc) might actually stand up a bit. That said, if Green didn't know where to look when asked about Sculls, then maybe that says alot too. Oh bugger it, please may this year end, I've had enough.

Really good article there WJ, thanks for the link. Can't wait to get the book now. Congrats to everyone involved in Liams journey.

What a legend. I'm not a massive fan of cycling, but you have to appreciate the massive achievement that this is. Such a deserved winner, and I suspect that all of Australia is feeling very proud of him today.

Love everything you said here HT. Brilliant post. Cue "propaganda" comments. Anyone boos Scully on Sunday, then they are a dead set goose. What a way to get rid of him. Imagine if he even read some of the trollop offered up on this thread about him, surely that alone would make up his mind, and if he had read some of this, I could hardly blame him.

His leadership and his onfield performance are not necessarily intertwined, as it is well known that he really pushes the kids at training and sets a fantastic example by doing so. I do believe last year wasn't his best, but I also qualified that in an earlier post saying that I believe this was more due to him recieving terrible delivery and getting caught out due to said terrible delivery. It is no coincidence that this year, with better skills around him, he has been able to be much more effective with the ball. I know our results have been poor, but I reckon our skills have definitely been better this year. I reckon the positives for Jonesy outweigh any negatives by a country mile, and look forward to cheering him on and watching him improve for years to come. Also, as for the senile dementia, go easy on yourself, as it's never been so obvious that opinions on players performances differ drastically on this site

Given that he is currently 23, your assessment may be right, but I would suggest that his career hasn't stalled (although a little bit last year). This year would so far have to be his best year. But as he is not yet 28, there is plenty more time for that rocket you speak of.

When did you formulate this decision? When he was subbed out of the game and went to the rooms for treatment? Genius!

More trollop from Mike. Sometimes I really wonder what orifice these articles get pulled from.

Bang on JCB, and thanks for giving us those stats. Didn't realise he was second on disposals to Beamer. I have loved Jonesy since I watched him chase down and earn a free kick for HTB on a Brisbane player (can't remember who) in the 1pt win over them at the G rd 14, 2008. He chased the unknown player down over a good 50mtrs from memory, and I was so impressed with the fact that he just kept running hard at it until he got the rewards. One of my absolute faves, and he's not letting me down this year. Keep up the good work Chunk. Agreed binman, he trains so hard, week in week out and it obviously pays off. I do think that it is a bit unfair though all the focus on him getting caught with the ball. Through the last few years, he has (due to our "clean out") been hit with some terrible delivery, quite often getting "caught" not long at all after receiving the ball. Other than that, I reckon you are bang on.

Trouble is that the kid starts at 6, and by 18 is obsessed with playing footy, and has channeled everything into making it as a professional sportsman. All of a sudden all sense is gone out of their decision making. They have always been taught to be tough, and that is all they can think about. I agree with you that there needs to be a level where we stop sanitising our game, cause some of this oversanitising shits me to tears, but certain things at least need to be looked at. I absolutely believe that the injury should not decide the penalty, it should be the act that caused the injury. Further to that, it's a pretty terrible story. I had heard the basics of it, but this is the first time I had actually read it in detail. Hopefully we never hear of another one like it, as it is a truly sad tale.

Loyalty is the question, not Junior himself. If so many on here can question Toms loyalty, surely he has the right to consider how loyal the club was to its Captain?

Awesome article that one. Good work Beamer. Here's hoping the "Beamer Effect" rubs off across the board.

I am not sure on that rpfc, but you are probably correct. Whilst that may have not been the reason for delaying talks, it still may be a factor taken into consideration since Junior left. I'm firmly on your side in this debate, just wondering as to the level we can expect loyalty from the players when it suits us. My thoughts too. I imagine Junior would have been a great figure for these kids to look up to in their first year. He always gave 110%, and would have had quite an impression. So to see him moved on at the end of that first year, I believe, would have shown these kids a pretty cold reality about the world in which they live. I am not raising this to condemn the club over it, because I feel that it has been done, and long term probably not caused much harm, but surely it has to have some effect on Toms thinking in the situation he is in. And I do believe that this makes a case for him taking his time to make the right decision for himself, which is also the reason that I believe he will stay.

I don't disgree with this sentiment Ron, and am actually wondering as to others thoughts on this. Do you think the situation with Junior may have skewed Scullys sense of loyalty to the club? I still think he will stay, but perhaps the reason he is delaying is due to the fact that loyalty is something he cannot pinpoint when he has seen disloyalty coming back the other way. I too want to see our players bleed for the guernsey, but how can we demand this loyalty from the players, but accept it when it doesn't flow the other way? I know lots of people didn't accpet Juniors sacking happily, but surely we can see that if it is ok for the club to look after themselves first, it equally should be ok for the players to do the same. In five years time, I will expect loyalty from Scully because he will have been around long enough to build up said loyalty, however at the moment, he is a kid who grew up barracking for Richmond, got drafted to Melbourne, saw them shaft his first Captain at the end of his first season, and now has been put in a position to make a choice between loyalty or money. No easy decision for anyone to make IMO, and even more difficult for a 19 year old in a highly emotive environment.

First up, so happy to see Wonna back. Has always been a fave of mine. Has been cruelled by injury and fate recently, hopefully the tide has turned for him and he can stay fit and get back to being the exciting Wonna we know and love. Also super happy to see the journos stuff it royally hahaha. Although you make a fair point RR, and there is every chance that just seeing the boys have a win changed Aussies mind. I thought I read something last week where even the club said he wasn't ready (??), so it is obviously a recent change of heart. Lastly, congrats to the club for looking after the welfare of a player. It is nice to see in this age of money ruling sport, that there is still room for human compassion.

I picked Stef Martin, but could have easily (and happily) picked any one of them on the list, and maybe even a couple others too. I just love the way Stef is playing, and last night really reinforced that. It was something special.

Very true Mono.