Jaded No More

I'm sick and tired of the abuse that Miller is copping. He's a listed player at Melbourne and will be part of the club in 2008. Fair enough if you don't think he's a great player, fair enough if you don't see him as best 22 material, but how about we just let things happen and see what Bailey can do with him? There is a reason he kept Miller, and a reason he kept Jamar, and a reason he kept CJ. Frankly, I'll follow his opinion over that of a fan who has been obsessed with throwing abuse at Miller at every given opportunity. This is not an isolated incident and you know that, because you've been around long enough and you've seen the sort of [censored] that people post in regards to a MELBOURNE player. There's criticism, then there is just plain abuse. So I say to him what I said to you, get over it!

I doubt you'll hear about it if it was to happen. Everything will be done behind the scenes, and the public will be none the wiser. The AFL will take action regardless, but remember that they gave their stamp of approval when they let Cousins back on the field after only 28 days in rehab. This is as much their fault as it is West Coast's at this point. Also, I'm not sure if it's draft tampering for a parent of a minor to have a say in their son's career, but I'm not sure about the AFL precedures.

I'm confused, are you agreeing or disagreeing with me? Do you not think that, in an effort to sweep this under the rug again, that the AFL will have a word with West Coast and suggest they pick up a WA boy given that Cotchin's family (remember he is not 18 yet, so his parents surely have a big say in this) do not want him to go to Perth? IMO the AFL will want this story to go away as quickly as possible. If Cotchin is drafted by West Coast, you can bet your bottom dollar that the story with his dad will be blown up in the media again, every Victorian journalist will write about the poor Victorian kid who is now destined to be poisoned by the West Coast drug culture an so on and so forth. Like I said, neither West Coast nor the AFL can afford to rock this drug boat any more.

Call Dean Bailey, either he'll give you a logical argument for keeping Miller, or slam the phone in your face. Either way, Bailey > Supporters who hate Miller

The last thing West Coast or the AFL needs is the parent of a future star making public claims that he does not want his child to be playing for the Eagles. It's bad for the game, bad for the drafting system and a poor reflection of the club. If Cotchin really doesn't want to go West, and you can completely understand why he wouldn't, I don't see how the AFL will let him go there against his will only to have another Judd story all over again. If West Coast take a young WA boy as requested by the AFL, everyone is happy and the AFL gets to bury its head in the sand some more. At this point, West Coast need to do exactly what they are told by the AFL. If they rock the boat any longer they'll fall in the water and be left to drown.

Come on, don't deny him the one prediction he might actually have gotten right... maybe he planted the drugs in Cousin's car because he was getting sick of being wrong all the time

What else would you expect from that club? They rallied around him when they needed him, turned a blind eye to his issues for years, now that they know the AFL is breathing down their neck they will dump him like a piece of meat and pretend he never existed. They will wash their hands clean and say 'we did all we could'. The sad reality is, that West Coast are as much to blame for Ben's issues as anyone. The mere fact that they let him come back and play after only 28 days in rehab (what is he, Britney Spears? ) because they had a long injury list and a finals campaign to win, is a disgrace in itself. Cousins has some serious issues, but he is not the only one at that club. I wonder if West Coast will now come down hard on the rest of their squad, or whether they'll continue to turn a blind eye as long as the issues remain in-house and the players are performing. The person I feel for the most, is poor Josh Kennedy.

Wonderful. Hope that means we get advertising rights and of course, first use of the ground when we want it. The stadium looks great. I know we won't actually play games there, so I'm hopeful that our presence will still be felt. Do we know what this place will be called yet, and are we planning on erecting a massive MELBOURNEfc sign for all to see as they are driving past?

For the love of all that is red and blue, just say NO to duds... I repeat... JUST SAY NO!

As much as I love to get pick 3, it's not going to happen. First of all, West Coast can claim that they are absolutely not to blame in this incident. After all, it is the off season, Ben is not playing, and the club has no control of when he drives and what drugs he possesses with him at the time. The AFL will find it very hard to lay the blame on West Coast, especially if/when the club sacks him. The fact that they've already cut Chick (the biggest evil cancer of them all IMO), will help their cause as well. Secondly, with only a few weeks until the draft, I doubt very much that any decision will be made on time. If anything, the Eagles will be stripped of their picks for next year's draft. However, there is a very good chance that, given the latest disgrace faced by the Eagles, that Cotchin and his family will speak to West Coast and declare in no uncertain terms that Trent refuses to play for them. Sure, that's draft tampering, but the Eagles won't dare say a thing given how much trouble they are already facing.

Ben Cousins without a shirt is most definitely not a crime. If they were arresting Whitnall it'll be a different matter. What a fall from grace for a guy who is an absolute champion on the field, and a complete head case off it. Anyone advocating that we should possibly look at getting him (sounds to me as if retirement/ jail/ rehab are the more likely options), should think whether they ever want to see one of our boys in this sort of mess. At this point, I think everyone is getting sick of feeling sorry for him. Time to face up to your mistakes, you can't hide behind your AFL identity forever.

You believe that because you don't know why we got rid of him.

I agree 100%. I'm a huge fan of Dunn. He reminds me of Bruce, minus the bad kicking. I'd love to see him in a run-with role next year, even if it's just to learn from the best players in the league. Another possibility, which is a bit left field, is playing him at CHB- Chad Cornes style. That leaves Frawley and Carroll deep in defence, with Rivers free to roam. Also means we can have Bartram in the middle, tagging. Both Dunn and Bate give us huge flexibility in that they can be thrown forward, back or play through the middle. We should experiment with them in all 3 situations throughout the season.

Grrrr. Why do we allow that to happen? Is it better for us financially, because it is an absolute pain in the behind going to that hole of a stadium anymore than we need to.

I never hated Bizzell, I was just realistic about his limitations. You saw that as hatred when in fact, it was far from it. I certainly never started threads to sling crap at him.

We'll need to get rid of lots more players to fit Lance down at the Junction Oval... Thank you thank you, I'm here all week

Freak, I am almost 100% certain that Miller, at some stage in the past, slept with your girlfriend/mum. Your hated towards him is actually quite amusing. Miller is younger than the delisted players you mentioned above, he is a KPP and has good leadership traits. Clearly Dean Bailey thinks your assessment of him and his ability is rubbish. I'm definitely trusting Bailey on this one.

I'm a fan of Mark Johnson, but he's too old. Apperantly Bradley really wants to return home to WA. If that's true, I wouldn't bother with him. Mind you, if we get him for nothing and trade him next year for a pick, that would be ok

That is a great idea for a commercial. Need to have Rivers' crazy mark a couple of year ago when he was going back with the flight of the ball, McLean's first shot on goal in the final against the Saints last year, Petterd's spoil infront of Hall, Bartram tackling someone to the ground, Bell's goal-saving tackle against Adelaide, Newton's screamer, a massive goal from Bate and Sylvia's 'don't mess with me' against the Pies this year. Like you've said though, TV advertising is incredibly expensive. I'm doing some promotional costing at the moment for an assignment, and even the smallest magazine ad will cost you about $20,000. The cost of advertising on TV will be at least 10 times that, probably much more.

Absolutely insane! Richmond/Essendon can have him for that price.

6 interstate games: - Sydney (vs. Sydney) - Canberra (vs. Sydney) - Home Game - Brisbane (vs. Brisbane) - Perth (vs. Freo/ West Coast) - Adelaide x 2? (vs. Port & Adelaide)

We might still play Brisbane at home, it just depends if we play them twice or not. Anyone know if we're playing Geelong in Geelong?

Buckley seems the odd one out, because the other 5 have had injury worries in 2007 so it's possible that they are starting on a modified program a bit earlier than the rest of the group. Isn't Bartram meant to be in China?

Always incredibly courageous, and always tried his hardest, but unfortunately was not good enough to cut it as a KPP in the AFL. Good luck to him in the future.

We need to get a full time ruck coach.