Jaded No More

Will the NAB challenge matches be available to view online for those of us not in the country?

The people I actually feel for are Essendon supporter This never ending drama must be incredibly exhausting. We only had to deal with the tanking disgrace for a short period, and that was hard enough. Essendon just need to let this go. They [censored] up, cop it on the chin and move on. The AFL should have put an end to this by now. If they appeal and drag the AFL's name through the mud again, the AFL should say they are not going to get a first round draft pick this year. Watch how quickly they all drop this appeal nonsense.

Thanks for the great reports! Really can't afford for Salem to have those hamstring issues carry on again. Hope it is nothing serious.

Another contender has to be Billy Stretch Had a good pre season and his body is much further ahead than it was LY

Amazing news. Thanks. Definitely deserves all the luck in the world.

I don't get why anyone would begrudge him. It's one more year of footy, good money, additional exposure which could lead to other opportunities off the field (e.g.- coaching). Jamar also has a kid on the way, so good on him for extracting another year of top dollar footy salary! The players joining Essendon now have nothing to do with the drug saga and don't deserve to be tarnished with the same brush.

I wish him luck The only silver lining in this whole Essendon disaster is that 11 players will get to have another crack at top level footy.

Hopefully Salem. We desperately need class off half back, and with Melksham out, Salem becomes even more crucial. Less Lumumba kicks to nowhere, more Salem top class disposal please!

Think what we would say if Hogan decided to take a leave of absence because he was too homesick, but we didn't wanna trade him I'm all for playing hardball with your best players, but if McCartney was so hell bent on leaving for home, and GWS refused, what have they actually gained? They are clearly not likely to convince him to stay, and if they thought otherwise, they are obviously delusional.

I agree that is a spoilt sook, but GWS grandstanding on this trade has clearly come back to bite them. Will leave for the same or less at the end of the year when he's out of contract.

The only thing I'm interested in now, is how do we keep Melksham fit and ready until next September? Can we pay for him to have a personal trainer which gets specific information from the club regarding a training and nutritional program?

Am currently in Japan. Seems the interview was as predictably uninformative as we all thought it would be. Back to the sumo wrestling.

The consequence of a doctor breaking the rules are slightly more severe than players taking banned substances. And even then it is nearly impossible to get a doctor banned for life from the profession. Murderers don't even get life sentences here. To say that players should be banned for life is very harsh given it was a club driven program

I sort of agree, what not giving Essendon top up players means they can't cover injuries and they put undue stress on their remaining players, who did nothing wrong and don't deserve to suffer as a result. Plus it's a health and safety issue that the AFLPA would never agree to.

Cross is contracted to Melbourne in a coaching capacity. Essendon can't do [censored]. I would be all for giving him the chance to play as the top up player but we have rookies we can promote. I think Michie will get the nod.

I have no emotions I can truly process other than to say I'm thrilled we have a player getting good money who can't even play for us next year because he has been found guilty of doping. I continue not to understand why we took him on. Hardly seems worth it. Hope I'm proven wrong in the long term (and to think we cleared out Cross from the list!)

Not a man. A legend. Tom McDonald taking out the trials is a shock. Not. Wonder how Oscar did.

I think the angst here is pretty justified, because he is coming off one of the most serious injuries a footballer can have, and should be protecting his body. Yes he just broke a toe, but what if all the change of directions caused him to do his knee again? What if his mate stepped on his foot and caused a navicular fracture? Of course players should be allowed to participate in activities they enjoy outside of footy, and of course you can injure yourself doing everyday things that cannot be avoided. However as a professional athlete who is coming off a serious injury, he has to learn to risk manage. I doubt he broke his toe just casually shooting hoops. He obviously had a fairly aggressive game with mates, or played without proper footwear. Both are unacceptable for someone who is trying to get back on the field after a whole year off. Would the reaction be the same if say Garland broke his toe playing basketball? Probably not. Would we be furious if Jones went surfing after his neck operation and hurt his neck again? Yes. What if Hogan injured his back playing cricket with mates? The place would go into meltdown. These are highly paid athletes and their bodies are their tools. Them not being fit impacts the whole team. It's just as disappointing as players who come back from their break unfit, or overweight, or having not followed their fitness programs. The net result is the same, can't train, can't meet your fitness goals, can't play. I don't blame Roos or the supporters for being [censored]. It's not good enough.

Let's hope this isn't a Frost toe. He's young but he definitely needs to learn not to take risks. We pay him lots of money to play footy, not to play backyard basketball with his mates.

I admire anyone who braved the weather to be there I walked to work this morning and it was about 800 degrees at 7:30am. Can't believe they would train in this heat! Looking forward to reading reports and seeing some pics

All [censored] aside, we haven't won as many games in a season since Dean Bailey. Just saying.

I'm just excited when our team manages to kick more than 100 points in a game. Lets start there and then aim for bigger things.

Wouldn't be moving a desk by any chance?

For us to play finals we need 2 things to go right: 1. No injuries to any key player (unlikely) 2. Other clubs around the same mark having a poor season (e.g.- Saints, GWS, GC) I think if we finish 9th-11th it is a good result and still gives us something to work towards the following year. Individual player development as well as improved game day tactics is what I really want to see next year.