Macca

Thought it was time to revisit "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific" . When 'The Pacific' came out a couple of years ago I decided to watch an episode of each series alternatively . That way you get to experience both the main areas of conflict of WW2 . Worked well too . Two really great series' and well worth a look or indeed a 2nd look . Even better in high definition if you can manage it . Cheers

Yep , and here lies our biggest problem . Not enough "Laurie Fowler" types . We've got too many "outside" types on our list and Neeld needs to turn them around . He won't be able to turn all of them around , but if he has a success rate of 40% or better he really will be working wonders . It seems Neeld will prefer "grunt" types over "outside" types . So , we may have to get used to turning the ball over a bit more until we have more "grunt" types who can dispose of the ball in a more efficient way . Players who relish the front position could get favoured as well . And rightly so . It's early doors but I've a strong suspicion we'll be turning over quite a few players at seasons end . That doesn't mean we can't have a relatively good year and possibly play finals . It does mean , however , that we're a long way off being able to match it with the best sides . Another major issue is the kicking skills of quite a few of our players . You'd reckon with the abundance of coaches we now have , that kicking skills will be a priority . A transition year , by no means a lost year . Week to week is never more apt really . We need to find consistency of effort . Cheers

It was Paul Roos who said something along the lines of "The 1st few years of a draftee are the most important , you get to shape the way that player plays the game" . The actual wording may be a little different but the main point of what he was saying struck a cord . Interesting times ahead . Cheers

Yeah , the "Whale" Roberts and those big yellow shorts ! whoa !

Nice to have you on board 'hardtack' . I like your music and you've certainly added another dimension to this thread . Keep posting and cheers .

Yep , lace up guernseys , umpires in white so people can use the word "maggot" again ( not me ! ) , caps , Waverley ! Bring it all back ! Cheers .

Like your style there 'hardtack' . Good stuff . Here's a nice little number from Jeff Lorber , another premier pianist/keyboard player . Macca 2.3

A nab cup type OOB rule was in operation from about 1926 to 1939 . Or , at least it was a similar rule ( last person to touch it ? ) The poor folk back then had to put up with it for all those years ! Maybe the "Powers that be" got tired of "boundary hugging football" . History has a habit of repeating itself ! Hard to find documentation on it but Lord knows how it ever worked . Cheers

Qld vs Tassie in the final hey ! "Back to back" for the Tassie blokes ? Lets hope a "sporting" wicket is produced so we can get a good game . The match is supposed to be on Foxtel but my listings don't show it yet . Maybe it'll be listed in a day or so . Will probably be streaming on "cricket.com.au" Cheers

I thought Rohan Connolly talked us up quite well . I've always enjoyed reading Rohan's articles . He's very level headed and knows his footy . Perhaps he's regarded as not hard hitting enough but he doesn't have to be . Thoughtful and well constructed pieces are just as interesting . Cheers

Couple of classics there JJ from STP . I think you're right . All there songs offer something . Here's a track from "Lacuna Coil" , an Italian gothic metal band (now there's a combination !) This band have had some chart success and I just love bands with a female lead singer . Evanescence , Paramore , No Doubt and Flyleaf being amongst my favourites . This song is one their hits . It did well in the US and the UK . Macca 6.8

On this issue of umpiring I'm with you 100% rjay . And to think he's been the boss of umpiring for a number of years now ! It's a tough enough game to officiate without constant rule interpretations . Reward the bloke going in for the ball , but no ticky-touchwood frees please . A hand on the shoulder gets paid but shouldn't . "Around the neck" should be "Around the neck" not something of a much lesser nature . And give the bloke with the ball a chance to get rid of it . What's wrong with ball-ups ? I can't see the difference between "attempting to get rid of the ball" or "not attempting to get rid of the ball" when it's clearly pinned . Just ball it up . But....................there's no bias against our team !! Cheers

You make some excellent points 'Ben-Hur' . Perhaps I should have added that the lesser team should get even less free kicks . My post was more about the ratio of frees given rather than the total amount . I can see how you've interpreted another way . So much explaining with the written word sometimes !! My original post was about the perceived bias but I agree the umpiring in finals is often much better because they "let it go" . When it comes to over - officiating there may be a problem . It seems when we get to finals time the attitude to umpiring decisions changes ( from the powers that be ) . Why can't we have that attitude all the time ? . The "make 'em earn it" way of thinking is a finals thing . The home and away season - who knows ? Now , some reading this may see a contradiction in my posts but not so . There's a difference between having an opinion on over-officiating and any perceived bias . They're 2 separate issues . Cheers

We're gonna have to agree to disagree 'oldman emubitter' . I've made an artform of never complaining about umpires ! Here's a question for you . Do you reckon the umpires have cost us a premiership in the last 47 years ? If the answer is no then you'll be getting closer to my mindset on umpires . To me , it's always the big picture . I believe if you're 5 goals better than the other side you never have to worry about the odd umpiring decision . I realise of course , that I might be in the minority with my level of thinking but that doesn't mean I'm wrong . In another post I've made mention of "home town" decisions and how that will never change . So it's pointless complaining . I don't believe in that "getting it off one's chest bit " either . I just hate excuses . We got well beaten last night and some want to complain about some umpiring decisions . It's just too ridiculous for words . By the way , when we play "interstate teams" at the MCG we quite often get the run of the umpires . Not many seem to notice . I do . Cheers .

There were a number of times we bombed it long "into space" but our forwards were caught behind their man . Other times we kicked it long to a contest but had no crumbers . The Hawks looked like they played an extra player or 2 in their backline to counteract our style . I'm hoping that Neeld wanted us to kick it long into the forward line (all night ?) as an experiment . There didn't seem to be a lot of "science" to our game plan but it did seem to work better last weekend against the Pies . There has to be different ways of having forward forays ( short passing , going wide , more handball etc etc ) but ...............I'm happy to give Neeld the benefit of the doubt . Win the contested ball and kick it long may well be the instructions (for now) . He may see that as the first steps to getting back to the basics . Cheers

Fair enough rjay , but what so often happens in our game is the gifted forward isn't great defensively and those less gifted are better defensively . The really great one's did both well but not always . I could compile a "list" of all-time great forwards who didn't chase well or who weren't great defensively . It's just the way it is . The game has changed obviously but there's still plenty of forwards who play an "older" style of game . I can live with it if the upside is very good to excellent . Give me a 23-25 yo Robbo in this team right now . Cheers

But rjay , Howe needs to (1st of all) establishing himself in the team as one of the 1st picked . Then he has to help win games for us consistantly . To reach the heights of Robbo he will also have to "turn games on their head" . As I've already said , I've got a lot of time for Howe and reckon he's got a lot of potential . Robbo's bad habits ? He was what he was . A player who backed himself to take a decent grab and kick a goal . He did this very well . What were you looking for ? Wayne Carey ? If memory serves me correct Robbo was a rookie . In some ways he over-achieved . Cheers

Yep , my thinking has always been that the better teams should get more free kicks . In fact , I don't reckon the better teams get rewarded enough . Many people want the free kick count to be even . This has never made sense to me . Home town bias does happen however . This will never change either . It's just a fact of sport . Cheers .

Yeah , you're right . I neglected to mention that we did win the contested possession count . ( Which I did in another thread ) . Winning that KPI is very important and gives us a decent base to work from ( if we can keep it up ) . I was trying to address the perceived bias against us by the umpires and sometimes important other factors can get lost . Good point and I've adjusted my earlier post . Cheers .

Maybe if Davey plays in front of his man he won't have to concern himself with hands in the back . Another fundamental that our players need to learn . It's the sort of thing that you get taught in the under 10's . It takes courage to play in front all the time . Too many of our players play from behind . Old habits die hard . Step 1 is probably winning the contested possession count (which we did again) but there's lots more steps to be taken . Cheers

Blaming the umpires is just another excuse . I haven't seen enough decisions yet that I would question but then again I never blame umpires . I see it as a cop out . We lost the game last night all over the ground and on the scoreboard . We did win the contested possession count however , which was most pleasing . We're so far behind the top teams in so many aspects it's not funny . But ..................we're not on our own in that area and I reckon we can match it with the most of the other teams . Neeld has a lot of work to do . Last night I saw so many fundamentals not adhered to . We've been taught to play a certain way in the last 4-5 years and old habits die hard . A lot of our players don't know how to position themselves when they've got a chance for a free kick . And we often tackle in a very clumsy way . Again , Neeld has a lot of work to do . Umpires just call it as they see it . There's no bias against us . Cheers

Robbo would make a lot of our current players look 2nd rate . He was often a match winner . Most of our players of the last 5 years have been "match losers" . Are you happy with "bruise free" types ? At the very least Robbo had a go . More than I can say about quite a number on our list . Comparing Howe to Robbo is ridiculous in the extreme . What's he done so far that's so special ? I like Howe and I reckon he has a lot of potential but he's got a fair way to go to match Robbo's heights . In fact , if Howe turns out to be as good as Robbo I'll be very happy . Robbo played 228 games , kicked 428 goals and helped us get to many finals series' . Not too shabby . Have a bit of respect for a terrific past player . Cheers .

I'll bow to your better judgement 'angrydee' . I was a little young to know anyway ! I do remember we won 8 of our 1st 9 games in 1971 though . I 'spose I was basing my opinion on that . Our list didn't seem strong from what I've read . Ian did a lot for our club and even though I wasn't happy about the proposed merger I never really blamed him . Too many premiership medallions !! I was at that round 22 game at Vic Park in 1976 . Bobby nearly got us there . Cheers

Jack , Jack , Jack , Jack and Colin ! Fitzy just misses out . Cheers

The film "Ten Canoes" is one of the better movies I have seen in the last few years . The events of the last 48 hours or so has made me think of how this film in some ways represents the values of indigenous culture . This movie will surprise you with it's honesty , humour and on how human behavior hasn't changed that much over time . It's a really good mystery with native language (subtitles) . It won a host of awards at the 2006 AFI's (including best film). Every Australian should see this film . Highly recommended and here's the IMDb link for reviews and trailer . 4 stars out of 5 . http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0466399/