Macca

I mentioned Essendon because he played there previously You know, favourite son and all that But landing there is not probable unless the Bombers cut short Scott's contract Remembering that 6 months severance is all clubs are up for these days if they dispense with a coach And with that short payout we might start to see more contracts cut short if KPI's aren't met People are the same all over so sacking coaches could become more prevalent in the AFL like it is overseas Whether we like that or not is often irrelevant

The bigger issue is where does it all stop? And the class actions have a real connection

If Hunter is guilty then the Essendon player who braced for Spargo's head first action needed to be found guilty as well But that player wasn't even cited (not that he should have been, the contact was on Spargo) The inconsistent citing and outcomes from the MRO & Tribunal is astonishing

As for supply & demand If Hardwick is the supplied commodity, there will be a high demand And with a sacked coach now only receiving 6 months severance, an even bigger demand is prevalent In effect, it's possible (but not probable) that Hardwick could end up at Essendon By the way, that practice of not having to pay out a full contract for a sacked coach is often standard practice in sports overseas ... KPI related For instance, David Moyes was given a 6 year contract with Man Utd a few years ago but after only one year was sacked* and only given a one year payout ... mind you, it was in the vicinity of $6Million for that one year so go figure *Missing a Champions League spot was a KPI apparently

They're not going to play hardball with such a successful coach (after being a such a basket-case) 3 flags speaks for itself so I'd be surprised if he doesn't get paid out for the rest of the year Handshake agreement is my take The Tigers probably knew they needed a fresh voice with fresh ideas So an ideal parting off the ways. Hardwick looked rather pleased with the finish as well

Not sure that Hardwick is out of pocket either ... gets paid out for this year you'd imagine and then gets to walk into another job next season at $1Million per season Remembering that a sacked coach only gets paid out 6 months severance So he effectively gets at least 4 months paid leave (about $350k) and walks into more millions down the track

We should appeal

The issue was always going to be that all the different sporting comps would be broken up between any number of different streaming or cable services And now that scenario has been ramped up especially if one is a soccer fan

They are going to lose a number of subscribers Footy & League are their strongholds though so they may not be too concerned

So more importantly, what soccer will Foxtel & Kayo cover looking ahead? I don't have either but do have Optus Sports

There's a bit of a tradition of clubs holding to integrity in the last few games I've even heard Jose talk about playing out the year in a proper manner But with a big final coming up we might still rest a few

It seems we've left our best to last ... watched our game against Leeds and we looked mighty dangerous on the counter attack Up against Fiorentina in the Conference league final so a chance for some silverware at long last. Won't be easy Thursday June 8th 5.00am

I'm a week ahead! Last weekend of EPL games next weekend the FA Cup 4th June & CL Final 11th June

Well that ended quickly Man City win the title after the Gunners run out of steam at the pointy end of the season So can City win the treble? ... The Title, FA Cup & Champions League? We'll soon find out as the FA Cup Final is on next weekend and the CL final is on the weekend after CL places for next season seem to be finalised (Liverpool will need a number of things to happen to gain a spot) so the real interest is which 2 teams out of Everton, Leeds or Leicester will be relegated

Demons lose but at least your horse won ... and it won well too I was on it in a double with Redeimer (up in Sydney) Got about 7-1 for the pair

Competing for the ball is now reportable (apparently) Accidents happen and that should just be a high contact free kick and that's the end of it

lol this thread

'ol mate Geraint Thomas is a narrow leader after Evenepoel withdrew with Covid. A few others have got Covid as well from the Quickstep team Not much time between the top 10-15 so anyone could win ... Roglic is 2 seconds behind and Geogheghan Hart 5 seconds behind. Aussie Jack Haig 3 minutes behind In the mountains Thursday thru Sunday so it's about to heat up

Can't stand MC Shifty as a outhouse rat

If down the track one of our more high profile players is cited for a similar type of tackle and the next game is a final or even a GF, would we appeal? I'd say no doubt we would, especially if it's an Oliver, Petracca or a Gawn So why not appeal now to see how far we can stretch things? A test case so to speak I understand that we aren't appealing but I would have appealed if only to see what the result would be So in other words you take up the fight knowing that you'll probably lose but ... you live to fight another day

Yep, T-Mac is next in line and he can play the role (lead up CHF) that Petty was playing Brown is more a deep forward (JVR's role) and Schache is there in reserve for one of the ruckman

If this sort of thing carries a penalty of missing games then sooner or later a lesser offence will carry a suspension After that, an even lesser offense will be the next focus But one thing is for sure, the name players won't be cited, it will be the sacrificial lamb lesser lights I suppose in a way, players like Petracca, Gawn or Oliver probably won't be cited so there is some upside You and DS made very good points with regards to Day contributing to the sling and it needs a sharp eye to notice such things

Well picked up DS because with the full vision it looks damning for Sparrow So if Day contributes to the sling (as you've said) then not so damning I must say I do like the aggressive nature of Sparrow's tackle. Old school and he creates a presence for himself That same type of tackle isn't always going to end up with the players head hitting the ground. His arms weren't pinned so he's got his arms to protect himself

We know that All the more reason to take up the fight We should be complaining about the inconsistencies through the media Other clubs do

If the AFL were authentic, they'd make an example of the high profile players, not the lesser lights But the Sparrow action is a football action in my view anyway Just like JVR ruling, cite them all or don't cite them at all In their endeavour to clean things up in terms of head trauma, there is no clear pathway. The road ahead is murky (to say the least) Unless the sport is reinvented (AFLX)