djr

I also was at the game and agree with pretty much what Maldon has said. On the injury front, I went up to Jessie Hogan's uncle after he chatted with his nephew and he told me that Jessie received a corky after been slammed in a marking duel in the first quarter. He might miss a week but he's OK. I also noticed that Chris Dawes had an ice pack on his knee after the game. It could be just a cautioning. A few observations. Chris Dawes is not AFL ready and I expect he won't be called up for a few weeks if tonight was any indication. On the other hand Fitzy is in fine form and should get his chance in the next couple of weeks. Jimmy T was disappointing in the first 3 quarters and looked a little lost. He seemed to find his compass in the last quarter and got more involved. His kicking skills are very good. I thought Strauss attacked the ball very hard and even broke through packs. You get a sense that he is gaining confidence with every outing.

I reckon we need not look any further than Evans at the moment. He has the pace and smarts to cause trouble at the feet of our big guys. He's also got good defensive skills.

Any news on Clark?

Boy, life must be really tough for you OD. Every post is the same. You need to lighten up.

Good idea. Julia will be available in a couple of months.

Does anybody know much about Ron Gauci? He is currently CEO of the Melb Storm. Took over from Matt Hansen after the salary cap scandal in 2010. What he has done to rebuild that club after the football department and board was completely stripped has been remarkable. I know it does help having the best coach in the business under him.

I've heard some ridiculous comments on these forums as of late but this one is in the top three. Armstrong please refrain from posting if you are going to dish up this unsubstantiated crap. Boy, they are coming out of their holes now.

One of the most ridiculous comments I've read.

Ask any Richmond supporter how long they have been waiting. Freo were a joke for countless years. True supporters just don't give up. The club becomes part their DNA. At least we had some success in the '00s. The old adage - there is always next year.

Old Dee, we get that

Nasher, you make a good point. A way around this could be to let the AFL determine the probabilities of teams making the finals. If for example a team has a 30% chance of playing in September then they would qualify to participate in the ordering system. If by chance they do make the finals then they are disqualified. The betting agencies are constantly framing markets on who will make the 8 based on probabilities. The AFL can do the same.

Another way of looking at this is that the AFL have been quite shrewd in charging 2 Melb officials with actions 'prejudicial to the interests of the AFL' and then fining Melb 500,000 for being an employer of these 2 officials. These charges would be harder to defend in court than a tanking charge. I think certainly this was a legal settlement where Melb really had no option but to accept these penalties.

WJ, the idea has some merit. But because a premiership is so difficult to achieve and a lot of luck is involved, I believe a club is successful enough (for a draft order) if they make the final 4. What would be the order then be under your methodology? Because the preliminary final losers have equal standing, you can go back to the next time each of those clubs made the top 4.

You can add Greg Baum to the Age list.

I agree. I believe Fitzy will have a pretty solid year barring injury. After watching him at Casey last year he is a cut above that league. I wouldn't be surprise if he becomes a regular in the senior side in the second half of the year.

Neeld was not at training last week and apparently this week as well. Does anybody know why?

JB I think you need to chill out a bit. While I think that JW has the potential to take that next step, he is certainly not in the "star" category. If you believe he was "tearing it up" last year, I would like you to just revisit the 2012 B&F results. He finished 16th. Even Joel MacDonald finished higher with only one extra game played. The coaches vote according to how well players perform their roles which explains a top 10 finish for Trengove and Dunn. If JW doesn't finish in the top 10 this year, barring injury, then I feel he hasn't progressed sufficiently and believe his name will come up in trade discussions. As i said this is a big year for him.

I agree with you RB. MN has no emotional attachment to JW. He didn't recruit him and in some respects he's not MN's type of player. That said, it appears that MN is comfortable to keep developing Jack. This is a big year for him.

Mods, please remove this Barn Dee guy. He is highly offensive, uneducated, ignorant and lacking any understanding of what it is like to be an ethnic minority who have been marginalized as a result of their land be taken over by us whites. As you can see I don't contribute much to this forum but I am one of the silent readers. As much as I enjoy reading spirited debates and tolerate the personal attacks some posters have with each other, I find that this guy's comments cross the line of what is acceptable to read in a forum like this.

From why I saw at training this morning Fitzy will be well and truly in the mix this season. He moves so well and I predict he will be a dominent force in the VFL with some opportunities being given during the AFL season. Watch him for 2014. Agree with BH re Barry. He moves like a young Michael Long.

Thinking yesterday whether Jason Taylor has started with the club yet. I haven't heard any media release.

Wow! didn't see that coming. Chill out Ben. All I am asking here is that I would like to hear from our skipper. Nothing more, nothing less.

I am a little surprised that we don't see Jack Grimes a little more front and centre. As our captain I would like to hear his thoughts of the Darwin experience…….in actual fact the whole pre-season. Unless i missed an interview, we have heard nothing from him. I would have thought that the presentation to the young lance-corporal would have been done by him seeing that he was there.

Hells, you mentioned that Davey was a standout. That's great to hear. In what way was he? I watched him train a couple of weeks ago and he was last in every run. Did he run and make space?

This article has certainly given me an insight into what it takes to be an AFL footballer. You can have all the talent in the world but if you are not up to it mentally you are just not going to make it. That's why I don't think Liam Jurrah would have lasted that long in the AFL system. He was not the greatest trainer nor would have liked the scrutiny and accountability that is now obvious under MN. Likewise with a number of others that have since left the club. It will be interesting to see how Colin Sylvia responds to this. Already I note that he spends a lot of time in rehab.