rjay

Agree with your post 'Vogan', and this part in particular rings true from what I've been told by people outside the club who know him very well.

He (Cripps) certainly doesn't have the explosiveness of Judd or Ablett and despite height differences his game is more the Williams type than the other 2, I guess that's the point. Always a problem with comparing players but particularly of different generations.

Cripps is a terrific young player but I wouldn't make a comparison with Judd or Ablett who were both explosive players. Agree with 'dazzle' that he is more a Williams type.

The kid could play but he wasn't overly confident...apparently Neeld's approach took whatever he had. Not saying he would have made it with better development, we will never really know that, but he was shot by the time he got to North.

Neeld...

Have a closer look this year 'steve', I know you like to look at the finer points of the game.

Tyson is able to extract the ball when it's locked in tight, he has more strength than the others to do this. Viney is a bull at a gate as is Jones but they are both smaller mids and when it gets really congested they can't clear it like Tyson can. He mightn't look it but he's the strong man in the engine room, I've seen him wrestling for possession with Mumford and break even. I think he is our version of Joey Kennedy in that regard.

We don't have one the same as Tyson though 'steve'... He brings what Jones & Viney don't and is a very important part of the mix.

He's the key to our winning contested ball...and missed badly when he's not there. Viney and Jones in particular rely a lot on Dom's strength around the ball to get things moving.

Have met Sheeds a number of times too 'Ron' and he is good for a chat and good for the game...a likeable larrikin. ...but I don't think he would know much about the relative merits of either player given as I posted recently he was going to sign an autograph for Phil Davis not knowing who he was, the co captain. Also McCartney was quoted recently as saying Tyson will be an absolute gun... Hey, we could end up with the 3 of them. Kelly certainly fills a gap in our list.

Kelly would be a better fit...

Salem, Hunt....put the band back together with Kelly. Why not?

It's only a matter of time... One man running clean & winning against the rest...call me cynical but I've heard this story before.

I agree with you 'willmoy'...I love that he's back fit & well but surely he doesn't need the weight of the captaincy at this time of his life. It's going to be enough to survive the battle for a start and to play is a bonus. The captaincy, whilst it carries an emotional edge for him and his teammates may be asking a bit too much.

Great to hear Roughie is up and running, good choice of Captain by the Hawks....a real good news story and boy does the AFL need one. Who are the others you are talking about?????

Agree, it seems he has been very poorly advised... ...then again it could be that he would only listen to what he wanted to hear and wouldn't pay any regard to anyone with a differing view. Maybe he surrounded himself with sycophants.

One of Hird's many mistakes...

Scapegoat is probably the wrong word, and don't get me wrong he should have been held accountable. ...but in this case the AFL were aware of the problem very early on and should have stopped it. To cover their own ineptness they wanted to make Hird the fall guy then move on. Unfortunately for all parties including himself he wouldn't take the fall. As you say the AFL is like other sporting bodies and can't be trusted to run a clean sport. I'm as sure as I can be that flags have been won by drug cheats... As for the Hitler analogy, nice story but not quite so sure it applies here.

He did wrong no doubt about it. He was the man in charge who either implemented the program or was ignorant of it, he had to fall on his sword. He wouldn't accept being the scapegoat although I have no doubt the AFL where setting him up to be it. They had a couple of things on their agenda here. One too them being there own culpability in the whole affair. They knew it was going on and did nothing to stop it apart from a quiet word. If Hird had have gone along with it the whole saga would have ended years ago and he would probably still be coaching EFC. So yes he was at fault as was the AFL, they wanted him to lie down and he wouldn't. I also think the AFLPA have gotten away lightly here.

Robson is another. Whether it was honourable or just cutting their losses it was a smart thing to move on and away from the mess. I think the AFL did want Hird's scalp as some kind of symbolic gesture but whichever way you look at it he had to carry at a minimum some responsibility. The buck always stops with the coach like it or not. I think Hird was very badly advised or chose not to listen to advice all through this time. This probably gives a clue as to why he brought in Robinson & Dank...I wouldn't be giving Hird a job in executive recruitment that's for sure. I also believe the AFL & AFLPA have played a deceptive game in this whole saga...the AFL knew about the program and as they run the game should have stepped in and stopped it. They can order a club to wear clash jumper but they can't stop a supplements program that looked decidedly dodgy. Head in the sand. They've managed to sneak away from the whole thing without anyone losing their job at AFL house...although AD did sneak off to greener pastures with a nice payout.

I find it unusual that he hasn't yet made the trip to Melbourne to see James.... There may be a good reason but out of anything he had to say this is the only thing that stuck with me.

Well deserved...

I wouldn't be reading too much into this 'Lucifer', Worsfold like Roos is a master of "smoke & mirrors". Don't know what the end game is here but you can guarantee the headline isn't it.

Good luck collecting...

I'm not a fan of the way the AFL do business but would be more than very surprised if Jobe gets to keep his Brownlow. I just think it's Dill 'the likeable' and Mike 'leave the room' hoping that he will absolve them of responsibility and hand it back.