pantaloons

Thus endeth the witch hunt. No player is going to intentionally throw a game, so that leaves bailey with the power to do so. That should be the end of it, though I expect Caro to rise from her death bed at some point to try to land the fatal bullet into the MFC

So hang on - Finkle is Einhorn? Einhorn is a man! Caro is KB! Schwab discovered this sordid secret and he/she will do anything to keep it from getting out! This unbelievably stupid saga finally makes sense now.

Thanks Hipster. I don't follow NCAAF so that's a name I'll look out for!

Yep Dave, it's a club riddled with poor decisions and cheapskate behaviour. We haven't recognised the need for on elite QB despite rule changes making it an even more QB focused league.

She is just a disgusting human being. Surely nobody reads this tripe and thinks she's making a level-headed case. She comes out as incredulous that Melbourne and its "more rabid supporters", which I assume means she's either been reading Demonland or had the phone ringing constantly with irate Melbourne supporters, are staunch in our defence. She has provided nothing new in the latest handful of manure she's lobbed at the club, only an increase in vitriol and bitterness. I thought the witch was usually the one being hunted.

Now that you mention it, the Colts have a knack of conveniently stinking it up in epic fashion just when a very special #1 pick QB comes around. LA - will take a couple months to get warmed up. Could be ugly early but should be ok come playoffs. Chiefs - unbelievable. Just shows the importance of the QB position. We seriously need this fixed in a massive hurry. Bring on the draft. Our turnover differential is the NFL's worst to this point in the season for over 30 years. Confidence is shot. Today's game was hilarious - we found the wackiest ways to turn the ball over and lose the game. Its like watching Melbourne but without the ability to go to games or friends to share the angst with.

No. The end.

Yeah it's kind of like the time I asked Kate Upton out and she was like 'no' and I was like 'yeah I don't wanna go out with you anyway - I was just testing'.

You're spot on, Macca, and it's just a pity that so many journos creating this storm in a teacup don't see it for what it is. Youre right on the tanking perception in the States, though there was an anti-tanking article on ESPN NBA a couple of months ago. While a lottery takes the certainty out of the early draft order, yes, it doesn't eliminate teams putting the cue in the rack early for future benefit. The Boston Celtics of 2006-07 were a good example of a team doing this well. They were an ordinary side then anyway, put put players out for the season early and ended up with a top 5 pick which was essentially traded for Ray Allen, and starting to look a bit more attractive with Allen and Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett signed as a free agent shortly after. The very next season they finished 66-16 and won the championship. While I detest them and they defeated my beloved Lakers for the title, I applaud them for their approach the season prior. Its been proven time and time again a myth that tanking breeds poor culture and further failure when in fact often the opposite occurs.

If we win more than two games this season and fail to land an elite QB with the #1 pick, I will be furious. Roll out the tank. Just don't tell Caro.

It's like this: Caro: Connolly told a joke about Jim Stynes Being annoyed we won a game, and staffers were told they'd lose their jobs if Melbourne won 5 games. AFL site article: Melbourne blatantly tanked. Caro's article tomorrow: Melbourne set to be expelled from the AFL Hun article next week: the MFC will come to your house in the middle of the night and eat your children.

He's already been taken in the mini draft, so he's as good as ours. There's as much chance of the AFL taking Mitch Clark off us, though I'm sure Caro has already suggested that to the AFL.

Oh no! She's found the smoking gun! If Richmond and Sydney players think we've pulled a swifty, then that's all the evidence anyone needs! I wonder what these players told her? "Yeah, that team that won the spoon in 2009 was simply way too good for us and they had to resort to throwing the game to lose to us, such was our lack of ability." Stay tuned for episode five of Caro's enthralling witch hunt tomorrow, where she uncovers more scandal and shocking evidence that Melbourne supporters in section M50 were delighted to secure a priority pick in 2009 as the undeniable evidence mounts.

It won't achieve anything except making me (and my wallet) feel better, but I'll take pleasure in informing The Age exactly why I won't be renewing my subscription.

Nice work, Supreme Dee. It is the sense of powerlessness in all this that drives many of us mad, so I think it's fair and reasonable to workshop ideas to help the club at this time, even if our ability to help is very small. There are many instances throughout history where people power has been crucial in swaying an outcome. So if you hear media reports tomorrow of a disgruntled mid-30s gent in a Melbourne guernsey storming AFL House with a fistful of flashbangs, kidnapping Andrew Demetriou with a BB gun and later sending a home made video to ABC news with Demetriou reading from a pre-written script demanding the AFL drop its investigation, it wasn't me.

The way old Caro is going, we're going to have to dump our second sponsor this year.

Hopefully Neeld turns up in a tank and steamrolls them all.

I love that Melbourne supporters cheering McMahon's goal (fortunately I was just off camera celebrating wildly) was cited in Wilson's article as some sort of support for her case that Melbourne was involved in a wacky global conspiracy.

1. Melbourne did stuff in 2009 that happens every year. 2. Some people in the football media are tired of playing solitaire for seven hours a day and have a limited understanding of list management, so have decided to appropriately embark on a witch hunt at this special time of the year. 3. It appears that when Melbourne engaged in some list management in 2009, perhaps some club officials with verbal diarrhoea may have been a fraction blunt in their directions to then coach Dean Bailey. 4. The list of people keen to stick the boots into the MFC isn't restricted to the media or the AFL however, and every loosely termed 'man' and his dog with an axe to grind with the club is lining up to kick the Demons in the proverbial plums. 5. There is no new intel to factually suggest what penalty if any the MFC will receive, other than the ramblings of some journalists keen for scandal and a 'big story' of the MFC being forced to squeal like a pig. 6. Any punishment dished out to the MFC at this or a later time may (hopefully) result in court action by the club. 7. In short, after 31 pages, we don't have a whole lot of substance, other than that this club may not have been the most cleverly run outfit in the land in recent times.

No club penalties and widespread sackings and floggings of those involved in the vault? Where do I sign?

Hahahaha!! Points 2-4 occur in every game, every week. Point 1 is completely different. I love wikipedia, but whoever put this on there is having a lend.

In Don Mclardy's only comment on the issue made after Brock's comments, according to the AFL's tweet about an hour ago, he said that Melbourne would defend its integrity in the "strongest fashion". No word on whether he was talking about Peter Werth suits.

Sorry Hazy!

This whole thing reeks of an over zealous AFL media with too many journalists and not enough genuine stories to cover. It's the biggest little story I've ever seen in any sport. If Melbourne is going down for this, it must go down like Tony Montana. While I will be disgusted to the brink of conjuring up repugnant tweets to the AFL that will have ASIO knocking at my door if we are sanctioned, I would be even more livid if we just copped it on the chin. This is not an issue specific to Melbourne.

Remember that time we played Colin Garland in the forwardline in 2012 against Essendon and it cost us the game?