Lucifers Hero

I'm not worried about the three internal candidates who missed out. Two of them would be disappointed regardless of who got the gig. Hopefully, good practice and good sense has prevailed and they were told where their experiences fell short of the requirements. If its all done with goodwill there is no reason for someone to spit the dummy and just leave. After all, to be CEO of an AFL club, or senior staffer in AFL HQ a person needs AFL 'endorsement'. So they need to gain the AFL's confidence and the required experience which may be at the Dees or elsewhere. The person I am more worried about losing is Jason Taylor. Hopefully, he and Pert were good mates at the Pies as I would hate for Taylor to start looking elsewhere. He is a real 'must keep' for mine.

A little bit underwhelmed, Bb?

A few points on overseeing a footy department. 1. Sometimes the CEO and the Board must get involved in list management eg when a player decision will bring much media scrutiny eg Grimes, Trengove, Watts, Lever. Or selection of Captains etc. It s essential everyone sings from the same song book when the media comes calling. 2. Chris Judd recently said on FC that Bolton is rock solid as their coach and they had just extended his contract. Judd's explanation was that the Board had signed off on the List Management strategy and the Game Plan. Bolton was delivering to the Board's KPI's. 3. I would expect the CEO and Board to sign off on any 'outside the parameters' player contracts. etc It is about good governance, so the CEO and the Board must be involved in the football matters but at a strategic level and not a day to day management level. The key is to get the balance right between the Eddie show; the CS/CC level interference and letting the football department do their own thing. Only time will tell if Pert can do that. (I doubt he would have survived for 10 years as a CEO anywhere if he wasn't a very good juggler).

Last year Collingwood was a shambles: Gubby was suspended, Eddie was under pressure on many fronts and nearly cost CFC major sponsors. Pert fell on his sword. There are no secrets in the AFL. Any dirty laundry Pert had would have been well aired and the club would have quizzed him as they did Goodwin when he came from Ess. We have come too far and too much work still to do for our Board to take the chance with someone who can't deliver and keep the solid culture PJ et al have created. Trust Jackson. Trust the Board. They haven't let us down yet. I don't think they have this time.

Quotes from the article: "He was endorsed by the Demons board on Wednesday after being described as the standout candidate from a short-list of five. Pert, who comes with the blessing of the AFL, will replace Peter Jackson, who is contracted until the end of October". "The Demons considered Pert the perfect fit for a club on the rise, as well as his expertise in new facilities as Melbourne is set to announce plans for a new training and administration base away from their current set-up at the MCG and adjacent AAMI Park". For mine, he fits the bill of having a breadth of experience in clubs and the industry, knows his way around the halls of AFL HQ and is our Board's choice. The more I think about it the more I like it. He is a very good operator. No leaks! Well done MFC for keeping it quiet!

Once it was decided to play Tom Mc forward Lewis' job during the preseason was to tutor Lever. Early this year Lewis said "One of the gaps was a little bit of leadership down back...That's not to say that I'll play there next year but certainly throughout the pre-season, I think I'll train the majority of the time in the backline." Once the season started, Lever was marshalling the backs under Lewis' wise eye - watching but not interfering (and I'm guessing there was a bit of post game debriefing). Now that Lever is out the marshalling role has reverted to Lewis and he did a fine job of it yesterday. Very obvious at the ground not sure if so obvious on tv. Yes, Lewis' weaknesses will be exposed but every player has some and every opp coach will work to exploit them. Lewis has more positives than negatives so for me he stays until Lever returns. @DeeSpenceryou are a fine reporter of training sessions and they are much appreciated. From what you've seen if Lewis is dropped who takes over the marshalling role?

When he was drafted Taylor seemed a bit surprised Petty had fallen through to pick 37 and said something like "we have a fair bit of talent in our defence but he is so good we just had to take him".? Clearly our recruiters were impressed with him and I bet everyone is now very pleased that we took him! Given the training and Casey reports he has done everything asked of him. He isn't Jake Lever but he can certainly come in and play a role. He won't be gifted games (no one does anymore, thank goodness) so when he comes in he will be deemed to be ready. Edit: Just saw this in a Team Selection article: Petty modelled his game on Lever before the Demons plucked him with Pick 37 last November". What a game to debut in, if selected this week!

The AFL has lost the hearing to just have failed in their attempt to just have a 'preliminary hearing' (mini trial). It means that McLachlan and Fitzpatrick end up facing trial and could end up giving evidence in court. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/court-ruling-on-essendon-drugs-saga-edges-afl-boss-nearer-to-trial-20180606-p4zjr8.html They may finally learn that the AFL is not a law unto itself. But the cynic in me thinks they will wheel and deal their way out of it.

A few might already know - Hang on a second, I'll call them ☺️ @Roost It@Grand New Flag@Pennant St Dee @Chook in Perth

Funny how those most able to do something blame some else- A few weeks ago Hird blamed Ess for lack of support Thompson blames Evans for not stopping it all Now Jobe blames Ess - says the club were negligent, which is true. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/watson-whacks-bombers-over-supplements-saga-20180523-p4zh2f.html The more people that were involved go back over it (incl Fitzpatrick, Crameri recently) the more likely the truth will trickle out, especially when someone starts defending their patch.

Just when Ess thought their season could not get any worse: "My point of view is that it was almost certainly performance enhancing," Fitzpatrick said of the injected substances" https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/retired-afl-chairman-adds-to-bombers-woes-20180515-p4zfb1.html Doesn't get any more damning than! Fitzpatrick would know! The doping saga will haunt them forever and a day!

My bad. I misread an article on FA's. Will go back and edit my post. Cheers,

Up to a point Steve. While Gaff may choose us, WCE can match the offer and force a trade ala Dangerfield from Adelaide. It would probably mean us trading out a top player to WCE (or to some else to get the required pick) as I don't think we can trade the 2019 1st round pick. WCE would make a call once they know where they finish on the ladder. The higher up the more likely to force a trade as their 1st round compensation pick would likely be in the mid to late teens. Saints are touted as being very keen altho can't imagine he would go there. As someone else mentioned Jackson flagged we have the salary cap space to go after an FA but finding the currency might get tricky if we are forced into a trade...who/what would we be prepared to give up? Edit: Reckon WCE would ask for Jesse as Kennedy will be 31 this year. To quote @daisycutter phrase: 'computer says no' on such a deal.

Interesting article. I wonder what Sheedy means with this cryptic comment: "I think the supplements saga at Essendon didn't help him [Thompson], it definitely didn't help James Hird so I think that's going to play out in the next five, six years, particularly with the players that got banned and also with Jobe losing his Brownlow Medal," he said on The Footy Show. "I reckon after 10 years it will be interesting to see what happens there." Law suits? Mental health issues? Medical issues? This has become such a mess of so many lives and it need not have been.

The items in the locked room are reported to have Bomber's DNA on them. The largest item seized during the raid was 839.7 grams of MDMA which reportedly was not in the locked room. Re this item: "Senior Constable Bourke said the 839.7 grams of MDMA was contaminated by the clandestine drug unit so DNA could not be found but police were still investigating a connection between these drugs and the 54-year-old". https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bomb-tatts-and-bang-bang-police-allege-large-money-exchanges-between-thompson-and-drug-accused-20180502-p4zcwr.html It beggars belief that a specialised group of cops could contaminate evidence but somehow they did...

One of Hird's assistant coaches at the time is now our senior coach...just saying... In the Bigger Boardroom of our State the two highest public office bearers are die hard Essendon supporters. And I recall a shady character 'convincing' witnesses not to show up at the ASADA hearing. And another anonymous character paid Hird's very hefty legal bills/damages. So the tentacles of possible influence extend far and wide.

The Spargo family makes history https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/spargo-family-makes-history-in-charlie-s-impressive-demons-debut-20180430-p4zcfj.html "His debut meant the Spargo family was the first to produce four league footballers - in a direct line - through four successive generations". Terriffic achievement by the family. Liked his dad's advice on presenting Charlie with his demon jumper: play hard for your teammates, play hard for your jumper. He seems like a feisty puppy with a bit of bite, not unlike Jack Viney. I suspect it won't be long before we have a 'Spargo Made Me Cry' thread. ?

He was pushing his luck after the 'Goodwin/camp fiasco' and 'McCartney banished from the coach's box' stories. 'Leaking' the Petracca omission story yesterday was probably the final straw. Let's hope that whoever inside the club is feeding him stories, stops! Or he will still get stuff to write.

Didn't take long for other clubs to come sniffing - "Angus Brayshaw’s non-selection for the first three rounds of the season has also led to seven rival clubs showing various levels of interest in the out-of-contract ball-winner, whose brothers — Hamish and Andrew — live in Perth and play for West Coast and Fremantle respectively....The Dockers are believed to be one of these clubs keeping a close eye on the concussion-plagued Brayshaw. https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/fremantle-poised-to-make-bigmoney-moves-for-jeremy-mcgovern-and-jesse-hogan-with-an-eye-on-angus-brayshaw/news-story/e1b90ef950ed62a9db2ee841a96000c4 The writer does add that "... there is no suggestion Brayshaw wants out but...the lure of consistent opportunities could prove to be a decisive factor in weighing up his future". It was good to see Gus play a really good first up game yesterday. Let's hope the coaches keep playing him to give him some consistency, which he hasn't had for several years for a variety of reasons. Note - I have ignored the speculation about Hogan in that article. It is a repeat of the same stuff year after year and Freo will continue to ask.

Is that an update or did I miss something - the article referred to Phase 2 testing before' it' being released to the general market in a few years ie not needing special permission to use. Nonetheless, I'm in full agreement with your original post that you/I hope MFC are not into it and that everyone especially the AFL, has there eyes wide open. Edit: there seems to be some inaccuracy in what has been reported. I just came across this https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-legend-malcolm-blight-concerned-footballers-are-being-used-as-lab-rats-for-trial-drugs/news-story/58aad17fbaa46917f7b60148e3e313d8 Quotes: Malcolm Blight has voiced his concern that footballers are being used as ‘lab rats’ for trial drugs following reports players are using a new ‘wonder drug’ to cure knee, hip and groin pain. [The CEO], Rennie told the Herald Sun that it was approved by the AFL’s chief medical officer Dr Peter Harcourt, with the report saying that the drug was being accessed by AFL players under the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s ‘special access scheme’. However, the AFL has since provided a statement saying “Dr Peter Harcourt did not approve this medication”. It has left the players allegedly using this drug in the lurch.. It wouldn't be the first time a company has made claims to keep their share price up. Anyway, very confusing. Suspect there is more to come.

I didn't connect it to anything at EFC and know it is not banned from an ASADA view. Nor is it illegal in a medical sense. But the players are still guinea pigs, as is anyone who participates in a trial for new pharmaceuticals. My point was that hopefully players know what potential risks the product holds as it as not yet been fully tested on humans. That is what their Phase 2 testing will be.

The thing I found odd from the article is that while they have the ok to use it, the product is still to be fully tested and is not on the market ye,t so the 40 to 50 AFL players are being used as guinea pigs. Clearly, the product is not illegal but hopefully club doctors have told those 40 to 50 players any potential side affects etc.

He is out of contract this year so if the club rates him they need to either give him games consistently or sign him up on a new contract. Otherwise, there will be a few suitors out there talking to his manager. We have re-contracted all the players who can be considered his peers so he is the only one still on the shelf. I really rate him, he is much more than depth and would hate for him to look elsewhere.

I cant get behind the paywall but the headline contradicts the quoted text which says: The AFL has joined ASADA in fighting a Freedom of Information request made by a member of the public seeking access to doping control forms Why would the AFL side with ASADA to fight release of info and at the same time threaten to spilt from ASADA if info is released. Is there something in the article that explains the apparent contradiction? If not pretty dumb of the HS to run with it. Anyway, who is the AFL supposedly threatening? It is up to the courts to decide what to released. A confused and not very logical person wrote that headline - Robbo perhaps?

I assume that is rather tongue-in-cheek. If not, I would expect Peter Jackson to shut the idea down quick smart. I could not support a team with him at the club. To me he is no better than the drug dealer on the street selling gear to young people. They do it for money. Hird selfishly used players, who were entrusted to his care, as guinea pigs for his own egotistical purposes. Unforgivable in my book. Anyway, he doesn't have much to offer - is in the 'great player/average coach' category. No thanks! Keep him away from my club.