Lucifers Hero

Can recommend watching the game on tv with sound on 'mute' and listen to the radio. Much better as they described the actual game and don't indulge the 'fan boy' stuff, nor reminisce too much. There is a few seconds delay but it didn't bother me.

If Hogan is suspended it will be a joke and a travesty of justice. Last year he got two weeks for an identical incident when Jed Lamb (whose club later claimed 'delayed concussion') went down from a feather touch. On that reckoning it is Carlisle who should be suspended. Talk of suspending Hogan is just another example of some in the media preferring to lambaste Melbourne at every opportunity. If Hogan is suspended the club must challenge it and go to the Tribunal.

If Hogan is suspended it will be a joke and a travesty of justice. Last year he got two weeks for an identical incident when Jed Lamb (whose club later claimed 'delayed concussion') went down from a feather touch. On that reckoning it is the StKilda player who should be suspended. Talk of suspending Hogan is just another example of some in the media preferring to lambaste Melbourne at every opportunity. If Hogan is suspended the club must challenge it and go to the Tribunal.

If the AFL wanted to make the competition 'fairer' they would have a standard set of dimensions then 'shrink' the boundaries of the bigger grounds wherever possible. The most standard dimension is 135m wide and 165m long. Easy to do - just paint a new boundary inside the old. Of course they never will. The dimensions highlight what a huge advantage it is for finals for teams that play regularly at the G which is why so many teams now want more games there. Some wealthy teams like Ess have created an MCG sized oval as (one of) their training oval. Hopefully, we will soon have the game plan to 'conquer' the G and make it our 'fortress'.

- Commentators work for channel 7. - Channel 7 has the broadcast rights with the AFL. - CEO of the AFL is Gil - Gil is a Saints supporter. Ipso facto the commentators support the saints - they know which side their bread is buttered on? But I don't think that means they hate Melbourne.

On that reckoning we end up with 15 wins + GWS 50/50. Based on last year that lands us somewhere between 1st and 3rd on the ladder! Happy days! - We have 8 games vs sides below us on the ladder. We should win those but history says we will probably drop a couple. Lets say win 6 of the 8. - And the other 7 games vs Adelaide x 2, Collingwood, Geelong, Sydney, WCE and GWS I count as 50/50. If half of those go our way that is 3/4 wins. So I reckon 13 or 14 wins. The games vs Port, Sydney and Collingwood are shaping as 8 point games and will determine how far we go into the 8. So yeah, I share your optimism but to be on the safe side I will now go back to thinking 'one week at a time'...?

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

Rhetorical question: when did the AFL introduce a 'time limit' for goal reviews? I may have missed the announcement after Hardwick complained last week about reviews taking too long. The umpire didn't wait - looks like a 'rule of the week' situation... Imagine if it had been Richmond or Collingwood receiving the non-call. Imagine if it was a final.

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.

Lets hope the umpires don't give lots of frees against Max like his 'straight arm' ruck work, like last time we played the saints- wasn't it StK that complained to the AFL about Max's style not long before the game. Poor sportsmanship compounded by the AFL/umpires blindsiding the mfc and Max about his 'faulty' technique. Hope Max wreaks some revenge. And hope we we thrash them for their poor sportsmanship in whinging to the AFL. Dees with a percentage boosting win!

How does one team (Eagles) get 33 frees and the opp (Port) get 13??? Wouldn't affect the result but it must have been a doozie of a 'home crowd advantage'. 33 vs 13 would have to be an all time record. Imagine how many more WCE would have had if Shuey had played the whole game!! It would be interesting if the AFL published the 'frees given' stats for each week for each umpire!! Given that everything else is up to public scrutiny I don't see why umpires are protected from being accountable. Can't see it happening tho.

Very little noise in today's media about Hartung's goal which was clearly touched by Mc Veigh. The AFL/Umpire over reaction to last week coach complaints that it took to long for score review so umpire bounces the ball without the score review result. So it costs Sydney 5 points and potentially the game. Can't help but think if it was a Vic side there would be a bit of a media raucous. Good sportsmanship by Longmire to not whinge about it. The AFL really needs to sort it out. The reason for having a review system is to catch the clanger and that 'non' call was a clanger. Edit: just read one report that said the umpire didn't call for a review. But we keep getting told that every goal is reviewed. So not sure what the story was but either way the review system failed the fundamental reason for its existence - catching the clanger.

Yep, another prime FTA slot tonight for the worst team in the league. A certain snooze on Ch7: Adel vs Carlton!!

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.

10th. Seriously? The FA's I would rank above him are Rory Sloane, Tom Lynch and Jeremy McGovern. There are others that might be around the same mark as Tom McDonald eg Gaff, Liberatore (when he is not misbehaving) and in a pinch Dalhaus. Out of interest who do the HS have 1-9? Personally, I would rank Tom McD top 5 maybe even top 3.

"Melbourne will name Christian Petracca and Jesse Hogan and are confident the important duo will be fit to take on St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Sunday". ? https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/demons-optimistic-petracca-and-hogan-will-take-on-saints-20180503-p4zd4e.html "The Demons are also planning on a return to AFL football for gun midfielder Jack Viney next week". Not sure if the AFL for JV is poetic license by the journo or was said by Goodwin. Either way, looking good!

"Melbourne will name Christian Petracca and Jesse Hogan and are confident the important duo will be fit to take on St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Sunday". ? https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/demons-optimistic-petracca-and-hogan-will-take-on-saints-20180503-p4zd4e.html "The Demons are also planning on a return to AFL football for gun midfielder Jack Viney next week". Not sure if the AFL fo JV is poetic license by the journo or was said by Goodwin. Either way, looking good!

Very, very good point 'rjay'. Even now, it scares me the number of 'Home' games Essendon (4) and Carlton (5) have at the G and they want more! Carlton seems to get favoured status by the AFL on just about every criteria despite their small membership base and woeful performance. And, with 70,000 members I can see Ess demanding the MCG as its Home ground. Yuk. Yuk. I'm convinced - looking at the big picture let's not set up our facility anywhere near Docklands!!

Ditto. Apparently 3 names were put to the public: "... the Barassi name on a shortlist of three options for the park. The others are Lancey, in honour of Melbourne pioneer Capt John Lancey, and Dudley Flats, which was a shanty settlement in the area on the banks of the Moonee Ponds Creek until the 1950s. Perhaps the public selected the Barassi name as it was most recognisable.

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...

An update on new location of AFL House in the docklands precinct. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-05-02/proposed-site-of-new-afl-house-revealed This caught my eye: ' The space is on the opposite side of the road to Ron Barassi Snr Park, which is home to a public AFL-size community oval'. Could that be the site of our future facillity. Maybe it is wishful thinking on my part... ...it does fit Peter Jackson's narrative when he announced the sale of Leighoak - a site with commercial potential and community facilities in the cbd area... While would always prefer a facility in the MCG precinct I'd be quite happy for it to be at Ron Barassi Snr Park, Docklands. Very aptly named?.

Tom said this week he wants to sign a long-term contract with the Demons. He specifically spoke about the risk of injury and coming out of contract. It sounded to me that he would like some security of tenure. A very sensible approach from a player who just had surgery on both ankles, has recurring shoulder issues and missed games with toe problems. Will be 26 this year so risk of injury or recurrence increases. I'm guessing here but I can see Tom trading off some $$ for the security of a long term contract eg 4 years. And, I'm sure he would like to leave something in the kitty to keep Oscar ?

Having improved so much last year it is understandable that he would plateau for a while. But, you make a good point about extra attention. Its not just Viney missing but also Tyson and Jones not being played much in the middle means Clarrie is the only target. In the middle they take some of the load/attention so Clarrie can weave his magic which then allows Salem to add polish on the outside. Clarrie weaving his magic would also help improve the clearance rate from Max's hit out dominance. Win, win all round! So Viney back in will help Clarrie but in the meantime so will Jones and/or Tyson playing in the middle.

Now 41,438. About 1,500 ahead of this time last year. And need just 795 to better last year's record of 42,233.? Easily by the end of May...

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.