Lucifers Hero

Maxy was just on Ch 7 News and says could be back next week for the Bulldogs game With a completely straight face Max said: "I trained on Saturday with the boys and was best on, so if I keep that form going, I should be all right." Only Max could conjure up a BOG at training to push his case!! http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-06-11/star-demon-max-gawn-on-verge-of-return

Terrific article on the friendship and 'rivalry' between Garlett and his mentor, Betts. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-06-11/speedy-dee-bridging-the-gap-on-his-good-mate Garlett has added so much to his game this year and has been huge for us and is very motivated: "I had a goal at the start of the year that I wanted to be in the top five in the AFL for creating forward half turnovers," he said.' As it is he is ranked second in the AFL for forward-half pressure points so is well on his way to achieving his goal. He plays his 50th game in Demon colours tomorrow, so hope he and the rest of the team can really turn it on. Well done Jeffy! May their be many more tantalising and successful games in Red and Blue!

It is Essendon the club! Look at what has happened since the drug saga: made heroes of drug cheats, got 10 top up players for the ousted drug cheats which other affected clubs were denied they were allowed to keep top up players without using draft picks or trades, were rewarded for cheating with the #1 draft pick (and top picks in subsequent rounds and rookie draft), have nauseating pre-game 'events' (walk from the G, Hird Academy kids, etc), in cohort with the AFL have silenced journo's who dare whisper a negative Ess comment; lobbied for and gifted 10 prime time FTA games, lobbied for and gifted umpteen home games at the G vs big Vic clubs to further fill their $ coffers. Move on? Yep, have moved on from the drug saga. Players did their time. But the club screwed up big time and the list above shows how much they have been rewarded for - that is what sticks in my craw!

I remember when Roos said that and thought he was bluffing. In part because he is a master at playing with a straight bat and in part because I thought McCartin was a strong, burly (lesser) Hogan type and and we didn't need two of the same. I thought we would be better off with a different type of forward eg 2 meter Pete (or later a Weideman type). So if StK had taken Petracca at #1, I would not have been surprised to see us pick Brayshaw and either Lever or Wright.

Good to see the game is on ch 7. Keen to see how Stretch plays and work out why he can't get a game in the seniors.

Here is a link that shows all broadcasts -http://www.afl.com.au/tv-radio/broadcastguide but it is by round. Its a labourious task to extract it and sort the info into team order. Had a good look at it a few weeks ago and the front end FTA and prime time slots is heavily dominated by Ess, Rich, Coll and Carlton (who between them won only 27 games and the highest finish was 12th). Based on the win games to get FTA games AFL 'policy', they certainly didn't earn the exposure. But somehow they manage to pull strings to get the FTA prime spots. Bulldogs also got a fair run but they earnt it by virtue of being Premiers. It is especially important to clubs to get a lot of FTA exposure early in the season as it helps with membership, merchandise sales and therefore sponsorships. Of course all it does is help the big get bigger and sets them up for more FTA next year regardless of how they perform. And the rest of us are fed chips (until we get 60,000+ members and a few premierships). It's a similar story for the Saturday afternoon VFL FTA telecasts. Very heavily dominated by Collingwood to the extent that it sometimes looks like the whole exists for Collingwood members.

That is music to my ears. I was desperately hoping Watts would get up. You are doing a great job of reporting back. Keep up the good work (if your phone holds up). Thanks for the efforts.

All reports are greatly appreciated D77. Just telling us what/who you see is enough.

For those looking for somewhere else to get their footy fix try 'The Roar'. Writers are not well known names but in the main they do a very good job of reporting without the fanboy stuff. They also are not at the behest of the AFL or dominating owner/editors. Link http://www.theroar.com.au/category/aussie-rules/

For those complaining about StK's FTA games it is the Essendon exposure that should inflame. They have the Saturday Night time slot sewn up! Including this weekend they have had 6 Saturday Nights, Anzac Day, and a Sunday afternoon game on FTA. After the bye they have 2 Friday Nights and another Saturday Night. That is 10 Prime Time FTA games! These time slots are supposed to be for teams that win a lot of games. Last time I looked Ess came last in 2016 and there about in 2015. A great reward for drug cheating,eh! Re St Kilda, Gil McLachlan is a Saints supporter. He weilds a bit of influence at Channel 7. But I don't begrudge the Saints' FTA. Like us they are a struggling club and need every bit of exposure they can get. It is those that are already big and powerful gifted lots of prime time FTA that annoy me. The system is rigged to give exposure to Ess. Coll. Rich. Carlton (all bottom of ladder sides in 2016). Until we consistently get 60,000+ members and win a few premierships we will continue to be relegated to Foxtel. Even then those 'big' clubs will still demand the spoils.

If Spencer is named in the squad (which I doubt) it would be insurance for Watts not recovering from his ankle injury not the club playing games (as some posters have implied in other threads). Not sure which will be worse Watts playing injured and risking more or Spencer playing underdone but we need one or the other.

You just hope that he didn't do it out of guilt or feeling he is letting the team down in a time of need. Generally, that would only worsen his condition. I reckon if it was mfc, Mahoney and co would say 'thanks mate, but look after yourself first' (as we have with Hogan and Brayshaw). Hope Collingwood do something similar with Fasolo but it may too hard for them given their and Buckley's predicament.

I wouldn't mind them saying it if we turned up and actually matched it by playing OUR BEST!

Garland, Lange added to coaching panel Congratulations to Col. It must be great to have a meaningful role at the Dees while recovering. Article doesn't say how long for. Not sure what it means for his playing career as he is contracted to end of 2018 and will turn 30 early next year. Whether he plays on or not, I'm delighted the club is helping him build career options for life after football whenever that may be. Another sign we are much more professional in developing our players on and off the field. Well done to the Club and Col. Have always loved Col and his love for the Dees.

I'll line them up bb: Vince, Jones, Viney, Lewis, Pederson, Hibberd, Melksham. A fair bump here and there from each of them won't go astray. It might be noise as someone suggested but it still irks me that some nobody to dig his heels in and offend our club when he as a footballer and his clubs have done SFA!!

Little Big Mouth, Smart Alec, Adams is still at it: "I would like to see more of it to be honest, like in the NBA. It's almost cocky but it's just confidence," Adams said. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/no-harm-in-afl-trash-talk-says-magpie-taylor-adams-20170607-gwmb5n.html "Collingwood midfielder Taylor Adams has not backed down from his Demons barb before their Queen's Birthday clash, saying he would like to see more "honest and raw" commentary from AFL players, mimicking the trash talk often heard in American sports". Who cares what happens in American sports! And who cares what an up-himself footballer who has achieved nothing says! Nonetheless, I hope we have a team strategy for any player to (fairly) bump and crash into him at every opportunity - just to let him know not to go insulting our club!

Agreed Robbie57. Normally this thread pops up when our season is a write-off with nothing to look forward to except the draft and the trade period. We are still well and truly in this season. Lets save the delist/trades/draft threads for another few months please. We still have a lot too look forward to! Go Dees.

Bernie returns Adams' serve: "It might be (used as a motivating factor). What is he (Dunn) at a successful club now, is he? That's the first I've heard of it but we might be able to use that one as a bit of motivation. Not sure what he's done at Collingwood yet though." http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-06-06/is-he-at-a-successful-club-now-bernies-swipe Straight to the point! Adams has dropped Dunne right it in. The flack is directed at Dunne and he hasn't said a word. Ah well, glad Bernie fired it up a bit.

It seems the football world is slowly waking up to the fact that the beneficiaries of the $2m windfall are elite players, FA's and those with contract escalation clauses. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-cba-fears-many-players-could-miss-out-on-pay-bonanza-20170601-gwi19j.html It doesn't make sense to me that some clubs 'have resisted putting escalation clauses' in player contracts. Sure it helps the club but If good players don't keep up with the market they will look elsewhere and if the 'journeyman' players aren't looked after they will get left behind and perhaps feel exploited. For reasons mentioned in the o.p I feel Mahoney and Co have this under control and will treat the whole group fairly ie stick to the 'pay in line with the market' policy. This especially caught my eye: "...a senior football department figure at another Victorian club has privately queried whether the AFL Players' board – which includes...Rory Sloane and Patrick Dangerfield and club captains Phil Davis and Scott Pendlebury – contained a fair cross-section of players to ensure their interests were best looked after in pay talks." A thinly veiled hint at some players feathering their own nest,perhaps!. Its worth remembering that at least half the players in the AFL get less than $250k. But really, it is up to the AFLPA to make sure ALL player's interests are protected. I think they have failed badly on that one.

Fully agree. Also big fan. I suspect that after many years of off-field dramas the club would be quite happy for the 'back office' go quietly about its business and not get too much attention (if they do it would usually be for the wrong reasons). I think Mahoney is being noticed by a few externally. On FC a few weeks ago Caro referred to a club (I think Hawthorn) needing to improve its football management with someone good or 'who can grow into the role like Josh Mahoney has'. In a way I'm glad he flies under the public radar as he may get offers he can't refuse. I would imagine PJ applies the same principle off field to 'pay the market' (+ premium where necessary).

The new CBA gives all clubs a 20% increase in the sal cap - a massive windfall of about $2m p.a. Clubs can go out and splurge on a few marquis players (or overpay players who they are desperate to keep/get). Not sure the AFLPA have really helped 95% of players - it just inflates the price of a handful players and makes it easier for clubs to get Free Agents in (but that is a separate subject). How much money a club has to throw around next year depends on how many players have 'escalation' clauses in their contract. North appear to want to spend it all this year on 2 players; St Kilda seem more likely to spend on a $1m player this year and a $1m player next year. Others will spread it around a bit over the next two years. So how might this affect us? My distant observations are: Our club has stated it will pay the market rate and not allow our player salary structure to get out of whack again. Jesse and others who have re-signed in the last year or two would have escalation clauses built into their contracts. This would take up a decent part of the $2m over the next few years. Mahoney has done a great job of 'insulating' us against this new CBA windfall as all our 'young guns' (except Salem) are signed up till 2018 or 2019. This takes the urgency out of of scrambling to sign up players now. On Salem - I wouldn't be surprised if he has a few offers on the table so hope he is signed up asap. Other 'guns' would have offers but leaving would involve breaking contracts. The important one is the extra $2m makes it a lot easier to keep our 'young guns' in the sense of fulfilling their $ expectations prior to knowing their is a $2m windfall. Some will get outrageous offers from other clubs. Only time will tell whether they want to stick together. With Lumumba leaving we have an extra amount in our salary cap, say $2.5 to 'spend'. I wouldn't be surprised if contracts are being revisited as we speak to ensure we keep and reward players appropriately. I think the club will keep the faith with players and reward them fairly according to the market. If stories are believed we resisted throwing a bucket of cash at Prestia (wisely). The truly elite (eg Hogan, Oliver) will get a premium. With PJ and Mahoney managing this, we are in good, steady hands with wise heads.

I also think Dusty will stay. Shopping him around is a ploy by his manager (Carr??) to flush out the best offer for leverage with Richmond. He did this with Dusty's last contract except Richmond didn't take the bait and declared they would let him go. The ploy backfired and the Dusty camp was left with egg on face. Carr now has Richmond over a barrel and they will pay dearly for 'embarrassing' the Dusty camp last time...altho' it was of Carr's own doing. This time Carr will laugh all the way to the bank...

Don't bet on it Pates. A few years ago the AFL declared 'win games and you get FTA broadcasts and the Prime time slots'. BUT: The FTA schedule for those teams in 2017 for 10 rounds have been: Collingwood, 7 telecasts with 4 in Prime Time Richmond, 5 telecasts with 4 in Prime Time Carlton, 5 telecasts with 2 in Prime Time Essendon, 7 telecasts with 6 in Prime Time (Nice reward for the drug cheats - Finish last, get the # 1 pick, get all their players back and clean up on the FTA time slots. Sickening, really). Last year their ladder positions were: Collingwood,12th, Richmond, 13th. Carlton 14th, Essendon 18th. So I call BS on the AFL comment that 'win games and get FTA and prime slots'. (Note: The AFL have delivered to the Bulldogs but they had to win a Premiership). They all have a heap more FTA prime time slots in the second half but I can't be bothered counting them - you get the picture! The big club dominance of the FTA schedule has happened by stealth with the AFL fully complicit! The big clubs get prime FTA time slots early in the season so it helps them build memberships...top of mind stuff. And its really important clubs get their members signed up early in the season. Of course it sets those clubs up for the FTA schedule the following year regardless of how many games they win. Cycle repeats. FTA is all based on Membership numbers (except Carlton - not sure what the deal is there).

Tom Mc said he is still pretty sore from the surgery but he is keen to get back and play again. Watts said he spoke with him last night and also said Jesse is keen to get back '...whether that is after the bye or a week or two later, we'll see'. QB looking less likely.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-05-30/demons-sign-brownlow-medallists-granddaughter Harriet has been recruited as a Free Agent. Was really surprised to see her delisted last week. Can only assume it was to meet AFL list management rules. Delighted she is back as I thought she put in some really good performances and improved as the season went on.