Diamond_Jim

Drafting at 20 makes some sense and we have talked about it before. The trouble is that unlike the US College system which provides ultra high level coaching we do not have the equivalent base here. Somehow there has to be a secondary path to AFL. Although we see the occasional draftee from VFL I am not sure that is the best system.

Did Oliver ever play in the VFL? If my memory serves me correctly he played the first round in the seniors after he was drafted.

That's a shame ..the food in Malaysia is pretty good but after a while you can get tired of it. The fresh produce is great value at the local markets. Must say my favourite for Asian street food is Vietnam ... the flavours are so wonderful. If want to live on the wild side try India ... have been there a few times now and lived on the street food without problems. Mind you sitting in the gutter watching the pigs scavenge nearby as you munch on your puri can be a little off putting for newcomers ?

winds of 20-30kph predicted for Sunday. Hopefully it doesn't affect the game too much. Would be good to see Balic, Baker and Petty have a solid game. Also interested in the ruck as there's a lot of improvement needed there. PS: Just saw that Drunk'n has posted Balic out ...pity he needs a solid run

found an even worse franchise at KL airport the other day... MarryBrown.... desperate so I had a chicken burger... it literally had no taste whatsoever.

tickets to the finals are in the main easily got except for the GF and buying a normal membership is really no help in getting a GF ticket. For example in the first few weeks of the finals AFL members can normally buy 5 guest tickets. Melbourne v Richmond in a prelim final is probably the only scenario that would get close to a sell out.

care to expand. I didn't really notice the umpires other than the strange free kick to Ablett in the centre.

23 years... 1964 to 1987... and 2006? (cannot remember but I think that was when we were last in the finals) until ???. That's a long time by any measure

Was a very good game to watch last night. Didn't seem to be over umpired and the game flowed. The break aways on the scoreboard followed by Geelong reeling it back added to the excitement in that it wasn't your classic arm wrestle where only a few points separate the teams. Just wondering if anyone knows why it felt so open as a game? Was there a particular tactic or was it just luck.

England should have iced the game in the first half. Their second half was woeful but they seemed to wake up a little in extra time. Well done to Croatia. They were the better team probably. If France play to potential it could be a big win but somehow I don't think that will be the case. France 2-1 in normal time. PS: The success of Belgium and Croatia in this World Cup augurs well for the smaller teams. Did we beat or draw with Croatia in 2006? Interesting comments on the academy systems in the guardian. People suggesting that by putting your money into so few(often identified at age 8-10) England is effectively limiting its talent pool.

Happy for Adelaide to win tonight. Have little desire to stagger into the finals. Would do us good to win a few against the better teams to see if this game plan has any legs.

the great JFK returns.. Ask not what your team can do for you but what you can do for your team. Just DO !!

nah ... be like Hawks supporters and plan for your GF attendance and bbq. Hard to think that 1964 was over 50 years ago. I'm sick of losing.

If Stretch is injured (big If) I would give JKH a go. Not a great fan but there isn't much else at present at VFL level.Baker perhaps but I think the result would be the same as Petty...not quite ready yet. Tyson anyone ?

no sauce..no post on a rumour like that

Good first half between France and Belgium but the game seemed to fizzle out a little after the France goal. England v Croatia ... who knows? Must say I was taken aback by Croatia in the black shirts against Russia. Very reminiscent of the days of Tito etc. England in extra time is my wild guess.

Evaluating the worth of Brayshaw both from a dollar and trade viewpoint would be a challenge. Interesting to see how it works out and where he fits in the relativity spreadsheet. Just hope North don't come in with a silly offer as they are prone to do. Gus deserves the success he is presently having as I am sure we all agree. Glad to see some sensible words about Tom Scully. In hindsight many of us over reacted.

remember it's supporters not active followers. Most people have a team even if they don't attend or even watch the football. So you can say we are good at getting the maximum out of the supporter base in the sense of attendance and membership but the downside is that our pool for growth is limited

That supporter base figure for the MFC is very disappointing. To be below North is particularly disappointing. On the flipside I am amazed that Essendon ranks above Collingwood. Thanks LH for the data. It would be wonderful to track that type of data over say a 20-30 year timeframe and measure the damage that our failure as a team has wrought.

Vince and Lewis ...bottom 4 ...now I will laugh As you say Jones.. add in Jetta possibly Cannot see any replacements coming through for any of them. As an aside have you looked at our VFL ruck stocks if Max were to do a hamstring ?

yep... the loss to Port and Saints certainly ended any realistic chances of top 4. A resurgent Essendon would be hard to take. Perhaps a draw would be pleasant .. if not Pies. North having a good win doesn't help much either.

Definitely worth trialling. Do it for a quarter a game for a month and see how it works. I have said before that it surprises me that we are not more experimental at VFL level.

The game plan simply does not work as it is. It has failed repeatedly. Combine that with selection blunders and once again we are looking at the prospect of a lost season. Pity because this list is capable of more.This year we have been relatively free of injury unlike last not to mention that some of our players are starting to slow down. No guarantees that next year will be better. My thoughts on Darwin are well known but what can one say about a club that sold home games to Brisbane that even the other clubs complained about.

A new fortress... a la the Northern Bulwark !

Not going to happen guys until someone at VFL level pushes him out and that isn't happening as far as I can see. More the pity ..not because of any loss of form but it has been so obvious that his place and that of Vince is up for grabs. Getting to the stage where we may need to trade for his replacement come seasons end. Hunt or Wagner anyone ? They certainly don't cut it at present.