Diamond_Jim

whatever happens you can bet the pollyanna's will be out to remind us that it is not the end of the world. After round 23 can you ever be confident about this team. Perhaps that midfield is aging and slow ... we can but hope Frankly if you look at many of our upsets last year ... we kicked straight and they didn't ...let's hope Round 1 is a repeat

Would not quite put it like that but understand the sentiment. This is a massive communication fail on the part of the football department and the players. From the players perspective you are entitled to single out Jones and Viney as co-captains just as one can call out Goodwin and Josh Mahoney on the other side. A sorry affair that only a successful 2018 can erase. If there is no success the required actions are obvious.

if that was the case it is yet another fail on the part of the football department. MFC once again demonstrate that it has such a long way to go before it breaks out of the lesser rung of clubs. Putting GCS and GWS aside we probably rank in relevance above Brisbane and North. On a par with the Saints perhaps. Like many supporters I am getting a little tired of the underperformance of the MFC on so many fronts. In a week where the Bombers trumpet that they are going after 70,000 members we have this news story.

Another run for the Zephyr .... fantastic news.... excuse the pun but I hope the jockey can "boot him home" for all of us !

but if that was the case and I don't doubt you, how was Goodwin and his team so out of touch with the player group that they decided to repeat the exercise. For the players to involve the AFLPA smacks of desperation in the sense that it should have been resolved long before it got to that stage. Just an amazing stuff up on the part of the MFC

good idea but the reward for OOB may be too high ... It works in soccer and basket ball because the reward is a free throw which is very rarely a scoring opportunity. Soccer player are experts at playing the ball onto their opponent's body to achieve the throw in. Not sure I want to see that skill developed in AFL.

Agree LH .... The football manager has increasingly becoming a crucial role. If anything it is more important or as important as the coach. I wonder if the cap on football department expenses has curtailed the development in this area as it obviously should be a very highly paid position for the right person.

Forgot that one LH. Blindsiding Jones was very amateur person management skills. I think Goody might need a new mentor.

This is the second strike against Goodwin. His handling of Jack Watts during 2017 showed a certain lack of personal management skills (not talking about the trade but the whole season). Now this which shows a total lack of communication with the playing group. Whether the boot camp is a good thing or not it is beside the point. It is as many have pointed out the failure to obtain meaningful feedback and input from the players re the end of 2016 activity. MFC is in the entertainment business and this was bad publicity for an ailing performer. As said on other threads, 2018 is the season that Goodwin needs to turn it around. 2017 has been his annus horriblis.

Like the Dees "The Zephyr" will come good but I am not sure we can say he is young and inexperienced .... perhaps a run in Darwin next winter might be good for our horse

Go the Zephyr !! Pakenham Park.... remember when it was just Pakenham and a country race meeting at that. Now it's the major Saturday venue ... Melbourne is growing ... very appropriate venue for our horse given the Casey connection. Love the form guide.... "not the worst"

Have been reading with great interest the story of the Zephyr and feel that I vicariously know each leg of this horse. Any chance of a photo and good luck Zephyr !!

wonder if you can guess number 1.... a clue it's British If it was an Australian countdown I suspect number 3 would be tops

Came across this youtube compilation today entitled top UK 100 of the '70's. It features 10 second clips of each song and only goes for 15 minutes or so. Worth watching for some of the clips alone let alone the costumes PS and who are number '74 above

we made finals regularly during the 90's and early 00's and most times we just made up the numbers so no I'm not ecstatic by just making finals.... 8 out of 18 (barely the top half of the comp) shouldn't be that hard to hit it with a reasonable degree of regularity .. to go further is where it becomes a much harder task. Many have said it before but to stutter for the third year in a row is not acceptable. We are not as strong as Richmond who can withstand many years of just missing out.

so right jnrmac and what is more a few seasons of success will not turn this juggernaut around.

Should've made the finals relatively easily this year so just making them next year doesn't thrill me much. Sixth with one finals win is a bare pass for me.

3 for 117 and Australia use their only two reviews ... no refreshes these days ... please don't let England win !!!

No Victorian club draws less than Brisbane ... let alone less than Gold Coast and GWS Would you like to address the failure of Brisbane... 30 years in a growing AFL area (due to northern immigration from Vic)... three straight premierships and around 7 years of success plus a stadium smack bang in the middle of the city wonderfully served by public transport etc

Rather important two sessions coming up. Strange decision by Smith not to enforce the follow on. The ball swinging in the evening session is nothing new and while England bowlers may not be quick they can certainly swing that ball. 354 not an easy target so hopefully we can have them 7 down for 100 at stumps tonight 3 for 150 or thereabouts could make for an interesting last day

But how long do you go on pumping money into Brisbane, GWS and Gold Coast. Brisbane is the worry ... they have been there for around 30 years .. won three flags and yet they are now structurally a fail. What hope for GWS and Gold Coast. AFL supporters in NSW would be wedded to Sydney. Is there really any hope to grow GWS other than the often repeated mantra .... lots of people in the West. Gold Coast to Tasmania is just so obvious but it would require the AFL to admit they got it wrong.

He is around 15th or perhaps a little higher in my rankings of best 22. If he can make top 10 he will do well. Don't expect any better

The phrase... "the body is not even cold" springs to mind

Lot of truth in that buck N One of my great memories is training the Thursday night before the '88 grand final at the Junction Oval. Not sure that Gosch's paddock would be the same.

Interesting article here from the Guardian about the giant EPL team Liverpool restricting radio commentary of its upcoming UEFA Champions League match to its own club website. Apparently BBC5 were denied the rights. The AFL control of match day internet radio broadcasts through its internet site has long concerned me as a precursor to greater controls in this area. Like the AFL the radio coverage via the Liverpool website is free but it is Liverpool commentary only. One thing you can be assured of is that they aren't doing it for the benefit of the supporter. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/dec/03/liverpool-bbc-five-live-rights-broadcast-spartak