Diamond_Jim

Seems like just the other day. Against the odds we won against Hawthorn but as on on that day and in the previous two or three games we had suffered injuries thus depleting the team. We were the walking wounded. Mind you at that stage we were still 12 and 4 including a loss in the opening round so it had been a good run until then. Lost the next week to Port by over 70 points and also lost the last 3 games of the home and away..... got beaten by 3 points by the Bombers in a elimination final.

Besides the usually discussed problems with Docklands the ticketing is a real dogs breakfast. No real info readily available about GA areas and in the main those areas which are available are less than optimum from a viewing aspect. Level 2 is wasted when the lesser teams play. Went to the Docklands for the Essendon game and other than the win the viewing aspect was lousy (until the Bombers supporters left and I pinched a seat.) The crowd was big because of the Bombers membership and the tendency of their members to pre purchase seats. I suspect that Melbourne supporters are not given to pre-purchasing tickets and seats during the home and away season. Perhaps some rethinking about seat allocation for the lesser games is in order

Pies, Dogs, Eagles and Swans Four games getting harder each week. I was expecting a win against the Pies and of the other three I thought our best chance was against the Dogs but nowhere near the margin we achieved. Quietly confident against Eagles if our defence plays anywhere near as well as they did on Sunday against the Dogs. If the Eagles do a Geelong and kick 12 odd goals straight instead of the usual 6:6 we may struggle. Then the Swans ..... That Port Adelaide percentage is very very high (worth a game to them almost).

Just a guess but I suspect Watts will be rested. He has had a very hard 8 weeks on a body that is not used to that stress. Of course that then just pushes the real decision one week down the track when you also have Hogan returning that week or the next.. The candidates are: Harmes, Melksham, Bugg ANB and perhaps Frost or Oscar with Pedersen being played on a match up basis. None of them deserve dropping at this stage. Longer term there may also need to be a decision made between Vince and Wagner Personally I have no idea

Really enjoying the post match radio comments talking up Oscar McDonald well done O Mc

Great win wonderful team effort

couple of goals to the Dees would ease my stress level

To hold the Dogs scoreless for a quarter bar one behind in the first minute is a real credit. Well done ... let's keep it up

OBJ is a leading developer of magnetic, micro-array drug and ingredient delivery technologies. specialties include: Cosmetic and non-medicinal active ingredient with a special focus on anti-aging and peptide delivery Sounds like something the Bombers would favour !! Go Dees

Dogs play a similar game to us. I suspect the lack of space (relative to the MCG) will favour us in the sense that the Dogs defence is probably superior to ours and the lack of space will help us to close down that space. Very important that our small forwards fire.

This and the next two weeks "defines the season" from so so many angles. Win them and we go some way in gaining respect in the football world. There was talk in another thread about whether it was better to end up fourth or fifth. It brought back memories of 2000. One of those memories is that of Jack Elliot the then president of Carlton saying that the preliminary final the week before the GF between Carlton and Essendon was the "real Grand Final." No respect. Time to match it with the big boys !!

Carlton are only one game behind us .... kind of scary Lose the next couple and we could be hurtling down the ladder (O hell MFCSS strikes again)

they're harmless bottom dwellers like we used to be .... have some sympathy O god it's fun to patronise !!!

Come on Blues ..... A GC loss is good for us

Cox of Casey goals and Casey now up by 13 points as we start time on

Weideman just dropped a sitter that would have put the Dees up by 7 points.... Casey by a point

Opening goal of last quarter to the Bulldogs.... one point the difference fog rolling in...

goal to Zijai from the boundary Casey missing the big ones... 8:12 (60 points) to Dogs 53 3/4 time

JKH needs to do more than stand up in a tackle at VFL level and dish it off. Some run and carry with a goal or two is the answer Remember Jack T had some pretty good figures at this level and it didn't work for him.

Just back from an afternoon in the sun at the MCG. So enjoyable to be a neutral supporter and quietly laugh at all the calls of ... "BALL"... coming from Tigers supporters. Swans are good at the key link marks in the one on one contests. Richmond aren't that bad but their forward structure is not quite there. Swans defence is good. The chest pushing between Franklin and Rance was very amusing and the free kick unfathomable. Looking forward to the Tiger supporters "burning" the phone lines.

Tough one this afternoon but on balance I will be going for the Swans. I am hankering after that fourth place on the ladder if by some miracle we have a good finish to the season. Go the Swanettes !!

On the business side... I wonder if Collingwood will dabble in the area of media. Rather easy to set up a radio station. They have a good listener base in their fans and therefore a ready sponsorship base. Next step would be to cover games. (Assuming the AFL would deal with them in a radio rights deal.) Eddie would have a conflict with his MMM connections but that could be "managed". NFL teams have had local radio stations for years (admit they are one team cities).

Eddie was a big hitter (remember at one stage he was CEO of Channel 9) who still has clout that is probably greater than his position deserves. Collingwood Presidents have a tradition of talking up their club but I wonder if his time (like that of Buckley) has now come. The latest "review" smacks of a last ditch effort to placate the Board and key backers. The other issue for Collingwood is what does it do with its money. With salary caps and limits on soft dollar spending on football it is now dabbling in other area (netball for example). One day someone is going to question the future direction of the "business."

Thanks... so if you have say pick 4 you can trade for pick 8 and 26 (with varying combinations from on trades). Makes some sense but I can't see it being that popular. The present draft trading is driven by a particular player trade which is sensible because it involves a known entity. The draft picks are speculative in the sense that you cannot be certain who is left. Trading picks for players a la the Academy players could also include father son selections. Seems contrary to the underlying philosophy of the father son system but who knows.

Bit of talk about the possibility of introducing live draft pick trading as occurs in some American sports. Cannot see it being that exciting (common) in our game given that most trading of draft picks are part of existing player trades that occur prior to the draft. Would be interested to hear the views of others particularly those who are afficianados of the leagues in which it is already used. There is a video clip on the AFL website discussing the possibility but for some reason I cannot link it.: