Diamond_Jim

Apparently GWS had only 26 fit players available for selection last week. Voldemort returns this week but you have to wonder if they deserve to be long odds on to beat the Bombers. Good luck to the Orange Men as it will make it just that little bit harder for the Bombers to make the 8. Not liking Port in the top 4 as it means that 3 non Vic teams are in the 8 making the finals road if we ever get there just that little bit harder.

Hi does Out= Omitted or include out for injuries or resting? Surprised to see Fritsch "out". (assuming Out= Omitted) He has had several good games this season and is a good forward mark. Also what does Out mean re Filipovic. Cannot make the Development league team has to be a worry if he was omitted.

not my fault mate..... I blame Sir Robert Peel and his Peelers !!

This was the subject of much discussion by 3AW after the match. One commentator had your view but he was howled down with the others saying the crowd would be 35K or 40K based on their 70K membership. As an aside the crowd at the Dogs v Saints match of around 35K last week was very poor considering the position of both clubs. Goes to show that premierships don't guarantee big crowds. Then again it could be the dreaded Docklands seating mafiosa. PS Got my tickets for QB in the AFL section yesterday. It was already showing "unavailable" for some sections. If Collingwood beat Freo (who knows) we could have a seriously large crowd for QB.

for all their remarkable dominance in both quarters PA only kicked 3 goals for all of the second quater and without the three goals in the last few mins of the first quarter the score would be reasonable but not flash. PA really should be 100 points up at half time

Guardian Report: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/01/police-defend-delay-in-removing-passengers-in-melbourne-plane-drama “So once we were satisfied we were dealing with one [person] and device that was looking increasingly unlikely to be an explosive device, the decision was made to get the passengers off, and that was done. I think that entire time was about 90 minutes but certainly appreciate, when you are on a plane in that situation, one minute can seem like an hour. “I understand if you are on a plane in that situation, it could seem like a long wait, in particular with a lot of unknowns. Those unknowns, we were trying to respond as safely as possible for all the passengers and crew on board ... There were 337 passengers on that plane, plus crew, and we could have had avery serious incid “That was avoided through having a proper approach to getting the passengers off.” He added that, if the incident had occurred in the US or Europe, “they’d probably still be on the plane now”. Somehow I think the Commissioner is going to regret that last little statement.

Good observation CB watching the replay I thought the first half of the third quarter is where the GC really got on top with their run and carry. Luckily they only scored two goals during that time and of course had Bernie not made the intercept the Suns were on the way to another. As to Q2 we kicked 2 goals 7 so it wasn't that we weren't getting the ball into our forward 50. Of those two goals one came early and the other in the last few seconds so it looked even worse. In hindsight it should have been a much easier win but halfway into that third quarter there were very few happy Demon followers.

yeah... but how does it end ? Trying to remember the year but it was in the early days of the odd number of teams thus giving each team a bye at different times of the year. We were red hot up to the bye and then barely won a match after the bye. Somehow because other teams below us also lost we managed to stay in the final five or six. Hope this bye sees the start of red hot stretch but somehow MFCSS prevents me from being too confident until I see those five W's in a row.

Quite a few of what we traditionally call 8 point games there including a few, (Port v Hawthorn) that could for example be almost season ending for one or more of the teams. I like the Thursday night games. Would love it if our "for sale" home games could be Thursday FTA games.

The AFLPA as the rep of players is a somewhat flawed body in that other than the minimum payment levels it has really just negotiated a wind fall for the big boys of the comp. The flip side is the 90-95% minimum payment threshold. I see no reason why clubs cannot physically bank some of their money in the down years so they have more to pay the players in the up years. Like Leigh Matthews lamented about Brisbane a few years back why should they pay for mediocrity when teams like Hawthorn were paying the same. (Much the same for the MFC 3 plus years ago) The posts above suggest we will be able to spread the love around. Sounds good but the reality is that the top three players at all clubs will be targeted by other clubs with the newly found money pot. We aren't the kind of club that can promise playing in front of blockbuster crowds so one can assume we will be paying close to top dollar to retain our players. The players who will lose out are the 28 year old good players. Nathan Jones springs to mind. In the past he would be in the higher bands but the new reality may see the 22-25 guns being the noveau mega rich.

Today's Age is reporting that Joe Daniher has been offered and is likely to accept a three year contract from the Bomber at $2M for three years. Given what Bulldogs paid for Boyd and the upcoming 20% increase in the salary cap this seems on the light side to me. Perhaps as the article suggests there is a loyalty factor: "Daniher's commitment to Essendon is yet another example of the club's ability to keep its most talented players. Despite an acrimonious last five years as a result of the long-running supplements saga, the Bombers managed to hold on to the vast majority of their stars, including key position men Cale Hooker and Michael Hurley, both of whom had significant contracts thrown at them by rival clubs. With rumours of Essendon's interest in Martin swirling late last week, coach John Worsfold moved to reassure members what was at the front of the club's mind. "My keenness is on Joe Daniher. He's the No.1 priority, and we're working really hard to get Joey signed," Worsfold said on Friday. "I'm not too interested in worrying about anyone else until we get Joey locked away, as well as Zaka and Darcy Parish as well." Not suggesting we should make a play but perhaps it is a sign the Forwards are not the mega stars they once were. Dustin Martin and Fyfe at around $1.5M a year are the new benchmark. Makes you wonder about what the likes of Petracca and Oliver may command next year if they really hit their straps. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/essendon-set-to-resign-joe-daniher-on-threeyear-2-million-contract-20170530-gwglth.html

Thanks PF hopefully the continued gentrification of Coburg (is it now west Northcote or North Brunswick) has added to the culinary delights Notwithstanding should be a fun day of footy as we remember it from so many years ago As you say.. tempting and let's hope a good crowd comes along

The problem with final predictions other than the up and down form of the team itself is the inconsistent form of the rest of the competition. If asked at the start of the year who would slip out of the 8 from last year most of us had North and probably Hawthorn. Who would have picked the Swans as a struggler. As others have identified there are only two certainties for the 8 at present ... namely Crows and GWS. I still think West Coast is a probability given the home ground advantage. To this one can add the Bulldogs as a probability but not a certainty. As to the remaining four places they are just guesswork. The two leaders are Geelong and Port leaving two spots being filled by any combination of Swans, Essendon, Richmond us and St Kilda. Then throw in North who seem to have more lives than the proverbial cat.As to the order of the last six teams and who will and won't get road games that is impossible to predict. To me the end of round 15 is the key .... if we can win 3 out of the next 4 our chances for the 8 will be very strong. Win two and we are still breathing. Win one and that is probably the end of the finals dream Personally while making the 8 is good I will be disappointed if after making the 8 we do no make it to the third round of finals. This year is more open than ever. While bulldogs were an upset last year this year could go to any team in the 8.

Weather looking good for Sunday... might go along. Is there a special item of cuisine for which Coburg Oval is famous a la the Casey bacon and egg roll. Are the players who played in Alice Springs eligible for selection. Some of the fringe players might benefit from a hit out.

Spot on... the sooner they win a flag the better it will be for the other teams in the sense that GWS will be well and truly raided. My only concern is that they will receive high draft picks in return for the leaving players and the dominance will continue for a few more years. The are like the mythical hydra.... cut off a head and another two grow back !! The way to beat GWS is to squeeze the life out of the game .... (the ultra flood etc) if you let them run free they will cut any side to pieces. WC nearly succeeded last night.

Aaron Davies (Flash) while recognised as a very good player does not perhaps get the credit he deserves. As well as being a great field kick and a prolific goal kicker he redefined (invented) the role of the defensive forward. Until then backmen would stroll out of the backline with the big forward lumbering behind them. Flash used his blistering pace to run the backman down completely changing the pace of the game for backmen. Few players can be said to have that much of an impact on the way the game is played. All that from an elevated rookie.

The Orange men march on Not a bad win and they still have quite a few to come back WC played a great style of game against them by closing down the forward half and then counterattacking. GWS' game reminded me of the Lions at their best when they would deliberately play for stoppages and out of bounds. If you think about it for a moment it is a great tactic for halving the zone and if you have better stoppage players it is a real percentage play.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/sport/afl/federal-government-asked-to-fund-majority-of-70-million-final-stage-of-simonds-stadium-redevelopment/news-story/36f8ac38059bf5c6b0aaa0d8c9646832 THE Federal Government will be called on to pick up the majority of the tab for the last stage in the Simonds Stad­ium redevelopment. The stage five project, which would upgrade the city end’s Ford Stand and Gary Ablett Terrace, would modernise the remaining old areas of the stadium. In a welcome change for the club, the Cats will take more of a back seat in funding neg­otiations, deferring to the controlling Kardinia Park Stadium­ Trust. .................................... Mr Cook said the State Government had largely carried the cost of the four stages of the stadium rebuild, contributing $120 million of the $200 million spend. “It is really the Federal Government’s turn — I think they acknowledge that.” The stadium’s capacity will reach 40,000 through stage five of the project, which will cost about $70 million.

Collingwood had 39 scoring shots to Brisbane's 19 so perhaps the 45 point win does not do justice to their dominance Certainly wont be a walk in the park on QB. With luck they could start favourites !!

The money comes at an enormous cost in the form of lost exposure in the Melbourne market. It is short term survival stuff. A $20 levy on supporters would see this gone. Hell.... Essendon supporters pay that for the add on cost of reserving a seat at one of the lesser matches

just to clarify ... I edited to $100 per attendee but that is still real money that could be spent on a multitude of problems facing the territory No tax breaks for the NT Govt.... they don't pay taxes As I posted yesterday .... Mildura has a bigger population than Alice Springs

Brisbane playing the Pies into form Darcy M with 2 goals 2 behinds

so at a reported figure of $500K plus travel expenses that is $100 per attendee. Somehow I think the NT government has better things on which to spend its money. And please don't tell me they make it from Tourism ..... how many people watched that game against say two or three ads during the Richmond v Collingwood game

Casey play Coburg at Coburg at 2pm on June 4 (next week). Will be interesting to see who of the MFC players line up. Not sure what rules there are but given that there is then an 8 day break until QB game I would not mind seeing the revolving doors (those three or four players who go in and out of the team .... Bugg, Harmes, ANB. Kent, Kennedy etc ) all playing for Casey and the best make the QB game. If it's a nice day it might be worth a trip https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coburg_City_Oval One anomaly is that Casey then has a six day break until it plays Collingwood at Casey on 10 June.... another interesting dilemna for how the QB emergencies are selected/played

bit of a disappointing crowd..... 5000 was reported on the TV. A bit of a difference from the crowd at the MCG last night. Cannot understand how the NT government can justify the spend .... bread and circus for the masses but the masses don't attend As you can see I don't like these peripatetic games. For those who can remember it we pioneered the selling of home games when we sold our soul (home game) to Brisbane. Believe it or not the biggest complaint was from other clubs who objected to us gifting another win to the then all powerful Lions On a separate note... time to really pressure the AFL to relocate the Suns to Tasmania. A second team in the Brisbane greater area is an almost certain failure from a following viewpoint. A 30K stadium in Hobart a la Kardinia Park would be a great venue