Diamond_Jim

I enjoyed the Junction Oval (those few times we were in the finals) Unfortunately owned by Cricket and therefore was a difficult summer training ground. Would be interesting how Collingwood regard Victoria Park now that they have the old Olympic swimming pool as their base. Is Toorak Park the old Prahran oval. If so I would not be against it but it probably has cricket issues as well. Not sure about ground size for training purposes. Would like to hear more. Casey and the Paddock don't cut it in m view.

The secret to the Dogs success is something simple. Beat the teams below you on the ladder (outside the eight)... have an upset win or two against the top eight.... make the finals and who knows Until we can achieve number 1 on that list (beating the teams outside the 8) we are going nowhere No more.. we are too young or too tired.....

I think I am agreeing with you Paying under the cap when players under perform makes perfect sense. It also allows for the lower paying clubs to use money to attract the bigger fish

The requirement to pay at or near the salary cap goes back to the Fitzroy days where clubs like Fitzroy (and probably MFC) stayed afloat by paying well under what was the then the maximum cap. When the AFL took over ownership of the League the requirement to pay the salary cap made sense if we were to avoid an EPL situation. Perhaps it is time for this requirement to be tweaked.

Getting to a GF for teams like MFC and the Bulldogs involves a lot of luck. We are a long way from finals success from a list perspective..... whether we then have the luck who knows. Ask me again when we don't lose to a Carlton (first win in nine games) when we have a possible finals berth riding on the result. Good Luck Dogs.... they will need it

Perhaps they might wait for the CAS finding. Amazing ........ the AFL are a disgrace in this area.......... shows that it is still a business run by the ex players with the mentality and baggage that goes with it. I would have more respect if the players put 10% of their salaries above base into a fund for past players now suffering from chronic back/knee issues etc. Perhaps the 12 Apostles could make a start !!!

Just reading an article in the Guardian about Cronulla in this weeks NRL final. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/29/cronullas-potential-drought-breakers-the-nrl-grand-final-fairytale-that-isnt Found the following post in the comments section interesting: Yeah, remember the early talk about how the AFL was managing this masterfully and the NRL was fumbling through it? Also that blinkered clown Gerard Whately on Offsiders saying Essendon is a 2/10 and the Sharks 9/10? Turns out Dave Smith played a blinder. Paul Gallen and co. should send him a Christmas present every year. Meanwhile not only was Essendon's program far more wide-reaching and sinister than the Sharks, but the league, club and players have all handled it abysmally. The AFL treated it like a PR exercise to be stage-managed, and got humiliated by CAS. NRL co-operated with WADA. Essendon should probably be suspended, like Russian athletics was. And the players across both codes don't appear to have learnt a thing, still trotting out excuses that don't wash for a 15 year old amateur swimmer still in school, yet as full-time professionals they seem to think they are completely unaccountable for being injected with random [censored]. But at least the Sharks players were managed to cop it and move on. The biggest shame for the NRL is that the clubs got nervous about the TV deal, forced Smith out, and with that gave the wrong people the leverage all over again. There is no way they are capable of manage anything of this magnitude so well next time without him.

Seems that the Bye following the last round will continue in 2017 http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-endofseason-bye-to-stay-in-2017-as-commission-considers-minor-premiership-windfall-20160928-grqs1n.html

Sensible signing and very happy that we have avoided another McDonald saga. The constant questioning over the signing of the full forward (cannot quite remember his name but there is a 100 plus page post about it) is distracting to say the least. Hope Dom and others can realise the dream that we all have of the team playing and winning that last day in September (or these days the first in October)

Did we not just give Garlett a three year contract. Hard to see room for both Motlop and Garlett.

A very good idea in theory but I suppose you have to match the market place and as MFC you may be required to better it. In principle however I very much support your idea. Moreover in that 15-35 group the contracts should be highly incentivised with a reasonable base (say $150k) and then the rest based on senior selection. It won't happen however while teams are desperate to attract mid level talent from any source.

Dennis calls his last game of footy this weekend. Like some of the great cricket commentators he had that special way with words that made his commentary a delight. Here's a wonderful article from today's Guardian Newspaper discussing his career https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/28/like-a-cork-in-the-ocean-dennis-cometti-bobs-up-to-call-his-final-afl-game As it says: It’s impossible to see that an AFL broadcasting talent of Dennis Cometti’s versatility and widespread appeal will emerge from the present media landscape, and now probably unfair to expect it. That’s partly because the culture and times from which Cometti sprang – the Fleetwood Mac double shots, vaudeville wisecracks and unapologetic schmaltz of 1960s FM radio – no longer exists.

Some good stuff in this article and in the comments attached. Apparently Max was the only person to play Test cricket and get a Brownlow vote.......... (a trivia question that will likely live forever) https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/28/max-walker-former-australian-cricketer-dies-aged-68

A real character and I mean that in the nicest way. Will miss him

the post was in 2005 so who knows:

From an old post " Hey, I know this is an old thread, but anyway. Andrew had a brain tumour a few years back which knocked him about a bit but he's fully recovered now. He lives in Adelaide with his wife, former Hockeyroo Juliet Haslam, with their two kids, Jed and Mitchell. He coached an SAAFL (Amateur League) Div 2 side this year from memory, I think it was Port District - they won the division. All-round top bloke I have to say. " No mention of James...

Interesting Cronulla in the NRL Grand Final against the Storm. Cronulla pleaded guilty..... Essendon still wallowing Choices?

Lin Jong took the opportunity presented to him due to injuries to Dogs players in the second half of the year. He played 5 out of the first 12 games so he was obviously in and out. (This is when he went to see Collingwood.) Of the last 10 games he played all 10 plus one final. Suspect the Dogs may offer him a good deal for the next few years.

Hard to argue with the only one that I see a glimmer of hope for is Dunn but only if you can put a fast player near him to take the ball and get it moving when Dunn gets the ball His VFL play reminds me of a dinosaur but he does get the ball.

good point. I was just saying to a Bulldogs supporter that GWS gave the Dogs a lot of space and maybe next week they would suffer some hard tags. The problem is other than Bontompelli there is no obvious player to tag. In reality their game plan is very high risk but so far it is paying dividends. (Helped by generous interpretations of the throwing the ball rule.. but good luck to them.)

wasn't that hard..... pretty well out of both grand finals by quarter time and definitely by half time. (Never have watched either game.) If I recall correctly our 2000 score broke our 1988 record for the largest losing margin in a grand final The 2000 team was actually pretty good but we could never snag the big one

interesting but true It also helps when you have 13 plus games indoors (Docklands) where speed is the key

does that surprise you?

Dunn is an okay defender but his ability to rebound is almost zero. Time they played smart and put a small near him that could take the handpass and run. The days of the big kick from the back line are well and truly gone

Having a non integrated VFL club doesn't do wonders for MFC branding when it comes to TV and radio coverage. Have been listening to ABC for around 30 mins and MFC not mentioned.