Jara

And I second that. Amazing. God he has a go. Given he's got what appears to be a rather fragile, giraffe-like build, he just throws himself into everything. Should be an inspiration to the rest of the slackers. So hoping he gets all-Oz again.

So sad for you Brad. Lovely guy. Thoughts and prayers with you and your boys.

Hey DV8 - meant to reply to this at the time, but got distracted thanks for all that info pity we look like continuing to be the orphans. Have to make the inner city a marginal seat Get Josh to give us some brass cheers

Hey DV8 - I'm interested in your last point, and I'm wondering whether you (or anybody else) could fill me in. Like you, I despair at us being "homeless orphans" - I think it's been a critical factor in our long-term failure. Just about everybody else seems to have somewhere to call home. A spiritual base. I was horrified to see the Libs giving all that money to the Pies too. Geelong and the Dogs have also received vast amounts of taxpayer money recently. Sydney too, I think. (The Dogs are now campaigning to get home games again, and Kardinia Park is an almost invincible base for the Cats) It all seems so dispiriting. Watching our guys train at Gosch's Paddock is degrading. We're the bloody team that invented the game, and we have to make do with these jerry-built affairs. I'm wondering whether somebody could advise me whether our club is doing anything about improving the situation? What are our club's long-term plans? Do we have a long-term plan? Is there any cause for hope? I looked on the club website, but couldn't see anything (maybe I missed it - I couldn't even find where our offices are) I hope we have got a plan. A goal. I've noticed other teams developing new homes for themselves in recent years. I know it's a huge cost, but you have to start somewhere (I'm a volunteer with the CFA - our little brigade has a kind of twenty year plan to buy a new tanker - it's been a massive effort - we only seem to raise $5-10000 a year, but we're nearly there) Cheers

Couldn't agree more. Somebody else (maybe it was you?) got bagged for saying this a few days ago, but you're right. Somewhere to take the kids, gaze at the photos and trophies on the wall. Somewhere to bond. Was just reading how the Pies have been given $15 million by the Coalition which will help with their new base (a sports and medical research centre) . Been others over the years (Geelong, Dogs etc) Never seems to come to us.

Nearly sixty years i been addicted to this crap. Time to get myself some rehab.

Money-hungry moron. Good riddance. Excellent comment from Bluey's dad. "Free speech" is a pretty fluid concept, I suppose. We've all got our own interpretation of what it means. Nobody's throwing him in jail - he's just disobeyed a clear instruction given to him by his employer. I've worked with plenty of employer's conditions - always worked within them or paid the consequences. I've noticed this a bit from the hard-right snowflakes of late - (see Anning, F) - dare to interrupt the flow of their vile bile and you're impinging upon their 'free-speech.'

What's the point? All we'd do is get more spuds. We're cursed.

Sucks that we always have to play down at this s-$#hole place. Unfair. When did Filth last play here?

Fair enough. Ta (I just like us playing the first Test there because we normally seem to win - I know we're sheizenhausen at present, but so much of the summer seemed to depend upon who won the toss).

Just as a matter of interest, anyone know why we didn't play India in Brisbane, which is what we normally do. Was that at India's request? Were we pandering to them?

Just wandered by to see if there's any movement on this thread. Not much, apparently, but I agree with your comment, Daisy. I'm sure others here know a lot more about cricket than I do, but to me this seems to have been a decision so hysterical (and driven by the yellow press) that it borders on injustice - an injustice for which we're now paying. In this society, you have a right to expect consistency from the law. If I attend the magistrates court one morning and see the five guys in front of me get a $200 fine for speeding and I cop a $10,000 one, I'd have a right to feel pretty p'd off. IMHO, we should have accepted the ICCs original decision. If there was going to be a renewed focus on ball tampering, there should have been a warning. From what I gather, ball tampering continues everywhere - we were just particularly dumb at it. Warner - what a moron - but at least he's maintained a dignified silence since then.

Maybe my memory's playing tricks, but I seem to recall they also put a lot of money into the Western Bulldogs (not to mention $30 mill to Foxtel to increase coverage of women's sport) We're the oldest club, we started the league and haven't had a proper home for decades; should be able to mount a pretty good argument.

Magic! (I mean your reference to organics, not the mushrooms)

Been stewing about it all day. It's been years, now - why can't I let go? The same questions keep bobbing to the surface, like a turd in a swimming pool. Where are the records? If you reckon Dank's got em, why haven't you sued him to find out what he injected into your players? Why did you give The Weapon a million bucks? And - oh god, if you exist - why are those cheating junkies in the finals and we're not?

And now they win the Rising Star with the player they got for being drug cheats. What a heartwarming story of battling against adversity, what heroes, what role models.

Great if he comes, but my god it all seems so hopeless right now. I feel like I've been seeing this sort of crap - new dawns, boom recruits, building - all my friggin life and all it ever comes down to is disappointment.

Great Post, Nut. Me love The Teskeys.

Great post, Chris - my daughter's was the school that they raised money for - (or one of them - can't remember if they helped others, but they were great for us) - it was very moving, and a great boost for the kids.

Wow - did that really happen, Jnr? (Not doubting you, I'm just surprised. For a panadol?)

Presumably from the Bombers' insurers. Sure it'll cost them a fortune in the long run, what with extra premiums etc. Amazes me that the players are going to be massively compensated for taking drugs and lying about it every week. Doesn't amaze me, but pees me off that the team is going to be compensated as well (the no. 1 draft pick ). Not so much for the drugs -I presume that was mainly the mad scientist - but for their disgraceful efforts to deflect, deny, obfuscate, nit-pick, point fingers everywhere else, all of which set a shocking example for our children.

My god, I can't stand Watson. What the hell is he in the team for? The guy's got four centuries in what is it - nearly 60 tests (and never in pressure situations)? Batting has been our problem for decades, and we exacerbate the problem by keeping this plodder in the team. Send him back to the rubbish IPL - that's where he belongs. Ready replacement in Marsh.

Hey Django You may not see this for a while, but I'm curious. You mention your interests include 'writing for film'. What writing do you do in this area? Cheers

Not that my thoughts on the matter are of any interest to anybody but myself, but god I hate those Pommy scum. The spirit of Jardine lives on. I'll never forget that 2005 series when they brought in the best fielders from the counties as substitutes, and then kept 'substituting' their bowlers whenever they got a bit puffed. Not to mention that most of them are bloody South Africans. Only thing I've got out of this Test has been a reassurance that the difference between the teams is not that great, and that the 10 -0 drubbing I'd feared isn't likely to happen. From what I saw in this game, I reckon we'll knock em over when they get out here. Just hope we doctor the pitches the way they do theirs. (ps sorry Deeluded we seem to have crossed in mid air. Same idea as you. Trouble is, of course, that if everybody does that, kind of ruins the game. Only the really great teams will be able to win away from their home turf. Oh well...hard to resist when everybody else does it)

Would somebody mind satisfying my curiosity? I know we're hopeless, rebuilding and all that, but do we prepare pitches to suit our own team the way the Poms have obviously done? (I mean I expect Indians etc to do it, but I kind of recalled the idea of a level playing field as one of the honorable aspects of playing England. No more it seems. I remember a few years ago a Pommy groundsman openly boasting of preparing a pitch that would limit Warnes effectiveness)