Older demon

First off thank you SWYL for sharing the article. It is horrifying to read and made me angry as I remember the Saints disco those years and there was certainly a drinking culture but Rod's secret made him a time bomb waiting to explode. I am pleased to read that he is getting it together. As for the abusers, they are scum and filth. I survived a good catholic upbringing completely oblivious to the perversions of christian brothers. My younger brother however saw first hand the practised grooming and abuse and even stood up to defend the weakest in the class, which got him expelled. My father could never understand how one son had no issue and the other told stories of abuse. I suspect even if Rod had told someone no-one would believe him. My late father eventually apologised when it all came out for not trusting his son. I cannot imagine what that sort of thing does to your soul and the need to be constantly numb with alcohol and drugs. I too remember this games with MFC and Rod was a gun. On a lighter note his brother Chris gets a mention and he is a very accomplished bowler, I wonder if they ever have a game together!

I am surprised at the lack of love for Sparrow and as none of us know what role the coaches have for him. But for me he chases, tackles gets hard balls and puts in. He is way ahead of melksham in that regard. Let meek, Hibberd and others earn their way into the team with form in the VFL. Until then they replace injured or clearly out of form players and after 3 rounds we ar playing as a team. Another tall up forward maybe

I thought the turning point in the second quarter came when we were 16 points down and Max moved forward and Jackson went into the ruck. The rookie rucks had little impact but Saints couldn't rove to Max and his presence up forward changed the dynamic. Re rookie ruckman I have seen in the last 2 weeks they lean in to him great a contest and try to nullify his taps conceding they wont beat him. Different situation against an attacking ruck opposition who is trying to get first hand on the ball. Agree Max does better against the better rucks as it is a contest not a rookie trying to smother him.

That is disappointing as I never received that email. None else get ignored?

I remember Sellars in his playing days and off field as the party boy. I suspect his memory has been affected and he doesn't remember. The successful Carlton team of his day were an outstanding group of talented footballers but they played it pretty hard of the field. Wayne Johnson, Val Perovic, Maclure and co could out drink and out party anybody ( I remember at the Bears, Caulfield VFA, sunday night session the Carlton boys were there). So what standards is Maclure talking about? They never won practise games, weren't the hardest trainers but they did have enormous belief and a winning culture. A culture assisted by a very large cheque book. If Carlton had a deficiency they went out and bought the player. Remember how Kernahan, Bradley and Motley all joined Carlton at the same time. The introduction of salary caps, accountability and their own and salary cap rorts have seen Carlton slip. Yes they had a winning culture and expected to win but they also had the cattle and the money. Ask who changed the culture at Richmond? Was it the players or did Dimma convince them that his style of footy would bring success with all making a contribution. Read the book Red Fox, this concept is nothing new as this is the spirit Norm Smith instilled in the players who just like Richmond years later committed to a team game. MFC also had a seriously talented group of young men led by harassing and tutored by Smith It took Thompson 8 years at Geelong to mould the team and game style to win flags. Max is doing everything he can and this week I was pleased to read that the team have decided they need to be more selfless and I believe you have to fail a few times before you reach that state. The great coaches do it but it takes time and we are all impatient. Northey had it instilled with a team that wasn't over talented. The only thing Maclure got right is that it starts with the coaches and players but I don't believe we have a soft culture and I certainly don't believe that our players don't go out with a fierce desire. Maybe we don't have enough talent or class in the right places.

We have lost another soldier on the weekend with yea another ACL. Sorry for poor Aaronbut does this mean there is now a 4 th vacancy due to a long term in jury?

This is a worthy of not as Bob Murphy on radio today was applying the American college system to AFL teams. The college system has a player at college for 3 years before he becomes a pro.. They get 3 years to mature and support locally the thought that the draft age is too young. Bob looked at several lists and when players had their so called breakout year and it is often that 4th year. Names such as Franklin, Riewoldt (Nick) all announced themselves in their 4th year. In 2021 the team with the most upside was Brisbane with several players entering their 4th year. Spargo, Lockhart & Fritsch are now entering their 4th season and the 3 mentioned above can I hope all have breakout seasons in 21 and 22

I imagine I should have put this in the BB knee surgery but it is appropriate here when explaining the time frame mentioned. I am not an orthopaedic surgeon, but after multiple meniscectomies on both knees I have some insight into the options. There isn’t much cartilage in either of my knees and there is a reluctance to take cartilage out unless absolutely necessary because long term you are looking at requiring a knee replacement. 3 options on offer are 1. Arthroscopic repair. They’ll insert an arthroscope to get a good look at the tear. Then they’ll place small devices that look like darts along the tear to stitch it up. Your body will absorb these over time. The tear heals and cartilage stays intact 2. Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy. Your doctor will remove a piece of the torn meniscus so your knee can function normally. 3. Arthroscopic total meniscectomy. During this procedure, your doctor will remove the whole meniscus. If you have a partial or total meniscectomy, you can expect your recovery to take about a month. If your meniscus was repaired, it may take as long as 3 months while the tear heals. With all the work BB has had done and the time taken for recovery he may well have had option 1 done. They did say cautious and long term approach

Yes widely reported and initial thought is that we will take our 4 draft picks to the big dance and use them.

This list may explain Collingwoods salary dump. https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2020-afl-free-agents-2021-list-of-free-agents-trade-news-targets-restricted-zach-merrett-josh-kelly-carlton-patrick-cripps/news-story/6f3eb3386a97f5cac1700cb20a3726ad I was surprised at the names and can see there are a few targets like Josh Kelly, Cripps, Merret, Matt Crouch, Vlastin and Bontempelli who are restricted free agents as opposed to a standard out of contract player. I know a lot has been made of Olivers discontent but the stories coming out about other players from all clubs shows he was not alone in this. Hub life messed with many a player which I hope will not be an issue if things normalise next season

Not a rumour but a thought based on the spin I heard from Buckley this morning. They are clearing the deck to look after their existing players but also looking at next year and thereafter at RFA's and out of contract players and going hard. We have 2 that fit that bill, the question is would you trust the Pies to honour that contract? expect other clubs to come really hard at our players next year if they haven't signed extensions

And with reference to Lucifers hero, that was stated on the Tim & Gary show by Maclure that Essendon feigned interest in McDonald to force Gold Coast into a deal. A better strategy is to carry his wage next season and depending on his performance he is more likely a better trade target at the end of 2021.

Austens dad walks his dog at the same park as I do and we identify each other with our MFC masks. Dad reckons Austen was enjoying hub life and as the season progressed the club were very happy with his progress and development. However he is still developing and it would help if he was not the lone ruckman in the 2nds. I can see the value in a seasoned ruckman to work with Austen and manage his workloads. I really like the idea in another post of Phillips coming from Essendon to fill this role.

Agree Lucy and I am immediately reminded of something similar at Geelong years ago with Bomber Thompson. He was so close to getting the sack and post review had a different group around hime and greater support. It remains to be seen if Goody has it in hime to change but it certainly worked for the Cats. Pert did say yesterday that one on one with the players Goody is very good. He baulked and rambled when asked about the other side of coaching. What this hints at to me is the club as a whole from coaches to players don't yet have the unified buy in that Richmond have. They have a system which everybody knows and adheres to. If an injury occurs a replacement fills the gap. I just don't see that at Melbourne....yet!

Except that MFC have offered Mitch a contract for 2 years. The dogs upped the ante by offering 3 so it isn't obvious that we planned to send hime to the draft. On the other hand Oscar was not offered a contract and may well end up in the pre season draft.

The $ 900K a year is misleading. Several journo's have pointed out he is owed money by the club for previous seasons which inflates his wage. In order to assist the club and manage its bulging cap he has heavily backhended his contract. My read on this is the money they are offering to pay of the $ 900K is money owed not the base cost of his contract which may be more manageable which is why they don't want to part pay his contract for its length just the first year. I suspect some dodgy accounting So a player accommodates a club and adjusts his contract and when the money is owed they shaft him. Definitely fertile ground for a legal team.

A forward midfield and back coach plus the senior coach and I suspect Jones contributing in there somewhere. AS stated earlier $3 million is a lot to chop out of any program. They will all have to take on a bit more responsibility as will every other clubs coaching staff. I suspect the review wasn't just about individual coaches performance but how the club can manage with less resources so lets give Pert and his crew a chance to show what they can do.

Phillips was highly regarded by Longmuir in his time at Collingwood. Would not surprise if the Dockers were interested and why there hasn't been much dialogue.

Whether TMac shows what he has got depends on getting his body right. People forget he had turf toe , a debilitating injury. A serious cartilage tear that required surgery and a long recuperation and this year his ankle was not good. Clubs never tell the whole story and players carry a variety of injuries. He certainly looked overweight this year and his leg injuries limited him. Only time will tell if he come good but the message at MFC is that if he stays he will need to play down back if brown makes it to the club IMO. Ironically if he does go and we are light for tall backs Oscar may get another contract!!!!

Smarter move than most think. He finished the season off on the bench with a headset coaching which apparently he did well. He may play games next season and I hope he gets to 300 but his wage as a playing coach comes of the player budget NOT the soft cap for coaches which has been slashed by 3 million. I suspect Burgoyne is in the same role at Hawthorn. A dual role for Jones next yearend even if he plays at Casey (if there is a second tier comp next year) his game knowledge and experience is not lost and we don't alienate him. I wish him well

Worth noting Collingwood only willing to pay $200K of his contract for 1 year, not every year of his contract. Year 1 he is a bit cheaper for a club but year 2 and beyond you are looking at $800-900 K a year for 4 years. Any wonder no-one is blinking. He isn't that good for that sort of money. On the human side I think Collingwood's handling of this and the other players contracts has been extremely poor and note, not a peep out of Eddie, who has an opinion on everything. If the club has been so supportive they must have known about the plan for his wife to take up a contract up north. If they really cared wouldn't they advise him prior to that, their belief that it wasn't in his best interests at Collingwood. Its not like she is earning the sort of money Adam is. Something stinks IMO.

My son tells me he heard on the radio that Freo are interested in Phillips and this is due to his good relationship with the coach Longmuir from his time at Collingwood.

Sam MaClure was most uncomfortable when Watson got into him about Oliver. Lyon whacked him and he was backing of at a million miles and re Oliver. He must read Demonland because he said Oliver will be at Melbourne in 2021but they would want to have a good year, his discontent was real at the time.

Very perceptive Old Dee, re vaccine the trial for the one Australia is backing officially finishes stage 3 in October 2022. The trial may allow high risk people and health workers to be part of the trial. We mere mortals are looking more to 2023. You are correct that winter is dynamite and Europe, the U.K and U.S are all struggling under the weight of numbers and people get re infected. The Northern states have managed things well here this season and the hubs actually worked and allowed a season to play to its conclusion. I also believe we will get more of the same next year but don't think people want to hear that though.

Hypothetical what happens if in the middle of the grand final there is the predicted thunderstorm and lightning. Precedent from before is the players come off and seek shelter till the storm passes and it is safe to proceed.