Straight Sets Simon

The game opens up when Blease goes for a run.

Pathetic by McKenzie. Everyone is is fumbling the ball so badly.

Bail can do 10 good things but undo all his good work with one big clanger.

Good decision by Vince to stop Bail marking the ball.

We can't complain about the umpires this week.

That was just lazy.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Melbourne look like a far better team when he is playing.

JKH as the sub is just crazy, I do not understand this at all.

Don't give up on Judd coming to Melbourne, he did support the club as a kid after all.

He did just tweet that he is coming back to Melbourne after a "holiday" in Perth.

I don't think he will sign on for a third year.

I mean three for the whole round, I was useless.

I got three tips this week and that included tipping Richmond.

I'm all for a 17 round season with one bye.

I just heard John Patton say he was a Melbourne supporter growing up which means nothing, but there are few handy AFL players who supported Melbourne growing up.

He's a very well-spoken man, I thoroughly enjoyed that interview which brought back some great memories. I didn't realise he has a nineteen year old daughter!

I've never been a huge fan of Strauss but I'm extremely pleased to see him finding some form in the VFL. I'm getting to the stage where I want to more than just hard work and effort, we need to see some skill which is what Strauss, Blease and Tapscott can all potentially bring to the side if they can work hard enough.

If chookrat likes Pigdog then I'm happy.

If Toumpas is worth pick 4 (that's his draft number) then Mitchell is worth pick 4.

Good post, I wrote something similar this morning: I think the rules are very clear. If you have had prior opportunity you must correctly dispose of the ball immediately (which is what Dunn did however the umpire blew his whistle too early). The same thing happened when Pedersen chased down Impey, he disposed of the ball straight away only this time the umpire didn't blow his whistle before Impey disposed of the ball like he did in the Dunn case. If you don't immediately dispose of the ball it is holding the ball. If you haven't had prior opportunity you must just attempt to correctly dispose of the ball. If the ball drops out of your hands or is knocked out, that is not a throw or incorrect disposal in this situation becuase you have not had prior opportunity so long as you are attempting to dispose of the ball. There is and never has been a rule called "dropping the ball" and there is a very big difference between dropping and throwing. Perfect example was when Watts had the ball on the weekend and he didn't just drop the ball, he actually threw it becuase he had one arm held. It was only that the umpire was blind-sided that he couldn't see so got away with it. If the ball dropped out of his hands or fell out it would have been fine becuase he didn't have prior opportunity and you could see he was trying to free his other arm to dispose of the ball. He just got lucky that the umpire didn't see him throw the ball. The sad part of this rule is that flopping around like a fish out of water now constitutes trying to dispose of the ball and I think that some changes to the rules in these pack situations need to be addressed. There was a great example in the game on the weekend where a commentator literally had no idea of the rules. The situation was Howe picked up the ball and was tackled straight away, he went to kick the ball but was slung in a tackle and the ball missed his foot. Therefore, he didn't have prior opportunity but he did attempt to dispose of the ball. Anthony Hudson was then saying along the lines of "that was incorrect disposal, therefore it should be holding the ball". Anthony Hudson was wrong and the umpire correctly called play on. People watching then hear what Hudson says and think that is the rule which confuses them even more.

I think the rules are very clear. If you have had prior opportunity you must correctly dispose of the ball immediately (which is what Dunn did however the umpire blew his whistle too early). The same thing happened when Pedersen chased down Impey, he disposed of the ball straight away only this time the umpire didn't blow his whistle before Impey disposed of the ball like he did in the Dunn case. If you don't immediately dispose of the ball it is holding the ball. If you haven't had prior opportunity you must just attempt to correctly dispose of the ball. If the ball drops out of your hands or is knocked out, that is not a throw or incorrect disposal in this situation becuase you have not had prior opportunity so long as you are attempting to dispose of the ball. There is and never has been a rule called "dropping the ball" and there is a very big difference between dropping and throwing. Perfect example was when Watts had the ball on the weekend and he didn't just drop the ball, he actually threw it becuase he had one arm held. It was only that the umpire was blind-sided that he couldn't see so got away with it. If the ball dropped out of his hands or fell out it would have been fine becuase he didn't have prior opportunity and you could see he was trying to free his other arm to dispose of the ball. He just got lucky that the umpire didn't see him throw the ball. The sad part of this rule is that flopping around like a fish out of water now constitutes trying to dispose of the ball and I think that some changes to the rules in these pack situations need to be addressed. There was a great example in the game on the weekend where a commentator literally had no idea of the rules. The situation was Howe picked up the ball and was tackled straight away, he went to kick the ball but was slung in a tackle and the ball missed his foot. Therefore, he didn't have prior opportunity but he did attempt to dispose of the ball. Anthony Hudson was then saying along the lines of "that was incorrect disposal, therefore it should be holding the ball". Anthony Hudson was wrong and the umpire correctly called play on. People watching then hear what Hudson says and think that is the rule which confuses them even more.

I'm more convinced that the MRP base their decisions on reactions in the media rather than actually watching each game and each incident.

Jetta seems like a ripping guy too. To have completely dominated Wingard twice now just highlights his quality and I wouldn't be surprised if his sneaks into the All-Australian top 40 list.

I think Stewart is quite lucky to get off. It could potentially be argued that he "braced" but it looked like a bump to me

Jetta is as slippery as anyone in the AFL. He has gone past Pedersen for most improved, not because he was starting off such a low base but because he is just so good now.