Straight Sets Simon

Is there a watermark on the photo or is there a faint MFC monogram on the jumper?

The "blood red" was good in theory, but with the materials they use these days it just didn't quite work.

It does.

Is it different?

I'd be surprised if they were different.

I'm always interested to see what tweaks and changes the jumper manufacturers make each year. I do believe the cut and style of a jumper can be advantageous to a team (even if only small). In particular the cut of a jumper can have an impact on how easily a player can break a tackle depending on how close to the body the jumper fits. It's interesting to see that Collingwood have their own brand manufacturing the jumpers and that the players have jumpers tailored to fit their body. I am amazed it has taken a team this long to do this and surely all teams should have this option. From the photos we have seen of training so far, the cut of the new jumper looks horrible. It's wide across the shoulders, bulky and looks heavy with lots of material hanging off the sides making it far easier for opposition players to hang on to. When New Balance first came on board they claimed to have the most "advanced" jumper on the market, well today it looks anything but. Most people probably don't care, but with the club planning everything to the second, it would be good if New Balance could make jumpers that actually fit. I know Cameron Schwab wanted a "Gladiatorial" look to the jumpers, but this new style isn't working for me.

Agreed, you can get altitude sickness in Colorado, not at Falls Creek.

What would the club be guilty of?

Besides his severe lack of acceleration he had the shocking habit of bumping players after they dispose of the ball, removing any chance he may have had to get to the next contest.

It all depends on what the other clubs do. At this stage, I feel that the list has improved (easy to say in December), but the gap between top and bottom teams really widened this year.

The sad thing is there are people who would actually want that information.

As bad as Wilson has been of late, the Herald Sun's attempt to try and catch up on stories (tanking an drugs) has been even worse.

The music ruins it.

On a side note they look like the worst fitting jumpers since 2009. No chance of breaking a tackle with all that material to hold on to.

He looks a good size, both in height and in the arms.

Jamar can't be relied upon due to injuries. Gawn could be anything, and is still very much a long-term prospect because of his height and history of knee problems. Fitzpatrick is more of a forward than a ruckman and despite the positive reports Spencer still has a lot to prove. The other thing about ruckmen is if you have excessive stocks they can become a handy trading commodity in the future.

Without commenting on Spencer specifically today, he may hit targets at training, but with a flawed kicking action (a high ball drop in particular) there is a lower probability that in a pressure situation he will consistently hit targets. That's not to say he won't hit targets, it's just the probability of error is increased. I picked it from looking at a photo early on that it is being addressed with McDonald, hopefully Spencer, Nicholson and Fitzpatrick get the same attention.

I noticed Bait is training with the Bulldogs in photos on the AFL website.

The "arm wave", it has almost become a trademark of Melbourne over the past decade. Morton and Moloney were both very good at it.

I don't care about compensation, I just find the whole situation very sad.

Trengove may be quick over 100 or even 20 metres, but where he needs to improve is over the first five metres. No point having a quick top speed if you are always getting caught before you reach it.

I believe he was having issues with his achilles.

Well, when I saw them train it was clear Gysberts got far more attention than anyone else from the coaches.

I like the fact that Toumpas is rocking the gold chain.

I've mentioned this a few times now but at a training session at the start of this year the coaching staff were getting stuck into Gysberts (Royal in particular) to get him to push harder. I stumbled across this from the North Melbourne website, even in a short interview he just looks like he doesn't care all that much.