rumpole

Absolutely not!

There's a snippet in today's Sunday Sun suggesting that we might trade draft pick # 1 to Fremantle for # 3 (presumably as part of another deal - Warnock?). We would still get our preferred choice of Jack Watts and they would get Naitanui. Interesting?

And if we were to win 82 - 54 there would be a tie between Melbourne and West Coast for last place as the percentages would be identical. Interesting.

PKF chartered accountants re about to terminate their $1m sponsorship of the Cronulla Sharks as a result of charges against player Greg Bird who has been charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on his girlfriend, Katie Milligan. Perhaps they might be interested in supporting the Melbourne Football Club because our players are such nice guys!

Don't feel so guilty. Your uncle gave to save the club. Enjoy your travels.

Water under the bridge. Let's move on.

Apparently they have filled the quota of 150 participants for tonight.

The more I see Franklin dominating a game like that playing as a KPP, the more I like the idea of Jack Watts in the draft.

Funny that we've been grooming Stef Martin for the CHB post at Sandringham and yet when the opportunity arose, we played PJ there. This suggests either that Martin isn't ready yet or that Rivers' injury or illness was a late thing or both.

The Hawthorn folk said much the same about Al Clarkson back in 2005. They should have kept playing guys like Mark Graham and Jonathan Hay.

What I like about this is your positivity. Time to take off the rose coloured glasses.

You mean David Cockatoo-Collins, don't you? Occasionally, Donald would get a kick.

You must support North Melbourne then!

I think it was the great Hawthorn Coach, Kanga Kennedy who, in a moment of sheer exaspertion, inspired his troops on to better things by calling on them to ... DO SOMETHING!!! That's what I'm asking of the Melbourne team today. My apologies for screaming!

Do you know who isn't playing from the squad of 29?

But where are our starts of the future and our big improvers for 2008?

I'm relieved - The Melbourne Age.

Thank the Lord!

This is the same newspaper that's been publishing lots of dirt about Wayne Carey, some of it true and a lot of it rumour and inuendo. I think Carey's a bit of a grub but FFS he still awaits trial for what he's been accused of and is entitled to a defence. The Age thought that was fair enough in the case of another grub in David Hicks and has been publishing articles supporting this confessed former terrorist and racist turning him into a people's hero and claiming he was just "misguided" when he went off to fight for Al Quaeda. I reckon there are double standards in operation at the Age and while I don't for a second endorse Carey, Hicks or Harris for that matter, it shows what happens when you have friends in the media and when you don't!

I don't think Geelong should have done anything. This shouldn't be a matter covered by "team rules". It a matter between the law and Johnson. I don't think if Johnson was employed for example by the Westernport Sewerage Authority that he would have an additional suspension above and beyond whatever sanction the law applies.

TAC has received its pound of flesh for its advertising dollar. I'm all for getting sponsorships but the TAC thing doesn't excite me in the way it leaves a sword over the heads of your players. Besides they only have to look at how some of our players have handled themselves over the off season and I doubt they would be interested. Let them sponsor Hawthorn or West Coast.

It was his knee that was injured early last year and his recovery was set back by some complications which sound like a possible infection. [censored] like this does happen sometime and he has to be managed through it properly. Sometimes this means patience and Clint is an important member of the team and so be it. He's young and the wait will be worth it.

Agreed. However, the fact that clubs are getting special distributions or handouts or whatever we want to call them should not mean that we don't work harder than ever to ensure we don't get into the mess that North Melbourne is in ATM.

I consider it a smartarse move and not a smart move at all. It's typical of the arrogance of Collingwood and McChins. It's bad enough that they have the easiest draw in the competition already (and then idiots like Old Xaverian whinge that it's not an easy draw when you play only 4 interstate games a season) but now he effectively wants 16 home games in Victoria and 6 away games in Queensland/or Sydney for which they would be handsomely compensated and never have the away disadvantage ever. That way they would never play in SA, WA or at Skilled Stadium. They might as well get two steak knives as well as the title to Sydney Harbour Bridge!