rumpole

Can Tom Browne play?

Nice story about one of our big improvers in James Harmes. Melbourne fans would notice a change in James Harmes this year. The hard-at-it Demon is still as tough as they come but he’s been doing it more consistently in 2018. Following a pre-season where the 22-year-old didn’t miss a session, it’s the second pre-season in a row where he’s done everything — Harmes has dropped a bit of weight — which has seen him slide into a midfield role so far this season. READ MORE: Confidence is key for young Dee

My info is that success has gotten to Judd’s head since his retirement and he’s not all that popular. Happy for Clarrie to emulate his success but not at the expense of a balanced life.

One word - "Robbo"

No ... balaclavas.

Total eclipse of the moon around Spotless Stadium when the the unmentionable's old man stood up at the end of the Preliminary Final on Saturday night.

When the club was knocked back last year the indication was that if we had another poor year, we might qualify. If we win only six games this year we borderline qualify on the basis of our cumulative poor record. This is especially so in the case where all we would be getting is an end of round 1 draft pick as WJ suggests.

Is there any evidence of this "cyclical" folly? Are all "cycles" similar? Is there a rule that applies to "cycles" and, if there is a rule, why are there so many exceptions? The Swans should have been struggling after Roos retired as coach, surely?

How anyone can think Daniher left us in a good shape is beyond me and the team from that night backs this up to the hilt. I love my players but when you talk culture there were a number of players in that final team who had behavioural issues while at the club, mainly related to alcohol, aggressive behaviour and/or gambling. Moreover, a number of others have been criticised over time for poor attitudes including selfishness on the field and the training track (there's some overlap between the two categories). Others never reached their full potential after displaying enormous promise early in their careers. If the task of the coach and your football department is to turn out better players and better people from the material they're given then this is not a good example of what we should expect. Nor is there any support for the claim that this sort of thing inevitably happens at the end of any football cycle.

The knee stood up in 2012. It was the heart that wasn't there.

What were the crowds like today. They were abysmal yesterday. Come on Taswegians - turn up if you want local test matches!

Sports News First are all over the Roberts story Dale Roberts aims high

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