Earl Hood

enough with the mythologising and romanticising of der leader, comrade

yes, today's pollies are two faced husks lacking credibility and vision, but gough's time was not the golden age you reminisce

back to slumber and turpor

DC do yourself a favour and at least listen to Noel Pearsons oration at Gough's memorial. Very moving stuff and it has nothing to do with the very mundane stuff about interest rates or loans affairs, it is about people, giving the underdogs a chance and the legacy he left and the fact Gough had a go. He was able to negate the bastards like old Joh in Queensland.

That is my argument, not that he didn't make mistakes but he had a bloody good go at it. As opposed to today's small men!

Delist Evans and McKenzie but we pick them up in the rookie draft on their current payments and with JT on the long term injury list one gets elevated back to where they were. That gives us 2,3, 40 and 53?

Opens up two extra picks where there might be some talent, who knows and we pick up Jetta with a very late pick.

Quick question about yesterday's funeral service.

Did Latham turn up? If he couldn't forgive Gough on a day like that, it is truly sad.

I don't know if he was there Colin but reading his article in the AFR (an amusing broadside at Bolt and Gerard Henderson) this morning I doubt that he is carrying a grudge large enough for him to boycott the memorial service.

With the addition of newton today,

Could Melbourne pull a surprise and get

Two forwards in McCartin and Wright ?

We have Jones, Tyson, Viney, Toumpas, Salem, Michie, JKH,

newton, watts etc

so targets Dawes, Howe, hogan, mcCartin and Wright?

Something different.

I hope not.

Some interesting thoughts if we end up drafting McCartin.

Firstly, I doubt they would line up alongside each other. McCartin would probably play deep up forward while Hogan, who has a decent tank would play further down the ground at CHF or even a flank for starters (and even possibly in defence).

Secondly, there's the question of whether they would be introduced into the team immediately. I don't think that's how Roosy operates. I also don't recall when two novice KPF's were introduced to VFL/AFL in the same team on the same day.

Buddy and Roughead 2005? Who along with the earlier picks of Hodge and Mitchell and the pick of Lewis as well in the 2004 draft set up the Hawks "unique winning culture"for the coming decade! Dare I say, great draft picks can go a long way to creating a winning culture.

Forget Mccartin guys, we wont be selecting him!

You were called Rowdy Yates early in your career I believe, Clint, man of few words indeed, no need to elaborate!

I heard the interview live while cooking a bar b que. I was actually surprised at how articulate and reasonable Blease was. I also thought he was quite fair and realistic, and even though he did comment on the matter of so many high draft picks failing at Melbourne, it was far less caustic than the vitriol on this site.

Well done Sam. Good luck at the Cats!!

BBO you have an interesting take on this. I heard the interview live as well but I was driving home from work!! I thought he was not very articulate at all, he tended to waffle on too much and I am not sure why Half and Dr Turf let him ramble on. It crossed my mind and it is only a thought bubble that the elite A graders tend to speak very well, very concisely and with authority, a sign of their confidence, leadership and focused thinking. I thought Blease knew what he wanted to say but took 20 words to say what could have been said in 10 words. Maybe that is just me. However I had some sympathy for his argument, looking at the data how could we have got a dozen or more first round picks so wrong, it has got to be something about the development versus talent. Having 5 coaches in 6 years is a good argument for failure. He has a point but then having watched him over 5 years you still wonder why he couldn't improve his game given his physical talents. I still think his problem is his decision making, not his physical gifts. He is a dumb footballer with some other great attributes. I hope he matures and makes a go of it at the cats.

thanks TD. interesting. don't know how that would be?

I just wish the pollies would link the Cranbourne line thru to the Frankston line Via Baxter... the loop would allow container rail freight direct to the Dandenong region, & open up the Sth-East.

And a possible airport around the Tooradin area.

the Hastings natural deep water Port area needs to be opened up & developed, as the Docklands area gets cleaned up & Domesticated.

Pollies, please develop the Hastings & the Geelong container ports.

DL forget planning. Have you read today's Sunday Age about the new suburb at Fisherman's Bend. It is enough to make you weep at the lost opportunities for proper planning outcomes, for Victorian taxpayers and the future of that suburb and its current and future inhabitants. Matthew Guy should be drummed out of Parliament for what he had masterminded. He is either a total incompetent, an idiotic economic ideologue or he is totally corrupt! The Minister should be forced to provide an answer to those allegations. I suspect the answer is the first option.

It is 30 years late but I think we might be just about there with Goerge Brandis and his latest data retention laws. I am talking about the Orwellian vision of 1984 of course. Why do I feel like Winston Smith and that the Ministry of Truth ( News Corp) exists, and Big Brother is coming. There is already the perpetual wars between ourselves as part of Oceania against the disputed lands south of Eurasia (Iraq). I think we know who the inner party are and who are the proles, who need to be distracted with gambling, casual sex and sport to keep the social order intact.

Which piece of legislation are we in need of to make the conversion complete I wonder?

How do we fit him into our list? There aren't many spots at the moment.

Paid up today! Hope lives eternal that we will turn it around and this is the year.

Would be very pleased if our draft ended up looking something along the lines of:

#2 Angus Brayshaw

#3 Nakia Cockatoo

#40 Oscar McDonald

#42 Billy Stretch (fs)

#53 Caleb Daniel

#83 Neville Jetta (rookie upgrade)

Then in 2015, hopefully we can select Jake Lovett as a f/s without giving up our first round pick, as well as getting the best available forward we can, whether that be via free agency, a trade, or through the draft.

Controversial pick 3!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

move on earl, it's the 21st century, man

Sorry to wake you up DC just me maintaining the rage. There aren't many of us left but for what it is worth Gough's passing has forced us to look at what has changed since the 70's in politics. And the view is not pretty, we now live in an era where politicians are kept on a short leash by their corporate masters. But very few realise how much things have changed for the worse.

But worry not go back to your slumber and sleep well!

Is this the right thread to suggest a player for us to look at in the draft

If not could somebody tell us the correct one please.

I have suggested on the pick 2 and 3 thread that someone should set up a voting thread where you nominate your pick 2 and 3 for the records. So there are no retrospectives when an early pick gun fails to fire a shot, in that people start saying they always advocated player X.

Denis Nappy is the most hated politician i can remmeber in the western district.

Trouble is all farmers vote Lib/country even if Hitler was the only alternative.

And then there is the big WHO CARES factor in this election.

Gee based on today's Age poll poor Denis is going to get a pummelling but I don't see why there is such animosity out there. I don't vote LNP but I am surprised at the backlash against Dennis. It seems more involved with the fact the LNP is in charge federally, so the states start to turn the other way at the next elections. Does not make much sense really but it seems to be a pattern.

I have a double DVD of Cream live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2005. They reformed for a one off performance (well, 4 nights) and were very very good.

Hardtrack is that performance on iTunes? Would be good to see.

And by the way Stevie Windwood is still doing some great stuff but then I am talking 10 years ago come to think of it. Dinosaur yes.

I'm pretty sure this very thread is exactly what you're looking for...

I am thinking of a thread that is more precise and records votes Without the comment and discussion and the opportunity to be backing 5 or 6 options. This thread is all over the place with plenty of wriggle room for posters to say they may have advocated Player X at one stage but later on they were for player Y etc. and actually I advocated players A,B,C,X,Y and Z but I always preferred player??

Just a thought

Not sure how it would be done but can someone set up a thread where we all have to nominate our picks 2 and 3 and it is recorded. Then we can't come back and bag the MFC recruiters if certain picks don't work. But then this might totally undermine Demondland and its reason for being? That is to retrospectively bag all and sundry for our continued misfortunes while we have always known the path to true enlightenment.

Gee it is tough this year. I am hoping for Brayshaw at 2 but just don't know for number 3 so it is better I hold off so if we get it wrong I can wade in boots and all about the one I would have chosen if I had time.

Nope pretty sure it's a continual 8 week block after the season followed by a 2 week block over Christmas. It's in the AFL CBA which you can google if you want to confirm.

The things for younger guys, especially if they are living or back in Melbourne at this time of year (down for the races if nothing else) then you'd want to be fit for the start of preseason I could imagine. And it's much easier training with friends anyway so I'm sure a lot of them would be out running with each other anyway.

Why completely ban them access to clubs (as happens in other sports)? I know I'd actually prefer to get some earlier direct fitness oversight from the staff as well as being in the right environment for it.

I am off to the union tomorrow bl**dy hell 10 weeks annual leave! I am getting screwed with just 4 weeks. And by the way my organisation/team actually delivers on its promises and levels of service for a fraction of the cost. Unlike MFC but different industries I know.

lol @ the AFLPA

Bunch of amateurs down there

Our guys have been off since round 22, that is about 7 weeks leave. They will get another 2 over Christmas, how much do they need? I thought 6 weeks total was the Aflpa deal.

This is just my view on not taking a risk as the strong boys are 9 times out of 10 the safe bet with the likes of hodge,wines,Martin,cunnington and viney the safe way to go. The outside type is the cream you go for later in my view. I'm just thinking of playing safe with such high picks. Hogan was a great pick as he is a bull and I would take him over Martin in the mini draft as hogan is just a safe way to go.

Big Jim Terry Wallace did a review of the top 10 draftees from 2000 to 2010 during the year and broke up the selections into inside mids, outsiders/Flankers and talls if I remember correctly. He found the success rate of the inside mids was around 75 to 80%, they went on to play 100 games plus. The outsiders and talls were around the 30 to 40% success rate. It makes some sense as highly rated inside mids are likely to be aggressive, physically ready and have probably captained their underage sides and developed leadership skills. There will always be X factor talent with the others, eg Rioli, but it is harder to get right.

Following on from my plea above I liked Ross Gittens' review of the Whitlam government's economic performance in the Age last week. He put the Australian economy and the major performers in the economic context of the time to show that no one knew how to deal with such a new set of problems but then he finished by stating that Gough's economic mistakes at the time held us back for nearly two decades as opposed to other counties who worked their way out of it in one decade. Gittens made that statement right at the end when he had run out of word space so couldn't clarify his statement. I can't detect anything Gough did that was still a millstone on our backs 20 years on myself. But I could make an argument for the negative impact of the deregulation of Hawk and Keating haunting us through the 90's and beyond. I would love for Gittens to clarify his opinion more one day. Bough had his faults but he was a victim of circumstances as well.

Guys is there any chance of restoring some decorum to this thread at least until Gough's memorial service later this week? You can do this [censored] for tat back on the Not the B and S thread.

3aw reporting Blease a 1 year contract with Geelong.

Great if Bleasey is recruited. Good for him and it provides more data for our incessant discussion about poor drafting versus poor development. Look forward to seeing how he goes.