For sure. Collingwood’s domination of the Grand Final replay spurred it on. Demolishing Geelong and the Dogs on the way, made the case even stronger.

I feel it is a huge possibility for the Magpies. Have the talent, young stars and the coach, plus another (Nathan Buckley) waiting in the wings who will have an even better team come 2012.

Tarrant back (if it happens) would help the defence, and who knows what Andrew Krakouer could do. He was amazing this year for Swan Districts and won the Sandover Medal in the WAFL, plus the Simpson Medal as he kicked the match winner for the Swans in their Grand Final win over Claremont. Still it would hard for him to find a regular spot.

Hard for many of us to say it, but I can’t write off the Magpies for the next few years at the very least.

[Brian Lake]*

Superb piece Mike. On the money with the Heart too.

Victory had many chances to level, yet they couldn’t find the back of the net. Looking forward to the next MV v MH derby on December 11, should be another cracker.

Haha, like your work their Derby County FC!

Strong research there. I never blamed Hall anyway! Just said he never made the Dogs better! Really, they remained static.

Akermanis’ loss I think hurt the Dogs. I reckon he could have added another string to the teams bow, especially in the finals when they needed it most.

Looking that those stats, people might think they are in trouble with who they have lost and the age of some of their stars. No way, heaps of midfield talent to burn, not to mention players in the VFL still including Lukas Markovic which will as mentioned by the club, be cover for Brain Lake when he retires.

Who wouldn’t! I see Kyle Hardingham as a real player for your boys.

Mark Williams struggled in 2010 but if he can hit back some form, he could be dangerous. Fair to have a lean patch now since Lloyd and Lucas, it had to come sometime.

You’ve got those pocket types in Zaharakis, and haven’t seen the best of Jetta nor Reimers who flashed onto the scene with his brightly coloured boots, so if Hirdy can find their best, you’ll be in for an exciting period.

Hurley did play back too, but when up forward was a problem for opposition clubs. Like the look of the man.

Great points Mister Football.

Soon the door will close for them for a period, but still they have the list to be finals material. Premiership material? Personally, I think it’ll be hard for them to be honest with Collingwood the leader in the pack in which could create a new dynasty like the Lions.

Losing to Essendon in (Round 10) also was worrying for a top four side, but all clubs have their mishaps. All sides are going to blame injuries and yes its happened with Hawthorn. Maybe the extra spark from Jarryd Grant might be the answer if he can be a key forward and kick 50+ goals in the next few years. He’ll have to put on the kg’s if that’s going to happen. Still he kicked six against the Dons in Round 22, and 29 for the year which was strong for his 20 season games. Raw and young for a No.5 pick in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft with a lot of potential.

It is correct information from an official news release on the Delhi Commonwealth Games website:

Quote: “A study by Price Waterhouse Cooper says India’s GDP will benefit by $4500 million over four years from 2008-2012.”

http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org/benefits_games_will_be_felt_longer_15_days

Interesting piece Daniel. Nice mix of ideas.

I’m with you on Marcus North. More time at WA has to be the result. An average of 37.73 with the bat at test level is solid, but still does not match it with most of the rest of the batsmen in the Australian squad. Still he is a middle order batsman, so maybe his own situation is justified.

North has earned his spot from his domestic history, but when he looks on the way out, he produces a good score. It frustrates me particularly, as the selectors place him back in the good books. He is handy and great on his day. Dislike the fact he can sometimes give up his wicket similar to Brad Haddin after coming out with a burst, even when Australia aren’t up by a lot and still trying to make an innings.

Paul Nixon haha, imagine that! Let’s just hope the Aussies can whitewash the poms and send them back home to look at their OBE and MBE medals.

Much has been said already and I’m with most – there’s no way it can rule the world.

“Rule the world” is a pretty deep statement. Australian Rules could go global on a bigger scale, but I can’t see it overtaking soccer or basketball.

Kevin Sheedy’s life has been dominated with Australian Rules as a player at Richmond, to coach at Essendon and now at GWS. There’s no doubting he thinks the game is the greatest in the world. That has always been his belief, I don’t take that as a surprise. Mind you, everyone is bias and being an Australian, many would say the say themselves.

If it was to rule the world – Who would provide the financial support? Big companies would prefer to support the NBA, EPL or NFL stars for instance, rather than the AFL.

It’s like the chicken or the egg, and a seed growing for a tree – everything needs to start somewhere. Australian’s can hope such happens with Australian Rules, but the global market is a tough one to break into.

In India, Hockey and Cricket are massive and how could our game topple either, it will be difficult.

Cheers Gavin!

Yes, it’s full steam ahead for the Tigers. Long talent bank for the future, a coach that has the backing from his players and a game plan that actually works.

Dustin Martin is showing how highly rated he is and its great he’s another which has been exciting watching in 2010 now staying on with the club.

I’m a big fan of Ben Nason. He even finished 12th in the Jack Dyer Medal which is outstanding in his debut season. Tyrone Vickery is one who has to step up now. Highly rated as a junior, yet he hasn’t done it at the top level.

We all know if Lewis, Johns and Eales have come from either league or union, but yes I see where your coming from. No disrespect given, I’ll change that next time. I’m a Melbourne Storm supporter myself and Wallabies man so I keep a good eye on how each are going.

I’m hoping the Sydney Roosters can win the NRL this year and if they do, that would be a super effort how far they have come after finishing on the bottom last year.

I hope that’s the case Umberto Visani.

Haha, I think Brendan’s AFL career is all but over now if he’s proven guilty. Can’t see anyone giving him another chance, he’s used them all up.

Rhys Palmer and Antoni Grover didn’t have full seasons because of injuries too, so even with both players missing this year, they have done well without them. Pity Tarrant is leaving back to Melbourne, but he should fairly try and organise a trade with a rival club than nominate for the pre-season or AFL Draft where Fremantle as a club would receive no compensation.

Byron Schammer is a serviceable player and couldn’t find a regular spot in the team in 2010. That just shows how big an impression and the talent their young guys have shown and do have.

Good points all round here. No doubt Hansie about being given the machinery to win races. Never know there could be more happening behind closed doors but who knows?

Mr.Reliable! We’ll his car kept failing on him in the past so in reality it was never his fault. Now he’s getting the results on his own, and obviously the better team is working in his favor. We’d all love him to win the World Drivers’ Championship and hopefully he does so. Still others are catching up with technology so that’s going to make it harder but Red Bull will be suited to a number of the last six tracks.

Thanks for your feedback Rory.

Yes it has its up’s and down’s. If I had to choose – I’d be for the concept. The entertainment value is what is going to swing me towards the idea, but still yes its just a money making business. Over time though, it’ll start at the highest point then drop to a sustainable level in terms of spectators. While it might be new and seem like its the newest product/competition on the market if you say it like that, it’ll fall back into its place after the first run.

You got into the deep end with your response. Interesting you say “The sport has no feelings either way”, never thought about that one. You’re on the money there.

Cheers.

“If utilised professionally, the physical and mental gains surely outweigh any supposed loss of form or momentum.” – That’s an interesting one. I’m more a man which agrees on form, but it has been shown on countless times when players have been rested, the team has won.

I’m hoping its a close clash this weekend. The Dockers will have the home ground advantage and crowd to get them over the line, but I think the Hawks have the strength on the park. Pav will be a big player. If he can fire, who knows how well they will go. Hodgey will be back and all’s hoping he can be his best this weekend.

Summed it up perfectly there.

It definitely has been fantastic this year so far.

Since Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC aren’t totally dominating early on is a great sign. Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar stepping off the bottom where they were at the end of last year and now at the top is great news for both teams.

Hoping Melbourne Heart can have a positive first season in the A-League, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Todd, opinion is meant to cause debate and flow on ideas and opinions from others. I welcome your reply and would like to point out a number of problems in your response.

Firstly, you are judging Judd being superior to Cousins over SuperCoach scores and overall statistics. 1. SuperCoach was first officially introduced in 2005. Ben Cousins’ scores cannot be seen between 2002-2004 and are very high during this period. It is not fair to judge the two on such a fantasy game due to the fact in creates a bias towards Chris Judd who not only is younger in the period between 2005-2010, but misses many big years of Ben’s football life. Ben absolutely blew Juddy apart in 2005 averaging 124.3 pts to Chris’ 114.5. While Judd has done well recently, it is not fair to miss Cousins’ dominance when the scores aren’t available to be validated in his debate.

2. Statically, Ben had better seasons in 2002 (556 disposals to 331), “03” (520 to 418) and “05” (612 to 536), while Chris had the advantage in “04” and “06”. “07” cannot be apart as Ben had his own issues and he didn’t play out the full season. Thus, Cousins is ahead on statistics 3-2.

Backing this up – in terms of Career Season Averages. Ben is ahead again 3-2. He averaged (24.4 disposals per game in 2002 to Judd’s 15.0), “03” (22.6 dpg to 18.2) and “05” (25.5dpg to 22.3). Chris leads in “04” and “06” and only by .1 of a percent in “04” and .8 of a percent in “06” which shows how little difference their was between the two. The problem is you have just given an opinion and think you’re right, when really you didn’t check your facts. It is not fair to point the blame on someone with what you think is correct without fully doing the research.

I don’t see how your point about Judd being in a fairly average Carlton side helps your opinion, it only seeks to improve mine. Yes, he is in a team that isn’t as good on the park and its easier to win a club B & F at Carlton. His awards while he’s worked hard for them won’t be as big as Cousins’ who had to work even harder for his with who was around him at West Coast.

In the end of the piece you say I have been caught up with the hype. No I have not. This is an opinion and one I hold strongly and have backed up statistically, via awards, overall team make up around him, and when both were at the club. The All Australian team selection is a big difference at six-to-two Cousins way. It shows Chris hasn’t had the impact on the field like Ben has with his dominance on the competition.

You say that Chris Judd will continue to affirm that he is the superior player for the remainder of his career. Well that is obviously again working with bias as Ben isn’t on the field at the same time to show his worth. People can watch Chris for the next four years and say “yeah he’s better than Ben”. People forget easily how good many of the past were as they are watching too much of the present.

The problem is Todd, you do not look at both sides of the argument, rather you go straight to your view and in the end have formulated a response that has no credibility. It is an opinion and has no reliable research which backs up your points. It’s fair to respond, but it seems your personal attacking at who I am individually. Opinion is opinion, and fact is fact. We all have a voice and you could have had yours and many might have been skeptical and disagreed. I feel I have given a fair assessment of both with comparing and contrasting their careers. Like I’ve said they are at different stages so yes it does make it hard for both to be compared.

Thanks for your comment Mega.

Totally agree with you. Came out of nowhere and it’s a pleasing sign for not only Richmond as a club, but also supporters. Had Barry Hall and Lance Franklin at the top of the pecking order to battle it out for the Coleman, yet Jack comes out and surprises everyone.

Interestingly enough, Michael Roach was the first person and last Richmond player before Jack to win the Coleman Medal in 1981 when he kicked 86 goals for the season. Before 1981 it was known as the “Leading Goalkicker Medal”.

Richmond have a strong future ahead and Damian Hardwick is showing the goods. Jack should be getting good supply with the talent the team has in the middle for a while yet, so he definitely could win more than a couple of Coleman’s. When the Tigers hit the eight and are constantly competing in the finals he’ll be a big influence, so you never know how far he will go then – 100+ goal seasons? It’s a big possibility with the talent he has.