I would not normally become involved in a topic like this but, on so many levels, it offends me for choosing to weigh a person’s worth to a business based on moralistic and not legalistic or performance based criteria. For the partners of those in a committed relationship this is a sad and painful event presumably outside their control but I cannot see how their philandering partners losing their employment and income acts in any way to ease that sadness nor in any way to aid potential reconciliation.

No identification has been made of the two women involved. The positions they hold or held remain unreported, no indication is given as to whether they themselves were or were not in committed relationships and there is no suggestion that any liaison was not wholly and jointly consensual between the involved parties. Am I the only one who sees this as obvious, gender based hypocracy?

Let’s go out on a ridiculously hypothetical limb for a moment. At Season’s end and in similar circulatances, an AFL team and its AFLW franchise gather for an end of season function. Ten male contracted players, all in committed relationships and ten contracted female players also in committed relationships, make consensual adult decisions to engage in physical con joining thereby affecting themselves and their families but not in any way affecting the running of the AFL. Usind the same moral response which has been aoolied to Letlhlean and Simkiss, should all twenty players be sacked, or only the the male players, or should no sanction above obvious embarrassment and family difficulties be applied at all? If the latter answer is accepted and adopted, why were the resignations of Lethlean and Simkiss sought and accepted?.

No laws have been broken. If Lethlean was single and announced his engagement to the woman concerned this would be a complete non issue. No indication is given of poor work performance – the only negative factor appears morally or religiously based. Would that have been seen differently if SIMONE Lethlean had a liaison with a MALE junior executive and, if so, why? I must repeat; what LAW has been broken here beyond the commandment of “Thou Shalt Not Get Caught”.

These two men – these four people – have exercised poor judgement but have done nothing that is not done thousands of times around the world every day by people of equivalent, lesser and far greater public profile and standard. However disappointing or distasteful we might view their behaviours to be they are ultimately none of our concern. This isn’t news, it is gossip journalism of the lowest type and whilst the people concerned are involved with the AFL the ‘news’ itself has zero to do with our great game. With the amazing season we are having we can surely find some real, interesting, relevant news to report.

Although I’ve been a Sydney member for well over 40 years, tonight will be the first game I’ve seen live since 1999. So much planning and effort has gone in to get me there and I’m determined to have a great time, record in hand, pie and sauce dribbled down my front, screaming for a Sydney win. It should be a great game but a Sydney win would be the cherry on top for me. I am so excited. Go Swans!

BIgJ, there are names often used for people like you whom express views such as yours. Many, many names. I will remain polite, however, and not use any of them against you, unlike Mr Newman’s choice to use denigrating language against a societal grouping he apparently takes personal umbrage against It would serve no purpose. I would lower myself by using them and you would not care what I thought, so why bother?

Whatever you may wish to believe and no matter what your Holy Book exhorts you to believe, repeated scientific studies have indicated that transgenderism – known historically by many names – has existed in some form in every racial grouping since the onset of modern man. It may not be to your liking, and that is your privilege, but it exists as a verifiable subset of society in every society. It is a minority condition, to be sure, but so is breast cancer, colour blindness and every other genetically induced human variance. That doesn’t make it abnormal and neither does your religiously inspired objection to it.

My family were raised to show politeness and tolerance to all people of diversity. What we believed was ours to believe but we recognised we had no right to inflict that belief on others, whereas tolerance and fairness were essential for us to show at all times. As a parent, I prefer our way to yours and have raised my own children that way, but will not say you are wrong to do as you have done. Only you can decide that. I have my own opinion but, in fairness to you, I keep that opinion to myself. In fairness to those for whom your comments may have been upsetting and unnecessary, perhaps you might consider the same approach in future.

I agree Glenn. Depending on results I expect we will slotin somewhere fro 5th to 10th with a reasonably healthy percentage. We can’t afford even one misstep, so my prediction is 9th, to the relief of all Tigers fans – and I’d laugh with irony if they came 10th on percentage. Given our annoying propensity to turn off, and lose, against vastly less skilled teams, I am fearful we’ll make that one misstep we just can’t afford.

Sigh. Latin and I never really did get along. I give myself points for getting close to the right spelling

I agree Christo; it was the perfect ‘good team effort’. Efforts like that each week would make us hard to beat, even with those yips which seem to be becoming endemic. Oh, for the days when Plugger put through 23 in a row without a blemish. I still have no idea where we will finish this year but, as I have said a few times now, it doesn’t matter to me this season. If I can see effort like that every week I’ll be happy no matter what the scoreboard says. Go Swans, particularly the no name, no fuss newcomers doing such a fine job right now

To those who kindly supported my earlier comment, thank you. To those who used it to play the (wo)man and not the ball, you were ignored as, indeed, I tend to ignore all such banal posts and wasted wordage, directed at me or not. If you want to keep making such posts, knock yourself out. I simply don’t care.

The Swans had an excellent win tonight and yet I stand by every word in my original comment, the gist of which was we might gain greater ultimate experience and benefit this year if we were to miss the finals for a year. I might be wrong but it is my honestly felt opinion. I am a supporter for the long term, a member for over 40 years and have supported them at the top and the bottom of the ladder. I always will, wherever they finish and I try to be as unbiased as I can when I assess them.

To those of you who focus your posts on intelligent comment to do with football, thank you. I learn a lot from your insights and respect your knowledge and passion. You, combined, make the Roar a must read for me each day.

May your team be successful until they play the Swans. Then, may the best team win (and I hope they are wearing red and white)!

This will sound odd at the midpoint of the season but I don’t care if we win or lose. I’ve begun to think that we have had it so good for so long that a serious reality check, in the form of a losing season, might be exactly what we need to experience. We have the talent and the infrastructure but seem to have lost sight of the other things a successful team needs – hard work, team spirit, cohesiveness, focus, belief in each other. Too much is left to too few and too many believe that a handful of brilliant moments that get you in the game highlights is better than a solid, unflashy, no big headlines four quarter performance that goes unreported but wins games. I don’t really want to single out players but my example is, would you rather have a Gary Rohan or (nowWCE player) Lewis Jetta doing two or three breathtakingly brilliant acts a game, or a Jake Lloyd or George Hewitt who just do their solid job week in, week out. The former win accolades. The latter win games and, ultimately, premierships.

Let this year be the Swans’ “Annus Horriblus”. It may remind the players how good it feels to play finals, how empty it feels to miss out and how much hard work is needed to be successful. They will win games and lose games this season and will always be trying but one lost season may lay the foundations for another period of suiccess. For that reason and as much as I love my Swans, tonight’s result just doesn’t matter to me. Go out, try hard, do your best and identify areas where you can improve. The scoreboard will take care of itself.

I’ll preface this by saying I’m about as far from being a Saints fan as you can get, but I do acknowledge class when I see it whatever team is involved. Nick Riewoldt is all class, too courageous at times for his own good and would have to be one of the five best ever Saints players. There have been times when he has almost single handedly carried that club on his shoulders.

I care less about age than I do performance. If he is still earning a spot on merit in their best 22 then he should go on – assuming he wants to go on of course. If he isn’t, then don’t offer a new contract. It isn’t rocket science; if these up and coming kids are so good they will force their way into the senior team. If Riewoldt is the better player then you pick him, if not you pick the better player. If he isn’t on the senior list you don’t get to make that choice so you give him a one year contract if you feel he still has something to offer and let form decide the rest. Simple stuff really

Please, let’s forget commercial interests and dollars for just a moment Gillon. This game, which I truly believe is the finest club based sporting competition on the planet, has flourished since beginning in 1897. It has done so on the strength of the sweat, passion and love of grass roots supporters. To hell with what the AFL and its commercial parasites …….. I mean partners ………. want, to hell with “A majority of clubs have indicated …..”. This is not your game Gillon, it belongs to the members of each club in the league. Before any move to turn us into a mini gridiron competition, let the voices of the members be heard in a vote. A decision of this magnitude should be judged on passion, not profit. Effectively creating a final 10 in an 18 team competition makes it statistically more difficult to miss the finals than to make them. Does anyone really want that.

You’ve done enough damage already Gillon. Now, leave our game alone. In fact, just leave.

Looking at funding our current list, and end of season draftees, is a serious issue for the Swans. How much easier things would be if we could find a club foolish enough to take Kurt Tippett from our hands; sadly, no one out there is so foolish. If it came down to a choice of Reid or Jones, I would have no hesitation in nominating Jones. His run, judgement, aggression, exceptional speed, decision making and elite skills are far more valuable than those of an injury prone tall forward who is undoubtedly talented but also inconsistent. We have both Darcy Cameron and Toby Pink who could fill Reid’s position but no one with Jones’s skill set. I’d like to keep both but Jones must be the priority.

I’d say this is good news rather than bad; for the first time this year a wonderful player in Kieran Jack will miss but, given that he has been injured and decidedly underperformed in each of his games, this will be of far more benefit than detriment as a fresh and fit body will replace him. I’m hoping Sam Murray is selected in his place and shines on debut.

As always, Cam, an excellent xcellent summary
I’m on the fence a bit regarding the injury effect; with even close to a full and fit team I think we would be 2-2 now, but I agree that form is well down across the board and this is the primary issue. I dont feel Parker is fit medically after his off season surgery and this, coupled with the absence of Mitchell, Heeney and McVeigh and the grossly underperforming Jack has thrown so much onto Hannebery’s shoulders that he is crumbling.

Losing Membery and Nankervis were happenings I always said would come back to bite us. We have a group of players – Rohan, Towers, Cunningham, B. Jack, Talia, Sinclair, Marsh – who all give their best but whose best will never be consistently senior level but who might be of interest to someone at trade time, and though most Swans fans acknowledge Tippett as having been worth the dice roll, they also feel he is injury prone, unable to play through pain and should be a trade priority. Concentrating our efforts into Cameron, Hayward, Papley, Pink, Rose, Reid and next years Academy crop will pay far more dividend.

Finally, Alex Johnson. The guy is a hero and an inspiration but how could you possibly build a future around him. I hope he makes it back to prove he could and then, like Jason McCartney so many years ago now, retires whilst he still has a body fit to live the rest of his life in. I feel he is destined for senior coaching and sincerely wish him all success, but his health is more important than any game.

Sydney could still make the finals. Frankly, I hope they don’t. I’d like to see them spend a year or two in consolidation, get some high end draft picks and then hit back with true Bloods spirit. Build up their current kids, create a new game plan and then storm back to the top, hungry and ready for another decade of success. This is merely a pause, not a disaster. My head is still held high. Go Sydney!

Like his dad Graham before him, Sean will be forever a Blood. I hope his health stabilises and he enjoys many decades of family and career away from football. Well done on an inspirational career.

OK, some quick comments from the most biased, one eyed Sydney supporter you will ever see.
– The umpiring last night and in the 2016 GF was awful and leant towards the Bulldogs in both games but this was neither a deliberate decision by the umpires concerned nor an AFL conspiracy. In both games the umpires just made some shocking decisions but this has happened in every game ever played because umpires are human, fallible and part time.

– Had the umpiring been equal in both games, I believe the results MAY have been different but I doubt it; I still believe the Bulldogs would have won last night whilst the GF would have been very close and could have gone either way. I wish we had won but I will never accept the Bulldogs won unfairly, just more easily than they would otherwise have been able to.

– Coaches complaining about umpiring in a finished game is like me complaining about my Multiple Sclerosis: it changes nothing, helps no one and wastes time.

– I have no doubt the AFL commission dislikes the Sydney Swans and we are not the only team they dislike, but they do not use or influence the umpires against those teams.

– Other than Kennedy, the Swans mids have been well below par this season. I don’t think Parker is fully over his knee surgery, Jack is underdone and Hannebery seems to have dropped pace. Hewitt, Jones and Lloyd have really put in but are not top tier and we haven’t seen Heeney, McVeigh or Rohan yet. Florent and Hayward will improve but Marsh and Cunningham and Foote are battlers at best

– When Tippet’s contract ends I would not renew it. Injury wise, he is a liability and one we cannot afford. Cameron will be handy but losing Nankervis will come back to haunt us.

– 0-2 is not an ideal start but it is far from the end of the world and a finals berth for the Swans is still highly likely. As players such as Rose, Rohan, Rampe and Papley return from their injuries, our performances will greatly improve.

Happy with the game. The result was meaningless but we got a look at the newbies. Speaking only about the Swans. Since the commentary team only spoke about the Roos, Mills brought his own football and his position was ‘wherever you want to go’. Heeney and Jones were ready to eat a football, Hannebery was ready to eat an opponent and Hewitt was pure silk as a defensive mid. Darcy Cameron was the standout recruit for me; a good thinker, excellent below his
Knees, never out of a contest and shaded Tipperr on the day. Cunningham was lively, Florent will be an asset and both Edwards and Fox did enough. Throw in the perennials like Kennedy an Smith and there was a lot to make you smile. Parker and Tippett each got solid gameplay time, the forgotten Sam Reid was solid in his comebany and Newman showed some flashes.

When you thin of the names still to come back – McVeigh, Jack, Grundy, Rampe, Naismith, Rohan, Sinclair, Franklin, Aliir, Papley, Rose, Lloyd, Towers, Laidler and kids like Maibaum, Hayward, Leonaidis, Foote, Pink, Melican, Murray and perhaps even Johnson pushing for spots, we seem to have no onvious weaknesses. Pending a spate of injuries, all is looking good.

Just quickly on North, they weren’t the easy beats many have predocted. Without many of their top players guys like Duerdin, Murray, Preuss, Hrovat, Higgins, McKay,, Cunnington and Daniel looked very sharp. A lot for them to like too.

finally, kudos to the two tyro coalches in Leigh Tudor and Brett Kirk, who gave us an entertaining brand of footy. A couple of goal kicking coaches wave a busy week in front of them though Cyril Rioli is still well out in front for
Miss of the Year

James, he was only 16 at the time and thus ineligible for the Draft, he *will* be eligible in 2017 and wants desperately to be a Swan and the club will sell a grandstand if they need to, to get him. Lock him in to your 2018 Fantasy Team right now

This is a very interesting topic and I’m leaving my Swans hat off as I discuss it.

GWS have so many top draft picks now reaching that perfect blend of age and experience that they must be taken seriously and considered in the absolute top bracket of clubs. They have been able to use players who would be walk up starts in many other sides to trade for and cover areas of perceived weakness or lack of experience. I believe it is inevitable they will win at least one Premiership in the next four years.

Sydney continue to amaze me. Unlike GWS they, with the exception of a couple of well known marquee players, build and rebuild and reinvent themselves from within, not without. As good as Heeney and Mills undoubtedly, wait til Joshua Bell arrives from the Swans Academy at the end of this season – picture a player with the elusiveness an X factor of Rioli, the freakish goal kicking skills of Betts and the size and agility of O’Loughlin at his peak. Throw in Aliir, Hewitt, Papley, Naismith, watch the development in players like Florent, Maibaum, Pink, Newman, Rose, Foote, Hayward and especially O’Riordan and it’s the rebuild you have without having a rebuild. Sydney will also win at least one flag in the next four years and don’t expect them to lose the next GF they play in; those players who played with injury are now healthy and those who found the big stage too daunting – and I won’t shame them by naming them – won’t see much senior football going forward.

What happens from here is very much in the hands of GWS. Their window is wide upen and they must use it in this period of peak skill and experience. There will be no more megadrafts for them so they must learn from their cross town neighbours how to identify, nurture and develop their next generation. Sydney can take fringe dwellers and turn them into better than average players, can identify and groom kids and grow them into potential superstars of the competition. GWS must learn to do the same or their window will eventually close and they will begin the long dark slide into mediocrity. I personally believe they will do it and be a powerhouse club for years to come. I firmly believe Sydneys stay up the top of the ladder is also far from over. I can see back to back Sydney/GWS Grand Finals perhaps beginning as early as this season. If so, bring it on and go the mighty Swans!

A good list, though I’m dubious about the Suns. So much of the game is played between the ears and it is there that I feel they fall down badly. On talent alone they should be a finals side but they have proved talent isn’t everything; nous and attitude play a huge part – just ask Sydney.

Speaking of my beloved Swans I am pleased to see you have them a lowly fifth. It shows that, as is common, we remain undervalued. Having lost only three serious senior players from last year, two to retirement, leaves our core list untouched. Niggling, restrictive injuries to Aliir, Papley, Franklin, Parker and Naismith were dealt with early and successfully, it looks likely that season absentees Reid and Johnson may become available, Florent, Fisher, Maibaum, Hayward, Newman and Pink are all exciting additions who may see senior action this year, Foote, O’Riordan, Rose and Sinclair have all shown development and we have depth in every position. I believe this years list is far superior to 2016 and that even given the undoubted improvement of sides around us, will be Grand Finalists in 2017.

I believe Adelaide is the team to fall this season. They have undoubted stars but for tro years their “good, ordinary players” (as Jack Dyer would have put it) have played to their highest capability. Effort like that is hard to sustain though. I expect to see a slight but impactful decline. I see the GF as Swans vs Dogs or Giants and either will be darn hard to beat.

My top Eight.

1. Western Bulldogs
2. Sydney
3. Greater Western Sydney
4. Hawthorn (beware the Roughead factor)
5. Geelong
6. Adelaide
7. St.Kilda
8. Melbourne, but up for grabs with Collingwood most likely, then North Melbourne , Carlton, Fremantle and Essendon

True Birdman; and my apologies to the long suffering Bombers supporters. I just couldn’t resist stirring the pot given how “sure” they with Hird and the Board and the court cases in previous times. They’d almost have to draft a corpse to get Pick one wrong this year though, with so much talent to choose from. I hope they get someone able to compliment the talent of Parrish and build a midfield around.

Essendon “knows what they are doing…”
Well, there’s a first time for everything I guess. Given their recent history if I were a Bombers fan I’d be grateful that any one of half a dozen players would be a valid no. 1 pick. Even Essendon couldn’t muck this up …….. could they? I hope not – their supporters have suffered more than enough and deserve a break. My gut feeling is they will take McGrath and he would be a fine choice for them..

First off, forgetting the reasons why this has happened for a moment, spare a thought for what a hollow, empty “victory” this must seem for Mitchell and Cotchin. A hundred games has passed since 2012 and any genuine thrill or honour to be accrued by the win must surely have diminished. Now, like the retroactively awarded ‘tied points’ medals which were awarded, it is simply a statistic.

There’s no point in this becoming a “yes he cheated/no he didn’t” debate regarding Watson. That, like 2012, is now simply a statistic in the books. Penalties have been issued and served and no amount of debate can change that. I hope Cotchin and Mitchell can take some pleasure from the award and I hope Watson has the emotional strength and support to get past this final act in an interminable tragedy.

Let’s all move on, for everyone’s sake

Darren Lehmann observes that Australia’s batting will be much better in the second innings. Could it possibly be worse?

I really shouldn’t have asked that. Now I’ve jinxed us. With Australia, all things are possible!

I cannot work out how the AFL manages to operate, pardon the pun, in a league of its own. As the excellent article observes, in other codes the parties concerned could be facing multi year bans yet first Essendon and now GWS seem to be receiving lesser punishments than would, say, the Dallas Cowboys or Liverpool FC in their respective codes for the same offences. The question ‘why?’ Is obvious. The answer is less clear.

Without alleging anything against Whitfield, logic suggests that the only reason you would hide an athlete in these circumstances is the belief that some negative outcome would occur if he were found. The old legal adage “Those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear” seems apropos.

If you are going to punish GWS, punish them. The jewel in their crown is Pick two and it and pick fifteen – that is, their first round draft picks – must both be removed. When you consider that Sydney lost a season of open drafting which the AFL now itself concedes was unwarranted, to compound their error by making a wish washy slap on the wrist sanction against a club whom wrongdoing can be demostrated would destroy what little credibility they have left. It is beyond time that the AFL withdrew entirely from drug related issues and let ASADA and WADA do their jobs without interference.

As a one eyed Swan I’m disappointed at losing Tom Mitchell to the lure of bright lights and big bucks but I’m certainly not devastated at his departure. As only our fourth or fifth best bed his figures are inflated by not receiving hard tags each week. With Cunningham, Marsh and Robertson in the wings Mitchell’s departure allows one of them back into the side as either a small forward or defender whilst either Mills, Heeney or even the pacy James Rose get their opportunity in the engine room.

Where my disappointment stems from is that, with the suggested thinness of this years Draft, not even the incredible Kinnear Beatson can parlay picks 14 and 17 into the key Defender and midsize permanent forward we clearly need. If Sam Reid ever comes back it will ease things but, putting it mildly, durability is not his strong suite and his legs are getting no younger.

It seems there is no one on the table yet who could do the job for us trade wise but if one appears I’d seriously try moving Tippett along to sweeten any deal ………. but would anyone be interested?

So far the trade is a clear win for Hawthorn but I can’t help but wonder what out recruitment manager Kinnear Beatson might be plotting. I hope it’s a beauty