She consented under the premise that it was someone other than Milne. In any event, her claim is that once she became conscious of the situation, she told him to stop, repeatedly.

In addition, very disturbing rumours of police complicity in the conduct of the investigation.

It can be the most followed sport in Turkmenistan for all the difference it makes. Maybe if you meant that it was the most followed code in Tasmania then that's what you should have said instead of being a supercilious wanker.

I was aware of some other dodgy police/AFL links...
http://www.news.com.au/national/police-open-player-records-to-afl/story-e6frfkp9-1225902315339

It's honestly mind-boggling.

The male pedestrian was taken to The Alfred hospital in a stable condition and is expected to be charged with jaywalking.

I agree the headline is a tad humorous without reading the facts, but TBF to Maxwell, that's a terrifying situation to be placed in.

Nah mate, see you've got it wrong. He's only being charged with Jaywalking because it was an AFL player who hit him. AFL runs the police don't you know. Keep up.

I agree the headline is a tad humorous without reading the facts, but TBF to Maxwell, that's a terrifying situation to be placed in.

Yeah, fair cop. There are plenty of times I have been driving down King St late in a Friday/Saturday absolutely terrified that some pissed up punter is going to step in front of me.

She consented under the premise that it was someone other than Milne. In any event, her claim is that once she became conscious of the situation, she told him to stop, repeatedly.

In addition, very disturbing rumours of police complicity in the conduct of the investigation.

No , it's vintage anti afl 442 idiots which he is one

Most of us "anti-AFL people" don't hate the sport itself but the way they continually run down football. The media down there is ferally anti-football, fuelled by the AFL itself.

Taken purely as a sport, it's fine.

Vintage sobkowski

Vintage supercilious wanker.

Vintage irony :lol:

-PB

Vintage supercilious wanker.

THE battle for the hearts and minds of young footballers is not the exclusive domain of the “developing” markets of NSW and Queensland.

The war is now being fought in the backyards of the traditional AFL stronghold of Victoria; in fact, in my very own backyard, as kids traditionally dismissive of the round ball game are falling for its skill and excitement. A growing problem for the AFL is that its focus on the expansion north has left it exposed in the heartland.

Despite the cheerleading of the media, the Socceroos’ performance in the World Cup was ordinary at best. Nine goals conceded in three games off the back of two 6-0 losses, to Brazil and France, shows we are still miles off the international pace.

Those nine goals were offset by some spirited performances under Ange Postecoglou, while Tim Cahill’s magnificent goal means that World Cup 2014 will always have an Aussie flavour.

Yet, despite what was a “fail”, the Socceroos will return as heroes and, with the Asian Cup coming to Australia in January, and with some of the most famous clubs in the world likely to be here next year, the excitement, scale and availability of big-time soccer will be in our face like never before.

People think I am looking through black and white eyes when I question the AFL strategy of turning clubs into franchises and killing off their character in the process. I’m not. My worry is that the magic that captivated me as a boy, despite having a soccer-mad Scottish father, is evaporating for the next generation of players and supporters.

The problem in having an opinion in footy is that there are always competing interests. Argue that the heartland of Victoria is under pressure and needs support and immediately you are branded as being against the national game.

When I was a teenager with football stars in my eyes, I watched as so many great young talents from the Broadmeadows area were burnt by VFL clubs. The pecking order then was interstate recruits first, country second, locals last.

The rationale was that given the money invested in recruiting interstaters and country players, you needed to give them every opportunity, while the locals could be discarded and recalled at a whim. But once discarded, many local stars didn’t go back.

To me, that is how many football followers in this town feel at the moment. In a year of experiment, local fans feel the game has taken them for granted once too often.

The AFL’s fixturing hasn’t worked. Collingwood takes on Carlton on Sunday night for the 149th time in their famous rivalry.

The AFL may think that because next week is school holidays, a bumper crowd will turn up. But with terrible weather forecast, a live broadcast and so many other entertainment options available, the days of putting on a game in Melbourne and assuming you’ll get a big crowd are over, especially on a Sunday night, outside, in the middle of winter.

People have too many options and too little time, so football needs to be easy, not hard, for families to attend.

NEXT season the AFL must dedicate the season to the fans. We need to get people back into the rhythm of the game in this city.

That means games on Friday night, Saturday 2.10 at the MCG, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Use the time zones of South Australia and Western Australia to fill the need of the television schedule. The South Australians love Thursday nights, the Gold Coast and GWS could call Sunday night their own — there are plenty of options.

This week I have questioned why Sydney, GWS, Brisbane and the Gold Coast have been given another headstart on the rest of the competition in the form of local recruiting academies. GWS chairman Tony Shepherd replied, saying: “It’s essential to expansion that we develop local talent because we need local heroes if we are to put down deep roots in these new zones.”

Yes, Tony, but the same applies here. Academies make sense, except when they distort the competition. The advantages of the northern teams are so far out of skew that most Victorian clubs have no chance of success in the next few years.

Forget the red herring of financial equalisation that the AFL foisted on to the successful clubs — it is the on-field advantages that will kill local clubs and the appetite of the supporters.

Sydney may finally be seeing the end of its salary cap advantage with the gradual removal of the “Cost of Living Allowance”.

But the Swans will pick up two first-round draft choices in the rookie draft for free out of their academy and have a production line starting with fresh 12-year-olds forever.

Academies up north are fine but the time to bring back zones in Victoria is now.

The Victorian, SA and WA teams need to be able to do more in the community to capture the hearts and minds of young footballers.

Receiving a letter to come to the Westpac Centre to train with the Collingwood academy or Essendon or the Western Bulldogs still has the aura of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket. If we introduced a bidding system, similar to the father-son scenario where clubs get first dibs on a player but pay market rate in the draft, kids would be knocked over in the rush to cultivate young talent.

Retail, music, movies, television, in fact every form of entertainment has shown that big brands are the only future. So why with the biggest sporting brand in the world, soccer, all over us are we shrinking our major assets in the AFL?

Time for the AFL to love Victoria again — now.

Ahem 8-[ back OT...Eduardo McG's at it again with this tosh in yesterday's Hun

I don't see anything wrong with it tbh, acknowledges football as a serious threat and calls the AFL out on their ridiculous northern obsession. I'm actually an Eddie fan though tbh, as a Collingwood supporter I love how amusingly one eyed and passionate he is about what he loves.

As a (lapsed)Essendon supporter I freely admit I'd love him too for all he's done for Aussie Rules...if he conducted himself in a maturely-professional way, as opposed to acting like some ADD-suffering trust-fund brat(ironic analogy given his socio-economic b/g, I know).

The guy's a cunt. But FWIW he doesn't get to me like he used to :)

Edited by BA81: 27/6/2014 03:31:57 PM