Credit to you, you weren't bad, Geelong just played their game plan to a tee, and worked you guys out. They deserved to win, no doubt. You're still the best team in the comp, and I don't think there's any other side apart from Geelong that will be able to effect that gameplan against you.

cats might get beaten this season! maybe against say hawthorn , the problem with wood is the fact jolly and brown our in front of him! wood is a good ruckman but it wont be good for his confidence knowing he will get dropped for jolly and brown

^Tigers fans are undoubtedly the best in the AFL. Screw Collingwood supporters, Richmond supporters are the real deal.

Another way of putting it though is they're gluttons for punishment.

Edited by socceroossupporter: 12/5/2011 05:49:20 AM

Hawthorn are the most over rated team in the comp. Carlton or Freo should be able to push the cats. Still think Pie will finish top.

AFL life support for lean years

Jesper Fjeldstad From: Sunday Mail (SA) May 15, 2011

SA clubs will be on financial life support during the lean years before the move to Adelaide Oval.

High-ranking league officials have held long talks about the future of the game in the traditional football stronghold of SA.

The talks come with the name of AAMI Stadium irreversibly stained following the Adelaide Oval debate, the Crows having made a loss last year and the Power bleeding money.

There have also been discussions about changing South Australia's football governance agreements - with the SANFL giving up the Power and Crows licences - if the sale of the AAMI Stadium land brings the expected financial windfall.

But the AFL, which will also help with a financial contribution to the new city venue, believes the shift will be a "circuit-breaker" and a win-win situation for football, cricket and the City of Adelaide if and when the move and the governance structure of the redeveloped ground is ratified by the Government.

It is understood it will lead to the SANFL becoming a sustainable competition again, without having to rely on skimming the profits from the revenue generated by AFL football at AAMI.

It is known the SANFL, which holds the licences of the two AFL clubs, is seen to be operating under an archaic contract from when the Crows joined the competition in 1991 with "the tail wagging the dog" - the state league running the national league sides.

Football heavyweights have seen the annual $500,000 grant handed to the nine league clubs in South Australia as unsustainable and something that would have sent football broke in SA had the game remained at AAMI Stadium.

As one AFL official said: "The competition (simply) cannot sustain the outgoings and player payments."

What's worse, the independence of the SA commission has been questioned because of the influence from the nine SANFL clubs.

But the new deal at Adelaide Oval would allow the SANFL to sell off land at West Lakes that is set to guarantee a fund of at least $100 million - which at

8 per cent would return $8 million a year - that can make the competition sustainable at current pay levels and confirm its future as Australia's highest-paid football league outside the AFL.

It will lead to talks of breaking away the two licences from the SANFL, with the state league no longer dependent on AFL revenue to support the league clubs and SANFL competition.

In turn, it will lead to the AFL clubs keeping the bulk of the money generated at Adelaide Oval - less some funds diverted to the Stadium Management Authority, a joint venture between cricket and football, for the upkeep of the Oval.

Asked whether it would be a protracted legal and logistical nightmare to break up the long-standing relationship, one AFL insider put it bluntly: "Not if they both agree. Then it can be done just like that."

As the AFL and the SANFL brace themselves for some lean years ahead of the shift to the city, it can also be revealed:

THE AFL has been reluctant to help out Port Adelaide with its financial concerns because it feels that the licence holder, the SANFL, has been living well off the Crows and the Power for two decades.

IT WAS felt the SANFL competing against the AFL with advertising campaigns - selling the local product as "real footy" - was counterproductive to the growth of the game.

PORT Adelaide, like North Melbourne, was seen at league headquarters as not having worked hard enough to cash in on its premiership win in 2004 and grand final appearance in 2007.

ADELAIDE'S greatest benefit in shifting to the city is seen as facilitating generational change.

The Crows, who joined the competition in 1991, have had their crowd dropping and much of it has been attributed to an older membership being reluctant to go on cold and wet days.

It has led to them hanging on to their memberships - not wanting to let go for fear of missing out on tickets after the move.

It has also led to discussions over how to best reward those who remain loyal during the final years at AAMI Stadium with premier access once the move to Adelaide Oval happens - which is likely to both put a premium on memberships and help avert a drain on the SA clubs ahead of the likely shift.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl-life-support-for-lean-years/story-e6frecj3-1226055971682

Australia Post muscles in on NAB's footy feel-good factor

Mark Hawthorne
May 14, 2011

Postmaster-general Ahmed Fahour knows the value of AFL affiliation for corporates - and the value of family.

IN THE back rooms of AFL headquarters, crucial negotiations over the lucrative AFL television rights have taken centre stage over the past few months. At the same time another deal has been brokered by the money men who run this city's main game.

Since the arrival of Ahmed Fahour as postmaster-general, Australia Post has been quietly making inquires at AFL HQ regarding the status of the league's ''community partnership'' with National Australia Bank.

That deal is regarded as one of the central planks of NAB's sports sponsorship portfolio, and is highly valued by the marketing department. The Auskick program, in particular, is popular with young families.

There are also several high school programs, including the $10 million Schools First partnership which helps relationships between schools and their local communities.

They help to embed the NAB brand in the minds of a new generation of potential mortgagors, while giving bank execs the warm-and-fuzzies for doing some good with their corporate dollars - plus a couple of nice corporate boxes at the MCG.

''Auskick has got to be one of our best sponsorship deals, from the feedback we get from parents,'' one NAB operative told Collins & Spencer over a cold pie and warm beer.

No one knows this as well as Fahour, of course, who is a former NAB employee. Fahour was central to negotiating the NAB's sponsorship deals with the AFL during his time as Australasian CEO of the bank.

From Australia Post's office at the top end of Bourke Street, a concerted effort has since been made to win the deal from the big four bank at the bottom of Bourke Street.

Those efforts have been to no avail. The AFL has, however, managed to keep both parties happy.

Collins & Spencer has been informed that Australia Post could soon be announced as the new ''multicultural partner'' of the league, sponsoring a range of programs to promote the code among immigrant communities.

Australia Post spokesman Alex Twomey described the discussions as ''embryonic'', but admitted Australia Post was looking at a partnership deal with the AFL.

The multicultural program is certainly a growing area within the vast bureaucracy called the AFL. In total, more than 20 people now hold the title ''multicultural development officer'', either at AFL headquarters of one of its 18 club franchises.

The deal will tread on the toes of NAB, especially in schools, as much of the AFL's multicultural work is done in co-operation with high schools.

Fahour was busy addressing the American Chamber of Commerce lunch in Melbourne yesterday, an event from which humble journos were banned, and was therefore unable to comment on the impending deal.

Some of the team at AFL House were happy to talk, if only on background. From those discussions it seems that NAB won't be the only one happy should a deal between the AFL and Australia Post finally be agreed.

The league has been on the lookout for a new national manager of its multicultural program, a gig worth roughly $150,000 a year.

The successful candidate? One Ali Fahour, the former Essendon footballer, and younger brother of our postmaster-general. Call it the modern version of the old school tie.

Of course, those Fahours seem to be a tight-knit clan.

Back when he was the boss of NAB, Ahmed's younger brother, Moustafa, landed a plum job as general manager of NAB's private and institutional wealth business. Not a bad gig for someone who was then the tender age of 26.

At the AFL, several senior people have been told they will soon be answering to 25-year-old Ali.

How do you spell ''disgruntled''?


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/australia-post-muscles-in-on-nabs-footy-feelgood-factor-20110513-1emf5.html#ixzz1MPEMe8c1

[token weekly post about how the Lions are just such an awful team to be a die-hard fan of this year]

[token weekly post about how the umpires clear bias against the Lions at the Gabba has cost us so fucking dearly over the years]

Fuck, we have played 2 quarters in two weeks and won.
Big game next week vs Richmond

Dob in a yobbo: Russell Robertson

Nick Wade | May 19th, 2011

ST JOSEPH'S coach Russell Robertson has launched an audacious campaign urging local football fans to 'dob in a yobbo' at local matches.

The former Melbourne high-flyer met with Football Geelong on Tuesday night to table a five-point plan he hopes will stop the moronic behaviour threatening to end his playing career.

Robertson caused a storm of debate earlier this month when he vowed to walk away from playing at season's end due to the constant abuse he attracts on a weekly basis. But Robertson this week moved to clarify his coaching future by declaring he would remain at the helm at Joeys next season, even if he hangs up the boots.

Robertson's plan entails:

GIVING umpires the power to pay free kicks against abuse from opposition supporters or players;

HAVE a sponsored-theme round across one weekend to raise future awareness of unsociable crowd behaviour;

Your Say
"Paul Lynch copepd it week in, week out. Riccardi if he still played would. Sean Simpson definitely did. The only reason why these players stopped was due to injury and old age not abuse from fans. I've been to games where you have played in Shepparton and in Geelong and not noticed the abuse. Being an ex AFL player and a good one at that you need to cop the comments and know you're only getting them because you can play the game. "
Marty

START an SMS service where fans can 'dob in a yob' at their local ground;

STRICT enforcement targeting the illegal BYO alcohol at grounds, with heavier fines for breaches and better monitoring of consumption; and,

AMBASSADORS appointed across the region to continually promote and reinforce the messages.

The plan has initial support from Football Geelong and a themed round could be introduced as early as this season.

"It's not about me, it's about all football clubs, it's about making country football a much safer place for families, women and children to be," Robertson said.

"There are a range of things to consider as to whether I play next year or just coach St Joeys, but a big factor will be whether I can be bothered putting up with the yobbo factor for another year."

His comments came after he previously said he would play his last match of football at the end of the season.

Robertson polarised opinions in his Inside Football column earlier this month when he wrote: "I'm giving it up for one reason I can't take the verbal abuse anymore. I'm sure you're reading this thinking, 'Toughen up princess'. But I ask you, how do you think you would go copping horrendous abuse continuously for three hours?"

But he moved to clarify his comments this week, believing they were misinterpreted.

Robertson claimed the abuse did not hurt him personally, but said he would stop playing so young families did not have to listen to the abuse he generated.

"I'm not quitting football, I'm actually standing up for something I believe in," he said.

"I'm going to cop more abuse for doing it, but you can call me weak and gutless, I don't care what people stay, I'm standing up for what I believe in."

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2011/05/19/258751_local_sports.html

Samaritan bashed after AFL game

May 21, 2011 - 10:59AM

A man has been bashed after trying to help a woman outside Etihad Stadium after last night's AFL game, police say.

The man saw a couple arguing as he was walking between the stadium and Southern Cross railway station about 11pm last night.

Police said he went to help when the man became physical towards the woman but was punched in the face a number of times and kicked by the man.

The victim, a 41-year-old from Ocean Grove, suffered a suspected broken eye socket.

He was taken to St Vincent's Hospital for treatment for his facial injuries.

The couple who had been arguing, who are aged between 20 and 30, left in a taxi near Gate 3 at Bourke Street.

The incident occurred shortly after the Carlton-Geelong game but police could not confirm if those involved had been at the game.

AAP


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/samaritan-bashed-after-afl-game-20110521-1exfy.html#ixzz1Mx4dnNwZ

Big league bust-up

Caroline Wilson
May 21, 2011

IT HAS not been a good week for the increasingly testy relationship between the AFL and its players. As the footballers remain dogged in their public push for what amounts to an extra $50 million in overall revenue next season and head office refuses to buckle, the hope of reaching a new five-year agreement by June 30 seems increasingly remote.

To say that negotiations between the parties broke down at half-time midweek would be something of an understatement. For talks to break down, those talks needed to have been taking place and what happened instead three days ago was that the AFL told its players' union not to bother turning up. President Luke Power, who took part in day one of the negotiations this week via a media hook-up from Brisbane, returned to football and home duties.

At first glance, this would appear a knee-jerk reaction by a heavy-hitting organisation that has seemed a little over-sensitive of late. Two days of scheduled talks were cancelled midway after Power publicly criticised AFL boss Andrew Demetriou for accusing his union of doing business ''lazily'' and again spruiking the underlying fairness of the players' wage claim.

Demetriou, who was fronting the AFL team with his football boss Adrian Anderson, decreed the talks were, for now, finished. No new date has been set to resume discussions.

It is beyond dispute that the two bodies are far apart. No one really believes there will be strike, but it does seem conceivable that if players' boss Matt Finnis and his team fail to secure their bid for at least 25 per cent of the game's overall revenue, the AFLPA will refuse to sign a five-year collective bargaining agreement. It could perhaps limit a new deal to cover just 2012 and 2013 - highly unusual given that a five-year broadcasting rights deal has been achieved ending in 2016. June 30 seems a tough deadline.

The long-held view is that Finnis is proving a tougher negotiator than his predecessor Brendon Gale who was a retired footballer - albeit also a lawyer - with stronger ties to the game. Gale was seen, like Demetriou more than a decade ago, as a future AFL executive and, in fact, has now crossed to Richmond as its chief executive. There seems to be less at stake for the smiling assassin Finnis.

As Gale's deputy the last time around, he is known to have urged the players' union not to settle for less. The players back then were promised a revenue-sharing formula which was removed after the AFL unveiled its vision of an 18-team competition.

Now the players are insistent their wages be tied to the game's overall revenue.

The AFL in turn believes that Finnis and co. have locked themselves into a view that remains unrealistic and have unfairly sold that view to the players who have continued to publicly talk up their claim as fair and reasonable. It has become a constant source of frustration to the AFL that the players have chosen to undertake an aggressive public relations campaign to sell their claims, preferring that negotiations it would prefer to be confidential.

The players are certainly more united than the clubs who have become increasingly self-interested. It seem rare these days to turn on a television program such as Game Day or Before The Game without hearing a player deliver their 'fair and reasonable' mantra - a point pushed Power and by a number of players in The Age, most recently columnist Robert Murphy. The public battle has had its problems on both sides. The AFL's executive team has gone from a $7 million group to one that should reap about double that this year. If Demetriou earned $2.2 million in 2010, imagine the heights his wage will reach given his negotiated pay rise and massive bonus for achieving the $1.25 billion broadcasting deal, not to mention his deputy Gillon McLachlan.

No player will go anywhere near Demetriou's hefty hike. But the fact is the players put up their hands too quickly once the deal was announced in comments - notably by Sydney's Adam Goodes - beyond Finnis's control. This infuriated Demetriou and saw him take the extraordinary step of accusing the players of ''a lazy way of doing business'' late last month on a day when he should have been happy to spruik the successful resolution of a long and tough multi-media negotiation.

The players' claims are not all about money and it is true the union has pushed for a super plan and a number of new working and welfare conditions for players well regarded by the AFL. But they are refusing to back down on their dogged push for at least one-quarter of the game's total revenue.

As it stands, this negotiation has a long way to go before being resolved and the cultural divide between head office and union appears unusually large. And Demetriou - once rattled - might be a great pragmatist but he is not known for compromise or forgiveness.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/big-league-bustup-20110520-1ewxl.html#ixzz1Mx5K8MBa

Fair dinkum unbelievable

Greg Baum
May 21, 2011
.
"SPORT is the most important unimportant thing in the world,'' a wise man said to me on Monday as we sat in the dim recesses of Festival Hall, waiting for the start of Lionel Rose's state funeral. So it seemed this week as on successive days, Rose was farewelled and news of the death of Bob Davis emerged, and each occasion stirred up an huge outpouring of heartfelt reminiscence. The sense was of the conferring of immortality.

Actually, in the old saying, it is not ''sport'' but ''football'' - as in soccer - that matters so little and so much. In Melbourne, especially this week, you could have substituted ''football'' with ''Australian football''. Stan Alves, one of Rose's eulogists, related how nervous he was when he was about to meet Rose for the first time, and how at ease he quickly felt, because all Rose wanted to talk about was Fitzroy. They struck up what became a lifelong friendship.

Rose's memory is cherished because he was a ground-breaker: an aboriginal sportsman, a world champion, an apostle for his people. Davis was a Hall of Fame footballer, also a premiership coach, but was a pioneer of another kind, in the field of television punditry, on World of Sport, but particularly with Lou Richards and Jack Dyer on League Teams. Now only Louie is still with us.

In both shows, and probably without knowing it, they created a template that works to this day: informal, funny, irreverent, maladroit, chaotic, sometimes only peripherally concerning itself with football, often diverting in surprising ways.

Long before MasterChef or Matt Hayden's cookbooks, League Teams was dispensing recipes. Much replayed this week was a moment when Davis declared his favourite dish to be ''bangers and mash'', whereupon Richards produced from under the desk a bag of sausages. That was about as scripted as it got. For the most part, the three wise monkeys lived on the same acute wits that served them so well on the field, and carried the days by force of their personalities. That was the important dynamic. I knew Lou well because for a while I ghosted his column in The Sun News-Pictorial. Except for a few swear words, he was on TV as he was in life. I marvelled at his seemingly inexhaustible enthusiasm. His gimmick tips - promising and honouring outrageous acts of self-humiliation if certain teams failed to win - became part of the beat of this town.

I did not know Davis so well, but could see plainly from the start why people warmed to him. The theme running through all tributes to him this week was that he related effortlessly to people of all ages. He had time for everyone. I doubt he ever had an enemy.

Dyer, older and more taciturn, and harder to know. But beneath his gruff air, you sensed constant wonderment that they would pay him to do this! I'd liked to have heard him tackle Fremantle's Tendai Mzungu in a call! On League Teams, football was never more than importantly unimportant.

Then, electronic football media was small and concentrated. Other networks did not bother much, other than match-day replays, nor did radio. Pay, digital and the internet were years away, and so was the anarchic forum of social media.

Now there are countless football shows. Sets and effects have changed out of all recognition. Along the way, the cult of personality established itself. It was not enough to be yourself; you had to be a ''character''.

One of the most moving tributes to Davis this week was from Sam Newman, who was a protege of Davis's - the man who dubbed him ''Sam''. Newman told of how Davis insisted that the game was played in the right spirit, without ever losing sight of the fact that it was just a game. It was Newman as you rarely see or hear him: humble, deferential, insightful. It was also a reminder that he was also a great footballer, who wore white boots at a time when that meant either that you were laughed out of the game or had the last laugh. In the continual hubbub of his post-playing career, this gets lost.

In this, he reminds me of Tony Greig. For 30 years, Greig has played a kind of buffoon's role in Channel 9's cricket coverage. He short-changes himself in two ways: by obscuring the fact that he was once a formidable cricketer, and that he possesses depth and feeling. Once, I heard him discourse at length about how he was moved almost to speechlessness when as a young man he got to bat with his hero, Ted Dexter. It was Greig as you rarely see him. The TV lens can have that distorting effect. But it never did to Bobby Davis.

Of the many suggested memorials for Davis I heard this week, the best was to rename the Geelong Road after him, not because he once drove it in 27½ minutes, but because it would serve as an everyday reminder of his contribution to the game and the club, but especially the self-esteem of the town. Of course, we all know what Davis would make of it: ''Fair dinkum unbelievable.''


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/fair-dinkum-unbelievable-20110520-1ewvb.html#ixzz1Mz9uLplt