The bots are particularly active at the moment, including one using what I think is bahasa Indonesia.

Apart from the annoyance factor, what are bots trying to achieve?  Is there a way to block them (I am a person test)?

Anyone had one? and what did you experience?

I had one 2 months ago, had been told third hand by about a dozen people that this was the best thing they had ever done.
I'd been back and forward having arthroscopes and 2 years ago had tibial osteotomy, where they cut the bone in the leg to realign everything.
This, I was told, was 2nd most painful to a knee replacement, must be 2nd by the length of Flemington straight.
Numerous times , after 2, 3 4, 5 weeks I thought Yep, things are on the improve only to get a different pain to the previous week with the last the worst as it randomly sent fireworks through my knee. This lasted 10 or so days.
I spent weeks 2 - 7 on the lounge as I could not get comfortable and averaging 3 hours a night sleep
Had they asked me a fortnight in that we can do the other in 6 months I'd have told them to shove it.
2 months in the pain is very bearable but has it's moments
I can straighten the leg about 95% and bend about 85% but still have a little swelling
They say it can take up to 12 months

Sorry to take up your time to read this

Reading about Liam Ryan struggling to complete the Wet Toast Pre-Season offers an interesting insight into one of our opposition for 2019.

I would have thought Liam was one of 2018's most exciting prospects, and as a more mature body you'd expect him to go up a level in 2019, but maybe not given they pulled the pin early on his pre-season camp!

So you can expect his opponents will be running him all over the park in 2019!

So I thought I'd start this thread as a useful reference for the strengths and weakness of opponents in general, as opposed to round specific commentary. If you see anything of interest, clues to an opponents strength or possible foibles in their footy make up, please post it here.

Bit of ‘nearest the pin’ fun for season 2019/a little something to help pass the time!!

At the end of the 2019 season you’ll find that:

Our ladder position is:  10th

Our leading goal kickers are (with number of goals):
1. H (51) 
2. Gov (48)   
3. Faz & Charlie tie on (31)

Leading the tackle count is:
1. E Curnow & 
2. Zac F   

Most marks:
1. Doc 
2. Marchbank   

Surprise bolter/most improved is:  Garlett

Kid to emerge (fewer than 5 games at start of 2019):  TDK

Best 2 first year players:
1. Walsh 
2. Stocker   

Best 2 with 23-50 (by seasons end) career games:
1. Dow 
2. Setterfield 

Our B&F winner/Best Brownlow prospect:    Cripps

The bloke I’d really love to see have a ripper season/really show his potential:  SPS & Murph

(perhaps someone with a far better knowledge of the AFLW than me could set up something similar for the gals.)

I've just noticed that the sports streaming service KAYO is now available on Telstra TV for 25 Bucks a month, which seems a much better cost option than Foxtel Now if you only want the sport. Looks like all AFL games will be available direct from Fox Sport, along with many other sports covered. Have any of you tried it yet??

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-11-30/lu...hern-blues

What are your thoughts, who will win, who do you want to win?

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-11-29/af...iliar-face

Can someone explain what drivers are supposed to do differently when a fast moving cyclist or motorcyclist rides into the passenger side of a slow moving left turning vehicle?

When has it ever been declared safe to overtake a left turning vehicle on the left side?

I post this based on rumors Hird just got injured colliding with a car in what is rumored to be similar circumstances. Social media reports it as "Hird hit by Car", but the early reports suggest "Hird rode into the side of a left turning vehicle!"

Really, my motivation for the post comes after a few weeks were I have witnessed multiple incidents relating to this sort of behavior. I was even abused by a set of cyclists who tried to ride around the left side of my car while I was waiting for children to clear a crossing. The cyclists, who seemed to be in a race, tried to go around my car as I began to roll forward rather than wait for me to complete the turn, a turn I had already partly completed from a dedicated left turn lane! In the process they actually rode across the pedestrian crossing that seconds earlier had a dozen or so primary school kids walking across it! Some of the kids had bikes and had dismounted to walk their bikes across the road!

Further twice this week in heavy traffic I have seen motorcyclists fly across the freeway exit ramp while riding effectively in the emergency lane. One did so narrowly missing an exiting car, then swerved to get back onto the freeway before the dividing barriers made it impossible, and to top things off kicked out at a slow moving car in the left hand freeway lane for not giving them enough room to merge despite the bike traveling faster than the car! Of course the rider pissed off up the road lane splitting between the very left and emergency lanes.

They are wankers, not just typical wankers, but massive wankers!

btw., The official rules for cyclists.

Quote:While cycling, you can overtake vehicles on the left but must give way to any vehicle in front of you that is turning left and signalling to turn left.

I thought I would bring this up again.  This was a much tougher exercise, and my confidence in the tier 1 players giving us much more than the kids is wavering (for good and bad reasons).  The kids are coming up, but our experienced players are going backwards as much.  Much of what happens is down to the miracle work of Mr. Russell.  If our Tier 1 players are in good condition, and available, as well as playing well, they will probably be walk up starts.

What I can see happening is that the following players will be picked most weeks unless injured, or struggling for form/fitness majorly with the kids being "ready".

Tier 1.  Constants.  Mature agers, team leaders, onfield coaches, call them whatever you want but these guys give you 4 quarters of bonafide established footy credentials, even if we think we have better youngsters in the next tiers waiting for a game:

Marc Murphy
Kade Simpson
Matthew Kreuzer
Ed Curnow
Dale Thomas
Levi Casboult - Sticks out in this group.  He's the last one standing who really doesn't belong here, and the kids have definately gone past, but he gets in here as the second ruckman/forward purely until Kreuzer is looking durable again.  I wouldnt want to ruck any of our other youngsters in the event of a Kreuzer break down.
Mitch McGovern
Alex Fasolo - Another one I toyed with, but I had Wright here, and Fasolo is the logical replacement.  He probably would have stayed at Collingwood as a backup, so he's probably come here to play footy (and probably will).
Patrick Cripps
Sam Docherty
Lachie Plowman
Liam Jones
Charlie Curnow (still quite green, but he's a first name on the sheet type of player)
Jacob Weitering (stalling a little on his promise, but he and Jones will be first names on the list types in 2019).



These guys are going to be on the team sheet first.  These guys are only going to be excluded from selection if they are struggling big time in which case we will go the following tiers instead.  Sure some kids might go past a few of them, but I've gravitated towards bonafide experienced bodies in this camp for a reason.  Some will only miss out purely to give a kid who's really ticking all the boxes a chance, and which way we go will depend largely on how badly we want to win most weeks, and I am inferring that we will want to be winning most weeks.  Projection 16 plus games for the year.  Some will play less (looking at Levi and maybe Fasolo if he isnt 100%), but most will be in the team most of the time.




The Second tier (A mixture of blokes who are emerging talents/Arriving talents who are not quite 4 quarter week in and week out producers yet):

SPS (I almost graduated him, but I think its a bit unfair to place too high a demand to be a senior footballer in only his 3rd year on the list even though he has coped to date).
Matthew Kennedy  (needs a big 2019 to stamp his credentials).
Harry McKay (I almost graduated him, but I think its a bit unfair to place too high a demand to be a senior footballer week in and week out with only 15 career games).
Zac Fisher (I almost graduated him, but I think its a bit unfair to place too high a demand to be a senior footballer given his leg break and he has only played 34 games).
Tom Williamson
Paddy Dow (don't shoot me, he's only in his second year, and I expect him to buck the trend)
Lachie O'Brien
Will Setterfield
Caleb Marchbank (See Paddy Dow).

These guys could be anything.  They will make up the interchange bench if not be walk up starts, but they will be kept honest by the aformentioned.  Some of them will play every week and some of our leaders will transition into other roles, or perhaps VFL leadership roles instead.

Projection between 12-16 games for the season with anything more being a bonus.

The 3rd Tier:

Matthew Lobbe
Nic Newman (I think we got him to be a full time footballer and play a variety of stop gaps our kids cant fulfil yet but Im putting him here as he is 25 and yet to play 50 games).
Tom Bugg (I think he will play more often than not too, but he's going to have to earn his 100th AFL game).
Jarrod Garlett
David Cunningham
Jack Silvagni
Darcy Lang
Cameron Polson
Jarrod Pickett
Andrew Phillips
Kym Lebois


This group are role/depth players/unfulfilled talents who could surprise and play every week but are more likely to be filling in the gaps for team balance that we cant quite get right from the aforementioned.  I expect some to play frequently but it wouldn't surprise me to see them all out of the equation for senior football (and on the scrap heap) at all and if they play even 12 games they have done well.  Projection 5-15 games for the season unless they surprise or injury hits hard like last year.

The 4th Tier:

Tom De Koning
Angus Schumacher
Harrison Macreadie
Pat Kerr
Sam Walsh
Liam Stocker
Ben Silvagni
Hugh Goddard
Finbar O'Dwyer
Matthew Owies


Youngsters that are still firmly on their L plates and looking to find their feet at this level, or learn roles.  Some might emerge instantly and play like seasoned pros (looking at Sam Walsh and Liam Stocker) but realistically if they get anywhere near 10 games for the year, they will be deemed a roaring success and we will not be travelling all that well if too many of them get lots of games in 2019.  (Projected anywhere from 0-8 games with anything else being a major positive).


I know many are going to jump up and down about some of the players I have mentioned should be being in the first tier, but realistically the tier 2 players are all sub 50 gamers and if they are walk up starts they've either come on in leaps and bounds, or injuries have hit pretty hard.


Im really positive about this composition.  I had a tough time with some players (Bugg could arguably be a 4 quarter player every week, but I think he'll be made to earn it) and some of our talented youngsters are in that sweet spot where they will go up a level again.  Fisher, SPS, Marchbank, Weitering, Curnow, McGovern all should really start to kick on and go up another level in 2019.  Id like to see Harry in place of Levi most weeks too, but again hes played less than 20 AFL games across the journey but going into his 4th season, anything can (and hopefully will happen).