We have to beat the Drug Cheats!

Our last game for the year and we are are not on TV. Why am I not surprised?

We have received permission from the AFL to pre-sign Lauren Arnell as a priority selection because she has an existing relationship with Carlton (she is our first Visy Female Football Ambassador).

Check out her highlights here:

http://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/2016-0...highlights

She goes alright and has very quick hands.  Some of the grounds remind me of the weed infested cow paddocks I played on in the 1960s and 70s  :

I have been researching our family history for a while and it's always good to find documentary evidence that confirms oral history.

I remember being introduced to "cousin" Wally, the Fitzroy footballer.  Wally, or "Nugget" Clark was my second cousin and he played for Fitzroy from 1955-1962 (he was a lot older than me).  In 1963 he was appointed captain-coach of Fitzroy seconds and he famously coached the firsts to a win over Geelong when Kevin Murray was absent for a state game.  Wally won the Gardiner medal in 1963.

I was a lot closer to another second cousin, Jimmy Gutterson, as our families spent Christmas holidays together.  Jimmy played for Footscray in 1961-1962 and won the Gardiner Medal in 1962.  Jimmy became the playing coach of Turvey Park, taking the job after Carlton convinced John Nicholls not to take it.

Jimmy and Wally weren't related but I find it interesting that I have cousins who won the Gardiner Medal in consecutive seasons.

Another second cousin, Daryl Gutterson, played one game for Carlton in 1971.

It's not quite as impressive as Crash's great great great uncle Angelo Azzopardi, but it's still a link to footy history 

Our last game for the year against the Drug Cheats early on Sunday. Interesting to see if we can repeat the effort we put in today. I didn't think we could pull today off, as we are terrible at milestone games now. However, I hope we can give the Drug Cheats exactly what they deserve.
I expect to be there for a change. That will probably hurt us more than help us, but I'm not going to miss this one!

The game is set to start early so people can get to the MCG. Interesting theory.
Still, it is the last game for the year and we probably won't have a lot of Blues playing. The post season operations are well under way.
I would to see us go out on a positive note, but that would require an effort from a lot of guys who haven't been providing one for some time. It will be the Swan Song for a number of guys, as I expect another significant set of list changes. Probably more draftees and fewer trades this time, but who knows?
I would like to go out of a positive note if it were me playing, but that doesn't seem to be the prevailing view.

Hopefully a few of us can get to this game, even though the weather is supposed to be foul. That way we can get some voters this week. Alas, I will not be one of them. The game is not on TV and I will be unsure about me getting out of hospital. Kidney Stone is resting in pieces. So is our season.
At least I know I will be going to next week's game. I badly want to see us punish the Drug Cheats.

Remember:
[1] At least 3 players need to get a mention.
[2] No more than 10 votes for any one player.
[3] Give a rating of team performance. It can be anywhere from A+ to F.
[4] Votes must add up to 15.

Another game I won't see this year. I cannot remember missing so many games in a season since 1971.
Hope the result is what we want, but at this point it is almost an advantage to lose: better draft picks. I thought we had past that stage, but I guess our list still needs a few more years work.

OK, I am making an unwarranted assumption, but we seem to have lost that vim and vigour that we showed during our winning stretch. Now it is a case of preparing for 2017.
Hope you can enjoy it. I'll be enjoying Endone to keep the pain down.

The last game for the season for the NBs does not bode to be a good one. Willi killed us last time. And we will not be as strong with a few injuries.
Saturday 20th August at Ikon, at 1400 hours.

Edit: Sorry, this is the 2nd last game for the NBs. The last game will be next week at Windy Hill against the Drug Cheats.