Whenever you get a change of coach, you often get a player or two who steps it up under the new regime.

I'm going with Buckley to take it to the next level and flourish under Bolton's more positive approach.

Other suggestions?

Given the irresponsible nature of some sporting fans, and looking at the falling price points and performance of high tech solutions. I cannot see any reason for people to still need incendiary type flares.

Seriously, the new LED type devices are as bright if not brighter than incendiary flares, and the LED devices work in daylight when smoke might typically be used. Obviously there is no alternative to the smoke type flares for military and rescue applications, but for civil use it's hard to justify the need for the smoke type flares under any circumstance. The people most likely affected will be boat owners, and the LED versions are priced similarly or even cheaper than incendiary devices and work just as well if not even a bit better.

What are your thoughts?

With game 1 done and dusted and a LOT of discussion still proceeding from our last contest, I have already started looking forward to our next game: Carlton vs. the Drug Cheats. This game is set for Sunday 28th Feb (the day after my Birthday! ) at 1405 at Carlton!
I am really looking forward to seeing more of our new chums in action: Weitering missed because of a minor ankle ailment, so he should be available, as should Walker. McKay and Cunningham must be in the mix as well.

We all dream of having a Sticks or Fev running out from goal demanding the ball but as of late it seems the club is reluctant to keep someone in that one position.
Our forward structure is left wanting.
I still don't understand why we just don't plonk Levi in the goals and that's where he stays. He learns to run in patterns and make that posi his. Others also learn to play around him.
I'm tired of this one quarter here or there.
He is a great mark and players are starting to fear his footsteps and his kicking has improved.
To the CFC... Please lease Levi at Full Forward so he can become our leading POWER FORWARD.
He stays there ALL GAME!

Anyone heard about the falling out between Gaz and Billy? Threatens to derail the footy show reports SEN. Its over a deeply personal matter, that can only mean one thing as far as Im concerned.

Interested to hear Cooper Cronk has appointed a manager to help him decide his playing future.

Player Managers make more money when a player moves, so it's more than likely all over red rover for Cooper and The Storm.

Can't blame him, he's served Storm well and deserves the option to maximise his income.

Interesting article on the hun, I see "RICHMOND’S Carlton cast-offs" is used rather than Richmond players. Given how injured they are and how often I thought they could go with "the niggles".


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[td]RICHMOND’S Carlton cast-offs are in major doubt for the Round 1 clash against their old side, with Chris Yarran and Shaun Hampson still not training with the main group.

Yarran (calf) and Hampson (ankle) have endured frustrating pre-seasons and remain on modified training programs only eight days out from the Tigers’ opening NAB Challenge.

Yarran, traded by the Blues for pick 19 in last year’s exchange period, has suffered a string of soft tissue injuries and remains well short of match fitness.

Tigers football manager Dan Richardson said the club wouldn’t be pressured into over-hyping its stand-alone season-opener against the Blues on March 24.

“(Yarran) is playing his old team, but we didn’t recruit him just to play against Carlton in Round 1,” Richardson said.

“He’s still in the modified group, but he’s improving so hopefully over next few weeks he can join in main training. His calf is OK, it’s probably now about getting the right level of conditioning into him.”

Richardson said Richmond was “happy enough” with Yarran’s condition after the Christmas break before the problems started.

“We were really looking to get him right into it and that’s when he had a bit of calf trouble and that’s what has set him back a bit,” he said.

“Certainly there’s been one or two strains, but another couple may have just been tightness. They can be a bit hard to read, calves.”

Hampson, whose ankle issues restricted him to only four senior games in 2015, is slowly recovering from reconstructive surgery on both ankles.

“He’s hard to put a time-frame on, like ‘Yaz’, but he’s getting closer to returning to the full group,” he said.

“I wouldn’t say he’s had complications because the ankle took a while and naturally when you have an injury like that the muscles around the area can take longer.”

Yarran and Hampson’s injury issues are in stark contrast to dual All-Australian defender Alex Rance, whose extended break has taken him from potential retiree to reinvigorated leader.

Richmond’s reigning best and fairest didn’t return to Punt Road until early January after an American holiday with his wife.

“I think he appreciates the extra time off and he’s done the right thing by him and us in terms of the condition he’s come back in,” Richardson said.

“Certainly when players have earned absolute trust ... I think it’s fair for that to be factored in.

“But he’s come back and hasn’t missed a beat, touch wood.”

Youngster Nathan Drummond, who ripped his ACL in his first AFL game last season, is on track for an April return.[/td]
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www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/shane-warne-hits-out-at-steve-waugh-the-most-selfish-cricketer-ive-played-with-20160209-gmpaj1.html

For our resident cricket boffins.

I am not a fan of the "Best 22" discussion when the team has been so poor for so many years and we have entered a major rebuild/reset.

Who are they being measured against ?? Other 'non-performers' & 'untried newbies' at the club would cover a lot of them right now.

At present, we could argue ad-nauseum about who is in our best 22 but whatever 22 was agreed upon, it isn't going to match it with the top end of the competition and won't for a couple more years to come.

It would find it far more exciting & interesting to focus on who would make an "AFL Final Four 22" right now and over the next year or two add names to it as the players develop and the playing list gets turned over and built.

I'm sure we will have a terrific team that will produce results once all that hack work has been done but right now, there are way too many unknowns about the influx of new faces for us to talk with any certainty about who is capable of doing or being what.

B : Docherty, TBA, TBA
HB : TBA, TBA, Simpson
C : TBA, Cripps, TBA
HF : Gibbs, TBA, TBA
F : TBA, TBA, TBA
R : TBA, Murphy, TBA
I/C : TBA, TBA, TBA, TBA

A handful of other players (eg. Kreuzer) will have claims to being in that team but due to injuries & consistency levels, they are considered to be 'on the cusp' until they have proven they are worthy.

Also, we all have genuine beliefs that some of the new kids (eg. Weitering) will be a super players for us but at present, they still haven't played a senior game and therefore, cannot be considered.

Two weeks to go until we unfurl Carlton 2016. Just lining up to get tickets and from the line there it will be a Carlton home game crowd wise. It was nine years ago when last Carlton graced Tassie's premier football stadium, Waite was playing CHB on Buddy and Dick Pratt was newly appointed as President, there was a serious amount of optimism going round about the Blues. I remember Carlton supporters walking up to Pratt and shaking his hand, thanking him for taking over.

So maybe it's a Launceston game that signals a reset for the club. 

Anyway, sounds like the ground will be sold out and 80% will be blues fans, roll on Feb 18