AGB Footy

ALL THAT GAZZ

I always thought Gary Moorcroft was a scrubby, talentless, freckle-head.

I never realised he was such a great player. Go Gazza!

Warning!

This post contains Irony! (And traces of Schadenfreud.)

Well, it just keeps getting Better!

Ian Collins declined to comment last night on any aspect of the AFL investigations.

I'll bet he did.

Back in 1999 Melbourne accidentally found themselves over the salary cap and it was none other than AFL Operations Manager Ian Collins who arbitrarily donated the Demons No.4 pick in the national draft to perennial problem child Fremantle as a repayment for their losing Jeff White to Melbourne.

BUT, who caused the Demons to be over the salary cap? Freo. That's who.

On entering the AFL at the end of 1994 they threw large incentives at, among other Melbourne players, David Schwarz, David Nietz, Steven Tingay and Gary Lyon. Melbourne in turn had to overlap the salary cap in order to hang on to these stars. Subsequently, Schwarz, Tingay and Lyon all incurred long term injuries in the 1995 pre-season and virtually had their careers ended. If Melbourne had let them go they'd probably have been better off.

The AFL has since distanced itself from this move with the blithe admission that it was the wrong thing to do.

However, why would the AFL do such a bizarre thing as to admit fault?

It's probably NOTHING AT ALL to do with the fact that when Melbourne player Jeff Farmer went to the Dockers at the end of last year Fremantle were cheating the salary cap and the AFL didn't want to strip struggling Freo of a draft pick. Apropos to that, let's not forget that it was from Freo that Melbourne initially picked up Farmer in return for low rent plodder Phil Gilbert.

So if Ian Collins is to become the target of some heavy duty book throwing then I say to the Demetrius & The Jacko; "What are you waiting for? Get on with it! Just make sure they're big books.

Disclaimer: Tony the Teacher is definitely, maybe, almost possibly not even at all, a member of the Melbourne Football Club.