" Respect " , (wikipedi encyclopedia) , is a positive feeling of esteem for a person ." Change " , (wikipedi encyclopedia) is the process of becoming different.

VFL and Women

Neither respect nor change has been evident , at  the AFL , recently.

Inappropriate dealings with women , by AFL players ,  club  staff , and managers , have been exposed .

Is the AFL to continue to pay lip service to their much publicised , but seemingly not applied , " Respect and Responsibility program " ?

Less than 10,000 spectators watched the St Kilda Vs Geelong , NAB Cup Game at the weekend . A poor crowd , considering the success of both teams in recent years . Families and women appear to be  staying away from Games . Will this fall in attendance ,  make the AFL change , to respect women ?

AFL players , if charged by an umpire , for breaches of the playing code, are reported to the AFL tribunal. They are required to appear , and make a plea concerning the charges .Appeals for leniency can be heard , or fines imposed .

Not so in the Tour de France . Apparently two " scrawny hill climbers " to quote ABC , aussie sports journalist Jones , had a fracas at the end of a particularly difficult passage during the ride . Upon crossing the line , they dismounted , and fought vigorously for sometime, which included using WWE wrestling holds .

Their penalty for brawling, and bringing their sport and sportsmanship into disrepute ? A measly $400 .Small bickies indeed compared to the hefty suspensions and weighty fines handed out to infringers of the AFL code .

AFL supporters,  love a good stoush , too ,witness the Lions V Saints melee in last Saturdays Game.

Fans, who wear their teams jumpers, jerseys , guernseys, to the Game, are keen to witness action,  both on and off the field .

Saints in Melee on Saturday

The split round of AFL matches,  for Round 13 , continues this weekend .

Saints and Cats , play tonight at the MCG , under lights , in front of a huge crowd.

Swans and Magpies,  play in Sydney , on Saturday night , at ANZ Stadium .

The Demons,  play the Crows , in Adelaide , on Sunday afternoon.

All games will be televised .

Port are having a rest

With only one Game to be played in Melbourne,  this weekend , many fans will be reduced , to wearing their football jumpers , jerseys, guernseys , whilst watching footy , on TV .

Disgruntled fans, will be keen to attend next weekend's,  full round of matches .

This split round , is it a rest for the AFL players , or a clever marketing move by the AFL hierarchy.?

Demons play in Clash Jumper

More " Football Jumpers" are imminent with the defection from NRL and Rugby Union to AFL by high profile players Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt .

AFL Coaches Mick Malthouse and Brad Scott believe it will be a successful transition and will encourage other players to change codes.

Former AFL player Sydney Swan Nick Davis who thought about converting to NRL from AFL in 2006 states that Rugby players train as hard as the AFL .

Supporters of both codes are confident the kicking skills needed in AFL can be learnt over a six month period.

To be a good kick you need a good technique, which can be taught.

All AFL players need to hone their skills in this area , and practice constantly

With the switch of players from NRL to AFL it poses the question will the switch work the other way ?

Can we expect to see AFL players convert to play NRL ?

Some things don't change . All players , whatever code , will wear their football jumper , jersey , guernsey to play the game in their team's colours.

A new " Melbourne " team ?

Four long term AFL players have announced their retirement this week . Brett Kirk of Sydney and Simon Goodwin of Adelaide Crows will retire at the end of the 2010 AFL season.

Tyson Edwards of the Adelaide Crows has retired effective immediately and Troy Simmonds,Richmond Tigers will play his farewell Game this Friday night .

All brilliant athletes and faithful servants of their clubs who have entertained fans for many years.

Each has worn his team colours , jumper , jersey, guernsey with pride .

Fans all around the country will turn out to cheer these inspirational men and to witness them take their one last kick of the Sherrin on a public stage.

Who will adopt their numbers on the back of their jumpers, jerseys , guernseys for 2011 Season ?

Kirk's look alike Jumper

There are several TV programs talking about afl football.

Channel 10 screens ' Before the Game " which is on before they televise friday nights match .It is a panel with guest footballers , commentators and comedians.Very amusing , witty and good entertainment , it is generally a light hearted look at the footy.

The more infamous " The Footy Show " is on channel 9 on Thursday night .

It also has a panel made up of ex footballers , cricketers and afl commentators.

Featured are a panel of current afl players and media personnel.

Often controversial, it has won Logies in the past .Recently its popularity has waxed and waned with most footy fans still enjoying the thursday night spectacle.

Panelists support or play for an afl team They wear the football jumper of their chosen club invisibly but their is no doubt as to their clubs allegiance.

The audience participants wear their football jumpers, jerseys , guernseys.
Its a colourful spectacle as they boo , shout and roar when their teams football jumper appears .

Sam Newman's Old Jumper ?

There is a growing demand for afl football jumpers , jerseys , guernseys Worldwide.

Fans of the game around the globe are purchasing and wearing their football jumper , jersey ,guernsey .

Popular with sports fans everywhere purchases are made on-line and despatched quickly.

The buyer can have their jumper , jersey, guernsey within days.

The AFL has built a solid fan base around the world .

Each year they take teams to the UK and play matches against international competitors.

AFL players act as ambassadors for their sport by visiting strife torn locations .eg South Africa.

They promote the brand by dispensing goodwill , running footy clinics and distributing jumpers in these areas.

The jumper , jersey , guernsey is securing a place on the world stage .

Once a coveted item for ex-patriate Australians it is now fashionable with a multitude of sports fans.

Ease of purchase and superiority of design and manufacture make it much sought after.

The AFL promotion of Aussie Rules Football is very effective . The wearing of a football jumper jersey guernsey is growing in popularity world wide.

Geelong Retro Football Jumper

Another scandal has erupted around Brendan Fevola . Media and TV reports have revealed he has admitted to having a gambling habit causing great financial loss.

This comes a few days after the Richmond Football Club were involved in a drunken fracas in Sydney . Several Richmond football players , including Ben Cousins ,have been suspended by their club for varying lengths of time.All were fined .

Whilst these exploits make good tabloid headlines are they detracting from the reputation of the game and its enjoyment by fans ?

Players wear their jumper, jersey , guernsey with pride . They play football for an AFL team and are paid well for their effort . Elite athletes who set an example for young people and encourage all to enjoy a healthy lifestyle, participate in a team sport and get regular exercise .

Does anybody really care how much wealth is squandered in gambling venues by AFL players .

How many stories can we entertain about mid season drinking binges?

Players wear their jumper , jersey , guernsey and play to the best of their ability .

All the other hype surrounding players behaviour can stay behind the scenes.

Let the viewing public enjoy the spectacle of the game .

tiger cub

devil in disguise?

AFL players have their number printed on the back of the jumper , jerseys , guernseys with the afl logo on the bottom of the numbers .

Player numbers can be bought from most sporting goods stores . These are either ironed on or sewn on and are made from a variety of materials including fabric or coloured adhesive.

Often numbers were assigned for the following historic reasons ;

A club may give a certain position a specific number eg the ruckman will wear number 25.

The captain of the club will wear a certain number eg richmond tigers captain will wear no 17 as worn by the famous " Captain Blood ", Jack Dyer.

A player will wear his fathers old playing number eg Stephen Silvagni wore number 1 the same as his father Sergio Silvagni.

How do you remove an old number from your jumper , jersey , guernsey ?

These are some ideas from readers ;

If the number is soft plastic you can rub it with alcohol or acetone (nail polish remover) to soften it and then try scraping it with a butter knife.

Try sticking duct tape very firmly over the number and then pull it off in one quick motion.

If the number has been applied using heat by applying more heat you may be able to peel it off, although this often leaves resin glue underneath.

Try heating the underneath of the number with an iron while placing a damp cloth over the top of it.Use the steam setting on your iron to get maximum heat and after a few minutes lift iron off the number and using tweezers see if it will peel off.

I have tried using nail polish remover with limited success .It melts the number which can then be peeled away. However corners of the number cannot always be removed using this method.

Does anybody have a method of getting rid of old numbers from jumpers? If so , let us all know !

where number goes

number 10