4x4, remind me how the Iraqis went in that war. I'm all for privacy, but for the record, about 30,000 people go through the Perth domestic terminal every day. Fair to suggest that some of them would have heard that Josh wasn't at the airport when they announced it over the intercom.
As for whether Josh plays, once upon a time he'd have to front up the coach's office and apologise, and then go out and run a bunch of extra laps. These days I'd expect he'll have to stand in a circle of his playing group and apologise, while they each take turns explaining the ways he's let them, the club and the supporters down. Then he'll probably have to take a 'self-imposed' month-long break from the seniors and knuckle down at Peel to win back the trust of the playing group.
I find the whole 'leading teams' stuff a bit distasteful to be honest, but I have no evidence it doesn't work. Still, Josh is probably lucky blokes like Robert Walls aren't still coaching footy clubs. His version of facing the playing group was a little more hands on.
We'd probably have a better chance of winning Friday if Josh is on the park, so part of me hopes he plays. But Roly will also have Ballard, Crozier, Duffy, Grey, Menagola, Neale and Sheridan in mind when he decides whether Josh deserves his spot. Assuming he hasn't forgotten about him, Roly might even spare a thought for SCOS. Poor bloke has been named an emergency more than any player should, and as far as I can tell, has been pretty professional about it. As I said above, group dynamics matter. We might be marginally better on Friday with Josh in the team, but Roly and the match committee know it's a long season and an even longer career. We might get on board with Josh playing, but there's a group of young, competitive footy players on our list desperate to forge a career who would do anything to play on Friday. I'm not sure what it does to them to see that spot being given to someone they may perceive doesn't deserve it. That's the risk you take by picking Simpson, and based on everything we've seen from Roly, I don't think he takes that risk.
