As I pointed out in another post, we have an awful lot of people to replace this year, and will be scraping the bottom of the barrel in the drafts to fill our list. It is pretty unlikely that our picks in the 80's and 90's will be of any value. Next year, we will have very few retirements, since all the old blokes left this year. So our worst pick next year will be better than our worst pick this year. So get Jeff to stay on so that we end up replacing him with a 50's draft pick next year rather than a 90's draft pick this year - and in the mean time we still have a pretty damn good player running round for us.

Unless Mark Harvey wants a group of young guys he can mould, and thinks Jeff would lead them astray....

So now Jeff has a history of leading young players astray? What next--was he hiding in the grassy knoll on November 22, 1963?

Jeff has a history of taking young players under his wing, and it is no secret that the blackfellas look up to him.

rogerrocks, the draft this year is said to be very strong and goes fairly deep. The draft next year will be affected by a change to age eligibility rules and will reduce the pool of players available.

"Jeff has a history of taking young players under his wing, and it is no secret that the blackfellas look up to him."

Not the ones who select Indigenous Teams of the Century. If anything, he was treated more shabbily there than he was by us.

I felt nothing when the curtains were called because I knew he was gone and had done all my getting upset a bit of a while ago.

When did I know Jeff was gorn? Well, when he said he would prefer not to play in the forward line anymore because he felt he lacked the necessary pace.

He was getting career-high stats in the middle - well, you would - but the opposition were playing through Jeff's man.

There's no longterm future for ANY 30+ midfielder who lets his bloke get away from him.

Even for my favourite footballer of all time, a gent, a freak, an excitement machine, a defier, a lifegiver, a reason to call our game the greatest of all.

An end had to come and while it would have been good for the people to say goodbye to the people's player, the end has come.

That's what ends do. All things pass.

Except Kevin Bartlett.

(Geeze I am crap at this alias business.)

Some still wonder

some still ponder

I see you there

sitting over yonder

Sunrise doesn't last all morning.
A cloudburst doesn't last all day.
Seems my love is up
And has left you with no warning.
It's not always been this gray.
All things must pass.
All things must pass away.

For Jeff. Gone but never forgotten.

Thank you, addicted. That's just the ticket.

Remember that goal coming back from suspension againist Carlton - where he not only got around three blokes, he actually hopped over one?

That's what we got from Our Jeffrey. Lots of that. And that stuff will never fade as long as we are around to relive the disbelief.

It that you ponyboy?

Does saying yes mean at some point I will meet with Mickey Rourke?

I want a Jeff Farmer highlights DVD. Actually, I think I need it.

As sad as I am to see Jeff's retirement, I can't be angry at the club.

I'll save my disdain for an umpiring community that watched him get belted repeatedly, then pinged him for the smallest indiscretion. For an MRP that forgets the "no clear video" line when it suits them. For a lazy media that perpetuates stereotypes. And for those in the footballing community who choose to downplay the contributions of one of the greatest indigenous footballers ever.

The game has indeed moved on, and will be poorer for it. But Jeff finished on a high - that last goal says it all.