Smokey

Right. So instead of just saying that last sentence, you compared curnows average to pluggers average without drawing a comparison between the two and then spoke on behalf of 18 football departments with authority. Good lord indeed.

Haha right, that wasn't a comparison at all. You were just comparing their goal kicking accuracy statistics side by side. Duh. Curious now - what point were you trying to make when you compared two players goal kicking accuracy whilst not making a comparison between the two players?

This comparison seems dubious at best Lockett vs Curnow Games played - 281 vs 47 Total scoring shots - 1950 vs 93 The disparity in sample data is too big for this comparison. A better way to look at it is Pluggers stats after his first 3 seasons (175 goals @ 68% accuracy). Either way you look at it, you've basically just proven that the two players cannot be compared. Pretty interesting that you are prepared to speak on behalf of every football department in the league and state that his accuracy has never been discussed. All in all - thanks for the fake news

Free kick starts at the centre square for 1 player in violation of the rule. Add an extra 25 metres toward goal for the non-offending team per other player in violation. Problem solved ... I guess Gee footy is becoming convoluted when you need to think of mitigation strategies for new rules like this.

I wouldn't take it so seriously. People come up with stupid and unrealistic ideas all the time, it's just getting forced in to the spotlight right now because media outlets need to keep their website traffic ticking over in an otherwise completely boring off season so far. This is the problem with the internet in general - it gives the soap box of a lifetime for people starved of attention.

Unsure on this comparison. We would have been relegated from the AFL years ago haha

Best backline in the comp? Must be close to it at the very least ...

We already have the exact opposite of thanksgiving - its called Australia day!

Its a nice stat to have - but as more and more teams are added to the competition in recent history, the less relevant it becomes. There was only 12 teams in the comp at our last flag - there's 18 now.

As much as I'd love to have Viney as sole captain - it doesn't make much sense until we can be sure he can stay uninjured for a decent period of time.

At this point of our list and development, if we are struggling mid-year because of his coaching - then maybe he should go?

In most cases, the "unwanted distractions" you speak of really only distract the supporters in the end. Otherwise the club, as a professional organisation, continue onward understanding that delayed contract negotiations does not explicitly mean someone is thinking of leaving. It is abundantly clear that he is fully invested in the club, and if he puts off contract negotiations till later in the year to leverage his contract worth, then good on him. He deserves that autonomy. Relax, its only November and Goody is going nowhere - I'd bet the farm on it.

For sure, I understand what Gary’s getting at. I’d like to see trac lose some weight for sure. Rather he train with stretch than many tho

Great idea. Come back early after knee surgery, what could go wrong? Nice one Gary ...

Watch what the Weid does next year. His kicking action, pack crashing and contested marks are far superior to Hogans and I reckon he's gonna rip it apart in 2019. His body is ready, and the supply from the midfield will be as good as its been in decades I reckon with Kolo in the frame. Sure, he'll never be able to cover ground like Hogan did but who cares, he's a true KPF. Someone else can run the park. Top 4 regular finish and playing a GF is my pass mark (and why not, we've been upwardly trending for years now, no reason that cant or wont continue just cause we're at the pointy end now)

Round 1, injuries considered; FB - Jetta May Hibbo HB - Salem Omac Lewis C - Kolo Viney Brayshaw HF - Melksham Tmac Petracca FF - Fritsch Weid Hannan Fol - Gawn Oliver Harmes Int - ANB Vanders Jones Spargo Lewis to be phased out once Lever is fit, straight swap and that's our full strength back 6. Looks delicious on paper. No idea where Pruess fits in all this yet, don't think we'll see him in Round 1. Hopefully Jones to be used up forward and not in the middle, the guts ain't for him anymore but he's obviously still best 22 (can kick a decent goal after all). Kolo coming out firing is probably the thing I hope for the most. He will be a very important key if we are to go deep. Give us a Richmond 2017-style lack of injuries and I'd rate us as short priced favs in 2019. Here's hoping, on paper we look deadly across the board.

Genuine excitement at our prospects next year? Dangerous thinking round these parts

I see what you mean. But my point still stands - you can't invest profits you don't make back into the game, therefore profit must be at the forefront of thinking to enable reinvesting back into the game. My view on this indirectly goes hand in hand with others here, its just a case of needing to make the money before it's spent on improving and maintaining the game.

No sleep lost, just another name added to the list of w4nkers on DL who apparently find comfort in talking down to complete strangers on the internet who are sharing an opinion. Well done big man!

AFL pay tax I would assume

Your passive-aggressiveness and pompous attitude toward this discussion has been duly noted. You can bang on about how the AFL as a body is more than just a business till the cows come home, but in the end it is a business with the objective of making profits as any other. There are a number of examples I can think of off the top of my head that support this; - Expansion teams in Sydney and Gold Coast before Tasmania - The AFL neglecting to reduce the number of home and away games to better balance the competition at the expense of revenue - AFLX - The fact the AFL has an ABN (97 489 912 318) and reports yearly profit/loss statements I'm simply making the observation that the AFL conducts itself like any other private business and the yearly fixtures reflect that in that they maximize revenue. Feel free to keep playing the man if you must. A team of business analysts probably do the draw each year, not a group of ex hall of fame players with the intent of preserving the sanctity of footy.

You remind me of a Simpsons episode with Lionel Hutz "Imagine a world without the AFL ..."

That could be relevant if the supporters ran the AFL, but alas, they don't. Doesn't matter what you or I see the goal as - in the end it comes back to money, as do most things in a free market. The AFL is not a democracy. Sentiment won't get us a better fixture. A larger member base and continued success will (we've had one good season since 2006, we are not a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination). Until we prove ourselves to be money makers again, we will continue to be worse off than other clubs fixture-wise. Do I like it? No. Can I appreciate the reasons for it - absolutely.

People complaining about the fact the dons got more primetime games even though we are a better performing team seem to forget that the AFL is a business. The goal of a business is to maximize profits. The dons will make more money than we could in primetime slots due to their significantly larger supporter base. It's really as simple as that.

Can anyone give me the reasons as to why we all seem to be married to the idea of having co-captains? Any danger of us going back to a good old fashioned single skipper?