Rab D Nesbitt

I'd wager that Collingwood still look to see when they are playing Carlton first and vice versa. Essendon are more interested in trying to play and win a final than anything else but would also consider those two clubs as being their biggest rivals and the teams they want to beat above anyone else. I agree that the others you mention will certainly be circling us on the fixture as we arguably stand in their way of any immediate success, much like we do with them but that would have to play out over a longer period of time I think for it to manifest into much more than that. For what it's worth I'm not really bothered about whether we have a rival or not, real or manufactured. We're a boutique middle of the road sized team in the biggest footballing city of the country and I'm quite happy with that as I don't think it affects our chances of being successful and I don't particularly want to be a club that everyone hates.

Hi AF. Yeah, I'd agree that the Bulldogs are probably the closest thing to having a genuine rivalry but it probably needs to play out over a longer period of time before we'll know for sure. Add a couple of onfield incidents to the mix and we'll be well on the way to an annual grudge game.

Surely we can only call an opponent a rival in the sense that we're using here if said opponent feels the same way about our club. It takes two to tango yeah? I doubt the first thing supporters of any other club look for when the fixture drops each year is when they play Melbourne. Nobody at Rangers or Celtic are eagerly waiting to find out when they next play Partick Thistle.

It's already so contrived that we may have already reached the point of peak manipulation.

Sorry WCW. I think I've confused myself this time. I meant of course that I'll be cheering on Fremantle!

I'm comparing us to other visiting clubs Redleg, not the Cats.

You'd hope that will change when they get to a 40,000 capacity. It might also depend on whether the AFL allow them to play 11 home games down there. I think there is an agreement with the MCC to play a certain amount of games at the MCG each year and a Geelong 'home' game or two might be required to meet that number. It was the same with Docklands I think but that may be less of an issue now that the AFL own it.

I think I might take a night off from the Death Ride and cheer the Bombers. The way we keep coughing up winnable games it might be the only way we preserve our double chance.

Next to the Cats we probably play down there more than any other club so should be better at playing the ground than anyone else. No excuses. I don't know how difficult it is to contrive a fixture but there really should be a rule where every club gets to play every other club at home the same number of times over a set period of time. Say ten years maybe.

Hi dice. As opposed to VFL/AFL combined?

What's the significance of 186? The biggest losing margin is still 190 point when we lost to Fitzroy at Waverley in 1979. Regarding Jayden Hunt, did any other clubs make him an offer? One of the great things about a 23 game season is that we get to see WC get belted another 9 times.

If we continue to squander our front half dominance in games it won't matter who we have left to play in the run home.

In retrospect, we can talk all day about the game plan or personnel but the fact remains we had Geelong on the ropes for the best part of 2 quarters and as a result of poor execution and decision making inside 50 throughout that period failed to put them away, or at least keep them at arms reach on the scoreboard going into the final quarter. Kudos to the Cats for taking the initiative where we couldn't and cut through our press in the last with a combination of precise field kicking and the will to just move the ball forward at speed that left us hopelessly exposed at the back. As a defender I'd be pulling my hair out. As bad as we are around goal at the moment last night was also about a failure to stop them exiting our forward line with the ball. If we had at least done that it would have made for an arm wrestle until the end. The game was effectively over though as soon as they slammed on the first four goals of that final quarter.

Dominated territory but so much dumb football. Forward line a hot mess. Again.

I wish they would end all the smoke and mirrors stuff with Clarry.

I'm pretty sure that they changed the words to their club song at some point in the 1980's or 90's as I remember one of the lines being... see the Bombers fly whilst you eat your pie

Plenty of sides don't have an image of their nickname or caricature on their badge / logo. Demons, Dockers, Saints and Giants. Gold Coast's doesn't have a sun, lest anyone go blind staring at it and there's no such thing as a Power or a Blue.

Hi Bystander. Sure I take your point. That said, knowing that the ground was to be redeveloped, if I were the AFL I would have suggested that it was an opportune moment to increase the width and make it an oval in the true sense of the word, even if it is just 115m wide. From an architectural perspective it would also have given them the chance to complete the main grandstand and roof all the way round.

By adjusting Casey Fields to Alphabet Stadium proportions for training this week all they needed to do is draw a straight line from pocket to pocket on the outer wing. When they decided to rebuild the entire place did nobody think to move it 5 metres to the left.

Fair point mauriesy.

I stayed in a little place in North Adelaide for the Crows game last year FTB and that part of town was great. There's actually an Ibis Budget at the intersection of the Ring Road and Sydney Road in Campbellfield where the walls could only be made of papier-maché.

Goody only mentioned four times in his presser that we didn't get a 14 day break so let's hope somebody at AFLHQ was watching. Why do reporters ask the same dumbass questions every week. Q. How important is it that ...yada yada yada....

I thought it was against the Geneva Convention to place someone in an Ibis hotel?

Don't know what's so "hugely popular" about 80% of the regular match going AFL public around the country not being able to go and watch their team play live.

Best you keep thinking that.