Rab D Nesbitt

For the advocates of increasing the finals series to include a wildcard game (and the 21st century trend of rewarding mediocrity) there's every chance it could be played by these two teams.

Whereas the gymnasts are prepared to bend over backwards in their efforts and will be doing cartwheels if they go ahead.

Is that what you call a punchline?

Australia is supposed to have the strictest quarantine entry requirements of any country and the federal government are in charge of it. If this had been fixed at the source then there would have been little need for the states with their differing health laws to get involved. All countries have official entry requirements whether that be a visa, proof of an outbound ticket, enough money to cover your stay without working or a particular inoculation to give a few examples. All reputable airlines are super switched on about this because if they fly anyone into a country where they don't meet all of the rules then they have to fly them back to where they first boarded (at the airline's expense) and are fined around $US10k. All the federal government needed to do when this all kicked off last February was to make it a mandatory requirement for anyone boarding a flight to Australia to enter 2 weeks of quarantine on arrival. Anyone that doesn't agree gets stopped at check in before they can board. Period. Again there should have been a remote facility constructed that could house all of the arrivals in one place that's relatively close to an airfield. It wouldn't be the Sofitel but if you want to get home that badly then you'll suck it up in order to spend the foreseeable future in our hermetically sealed country. Yes it would require key workers to spend periods of time away but they already do this at places like Uluru Resort, El Questro in the remote northwest of WA and even Mawson Base down in Antarctica so it's not like it's an alien concept.

I think I'll be cheering for the Swans tonight to keep as big a gap between the top four and Richmond as possible.

Just checked Jetstar and you'd be looking at around $230 for a same day return, coming back on their latest flight at 7.20pm.

So Ange has landed at Parkheid as the fallback to Eddie Howe. It's obviously a fantastic move for him and I think he's certainly deserving of the opportunity. That said he will be given very little time to find his feet and unless he can get the soapdodgers off to a flying start, and that will include Champions League qualification through the early preliminary rounds, the fans will be out for his head. I wonder if Kevin Muscat will follow him as his assistant as he will know our game well after his time playing at Rangers. Anything would be better than returning to the A League to be honest and I think he's based in the UK at the moment anyway. Anyway, I sincerely wish him the best in finishing second next season.

If we can do the business on Monday then it's highly unlikely we'll be playing any final interstate now. Covid aside of course!

Now that he's stepped down from Collingwood everything else he does in life will be a step up.

Not concerned about Monday at all. As long as we're switched on it should be business as usual. Surprised that they're letting him coach one more game though. As for their next permanent coach who's to say it won't be Robert Harvey who has been very close to a senior coaches position in the past. It's just a matter of time before Adem Yze is also snapped up by someone but not before the end of this season I'd imagine.

Done. It's been a long time since I heard a racist comment at a game but I've noticed a little online.

None of these teams concern me. I'd only be worried about what % of the MCG capacity will be allowed by the time we play the Bombers at it's their home game and they are up and about at the moment.

Libba must be a cheesehead. ? ? ?

Only now getting a chance to watch the second half again. We did nothing short of blow Brisbane away really. I loved how we got both those third quarter goals of theirs back within 30 seconds. In regards to the Sammy Weideman conversation it's probably time to just let it go and see how it plays out really. The way we're playing as a team means it's not a great concern in the scheme of things. There's no argument that his contests provide scoring opportunities for our smaller players but he's playing in a side where it's never been so good to be a key forward. I just worry that his misses from set shots will come back to bite us in much tighter games. I also feel for Ben Brown not having a chance to press his case at the moment. First world problems perhaps.

Sounds like a question for the next AGM.

Just logged onto Kayo and caught the end of the Swans - Saints game. What a dog's breakfast that St.K guernsey is.

What happened to the gif button ?

Feeling uncharacteristically nervous about the game now but that could be the coffee. I should have stopped at two when my serotonin level plateaued.

If the boys bring the same steely resolve and defend from the front then we should be in for a good night. It could be a crucial game in providing us the daylight we need to cement a top two place as Port Adelaide host Geelong next week in the other half of this split round. On a side note I thought the AFL were bringing the start time of Friday night games forward by half an hour ? Their website still shows a 7.50pm start.

I know there are good reasons being provided for shifting our games out of Victoria but as a coterie member that handed over $800 last year for no return I would much rather they look at moving this game to the bye week to give the people that turn up week in week out the best possible chance to attend it. Make a call now to flip our bye and if by the middle of that week there is still no prospect of there being any crowd at the G then by all means move it to whatever interstate ground is free.

Hi BBP. I've got no qualms about those who think the game would be more of a spectacle if there are fans in the ground but the game is skint and our state coffers are empty so unless the size of the crowd was going to cover the cost of all of the logistics to get it done or that Virgin Australia are going to fly everyone there and back for free, the hotel they all stay at is going to lay on free rooms and food and drink for all concerned and the owners of the ground it's played at are going to offer it gratis to the AFL then without Gil having a magic money tree in his back garden I can't see this happening. Not to mention it having the backing of most of the players who could just as easily sleep in their own bed on Sunday and drive to the G the next day.

Two Melbourne based teams so play it at the G, whether on QB in an empty stadium or a week later with the possibility of fans. Moving the game interstate to get some fans in will not compensate for the cost and inconvenience of flying two teams and their support staff to and from another part of the country, paying for hotel accommodation and renting out a stadium. This would only make economic sense if another state wants to outlay a large sum to take the game and it's a buyers market right now. Given that players have already made rumblings about the prospect of hubs again it's likely they would prefer a normal lead in to the game instead of being away. Don't forget there's no certainty that once they leave the state that they'd definitely be coming straight back afterwards. Just like the Royal Children's Hospital Appeal each year we can still donate money to the MND cause online and by phone without having a crowd bear witness to a few celebrities go down a slide.