Demonstone

Well, seeing as you said "please" ... People by now seem to have realised that the link pertains to the players' surnames. Further, the answer is not football related in any way.

I can also confirm that they are not names of politicians.

Another suggestion that they share names with rivers is not correct, I'm afraid.

A couple more incorrect replies have been received. These players don't share a surname with musicians, nor are they varieties of animal (after all, that would be an all-Collingwood team).

Alas for the poster who made the suggestion, they are not all scientists either.

We both know that's wrong, Mr. Beeblebrox.

Our first incorrect answer is in, and I can confirm that they are not all the surnames of models (!).

I had Josh Kennedy from Sydney Swans in mind, but it makes no difference.

It's that time of the year again when there is not much happening football wise. The Grand Final has been played (spoiler: we won!), the Draft has taken place (spoiler: we nailed it!) and the first cricket Test starts next week. Time for a little distraction, then. As the thread title suggests, this is the last of the footy related brainteasers in my arsenal (triumphant cries resound around Demonland) although I do have a cricket cryptic up my sleeve that I'll probably unleash in January. Today's team consists of some champions past and present, some good ordinary players and, frankly, a couple of plodders. Your task, as always, is to deduce what factor they have in common. You know the drill. All answers to be sent to me in a PM and incorrect suggestions will be posted to thin the field of possibilities. The prizes for this one are unique, but I can't tell you what they are just yet as that would give the answer away. B: Laurie Fowler Darcy Moore Dean Solomon H/B: Ken Hunter Drew Petrie John Barker C: Cameron Bruce Dane Swan Josh Kennedy H/F: Steve McPherson Lance Franklin Jordan Dawson F: Liam Ryan Peter Wright Russell Robertson R: John Nicholls Tim Watson Sam Mitchell I/C: Geoff Cunningham Dennis Banks Sam Reid Jarryd Blair COACH: Checker Hughes

To be fair Wrecker, it's only their stories about Melbourne Football Club that we care about. I find the posting of links to paywalled items a little puzzling, regardless of which publication they are from. Subscribers can already read the article if they haven't yet done so, while non-subscribers can't read it at all. To me, it defeats the purpose of the exercise, even though posters do it with good intentions and are trying to share information.

Don't forget Taj Woewodin, whose WA club East Fremantle are known as The Shaqs.

Hoping to earn some franking credits, perhaps?

This is an issue that young George Gawn will be facing within the next year.

I said "craw", not "craw"!

If Gold Coast draft that kid ranked at 9, they'll have the tasty combination of Mac and Sheezel.

We had a Jason Blake and a Matthew Blake who played reserves for us, but nobody with either a Christian name or a surname of Blake has played a senior game for us AFAIK. I'm just waiting to see Blake Howes chasing down Dan or Sam Butler so the crowd can yell out "I'll get you Butler!" (bit of a throwback for the older posters there).

Howey already drafted at pick 39.

Facepalm duly removed! I should have realised you weren't that thick, rpfc.

Looks like Rooey, Howey and Woey. Goody should be happy.

In a thread that's more about acronyms than football, that's TMI.

Not me, faulty. I squat down low, tuck my head into my chest, put my hands on the ground, lean forward and push. That's how I roll.

DILLIGAF?

Not so, dc. An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word (eg NASA, AIDS, RADAR, AWOL and FOMO).

His surname sounds like "Van Ruin" and, given he can play forward or back, he qualifies as a "Kombi". Here is another Kombi Van Ruin.