pitmaster

It was encouraging. That's all I'll say. I thought the skills were poor early and all the old issues were there, but that improved, particularly the ball use through the corridor. I liked the fact that we were willing to use the width of the ground to spread the opposition when on the attack. TMac was in and out but looked really strong and back to his athletic self. He was very encouraging. I might have to eat my words about Spargo who is just a tad exciting. Fritter going on as always. Max of course was good, as was Oliver eventually and Trac. May's disposal was a bit iffy but otherwise he and Lever looked to be shaping as a fine defensive unit. Jetta is still unconvincing. Whether he can return to his best remains to be seen. Loved Langdon and Hunt giving us run out of the back half. Petty and Bowey in the B game were standouts so overall some pretty encouraging signs. Of course it was a practice match, what the Poms would call a friendly (despite the antics of that nob Lynch), so it only tells you who is fit, who is running well and how we'd like to move the ball if we're allowed to, and it was maybe at 80% intensity. Put it this way, no-one's likely to decide not to buy a membership on that showing.

Promising signs from TMac. Lever's disposal hopefully rusty. Forward pressure not good enough to stop their run out of defence. Although we lead they looked more threatening when they went forward. Spargo promising.

So good to have a fitness bloke who can speak. Burgo gives you more confidence that he knows what he's talking about. As for his predecessor, I used to worry how he communicated anything to the players because he sure couldn't tell us anything.

We should have struck when John Thwaites was deputy premier to Bracks.

Can you explain, since I am feeling like Sergeant Schulz on this topic?

Thanks for the link. I wouldn't have found it otherwise. Barltett's comments were not as worrying as they were portrayed. They are still committed to the MCG precinct, clearly there are many players including the Melbourne and Olympic Park Trust to be accommodated but unless GB is an outright fantasist it is still moving forward. As to the gubbament making the announcement, it is all crown land after all. Ditto the MCG: the MCC is merely the trustee although true to say MCC members have built the stadium through most of its life but it is still public land. But boy, the personal presentation could have done with a lift. Surely the man can afford a business shirt that buttons at the neck. Just go up a size FCS!

I would be interested to know Bartlett's actual words when he appeared to put the new home back on the state government. There's nothing from him and Pert on the official website. Does anyone have the full quote?

Good enough for me. Hoping to hear more before then.

Maybe we can limit the intrigue. It's no secret when the games are being played since the AFL is posting the dates. Since we're the last mentioned we are probably playing on Sunday the 28th, venue to be disclosed: Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn – Whitten Oval, Wednesday, February 24; Carlton v Essendon – Ikon Park, Thursday, February 25; North Melbourne v St Kilda – Arden Street Oval, Thursday, February 25; Geelong v Collingwood – GMHBA Stadium, Friday, February 26; Port Adelaide v Adelaide – Alberton Oval, TBC; Gold Coast v Brisbane – Metricon Stadium, TBC; Fremantle v West Coast – TBC; Greater Western Sydney v Sydney – TBC; Melbourne v Richmond – TBC.

How much is his membership compared to yours?

Sorry mate, it's not that I mind being corrected, but I like to be corrected correctly. Ladies had the lounge. A speakeasy was far too grungy for a ladies' lounge. The following, I was lazy and copied it from Wikipedia, is my understanding of the term speakeasy: "A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the Prohibition era (1920–1933, longer in some states)." Drinkers could ask for the illegal liquor they wanted without needing to speak in code hence the term: Speakeasy. I did some Sunday drinking in a Carlton sly grog shop. No one ever called it a speakeasy. It was always on the sly.

Wow. Talk about burying the lede. Unfortunately I knew the punchline. In keeping with my promise after my last visit I rolled up at Casey at 9.45am. The gate was open. Cool I think. I’ll grab a great spot. Errr but the car park’s empty. After a slow circuit of the car park I exited Casey Fields at 9.46am. Just the easy 119km round trip to boost my carbon footprint.

Just to keep it real: prohibition was an American thing. We never had it, so we never needed speakeasies. What Australia had were Temperance Hotels where you could not buy an alcoholic drink, but tea and coffee instead. There were only about 15 of them in Victoria as opposed to maybe 15,000 pubs. Glad to hear though that a few classic old pubs are thriving still without turning themselves into TABs or restaurants.

Pinched this from a physio website. "The femur, as the largest bone in the body, has dozens of muscle origins and insertions, making it prone to stress injury at several locations. Stress injury denotes gradual structural compromise due to training overload. Stress fractures may be incomplete or complete, and either non-displaced or displaced. Femoral neck stress fractures are considered high-risk for complications, particularly displacement; whereas, femoral shaft stress fractures are low-risk. "Stress fractures occur in bones that undergo mechanical fatigue. They are a consequence of exceeding repetitive submaximal loads, which creates an imbalance between bone resorption and bone formation. The fractures usually begin in locations of great stress; this is called “crack initiation”. If this microscopic crack is not able to heal and is subjected to further loading, the microdamage will increase and the crack will enlarge. This increase in damage can cause the bone to break on a macroscopic level." Then I saw this (gulp) : "Return to full sport can normally be achieved between 3 and 6 months after injury, though this can require up to a year if not longer." ON THE BRIGHTER SIDE it also said patients could be off crutches and increasing weight bearing after six to eight weeks.

There is nothing in that article that is indefensible. But the likelihood that all goes according to plan in a glass totally full all the time way is what makes it so implausible. It's actually well informed and its points are justifiable, but it's also already out of date given Brown's knee, Viney's foot and Hore's knee. And we're still six weeks away from the season's start.

Punt Road most likely. Would be good although it's undersized since the road widening.

Two things here: they are being held to the same standard as anyone else (see above) not a higher standard, and a 27 year old is beyond the "young men" label. At 20, 21, 22 you might still be graded as a bit of a goose and immature. But 27? Come on, he is a mature adult. Indeed, if anything, people in his position are privileged, and supported in ways ordinary mortals are not, so there is no reason to cut them some slack as you're suggesting that others don't receive.

So what are you suggesting?

No one is being held to "a higher standard of behaviour" here. If anyone did what Patton is alleged to have done the strict legal consequences would be the same. The difference is that because he is a public figure the media exposure for Patton is multiplied many times over. If an unremarkable person, like any of us on this site with no public profile at all, were charged over such matters and they were substantiated in court, there would be possibly one day's media exposure. The result would be that those who know us might become aware of the outcome. For everyone else the matter would be largely unnoticed. For someone in Patton's position there is no escaping scrutiny. That is the only difference.

What's this rational comment doing on demonland? Moderator?

It's weird given our lack of success in living memory but there really are people who hate us, with a capital aitch. I don't know why and I am always amazed when I hear it, but I have heard quite a few times people say with real force that they hate Melbourne's guts. So I am with RB and his rigid middle digit. Now I think of it, I might just change my name to rigid middle digit - Done.

Cannot speak for the other but Salem played the second half of 2018 with broken thumbs. He was one of the many surgeries of the 2019 pre-season. At a guess the strapping is to offer extra support to his healed injuries. Not meh. Understandable.

Source.

I like to think we have moved beyond where this report places the Collingwood crew. Melbourne was one of the first clubs - Essendon might have beaten us to it - to have an indigenous premiership player: Eddie Jackson in 1948. But I know there were some regrettable slurs thrown at Aboriginal players at the MFC during the 1980s and 1990s, all so-called "good humour" that would be seen as shameful today. None of us is immune. Let's hope Bartlett and Goodwin are on to it. As for the Pies, Eddie is clearly a big part of the problem, a boofhead who thinks he can joke his way out of anything. Seeing this report he might just be tempted to try to stay on to repair his reputation and enhance the legacy.

Next time any of you are in the vicinity of the Percy Beames bar in the MCC members check out the cricket honour board high on the wall. His stats are amazing. I remember him as a lovely old bloke on TV footy shows with none of the bs so common now. It was wonderful to read that had the NS medal existed then, Percy would have won three of them, which is pretty extraordinary given that Smith kicked an absolute bag (7 goals) in the 1940 GF.