Demonised

Let's keep a lid on it. Too early to talk about a hat trick just yet.

I'm having trouble coming to terms with the fact that we might, just possibly, be good I'm simply not used to it.

"O Captain! My Captain!"

I was seven. On TV, I saw the team holding up the cup and doing a lap of honour and thought, 'Obviously this is the team to follow to ensure years of satisfying success.' Narrator: it was not the team to follow to ensure years of satisfying success.

Many thanks, again, to Dan Andrews. No way we would have got that last 50 metre penalty with a Geelong crowd in the ground!

We need to get back to things like this, noted in the Australasian Sketcher, September 1881 - 'Members of the theatrical profession in Melbourne taking part in a charity match on behalf of the family of the late Marcus Clarke; held on the East Melbourne Cricket Club ground; opera house employees against the remaining theatres; all the players are in theatrical costumes'.

You're right. And hardly anybody bothered to attend, either.

When he and Billy Stretch came to the Dees, I was sure Billy would be the stayer. Goes to show what I know.

Mustn't replace a handball with a throw in the rules. The handball is a unique feature of our great game.

Good player. Before his debut, though, lots here were saying they couldn't see why the coaching staff thought so highly of him.

Maybe other teams have now had time to suss out our Plan A and our Plan B. I hope we have a Plan C ...

I've been asleep for four months. Looks like the same old same old. Have I missed much?

Lots of Essendon throws on Saturday night.

He's earned it. Well deserved.

Well, it was in the running.

He's the only footballer I've ever heard use 'coalesces' in an interview.

When your coach, the one who orchestrates every movement, is called Simon Woodwind, these sort of puns are inevitable.

Can't be many who score a perfect 10 in a losing side.

Yep, that's right. Player has opened up the play by twenty metres, avoiding the ugly rolling maul, the ball has spilled free for anyone to swoop on. Sounds fine to me.

And that's where I differ with him. Removing prior doesn't *have* to mean that. If it means what I'm suggesting, it'd be fairer all round.

Don't think so. The rules allow for someone to make a legitimate attempt to dispose when tackled, without penalty.

Let's try a thought experiment, imagining what would happen if there was no prior opportunity rule. 1. Player takes possession, avoids tacklers, instigates play. 2. Player takes possession, is tackled correctly, makes an attempt at correct disposal, umpire immediately calls for a ball-up. 3. Player takes possession, is tackled correctly, makes no attempt at correct disposal or disposes incorrectly, umpire rewards tackler with a free kick. 4. Player takes possession, is tackled incorrectly, umpire pays free kick to player. Does this make a messy situation simpler? No having to decide whether the player had prior opportunity or not. It takes one complicating factor out of the equation. Or am I oversimplifying?

As soon as anyone brings up 'greatest ever' the discussion is thrown open to the history of the game, isn't it? Besides, Bradman isn't known as the greatest ever because he scored the most runs of any cricketer ever, it's because of his amazing average. By that measure, Peter Hudson is the top, with a 5.64 goals per game average, superior to Plugger's 4.84. But I'm just quibbling. Lockett was a legend, undoubtedly.