Nasher

No - it's been a free kick *if* the glance at the opponent is followed by a block. That's the first time I reckon I've ever seen a free kick paid for looking at your opponent. It was an utterly ridiculous decision both in the context of the rules, *and* in the context of previous decisions paid.

Exactly my answer. You need 28 genuine AFL standard players on your list. Viney and TMac aren't due back in ages - zero chance of someone not being broken by then.

Has anyone complaining about lapses actually watched any footy other than Melbourne games this year? Just curious because I've seen a few and haven't seen a single game where teams didn't have fits and spurts.

No way.

Came here mostly hoping to read that Weid was dominant in a forward/ruck role and wasn't disappointed. This is definitely a missing piece of the puzzle in the seniors side, so fingers crossed he can keep it up and knock the door down.

I don't know how you can conclude that. When you "buy" a player, you aren't paying for his first three games or even his first season, you're paying for the balance of his career. Lever is 22 so he's still 5 years off the finished product. If short term payoff is the only thing that matters, pick 11 and half a mil for Mitch Clark was an absolute bargain.

Nathan Jones in my mind cemented a place in the hearts of club supporters during the early years of free agency. When other players of his vintage couldn't get out fast enough, the Jones response was a determined "I'm not going anywhere", to sign on for three mid-season. That was true leadership, and for me as a spectator who can only go along for the ride, one of the only signals that there might actually exist people at the club who wouldn't give up on it. There's no doubt in my mind Nathan Jones belongs amongst the all time club greats. The fact that he's had to ply his trade in a team that was awful most of the time only enhances his standing, as he's had to do it with little to no support.

To be fair, would *you* go watch them play? Yuck.

Thought Garlett's steal in the pocket qualified as heroics.

Permission to be happy with this, Demonland faithful?

The two best players from Casey replace the two of the worst for MFC, so it makes sense in that regard. Struggling to make sense of it from a team balance point of view, but I'll reserve judgement until after I've seen how it goes.

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While I'm supportive of (and pleased by) the social aspect of this decision, I highly doubt it's any more than a side effect of a decision that was otherwise 100% business. The current administration hasn't done anything to suggest it operates in any way other than a shrewd one. I'm surprised you're not prepared to cut them some slack and let this play out before flying off the handle.

You don't think it reasonable that people's view might evolve as life experience grows? 2010 for me was 50% of my adult life ago and I can tell you that my knowledge on the topic at hand and desire to explore it was precisely zero.

Very pleasing news. Hopefully there is a plan to minimise or ideally negate the impact to the bottom line. The argument that this does nothing to address the social issue because someone else will just pick up the licenses is just rubbish. The best way to initiate change is to lead it, and that's what the MFC have done. Let's see how many other AFL clubs are still operating these venues in 3 years time.

It's almost like Lever is only 22, and only 2 games in to his new club.

Can't get around either of those two sides, and I'm judging all you that did. They tend to deliver good footy games though.

In the report it said the Brisbane doctor was consulted. Probably lucky we weren't playing Carlton or Lewis would probably be out for 3 weeks for whatever he did.

On Melksham: a few have said be's been poor, however all three of the behinds he kicked were those snatch-and-deliver kicks he does before you can blink. If he'd kicked those goals we'd all have voted for him in the PotY thread. I've really warmed to him as a player. As a half forward, he creates opportunities that others can't because of the speed in which he can dispose of the ball once he gets it. He is getting it, so I think he's not too far off stitching it together and delivering an outstanding game.

I thought the same about Harmes, but then discovered he had 23 disposals. His heat map shows the majority of them on the half back flank near the boundary, or directly in the middle. I'd say he's playing the role of a foot soldier in contests, perhaps probably as the link player (received handball from inner mid, deliver to the runner/kicker); that might explain why his touches go unnoticed or appear low impact. I'd say he is probably contributing more than we are giving him credit for.

According to Brown, Twomey and Harvey, he's ranked "above average", with Petracca, Hunt, TMac and Lever "elite". We also have a player named Penderson on our list. TV is muted so I'm not sure what they're saying, but I'm sure whatever it is isn't worth listening to.

He's playing AFL midfielder minutes on ground now, too. He just gets the ball, and gets away a clean disposal, in ways other players just can't. We've been waiting for a star for so long, it still hasn't sunk in that we've finally landed a genuine one.

It's just his MO, it's why I stopped engaging with him years ago. It's a shame because it diminishes the value of his posts, which are often pretty good.

As we know Wiseblood, if you're not outraged by the result, it must mean you're pleased with it. There's no such thing as grey.

As we're all well aware of, crushing teams does rely on the crushee giving way as much as the crusher getting the job done. I'm not convinced the Brisbane side last night lent itself to a crushing, but I'm also not convinced I'm not just telling myself that to avoid facing the truth.