Little Goffy

Not too upset about ANB coming in, if he does his job and helps lock down on some of Carlton's rebound from defence. Will still be missing Pickett though. Seems to me we have an enormous amount of mid sized running players going out there today. On the one hand that worries me with players pushed to roles that aren't their best (eg. The Harmes at hbf controversy), on the other hand we should have the legs to sustain two-way effort all game. I also feel like we've got a much better depth of 'players of interest', players who can individually have a real inpact on the game. Pittonet may be 'strong and aggressive' but he's got little chance of physically disrupting Gawn on his own, when Gawn is so much fitter yet still stronger. In general, the blue's physical strength drops away dramatically in every part of the ground after just a couple of beasts. Cripps then Curnow then ??? in the midfield. Their defence looks like a great place for a young, agile tall with great reaction instincts like LJ because they won't be able to monster him and they don't collectively have the agility to keep up with his enthuastic puppy approach to loose balls. I'll be watching closely for what may become the Jackson trademark up forward - splitting a contest then grabbing his own crumbs. Big chance for the Demons to do something noteworthy today. (Mfcss kicks in.... now)

Even before Jeff raised his diseased perineum into the wind again this week, there were few non-MFC things in football I enjoyed more than Hawthorn losing by ten goals plus.

He should be careful what he wishes for, Hawthorn are on the edge of an age cliff the likes of which hasn't been seen since Demons 2007. Then again, maybe that's why he is saying three years. If he can see to it that some clubs are killed off soon, the Hawks can feed on the carcasses.

I did, even though I like Spargo and haven't given up on him. My MFCSS had already kicked in and assumed player 2 was Bennell. That emotional ride would have been too much. In fact, I had developed second-stage MFCSS within five minutes, imagining Bennell being devastated to miss his 're-debut', going out drinking, and doing his calf trying to run from a booze bus. Totally implausible, pure MFCSS at its finest.

I did find it interesting that the small/medium forwards and 'zippy' players of both sides had a bit of a rough night. Rioli, Pickett, Castagna, Higgins, Lambert and Bolton for Richmond had varying levels of individual influence but were mostly pretty insignificant considering that is almost a third of the team. Josh Thomas and Jamie Elliott were minimal for Collingwood, though Callum Brown at least got involved in some scoring. Also notable, more than half of Collingwood's players laid one or no tackles. Shortened game and all, but yikes. Final gut feeling - at least for a couple of rounds there will be a serious gap between the main contributors and the less diligent and mentally prepared players. Getting the most out of the 'weaker half' of the 22 could be a very big deal until people remember the rhythms of playing. Leaders and highly motivated players will matter a lot. There could also be some monstrous early blow-outs whenever a team clicks into full gear and the opponent is still mentally running around their back yard.

Waleed Aly has to maintain a difficult balance. I find it fascinating how he manages to routinely irritate 'conservatives' while never quite really, really angering them, and also keep himself within the protective embrace of 'progressives' while never quite being really loved by them. Students of intersectionality could have a field day examining the complexity of Muslim, amateur rocker, Australian, host of a news-related evening light chat show, upper middle class Richmond supporter. And that might not seem like a relevant comment in a Lumumba thread, but actually it speaks volumes of the balancing act that Lumumba eventually didn't manage to sustain. On the other hand, he did manage a decade of high performance at Collingwood before the relationship really broke down. It's not as if he was psychologically unable to pull his head in and focus on football.

You missed 'John Farnham comeback tour' and 'iSnack 3.0'.

Two picks in the top three of the draft, making their debut for the Demons. For some reason that is making me have, like, all feelings and stuff, like, you know.

Looking at the names in that outlier group, I'm comfortable with the company he is keeping. He's not a bad kick, generally, so nothing wrong with picking up three or four more kicks a game and becoming the undisputed best midfielder in the game.

The other exciting thing about this story is that my wonderful spouse, who has many excellent qualities but cannot count 'high level of interest in football' among them, knew about this before I did and made a point of bringing it up. Proof of true love, I say.

Ah hell, I opened this thread. Now I have to go wash my brain out with hydrochloroquinine.

The thought occured to me that ALL players are going to be a significantly higher risk of soft tissue and joint injury upon return from the stand down. The European football zones tbat have restarted were reporting in the range of double or triple the usual injury rate. In a sense, every player should be preparing with as much caution as Bennell. In fact, others should probably be turning to him to ask about his preparation. I'm also as happy as ever to have Burgess on board in a season which could be defined by injury. Come to think of it, given we can expect triple the injury rate for the first few rounds back, I'd argue that the restart is not the time to be 'trying out kids', given that the chances are likely to come quickly anyway. I'll also be pretty glad for our good solid bodies in the midfield and the depth provided by the Hb/hf types who would already be expected to rotate there anyway. Especially with the reserve options we have to slide into small/medium forward roles if we do need to rob that line to feed the meat grinder in the middle. Meanwhile, Jackson's versatility could pay off fast. But back to Bennell - I think he'll very quickly fit our needs in this weird season even more than he would have anyway.

To this day, no Thesaurus can handle 'Chicxulub'.

Didn't save them from extirpation, though.

We can combine this thread with the 'no booing or shouting' threat and have an 'artificial booing and shouting' plan for the football. It limits the spitting and wheezing problem, at least. Personally, the real fun starts when the artificial crowd noise generator has its logarithms hacked. Subtly at first, but then gradually escalating into madness.

With regard to the pokies debate that has flared up - I don't think it takes an anthropologist to point out that the greater the proportion of people and social institutions reject a behaviour and openly state it shouldn't be normal and acceptable, the greater the pressure on those who still do it. So every person, business and football club which says no, matters, and brings us one step closer to containing the problem. Same principle for drugs, domestic violence, underpaying staff, spitting on people, political lying, and so on. Social change isn't achieved by the F'ing Avengers. It is a +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 effort that is maddeningly slow. I'm glad the Melbourne Football Club is now on the positive side of that balance, rather than embracing a status as a toxic parasite. As for the finances, really, it isn't going to be a key factor. Not least because a huge portion of football club funding, both recurrent and special items, is drawn from reputation. Add together the small gains in membership, the small gains in sponsor appeal, the small gains in attendances and viewers, and the little extra boost to our grant applications when we launch development proposals. The club's reputation is its key asset. Everyone is still setting their benchmark to Richmond - how much funding did they secure for redevelopments and for marketing programs, by bundling those developments and programs in with community-benefit? It was a massive amount and a major part in turning the club around F' the pokies. Reputation is worth more.

I think you'll find he has moved on, even if you haven't! Just be sure to do it with your mouth closed. Oh! I'm going to be rich! All I need to do is invent a facemask design that amplifies sound instead of muffling it. The future of football crowds!

The facial hair makes him look about ten years older. Is that the source of his new maturity? Should he be going the full Gawn beard? Should the whole midfield? That would be a terrifying sight at a center bounce.

My gut response is good on Gawn for not 'acting like a club in 17th place'. But also, storm in a peanut.

Presumably it's related to the MND Big Freeze colours?

I'll take the defence of '94, the forward line of 2000, and the midfield of 2018. Yes, that means two David Neitzes. But does anyone see that as a flaw?

I would have thought brown paper bags for the Blues. GWS can just be a bunch of empty suits, because we all know that's where their real support is coming from...

Well, obviously Collingwood have to go with cardboard to be true to their heritage, but what would be the appropriate materials for the other clubs?

Yes, we all know forward 50 entries are being addressed. The question is 'Addressed to whom?'

The trouble with curative advice from 'my great uncle who had that' is that, well, your great uncle still had it, so how good can his treatment be? I suggest asking random people 'Have you ever had this unpleasant infection I've got?' until you strike a winner.