Dr. Gonzo

Up the [censored] Demons that was glorious

Not if he doesn't get his hands on it

Because he wins the footy, pressures the opposition and is a decent kick going inside 50. Can you explain why he shouldn't be?

Not really with the 3 sitters we missed in the first. Sib out Harmes for Smith at halftime

See, this is the kind of negligence that will lead to payouts. It's not about suspending someone who accidentally bumps someone high when competing for the footy (Hunter on Rozee for example) it's about following the correct protocols that have been put in place. It shouldn't even be in the clubs hands, the AFL should have an independent medic on hand at each game to do the assessment.

They did in 2021. Everything fell into place for us in the final few rounds. Maybe a bit of history repeating 🤞

Yes but ever you say about Essendon, they haven't been dull. They've provided loads of entertainment over the last decade just not for their own supporters.

Let's hope the round of upsets continues tonight but comes to a grinding halt tomorrow

Just like the Suns, Adelaide winning tonight would help us at both ends of the ladder. Go Crom!

And directly in front of the grog squad 🤮

The thing with Collingwood is they are perennial choke artists. They can do what they want in h&a but they still need to overcome the Colliwobbles in September.

They also have the 7th best percentage, only 0.2% worse than the team in 2nd. So they are a plucky young side. And we DID beat them...

The way we are playing right now? We beat the Lions a week ago. We beat the Pies a month ago. What are you on about?

Understatement!!

Crows picked through our zone with ease at times and seemed to match us in the contest (particularly centre contests) although I haven't seen the stats. They're a decent side and have Burgess who would be priming them for this time if year so no surprise they came home strong. Don't forget the Pies only just got past them, twice. Having said that if it wasn't for Rankine we probably would have put them away before half time. I thought JJ needed to be better, it doesn't feel like he's really grabbed the opportunity having Oliver out has been. He's been ok without being outstanding. When Oliver returns I think JJ is first dropped. Woewodin has been ok for a first year player but I don't think he'll stay in the seniors much longer either. Hibberd should return nd help out backline with some leg speed.

67k+ is a supreme effort considering where we were a decade ago.

It will I agree, and it just further dilutes the product. More doesn't mean better.

Wildcard playoff teams work in the NFL because of the division/conference formar. In fact they not only work but they're a necessity especially when you have a team winning a division with a sub .500 record and/or another team coming 2nd with a strong record. In the NBA it is a joke especially considering how many games they play. The AFL is the same, there is no need for a wildcard round. It's just a way to try and gouge more money out of the tv rights deal, same as the gather round. The season is way too long, they'd be better off going to a format where every team plays each other once. But it is inevitable, the AFL has had this on the cards since they introduced the pre-finals bye.

I can, they're a good young team who like to move the ball quickly. We should be able to account for them but it won't be easy.

Yep you retain your consecutive years of membership. We switched to AFL membership around 1997 I think but my MFC membership is recognised since 1989. You're better off signing up to AFL membership first and contacting the MFC to let them know. Make sure they remove the direct debit from your current MFC membership though. The biggest benefit is in regards to finals tickets. Last year most MFC members would have paid $80 each to go to our two finals games but as an AFL member you only pay a $20 or so booking fee. AFL Silver members pay full price for prelim tickets ($170ish I think) but full/gold members get in for basically nothing again ($20). Full members get first access to GF tickets if your club is playing and pay half price ($200 or so) but Silver members are unlikely to get tickets even if they're club is playing so you might need to get a GF guarantee through MFC on top of your AFL membership until you become a full member (current wait seems to be around 18-20 years). The cost is basically the difference between a silver ($470) and full ($645) AFL membership so it basically evens out. But you'll be paying full price for any GF ticket (around $400). All the ticket prices above are based on tickets on level 1.

Agreed but the pressure is different. Umpires are under mental pressure, players are under mental and physical pressure. Umpires don't have to worry about making a decision before getting barrelled into and ridden into the ground so I think they're incomparable. I know others will disagree but that's my opinion. Umpires in AFL are swayed by the crowd/momentum of the game far too much. This does happen in other sports too but I feel it happens to a larger degree in the AFL.

What do you consider proof? Whispers in the sky? It's happened overseas (pretty sure there was an NBA official caught cheating and definitely in soccer) so don't know why AFL would be immune

Those are skill errors though. You can't compare them to umpiring errors.

Yep I did! Sorry mate 😳

Agreed although I wouldn't call Viney a lesser light. He is a gun.