monoccular

Better get used to byes - Gillian seems determined to inflict this further inequity as his parting gesture. 😡😡

empire games 🤗🤗🤗🙄🙄

To me big negatives include - statue on mark rule, with 50 meter penalty - the rolling 50 meter penalty - just causes confusion - nominated ruck - just ball it up and if the teams can't work out who goes up for them, then ping them - and the worst, any prospect at all of having an uneven number of clubs. IF TAS is viable then have the courage to relocate North (or Saints or Hawks) . The schedule (quaintly referred to a the draw) is unfair enough already - having some teams with an extra bye especially in round 1 or 2, or 22 or 23, with the prefianls bye is just grossly inequitable. Cannot be made remotely fair.

... and #50 has shown, that bad things can happen to "too good" players at VFL.

If the AFL are serious about concussion and future costly liabilities, they'll suspend players for any intentional bump that causes a head knock. Every week there are accidental clashes. As I may have mentioned elsewhere, if they are serious they will penalise those who intentionally or recklessly drive their head blindly into opponents legs and torsos, or deliberately draw head high contact, instead of rewarding them.

Exactly. The hypocrites who bleat on and on about the head being sacrosanct turn a blind eye to those opposition ruckmen who regularly clobber the back of his head in boundary and in marking contests. It is actually disgraceful.

I think that was third eye's point. Incentive to promote development. Why bother if all the hard work goes elsewhere?

Winston Churchill: “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Preuss got one week. Brown got two.

Smith’s awareness and cohesion are improving, but still are way behind his natural athleticism at this stage, which is what keeps him in for now.

shouldn't, and shouldn't have. He stopped and the "victim" cannoned into him.

But that would suggest uninterested, not disinterested.

Hawkins would get three Downlow votes, and a beer with the MRO.

Lucifer - sadly I think your prediction is spot on. They won’t let GW$ play without a ruckman …… now if it was someone in different color, say red and blue, or red, white and black, maybe blue and white vertical stripes then it would be “we must stamp this out and the head is sacrosanct this week - 4 to 6 weeks.”

Surely someone at AFL must have data for home ground free differentials, and particularly at Perth and Adelaide, and of course Geelong. Further analysis will show which umpires "favour" the home teams and which are more even handed. IF they had an ounce of integrity (and I realise that is a huge IF) then they would use these data to ensure that the biased / weak / intimidated umpires do not umpire at those venues. OF course this will never happen, as integrity is paid lip service in favour of the highest bider. Regards your final point, Yes, the list is there largely thanks to unconscionable AFL concessions in an attempt to justify their decision to enter Western Sydney, but the heart does not appear to be. Yes, players say that they love playing and living there, but can anyone really think that they would say that if they were free agents and not paid above what they would get in Melbourne? Could Clarkson's charisma transplant heart into a mob of very talented individuals?

Well certainly not disinterested (and can one actually look disinterested?) but hopefully not uninterested.

and still no scrutiny on Leon Cameron? Looking pretty ordinary with a gifted list, but no heart

Massive fail for the Dogs tonight. Can they regroup with this list and this coach? Not likely IMO.

Dogs now 6.14 to Toigs 9.4 That is 20 scoring shots to 13. Could well cost them big time.

Hasn't worked out all that well for the Dogs toning - pinged twice for 50 meter penalties and goals. (Maybe they have thought that they would get their usual dream run from the umpires)

OMG Bailey Smith just &^%# (soiled) his pants leading to a big turnover and goal to Toiges

Weightman a blatant throw back over his head - play on. Is it time to just allow throwing? (I hope not)

2.9 to 6.3 It will take a lot of gimmie frees to catch that up.

I thought that the "new rules / interpretations" were used in the preseason to accustomise players (and maggots) to how they were to be implemented in the season proper. But, very clearly, not this time.

Once caught red handed holding the ball, and just now a two handed scoop throw unpenalised