Grapeviney

Tottenham were down 5-0 inside 20 minutes last night - I've never seen anything like it in 30+ years of watching football.

Not easy to do when you’re speaking to someone for the first time, without being in the same room or seeing each other. And so much of it depends on the player, many of whom are young and not experienced storytellers in public. Judd was pretty good methinks, that would have been one of if not the first interviews he’s done. Sometimes you happen upon a diamond - the Jakovich interview is so good (and so long) because he was able to relive games in such vivid detail, kick by kick. Andy does a good job setting up the discussion without falling into the trap of forcing or faking a non-existent bond, which can make for really awkward listening.

OMG they think they can play finals - that is so cute!

Spurs don’t really deserve a CL spot, and were lucky to be gifted a win on the weekend with the worst VAR non-decision I’ve seen, a clear penalty that - at the very least - should have seen the ref go to the screen. It could have huge ramifications because Brighton are one of the teams in the mix for top 6. They got an official apology but it’s not the first time VAR has cost them points this season, nor the first apology they’ve received. Speaking of Spurs, Dele Alli was making headlines today after photos emerged him of inhaling nitrous oxide (laughing gas) balloons in what looked like a very grungy scene. He got booted and booed out of Besiktas recently (in his final appearance for them he was benched after 30mins against a 3rd division team in a cup match) and I think Everton have cut him off the books completely now. There’s prescient footage in the Amazon doco on Spurs of Jose warning him that he’s going to regret it one day if he doesn’t pull his finger out.

As I understand it, Nev and Koz aren't uncle / nephew in the same way that he is with Byron. It's a more distant relationship that fits within the traditional Aboriginal kinship system. And I don't quite get Byron's role in this latest development. Surely if his opinion carried weight, Koz would have sought it privately or would already know. Seems weird that it's part of a publicised pitch.

When you sit near me at the footy, all you'll hear is witty repartee. For example when JVR got his first free kick the other day, I yelled out 'bout bloody time - they've been doing that his entire career!!'

This is the one. A question for you @WalkingCivilWar, something which Andy pointed out the other day. How come the cheersquad no longer shows off both sides of the banner to all parts of the ground? This used to be standard procedure, which meant everyone got to see the main design and the sponsors advertising. Is it a case of not risking it coming apart by putting it up and down multiple times?

Good player but needs to work on his consistency. We can’t afford to carry guys who go missing every 149 games and only get 37 possessions.

Been playing it all morning. The player ratings are warped, but the graphics are amazing!

Don’t think he’s been mentioned yet but welcome back Bowza! All class from the little fire engine.

Is he potentially in double trouble? This pic is on the AFL website.

Good job, but there’s one problem:

We're getting a lot more love from the fans than Robbo. As part of the same article, the HS readers have Oliver at 1, Gawn at 3, Trac at 7, May at 17, and Gus at 20.

Typical biased response from you and others on here. I wouldn't be surprised if most / all of you are Melbourne supporters.

My mail is that the club have offered Kozzy up to 5 spots on the list for family and friends if he stays. Unfortunately he’ll probably never play again, for any club - too traumatised after losing his housemates. Anyone who’s lived in a share-house knows how devastating that can be, and most people never recover.

So people who live in Casey have no interest in AFL, but the CBD is full of footy fans waiting for a team to market themselves properly? Lol. Not sure where you live, but it's somewhere in la-la land.

For all his elegance and grace, Lyon finished with a 61% accuracy rate. Plugger's 70% is probably the best you can hope for from a player with a lot of shots on goal. I don't have the numbers to back this up is but I doubt accuracy has changed all that much, ever. There was no golden age of goal kicking, and I won't be holding my breath that Choco is going to usher one in now. Would love to see better returns from Nibbler and Trac, but all of our KPF are technically sound, and as reliable as they're ever going to be.

Back in the days when you could (sometimes) get into the rooms.

My memory's pretty hazy DS so you may well be right, but I don't recall (m)any players wearing the lace-ups as late as '86. There certainly wasn't a retro round, but I thought it happened during a round when everyone was wearing them (including the MFC) ie so an 80's equivalent of a nod to tradition. If you go back to the pictures from that era (early to mid-80's), players aren't wearing lace-ups. Edit: Wiki says VFL teams stopped wearing them around the time of WWI, although in the SANFL and other leagues they were worn as late as 2001.

Demonlanders with a good memory will recall Robbie suffering a nasty injury when his finger got caught in one of these jumpers during a retro round type thing in the mid-1980's. They were banned after that. Such a Melbourne thing to happen.

Lol at deluded Port losers thinking they can hook up with classy Demon women.

Not just an MFC legend, but one of the most significant figures in the modern era of the game. We were lucky to have her in the red + blue.

If you're reading the last rites, can you please include Hugo Lloris, who's committing howlers on a weekly basis. Probably more deserving of a kicking from Spurs fans than Aaron Ramsdale.

Saw the video. Don't know about others, but I found it life-changing. Well done Harry and Meghan, and well done Netflix for releasing it.