Grapeviney

People forget that it took time for Howard to grow in to the job, so much so that it seemed his might be a one-term Government early on; a handful of Ministers were forced to resign in the first couple of years, Hanson and the gun laws threatened to split the conservative vote, and then of course there was the risk of going to the polls with the GST. Howard was considered so hopeless that when he was resurrected as Opposition Leader for the 2nd or 3rd time, The Bulletin had him on the cover of their magazine with the massive headline: "Mr 18 per cent - Why Does This Man Bother?" The rest, as they say, is history. You're right though - he developed a fabulous radar for what the average Australian punter was thinking on any given issue.

Did I mishear or did he say his back was a bit tight / sore before the Geelong game?

Hi David Williamson, Have you thought about a sequel to 'The Club', based on the MFC? I'm thinking something based on Dante's Inferno, where the nine circles of suffering are made up of our past seven seasons (in hell of course), and then one circle each for injuries and crap umpiring. Whaddya reckon?

Thanks to the generosity of a good friend at an auction a few months back, I'm lucky enough to have an MFC jumper signed by both Flower and Roos. This friend, who knows Roos (not through football) speaks very highly of him as a person. He and his wife went through a terrible tragedy a number of years ago and Roos was incredibly supportive throughout their ordeal and beyond, despite coaching and all his other commitments. I can't say I've ever spoken to Robbie at length, but on the occasions I did chat to him he always came across as humble and softly-spoken. / end diversion

Burpengary. Actually it's the involuntary gagging response made when an MFC supporter learns that Garry Lyon is about to be involved in a major decision affecting the club's future.

I'm not really into conspiracy theories - particularly those that can be so neatly summed up in a Youtube vid - but for me the most interesting incident requiring further investigation in my lifetime is / was the death of cricketer Hansie Cronje in that plane crash following revelations of match-fixing in cricket. I'm in India at the moment, and there was a front page story in the papers here yesterday reporting the comments of the senior police investigator into match-fixing at the time who said that the Government ordered him to close the probe down because it was bringing out too many skeletons from the closet in the multi-million (bilion?) betting industry. Basically, they never got the chance to get to the bottom of the case... I wonder if we'll ever know the truth?

This is a novel way of trying to get in: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-10/asylum-seeker-arrives-on-christmas-island-dressed-as-cricketer/5081802

In no possible universe is pick 9 better than pick 2 - except on Demonland.

....yeh.. that sounds really .... um what's the word i'm looking for.. accurate

Not sure if it's been mentioned already but I've started making my through ESPN's 30 for 30 series on DVD and it's sensational. Have only seen 3 so far - Run Ricky Run, Without Bias, and the Tale of 2 Escobars - but all were top-notch docos. Watching the Ricky Williams one, I couldn't help wondering how good it would be to have a player like that bursting out of the centre of the 'G with ball in hand heading towards goal. What a jet. Len Bias also had all the hallmarks of a champion in the making. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Maybe we should recruit a head poacher instead?

i think you mean red cordial..

Annie Hall takes the cake for me, although I also have a soft spot for Take the Money and Run. I'm currently re-reading The Complete Prose of Woody Allen, which takes in Without Feathers, Getting Even and Side Effects. If you're a Woody Allen fan, it's well worth a read. I actually find his writing funnier than his movies - as one reviewer notes on the blurb of this collection: "No 500-page book ever contained a laugh a line, but this one goes pretty close."

OMG ! How did you guess? You see, there's only one conservative on this site, so I had to register twice to bump up the numbers. I mean, that's how we won the election; I got to vote twice - once as RobbieF, and once as Grapeviney. By the way, if you think it's possible to obtain a Rhodes Scholarship by "retaining enough information to pass an exam or two", you need to do a bit more research yourself. Try asking your mate Turnbull - he was one.

True, although he would still be at home representing GG or GC in the Head of the River.. Just ask Peter from Peterborough

In that case, your cat would know he has more brain cells than that lemon. But really, Abbott is a Rhodes Scholar. There are many legitimate criticisms you can make of the new PM, but being stupid isn't one of them.

It's the fatal error one that disturbs me. So I recorded this video. "Fellow Demonlanders, if you are seeing me now, it means I have been murdered .. " etc etc

I can't imagine he would, and I hope he doesn't. There are plenty of kids already running around with number 7 on the back, my 5 y.o nephew among them.

Thanks Nasher, you're a champ

I'll admit it can be contentious, but I think you'll find my usage is consistent with the so-called "British style" of quotation / punctuation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotation_mark#Punctuation

This is an automated message from the word police. You have been caught using a word incorrectly. The word you need is "he's". If the contraction is too hard for you, write it out in full - "he is". End message.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/melbourne/news/2013-09-24/watts-commits-to-melbourne

If this is true, and you're annoyed that it's been covered up, why don't you name the player.

Best of luck to Sam and young Sydney, and well done to MFC for putting a massive smile on their faces!

Is it any different to the resources deployed to support Liam Jurrah? Obviously, their circumstances aren't comparable, but the time / effort / energy / money invested in their welfare is probably not dissimilar.