La Dee-vina Comedia

I'm pleased to see that Hunt is not an emergency. If he had been, it would be Match Committee telling him he's fit but just not good enough to make the final 23. This way, it can be presented as giving him two more weeks to be fully fit for the GF. I expect Jordan to be sub unless there is some concern about McDonald, in which case I could understand it being Melksham. I really can't see either of the others getting the job.

That's not really supported by the data which shows WA currently has 55.45% with a single injection and 36.26 fully vaccinated. This compares with Qld at 54.84/36.45, SA at 57.44/38.92 and NT 58.78/42.43. Nevertheless, and thankfully, all other States and the ACT are above 60% first dose.

Every time there's a potential trade, people seem to forget it doesn't have to be a straight swap between two clubs. Third and fourth parties often get involved. Using Cerra purely as an example, we could trade some handy but (for us) depth players to another club in return for an early draft pick that then finds its way to Freo.

That Lachie Neale fellow is better than I thought. Apparently won the Dally M award last year, too.

This is the most enjoyable thread on Demonland. Warms the heart. (And for which other teams would there also be spelling tips politely included?)

Probably not the right time to point out that A TORN HAMSTRING! is an anagram of SMITH...GROAN...RANT!

...and yet, any ball will do.

Let me help...we've never lost a Perth Grand Final, irrespective of the time slot.

The won't win at home but should do OK away.

He lets cleverness exceed decent levels

My apologies to Demonland and Dion di Mucci, who I had incorrectly consigned to another world. (I wonder why?) Indeed, there are five people on the cover of Sgt Peppers who are still with us: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Dion Di Mucci, Larry Bell and Bob Dylan.

And there's a member of the current Geelong team who played last weekend who could get a game in this side, too.

To keep the quiz theme going, go back to the magnificent cover of Sgt Peppers. There are four people in that artwork who are still alive. Who are they? I'll give you two of them...Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (both there twice). So, who are the other two?

Did someone say Animals? As it happens, on this week (and for the next three) in 1964, the number 1 song in the charts was House of the Rising Sun by Eric Burdon and the Animals. If that's not an omen, I don't know what is!

Here's my shorter option for Friday: "Unfinished business"

Have the first sentence for the Prelim and finish with the second sentence on Grand Final Day.

Agree with your point about Lever, but I'm not convinced Jones, Oliver, Petracca or Viney are leadership material. That's not intended to be disrespectful, but while each shows high qualities on the football field, I don't get the sense that any of them have the necessary tools to be leaders. And that's OK. Not everyone is born to lead.

Completely agree. I also believe the bye destroys the end-of-season momentum for footy fans. Particularly those whose teams haven't made the eight. By the time of the first final, many of those supporters have completely lost interest in what happens.

Most of these will work OK. I like this one: "Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

Based purely on the data in the opening post, I'm confident the AFL will bring back the pre-finals bye next year to create more tension in the finals series. If the Qualifying Finals' winners overwhelmingly keep winning Preliminary Finals, there's not a lot of point in having the semi-final contests.

Dog biscuits?

The way Carlton is managing the "process" for getting a new coach, I wouldn't at all be surprised to find out that they've appointed this Nathan Buckley by mistake.

It worked, didn't it?

My guess is that it's not the selection process that's troubling Lyon. I presume he's concerned about the reason for the shift in thinking which suggests there are people on the Board who don't want him. If I were Lyon, I wouldn't want to coach any club that didn't have unanimous Board support for my appointment. I think he's been wise to avoid a fractured club.

A couple of what?