La Dee-vina Comedia

I accept the need for it, but I think the requirement to pre-purchase (or whatever the right word is when it's at no charge) tickets for a seat when people already have an entry ticket/pass might be putting people off. It's not really logical, because it's a relatively brief and free transaction, but it's also annoying to have to do it.

I'm curious. When I read this I expected the last word to be "congested", not "contested". Both are correct, but with the 't' and 'g' so close on the keyboard, I'm just wondering which word you intended?

Before today I didn't know Australia had a Torrens University. Now I do. That sponsorship deal is already working!

Agree with this, but I don't think it matters. The defenders' job is to stop the opponent from getting the ball in the first place. If he's been unable to do that, I'm comfortable that the player with the ball has this advantage. As I've mentioned previously, I'm hoping this change will eliminate the zone defence and instead bring the game back to a man-on-man contest (or woman-on-woman if the same rule is introduced, as it should be, into AFLW.)

It's a small sample size upon which to make a judgement, but do you think the game has got worse because of this rule?

The difference in approach in NSW and Victoria might be explained by this story in the Australian Financial Review yesterday. (If it's paywalled, the essence of the story is that while Services NSW has been a success, the equivalent in Victoria has been described by Victoria's Auditor-General as a "white elephant" with only 17 end-to-end services compared with NSW's more than 1,200.)

I'll assume you don't need reading glasses. For those of us who do, it can take quite a bit more than 10 seconds.

Hasn't Goodwin already said (or am I imagining this) that a player's first game for the club won't be as the injury sub? If he hasn't said it, I hope the club thinks this way.

I believe the AFL has said that if Franklin follows his "natual arch" it will be called "play on". What I haven't seen is the media picking up this point which is clearly an admission from the AFL that it was a mistake to allow Franklin his "natural arch" in the first place.

I might have overdosed on Ovaltine and warm milk.

Might be more a question of fitness than talent. It's not something I've seen mentioned elsewhere, but one impact of reducing rotations is that first year players may be less likely to be given games, especially early in the season, due to their relative lack of fitness.

Or, Goodwin believes Brayshaw on the wing and whoever replaces him in the midfield is better for the team than Brayshaw in the middle and whoever replaces him on the wing. Sometimes the simplest answers are the best.

I've just been reading the "Tackling Down" thread where it has been eloquently argued that tap ruckmen are no longer important. And now this arguing just as eloquently for the opposite . I don't know what to believe any more!

In my view, ANB provides more than Spargo. Neither are stars or certainties to keep their positions throughout the year, but both definitely deserve to play against St Kilda.

What I don't like is that you've suggested playing M Brown, Daw and Petty but have not identified who they should replace.

If Hibberd is ready, he should replace Jetta. Admittedly, Jetta played his best game in about two years, but we shouldn't play both Hibberd and Jetta in the same side and at this stage in their careers, Hibberd is ahead of Jetta. Jetta also played better than Hunt, but we'll need pace to contain the St Kilda small forwards and Jetta has nothing to offer there. If Viney is ready, he should come in for Chandler although not as the sub. That might be where Sparrow ends up. If Melksham is ready, he comes in for Jones. I'm quite comfortable with none of Viney, Hibberd and Melksham playing. I would, however, not keep Chandler as the sub. Either play him from the get-go or leave him out of the team.

Players were credited with a game in the old 19th and 20th man (non-interchange) days even if they didn't play. The same logic is being applied here.

I hope whoever did the votes for The Age is suitably embarrassed. Didn't have May in the top 5 players on the ground.

That's going to put presure on the Prayer Room at Marvel. By the way, if you think it's tough being a Melbourne supporter, imagine being a Jewish St Kilda supporter whose only Grand Final win happened to be on Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish days. Most Jewish St Kilda supporters (and I know a few) couldn't go to the game because of that so have missed seeing live their only Premiership. (It was also highly controversial within the Jewish community that Ian Synman, a Jewish St Kilda player, chose to play that day.)

Yes, we have a problem, and, yes, some of the kicking on Saturday was appalling. Not just shots at goal but also around the ground, particuarly the last kick into the forward line and especially in the final quarter. For those who were not at the ground, though, it may be worth pointing out that there was a very fluky, strong wind blowing. Ostensibly toward the city end, but by the time it gets into the cauldron it seems to blow every which way. It was quite obvious that many of the kicks (from both teams) toward the goals at the city end were affected by the wind. And not in a good way.

When were we last as high as 3rd on the ladder at the end of round 1? In fact, when were we last as high as 3rd on the ladder ever?

Someone had to "get" Taylor. So if you think Taylor is a good "get" surely the person who recruited him has to be an even better "get".

Surely it's time we changed the title of this thread to "Injury Sub" or, more realistically, "5 man interchange"

I wonder why he exploded in the last quarter? Was it something that was said to him? If so, what and by whom? Or was it something self-motivated? We'll probably never know, but he was like a different player in the last quarter.

I'm not sure that Flower is the best Demon ever - although clearly the best I've seen by quite some way and I've been watching since the mid-60s. I didn't see Barrasi play for Melbourne. It's quite possible that Barrasi was better than Flower. (And then, of course, there are the even earlier players such as Norm Smith and Ivor Warne-Smith who might have been better, too.)