La Dee-vina Comedia

Step up Alex Neal-Bullen. Your time is now. Let me add, I like ANB as a player but wonder why he hasn't been used in other positions other than small forward. He seems to play on-ball at Casey. I know his skills aren't great, but given running is his best "skill", I would have thought giving him a role where he can make best use of that talent might get the best out of him. For example, could he be a wingman? Or a tagger?

It's easy to laugh, but it's happened to us before and I suspect will happen again. But probably not in the 2021 calendar. It's hard to imagine that any of Mitch Hannan, Brayden Preuss, Oscar McDonald or the Wagner boys were going to be in our 2021 calendar anyway.

Describing "Victoria Park" as "fantastic" and looking great just doesn't compute after years of being conditioned to it being otherwise.

It might be unusual, but we're living in unusual times. For example, the salary cap and player contracts are being cut next year. When has that ever happened before (apart from this year)? It may be a one year extension to allow both the club and the player to get a better appreciation of options when more is known about the future football economy next year.

Sorry. It's completely disputable by the facts. He played. Did he play well enough? That's a different argument where opinions can vary. Ultimately, though, not well enough to extend his career with the club beyond 81 games.

My brain hurts. (https://montypython.fandom.com/wiki/Gumbys)

Do you mean you've been underwhelmed by Jackson or by the length of the contract extension?

I still believe the Government will agree to provide financial support when we have an appropriate proposal to present them with. For some time, I've believed the best plan for us is to work with Collingwood to redevelop Victoria Park so they can return to their nest* while we take over their facilities in Olympic Park. *Once there, if they want to [censored] in it, that's their business. It's what they, and their supporters, do best.

Another way of handling the rotations issue is to change it from a total amount per team to a total amount per player or total amount per player per quarter. Or a total amount per team and a total amount per player. For example, each player may be allocated a maxium of perhaps 6 rotations per match. If a player gets injured, that wouldn't count, but to stop that being abused, players who come off the ground for an "injury break" rather than a "rotation" would have to stay off the ground for something like 15 minutes before returning (with an exception to that for the blood rule). I would have thought if this were to be introduced, coaches might have their players rest on the ground, such as in the forward pocket.

I guess there's no harm in asking. I imagine, though, that Collingwood knew full well that a sympathetic ruling would have been most unlikely. If they didn't, they're more of a list management basketcase than I thought.

Might need more than a left foot...

Must remember not to ask you to speak at a funeral.

Played 81 games which puts him equal 212th out of 1,358 players who played one or more games for the club. That puts him in the top 16% of all players. It's even better than that if you then add in all the players who were on the list but never played even one game. He should be proud of what he's achieved.

Officially delisted - Thanks, Oscar, for your time with us. McDonald’s time with Melbourne comes to an end

It will be interesting to see whether Brown's presence shows whether our scoring woes are more due to deficiencies of the forwards (pre-BBrown) or deficiencies of those who deliver the ball into the forward line. It might take a little while for Brown to gel, but given we know he's a proven lead-mark-kick forward, if the midfield can't deliver properly, he's not going to be as successful as we want.

Perhaps you misunderstood me. I'm well aware we were his third club. I just want Ben Brown to be as successful at his second club as Crosswell was where he was integral in helping North Melbourne win two Premierships. When Crosswell played with us he was well past his prime.

What's the correct pronunciation of the surname? Is it like a window "winder" or a date on "tinder"?

The Age has reported today that the mini-trade day idea has been canned.

Another really good article WJ, but shouldn't the title "Tasmanian Tiger" in a Melbourne Football Club context be reserved for Brent Crosswell? Still, if Ben Brown can be as good for his second club as Crosswell was for his - and with the same team success - I'll be happy. For the younger among us, I still rate the Carlton/North Melbourne version of Crosswell as one of the best players I've ever seen.

Here you go: http://www.demonwiki.org/Number+50 Whether there are "players of note" is completely subjective, of course, although Neville Jetta did play one game in the #50 in 2017 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum.

A timely reminder that not every player drafted into he AFL is automatically set up for life. In fact, for many, the converse is true. Having set aside 5 or so years to give it a go, he comes out the other end 5 years behind his peer group having to start a new career. I kept hearing how fastidious he was preparing for football so I imagine he's that way inclined in many things in life so I have every confidence he's going to be fine. But I'm sure there are many players tossed on the scrapheap early and without the necessary drive to make a go of a proper second career.

I hear you. But if I were a Collingwood member and knew that the club had all the resources that it has had, I'm not sure one Premiership in the last 30 years (22 under Eddie) is an acceptable return.

What he said. Not only do the defending players make it hard to get the ball, they also continue to hold onto a player after a free kick has been given or a mark has been called stopping them from moving the ball on quickly. It is clearly intended to slow down play to let defenders flood back and is easily fixed with a 50m penalty. It may seem to be a harsh penalty, but it needs to be so defenders err on the side which makes the game more attractive. It won't take long for defenders to stop needlessly holding up play.

Even if Collingwood gets salary cap relief, it has presumably seriously damaged its relationships with its players. Which players now would believe their contracts are secure? It beggars belief that Eddie and the current Board do not appear to be under any serious pressure. I think he's been there 22 years in which time they've won one Premiership but at the same time lost their mantle as the most successful club in terms of membership and, I suspect, financially and commercially.

Do you think Collingwood might add some "Make Collingwood Great Again" caps to their merch?