La Dee-vina Comedia

A 50/50 proposition at best on Demonland.

If it had wings, it could fly...

Could the Ever Given be our new training venue? It fits beautifully between the MCG and the Rod Laver Arena (Have your own fun with the Ever Given here: https://evergiven-everywhere.glitch.me/ )

I suspect the ARC isn't empowered to check whether the boundary umpire made the right decision.

Can't decide whether Old Dee is concerned that it would be cruel punishment for him or for Charlie Spargo. Or both. Congratulations Demonstone. Not only the most click-baity of thread titles, but you had me checking the calendar to see if today was actually 1 April.

I didn't get around to voting, but if votes were being given for excitement value, he would have got my top votes. But for actual performance, I can understand why he wasn't in everyone's votes. The wide spread of names in the votes shows how even the perfromance was across the board. Pickett missing out is no insult to his performance. For what it's worth my votes would be: 6. Oliver 5. Salem 4. Gawn 3. Petracca 2. McDonald 1. May

Of course. It's part of Gil's ongoing Americanisastion of the game which will see every team from 1st to 18th win a flag . And all the players will get participation ribbons.

Surprised by this. I would have thought AFL attendances relative to population would have been higher than NFL due to the size of the US population.

A cynic might suggest that it's been planned this way to boost accommodation sales in Canberra. I'm not that cynical, though. I agree with SWYL that the timing is likely to be Foxtel driven.

Are we meant to conclude that the small crowd is because most Richmond supporters are vampires?

Under this rule, defenders have to defend by stopping the player getting the ball in the first place. On the small sample size to date - and before the coaches have had time to work out alternative defensive strategies - I like what this rule has done.

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.