La Dee-vina Comedia

This. I'm also surprised how much of this thread appears to discuss on-field leadership and seems to ignore all the off-field leadership requirements, most of which we don't really appreciate because it's invisible to us. I would have thought on-field leadership, while important, makes up less than half of the "duties" of being a club leader. I'm therefore not in a position to say who the leaders ought to be but stick with my earlier statement that I prefer a single Captain, Vice-Captain and Deputy Vice-Captain to ensure there is clarity among the team as a whole as to who is in charge.

I like the simplicity of a single Captain, Vice-Captain and a deputy Vice-Captain. I don't like Leadership Groups because I believe it alienates all those who aren't chosen to be in it thereby causing more harm than good. I know that's how I felt as a schoolboy many, many years ago. (I realise that says more about me and my then fragile ego.)

Neitz has been in a good paddock, though. At first glance I thought it was Jason Dunstall.

That's exactly what it's for. (And a bit of fun, to boot.)

Demonland has its share of posters who appear to be list experts after the fact. I think it's time for people to show their skills beforehand. I'd like people to predict who will no longer be on our list at this time in 2022. In effect, who' going to retire, be traded, take free agency option or be delisted. Here's your chance to show the rest of us your predictive skills. I'm not asking for justification, nor am I seeking a wish list of who you might like to see moved on. Here's my prediction of who won't be on our list as at January 2022: Nathan Jones (ret) Neville Jetta (ret) Michael Hibberd (ret) Kade Chandler (delisted) Austin Bradtke (delisted) Aaron Nietschke (delisted) Jayden Hunt (traded at his request) Oskar Baker (traded) Mitch Brown (ret/delisted)

I'm extremely grateful for the reports from all our trackwatchers. Long may you continue watching. If it is not too presumptious to put in a request, I'm particularly interested in knowing in which part of the ground a few specific players appear to be training. Already we have reports that suggest Tom McDonald might be training as both a forward and a back. I'm particularly interested in which positions the following appear to be training: Tom McDonald Harry Petty Jayden Hunt James Harmes Aaron vandenBerg Luke Jackson and anyone who appears to have changed position (purely hypothetically - if ANB were to join the onballers, for example)

I don't wish to be cynical, but I assume he's being paid to be an assistant coach. Nevertheless, I'm very glad to have him with us.

Unless they're what Dr D sees.

What adds to the interest in this topic is that in today's game, if a player is tackled and then kicks a drop kick to dispose of the ball, it's considered to be an incorrect disposal because it hits the ground before the boot. I always remember Barry Davis (Essendon and subsequently North) as a wonderful exponent of the art.

I agree about how difficult it has been to cut people's livelihoods, but I wonder whether in the longer-term the cutback of football departments forced on all clubs will benefit the game. I suspect in the last decade or so there has been too much over-coaching and over-strategising of the game. Perhaps the cutbacks will do more to alleviate congestion than any rule changes brought in by the AFL.

Wouldn't it be great if the mantle gets taken by neither Oliver or Petracca but by one of the even newer players on our list?

Good in theory, but the way the VFL is run these days, it might take him 6 years to reach 99 games if he were to play in every available game.

If you feel you need to, go right ahead. Permission granted.

Is it too late to suggest that this thread be retitled "Eddie, Set (to) Go"? I'm not sure whether this should be categorised as McGuuire's greatest succes or greatest failure, but in his time as President I believe he's transformed Collingwood from the team most hated to the team most pitied.

I'm sure someone else has asked this question, but I haven't seen it answered: If a player is invited to train with us from January 6, are they only able to play with us or do we still have to compete with other clubs for their services through another draft?

Is that the same Roy Park who played one test for Australia and was out for a golden duck?

Every time people worry about size, I remind myself that of the 4 players who have played 400+ games, two of them were genuine smalls in Kevin Bartlett and Boomer Harvey. If you're good enough, size doesn't matter.

Works independently with both names, too. "Won't you come home Bill Bailey?" and "Bill Lawry"

We must have been going through a phase of recruiting players with graceful names, perhaps assuming they would play that way. [As an aside, I had a cousin who played in the amos and was invited to a trial day where prospective new recruits were looked at. It was the same day as Robert Flower. My cousin told me that Flower was so obviously suitable to be recruited that they only allowed him to train for ten minutes to ensure he didn't get injured. Everyone else had a full two hour session. My cousin didn't make it but enjoyed his 200+ games in the amos].

I'm in my early 60s so don't remember Barassi when he played for Melbourne. Is there someone out there older than me who can remember Barassi in his prime and provide an opinion as to which of Barassi and Flower was the better player? Barassi, of course, was involved in 6 premierships while Flower shone in generally poor teams. I would genuinely love to read the reminicses of those Demonlanders who can remember both in their prime. I was privileged to have watched Flower who is unquestionably the best Melbourne player I have seen. Those who saw both play in their prime have been more than doubly privileged as they've seen some Premierships along the way.

Yes...but hopefully you realised that I meant it satirically.

Of course he is. If he hadn't put so much effort into winning four Premierships, he would have had a team much better placed this year. Possibly finishing as high as the bottom half of the eight.

I've been on Demonland for about a decade. This is the best post I've read in that time. Gold, assuming you meant it ironically, of course.

All I can see here is Baker playing guitar and Petty on drums. Not sure either had the required capabilties.

Always makes me nervous when I see statements like this. We've had so many players drafted who were said to be great kicks. The problem was that they couldn't get the ball in the first place. Examples include Blease, Strauss, Maric, Toumpas and, to some extent, Watts.