La Dee-vina Comedia

I've got a more basic question. What does "speeding up" the game actually mean? Is it code for "reducing congestion"? Because if that's what is motivating this idea, I suspect Demonland could come up with 10 better suggestions. I'll start by saying: (1) get rid of the ruck nomination rule. It holds up play while the umpires wait for the ruckmen to get into position. (2) be more ruthless in paying 50 metre penalties whenever a player holds on to his opponent after that opponent takes a mark or is awarded a free kick. It is clearly a tactic being used to slow down play allowing defenders to congest a forward line (3) pay a free kick against a player who tackles his own teammate in an effort to stop the ball from being released.

Is it a silly idea? Probably. But is it a waste of the AFL's money? Possibly not. We'll probably never know whether the stunt cost the AFL money or actually made money through sponsorhip (and I mean hard cash not "value" from "exposure in the media"). But if it didn't cost the AFL anything, I can't see the harm. If the AFL actually made money, then it's a useful exercise.

I was shocked to read this. It implies some Collingwood supporters can read and write.

I suspect Joe Daniher thinks it's Hotel California where you can check out any time you like but you can never leave.

Which is why we got rid of him. Absolutely hopeless ?

Jetta's situation is an example of why clubs need certainty on list sizes, salary cap and soft cap limits not just for 2021 but for subsequent years. How can the club know whether it might be possible to keep him for a playing or non-playing role when we don't yet have certainty? Would an off-field role have to be at the expense of somebody else's job, and if so, who?

198 games and no finals. We let him down. I'll admit I wasn't a fan when he played for us. I thought he was too inconsistent and seemed to lack on-field discipline. But I have been very impressed listening to him speak since he left us. Covid makes it harder as it will reduce job opportunities, but I think he would make a good assistant coach.

So, if you're Uncle Fester, that makes him Great Uncle Hassa. Is that right? On point, it's amazing how our club's inability to move with the times from the mid-60s through to the mid-80s caused so much damage.

Generally, I think Caroline Wilson's articles are pretty good. They are clearly opinion pieces rather than factual reporting, but that's OK because it's clear from the outset that that is her stock-in-trade. This article, though, is poor. It's full of individual points which she has tried to meld into a cohere whole. It's as if she was joining the dots of an elephant (a white one) and managed to draw a vacant space instead.

He should have stayed in Victoria. Sure, he may have been fined but apparently wouldn't have to pay. Instead, if news.com.au can be believed, he now has a conviction against his name.

Don't you just hate it when facts ruin a great theory?

Heard Kevin Sheedy being interviewed by 3AW on Saturday about his appointment to the Essendon board. If I'd been an Essendon supporter I would have been sorely disappointed. Sheedy could not justify his appointment beyond saying it gave the board someone with coaching experience. He couldn't articulate why that was going to be helpful. Probably because it isn't going to help. Sheedy has been good for Essendon over many years, but making him a director now is another step backwards showing that the club has not yet understood that reliving past glories is not the way forward. There's a moral there for us, too. For exactly the same reasons, we need to be sure that whoever we appoint to the Board, or to any role at the club, will take us forward and not return us to some idea of a glorious past. If Brad Green can add something to take us forward, then I'm all for his addition to the board.

I've always believed (without evidence, just a hunch) that a senior coach needs to have the experience of being involved in winning a Premiership. It could be as a player, coach (senior or assistant) or as a football manager. Winning Premierships doesn't just happen; it needs a lot to go right and if your senior coach has never been at a club when it's happened before, I can't see how he knows what is required. However, the converse isn't always true. Having expereinced a Premiership doesn't automatically mean success. After all Mark Neeld and many others have experienced Premiership success prior to becoming a seior coach and for whatever reason have been unable to convert that experience into a successful senior coaching career.

An important point. You should only move someone on if you think there's a better option available.

Doesn't always work that way. My best guess is that assistant coaches take over the top job when their boss gets the chop fewer than half the time. More often, they get moved on, too, as part of a failed group.

The club's announcement states that Yze has completed the level 4 coaching course. Is that the highest level?

Add Preuss to the list. (Not sure if he was 'asked to slim down'; but he obviously has done so.)

You ain't seen nothing yet.

I'm not sure Collingwood is such a powerhouse any more. It used to have the most members and now it doesn't. It has won a single Premiership in the last 30 years (OK, two if you want to count 1990...in which case you could argue it's only won two in 62 years). And I sense it is no longer the club most "hated" by opposition suporters, which was a badge of honour it wore with pride. I'm not having a go at Pert. I have no idea whether he's a good CEO or not. But I don't think he Made Collingwood Great Again.

Interesting to compare my view (above) with suggestions elsewhere (see Bombers Implode thread) that Zac Merrett wants out of Essendon because he lost the vice-captaincy.

Nice work

I know one Bomber member (I know, I'm ashamed to admit it) who is disgusted enough that she has emailed to cancel her membership today. She also told me that Merrett wants out, although I don't know how reliable her source is. Maybe it's just media speculation.

I'm generally not a fan of five year contracts. However, in this instance I could see that the longer contract term is compensation for losing the captaincy. It would have been ego-deflating for someone so (relatively) young to have the captaincy taken away. Many players in his situation may have considered leaving to go somewhere where they felt more wanted. The five year offer might have been offered as a sweetener way back when the removal of the captaincy was "negotiated".

Interesting. I have always thought it would be other way around.

Maybe the club can give you the vaccine. Seriously. If a vaccine is available, the club might be able to organise for health care professionals to administer the vaccine as you enter the ground. I'd take that over a new scarf any day.