La Dee-vina Comedia

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?

Is Collingwood the richest club in the land? I would have thought West Coast, Richmond and Adelaide might be wealthier these days. And possibly Fremantle.

While it has been said that the 2021 crop of potential draftees will be stronger than 2020, we need to be mindful that there might be no junior football in 2021 either. Hopefully, that doesn't occur, but we can't deny the possibility. If that were to be the case, the 2021 draft will be a bigger raffle than 2020 because there will be less known about and less exposed form for next year's group than for this year's bunch.

Generally, I agree with the above posts about "buyer beware", the difference (or lack thereof) between mental and other physical injuries and risk management by clubs. However, I can see the AFL seeking to simplify processes to manage concussion and other player welfare issues. I'm not in favour of wholesale change, but I am also not comfortable with case-by-case consdierations without fixed and firm parameters. That gets into the secret herbs and spices territory. Should Collingwood get dispensation for salary cap problems based on the Beams situation (noting that this is just conjecture at this stage on our behalf)? I don't think so. But I do think there is scope for having a discussion about how best to manage all issues associated with players' mental health and concussions.

Thanks. I expected the Dayne Beams debacle would figure highly. In effect, Collingwood might be trying to make "use" of Beams' mental illness (I hope that's the appropriately sensitive term to use) to explain why they have found themselves in this position. If that's correct, I think they might be making an argument with broader application than just themselves. I can see the possibility of a global rule change where players forced out of the game through mental illness or concussion have their payments fully or partially discounted from the salasry cap. That would then make it easier for clubs and players to resolve these forced retirements expediently and without adding to the psychological strain on the players.

Did the Collingwood CEO explain what those "unusual circumstances" might be (or might have been)? Did anyone ask him?

Malthouse appeared to alienate a lot of players who left rather than stayed to play under him. Whether it was their choice to leave or whether Malthouse pushed them out, I have no idea. But I agree, once he had the players he wanted and who wanted to be there with him, he got the best from them.

My gut feel is that the clubs will all have a pretty good handle on the top 25 players in this year's draft. After all, they've been following the top tier under-age players for more than just the pandemic-affected 2020. After that it will likely be more of a lottery than usual with the later developers falling into this group but in a less well-known order. And I agree that getting two picks "doubles" our chances, although we should also anticipate the possibility that these two picks could still metamorphosise into one top ten pick or something else.

Is this some sort of coded message about his goal kicking run-up?

One thing they all have in common? All assistant coaches to Mick Malthouse. I keep wondering (to be truthful, I believe, although without hard evidence) that Mick Malthouse isn't best known for being a "people-person" either. Of the four, though, I've always thought Buckley shows more empathy than the other three.

Really important to know whether it was used as a verb, gerund or a noun. Makes a big difference as to how I think about this.