La Dee-vina Comedia

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.

The problem is with the members. They're the ones who keep the Board and the Chairman in place. If the members are disatisfied they have all the power to force change.

Did Ben Brown do any ruckwork at North? Even just in the forward 50? If not, I assume it will be the same with us and depending on who plays I assume Weideman, Jackson or Tom McDonald will be Max's support. I'm not a fan of Weideman in the ruck. It's not that I don't think he's adequate in the role, but I think he's better remaining in the forward line for the whole game.

If the lame stream fake AFL hadn't included all the illegal trades, we would have won. Big!

In normal circumstances I would agree. But this year has been anything but normal and the inability of the AFL to finalise important details such as final list numbers and salary cap could have made clubs hesitant to act. On balance, I think it's fairer to the players - and I think, in this instance, that's more important than the effect on clubs - that there is another opportunity, even if it hasn't yet been announced.

Very good points. The comparisons with Collingwood and Essendon (at least, what we must assume from the scale of their departures) bodes well for future team happiness and cohesion as well as the aim of being attractive to other players wishing to join us.

There's a small story by Michael Gleeson on the back page of The Age today which includes a suggestion that there might be a second trade period, possibly just for 24 hours, prior to the draft specifically created to overcome the uncertainty of list sizes and the salary cap. The thinking is that some deals that may normally have got done were unable to be completed because of the uncertainty.

Tomorrow happens to be McHappy Day (at least, in Victoria). Could that be an omen that Oscar will sign a new contract tomorrow?

Where does this come from? Is there any evidence that ANB or AvB wanted to leave? Is there any evidence the club had made known that it was prepared to trade ANB or AvB if the right offer came along? Do we know for sure that no other club wanted ANB or AvB?

I'd like to say Martin Pike was a "journeyman" but that doesn't seem the right descriptor for a 4x Premiership player.

Apologies. I wasn't intending to suggest that you were peddling any conspiracies. I know from your posting history that you're far too sensible to fall for that.

Struggled most with the punctuation. Can't ever recall placing a possessive apostrophe immediately before a question mark. I think it's right but it looks all wrong.

Did we get Martin Pike from North or was it the other way around?