La Dee-vina Comedia

And we'll say that we took Charlie Winner because he was clearly "the best available" with our first pick; that Hundred-Gamer "comes from a great family"; and we "couldn't believe our luck" that Depth was still available at our third pick. I accept that I may have those statements in the wrong order, though.

I have always believed that to be a Premiership contender, a club needs to have people in key positions who have been part of a Premiership before. We now have a Senior Coach who won two Premierships as a player, an Assistant Coach who was an Assistant Coach at Hawthorn when they were Premiers and a Development Coach who was himself a Senior Coach of a team that won a Premiership. Perhaps there are others, but that's a good start.

It's a sad state of affairs when we can no longer trust the statements of public figures.

It's your prerogative not to do so, of course, but I'll accept what the President has said, as helpfully summarised by Neil Crompton a couple of pages back. "- the initial phase (to analyze option sites, establish the requirements for the new development, and recommend a preferred option) has been completed - the second phase of the development is now in full swing - ie focusing on the preferred site only, and finalizing the Concept Master Plan for this site."

I could imagine that a potential site may become more expensive to buy or lease should it become clear that it is in consideration for all or part of a redevelopment. I expect that much of the land will likely be Government owned, but some could be privately owned. I wouldn't want us to have to pay over the odds (to buy or lease) because it leaked out that we were considering that site.

I apologise if this has been posted elsewhere, but is there a list of players expected to have delayed starts to training because of surgery or other reasons? If so, who? And for how long will their starts be delayed?

I know the internet is full of conspiracy theories, misinformation and, unfortuately, personal abuse. What astounds me is how much appears on a site like this one where everyone who contributes is essentially on the same side!

I was thinking the same thing. Webster was a high-profile (some might say attention-seeking) psychologist used by clubs (Richmond was one, I think) in the 80s or perhaps 90s. There was some scepticism about his value back then, but I think that was more a distrust of the concept than the person. That we can remember his name probably points as much to to the aforesaid attention-seeking behaviour as to how unusual it was at the time to have a psychologist working in the VFL/AFL.

I was directly asking Cranky Franky. I'm curious as to why he would use "Harry" when Lumumba himself has made clear that he wants to be known as Heritier Lumumba. It seems to me that anyone should be called by the name they choose. To be called by a name that one has deliberately changed and moved away from, for whatever reason, seems insulting to me.

Why do you keep calling Lumumba "Harry"?

I don't think it's odd. There could be a number of reasons such as land value(ie, keeping it from becoming more expensive), Government directive (ie, if it's government owned land or a government-led project, the government might be insisting on secrecy) or not wanting to give those who may oppose the development opportunities to kill off the proposal before the funding is locked away.

I just found a fourth one the other day, too. All the rest went many years ago.

"The horror! The horror!"

Is it correct that after all the academy and father-son picks are taken pick 28 is likely to drift out a bit but pick 50 drift in? In other words, if that is correct, there wouldn't be 22 players taken between pick 28 and 50 but something more like, say, 15-17. In this year of less information from which to make selections, that would make the possibility of pick 50 being a successful longterm selection not significantly worse than pick 28.

This is a very interesting article about muscle development and the value of various products such as foam rollers, compression garments and ice baths. It seems to question the long-term value of ice baths. Given ice baths seem to be used all the time by AFL clubs, I now wonder whether that's the correct approach? I'm sure there will be some players keen for a reduction in the amount of ice baths they are required to take.

The world is full of incorrect predictions: "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas Watson, president of IBM, 1943

Interesting to compare the leg muscle definition of ANB with Baker's in similar running poses. And comparatively, Petracca has a six pack while Oliver's body looks a bit more like a white wine cask.

Good opening post, but I think even after just one season I'd already have Langdon ahead of Michie.

Werridee, what's your thinking behind placing Melksham 3rd on your list?

Putting two and two together, I've just realised that our new full forward with the Sideshow Bob hair is a Demon-supporting, Demonland moderator with an interest in wine and who lives, or perhaps works (or both), in St Kilda.

Generally I would agree that having a "government led working party" is a recipe for constant delay. However, givem all the land we would be interested in is Government owned, giving the government leadership of this project could work in our favour. I expecy, however, that one of Pert's "jobs" will be to continue to push the government officers to make sure there is continuing progress. Government being in cahrge is another reason why Pert can't keep members updated. It's not "his"project to discuss. Any statements will be controlled by the government.

Ugh! Can't we just use names such as North, Collingwood and Essendon? (Not that it matters, but I have no idea who the Chardonnay Sippers are meant to be). Honestly, the continuing use of these so very unclever nicknames really irritates me.

You could both be right of course. Getting in a list is only half the battle. However, if Oscar does make it onto another list, I suspect he is more likely to play than not.

To be fair, you could ask that question over many things available for sale. The better question is, if someone believes there is a market for this product (and presumably there is), why can't they find a way of witing to print said calendars after the trade period concludes?

AFL is a dichotomy. On the one hand, for supporters, it's all about loyalty. It is impossible for a true supporter of any club to switch alliegances. On the other hand, for the clubs themselves and their players, it's a business. And that's OK. Supporters just have to appreciate that "club loyalty" is the domain of the supporters, not those who work in the industry. As supporters, all we should expect is that when the player is playing for us, he (or she in the AFLW) is loyal and gives his/her all.