La Dee-vina Comedia

I suspect 18 is the new 20. In other words, the true length of the quarter including time on will be about 30 minutes made up of 18 minutes of playing time and 12 minutes of time on. (That's way too much "time on", by the way.)

I think this might be a more appropriate beast for the great Max Walker.

The inference from your post is that Taylor has had to do his job with one hand tied behind his back. Isn't the alternative possible? Wouldn't Taylor be consulted on list management decisions and if he believes he can do better with the rookie draft and a "good deep haul of picks" than the trading strategy we've used, wouldn't his opinion carry some weight? Do we know he's not consulted, or, if he is, that he's ignored as you seem to imply?

But by definition, any criticism of a person must be personal.

Your own words, I know, but that doesn't seem like "pretending" to me. But I accept that perhaps it might be "over-stating". I truly hope that they make good on the promise in the description. We should all be aware by now that mental health of professional sports people and the community at large has been misunderstood and under-resourced for years. A facility like this used for that purpose can only do good.

I'm neither here nor there with this decision. However, with the draft this year being a bigger gamble at the bottom end than usual, re-signing him might have been seen as the less risky option. In other words, if 2020 had been a normal year with junior footy played all around the country, I could see how he might not have been offered another contract.

You mean the USA republican party or the Australian monarchy/republic debate? Both debates have their problems!

You're confusing me JG. Yes, you did say it is "near unprecedented" for players to be delisted under the age of 25. The following Melbourne players drafted between 2010 and 2014 were all delisted before they reached the age of 25. (This list excludes anyone traded in that was delisted before they turned 25.) Lucas Cook, Troy Davis, Rory Taggert, Josh Tynan, Jimmy Toumpas, Daniel Nicholson, Dean Terlich, Michael Evans, JKH, Mitch Clisby, Billy Stretch. Am I misunderstanding the point you're making?

I'm glad they're trialling some rules first. On first blush I suspect the obligation to have a prescribed number of players in the forward line at every kick in and throw in will have the reverse effect to what is intended as it will slow the game down while we wait for players to get into those positions. While that's going on, the team that needs to defend will use the time to block more space.

I think you're being a bit harsh with the "pretending" comment. But I absolutely agree that we need to find an angle. The link to youth via Reach might be one way. The other is to find a suitable, but not corny, link to the foundation of either (or both) of the game itself or the city of Melbourne. Our name has more value than any other in the AFL. We should make better use of it.

Lovely description. And I appreciate your explanation about his role.

Step up Alex Neal-Bullen. Your time is now. Let me add, I like ANB as a player but wonder why he hasn't been used in other positions other than small forward. He seems to play on-ball at Casey. I know his skills aren't great, but given running is his best "skill", I would have thought giving him a role where he can make best use of that talent might get the best out of him. For example, could he be a wingman? Or a tagger?

It's easy to laugh, but it's happened to us before and I suspect will happen again. But probably not in the 2021 calendar. It's hard to imagine that any of Mitch Hannan, Brayden Preuss, Oscar McDonald or the Wagner boys were going to be in our 2021 calendar anyway.

Describing "Victoria Park" as "fantastic" and looking great just doesn't compute after years of being conditioned to it being otherwise.

It might be unusual, but we're living in unusual times. For example, the salary cap and player contracts are being cut next year. When has that ever happened before (apart from this year)? It may be a one year extension to allow both the club and the player to get a better appreciation of options when more is known about the future football economy next year.

Sorry. It's completely disputable by the facts. He played. Did he play well enough? That's a different argument where opinions can vary. Ultimately, though, not well enough to extend his career with the club beyond 81 games.

My brain hurts. (https://montypython.fandom.com/wiki/Gumbys)

Do you mean you've been underwhelmed by Jackson or by the length of the contract extension?

I still believe the Government will agree to provide financial support when we have an appropriate proposal to present them with. For some time, I've believed the best plan for us is to work with Collingwood to redevelop Victoria Park so they can return to their nest* while we take over their facilities in Olympic Park. *Once there, if they want to [censored] in it, that's their business. It's what they, and their supporters, do best.

Another way of handling the rotations issue is to change it from a total amount per team to a total amount per player or total amount per player per quarter. Or a total amount per team and a total amount per player. For example, each player may be allocated a maxium of perhaps 6 rotations per match. If a player gets injured, that wouldn't count, but to stop that being abused, players who come off the ground for an "injury break" rather than a "rotation" would have to stay off the ground for something like 15 minutes before returning (with an exception to that for the blood rule). I would have thought if this were to be introduced, coaches might have their players rest on the ground, such as in the forward pocket.

I guess there's no harm in asking. I imagine, though, that Collingwood knew full well that a sympathetic ruling would have been most unlikely. If they didn't, they're more of a list management basketcase than I thought.

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