La Dee-vina Comedia

Thankyou for correcting me. He may be laconic (literally) as I don't think I've ever heard him speak, but clearly that's not what I meant. I'm not sure that "languid" is quite right, though as it means "lacking in vigour or vitality, slack or slow, lacking in spirirt or interest", etc (Source: Dictionary.com). Maybe I should just say that Oscar plays with a minimum of fuss and expression.

No, we wouldn't. It's not about "circumstances". It's about character, irrespective of the circumstances.

Ever since I first saw it re-published by the MFC, I've wondered about whether doing so was was the correct approach. On the one hand, the club has made sure everyone now knows what was said and (if he's using a real name) by whom. On the other hand, it's given this idiot more publicity which is possibly what he craves. On balance, I think I would have preferred it if the club had not re-posted the original tweet, even though it would have been easy enough to find for anyone with enough interest. Yes, it means most people would not have known what was being complained about, but I'd rather that than see the specific, horrible and racist expression given currency. Maybe I'm wrong. What do other people think?

Just looking at that highlights package and two things stood out. Firstly, he's very laconic in his approach. That might be misinterpreted by some as if he's uninterested. Rather, he's just not letting his emotions interfere with his concentration. The second thing I noticed is his speed of movement. This is not the Oscar I remember. Has there been any suggestion that previously he was playing with some sort of encumbrance, such as hip or leg issues, which have now been fixed?

Late, but... 6. Viney 5. Gawn 4.Petracca 3. Salem 2. May 1. Oliver I was contemplating not giving Oliver any votes because he butchered the ball so badly. However, in the end he gets one vote for obviously listening to the coach and making a greater effort to kick the ball rather than blindly handpass it. I'm also surprised that Hannan got so many votes. He's impresive when he's near the ball. he just doesn't get near it often enough. I also contemplated votes for Weideman for the opposite reason. He got to the ball a lot and while he had only a few possessions himself, his work at the contest brought the other forwards into the game.

While the changes look good on the basis of individual talent, I'm trying to work out who replaces Tomlinson on the wing. I assume Jetta and O McDonald will seamlessly replace the roles played by Rivers and Smith respectively. Arguably, Weideman is a tall replacing a smaller forward in Hunt, although one could equally argue that Bennell is Hunt's replacement. Either way, Weideman comes in for a small or smallish forward. It seems unlikely that Bennell will have the fitness base to play on the wing. Ditto vandenBerg and probably Hannan. The seems to leave Melksham, Harmes or one of the midfielders such as Brayshaw to take Tomlinson's role. Or maybe I'm overthinking it and as listed, vandenBerg plays wing with others helping out when he needs a break.

This is an excellent post. However, I disagree with the comment "it’s highly dangerous, and likely toxic, to keep an unsuccessful CEO candidate around". It sometimes may be, but not always. Depends on the character (ego) of the person who missed out as much as the competence of the person who is appointed CEO. I've worked in many organisations where people who applied for the top job missed out but just got on with business with no rancour. I can't say whether Mahoney should or should not have left or been moved on; that can only be known by Mahoney himself and the people within the club.

Nevertheless, the President has said he believes we might be able to survive independently without becoming beholden to the AFL. That's a positive sign. I assume Pert should be given some credit for us being in this situation. https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/06/30/demons-may-not-need-afl-assistance-after-all-but-they-need-supporters-to-dig/

Having read the article I'm a bit doubtful about the statistical underpinning of the data being used. It's based on 9 kicks by Oliver and 11 by Gawn (or maybe the other way round). Yes, the numbers show a worrying trend and, yes, we can all see that Oliver's kicking (and handpassing) is rushed and often either misses a target or finds a team-mate under pressure. However, purely on the numbers, they are really just being used to confirm what we can see. Classic confirmation bias.

From the context, I assume you use the expression "gun for hire" as a negative expression. But wasn't Peter Jackson the perfect example of a "gun for hire"? It's not like Jackson applied for the job or took it to further his AFL administrative ambitions. I'm also not sure why "Boring as" is mentioned. Being "boring", or the opposite, would seem irrelevant to the role.

Unlikely, I would have thought. The 6.05 pm slot provides Foxtel/Kayo with an exclusive product which I can't imagine them being prepared to forego. Foxtel have been crying out for better games and now they have a Melbourne game they must be over the moon with excitement.

Look, I know they're playing badly, but I don't think this punishment is warranted or helpful.

I'll reserve my concern for airline pilots, surgeons and people who deal with explosives rather than footballers. On point, it's also quite possible that there's a quid pro quo here. While footballers with newborns may struggle in the early days after a baby is born, their football might benefit later from having a more secure and stable home life.

Lots of men who get paid "a hell of a lot of money" take time off when a baby is born. I think it needs to be pointed out that the last half of your final sentence does not reconcile with the comment mid-way through it that "you fully support" that players might want to be with their families.

You're welcome. And while on this theme, the collective noun for Demons is apparently a "legion of Demons". I might be wrong, but I think the correct collective noun for Demonland contributors is a "misery of Demonlanders".

They must also be concerned about the possibilty of list size reductions, as has been discussed as part of the leaner, post-2020 AFL, and the impact that might have on their own careers .

Might want to change "Injury List" to something else that can include those not in NSW as they are automatically unavailable. I note Matt Rowell is described as a "superstar" after only 5 games. I doubt anyone thinks that's an inappropriate description.

I'd like to think that whatever those reasons are, they were explained to each player individually in a conversation with one or more of the coaches, preferably including Goodwin.

As a protest because Dan is an Essendon supporter?

We could have used the Israeli Defence Forces?

I may be mistaken, but I seem to recall someone from the club saying that they had a budget to work within (not sure if internally set or determined by the AFL) and that the club decided to use some of it on families instead of the players left behind. I'll see if I can find any evidence to support my (admittedly dodgy) memory.

Before saying it's "another poor decision by the club", let's think why that was done. Some possible reasons (stated with no evidence, just brainstorming ideas): there's a limited budget and the club can't afford to take everyone related to the above, within the budget allocated, the club wanted some of the players with young families (such as Jack Viney with a newborn) to be able to bring their families with them, so diverted dollars for this purpose the players left behind won't play any senior games in the next 5 weeks anyway with no possibility of any seconds matches while in a hub, the players left behind may be better managed with "intensive coaching" in Melbourne the players who won't play a game might have been considered to be disruptive (through boredom, for example) the money saved by leaving a few players behind might allow the club to keep some other people (coaching or admin staff) employed etc

Who knew? Apparently there is a collective known for a group of butchers. It's a goring of butchers. I'm not sure why, but having read this thread, that name somehow seems appropriate.

I think you're on to something. I would have thought a gameplan which is "penultimately" good would mean it's the second best plan. In a match with two teams it would mean we are destined to finish second every time. Explains where we are on the ladder.

This. Allegedly Daniher's motivation to move to Sydney is to leave the Melbourne bubble (somewhat ironic at the moment). I can't see him being interested in moving to another Melbourne-based team. He might as well stay at Essendon, which is what I still think will happen.