La Dee-vina Comedia

I noticed Richmond players regularly holding up play after marks and free kicks. (I suspect most teams do this, not just Richmond. We may possibly have done the same yesterday but watching as a one eyed supporter I tend to miss when we infringe.) If the AFL clamped down on these obvious delaying tactics by handing out 50 metre penalties all the time it would do two things. It would stop it from happening and it would help with the flow of the game because the delays are obviously strategic to allow the team without the ball to run back and block space. Seems to me to be an easy way to help "fix" the game.

If I'm Simon Goodwin, I'm worrying about 21 other players before I worry about Gawn's game.

6. Gawn 5. Hibberd 4. Petracca 3. May 2. Salem 1. Fritsch (Hannan needs to do more than a few flashy cameos to get votes from me. But I am pleased to at least see those occasional sparks from him.)

I expect to get a more truthful response on Demonland than anything the club might publicly provide (and I'm fine with that). The only problem is that the truthful Demonland response might still be less accurate than the possibly untruthful, official response!

I think they've bought a Turing Tumble to make the fixture.

I thought that would be the answer. But the obvious follow up question is if we are playing a zone, doesn't that mean every player becomes an intercept player? If the answer to my follow-up question is that we play a mix of zone and man-on-man, frankly, that doesn't make sense.

A serious question for everyone who claims Lever should play as an "intercept defender". Doesn't that leave the opposition with a free forward? In other words, doesn't every defender have to be accountable for a forward?

Ditto Mark Thompson and Mick Malthouse at Collingwood. And Alistair Clarkson, too.

I hope things have improved... https://junkee.com/coogee-bay-poo-mystery/179190

Unfortunately, it seems most if not all coaches seem to susbcribe to the idea that stopping the other side from kicking goals is number 1. I wish you were right. Football would be in a much better state if you were. It is interesting to note that in soccer, your goal (meaning where the team scores, not the team's aim) is the one you defend; in AFL, your goal is the one you attack. It would be a shame if AFL ever changed so a team's "goal" becomes the defensive one.

Hawthorn and Essendon have been tipped to head to the Gold Coast, though it’s unclear whether they will go to Sydney first - a 14-day quarantine period would be required if they head straight to Queensland. Melbourne, St Kilda and North Melbourne have all been linked to New South Wales, with several areas including Manly, Coogee and Wollongong named as potential hub locations, though Olympic Park is a strong option. That leaves just Carlton and Richmond with their new homes unclear. That means our catch-up game vs Ess won't happen for at least a month. I wonder whether the 14 day quarantine starts when a team arrives in Queensland or leaves Victoria. If it's the latter, Essendon could go to Sydney first to play us and then play in Queensland the following week.

Goodwin's biggest problem was letting Jack Watts go thereby allowing the status of whipping boy to be transferred to himself.

"By the powers vested in me by no-one in particular, I hereby announce that Willmoy is not allowed to enjoy, celebrate or otherwise have any warm inner glow should the Melbourne Football Club win the 2020 Premiership." Same goes for all the others saying this season should be dumped or doesn't count for anything. In fact, someone should put together a list of all those who have said so. Might make for an interesting read later in the year. Mind you, I don't expect us to win the flag this year, but whoever does absolutely will have earned it.

I've always thought Rattan was a good coach. He had already done well at Carlton before he was ignominiously dismissed , and then had the advantage of honing his skills under Clarkson. St Kilda has made a judicious choice.

If I understand the process correctly, we only need one more mircale and we'll turn into the Saints.

Should there be a bye round, I wonder whether Melbourne might play Essendon in that week? If so, I presume that game would be played in one of the interstate hubs.

Hate to argue with you Demonland, but he is wrong. For someone who's job is to read the news, I'm surprised he hasn't picked up on the point that the players and officials he's talking about are subject to stricter contact controls and mandatory testing twice a week. That's what makes them "special".

At full forward, of course. (For those who remember the Hawthorn graffiti in the 1970s).

Of course they would. But I doubt Bartlett would have said anything about onfield performance other than bland comments that would have added nothing. Hence, Whately's approach of asking him questions to which Bartlett could give interesting answers.

More likely, Whately realised that any questions about onfield performance would have been played with a mundane, straight bat which would have added nothing to the conversation. Far better to ask questions on topics that would at least have a chance of getting interesting answers.

OK, fair enough. I have a different view in that I can see how alcohol and gambling can be enjoyable and harmless, although I accept not for everybody, whereas I believe the bad far outweighs the good with respect to firearms and tobacco (apart from a few exceptions such as firearms used by law enforcement, farmers, military). And just for the record, I don't drink much, I don't gamble and just in case my wife reads this, I don't use brothels, either.

Haven't heard that expression before. I rather like it. I wouldn't mind the double of a Covid vaccine and a flag in 2020. What a topsy-turvy year that would be!

Usually I find we are on similar wavelengths on many topics, but today I'm not sure I understand the point you are making. But I'll leave it there as I don't think the rest of Demonland needs this conversation extended.

Yep. Unlike many on here, I wouldn't have objected to betting, either. Very comfortable with that position as well as being strongly against any firearms and tobacco sponsorship. The difference is that firearms and tobacco lead more directly to illness/injury and death. Alcohol and betting sometimes do, but most times do not. I also wouldn't be in favour of sponsorship by a legal brothel, either (or, obviously, any illegal ones.) That position is more about what image the club projects, rather than any moral objection I have to prostitution.

Do you think you would still feel that way if we won this year's flag?. It's easy now to say that us winning won't happen. (It's been easy almost every year since 1964 to say that it won't happen.) But if you really mean it, you have to say now that you would feel that way even of we win the flag. My view is the opposite. I think this year's flag will be the one that will be the hardest to win, whoever wins it. They (or we) will have overcome the most disrupted schedule with the most complicated set of training and living rules, at least since the end of World War II. It will be a victory worth savouring.