La Dee-vina Comedia

Do you mean size by area or population? I have always assumed - perhaps incorrectly - that Carlton had a significantly bigger population than North Melbourne.

The difference between Richmond and St Kilda on the one hand and North on the other is that both Richmond and St Kilda (and probably every other team in the competition) can survive some periods at or around the bottom of the ladder because of large and/or wealthy support bases. North does not have the same cushion to fall back on having always been a club with a relatively small number of supporters who are not generally considered to be wealthy. The AFL can only support a club like North Melbourne for as long as the other clubs want it to. And that's Eddie's point...will there come a time when the remaining clubs decide enough is enough? While North remains at the bottom of the ladder, it acts as a handbrake on the health of the competition and puts itself at risk of irrelevance and eventually demise.

Perfect expression that everyone can agree with. It can be read positively, meaning that GWS and GCS are certain to remain, or it can be read negatively, meaning GWS and GCS are hopeless and not making any headway.

You want to play Petracca on Cameron? Has Petracca ever played in defence before? Wow...that really is rolling the dice.

Do we know that to be fact or just an assumption?

Is this the earliest in a season that this equivalent thread has been started? If so, I guess it's a sign of the times.

While we have some very experienced players, we also had five in the team against Richmond who had each played fewer than 10 games (Howes, Windsor, Laurie, Turner, Woewodin).

I take it you haven't seen much of Joe Daniher.

Against Richmond, we had Langdon and ANB swapped a few times at centre bounces with Langdon starting at the nominal CHF position and ANB on the wing. I don't think I've seen that before, and, frankly, I'm not sure why we did it.

Isn't this the title of a John Grisham book about a small-town, ambulance-chasing law firm?

6. May 5. Lever 4. Gawn 3. Rivers 2. Howes 1. Langdon Unlucky: Turner and Neal-Bullen

Disco...lights...

I'll take it either way, but do you mean you're expecting/hoping for a 100+ point score or a 100+ point winning margin?

For those of you not in Melbourne I can report that after a wet night, we are now bathed in glorious sunshine. From where I am (inner Melbourne) there's not a cloud in the sky. Hope it stays that way for the rest of the day.

I seem to recall that most debuting players had two consecutive games before being omitted (unless they stayed in the side of course). Can anyone recall what the more strike rate is for our more recent debutants such as Woewodin? I'm not suggesting it's right or wrong...but if it is something the Match Committee or coach prefer, perhaps Tholstrup gets another game this week.

Nice quiz, Demonstone. You now need to be wary of the RSL knocking on your door one night. They might be concerned that you've misused the word "ANZAC" which has some legal protection or ask you to pay a licensing fee for using it without receiving the RSL's prior consent. (Unless, of course, you did seek prior approval.)

Has Laurie ever been played in the seniors as a pure midfielder for a whole game? I feel that if Oliver doesn't play against Richmond maybe it's time to find out how Laurie goes in that role.

Don't forget Jeff Garlett.

Who would you play in defence to replace Salem? Hunter? Or someone else?

Same person?

Dodoro, on the other hand...

Umm...am I reading this right? A player who is not playing last night should be dropped and a player who did play last night is to be promoted into the team? Or is there a joke here I'm not getting?

Does having an injured collarbone/shoulder affect fitness? Shouldn't Bowey be able to maintain his fitness level during his recovery? I'm going to presume last night's performance was an aberration and assume wholesale changes aren't required. The forwards can hardly be blamed for not getting near the ball when the midfield was so soundly beaten. However, if it's possible, I'd like to persist with Rivers in the midfield. He's got pace, defensive skills when needed and unlike a lot of our midfield is capable of kicking on either foot. He's the perfect Brayshaw replacement.

6. Gawn 5. McDonald 4. Rivers 3. Lever 2. Langdon 1. May I was at the game and astounded afterwards to find out that Chandler had had 18 disposals. I barely noticed him all night. Hence, no votes from me but happy to apologise if he was more influential than I thought at the time.

I'm a bit nervous asking this...but what's on the screen in the background?