La Dee-vina Comedia

Do we know how much his role changed, if at all, during this time? Perhaps he was playing a more defensive role which would hardly be a surprise given Ross Lyon's general approach to coaching.

Clearly. But with help from others in the media, such as SEN's Craig Hutchison. I have stated before that the most important job of the AFL Commission is to concern themselves with the long-term health of the game. The job of the TV and radio broadcasters is to maximise value during the short-term (ie, the length of their respective broadcast agreements.) I believe the AFL Commission is failing to do its job properly by allowing the media's short-term interests to over-ride the longer-term decisions.

In fact, two of Alwyn Davey's kids (Alwyn Jr and Jayden) although neither are now on Essendon's list.

Is the blue painted line the 2km time trial line? If so, what's going on with the guys on the white line? Cheating? Warming up? Warming down?

A masterclass in saying nothing. (And I wouldn't have expected anything else.)

Just to help everybody out, here's your guide to what the club's really mean when they say... Comes from a good family = not sure if he can play, but he won't cause any trouble, either Will grow into his body = skinny Project player = skinny, and unskilled Bolter = we can't admit it now, but we called out the wrong name Will fit straight in = mature age recruit Great kick = not great at getting the ball Great accumulator = not great at disposing of the ball Has X-factor = we're not sure what he's good at Fantastic highlights reel = doesn't do a lot for much of the game Ready from day 1 = he'll turn up on time Comes from a basketball background = explains why he might not be very good at football Can't believe he was still available at this pick = I wonder what everyone else knows about him that we've missed Feel free to add your own.

This is why I like Demonland. Come for the gossip, stay for the education.

Hey, BangBnagBang - where would you play Viney? Clearly not as a small forward, but given the comments you've made about him, do you still see him as a midfielder? I would I have thought your views about him might make him more of a liability as a midfielder than a small forward.

At the same time? More seriously, was it clear to the players which side he was on or was it some sort of surprise and the players had to work it out from the way he moved?

The ability to apply pressure, willingness to go hard, and reasonable goal sense. His greatest weakness (whether it's as a small forward or onballer) is that he's a poor kick on his right (ie, wrong!) foot. To his credit, he has improved his wrong-foot kicking in the last couple of years.

This is a key point. The AFL will disagree, but the majority of public statements since the Wildcard round was announced suggests the AFL has lost touch with what the public wants.

My own view is that Viney should become a small forward and that we should pick midfielders at 7 & 8. I don't think Viney's disposal execution as a midfielder fits in with the needs of the modern game.

In answer to your final question, we must keep in mind that many members for all clubs don't necessarily live in proximity to where their team's games are played. In fact, the whole competition relies on membership being as geographically broad as possible, which would always mean many members physically cannot attend, even if they wish to.

What a name! Sounds like what American's call glandular fever.

Not just draft boards. There's been a fair bit of trade between the clubs, too.

These are good points (although I don't believe Wildcard is the right move) but can I just fact-check the statement, "the NRL has gained ground and in fact, is starting to out-rate the AFL"? Hasn't the NRL been outrating AFL on FTA and pay-TV for many years?

Rewarding the 9th and 10th placegetters reminds me of this: 104-Year-Old Man Awarded WWII Medal Just To Be Nice - The Onion

I look forward to the post-season discussion in 2030 when the AFL decides to bring in a "Pre-WildCard Round" for teams ranked 10th to 13th to see which one gets to play in the WildCard Round the following week.

Viney was standing on a ladder, I assume.

The AFL is so pathetically reactive. Maybe there is something that they've done in the last 20 years which is truly innovative, but if so, I can't think of anything. If the AFL really believes the end-of-season bye is bad for football because there's a "dead" weekend, there are other ways of fixing that including: move the bye to the week after the Preliminary Final instead of playing 9 games each week (apart from the weeks of the bye rounds) as currently structured, play a mix of 8 and 9 games each week for the whole season including the last weekend which is currently without any AFL (men's) games. Sure, it means the ladder is uneven throughout the season...but does that really matter? (And that's what we had this year, anyway.) start the season one week later. None of the above are perfect solutions, but all are better, in my view than a "wildcard round" which is effectively meaningless anyway as none of the teams playing in that round will have a realistic chance of contending for the flag anyway. Who's going to be interested in watching what will turn out to be two additional meaningless games?

I'm prepared for the media beat-up saying something like, "Cultural problems persist at the Demons with new players forced to train apart from the rest of the squad."

Does "plain clothes" mean not in official red and blue gear? or were they about to arrest someone for breaking the law?

Maybe this should be on the Look-Alikes thread:

I like the idea of Nairn playing for Narrm.

Do we know AMW is fit? Or are we just assuming because 12 months will have passed by the time the season commences, he will be?