La Dee-vina Comedia

I'm hanging out for part 2 to this story. How, when and why did you become a Demon supporter? Most immigrants I know seem to end up supporting one of the two teams they saw in their very first match. But not you. We know you're a different cat (said with appropriate reverence), but the Saty story isn't complete without this additional bit of info.

There's something noble about being a long-suffering supporter.

Of course, there's another way to look at this. I believe you could argue (because of other factors, such as player development, etc) that there's sufficient randomness in the process for such a small selection (ie, picks 1 to 15) that over time, these figures should "even out". To make that happen the picks with lowest results will inevitably have to succeed more than those that already have. So, clubs might be wise to select players with picks which have been least successful. Maybe that's why we've got a new data analyst.

Apologies if this has already been covered either in this thread or elsewhere, but as part of the general testing that potential draftees go through either generically or specifically by individual clubs, is there any testing looking at whether players are likely to grow taller? Is there even a reliable (or semi-reliable) test to do so? Is it possible the club knows that Jackson is still growing?

I really hope he was talking about a passage of play rather than describing one of our players. Great reports Kev, DeeSpencer and others. Thanks.

I seem to recall some clubs not using footballs as part of their training until after Christmas. This was probably in the 1990s or perhaps 2000s. I can't remember whether the clubs who used that strategy did well or not, though.

You are quite right. I should have said it casts doubt on some claims made in the name of sports science.

Actually, there are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary numbers and those who don't.

Jack Dyer allegedly told his players to line up alphabetically by height. Right now, if he told players to line up alphabetically by jumper number, only Langdon would know where to stand (*assuming the number he's wearing at training is his assigned number).

Reads like an autumn weather forecast

Quick question: Who's the best MFC footballer to have come from Adelaide?

TV news is all about the video footage. If the network doesn't have a picture showing Oliver in trouble but one showing that May might be, they'll fashion the story to address May's potential injury because it is what they can show.

Here's a link to that article. In my view, it puts significant doubt on sports science. I wonder what else, claimed in the name of sports science, is suspect? Perhaps we'll finally see players who kick goals staying on the ground instead of being immediately interchanged and maybe there will be more practice at kicking for goal.

I'm not quibbling with your technical description (I wouldn't know), but are you confident from a still image that you can draw that particular conclusion?

That's the standard of service we Demonlanders expect. Thanks Saty.

I beg to differ. If it was a detailed report we'd not only know where they went for lunch but what each person had. And who paid.

Must have been very short kicks

We all have differing opinions, but I think you're being generous with Paul Hopgood's ability. I'd go back to Stephen Tingay (and if he doesn't qualify because he played his best football in #2, all the way to Stan Alves).

But why does the AFL need to give permission for that to happen?

Yeah, nah

Don't worry, Old Dee. With respect to the grammar, I'm just being pedantic and with respect to the hair, it's pure jealousy.

Ahh, the memories. When I was a kid (50 years ago) a "stab pass" was a low, quick, short drop kick. A thing of great beauty and very effective. I'll guess that's not quite what Fristch and Salem were doing today, although, I'm sure what they did still looked good.

Did he really say "how good of a player he can be"? If so, what does he need to fix first? His grammar or his hairstyle?

You were half right. I meant both professional and Olympic sports.

I think the fundamental question is whether a recycled player is better than an untried player who we could select with pick 97 in the draft. If we think a recycled player is better, then it becomes a question of which one. I don't have a view as to which is better, but I can understand the thinking that at pick 97, the talent pool of untried players is likely to be at the extremely shallow end.