La Dee-vina Comedia

Do you mean as a player or a coach? And do you mean born in SA? Or drafted from there? Plenty of players have, such as Stephen Kernahan, Craig Bradley (and probably half of all Carlton teams back in the day).

Memo to the AFL. Short turn-around times aren't just difficult for players to cope with. Supporters, too, can struggle to get enthusiastic after a loss. I expect a relatively low turn out partly because insufficient time has passed since Saturday's loss. (I realise there's not much the AFL can do about it because of ANZAC Eve falling on a Wednesday. I just wanted an excuse to criticise the AFL because it makes me feel better).

I'm surprised at how often we choose to believe what anyone working in the AFL actually says. I believe most coaches tell the truth most, but not all, of the time. Some more than others. But I don't believe any coach tells the truth 100% of the time. So, if Goodwin says he didn't review the preliminary final, I, for one, assume that this comment may or may not be true. That's just the way the AFL, and I suspect every professional sport (and life in general), works.

So, the "honesty session" didn't work. Unless we were we dishonest in the "honesty session". In which case, we now need a "truly honest, fair dinkum, ridgy-didge, liar, liar, pants-on-fire, honesty session". That should help.

Overrated since Xmas

Very self-aware that your posts need brevity. Most of us are just searching for a touch of levity, at the minute.

Our biggest weakness against St Kilda was when players got caught off their man, particularly in our forward line. It happened regularly with Spargo (to the extent that I think St Kilda identified this as a weakness and played through him as much as possible). ANB makes lots of skill errors, but the one thing he does well is keep pressure on opponents. That's why I would bring ANB back in.

I thought St Kilda played through Spargo for a lot of the game. he was regulalry caught between players which opened up their free man. So, Spargo out. I also thought neither Wagner contributed much. So, my Outs are Spargo, J and O Wagner. In would be Stretch, Garlett and ANB. That would make the seven defenders Frost, Hibberd, Lewis, Salem, Fritsch, Hore and Jetta. (Lewis MUST NOT PLAY ON THE WING).

6. Salem 5. Frost 4. Hore 3. Brayshaw 2. Viney 1. Gawn

I fully expect a Mick Warner article postulating that we're tanking in order to get our hands on a prize rookie.

Not necessarily. It's possible that one of Fritsch or Salem could move up to the wing thereby replacing C Wagner while J Wagner stays in the side. That would leave our starting back seven (assuming no other changes) as Oscar, Frost, Hore, Hibberd, J Wagner, Jetta and one of Salem or Fritsch. I'm not, by the way, making any claim that this will happen. Just pointing out the possibility.

Some members will be aggrieved that they didn't get the value for money expected and will choose not to renew. But they will still be easier to re-recruit as members than convincing new people who have not been members previously to sign up. After all, members who fail to renew have at least previously shown enough interest to pay up. Of course, if you follow Old Dee's excellent advice, if you think of annual membership as a donation with no expectations of a positive return...you won't be disappointed.

Good day for training. Apart from the time of day, it would seem conditions are similar to what is forecast for Saturday, although today is a bit windier than is forecast for Saturday.

They don't. The algorithm they use sets the odds based on the flow of money. In simple terms, if the bookies have us at shorter odds than St Kilda it's because they are holding more money backing Melbourne to win. In other words, the punters indirectly set the odds. But your point remains...why do the punters have us as favourites?

Actually, the ground-breaking part of the Motorola research showed that people who bought a product they were initially unhappy with but were satisfied with the provider's after-sales service were more likely to go back and buy from that provider again than would a person who had a satisfactory experience in the first place which didn't need after-sales service. The moral is to provide a product people are ultimately satisfied with. And just to back up my earlier argument, I'm sure the club's first 20- to 30,000 members each year, most of whom will be renewals, are easier to get than the last 15,000, most of whom will be new members.

Are you sure about that? I thought the oft-quoted Motorola research of the 1980s (or 1970s?) said the opposite. That is, the easiest sell is the repeat sell. That research is the fundamental reason why car manufacturers have developed sophisticated long-term warranty and service plans for new cars. Their view is that a satisfied customer is the easiest person to sell a new (replacement) product to.

Fantastic work. We shall remember them. Two things stand out for me. First, that Ivor Warne-Smith didn't do things by halves. Not only two Brownlow Medals, but also served in both the First and Second World Wars. That's over-achieving. Secondly, how namby-pamby is the auto-censor! All those people whose names are presumably the diminutive of Richard can't have the name by which they are known shown here. Ridiculous (but, I hasten to add, not the fault of the Demonland administrators).

Agreed. At least, I thought it was more worthy than Petracca's. Preuss's goal fundamentally derived from the player's skill; Petracca's involved a high degree of luck associated with the tackling motion of the opponent. I can't countenance any argument that Petracca made use of the tackle motion and kicked the ball deliberately at the right time to get the goal.

I think you mean their CEO, Brendon Gale. Their President is Peggy O'Neal.

Jones received 9 out of 10 of the Coaches' Votes. 'Nuff said.

Given Gil and Hocking seem obsessed with non-football entertainment, it's only fair to point out that I found it highly entertaining in the Essendon game when the umpires panicked the second time Essendon didn't have a wingman at a centre bounce. Turned out that Essendon only had 17 players on the ground at the time. The poor umpires were completely befuddled. And the game was delayed for about a minute for no good reason.

Such as when Hurley hit him in the head (accidentally) when spoiling a marking attempt, followed by grabbing him over the shoulder and finally pushing him in the back. All in the same contest, but in separate, clearly visible movements. Play on called as the ball went over the boundary line. (That game had the worst umpiring of any game I have seen in the last 5 years. And it wasn't just Melbourne supporters who thought so. The media also spoke about it during and after the game.)

I don't know how much it costs to print and mail, but as our membership grows, so too do the costs of providing hard copies. (Of course, as member numbers grow, so too does revenue.) Nevertheless, I can't see how it could cost less than $70,000 to print and mail 'Heartbeat' to 40,000+ members. I'd be happy for that money to be used elsewhere. I agree, however, that if the club chooses to replace the hard copy with an online version, members need and deserve a better form of notification of its availability.

We clearly see his performance differently. I have seen three of the four games (missed Geelong) and on the basis of that sample, I couldn't disagree with you more.

It's also possible that GC might be winning games because they've finally got players who want to play for the club rather than quit at the first opportunity. I'm not being critical of those who chose to leave, but it must be a much happier place at the moment.