La Dee-vina Comedia

What surprised me most about the 0-15 Buddy score is that we had only played against him 15 times. He's been in the system since 2005, so a theoretical possibility of about 26 matches in the unlikely event that we played Hawthorn and subsequently Sydney twice each year. 15 games is just a fraction more than once per year. Mind you, I'm happy it wasn't more than 15 games in that time (unless the higher number had been due to us playing against him in finals).

I tossed up between Melksham and Hunt and decided on Hunt to reward his pressure over Melksham's creativity. Could easily have gone the other way but I was probably more aware of our lack of forward pressure in the first three rounds and weighted that aspect more heavily.

We've kicked triple figure scores the last two weeks. What exactly are you looking for? The "take it one week at a time" rule needs to be ignored this week. We have a very short turnaround for the Richmond game, so we need to select a team for St Kilda with that in mind. It wouldn't surprise me, therefore, if Lewis isn't played because there might be a view he couldn't back up and play again that quickly. It also means that I suspect ANB misses against St Kilda but will definitely play in the Richmond game. I didn't think Spargo or Stretch did anything to inspire me last night but Goodwin has more often than not given fringe players more than one week to show their worth. Nevertheless, as injured players become available, various fringe players are in line for a demotion irrespective of how many games they've played. All of Stretch, Spargo and the Wagners are in this boat. Hore would have been, too, but played well enough that he'll be retained longer than J Wagner.

6. Gawn 5. Oliver 4. Jones 3. Hore 2. Hunt 1. Viney (While Viney didn't get a heap of the ball, his in-and-under work and relentless pressure helped immensely those who did.) Honourable mentions to Salem, Harmes and Melksham.

Pink Lady, I would have thought, based on the pictures I've seen.

Took one post for the apoplexy to start!

We might. He's an emergency and there's a doubt about T Mac playing. Could ANB be the one who comes in as a late change? One thing's for sure, if that happens, be ready for some apoplexy on Demonland. For what it's worth, given the other emergencies are Spargo, Hore and Petty, I would have thought ANB would be the logical replacement for T Mac because it replaces like-for-like in running capability. I can't see how any of the other emergencies make sense as a replacement for T Mac. Not sure ANB makes a lot of sense, either, but at least having a player with the a tank to run hard all game would be maintained.

I think I will be measuring Preuss's value in the quality of Gawn's game. If Gawn plays a blinder, I suspect part of the reason will be Gawn having a proper rest, whether it's at full forward or on the bench, rather than being forced (or, perhaps, psychologically feeling forced) to ruck for as long as possible throughout the game. Anything Preuss does himself is just a bonus.

I didn't see it, but Viney has yet to impress in interviews. It's why I question whether he's truly the best choice for captain. I don't doubt his on field desire or his love for the club, but in my opinion, the role of captain includes being the voice of the club off the field. That part of the role has become significant and I don't think he fulfils that role properly.

Showed courage, too. Played with a broken rib. No she wasn't, the full forward was Phil 'Snake' Baker. And I'm reasonably sure the competition was sponsored by Apple.

Goodwin was interviewed on radio last weekend (SEN, I think) and was asked the question about Stephen May's fitness when he arrived at the club. Goodwin answered everything with a straight bat and did not give any indication that he was of the view that May arrived at the club in poor condition...until the very end of the interview when he said (paraphrasing) that "May wouldn't want to turn up in the same condition next pre-season". At the time I wondered whether Goodwin had slipped up, having been so careful for the rest of the interview, or whether he always intended to include the comment.

This sounds like the first line of a country and western song.

He clearly hurt his left ankle last weekend when it twisted under him. It was caught on camera, so there can be no dispute about it.

Actually, just in that one line Harmes is saying a lot. Firstly, he's saying that he is aware that not everyone is buying in yet. That suggests to me he knows which players haven't yet bought in. Secondly, he's saying that he's also aware that there has been insufficient effort in defending. He's not identifying anyone or any particular group (ie, not just the defenders), but he's aware of where the problem lies. In that one line, he's showing awareness. I like it.

I've been wondering what an "honesty session" really means. Why would the team need an "honesty session"? It suggests to me that the coach wanted the players to send a message to one or more of their team mates in a way that the coach could not, perhaps because of special position held by those players. If that's correct, I can only see two players who Goodwin might want such a message passed on to, and that's the Captains. And of the two Captains, I could see the possibility that the "honesty session" was to tell one of them in particular that if he's unable to lift his performance, he's holding the team back and might need to consider his own future. Or, I'm overthinking this.

Footballing maths. I suspect you might really mean 4 of our best 22.

Your ins and outs are the same.

You think that's a good thing for us?

It's an interesting point made in the OP. I suspect here have been a few players that meet the criteria of fast + endurance + skillful, but I doubt there have been many. Exercise physiologists will probably be able to point out that pace and endurance require different muscle and body types - after all, sprinters don't magically turn into long distance runners due to aerobic versus anaerobic requirements. And then you have to add in the skill component. Nevertheless, of the current crop, I suspect Isaac Smith might be as good an example as any.

As a rule, I really dislike Thursday night football. I hope this week I can make an exception.

The problems we have are a team issue, not an individual player issue. The evidence for that is 2018. So, I'd suggest not worrying so much about the performance of specific individuals and instead try to find why the team is not playing like the team of 2018.

I'm always fascinated about how much criticism or praise is heaped on a player or a recruiting decision after just a few games when history shows that winning premierships requires a long-term view. If any supporter group should understand that, it should be Melbourne supporters.

When people say this, they're always remembering the few good things he's done. Keep in mind that he's only played 66 games out of a possible 138 (so less than 50%) in the time since he was drafted and has kicked just 65 goals in that time. Not what I'd call a "required player".

Really? Not sure I agree with this statement. Actually, I am sure...I definitely don't agree with it. There is a world of difference between the fitness levels of VFL and AFL.

Surprised that Jetta was listed as "career worst game". I though it was much, much better than the Port game. (I didn't see the Geelong game, so can't compare it with that).