La Dee-vina Comedia

I expect we would lose to every other equivalent team with the exception of Gold Coast and (maybe) GWS.

What were they thinking? Surely it would have been more appropriate to buy him the collected works of Friedrich Nietzsche. He could start with 'The Birth of Tragedy' and then move on to 'The Case of Wagner'. What could be more appropriate than that?

You make a good point and get into the area of whether executives in any business should be drug tested. Personally, unless it's a privately owned business and is not in an area of public risk, then I think executives do not have the right to say it impinges on their privacy because their actions affect others. So, I would have to say that the AFL is not privately owned and as such I have no problem with AFL executives being drug tested. (IQ testing might be a good idea, too.)

I should add I support a daytime Grand Final. Partly because I'm a traditionalist and partly because if we should ever win one of these things, I think I could really enjoy the afterglow better if I had all night to think about it. If Channel 7 really wanted to extract value from the AFL Grand Final, why don't they invest a few bucks in a night time post-game TV "party"? It would be part replay, part analysis, part attending the post-game winners celebration (and losers wake). Basically, think of it as The Front Bar post Grand Final edition. (The important point is for it to work it has to be hosted by professional entertainers, not football commentators.) I've often wondered why the TV networks seem to think that there's nothing to cover from 6 pm on Grand Final Day until about March the following year. (I blame TV executives who are based in Sydney and don't understand the product.)

I'm afraid to say the commentary format is what it is because it's what the viewers want. Channel 7 have tried the EPL style of commentary (as did the ABC) many years ago only to told by viewers they didn't like it and wanted the traditional AFL call style back. So, like it or not, it's done that way to satisfy the majority.

I'm convinced that somewhere deep within the TV rights contract is a single line that simply says, "Every year until there is a Night Grand Final, the AFL will in March float the idea of transitioning to a Night Grand Final "

If you're still on a vegan diet, try weighing yourself again. I'll bet you've put on 6kg of anger.

While I agree with you that some players might think that it's inconsistent that they're the only ones being tested from within the AFL community, those players are forgetting another inconsistency - they're the ones getting the big money to perform. I think there is an argument that perhaps coaches (including assistant coaches) could be tested, but how the rest of the AFL community performs and whether they're using illicit drugs is not relevant.

I wonder whether we wanted to but he (perhaps on the advice of his manager) wanted to keep it shorter. He may believe his value will increase substantially over the next 2 years, especially as he becomes a free agent* at the end of this contract extension. *Based on Lucifer's Hero's post above which I'm sure will be correct.

Amazing how Garry Lyon is universally supported on this site for his assessment of Oliver but totally vilified for his role in choosing coaches. Apparently he only knows some things about football.

I give Gillon a pass on this one. The AFL needs AFLW to be expanded as quickly as possible to give supporters of all (male) AFL teams something to support. Currently, my friends who support teams such as St Kilda and Essendon have no interest in AFLW, and I can't blame them. Yes, it's a fine line between expanding too quickly and too slowly, and there are good ways and bad ways to progress, but I think the purpose behind his strategy is sound.

OK. Robbo's excused. But someone else at the Hun should probably get a kick up the backside for poor quality control and effectively hanging out their Chief Football Writer to dry.

I notice that Rohan Connolly will be back on 3AW for the footy season. If Mark Robinson continues on 3AW (as he was last year), I fear my ears may be permanently damaged from an overdose of ocker English (using that last word rather loosely). (Note: I actually like Rohan Connolly's commentary. Not so Robbo's.)

Seems to be disarmingly modest...with plenty to be modest about. I think I now understand better why he came to Melbourne. I think it's less about 2019-2021 but more about learning the caper to eventually take over from Max if he's good enough. He'll be Max's current age when Max is 31. He knows he's not there yet and realises that the best chance to learn the craft is to be with the team that has the best ruckman to see that up close.

And he invariably found a player, usually in a better position, with his precision disposal, .

Well said, Ernest. Your last line sums him up. Very few players have that skill and I think it means he's worked out what he's going to do with the ball before he gets it, rather than making the decision afterwards. Not many players have that capability. In fact, you can see many players "spending it before they have it" which shows how hard it can be to do what Oliver does consistently.

Thank goodness the AFL didn't have a relegation system in the period 2008 to 2013.

I like the way Robbo doesn't read anyone else's work. Goodwin has clearly said that they decided not to review the Preliminary Final. And he can't stick to a theme, either. His third paragraph in the section described as "What I Don't Like" clearly reads as something he likes. I give him a D- for Comprehension.

I assume you mean by Melbourne. I think Hawthorn getting Roughead, Franklin and Lewis in 2004 and Geelong getting all of Bartel, James Kelly, Steve Johnson and Gary Ablett in 2001 fared reasonably well.

My suspicion is the opposite. I believe the data will show that top players generally get a better run with the umpires. In addition, the change to the rules this year which sees all punching of players a breach of the rules which will earn a free against the puncher should assist genuine ball players. As such, opponents of Oliver and Brayshaw won't be able to use that particular tool in their arsenal.

It's nice to think that we finally have a player that looks like he can be talked about in the same breath as Judd, Ablett, Dangerfield, Voss and Flower. There will always be arguments about whether he's the best or second-best, etc, but just having a player of that ilk is so un-Melbourne like, I'm not quite sure how to react. And, unlike Judd at Carlton, Oliver is not on his own with players like Gawn and Brayshaw also with the potential to be rated by the end of their careers as genuine superstars of the competition.

What's the 16-hour fast meant to achieve?

This is not about AFL, but it's an interesting illegal doping story. I'm just not sure whether it's humorous, troubling or both.

The squad looks like it's been written by Thomas Hardy or perhaps one of the Bronte sisters with Woodland making way for Heath.

If the AFL is beholden to the broadcasters, they're not partners. As I've said before, "broadcast partner" is a horrible expression. It is blatantly a false statement. "Broadcast overlord" is much more realistic.