La Dee-vina Comedia

So, sttlish exists in social media so by modern standards, it must be accepted as a real word! Silly me.

Can't believe no-one else has asked the obvious question...what exactly is that word down the bottom of the cover of that knock-off copy of "The Time Machine?" The word before "...CHARMING, CONTINUOUSLY EXCITING". I realise it's meant to be "STYLISH", but I can't see a "Y". Is it spelled "STTLISH" or has the Greek letter pi been put in there in lieu of "TY"? Oh, and thanks for the training report. Much appreciated as always.

A ruckman needs to do more around the ground than tapping the ball. Brown doesn't have sufficient capability below his knees to offer value as a ruckman. He can pinch hit in the forward line because it's always more crowded with others who can hunt the ball once it's on the ground.

Attendances might actually go up. In tougher economic times, people often turn to cheaper forms of discretionary expenditure (meaning, cheaper for them than what they might have previously been spending). So, attending AFL games might be cheaper than alternatives whether that's international travel, attending more expensive sporting events such as the F1, skipping the opera or foregoing that new tattoo.

Nice work. And you didn't even sit on the fence by including the qualifier "arguably" in this phrase.

So, extending the "New Hope" theme I can imagine the following: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Peter Jackson Luke Skywalker - Paul Roos Chewbacca - Max Gawn (but only if he had his beard by then?) Darth Vader - I'm loath to say Mark Neeld as I think he was on our side, even if he wasn't a success. Han Solo???? Who else???

85 inch TV! Forget having the modem in another room. If I had an 85 inch TV, half the TV would be in another room!

To be fair to the Herald-Sun, the headline writers have to come up with something and whenever Demons are involved, using "hell" is always going to be a natural fit. It's like bad news at Carlton will result in a headline using "blues" and for the Bombers an injured player will be "grounded".

The AFL has indicated it intends to change the process for using points for father-son and Academy picks. If I understand the speculation correctly (and it is still just speculation) the AFL is looking at making clubs use earlier round picks instead of multiple later round picks. The thinking is that the current process where a club can bundle up (say) picks 42, 45, 46 and 50 to accumulate the same points as a first round draft pick, makes a mockery of the system. Whether any changes come into effect in 2024 also remain to be seen. Nevertheless, if there's to be a change of this type AND if it comes into effect in 2024, it might make deals like this one more difficult to achieve.

I'm not sure who had the more disastrous time - the MFC or Opel.

See here: https://www.melbournefc.com.au/teams/training-times

It was clear from the moment we drafted him. Anybody with a double letter in their surname or nickname is at great risk of leaving early. What other evidence did we need? (It was probably not quite so obvious when we drafted Jordon. Did we know his nickname was JJ?)

Don't worry about it, FD. This way, we can make our own minds up about what you wrote. Think of your "censored" having the same influence as "Make America Great Again". MAGA has never truly been defined and means different things to different people depending on their age, geographical location and education level, amongst other things.

Seeing as this thread has just been bumped back into action, I note that in a Jon Ralph column in yesterday's Herald Sun he commented on out of contract players at every club. He made it seem like a given that Petty would be leaving at the end of this season. Is that the accepted view? This is the article. It's behind a paywall. Whether you think that's a good or bad thing depends on your attitude toward the Herald Sun and/or Jon Ralph.

You raise an interesting point. Will our facilities at Caulfield be controlled by the racing industry (represented by the racecourse's tenant, the Melbourne Racing Club) or will the Melbourne Racing Club and the Melbourne Football Club be equal tenants with each having equal power?

I think a polite request to ask you to stop flogging a dead horse is the appropriate comment given your seemingly unstoppable support for Fisherman's Bend after the decision has been made to pursue Caulfield Racecourse for our new training facility.

I'm trying to work out whether Tom McDonald's hair has gone grey or bleached blonde - both of which are decent grounds for the crew cut. On the other hand, he does appear to my unprofessional eye to have slimmed down around the hips.

I don't quite know how to say this, but he also seems to have his teeth misaligned with the rest of his face.

It seems to me that Salem has appeared in the media more in the last 3-4 weeks than throughout the whole of the rest of his career combined. If that's correct, I wonder why? Has the club asked him, as a senior player, to do more? Does he want to do more as he considers his post-playing future?

I assume you mean he needs some New Balance in his life. (Got to keep the sponsors happy).

I expect it has been made public now because we're far enough into the Caulfield process that there's virtually no risk that it won't proceed. (Remember the saying I've posted before about placing targets after the arrows have landed.)

I really hope you're referring to Allen Jakovich and not Mark Jackson. I'd even accept Ricky Jackson.

There clearly isn't anything suitable - meaning size, redevelopment cost, development opportunity, suitable soil (meaning it doesn't have toxic soil which many post-industrial sites would have) anywhere near the MCG. It's not like the MFC haven't been looking. The only way I could see the MFC getting land near the MCG would be if Collingwood or Richmond gave up their training facilities. And that's not going to happen.

I suspect it's nothing more than posturing in an effort to get a seat at the table. The Glen Eira council would be well aware that this sort of upgrade will bring in dollars from the MFC, AFL, State Government and possibly even the federal Government which would not otherwise be made available. In addition, there will be both short-term and long-term jobs which will help the commercial businesses in the area.

Knowing our luck, by the time this youngster reaches draft age, the AFL will have amended the father-son rule to one where teams can have priority access to "identical name" players and this Tom Green will end up at GWS. Congratulations to the whole Green clan. It's a joyous occasion for them.