La Dee-vina Comedia

I recall reading an article years ago that mentioned our ACL expertise (stopping them from occurring, rather than repairing torn ones) is the best in the world. As Harry Hoo might have said (but probably didn't), this presents three possibilities: we're both right and there were two such articles one of us is wrong neither of us is right.

Only if it's associated with Melbourne.

It's so long ago, I've forgotten how it played out, but did we "move him on" or did he choose to leave? Choosing to leave during our basket-case years would hardly be a surprise.

Mazer, I want to agree with you but I'm not quite sure whether I should. I can't quite find the link between what you've said and my post that you copied. Maybe I'm in public holiday mode, but what exactly was your point about my post? (But, nevertheless, kudos for the red and black ink pun).

I think it will also upset supporters. How often is the word "tradition" bandied about, including on this forum? A 22 game home and away series is an inherent part of that tradition. My gut feel is that more people would be aggrieved with a 17-game "fair" fixture than purists might expect. The 10% increase idea might be true, but it's also possible that attendances might drop because of the perceived damage to the traditional fixture. In short, I think tradition will outweigh integrity of the draw in the minds of the majority. Agree with everything you've said. As I've posted before, I can't recall one Premiership being won by a club where the inequity of the fixture was considered to be a significant contributing feature to that result.

I just assumed Lyons to the Lions was somehow organised by the media to give them more opportunities to write the simple puns they seem to love.

When did Bruce retire? And when did Denis Cometti come back?

Whether we like it or not, ever since players went fully professional, the competition became a business. I can't see it going back to semi-professional footballers who train only 2 or 3 times a week with the commensurate drop-off in fitness and skills. And if it's a business, it needs to make money to pay the players (and the officials, such as umpires, etc).

Don't forget to add from the other side of the ledger: sponsorship dollars from the NT Government membership money (if any) from NT locals "brand" exposure value (if any) from being physically present in Darwin and the Alice I suspect only the first dot point has any meaningful value.

Personally, I don't understand this concept. Couldn't we equally say we've given the number 12 to the first player we draft as a tribute to Sylvia, given that he was the first player we took in his draft year?

While I agree with what you've said, that's only relevant when we have the ball. In my view, our speed weakness is when we have to defend. We look very slow when other teams have the ball and stream through the centre. Having said that, I think sometimes it's a problem of being slow in thought (ie, slow to react) rather than physically slow.

Because the AFL is a competition of many things. One of them involves tradition. Another is that a large group of Australians support Essendon and through no fault of their own have been made to suffer the ignominy of supporting a club that brought the game into disrepute. Those followers deserve something in return for continuing to support the AFL competition.

I agree with all the above and add that no-one in the industry ever has a bad word against Bruce. His real passions are athletics and horse racing, but I suspect he could call any sport and make it interesting. For those complaining about Bruce, just remember how terrible it was having to listen to Basil Zemplis calling swimming at the Olympics. Chalk and cheese.

I'm very surprised Essendon is playing North Melbourne on Good Friday. Only because it can't be a long term solution given that Good Friday and ANZAC Day can be so close that they could encompass one round of football. For that reason, I thought none of Collingwood, Richmond, Melbourne or Essendon would ever be chosen to play on Good Friday. If the AFL really wants to make Good Friday football a success I would have thought they would have tried to create an ongoing "blockbuster" involving North and another team who would play that day every year. Logic suggests that "other team" should be Carlton being the only potential powerhouse team that doesn't have a locked in commitment for Easter or ANZAC Day/Eve.

There are plenty of academic papers which discuss punishment versus rehabilitation. Clearly the AFL prefers the latter. And for the long-term good of the AFL competition, that's probably the right call.

Not at all. Just in time for a joyful delivery at the end of September.

I will miss being able to turn up to the MCC members late and still get a good seat, though.

I suspect in hindsight the single worst idea the MFC has had this century was sacking Dean Bailey instead of Cameron Schwab after the 186 debacle.

13 free-to-air matches. Anyone know off the top of their heads what it has been in previous years? Mind you, I'm only interested in a sub-set of free-to-air matches being those when we are not playing at the MCG. As an aside, it amuses me that the way someone has put together the graphics that it looks like in Round 13 we're playing the AFL. Not sure if it's home or away, but these days I think we'd win.

A delightful analogy. So much better than calling it a "meat market".

I do. Not because of any lingering concerns about the foot but because that's his second bone-related problem (that we know of) which appears to be stress-related. That suggests to me that he is player that comes with a higher risk of acquiring a future bone-related problem than someone who has never exhibited any bone-related injuries. It's a bit like ACLs. The data shows that if a player has torn one ACL they are a greater risk of having another ACL injury than a person who has never had such an injury. I hope Hogan plays completely injury-free for the rest of his career, but if I'm in the business of managing a playing list, I believe that he has a higher risk of injury than players who have not had the same injuries than he has had to date.

Which reminds me of Michael Voss's famous sledge when he tried to put his brother Brett off when having a shot for goal: "My Dad slept with your Mum last night". (Although I don't think he used the words "slept with").

Completely agree with you.

Your post is a little ambiguous, so, just to be clear, while the article was written by Robbo, I suspect its re-release probably had nothing to do with him but was more likely an editorial decision by the publisher.