La Dee-vina Comedia

Not sure whether a sore toe would be more painful in the foot kicking the ball or planted on the ground thereby taking the full weight. Presumably others on Demonland have experience and can advise.

Thanks for the clarification. I misunderstood and thought that the 7,000 new members were part of the 35K. My point, though, that holding on to old members should be easier than recruiting new ones still stands. It's customer service 101.

So, on the other side of that same coin, if we're pretty close to last year's figure, that also means we must have about 7,000 new members. And that's about 20% of the current membership. That's impressive, although the non-renewal rate is equally unimpressive. The club needs to identify better ways to hold on to members - it should be easier to keep what you've got than continually finding new people to sign up.

Assuming the two with "test" against their names pass their test.

I see it differently, but with the same ultimate effect. Getting Lever freed Tom McDonald to go forward which made Watts redundant. So, in my view it seems that the Lever and Watts trades are intrinsically linked, but not because of the salary cap.

And you can add that every time Watts played poorly or was dropped it caused a media circus. That distraction has been removed. Imagine what it would have been like if Watts ended up playing much of this year at Casey?

I expect there was an ultimatum...after repeated warnings, threats, cajoling and persuasions. It's just that the club very carefully kept all such messages in house.

True, but if I understand correctly, it's would appear to be his less than professional approach to rehab from that injury which finally convinced the club that it was time for the club and him to part ways.

And we're not even related!

The Carlton relationship with the AFL reminds me of the Kennedys and J Edgar Hoover. Each had something on the other which they used for their own protection. I wonder what Carlton has which makes the AFL bend over backwards to help them? (J Edgar Hoover had an audio recording made by the FBI of Bobby Kennedy being successfully seduced by Marilyn Monroe; the Kennedys had a photo of J Edgar Hoover with Clyde Tolson in a "compromising position". Side note: Bobby Kennedy was seduced the day he visited Marilyn to tell her she couldn't see JFK any more. It's all much more interesting than Stormy Daniels and Trump.)

Is there anywhere an "official" list of player nicknames? I'm not interested in what we might think players should be called, but what the players are actually called by their family or team-mates. I know Jones is Chunk, ANB is Nibbler. What else?

No need to apologise and it wasn't poorly worded. I was just being a smart-thing. So, it's best that I apologise.

I remember when Greg Parke hurt his...

Unless you liked winning. These were seriously dark days, but I agree there were some memorable individuals and individual performances. I still remember Greg Parke taking what seemed like 16 contested marks in the bog-heap which was the Moorabbin ground.

Just seeking clarification. Do they live elsewhere or have they all died?

So, I contacted the club today to find out that some genius decided to merge my details with another person with the same first and last name. The records now show that I have a different middle name, postal address and email but the same phone number. According to the MFC officer I spoke to that "genius" works for the Melbourne Cricket Club. On the plus side, my membership pack has been re-ordered, although how he knows for sure that I've actually paid my membership is beyond my understanding. If anyone out there is a Melbourne Cricket Club member waiting for their MFC membership pack to arrive, I recommend you call the club. Surely I'm not the only person this has happened to.

No love for David Neitz as a defender?

I'm not sure that Weideman replaces T McDonald given the expectation that the role McDonald was expected to play included ruck support for Gawn. Or, to look at it another way, if McDonald doesn't play, who supports Gawn? The answer is surely Pedersen, not Weideman.

Watts may conceivably win the Brownlow, win the Norm Smith Medal and the Coleman medal with Port Adelaide this year. All that matters though, is whether he would have performed to that standard if he had stayed with us. The evidence to date suggests that he would not. Hence, the club decided it was time for him to move on. Will I feel shortchanged if he stars for PA? Maybe, but my chagrin will be not for trading him, but for woefully mismanaging him in the early years.

Reminds me of the comment that when one of our players left to play with another team, the average IQ of both clubs rose.

Is anyone else who renewed their membership last year still waiting for their membership package to arrive? If it's just me, I'll contact the club.

But for what purpose? I can't imagine the Court can be used to satisfy curiosity. Doesn't the plaintiff have to show how he/she/it has suffered something for which the Court is the only remedy? In other words...so what if there was a conspiracy? How has the plaintiff been wronged because of it (if there was one)?

What would you expect? One's in Victoria and the other is in Queensland. More seriously, Hodge, while not standing alone, has very few peers. Between us all we could argue exactly where, but I suspect most would have him in the top 10 players or thereabouts for the 21st Century. Very few players will be within the same postcode and of those that are not, we would be very happy to have the best of the rest play for us. Hopefully Salem can become one of those.

Can someone summarise the cause of action that Julian Burnside is engaged for? I'm paywalled out of all News Ltd sites so I haven't been able to read the article. Without access to the article, I'm struggling to work out what the plaintiff is seeking and why. Using the usual logic doesn't generate any believable options.

I know it's not on the topic de jour, but in one sentence you've identified the AFL's two greatest fears with the northern expansion.