La Dee-vina Comedia

Thanks for this. Does anyone know why Adelaide gets so much of its revenues from the AFL? I had always thought that the Crows were an independently wealthy powerhouse club.

Here's a couple of stories from The Age and The Herald Sun which address this issue. And it's probably also relevant that the President of Geelong, Colin Carter, is also on the Board of World Vision, so he'd be getting plenty of free "advice" from anti-pokies activist, Rev Tim Costello.

It doesn't necessarily have to be this way. Increased revenue could also come from increasing the number of supporters who contribute or from other sources such as businesses who want their products showcased to supporters (ie, sponsors). Increased revenue can also come from a bigger distribution from the AFL. (That's not a criticism of the AFL - just making the point that if the AFL earns more overall, the individual clubs can all benefit.)

Presumably Stevens responds by creating a story about the club's miracle team of health professionals fixing strained hamstrings on the spot.

It's newsworthy if he never did it with us, though. But if he did, lazy journalism.

Any chance Jones owns a small, baby cow and he somehow hurt it?

Alternatively, at only 1 hour and 4 minutes, that's a pretty short-term opinion on both of them !

While I thought the banning of the 3rd man up was a good idea when it was introduced, its implementation has, I think, had the opposite effect. Now umpires have to identify who is the nominated ruckman before they throw it up. That introduces an unnecessary delay which exacerbates congestion. A quicker throw into the air should reduce congestion, and if a club can't work out which of their players should jump for the ball and end up with more than one, blow the whistle and pay the free kick.

If the bounce is abolished I suspect the justification will be OH&S with umpires complaining about the effect on their backs and shoulders. I'm not particularly fussed if the bounce is eliminated. It was abolished a few years ago from around the ground bouncing (as opposed to centre square) with little impact. And if it improves the overall quality of umpiring because (1) the controlling umpire can see the ruckmen and what they're actually doing instead of having his head down and (2) it encourages competent umpires from pursuing field umpiring who might otherwise not do so because they are lousy at just that one aspect, I think it will be an improvement overall.

Apologies if this has already been stated previously, but is the "McKenna hamstring" a carry over from last season or is it a new problem? (I'm not sure which answer would be preferable).

I haven't got evidence to support this statement, but I suspect NRL State of Origin is killing NRL. State of Origin has become so big, the weekly NRL Premiership season has become a secondary event.

I don't want to turn this into a love-fest, but the term "upgrade" is exactly how it is seen at the moment. Why else would players change their numbers and when they do always* to a lower one? I'm just arguing for a change in that mindset. * I seem to recall that Jeff Farmer went from 33 to 8 and then back to 33 after his form went backwards when he was in the 8.

Except for Schwarz, Jakovich, Woewodin, T Johnstone, Bennett and Wight...

It's being pedantic, I know, and I'm probably fighting a losing battle, but I don't like the idea that moving to a lower number is in any way an "upgrade". It's just a meaningless change which serves no purpose other than to annoy those supporters who have already purchased a jumper with that player's original number. I know that if I was rewarded with a spot on the list and given any number from 1 to 99 I'd want to keep that number for the whole of my career, however long it may last. Players should be encouraged to stick with the one number and to make their own history with it. And the idea that a lower number is somehow a more privileged asset just seems like another way to differentiate players into the "haves" and "have nots" (meaning, in this instance, having the confidence of the coaches). I would have thought that's not the best way to unify a squad.

Ernest, I'm not sure I agree with you. On the rare occasion I see replays of games from the 60s and 70s I'm regularly surprised at how poor the quality actually is. I think we collectively remember the highlights of our youth and forget those dreadful games in the mudheaps of suburban grounds, the inability of players to find targets and the slow ball movement of the time caused by players almost always taking a mark and stopping before determining where to send their next kick.

Someone in AFL HQ has a horse running on Oaks Day?

I misread this on the first go and thought it was making a comment about Ray Biffen's propensity to place opposition players horizontally onto stretchers. Actually, makes sense that way, too.

Not sure I agree with your first paragraph, but definitely agree with the last. I've never understood why players change numbers during their careers or why we (the club) perpetuate the idea that a lower number is considered to have a premium. What message does it send to a player who's given a number in the 30s or 40s? We don't think you'll make it?

If you add in the mental strength required to play with the consistent commitment that he showed in possibly the worst VFL/AFL team of the last 50 years, I'm happy to have him in the top 10.

Smallest rehab group of all time.

My favourite thing about #31 is that it for the whole VFL/AFL competition, there's no-one else that comes close to RDB. Other numbers have arguable favourites. For example, #5 could be Ablett Sr, Judd, Buckley or Hird; #18 could be Lloyd or Carey; #23 could be Brereton, Franklin or Don Scott etc. But Barassi - as he should - stands alone.

Haven't they also "lost" (ie, delisted, traded, etc) something like 13 players? Even if they bring in Lindsay Thomas, that still leaves 6 slots for new players. My concern if I were a PA supporter is whether the 2018 version of the team can gel with so much change.

PA club rules must have something about having a Jack Trengove on their playing list at all times. Good luck to our (former) Jack. Hope he can make a success of his second chance.

Don't think it's your iPad. I'm on a PC with Windows 10 and the ability to edit seems to have disappeared for me, too. And now it's back...

We must read different texts. My version says that "I wouldn't..."