La Dee-vina Comedia

Actually, I think the reverse. If Tyler Roos was drafted to Melbourne I'd see Paul Roos leaving claiming a conflict of interest. When Denis Pagan was coach of North Melbourne he had difficulties with how he managed his son who was on the Kanga's list for a while. Put simply, whichever approach Pagan (senior) took, he couldn't win.

What chance Brisbane is given a priority pick at the end of the year? (Lights touch paper and stands back)

There's another issue involved in the Tyson/Salem v Kelly debate which hasn't even been mentioned. The Melbourne strategy has reduced risk. I don't wish ill will on any player involved, but if one has a career threatening industry in his early years, which team would be better off? Melbourne still with one of Tyson or Salem playing or GWS with no-one? Sure, the higher risk (ie, GWS strategy) may produce a higher reward...but it also has a higher risk of going pear shaped.

Maybe it's the quality of the players available in any given year, but the 1993 nominees for the Rising Star were pretty good. Four Brownlow medallists for a start - Buckley, Crawford, Hird and Ricciuto. Plus a few other handy types such as Neitz, Archer, Dustin Fletcher, Misiti, Matthew Richardson and Scott West.

Which compares with Boomer Harvey's 167cm, 75kg...and 369 games (and counting). If anyone thinks size was a factor they must have forgotten that one of the great appeals of AFL is that all shapes and sizes can get a game as long as they've got the skills. (Admittedly, if you're small, you must be fast - either by foot or in mind).

So, do you like Barrett or not? Stop sitting on the fence!

Footy Classified also compared stats for Tyson's first 20 games with the first 20 for others including Judd, Ablett, Deledio and a couple of other stars of the game. He appears to have had an average of more disposals and tackles (and something else...was it goals?) per game than all of them. Admittedly, possession numbers today are much greater per team than just a few years ago, so if those stars were starting out today I'm sure their figures would be higher too. But let's not let the facts get too much in the way of a good story.

I wonder how Damian Barrett would have responded to the old Hawthorn line of moving Peter Hudson to CHF if Jesus Christ had come to Hawthorn in the 1970s? Would probably have taken it seriously and argued that Hudson was the better option.

P-man, you've got way too much time on your hands. And I'm so glad that you have. Thankyou.

Happy now?

Where's JKH from? I vaguely recall he played in a Victorian TAC side, but where is his home? In other words, is there a "go home" factor that needs to be nullified by a longer contract?

On Twitter a few minutes ago: .@3AWNeilMitchell has a tip-off that Jack Watts has agreed to stay at @melbournefc. Neil's been right about Roos and new president #goodmail

From a batting point of view, I wish our embarrassment of riches was numbers 1 to 7 rather than 8 to 11. It's sort of like Melbourne's forward line at the moment with our midfield being equivalent to Australia's batting top 6.

I prefer "Corporal"...for all the F-Troop nerds out there. Mind you, if you can find some link between him and Drew Petrie, I'll swing back to "The Microbiologist".

According to official AFL stats, Morton had 19 disposals with 68% efficiency. This translates to 13 disposals which were efficient and 6 which weren't. Our co-captains had 17 at 53% efficiency (9 efficient; 8 inefficient) and 25 at 64% (16 efficient; 9 inefficient). So, he had fewer "inefficient" disposals than either Trengove or Grimes. Yes, he's frustrating, but let's keep this in perspective. And to the person who said he'd have poor trade value because of the history of his brothers, surely you jest. So Travis Cloke would have no value because neither of his brothers were much good? Or Gary Ablett Sr because when Geelong took him they should have known Kelvin Ablett was a dud? Or maybe Hawthorn should have delisted Leigh Matthews earlier because his brother wasn't much good. Or Robert Flower and Jim Stynes...

Just to add one extra name, even though he doesn't call AFL, I think Peter Donegan is one of the best and most versatile sports callers going around. Wouldn't mind having him call AFL rather than VFL (but please don't bring David Rhys-Jones or Phil Cleary with him). For our non-Victorian friends, Peter Donegan calls VFL games on ABC1 each Saturday with David Rhys-Jones and Phil Cleary adding not very special comments.

I don't like Eddie McGuire as a commentator. But he's achieved something I never thought anyone would be able to do and I'm not sure how he did it. For all my life up until a few years ago there was only one team everybody (other than their own supporters) detested and that was Collingwood. I now believe Collingwood is less disliked than Carlton and possibly Richmond and Essendon. It's a clear cultural shift and probably the most significant thing Eddie has achieved for Collingwood, even though he has tried to mask it by promoting the "us v them" (aka "side by side we stick together") line whenever possible. I thought I'd never see an AFL competition without Collingwood as the 'go to' team to deride. But it's happened.

Wish he was list manager solely so we could see the headline "Lamb chops Dunn"

Can I put in a vote for my least liked? Mark Robinson, hands down. But to answer the question, I like Commetti and for special comments Matthew Lloyd and Robert Walls (but the latter on radio only).

Great idea. I'm no fan of the tracksuit/polo top being worn at club functions or when representing the club in the media, but I suspect players will still be wearing the sponsored gear at most appearances. I note players will get one blazer when they start. What happens if they grow out of it?

Sorry, mate. Strongly disagree. Neeld has gone out of his way not to comment on the past, thereby avoiding any commentary on Bailey. Certainly his comments for the future reflect on Bailey's time (eg, the team isn't fit enough) but I believe he's done so with good grace with respect to our former coach and his regime as, by the way, I think Bailey has similarly behaved since his departure.

I don't agree. I believe they were picked on the quality of their performance compared with others on the list and available at the time. Lack of team success was due to the level of performance of the team being insufficient - not because players were picked for the wrong reason.

LOL...well, almost. It seems to me under Bailey MFC has sought players who have both skill and character. Fev had (maybe still has) the former, but fails the latter. Interesting posts throughout this thread, but one option that seems to be missed is the possibility of playing Stef Martin as KPF with Jamar and Gawn filling the ruck roles. I'm not sure it's the best idea, but I'm pretty sure it's better than recruiting Fev, Jesse White or any other unwanted player at another club.

The Casey Scorpions already have approval for a pokies venue at Casey Fields. Getting a new pokies venue approved anywhere is difficult and can be expensive. Just ask the Western Bulldogs - after a long battle to get Club Edgewater approved, they are still yet to turn the first sod. I suspect that if the MFC takes obver the Bentleigh Club it will be to keep it going where it is. Any other option would be too expensive. Whether it's a good idea or not, it's impossible to tell without seeing and understanding the due diligence information which the MFC presumably has undertaken.