La Dee-vina Comedia

I'm a member of the MCC and just received an email inviting me to respond to a survey about the MCC and the use of the MCG. I have used it to request that the gameday experience be improved by getting rid of the music. If you agree with that and are also invited to respond to the survey, please ensure you make the same comment. I have also asked that those teams who use the MCG as their home ground not be required to have a home game at Marvel. I know that's not likely to change and is a decision of the AFL, not the MCC. But it's still worth saying.

I often wondered what the collective noun would be for a group of fitness professionals. Now I know. It's a mantra of burges.

It would be nice. But there's much more value to be had from working on other matters. I'm just interested in putting limited resources (including time) into areas where we can get the most value.

Actually, probably not. The likelihood of these same players facing the same set of circumstances once again in their professional career is remote. I'd rather they concentrated on things that are more likely going to be relevant such as field kicking and kicking for goal.

There's so much to digest in this single sentence. (If it's a cultural reference to something, it's gone completely over my head.)

I'm not convinced Petty comes in for May. I think Howes is more likely given St Kilda's relatively small forward line.

Do we need a third tall defender against St Kilda? I would have thought Howes for May might be a better option than bringing in Petty as a key defender. However, Petty could play forward instead of Jefferson, although Johnson could be preferred because he's a better option to assist Gawn.

If Greg Swann gets his way now that he's at AFL HQ, he's going to get rid of the ruck nomination rule and have the field umpires throw the ball up and the boundary umpires throw the ball in much more quickly. That will necessitate teams playing at least two players capable of being ruckmen on the field at all times. I suspect it will be delivered as a rule change at the same time as the sub is abolished in favour of a fifth interchange player. (I support the first idea, but not the second, even though the coaches will argue that the fifth interchange player allows them to play another ruck option.) Max (and every other number 1 ruckman) will need more help on field if this happens.

I'm disappointed that the mods haven't deleted this post which is horribly sexist. Or at least edited out the last 10 words which are completely unnecessary.

You're classifying Pickett as an on-baller?

Yes, you do!

Selection integrity means different things to different people. For some, it's about trying to win here and now; for others it's about building a team for the future. In that latter example, players need to be tried to see if they are worth persevering with. They may not be ready yet, but if they show enough potential, then it's also important to give them game experience now, even if they are not yet fully ready. Hence, I agree with DeeSpencer. I've seen enough to know that Billings is not the answer, even though he might be a better prospect than some others to help us win a game in the short term.

It's definitely a no-win situation. If we had come out at the beginning of the season saying we were "rebuilding on the run" every loss would have been viewed through the prism of tanking. (Not only that, what would such a statement have meant for the playing group? Why would they have had any incentive to try their hardest? And why would supporters bother to attend matches? or take out memberships?)

I know it's a shadow, but at first glance James Hird looks like he's stacked on junk in the trunk. Or he's wearing a bustle.

So would I. The three week penalty suggests a lack of certainty in the mind of the MRO/AFL. It should be either a 5-6 week penalty because it was a reckless action or nothing because it was an unfortunate footy accident. Three weeks smacks of a compromise trying to please all parties and effectively pleasing no-one. I suspect the appeal will be successful.

Do you mean the battle or the war? I'd like to think our club is playing to win our next premiership and not solely to win next week. With that in mind, the club should be balancing the importance of including experienced players with the value of developing the next generation.

I thought the consensus in the footy media was the opposite to this.

With thanks to the statistician Swamp, Melksham is the first Melbourne player since David Neitz in 2006 to kick 4+ goals in three straight games. That's a long time!

Petracca 5. Gawn 4. Langford 3. Salem 2. Melksham 1. Fritsch Gawn wasn't as dominant as he has been against lesser opponents. But his nullification of Xerri in a fascinating battle was a significant win for the team. It's nice to be able to give votes to a couple of the forwards, too. And Langford - wow!

So close!

My brain hurts. Demonland is in a muddle. Do we want to "play the kids" or not? If we do, then playing Jefferson, Windsor, Tholstrop, Langford, Lindsay, van Rooyen and Henderson (if he plays, which I doubt) makes sense. Yet Demonland is full of mixed messages about this week's team

State of Origin is NRL's biggest...problem. Why? because (1) it disenfranchises every supporter of NRL who is not from NSW or Queensland and (2) it has turned the NRL Premiership season into a second-tier competition. NRL is about to establish a team in Perth. How can there be proper engagement with the people of WA when the competition will continue to promote State of Origin between Qld and NSW as its premier event leaving Western Australians to be "second class citizens"? And relying on State of Origin so much is like Cricket Australia promoting Ashes Cricket and leaving every other form of test cricket withering on the vine. The AFL Commission would be wise to consider the negatives of NRL's State of Origin as well as the positives. I happen to think the long-term effects of the negative outweigh the positives.

Is that official?

For a moment there I thought Clarrie had three hands - his right hand free, his left one holding the ball, and another one holding a phone!

Presumably the 12-day concussion protocol also prevents players from participating in any form of physical training. Petty and Howe were concussed on 28 June, so are still within that 12 day timeline.