La Dee-vina Comedia

I'd be very surprised if the coach and match committee were blind-sided by Gunston's and Rich's decisions. I think it's more likely that their decisions were made after each had had a discussion with the coach about what their immediate future holds. That doesn't necessarily mean that Gunston and Rich jumped because they had been forewarned they may be dropped, though.

This is a record we have to wait for someone else to break, but we have the worst losing streak at any venue this century with 22 at Marvel stadium between 2008-2015. It's also the worst losing streak in the AFL era. We'll be waiting a while for someone else to take the 21st century mantle, too. The contenders are Adelaide and Brisbane at Kardinia Park (13), Brisbane with 12 at the MCG, and St Kilda (11) also at Kardinia Park. Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-16/brisbane-lions-afl-issues-at-the-mcg/102482294?utm_medium=social&utm_content=sf267399962&utm_campaign=tw_abc_news&utm_source=t.co&sf267399962=1

I'm tossing up whether you mean apostrophe or whether it's a subtle dig at Queen Camilla, given her surname was the hyphenated Parker-Bowles.

Pretty safe strategy overall during the last 15 years or so.

Get into any mischief? Get involved in off-field punch-ups...? (When was the Entrecote fiasco?)

Genuine question: Has David King ever coached?

Agree, but it's very hard to notice if the only opportunity to view games is via TV. What the hard runners like Neal-Bullen do isn't really observable on TV. On the other hand it was very noticeable at the ground on Monday, particularly in the last quarter. At one moment Neal-Bullen is in the back pocket and the next on the wing; he's chasing an opponent and then is suddenly providing an attacking option. It's actually quite enthralling watching him play, just for the way he switches so quickly from defence to attack and back again. And he's not the only one.

For all the ANB haters, I note that in a theoretical State of Origin team for South Australia presented in today's The Age, he's been picked on the bench. That team was selected by Kane Cornes.

Jack Gunston's late father was highly regarded when he worked within AFL circles, both at Essendon and within the AFL itself. He was known as a man of high integrity. It doesn't surprise me one bit if Jack G has inherited that streak of honour and taken the initiative and, in effect, dropped himself so as to make life easier for his club.

We essentially have an invisible bye. It was 10 days between the Carlton and Collingwood games and will be another 10 days between the Collingwood and Geelong games, even though we have our nominal "bye" in between. As a football watcher, I've never liked byes, so I quite like the breakdown (even though I detest Thursday night football). But what does it mean for the players? Physically, I suspect it's quite a good arrangement. They get longish breaks between three games, but not so long that they might lose any condition. But do they get the mental break they might need?

There were times during the Collingwood game where I wished McVee and Salem were doing all the inside 50 kicks. Both were so far ahead of every other Melbourne player for consistently good and effective disposal.

Sorry. I was being a bit cheeky - I knew you meant growing up overseas.

Who are your three Irishmen? I've got four in mind: Jim Stynes, Sean Wight, Tadgh Kenneally and Zac Tuohy. For what it's worth, I like Mason Cox and believe his ability to get to 100 AFL games is a huge achievement. History has shown that it's been harder for Ameericans to learn our game than the Irish. The definition of "import" perhaps needs clarification, too. There's bloke who was born in Austria who came to Australia as a 4 year old who played alright. Hint: Ukranian father and Russian mother. Played for Carlton (and St Kilda, although no-one cares about that bit.) I have no idea what went on between Cox and Petracca, and, frankly don't care.

Agree with everything said here. It's only at the ground that you can see what he does. We probably wouldn't have won against Collingwood without him. He minimised Nick Daicos's influence in the first half. His hard running in the last was rewarded with a goal which was only possible because he outran the Collingwood player to get to the drop of the ball.

I really don't think we should argue this point. Our home ground is where the AFL Grand Finals are always played (apart from World Wars, pandemics, etc). I don't want supporters of a club that has won 9 premierships arguing that our 13 are somehow tainted because we won most of them with a home ground advantage. In fact, I find this whole "woe is me" argument that we have to play at Kardinia Park when the big teams don't tiresome. It's solvable in a very logical way - become a big team, like Collingwood and Carlton, so that the AFL will choose to play more of our games against Geelong at the MCG.

I wasn't aware that Joel Smith "has the tank", ie, has great aerobic capacity. I've never really seen that in him. What I did see yesterday, though, was enough to convince me we should persist with him as a key forward for a bit longer.

Almost every week someone wants to replace the sub with another player. This week, its Oliver for Jordon. Unless those making the suggestion want Oliver to be the sub (which I'll assume is unlikely), another player has to make way. That player might end up as sub. But the sub, in this case Jordon, is already considered to be an "out".

I thought Petracca was playing more of the Oliver role; that is, the first-possession extractor. That role is always going to lead to lower efficiency than the outside distribution role he usually plays. In fact, I gave Petracca votes because of the job he did.

I doubt anyone had Geelong and "much needed experience" on their bingo card this year. Is the statement, that Geelong needs more experience even close to accurate?

6. Viney 5. Salem 4. May 3. Tomlinson 2. Petracca (disagree with The Age that called him "ineffectual". I thought his ability to extract the contested ball and stand up when tackled went a long way toward us winning) 1. Neal-Bullen (spent a lot of time successfully minding N Daicos early and then used his power running in the last quarter to cause huge problems for the Pies) I notice that a lot of people have given votes to Hunter and Rivers. I thought Hunter made too many simple disposal errors. Rivers was probably unlucky not to get a vote from me. But so were Grundy, McVee and Brayshaw (after a dodgy start)

Are you referring to Mark Jackson? I can't imagine how difficult it would be to play football either with or against someone like him.

I thought 'surreal' was word reserved for footballers starting their career in this millennium. I'm quite pleased to see it was already in use by footballers in 1973.

I think Blair Campbell is credited with inventing the "banana kick" (aka, "checkside"). I don't know who invented the round the corner kick, but Steve Johnson from Geelong appears to be getting a lot of credit for it. Whether that's for inventing it, perfecting it, or for growing its popularity amongst modern players I'm not sure.

Just seeking clarification...did he actually wear the spectacles on the field in his first game? I never remember seeing him playing in spectacles. The only players I can recall who have worn spectacles while playing are Geoff Blethyn and Mason Cox.

Get well soon, Monbon.