La Dee-vina Comedia

They looked skywards and saw more stars than Satyr's seen in a lifetime.

Now that this thread is about to be replaced with a fresh one for today's training, I think it's worth mentioning that this one may be the best training thread in Demonland history. Well done to all posters for (almost always) staying on topic and not allowing the thread to degenerate into personal abuse. And many thanks to the track watchers who give the rest of us the benefit of their observations.

Although I assume that Essendon FC can't pay for Mick or any other coach, fitness or otherwise. Perhaps a sponsor could. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

But what if, true to form, he's still wrong?

Query. If the players can have nothing to do with the club while they are suspended, can the club and the players work together on this appeal? It would seem bizarre if they can't...but as we've seen for a few years now, not everything seems to follow the Book of Logic.

Can you paint?

What's the point in asking? All you'll get is spin.

Why? if it's not costing anything, where's the down side for the players? If they risk a longer suspension, then I'd agree with you. But do they? And it doesn't matter what Lindsay Tanner thinks about their chances. This is a decision of the players who (presumably) can't discuss it with the club even if they wanted to.

i'm more concerned that the journo is relying on Facebook as a source of information, although at least that's been disclosed.

You seem to have missed the "If" in my post.

I'll put my hand up. I'll miss him. The best taker of marks I've ever seen and not just the spectacular ones. (Honourable mention must go to Greg Parke.) Did he impact games enough? Possibly not...but in the 100 games he played, not many others did either. Perhaps in a better team he may have been more productive overall.

So can we say that Howe moving from Melbourne to Collingwood increased the average IQ of both teams? (An oldie but a goodie)

Just like we expect players to run, kick and handball at training the way we want them to play, we should also expect that they should tackle the same way. If Viney's tackle of McDonald would have resulted in a 2-3 week suspension, then Viney has failed at training to do what is required and needs to be taught how to tackle correctly.

Does anyone know what 'modified' rules are in play for the preseason comp? (ie, supergoals, etc). I must admit to fence-sitting on the issue. On the one hand, I think any pre-season matches should be played with rules as close as possible to the real thing. Otherwise it doesn't help teams to fine-tune their style of play. On the other hand, I see some value for the AFL in using the pre-season games as a test lab for ideas to see if they work in (almost) real life situations. On balance, I suspect the test lab is more valuable overall than having simulations of the real thing.

I'll take a punt and suggest that at least one EFC player checked AOD-9604 with ASADA who either (a) provided the wrong advice or (b) subsequently couldn't prove they had provided that player with correct advice. I suspect ASADA's records may not necessarily have been that good at that time, either. (I'd be willing to bet they are OK now, though.)

Is that right? I thought he confessed to AD-9604, which was subsequently found not to be illegal, but was suspended for TB-4.

I note that Collingwood is today among friends. If I recall correctly Ararat used to (still does?) host Victoria's prison for the criminally insane (ie, those found not guilty by reason of insanity). Collingwood FC ‏@CollingwoodFC 19m19 minutes ago The calm before the storm... Day two of our #AFLCommunityCamp starts NOW in Ararat. #gopies

I note that Collingwood is today among friends. If I recall correctly Ararat used to (still does?) host Victoria's prison for the criminally insane (ie, those found not guilty by reason of insanity). Collingwood FC ‏@CollingwoodFC 19m19 minutes ago The calm before the storm... Day two of our #AFLCommunityCamp starts NOW in Ararat. #gopies

We must have had tighter non-gameday playing with the dog rules.

Love your work DeeSpencer. Can you explain the reasoning behind the 9-7 ratio? I would have thought a more realistic gameday situation would be 7-9 (ie, 7 attackers to 9 defenders) not the other way around. I find it hardly surprising when the attacking team has two more players than the defenders that they can look good. I'd be disappointed if they didn't. Any idea why they practice in that way?

We need to get our nicknames right. Surely 'truck' should be used for Petracca and 'van' for VandenBerg. And I'll accept Mack Truck for the two McDonalds.

We use the word 'traditional' pretty loosely these days, don't we? I guess if we keep saying it long enough people will start to believe it.

Because I want to get to the truth. You know, all that evidence he's got which will clear the players.

Does anyone know when the first of Stephen Dank's legal actions are due to be heard in court?

Actually, Barassi is our Barassi. Irrespective of his involvement with other clubs, always was, always will be. [PS: I know what you mean, though and don't disagree.]