La Dee-vina Comedia

Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc 22m22 minutes ago OPEN TRAINING: Monday’s training at Gosch's Paddock will be an open session, commencing at 2.30pm - http://mfcde.es/2016trainingtimes …

I notice Nick O'Brien was delisted today by Essendon (along with Wil Hams). I'm surprised. Not only did O'Brien put N Jones out of business in our game against them this year, he's had quite a few good games. I don't expect we'll pick him up but I expect someone will.

Is that Saty in the background?

This sounds more like something said at a seminary. I'm just a bit disappointed you didn't find a way to include Francis.

Still too egotistical. Need to drop the first word.

I misread "picks" as "pricks" and thought I was back on the WADA thread for a moment there.

Damn. Didn't read this until now. This strategy would have worked and delivered a positive result.

Such negativity! It's apparently detrimental, you know.

That's a high bar you've set for elite if Aker and Black can't make it. Both are triple Premiership players, each has a Brownlow and one has a Norm Smith medal (with Aker only missing out because Black got it that year). I'd comfortably call them elite.

In other news, the PM has ditched kinghthoods and damehoods. But, SWYL, those who were knighted in the the interregnum get to keep their honorific. So, continue on, Sir.

When you say the AFLPA is funded by the AFL, what proportion of their funding comes from there? 100%? 50%? It's a very good point you make and I agree that if the players want the AFLPA to represent them, they should be paying for it themselves. Edit: fix spelling

Not so much on the "low side" but on the "equal side". I shouldn't have used the word "dishonesty". It would have been better if I had written " I suspect the withholding of information on both sides makes it a fair exchange of information." My primary point still stands - if we want players to be helped by their managers, the players need to have confidence that their managers can keep a secret.

Perhaps the agent didn't know it was Carlise...or maybe he did. I wouldn't know this player agent from a bar of soap but I do know that I wouldn't trust him or any other agent whatever they said about their clients. Partly it's because I expect them to represent their clients to the best of their ability. It's also because I suspect clubs are equally guilty when "hiding" their own internal problems from players who they wish to draft in. And also clubs likely do not disclose what they know of their own players' failings when they try to move them on. In summary, I suspect the dishonesty on both sides makes it a fair exchange of information.

Getting back on topic, I thought further over the weekend about he player managers' role when players get themselves into trouble as happened with Carlisle. There appears to be three schools of thought being (1) the manager had a responsibility to tell St Kilda that he was aware of Carlisle's misdemeanour prior to the trade being finalised, (2) the manager was under no obligation to tell St Kilda but, if asked a direct question, would have had to answer honestly or (3) the manager was under no obligation to tell St Kilda but, if asked a direct question could answer dishonestly. I have not changed my view and still support option 2. Others have argued that the manager has a responsibility for the player's welfare and I fully agree. If we want player managers to look after their clients we have to provide an environment that encourages players to share their dark secrets with their managers. If managers have to disclose their clients' problems to the clubs, players will cease to advise their managers of their problems. So, I believe McConville was absolutely in the right for not disclosing Carlisle's bad behaviour to St Kilda.

dc, are you referring to Carlisle or the manager? As it happens, I'm not sure either had a duty to disclose the information, but neither should they complain if action is now taken against Carlisle including, should the Saints want, termination of the contract or a substantial rewriting of its terms.

Interestingly, the odds of winning first prize in Australian Powerball is 1 in 76,767,600. In an amazing coincidence, mathematicians call that number a "Prendergast".

With list lodgments made today, the AFL has released a table showing all players who have left clubs by trade, retirement or delisting. Here's the list. There are a lot of names on that list, probably more than 50%, who I've never heard of.

My personal view is that it's Channel 7's short termism which is the problem. The AFL has to keep that organisation happy to keep the money flowing. If the AFL (or the public) could explain the principal of business sustainability to that TV network then I think the AFL competition would benefit...and eventually so would the holder of the TV rights.

I'm not sure I agree. If I'm being interviewed for a job and I'm asked a question and answer it falsely, that's a problem. But if I'm not asked the question, am I obliged to provide information damaging to my prospects?

My concern with lifting the draft age is whether young men will wait to be drafted into the AFL or be lost in the meantime to other sports or careers. What would you have done at 18? Waited around for one or two years after you'd finished school hoping to get drafted or moved on with your life? I know it doesn't have to be an "eithor/or" situation for everyone, but I suspect the talent pool would diminish overall.

How so?

Always good to see Moderators finding ways around the auto-censor.

There's a few more than Heppell and Hooker. For example, Hurley, Goddard, Daniher (subject to expected maturity), Zaharakis, Zac Merritt, Baguely...they're all pretty good.

The AFLPA's job is to support the players. The player managers' job is to look after the interests of the players they represent. The only failure here is from the player himself. If he's brought the game into disrepute (arguable, but definitely something to consider), then the player should be penalised.

For everyone complaining about "equalisation" keep in mind that the major driver of equalisation is money. Whether that money helps clubs with off field staff, rebuilds grandstands or is used for promotions, that money has to come from somewhere. And the biggest source of money is TV rights. So, to help with equalisation the AFL needs to create a draw that satisfies the wishes of its TV "partners". I suspect the major problems with the draw result from the unwillingness of the free-to-air TV partner to see the bigger picture. So rather than wishing for a pox on both AFL House and the Seven Network (which are ironically both physically located in the same building), I just want to wish it upon the Seven Network.