La Dee-vina Comedia

His hope it will end soon makes perfect sense if you add on the words "...with a result in our favour".

I've read your initial post and compared it with your later one. in my opinion, your first is significantly more pejorative in style, hence my suggestion you were back pedalling. However, if you say you weren't I accept in good faith that you weren't. Others can make up their own minds.

If Champion Data had Dean Terlich as "best general defender" (whatever that means), it says more about the weaknesses in Champion Data's methodology than the strengths in Dean Terlich's game.

Insert backpedalling gif here:

So "Pom Frites" would be a synonym for "Saty's Spuds" Disclaimer: I don't like using the term "spud" to describe any footballer other than Danny Frawley.

Sure you're not thinking about what the Bulldogs might be offering? Every club compliments their new coach as the best thing since the last coach who won them a Premiership. Doesn't take long for the attitude to change, though.

Forging signatures?

I think the most important position for team success is the second KPF. With only one star KPF a team will struggle; give that team a second KPF, the first one has much greater ability to impact the contest and ultimately dominate the game.

That's why betting exchanges (such as Betfair) exist. However, given your self-confessed "ignorance" (your word, not mine) I'd suggest that you'd best not go there.

Keep in mind that any person considering placing a bet on any game or result involving Essendon should be aware of that risk and therefore determine what they think the odds should be with that knowledge. In other words, the risk should already be included in the price.

Pot. Kettle. Black?

I wanted to click "Like This" but somehow it seems like I'd be saying I like Neal-Bullen having this injury. So instead, I'll thank Webber for the info. On the basis that most 1st year players probably wouldn't get much if any game time in their first year, Neal-Bullen's absence for most of 2015 is unlikely to be noticed. Nevertheless, I hope he recovers well and as quickly as possible.

And here's the really important question: Is he normally called Gus?

Wrong thread, DC. Surely you're referring to the cherry picker.

Your uncle is the Wilmer McLean of the AFL. The US Civil War started on his property at Manassas, just outside Washington DC, and finished with the surrender meeting in the living room of the house that he'd moved to 200 km away.

Sure you weren't thinking of Glen Waverley and the Mentones?

Saty, you're on the money again. Just tweeted by Travis King from AFL: "Attack of the drones! A Hawthorn drone has crash-landed next to players moments before an intra-squad match."

Might just be easier to make a play for Jack Gunston in trade week.

Presumably the next iteration is "Lamb steaks out of the middle..."

Clearly we're behind the times once again. Should have a drone.

I haven't thought this through enough to have a view, but an alternative might be to publish bands within which player salaries fall. For example, John Smith $600,000-$700,000 Bob Miller $450,000-$600,000 Bill Bloggs $200,000-$450,000 etc

Another great report, DeeVoted but there's a possible discrepancy in the umpire's name. You have it as McMurray in one place and Coward as another. Just to get in first, interesting that the umpire in 1900 was Crapp and in 1939 was a Coward. edit: fix typo

Great work RB. It goes to show how well written and constructed your pieces are that after reading about the need to add nutrition to the brain, the very next line I read as "Lamumba streaks out of the middle with a nice red..."

It wasn't intended as a slight on Neeld (or Malthouse). Rather I was commenting on what I perceive as a different approach. Mick's method has clearly worked for him and that it didn't for Neeld doesn't mean the theory was necessarily wrong, just that its execution didn't succeed. Similarly, the Roos approach may or may not work every time.

Just to expand on the issue about Jack Watts and aggression... In my opinion, the way Mick Malthouse and, I suspect, Mark Neeld coach(ed) was to say to the players. "This is my hypothetical perfect footballer. You have to change to become that footballer". On the other hand, I believe Paul Roos coaches by saying to the players "I need to know what you're good at and what your weaknesses are. We're going to make the best use of your strengths and try to eliminate your weaknesses."