La Dee-vina Comedia

Actually, I see it the other way around. I'm hoping with players such as N Jones, Tyson, Viney, Newton and Lamumba he won't have to attack the game more aggressively and instead be used as the finisher of those other players' hard attacking work. If we want Watts to attack the game more aggressively I think we'll continue to be disappointed. However, if we want to make the best use of his skills, we could be very happy.

Wow. That's a quantum leap. If my doctor says I need an injection of cortisone and the nurse deliberately injects me with antibiotics instead, you think the doctor should be guilty?

Apologies. In hindsight I think that cliche above belongs on the "cliches which should be banned" thread.

I'm not for or against Jack Grimes being in the leadership group. But I suspect he can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Wholly agree with one proviso. What if they were told what was going into them via injection was "wholly legal beneficial vitamin which they confirmed with Doc Reid and ASADA" when in fact it was "Illegal dodgy factor X"?

"Mens rea" is another rule, meaning "guilty mind". Whether that concept is relevant to these proceedings like I understand it is for criminal matters, I'm not sure. If so, the question would have to be whether the Essendon players knew, or should have been expected to know, that what they were involved in might have been dodgy.

So, just to clarify. Not only were there no interchange players, but not even a 19th man. Is that right? So in this context does "rotated" mean moving from, say, the centre to the forward pocket? And if Bob Corbett "made his way back onto the ground", does that mean we played one short for a while? Really enjoy your work, DeeVoted. PLease keep it going.

Another one of those public school boys that some of our posters seem to dislike.

Are you sure you're not confusing AFL with NRL team training? (see page 23 of the Essendon 34 thread for an enlightening discussion about rugby).

Good stuff, Deevoted. So, is W McLelland on the half back line the same person after which the McLelland Trophy was named? And what was it awarded for? Was it for the best result in the Firsts, reserves and Under-19s?

Thanks Saty. Appreciate the insight.

I tincidunt Demonland, ergo sum. ("I post on Demonland, therefore I am") With thanks to Rene Descartes and Google Translate

I've been referred to more than once in the media as "a person with knowledge of the matter". I wonder if that means I don't really exist?

I'm sure Oscar Wilde could have come up with an appropriate line about losing a Coach, a CEO and a Captain all in the same off-season. "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

I think Melbourne will finish above Richmond on the ladder. It's more about Richmond struggling (because of lack of depth) than us massively improving.

"Those with knowledge of the case" is a pretty standard term when a journalist has spoken to someone who not only wants to remain anonymous but also doesn't want to be traced to any particular organisation or to one side or another in a legal dispute. On balance, when a journo claims they have information from "those with knowledge of the case" I would not only believe they have spoken to someone but that someone probably is in the know. What it doesn't tell you, though, is whether the person with the "knowledge of the case" is spinning a line.

I was once advised that rugby should be described as three men pushing two men up another man's bum (ie, backside, in case the auto-censor deletes the three letter alternative)

Saty, why do you say Jetta's a smokey? What does he have that makes you think he might be leadership material? I can see why you might have the others in your list, but I was surprised with Jetta's name popping up there.

My recollection is that back in the days when rugby union was played by amateurs and league by professionals, Union was described as a thugs game played by gentlemen whereas League was a thugs game played by thugs.

As a matter of interest, does anyone know how the Cronulla players who were suspended have been subsequently treated? Are they considered by the community at large and NRL supporters to be "drug cheats" or, instead, victims of their employer's expectations? I'm not so sure any Essendon player suspended (whether it had been via the "deal" offered last year or subsequently) will ever feel that others won't forever consider them to be drug cheats.

Yes, I'm at that unfortunate age. Old enough to have attended the 1964 Grand Final but too young then to actually remember it now.

Don't know about the pets, but the Collingwood Football Club gets a higher average IQ out of the deal.

I love reading all these great memories of players like Don Williams. Not because of how good they were but because if I can't remember them it means there are people older than me on Demonland.

Given this thread has degenerated into posts about tattoos (I'm now sorry for starting that line of debate) and avatars... I see Jazza's now moonlighting as a model

Sadly in some parts of Demonland it isn't either.