La Dee-vina Comedia

Interesting. Forcing the player to kick straight instead of snapping around the corner. I like it.

SEN's tweet says, "the hugely popular Gather Round". Was it hugely popular? I didn't get the sense that it was at all popular, let alone "hugely" popular, at least, outside SA. Or is that just my bias coming through?

Is it correct that Geelong is the second oldest club in the AFL? If so, why aren't Geelong and Melbourne finding a way to create a blockbuster game built on that rivalry? If there's one thing we should have learned over the last 30 years, blockbusters don't just happen. They need two clubs to work together to build a reason for people to attend. ANZAC Day and ANZAC Day eve are good examples. The time to do so is now, while the teams are the two most recent Premiers and regularly in contention for finals over the last 5 years (admittedly, even longer for Geelong).

I didn't even know manikin was a real word. Even so, I still read it as "mankini".

I guess limiting the analysis to home and away results presents a better story line.

Easy on, Kev! I thought you wrote, "They had the mankinis out..." A most troubling image. I assume you meant they had mannequins out. At least, I hope so.

How the days are counted are more than mere semantics, given the concussion protocol requires a 12 day break. I'm quite pleased that we have the invisible bye. We need to build on the momentum of having just beaten the competition leader. If the team had been given a "real" bye, we may have wasted that opportunity. Of course, if we'd lost last week, I may have thought differently.

Yes, there really is a Bye Street in Wagga Wagga, and, according to Google maps, others in Queensland, SA and the UK. So, with apologies to Lucifers Hero, what are they saying about us this week? The MRO has done us no favours by not finding anyone to suspend for not actually having caused any physical harm last week We’ve got them at a good time….they’re still scared and scarred from the 186 point thrashing by Geelong I’ll bet none of their supporters will be at the ground this week…they’re all up at the snow We’re meeting them at a bad time …they’ve never lost a game during the bye All camembert and no dinner Feel free to add your favourite. The more stereotypical, the better.

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".