La Dee-vina Comedia

I thought Petracca was playing more of the Oliver role; that is, the first-possession extractor. That role is always going to lead to lower efficiency than the outside distribution role he usually plays. In fact, I gave Petracca votes because of the job he did.

I doubt anyone had Geelong and "much needed experience" on their bingo card this year. Is the statement, that Geelong needs more experience even close to accurate?

6. Viney 5. Salem 4. May 3. Tomlinson 2. Petracca (disagree with The Age that called him "ineffectual". I thought his ability to extract the contested ball and stand up when tackled went a long way toward us winning) 1. Neal-Bullen (spent a lot of time successfully minding N Daicos early and then used his power running in the last quarter to cause huge problems for the Pies) I notice that a lot of people have given votes to Hunter and Rivers. I thought Hunter made too many simple disposal errors. Rivers was probably unlucky not to get a vote from me. But so were Grundy, McVee and Brayshaw (after a dodgy start)

Are you referring to Mark Jackson? I can't imagine how difficult it would be to play football either with or against someone like him.

I thought 'surreal' was word reserved for footballers starting their career in this millennium. I'm quite pleased to see it was already in use by footballers in 1973.

I think Blair Campbell is credited with inventing the "banana kick" (aka, "checkside"). I don't know who invented the round the corner kick, but Steve Johnson from Geelong appears to be getting a lot of credit for it. Whether that's for inventing it, perfecting it, or for growing its popularity amongst modern players I'm not sure.

Just seeking clarification...did he actually wear the spectacles on the field in his first game? I never remember seeing him playing in spectacles. The only players I can recall who have worn spectacles while playing are Geoff Blethyn and Mason Cox.

Get well soon, Monbon.

I'm trying to work out what the literally qualifies here: the "almost", the "got away", the "murder" or the "week after week". Or perhaps "literally" is (ironically, literally) not the correct word. 🙂

She used to read the sport for 7 News in Melbourne on weekends. Also co-hosts various sporting coverages such as the Olympics. Is also the great Herb Elliott's granddaughter.

Passage of time means older thugs are not appropriately remembered. I didn't see either play but I suspect Jack Dyer and Mopsy Fraser may consider themselves unlucky to have been overlooked. Conversely, 'Diminutive of Richard' Reynolds would likely be a saint.

On the other hand, the bad thing about stats is that they are a quantitative measure with limited qualitative application. To be fair to Champion Data and others, over time they have tried to introduce quality measures such as effectiveness and efficiency, but the moment you do that, you introduce subjectivity into the data.

I guess it depends of your definition of success. Premierships won? Nope - Essendon and Carlton each have more. It's even worse if counting from the creation of the national competition in 1987. Club wealth? I believe West Coast is financially stronger Supporter numbers? They're probably number one in the land, but equally, I suspect there are more people who dislike Collingwood than any other club. In some respects, one cancels out the other

Red delicious?

I doubt footy shows have become any worse. Your declining interest in footy media may be less about the quality of the shows themselves and more about the passage of time. I know that I would consume almost anything football-related in 2021 and while we were reigning premiers in 2022. Now that we've been displaced, I'm less interested in all forms of footy media.

Please sir, can I have some more?

I thought the system was meant to be focussing on potential to cause harm and not so much on the eventual outcome. If that was the case, Pickett was extemely lucky only to get two weeks. He should have got 4 as should have deGoey as they both had the same potential.

Or do you mean Oscar the Grouch? He lived in a trash can. (Of course, if Sesame Street was set in Australia, he would have lived in a rubbish bin, not a trash can.)

How can someone with the name @layzie be so quick?

I have always assumed some underlings at the AFL go through all the games and identify matters which require the MROs judgement. The MRO would then only have to look at the cases he's presented with, rather than watching through every game. It wouldn't surprise if those same underlings also make recommendations to the MRO as to suggested penalties for each case they present using the standard formula and showing similar past incidents as points of reference. The MRO can then decide whether to agree with the recommendations or not. In the end, the MRO is accountable for every decision. Anyway, if I was in charge of AFL operations, that's how I would run it.

I'm just glad to be in the conversation. Remember the dark years? At this time of the season all the discussion was about end of season personnel changes either to the playing list, the coaching panel (from the top down) or both.

Makes me wonder...has Smith been picked to be an attacking player or to use his defensive experience in an effort to curb Weitering's influence?

If we think the situation with us is "bad" because of uncertainty or the change in interpretation which is leading to "the boys being tentative", wouldn't it be the same for every other club? At least we are apparently doing something about it. Are the other clubs?

This will definitely end in tears. I'm just not sure whose.

If the two clubs wanted to be serious about it, it would be something named after Ron Barassi