La Dee-vina Comedia

Me too.

I'm really looking forward to playing Essendon in Melbourne. Oh, wait...that's not happening this year because of the Gather Round. Stupid programming from the AFL.

He's picked as one of the four emergencies from where the sub gets selected. So he's still a chance to be the sub. If May plays and Tomlinson is selected as the sub, be prepared for 4 million posts on Demonland wailing that it's proof that May isn't 100%, shouldn't be playing and everyone from the coaching team to the medicos should be sacked.

That's not Daniher. It's Dustin Fletcher. Easy mistake to make, though. The best way to tell them apart is the hair colour. And that one was actually a very good footballer.

Do we know that as fact or is just an assumption, albeit both a logical and emotional one?

I think it's dreadful. There is nothing unique to Melbourne in it other than the name "Melbourne" and "Demons". Change those and it could be used for any of the other 17 teams.

I've been wondering for a while, but what does the expression "Captain's run" actually mean? Is it (1) the captain takes charge of training with no coaches present? (2) it's just the squad picked for the game including emergencies? (3) it's training like always but a shorter or lighter load? (4) any other option or combination of the above?

Old habits die hard. I assume you mean Hunter.

In the past, a player's history was taken into consideration when penalties were determined. I think that methodology no longer applies, although I think it should - both for repeat offenders and conversely for the genuine good guys who make a one-off mistake.

Why on earth is this game starting at 7.55pm? I realise that it will only be 6.55pm in Brisbane. However, the inconsistency of game starting times does my head in!

It's getting off the topic, but your comment about "pure talent and having plenty of that type of player" is an interesting one. Firstly, the salary cap essentially limits the number of players any club can have with "pure talent". Secondly, one of the criticisms of GWS has been that perhaps it had too many players of "pure talent" and not enough of the other type ("role players", "players prepared to get their hands dirty", or any other euphemism you prefer). In other words, the system requires teams to have a "balanced" list made up of skill and grunt. If you can combine the two in as many players as possible, all the better.

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" said Winston Churchill about this thread. Some extraordinary extrapolation going on here.

I imagine most player managers tell their clients not to say anything publicly about their intentions. I don't know what Brayshaw's manager advised, but he (Brayshaw) is more articulate and intelligent than most players and was more mature than either Pickett or Jackson when he made his comments.

What's Cornes' sinister motive?

Excellent post. We shouldn't complain about Pickett's two weeks. It's what he deserves. The real issue is whether the MRO will remain consistent throughout the season. If not, that's when we should complain. If this sentencing policy had been in place for the last few years, I doubt Pickett would have done what he did because he would have been conditioned to play differently. Hopefully he'll learn from this and take late bumps out of his game. And that will make it a safer sport, which needs to be the priority here.

6. Petracca (I felt he turned the game in the 2nd quarter, which was why I had him ahead of Gawn) 5. Gawn 4. Pickett 3. Lever 2. Oliver 1. Tomlinson It was a toss-up between Tomlinson and Neal-Bullen for the last vote. I decided on Tomlinson, not just because the Bulldogs tall forwards were neutralised, but because his work allowed Lever to do what he does best by zoning off.

Just one more... Best: Jeremy Howe flying for marks Worst: Jeremy Howe landing awkwardly. I hope he has a speedy recovery and can get back on the playing field. The game is so much better for his marking skill. Undoubtedly, the best exponent of not just the high, spectacular mark, but any form of marking that I've ever seen. And I've been watching for over 50 years.

This French actor Tom Leeb. I wanted to add a picture of Gil McLachlan but the file size was too large, presumably because of the size of Gil's wallet.

I saw in one of the papers today that Round 1 of the NRL had total attendances about 25,000 below the combined total of Richmond v Carlton and Collingwood v Geelong. I know NRL crowds are always lower, that they have smaller grounds and I believe have excellent TV numbers...but wouldn't you rather be at the MCG with 50,000+ other fans watching an AFL game than anywhere else?

We're used to clubs consistently being, ahem, economical with the truth about player injuries. Now it looks like the AFL has taken over this responsibility.

Wholeheartedly agree with your #2 and #3 of your Three Best. The MCG at night with lights on looks fabulous from the outside.

Adds weight to the argument that McDonald could be moved during the game to the backline if needed.

Getting in early for 2024 when 15 March will be on a Friday? Or perhaps you're recycling a post from 2019.

Unimportant, I know, but does anyone else think that the art design being used here is monstrous? I approve of including the jumper numbers with the names, but the distressed white writing is abominable. If Turner had played instead of Tomlinson, we would have had two of our seven defenders with less than half a game of experience between them. That might have been the Match Committee's concern and why Tomlinson got the nod. I also don't expect Harmes to play HBF. Instead, I expect the back seven to include Brayshaw and Rivers, along with the other five named in defence.

The converse is also true - the Bulldogs know his weaknesses better than everyone and can use that to their advantage.