La Dee-vina Comedia

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.

Unlike 40 years ago, these days the MCG is used much more regularly so there should be more turnover of food. Also, food handling standards have changed significantly...along with the legal risk associated with offering unsafe food.

I really hope you're referring to the edible snack, not the team in black and white. In fact, it was about 40 years ago I was in the old Southern Stand at the MCG for a cricket match where I bought a Four 'n' Twenty and can of Coca-Cola only to find that the pie was cold and the drink was hot, rather than the other way around.

One reason given was that because the grounds often have two or three games per weekend, there was a concern that having a reserves game as well might be too much wear and tear for the turf.

In which case, we should win more than one Premiership with this group. It would be a waste of a golden opportunity. Not only might we have 3 out of the top 5, there are a few other really good players to add to that list, such as May, Brayshaw and Pickett (and others).

Apart from the game itself and winning and losing games, what are the three best and worst things associated with football? Mine are: Best: 1. The sound of the siren 2. The sound of a large crowd at the ground, especially at the MCG 3. Conversations about football all around town Worst: 1. The inconsistent starting times for games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday 2. Music after goals 3. Swearing by supporters at the football (not because I'm a prude, but it shows so little imagination. The Oxford dictionary states that there are over 170,000 words in the English language. We should use more of them.) What are yours?

"Enjoyment and excitement" are different criteria from "best of all time". If my top five is based on enjoyment and excitement, Flower is still number 1 but Jurrah comes in at number 2.

I wonder whether ground availability might be a problem? Does cricket need any of the grounds before the (modern-day) traditional mid-March start? Marvel Stadium and some other non-cricket grounds would be available, but could the AFL schedule many games if there is no certainty as to the availability of the MCG, SCG, Adelaide Oval, etc?

How many knee recos has Gawn had? Or were his early knee injuries something other than ACLs?

For those with a statistical interest, the combination of Collingwood v Essendon in a Grand Final has happened 6 times. The most common occurrence is Melbourne v Collingwood with 7. There are a number of combinations which have happened 6 times, including Melbourne v Essendon plus Carlton/Colingwood, Richmond/Collingwood and Geelong/Collingwood.

I agree. Absolute momentum killer. (And for those of us living in Victoria, the State Government has also come to the momentum-killing party by making the day before the Grand Final a public holiday.) The worst week in footy is the week immediately after Melbourne's last game for the season, unless we've won the Premiership.

Until recently I would have said: 1. Flower and then daylight before whoever I had thought was second. Oliver has closed that gap significantly by his sustained excellence. So, for me it is now: 1. Flower 2. Oliver 3. Gawn 4. Lyon 5. Neitz Petracca is probably 6th and may jump into the top 5 if he maintains or even improves his output.

Would you be happier with ladder position? That is, 18 points for first, 17 for second etc. Maximum available points would be 36. It would need a decision on whether the points are awarded for end of Home and Away or after finals.

Congratulations to Oliver, Petracca, Grundy and May... https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1280430/record-number-of-dees-named-in-team-of-decade The article says that Petracca was pick 5 in the 2015 draft. That's only out by 3 spots and one year.

I agree. I know practice matches are not useful guides, but when I watched them on Saturday I could not help but notice how ineffectual their older players actually were. I can understand them trying to eke out one more Premiership with established stars, and using Hopper and Taranto to top up their talent, but I think the window for one last Premiership with that group slammed shut last year. I don't expect Richmond to play finals this year.

Word association has stirred up an old memory. Who else remembers the Esso advertising slogan of the 1960s and 1970s of "Put a tiger in your tank"?

If he wins, he'll be the first Judd to do so. Chris Judd got nominated in 2002, but was beaten for it by Nick Reiwoldt. There were a few other handy players nominated that year including Luke Hodge, Shaun Burgoyne, James Kelly, Jimmy Bartel, Tadgh Kenneally and Alan Didak. (And Steven Armstrong, who was our sole nominee.)

I know Robbo's list is speculative essentially trying to predict who will be the Number 1 footballer by the end of this year. For Charlie Curnow to get there, I think there are at least three players ahead of him right now...at Carlton. I would put all of Cripps, Walsh and Weitering ahead of him and I could understand an argument that Harry McKay is ahead of him as well. Curnow's going to have some year if he's going to be No. 1 by the end of season 2023.

I'm assuming you meant Grimes and Trengove. However, my first thought was Jones and Viney. Until I read your following line. Apart from the aforementioned, have we ever had any other co-Captains? I share your view that all you need is a Captain and a Vice-Captain. Other players can be leaders within the club, but don't need to be named as such. Leadership comes from within, not from being given a title. And there's no shame in not being a leader, either.