La Dee-vina Comedia

32 wins out of 133 games = 24%. Doesn't feel like we've won one in four over the period. As bad as that is, I would have thought our performance was actually worse than that.

The point he was making was that the real question is about development not about recruitment. Which again gets back to the point that the Bailey years were more than just a wasted four years. We're still wearing the pain of an underdeveloped playing list. Conversely, Lyon also said that there was not enough mongrel in the players selected. That is, there were too many players of the same type, that is with skill, who he felt didn't have the necessary desire to push through.

Every player is different and every coach is different. For example, you think Malthouse is a "great inspiring coach". I, on the other hand, have never had any empathy for him at all and would probably respond negatively rather than positively to his coaching. On the other hand, I would respond very positively to Chris Scott.

Wrong in so many ways. Australians love to blame Churchill because we lost so many of our men at ANZAC Cove. But if the British Navy had done what was asked of them by Churchill instead of being unprepared to put their ships at risk, the disaster which was Gallipoli would never have happened. The analogy with Sunday's game is quite apposite - if the players had done what they were supposed to do, we wouldn't have witnessed the disaster which was the game against Port Adelaide. (And as a final note - I am not for one minute suggesting a game of football is as serious as going to war. I admire the courage of our military folk and our footballers but appreciate that only one is a matter of life and death).

Wow. I'm not sure whether you have too little confidence or too much.

Four quarters of consistent effort

I've been brainwashed. In both these posts I read "taking" as "tanking" before realising my mistake. It's a horrible feeling knowing that one of the long-term impacts of this ongoing saga has been the impact it's had on one's ability to read properly!

As always, great preview WJ. Nine of the 22 players in that Melbourne v Sydney Round 1, 2011 game are no longer on our list. And a few others who were may not be selected. It's a very different team. Let's hope it's a better one. http://finalsiren.com/MatchDetails.asp?GameID=5446&Code=564d5bcbae8db5a1ccd33d04235ef93b&Sort=Rating%20Desc

I wasn't there, but I suspect the "not" refers to them being fickle rather than to being supporters. In other words, he wants to turn fickle supporters into full-time, dedicated, passionate, paying supporters.

I agree - let's get rid of the bugler.

But don't we teach footballers to run differently (to avoid hamstring strains) and tackle differently? Golfers change their swings and tennis player improve their stroke play. It seems logical to me that with the right amount of effort players should be able to be taught to kick differently. Having said that, I'm forever amazed at how many professional AFL players cannot kick at least reasonably on the "wrong" foot.

Why not? Statistics can prove it... Over half of the people ever born on this Earth are still living. Ergo, immortality is more likely than mortality.

Jurrah pulls on boots in bid to revive career Let's hope this comeback is successful. PS: has anyone ever seen 'footy' written as 'footie' before?

Practising interchange technique, perhaps

And just to add a "Kiss of Death", my favourite footy journalist (not), Mark Robinson, said on SEN over the weekend that he thought Jack Watts would make the 40 man All Australian squad this year. But just to add a proviso, that claim might have been part of a Foxtel or SEN "outrageous prediction" topic. Doesn't mean MR doesn't believe it to be true. But perhaps the claim should be appreciated in that light.

As much as I appreciate the longer term implications of a deal with Casey, there are two automatic improvements should we go back to fielding our own VFL team (reserves). Firstly, our AFL listed players would be able to use the same numbers in both seniors and reserves which would make them much easier to identify. And secondly, we'd get out of that hideous Casey jumper. Great photos 666. Appreciate your work.

No wonder the ALP was (allegedly) keen on trying to get him into Parliament.

I'm sure all Melbourne-based Demonlanders know you mean the Herald Sun, but now that The Age has gone tabloid (sorry, "compact" as Fairfax prefers to call it) how long til the expression "the little paper" loses its undeniable meaning?

It's a poorly written beat-up article with no substantive quotes. A couple of references to rumours which may or may not be true. Or let's put it this way...why are the supposed drinking stories still suggested to be rumours and not confirmed as facts? AFL clubs have shown over the years an inability to keep secrets. So I'd take everything which is an unproven allegation in that particular article with a very large grain of salt.

I assume you're counting eyes, not heads. [insert weak pun here about one-eyed supporters] I'd be surprised if it's much over 15,000. I hope for more, but two poorly performing teams, two poorly supported teams, Easter Sunday and (because it's a Melbourne home game) wet weather, makes me pessimistic.

Thanks for the link. I'm inspired as much by his achievements off the field which, before today, I knew nothing about.

IF he wants to play AFL again, IF he wants to play for MFC, IF he's prepared to relocate back to Melbourne (city) and IF he's prepared to commit to the requirements of Neeld, Misson and Co, I'd have him back in a heartbeat. But that's four very big IFs.

You should get a job with the Herald Sun*. More readable and sensible than most of what that journal delivers. I hope you keep doing these previews for the rest of the year. *Actually, no you won't. Far too well written.

reports on Twitter that Jurrah found NOT GUILTY

I was there in 1964, although I was only 6 and don't really remember it. But don't give up hope. Another might be just around the corner. It's just that we don't know how far we have to travel until we get to that corner.