La Dee-vina Comedia

Really? Wasn't his 3 Brownlow vote game the Essendon match? He wasn't a loose man then. He played on their small forwards (Jetta, Davey) and just ran off them to make space.

I'm not convinced the draw's supposed lack of fairness is a real problem. The Grand Finalists will virtually always come from the top 6 at the end of the home and away season, and usually the top 4. So whether a team scrapes into 7th or 8th positions because of a comparatively favourable draw seems somewhat irrelevant.

One other point to make about Jack Watts is that as a forward he would often run to position only to see the ball so poorly delivered it didn't get to where he was. And many other times he was ignored (or possibly not seen). When Robert Flower played for the Victorian State team he dominated because all of a sudden he had great players around him and the ball got to him properly. When our team improves, so will Jack Watts; and when Jack Watts improves, so will our team.

And all of Aaron Davey's 8 sons will have played or will still be playing for the Dees

Does anyone recall what David Neitz was recruited as? That's a genuine question which I'm curious to know the answer to. But irrespective of the answer, it's just worth making the point that plenty of players were recruited with one role in mind only to find that they excelled in another. And what they were originally recruited for becomes irrelevant. On Jack Watts, the general rule of thumb appears to be that the ideal playing weight for most players seems to be their height in centimetres minus 100. So, if Watts is 196cm and 91kg, he's about 5 kg too light. But I seem to recall that 91kg was his starting weight at the beginning of 2012. It will be interesting to see what his starting weight is next year. Those extra 5kgs, should he add them to his body, should make him harder to budge in contests.

Should have a caption competition for the Nathan Jones next to the van photo: 1. "I think it's only an offence if you urinate against the back wheel" 2. "Gee I look good in this mirror" 3. "Just because we've now got a bloke from Collingwood doesn't mean he's the only one allowed to break into vehicles"

Mind you, if Judd played for us and we had had the Visy deal previously approved I reckon we'd be screaming about how the rules are being changed midstream. We'd be arguing that it's unfair on the rest of our playing list because our cap has just got squeezed by whatever that payment outside the cap is. In my view, the deal should never have been allowed by the AFL. But because it was, the AFL should allow it to reach its natural conclusion. (Having said that, I have no sympathy for Carlton. But that's just the default position.]

And a request to posters...can we try and keep this thread to actual training reports and not slanging matches about posters' views. Plenty of room for that elsewhere.

Back on topic, I recall Tapscott's first game where he must have been unlucky not to get a Rising Star nomination (I remember Caroline Wilson - shock, horror - being effusive in her praise, too). He played in the backline that day and took plenty of intercept marks. Perhaps it's where he belongs.

Actually, up until now I've always thought his neck muscles were the ones which stood out. In comparison, made his quads seem like, well, mine. (And that is no compliment).

Sort of off-topic. But what should I be thinking about your name, Tappysquads? Are you more 'Tappy Squads' which sounds like an under age group of Tapscott supporting footballers or are you channelling his inner body as "Tappy's Quads"? All the important questions get asked on this forum.

May the forwards be with you. And to our onballers...'Use the forwards'.

Don't forget the Ox's masterpiece..."long term-gevity" (Or should that be written as "longterm-gevity". I have no idea how to actually write it down). And it frustrates me when shop assistants say they'll be with me momentarily. I'd rather they were with me in a moment rather than for a moment.

Or some wins

Actually, yes. Well, at least one person...Phiilip Johnson's Glasshouse

I want to see how the Herald Sun put Finkelstein and Prendergast into a single headline. They'll need to go broadsheet. (Makes me wonder what thy would have done with Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern, too.)

And here's the evidence: The Vault Forget the suggestion that the picture is some bloke called Flynn. I reckon it's Jack Watts at age 3.

Trivial? What does that mean?

I can just imagine Caroline Wilson reporting "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition"

Mind you, given that the head of the CIA has been sprung having an affair because he sent romantic emails to his paramour, perhaps our administrators might be next in line for the top job at Langley. Or Petraeus might replace Cameron Schwab.

It helps to be less reliant than previously on AFL handouts. I'm not sure I'd be that keen on biting the hand that feeds me. Debt demolition has done a lot more than just shore up our financial position. It's allowed us more freedom to act unilaterally.

Anyone aware of any issues between their respective fathers when they both were involved with Richmond?

Another undersized, physically underdeveloped player. I'm convinced the training regime under Bailey didn't help players like Petterd, Gysberts and Morton leaving them at the mercy of other clubs who could throw them around like rag dolls.

There is something to enjoy about running around the Tan?

It's gone full circle. Crikey.com has today published the following in its Tips and Rumours section (it's possibly behind a paywall): "Demon trolls rally against Caro. The Age's chief football scribe Caroline Wilson has gone hard on the off-field troubles of the Melbourne Demons. In the darker reaches of the internet the club's fans are hitting back, opening "The Wilson File" to compile all her apparently unfair criticisms of the club. It's extensive, certainly, but they're getting a little feral ..." trolls? darker reaches of the internet? a little feral? ...what the...