La Dee-vina Comedia

Really? Which ones? I realise it's an opinion and you're entitled to it, but I'm struggling to get three. I'd have Trengove and McKenzie, but I remain to be convinced that the other three are in the best 22. Tapscott is the next closest in my view and I hope by the end of the year he is, but right now...?

I'm yet to see a game this year. But the stats suggest a kick to handball ratio more suited to a long kicking game. If that is what the changed gameplan has delivered, I'm all for it.

Part of the problem is "lexicographical inflation", that is, the misuse of other words such as "star". The Herald Sun will call a player who's played five games a "star", which means other words are needed ("superstar", "champion" and "elite") to describe players who are better than a five game player. Inflation has also struck other words and phrases like the dreaded "110%" instead of "100%" and "average" and "ordinary" meaning "below average" and "worse than ordinary" respectively. I don't know how to describe "elite" other than to point out that there is a difference between an elite player (such as G Ablett) and a player with one specific elite skill (such as , perhaps, Aaron Davey's left foot kicking).

OK, so the deer is Watts, the rabbit is Trengove and the skunk is, er, gone. So who's the butterfly? I'll say it's Jaded.

Apparently this is the Wangaratta ground where Essendon plays St Kilda this weekend. The winner will be the team kicking with the tide. Source: 3AW Twitter Reason for edit: Attribution

Great idea. I'm no fan of the tracksuit/polo top being worn at club functions or when representing the club in the media, but I suspect players will still be wearing the sponsored gear at most appearances. I note players will get one blazer when they start. What happens if they grow out of it?

...and how you play tough, uncompromising, smart football.

Now we have a 'Locker Room', I'm looking forward to the 'Knocker Room', where posters slag off at each other. Then we can have an 'Ocker Room', a 'Shocker Room' and if Robert de Niro can be persuaded to buy an MFC membership, a 'Focker Room'. BTW, I think the Locker Room concept is a good one.

Agree. In fact, as much as I have had an anti-Collingwood bias all my life, on this one, I can't see sufficient evidence to criticise Collingwood. And I wonder whether the numbers of off-field personnel moving in and out of Collingwood (and Melbourne) is any different to any other club? I suspect St Kilda, Essendon, Geelong, etc have seen just as many off-field personnel changes. It's just that we don't know about them. [by the way, I don't know if "exactually" is a typo or an inspired use of the English language. But I like it.]

Yes, my apologies to Hutchison and Dunn. In trying to explain my memory of Graeme Osborne as an on-field journeyman, I should have clarified that I meant to compare those players' inability to hold a fixed position, not to compare their actual abilities.

Kicking goals on Graham Osborne wouldn't necessarily mean a player could kick goals on a more, er, experienced full back. My recollection was that Osborne (number 7?) was one of those players like Greg Hutchison and more recently Lynden Dunn. That is, a player of no fixed position who would willingly fill holes but was never able to hold down a position (or to put it in Herald sun speak "didn't make the position his own").

Nice thought process Robbie. I was going to ask whether MFC could get a sponsor which conflicts with the AFL's agreement with Virgin. But have just realised Collingwood has Emirates, so there shouldn't be any problems. Reason for edit: Confusing my UAE airlines. Corrected Etihad to Emirates

For what it's worth, my compliments to Axis of Bob and rpfc for this interesting and very well articulated debate. For the most part, both have avoided personal criticism and provided interesting arguments which more than anything show how a forum such as this can open the minds of all of us.

And I thought John Kennedy left the Hawks to go to the Swans on his own accord. Should have looked for more clues.

I think media performance is an essential component of the role. One of the captain's responsibilities is to be the face of the club in the media. A good media performer will avoid answering problematic questions. Poor responses to the media can lead to greater scrutiny and ongoing problems for the club. In short, a captain must be a good media performer.

A question for all the Trengove-for-captain promoters. What does he offer as a leader that Jack Watts does not? I just wonder why he (JT) is seen as more "captain ready" than JW. For what it's worth, I'll repeat what I've said elsewhere. It would be foolish to select a captain based solely, or even primarily, on on-field performance. Given I don't know enough about each player's off-field performance, I'm not prepared to nominate any player for captain.

"Remember you're fighting for this woman's honour, which is probably more than she ever did" - Groucho Marx in the Marx Brothers' funniest movie 'Duck Soup'. The line was allegedly unscripted and Groucho had to explain to the actress (Margaret Dumont) afterwards what it meant. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023969/quotes Reason for edit: Corrected quote and added link. Enjoy.

Interesting how the opening post is about the various traits required of a captain and the thread then seems to focus almost entirely on on-field performance. I don't know if Brad Green is a good captain or not. But I do believe that what happens when we don't see or hear about it is important. At training, in the media, stroking the egos of sponsors, helping youngsters understand the total demands of being a professional footballer - all these are important and a captain should have a significant role in all of them. I agree that a captain should be good enough to hold his spot in the team, but he doesn't have to be a star. (Gary Ablett Sr is an excellent example of a star not suited to being a captain). Who was a better captain? David Neitz? James McDonald? Robbie Flower? Garry Lyon? How could any of us know?

Rohan Bail running amok in the midfield. Every time he plays I think we are a much better structured side because of his ability to run and link play. Dan Nicholson, without the same polish (to date) is similar and I hope to see more of him this year, too.

Having watched Dunn for a few years now I've been concerned that he seems to have reasonable skills with ball in hand but no idea where to play, that is, where to place himself in a game. The optimist in me suggests that perhaps that was caused by poor coaching. While there has been much discussion about Bate being "re-invented" by a new coach, perhaps the same may happen for Dunn, too.

Haven't seen this posted elsewhere (apologies if I've overlooked it) From SportsNewsFirst twitter: http://www.sportsnewsfirst.com.au/articles/2011/12/22/mega-watts-lighting-up-the-track/

One wonders what 4-time premiership player Martin Pike would have been like if he'd stayed.

Interesting discussion. But I'm surprised that comments about reliance on key players hasn't also mentioned Carlton and Chris Judd. Apart from Ablett and Gold Coast, I think Carlton's reliance on Judd is the most significant in the AFL.

Maybe knee problems are contagious and he got it from some other bloke on their list

I understand what you're saying. But the pedant in me needs to explore the expression. I understand about being behind the 8-ball. But I'm not sure about the "so far behind..." bit. Aren't you better off the further behind the 8-ball you are? Allows more angles.