La Dee-vina Comedia

Out of curiosity, went and had a look at the complete list. Ablett Jr won it three times in consecutive years (2007-2009). Interestingly, Simon Goodwin won it in 2006. To state the obvious, it's a list of very good players: https://aflcoaches.com.au/awards/the-aflca-champion-player-of-the-year-award

The scary thing for oppositions is that Petracca might have been best on ground but he was still a fair way from playing at what he's capable of when playing at his very best.

I suspect the distribution of free kicks follows a normal distribution over the longer term. So, in thousands of matches, it won't be unusual to see a 23-9 distribution every now and then. It takes approx 5 years for 1,000 AFL matches.

Surprised the umpires didn't pay a free kick to Brayshaw for a block by Harmes.

I thought the umpiring was poor but in no way do I believe there was any cheating or deliberate bias. Just bad decision making. However, what is worth commenting on is the player's restraint. The crackdown on dissent means there were a lot of opportunities for our players to complain which would have lead to 50m penalties. That we didn't complain and just got on with the game shows great leadership and probably coaching. The other side to that coin, though, is that behind the scenes when the umpiring is as poor as it was, clubs affected by it must have a proper avenue to air their grievances privately to the AFL.

A few people on here have said they thought M Brown played better than Weideman. I disagree with that view. However, I wasn't at the ground and I know from experience that TV viewing does not give the whole picture. I'd be interested in the opinions of anyone who was at the Adelaide Oval. Neither Weideman or M Brown set the world on fire, but the season is about winning the Premiership, not worrying so much about each individual game. I believe Weideman is a better option than M Brown to that end, so if only one loses his spot this week, it should be M Brown. Bedford also seemed to have a shocker, but Chandler has been tried and shown me little to enthuse each time, so I'd keep Bedford in, unless we want to go back to a taller forward line.

Of all current AFL players, Oliver has the second longest streak of continuous games with 125, but a fair way back from the leader, who is Jack Crisp on 177. Petracca comes in 4th with 97 (Goldstein is on 101). Then it gets tricky. Elephant stamp for anyone who can identify the next three Melbourne players on the list.

Is it possible Bradtke didn't want to continue and pulled the pin himself?

I think Tomlinson provided ruck assistance at GWS. I don't recall him doing so with us. Nevertheless, if Jackson is out I see two options. Either Mitch Brown is the replacement for Jackson to provide height in the forward line or Tomlinson comes in, plays in defence, and Petty plays forward and 2nd ruck. There are pros and cons with each option.

Magnificent!

Indeed, but I'm grateful that they are annually remembered. What makes our club special is the quality of its people. I'm much happier and feel much better rewarded to have been a member of a club with people like Sean Wight, irrespective of our onfield results. Premierships are the cream; the people are the substance.

The emergency list is never chosen on the basis of the next best four players. There's always a mix to enable coverage of onballers, key position players and ruckmen. Presumably the match committee believes Mitch Brown is the better key position or ruck option than van Rooyen and, because of injuries, there's no-one else. I would have expected any one of Turner, Joel Smith or Daw (who, if he hadn't been injured may not yet have retired) would have been selected ahead of M Brown.

Come on Hemingway. Stop blaming your proof reader. A missing question mark and the wrong use of "your", both in the same post. You are better than this.

For anyone who hasn't seen it, make sure you take a look at what I believe is Nicholson's finest movie, "Chinatown". Then come back and read the post I've quoted and you'll understand why I mentioned it here.

Reminds me of the actor Jack Nicholson telling the story of his mother not appreciating the irony of her calling him a "son of a b*tch".

Will be interesting to hear Kane Cornes's view. He consistently criticises clubs for offering contracts of this length, using Brodie Grundy as an example. However, I can see why the club might have offered 7 years now, apart from the quality of his play. It could be seen as a "bonus" for signing early and forgoing his free agency rights. Makes sense for both parties, given the inevitable distraction which would otherwise occur if he remained unsigned in his final year before becoming a free agent.

Maybe Tom Hickey has an aim of playing with every AFL club and we're next on his roster.

Has van Rooyen grown? At the beginning of the year he was listed as 194cm. That's not nearly tall enough to compete against any other genuine ruckman.

Apologies if this has been asked before, perhaps in a different thread, but by beating Brisbane, we beat someone who was above us on the ladder. When did this last happen? I remember all those dark years when beating someone above us was a rarity and to be savoured. It's now seemingly just as rare but for a completely different reason. Still worth savouring, though.

Just curious. Can any manager make such a decision? Or is it always the player that has the final say? I can appreciate that a manager can advise a client on a particular course of action, but surely the decision has to be that of the player, not a unilateral decision of the player's manager.

I have wondered for some time whether any of the players who have had Covid have had any lingering symptoms. I'm not sure who had Covid and who just had to stay in isolation under the rules at the time. Thus far I've been spared from having Covid (unless I had it asymptomatically), but from talking to those who have, some have taken much longer to recover full energy levels than others. This could be an explanation for the form levels of some players, particularly those who have appeared more lethargic than others. Of course, this could affect players across the whole competition at different times.

Or the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Although given the games will primarily be held in regional Victoria, our home base and social club might end up in Bendigo.

I always thought that the original was Roy Orbison. If Wikipedia can be believed, turns out that the Everly Brothers were first but didn't release it as a single. Roy Orbison was the first to have a hit with it. It seems that there are as many versions of "Love Hurts" as there are versions of Kossy, Kosi, Kozzy, etc. (Who else said to themselves 'Oi! Oi! Oi!' after reading that last sentence?)

To me it just reinforces the point that the free kicks (for and against) are systemic in the style of football they play.

Two points - I thought the AFL Players Association wanted a bye to allow players to rest. How does a "heavy training block over the break" make sense if the purpose of the bye is to allow players a rest? It reinforces in my mind that the bye is really about lengthening the season for the broadcast deal. What does Collingwood do over the bye? We know de Goey went to Bali for a few days. How does that fit in with the idea of heavier training? Or does Collingwood not believe in the "heavier training block" idea over the break?