La Dee-vina Comedia

6. Gawn 5. May 3. Langdon 4. Jordon 5. Harmes 6. Sparrow The last vote could equally have gone to Neal-Bullen, Brayshaw or Viney.

I think Tom McDonald was our most influential forward last night. He got to more contests than Weideman and Fritsch and while he didn't take many marks, he brought the ball to ground when he was in the vicinity. It appeared to me that Port was able to defend more easily when the ball was kicked to any other forward. We should have kicked at least 15 goals last night. That we didn't was because of poor quality forward entries which was partly due to a propensity to bomb the ball forward, but also because of a lack of movement by the deep forwards which didn't give those bombing the ball better options. McDonald seemed to be the only one prepared to run around. On that basis, I'd bring back Brown for Weideman. At the other end, no change is required so even if Smith, Hibberd or Petty are ready, they'll have to cool their jets. When Salem is ready, he'll be an automatic in and should replace Brayshaw who will return to the wing. Who actually goes out will have to wait until Salem is ready.

Doesn't he own a farm as his "day job"?

Interesting article in today's The Guardian complimenting (yes, praising) Channel 7 for recognising the past limitations in its commentary teams and style and how it has recruited some new talent to refresh their product. I hope Jason Bennett, Alistair Nicholson and Daisy Pearce continue to be regular commentators and not just occasional fillers-in.

I don't mind night games on Fridays and Saturdays. But I absolutely detest night games on Thursday or Wednesday (except Anzac eve). I think the AFL is damaging football with Thursday night games because (1) there's too much football on TV overall and (2) it weakens the appeal of Friday night football. Surely someone will explain to the AFL Commission the concept of scarcity and how it adds value to any product.

Just think of me as a stats nerd.

I remember hearing that we won last year's GF with no 200-game players in the side. If that's correct, is it unusual? When did that last happen?

*cough* (and look who Liked the post, too)

We were much lower than that. Down in Hades (which, some might argue is the natural home of Demons)

That jar of Magic Beans should be tulip bulbs.

Non fungible tokens has to be the worst name since fracking.

I'm not taking a stand either for or against May or Smith. But it is relevant to point out that our defence relies on all defenders doing their bit (and the midfielders and the forwards, too). So, if a player kicks a goal on one particular defender, it may have been because another defender wasn't doing his job properly. For example, should Peter Wright have been able to take those leading marks or should another defender have blocked his space to prevent the lead? I realise that the defensive group can't stop every goal, but it's also unfair to say that every goal kicked can be linked to the defender who was nominally on that player at the time.

5 Premierships in 6 years is a record. (Hope we break it.)

I think this thread about embarrassing records has reached its use by date. Time for something more positive. What records do we now hold that are ones we can be proud of? Jake Bowey tops the list of players who never played in a loss with 10. The next best, held be a few people is 9. Is the 12 goals in a row the best ever in a Grand Final? Has any team ever kicked three goals in less than a minute of game time? Please add to the list. Let's enjoy our true magnificence!

I like your post overall, but I don't agree that Hibberd should be considered as a "tall" defender. At 186cm, he's 1cm shorter than Hunt and 2cm shorter than Rivers.

In the pre-Covid days, the AFL required teams travelling interstate to arrive a day prior to gameday to ensure flight cancellations and delays wouldn't cause a game to be cancelled or postponed. That was changed during Covid. Are we back to the pre-Covid rules, and, if so, does that mean an individual player can't join a squad on gameday? In short, if B Brown doesn't exit his cocoon before tomorrow, will he be allowed to join the team on the day of the game? I'll add that I've just seen a tweet showing Viney arriving at Adelaide airport, so I assume that means the whole team, without Brown, is now there.

It's a nice problem to have, though, isn't it? I agree that Jordon deserves his spot. I'm less certain about Sparrow, but that's partly because it is sometimes hard to appreciate what the roles of our so-called "role players" are and therefore whether they are executing them well.

If you watch the mini-match on the AFL website, I think you'll conclude that he gave up three goals. Two from dropped marks and one when Wanganeen pushed him out of the marking contest. Having said that, though, I would persist with him. As I've said previously, Lever should come in for Brayshaw who should go back to the wing, forcing one of Jordon or Sparrow into the sub's spot.

William Shakespeare is giving his selection advice. He tweeted just now: Not looking good for Tom McDonald.

I think it's time this thread was superseded by a more positive one, such as "Records being broken by the Melbourne Football Club". There's our current membership number for a start. Also, does anyone know whether the 12 goal run in the GF was a GF record? (I assume it's been mentioned elsewhere if it was.) Of the 577 AFL players to have a 100% winning record, Bowey has played the most games. And so on.

We always play 7 defenders, with one always on the bench. So you have room for one more.

...good mate, Channel 7's Lewis Martin's pocket.

I confidently predict Weideman will remain in the side for the PA game, given he was given votes by Goodwin. Can't tell, though, whether he got 1, 2 or 3 votes.

Agreed, although I think Smith is considerably faster than Hibberd.

I've just watched the AFL mini-match (or whatever they call it) on the AFL website. It's basically a highlights package with a better name given the game itself was devoid of highlights (Langdon's goal being a notable exception). If that's the only bit of footage people see of this game they'll wonder why Smith is being praised. I think he dropped three marks all leading to goals, although perhaps it was two with the other one being when he was pushed under the ball by Wanganeen. Anyway, because highlights packages tend to be dominated by vision of goals being scored, they're often going to be tough on defenders and very forgiving of forwards. Smith suffers from this more than anyone else in this particular package. And I agree he deserves to stay in the side, at least for now. He's no longer a liability, although he hasn't quite locked down a position. He certainly shows that he's worth persevering with - something I'll admit I wouldn't have thought previously.