La Dee-vina Comedia

You might be right. But it's also possible that Spargo and Billings are telling a story they wish to believe about themselves because that's easier than confronting the truth which was that neither was quite good enough.

Hold the front page!!! When did Jaded No More become Very Jaded? And why? Is there some hidden message in the change? We need a thorough explanation...maybe even a Royal Commission.

I know this draft is meant to be highly compromised, but we're going to have to rethink everything if the first round extends to at least pick 53! This is what the AFL Trade Tracker currently states:

I wonder whether the club thought at the time that giving Oliver a 7-year contract would help him cope with his off-field issues by removing the stress which comes with a player having to keep thinking about his future when on a shorter contract?

I look forward to ongoing confusion on Demonland as posters refer to "Taylor" without making clear whether it's Jason Taylor or Taylor Whitford they mean. Should lead to some sensational misunderstandings.

I'm sure it's an oversight, but you seem to have missed out all the players he retained on the list.

Looking at my keyboard, I'll assume that you hit the "t" when you meant "r", and "v" when you meant "c".

At my age (late 60s) I agree 35 is youngish...but for a footballer?

I think our own decisions set us back. I wouldn't blame the expansion teams.

Welcome to Demonland in the off-season.

Abolishing the bounce isn't about fairness. It's about making it easier to get better umpires by removing a physically difficult task which currently reduces the pool of prospective umpires. For a start, it will make it easier for more women to become field umpires at the top level.

Who have you got in mind? Surely not me?

I don't mind either rule change in themselves but what I don't like is the tinkering with individual rules here and there. For example, removal of the sub and increasing the number of interchange players to five shouldn't be done without considering other related matters such as numbers of rotations and whether four or five (or something else) is the right number of players on the bench. Similarly, removing the bounce shouldn't be considered without also examining the ruck nomination and "no third man up" rules. To be fair, perhaps these matters were considered. It would be helpful if the AFL said so, if they were.

Can anyone confirm that there's a clause in King's contract which states that his time with us doesn't formally start until he's had a face-to-face meeting with Ghostwriter?

I think these days it should be "it's work from home we know"

I prefer to think of it as a reminder of how hard AFL premierships are to win. I'll always want more, but there is enormous emotional value in remembering 2021. And it's also appropriate to once again express my gratitude to the 2021 playing group, Simon Goodwin and his coaching team, and all who made it happen.

And so say all of us...

What's in the 50-page guide? Surely it's not 50 pages of notes about running. Does it also include dietary advice? What else?

The "Quiet Day For Lord" headline in the bottom right-hand corner is more evidence - if any were needed - that God is a Melbourne supporter.

I think you are correct. I believe conditional is a tense while subjunctive is a mood.

I haven't read this whole thread, but it's worth remembering that for the last 5 years (ie, 2020 to 2024) the competition had five different teams as Premier. Nevertheless, there is something fundamentally wrong with free agency if the free agents keep going to the teams at the top of the ladder rather than the other way around. It may not work out, but bravo to St Kilda for making themselves attractive enough to entice some quality free agents.

Not as good a name as Peter the Great, and marginally worse than Ivan the Terrible.

But you would have to expect his fingerprints are on this particular crime scene.

Incomparable. Closest I can get is to say a mix of Pendlebury (for his ability to make the game slow down around him), a gazelle and Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto.

I'm a Melbourne member and I'm very happy with the way we've arrived at Steven King as our coach. Also, if you've quoted him correctly, his English use is poor. It should be "If I were a Melbourne supporter..." as he's using the conditional subjunctive tense.