La Dee-vina Comedia

I had a look at the Herald Sun's Grand Final Souvenir for the first time in a while yesterday and noticed some errors: See if you can, too. Here are some photos I've taken of the magazine. 1) Who's missing? 2) Who's missing as a goalkicker, and who's been credited with one too many? 3) What happened to the article meant to be on page 24 called "Tale of Two Halves"? This is what is actually on page 24 (and there is no article called "Tale of Two Halves" anywhere in the magazine: I appreciate the Herald Sun put this magazine together quickly, but there really is no excuse for any of these errors.

Apparently the Victorian government is seriously looking at hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026. Without delving into the merits of holding those games, I wonder if there is any way development of our home base can be incorporated in some way into that project? I understand the Government is keen for it to be a whole of Victoria bid, rather than primarily just Melbourne, but some shiny new things will surely be needed in inner Melbourne.

Jack the Fifth? Didn't know we had a member of a Royal Household as part of the team. Great work as always, Picket. Many thanks.

This is the picture of Sam McClure in "The Australian" story (online version). I think he owes us all an apology for that haircut.

The apology says in part, "If the publications were taken to suggest otherwise, Nine withdraws that suggestion. Nine apologises and expresses regret if the publications caused hurt and offence to Mr Woulfe, Mr Leddie and Collective Mind." There is also similar wording replacing "Nine" with "The Age" (which Nine, the company) owns. I'm surprised the injured parties accepted that wording. It's not really an apology at all. Why have Nine and The Age been allowed to get away with including the phrase "if the publications caused hurt"? Of course they did - that's why the apology was sought in the first place. If a footballer had said that after breaking someone else's jaw behind play, journos would be the first to criticise the player for qualifying it with that mealy-mouthed expression.

I'm not sure why you think a Wednesday night game wouldn't happen with Peter Jackson as President. Whether the attendance is 40,000 or 80,000 or somewhere in between is neither here nor there for our sponsors. The game is likely to draw mammoth ratings and the commercial value of those eyeballs in that timeslot is enormous.

Did anyone else wonder why it was not until 2013 that he was made a Life Member? How on earth did it take 50 years from when he left the club for that to happen? There may be another reason, but my first thought was that for 50 years we just as dreadful off the field as we were on it.

This would be much more fun if you were both Geminis.

While there might be no capacity limits at the MCG, crowd numbers might be affected by any other Covid controls that might be in place. For example, measures such as mask-wearing, having to check in with the QR code, having to show a vaccination certificate, etc are all nothing more than annoyances. However, I know many people who have found things like that enough to keep them from going out. Plus, if Omicron is still around, I suspect there will also be a group who don't want to take the risk of being in a crowded place. Finally, many people who previously would have attended will have become used to watching games on TV and may never return to watch matches live.

I'm sure there's a complete list of excruciating lines including Kevin Bartlett's "dances on a dollar", half a dozen Brian Taylorisms and any player's post-match interview when they describe the experience as "surreal"

A fondue? Even if no-one sneezed, we might still have that group missing with food poisoning. By the way, I think you've overstated the abilities of a few players, such as Chandler, Bedford, J Smith and perhaps Weideman. In addition, those first three named plus Daw and Dunstan need more time playing with the core group to be able to fit in seamlessly.

Anyone remember where the expression "shake and bake" originated? And why?

In fact, the club will have to do it another six times. NASA had men land on the moon six times and there are still disbelievers out there.

Not necessarily. The Melbourne City Council has been public about having to remove trees because some had reached their "end of life" and others weren't coping with the effects of climate change. I seem to recall it was primarily the elm trees they were talking about. The Council was speaking generically, not specifically about Gosch's Paddock, though.

Proof that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. Which metaphorically seems to be the Board's position with the election candidates, too.

Not quite. You have to buy a Tattslotto ticket and you have to put yourself in the vicinity of the bus to give it a chance! On the other hand, I find it depressing that more people know their star sign than their blood group. Full disclosure: I'm a Scorpio with A+ blood.

Stretching the definition of "embarrassing" here. It's testament to our recent success that most of the "embarrassing" records have been consigned to the bin.

When I read your post it seemed like Goyder was leaving like a King or government going into exile. I could have chosen any one of a number throughout history but chose Norway because it allowed me to equate McGowan (admittedly completely unfairly) with Quisling.

As far as I know, there's no link to Melbourne, but anyone brought up on the old VFA during the 70s would remember the flamboyant Fred Cook, Port Melbourne's full forward. Apparently passed away today aged 74. A great entertainer (in the days when there wasn't much entertainment in being a Melbourne supporter).

You make it sound like it's WWII and Goyder's the King of Norway going into exile while McGowan is Quisling.

You mean permanently? for for the foreseeable future? or that he's on a plane today and who knows how long for?

I'll bet you would have loved it.

Having just read through this thread, I feel the name Corey is to Casey like Bailey is to the Bulldogs.

I can't imagine Mick Nolan playing anywhere other than at Arden Street with the gasometers across the road. I still think the "Galloping Gasometer" is one of the best nicknames ever bestowed upon a V/AFL player.

Has there ever been a team with two players kicking 100 goals each in the same season? If so, I can't recall. I do remember when more than one player in different teams kicked 100 goals in a season. It's hard to believe now, but when we had full forwards like Hudson, Wade, McKenna and Jesaulenko (who wasn't always a full forward) and significantly less defensive pressure, I think it happened a few times.