La Dee-vina Comedia

I note that McGowan didn't actually say June. Rather, that's how Sky News reported it. He actually said first half of the year, so it could open on 1 January 2022.

My magic moment is just a little later when Jackson plants a handball so perfectly in Oliver's grasp that he doesn't even need to change his rhythm as he runs towards goal. That is as precise a single piece of play as I have ever seen.

Your wife is confusing Matthew McConaughey with Heath Ledger:

I seem to recall Jim Stynes claiming the move by Jurrah from the outback to Melbourne was a bigger culture shock for Jurrah than Stynes moving from Dublin to Melbourne. And I don't think the media took that comment seriously.

I'm interested in a couple of the bigger picture parts to this story. There's a reference to a requirement that all AFL clubs have an indigenous liaison officer. My questions, which are really quite simple for anyone in the know are as follows: is this the role Matthew Whelan has? if so, for how long has he been doing it? I gather Jetta is now doing this at Collingwood. Did Collingwood have someone else doing this role before Jetta, or is he that club's first indigenous liaison officer? The answers to the above might shed some light on the relative values of Melbourne and Collingwood.

And I suspect that extra burden isn't helping Silvagni III. (Although it clearly didn't hinder SOS).

You've got me thinking. Which commentator (of any sport) would I like to have heard commentating on the last half of Q3? Maybe Murray Walker from F1 for excitement? or Phil Ligget for precision?

I was hoping for different commentators.

Why? There have been plenty of successful father-son combinations across the competition where the son has not worn his father's jumper number - such as the two Gary Abletts, Tim and Jobe Watson and Ken and Dustin Fletcher, just to name a few. (I actually can't think of a combination where the father and son wore the same number.) I suspect it's hard enough to follow in a successful father's footsteps at the same club without being burdened with the same number.

Indeed, the Cardinal of Manila was Cardinal Sin. I still remember that at the same time there was another public figure in the Philippines by the name of Miss Concepcion.

In AFL media speak, this is one of the expressions that doesn't have an opposite. The media will regularly tell us who the "good clubs" are but never who the "bad clubs" are. Similarly, we regularly hear when someone is lucky because they play with a team with a "good coach" but we never hear about a player being unlucky to have a "bad coach". I suspect the same media types don't believe in Isaac Newton's Third Law, either.

Everybody's different. Some will need a longer break than others, either to allow for physical recovery or a mental recharge. Hopefully, those that need a bit longer don't feel compelled to cut short their allowable break.

Really looking forward to track watcher reports. Hopefully that will mean the return of Saty with his particular brand of support mixed with a keen eye for certain individuals.

As long as the AFL remains committed to Hawthorn v Geelong on Easter Monday and the two ANZAC Day/eve games, a Grand Final rematch can't always be the season opener. Those games mean it's impossible to commit to the Grand Final replay as the first game in case it's Hawthorn v Geelong, Essendon v Collingwood or Melbourne v Richmond because within weeks they'd be playing again. In fact, Easter Monday can be as early as Round 1.

It's not just that we're reigning Premiers, but there are two other reasons why Channel 7 is likley to want us on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Firstly, we play an attractive brand of football that people like to watch. Secondly (and related to the first), we're one of the highest goal scoring teams which allows for more ad breaks during play.

I love reading about the "little things" in this thread. Which makes this thread itself one of those little things. It's fabulous reading about what this Premiership means in so many different personal ways.

I'm thinking someone called Jamieson Ballantyne had parents who were fond of whiskey, but not particuarly good at spelling.

I suspect I wouldn't enjoy a game with no disposal errors or decision errors. I think you need to see a certain number of mistakes to enjoy the true glory of success.

Is Max Gawn the most popular AFL player in the country? I suspect so. Possibly also the most instantly recognisable, too (perhaps equally with McDonald-Tipungwuti)

That comment is so 2021. There are two reasons why that might change. Firstly, AFL rule changes can increase or decrease the value of any position on the ground. With Hocking gone and Brad Scott new to the role, we could see more rule changes sooner rather than later. Secondly, to keep winning (whether in sport or in business), you can't stand still. Goodwin will have to keep changing the way we play or we'll be caught and eventually overtaken. This might mean a change to the current 2 ruck strategy. We might go back to one with a pinch hitter or we might go with three. Or one day, we may not need any. It's not foreseeable now, but a team full of Petracca/Bontompelli clones may change the way the game is played to make ruckman redundant.

I've only just realised that this will be our first Premiership cup with the words "Australian Football League" engraved at the top. All the rest will say "Victorian Football League". There's no real reason for it, but that realisation is in itself an additional pleasure.

You're closer to the truth than you may have realised. In the news 12 days ago... https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/climate-change-prompts-plan-to-replace-trees-in-carlton-gardens-20211007-p58y09.html

It's just over 12 months to the next Victorian State election. I fully expect a Richmond Station renewal project to be announced as a policy initiative of one or both major parties before then. Just like a very fast train proposal gets raised before every Federal election. And then nothing happens.

The Premier's statement (which I'm reading solely in the context of the post I've quoted) is ambiguous, although I don't believe that would have been the Premier's intention. The use of "likely" might have been intended to signify that having any crowd was likely. However, it could have been used to mean that it would be "likely" that only people who are double vaxxed would be allowed to attend. On my first reading, I had assumed he meant the latter. And having now read it a few times, I'm still of that view. If that's correct, I assume crowds will be allowed at AFL games, but that only double vaxxed people (plus possibly those with legit medical exemptions) will be allowed in.

Why stop there? Why not ask Richmond to move?