La Dee-vina Comedia

I struggle with this. I'm never sure whether (1) I want to crush Collingwood from the opening bounce, or, (2) just remain a goal or so ahead of them for the whole game just to keep their hopes alive only to have them crushed at the end, or, (3) be something like 7 goals down at three-quarter time only to overpower them at the end.

Brought to you by the same artists who draw Adam and Eve with navels.

For anyone out there still unvaccinated, here's a graph which might give you cause to reconsider. It's from Britain but I imagine it's the same situation everywhere.

Did I hear someone (maybe Jimmy Bartel, perhaps) say that our scoring rate in the last quarter and a half of the GF was greater than Geelong's in the 186 match? I'm not gloating, but it gives me some idea of how bad we were then and how far we have come.

Further to Diamond Jim's comment above, I believe Pfizer* is the recommended 3rd dose if you've previously had AZ. *And possibly Moderna, too.

Has it happened anywhere? Neither of the junior Abletts had their father's #5, Jobe Watson was different from his father, as was Dustin Fletcher. If it has happened, I can't think of any. And that may be for good reason as it increases pressure on the son. So, I'd rather sons not take their father's number. The only consideration I see that might possibly be relevant with allocation of numbers (apart from not allocating a son his father's number) is who's locker they might be near. For example, it might be a good idea to give the #2 to someone who might benefit from being near May and/or Salem in the changing room.

Isn't this rule already in place?

It's reported in today's Age newspaper (possibly paywalled) that there will be a stricter interpretation of head high contact in season 2022. Most significantly, "the potential to cause injury in certain circumstances must be factored into the determination of the impact, rather than “strong consideration” being given to it...The result of this change will be that, where there is careless conduct that is high contact and has the potential to cause injury, a medium impact classification will usually apply, and a one-match suspension will be the minimum sanction applied.” At last it appears that the risk of the incident causing injury will become relevant rather than just the outcome. In other words, if you bump a player and there is a head knock, expect a penalty whether or not the player bumped was injured.

Martin Chuzzlewit. (I assume we're just posting random names of Charles Dickens books?)

That was my experience of the third shot. My first two injections were with AZ and the third was Pfizer. Sore arm on the day of the Pfizer injection and some lethargy on the day after. Then I was fine.

I don't agree with this. Players have a market value as evidenced by the trading system and compensation granted for the loss of free agents. As an example, Hogan's departure netted us a valuable draft pick. The alternative, if players are not commoditised, is that Hogan would have left for nothing in return. We can argue forever as to whether the value clubs get for various players is appropriate, but every player is assessed against a market rate whenever movement occurs (or, perhaps, doesn't occur, because of the rate.)

Do we know when our players received their 1st and 2nd vaccinations? If both were after the Grand Final, then I presume that means the booster shot (under current guidelines) won't be available to them until well into the 2022 season. I'd much prefer them to receive their 3rd shot prior to the season commencing only because there may be some arm soreness and other effects, such as tiredness for a day or two. Nevertheless, if it has to be during the season, so be it.

Great report, thanks. Is training open to the public or are you mixing it with the wildlife?

I hope you mean a recent ex-Captain and not the one who captained them from 2008 to 2010.

Is the Lars (or is it LARS) procedure still done? Or has it fallen out of favour?

Not funny and possibly a breach of the Geneva Convention on Human Rights.

It would be strange indeed if Borat was one of the pop-culture tattoos that Libba has adorned himself with. It would be like looking in a mirror.

Whenever I meet a person I know is an Australian football fan but not a Melbourne or Dogs supporter, I ask them whether they thought it was a good Grand Final. We all think it was great, but does a final margin of 74 points mean it was good game to watch for everyone else? Everyone I have asked has said it was great because it was close for three quarters and then just extraordinary to watch from the last minute of the 3rd quarter onwards. Some of them, have even watched it more than once purely for the enjoyment of watching such entertaining football.

I'll bet it was. I imagine it was hand knitted for him by someone he loved. I doubt there were any mass produced Demon scarves in those days.

More premierships and more money.

It should be. The figures are for the club's financial year which ended 31 October so, obviously, after we'd won the GF. Whether the cash was received by then is a separate question.

Now you've got me singing "Dreadlock Holiday"!

I'm thinking more soft pop from the 70s with Max as the Captain and Demonland as Tennille. "Do that to me one more time Once is never enough..."

Always appreciate your work, PF. But please watch out for snakes. Seriously.

Quite a few years ago, Leigh Matthews allowed his moustache to be shaved off live on TV as a fundraising exercise. One the mo went he looked extraordinarily like Homer Simpson. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a photo of him sans moustache. The closest I've found is an article which imagines what famous people with moustaches might look like with their moustaches gone. Leigh Matthews is in there, as is RDB. And while I'm comparing people with characters from the Simpsons, who agrees that our Prime Minister looks like Chief Wiggum?