The heart beats true

I read that and thought ‘Aziz Ansari is our new president?’

Some wild takes in here. Is Bont a poor captain? Smith, Hunter, Ugle-Hagan - all his fault? Nah. He’s a great captain. Captaincy is so much about the leadership example you personally set. If people don’t want to follow then at a certain point that is a responsibility that only falls on them. Max is a gun, and it’s crazy to me that anyone who’s watched him play for the last decade would suggest anything but that he’s a great leader. You can only lead a horse to water, and Gawn does it every time.

I’m already making a Pinterest board called ‘BBQ Trends 2026’ in preparation.

This is what happened to me and my reserved seats too. I got fed up with having to move people along.

I’d get a reserved seat at a certain level of membership, so you at least know you have a seat. Then I’d move around a bit and see where you like to sit once the season is up and going. At 70% of our home games you could find a seat just about anywhere. Then the following season talk to the club about where you want to be. They’ll be much more agreeable to getting you a seat you want if you take up a Redlegs or Trident membership - especially if it’s just you. It gets harder if there’s 3 or 4 in a group, but singles are easier to find spots for. Personally I prefer to sit higher (I’m on level 2 but would take level 4 over level 1) as I like to see the game unfold a bit, and see what’s happening behind and in front of the ball. I know some people love sitting on the fence, but I find it harder to get a feel for the entirety of the game when I’m too close. Good luck!

It depends where you like to sit. You can get reserved seats on the fence, but likely not on the wing, or you can sit higher and get something like a Trident membership (which I have) where you get access to a members room. I was a reserved seat member but I much prefer my Trident membership, as it’s level 2 - so opposition supporters don’t try their luck like they do on level 1. The MCG staff aren’t great at policing areas, which is annoying against sides like Collingwood or Richmond whose supporters don’t care and will wait to be moved on. Also, talk to the club. Tell them what you want. The website option is ok, but the folks on the phone are great and really helpful.

Tom Morris said today that it was well known at St Kilda that Jack Steele wasn’t a big fan of Ross Lyon. The more I hear about Jack the more I like him.

How are you feeling about Curnow going, and what seems to be the feeling amongst the fan base?

It’s getting harder to evaluate actual trading in the context of free agency. The Lions get an A+ - but that’s because 2 good players walked to them, and only would walk to them. That’s not a trade, that’s a closed market.

Petty? I reckon he’ll play back.

That’s a really good outcome for the future of our footy club. I’m happy with that.

I don’t know if it’s been mentioned but there’s a really good interview with CJ on the channel 7 series ‘Unfiltered’ where he talks about his family leaving Sudan and the challenges they faced. It’s a great story.

I can’t talk for very long, because I’ve just snuck out of a BBQ with CJ. He’s currently weighing up his options, but is thinking he’ll do a couple of snags and a rissole, and then hit the potato salad. Will keep you updated as I can.

Be interesting to see how we go forward on the draft board, as Essendon (currently holding 4 and 5) have said they are willing to offer them both to get into the top 2.

And at least throw in a bottle of Veuve, and a 6 pack (but none of that non alcoholic stuff. We are going to need to drown our sorrows).