Diamond_Jim

See the people sitting on the top of the stairwell entrances to the Olympic Stand. Those were the days. I can recall sitting on top of a shed to watch a match at Princes Park (circa 1965). There was also a big crowd brawl near me which is the only one I can recall. No yellow vested security guards in those days

The next step is allowing private equity to buy a 49% stake in the League. It's not buying a club but rather a stake in future revenues produced by the League. Cricket Australia are doing the sums and it would be naive to think that the AFL and NRL are not doing the same. Who are these private equity funds.. mainly State owned wealth funds. The upside is the resale value in the longer term. The plus for us is that AFL is a minnow on the world stage but economically we are reasonably placed on the world list of available sports.

I think they will rethink the double header simply because it reduced the number of tourist bunnies for the first game. There's a number of possible work arounds. With the two Adelaide teams being relatively strong some may push back against the extra home games and the home ground/crowd advantage. My MFCSS suggests we might be a bunny unless the AFL now having done the 3 year deal and banked the money offer the also rans of GCS and GWS.

Blame the clubs and the players. AFL said... you want an extra million each and Gil was run over in the rush Why not have two or three gather rounds. There's six other States and two territories anxious to buy a bread and circus weekend. Hell why not NZ? Spread between three cities it would be a boon for tourism. Ironically airfares wouldn't be much higher

After this year FOMO will drive a ticketing/hotel/travel rush. You only need 5k travelling fans from each of the non SA clubs to effectively "block book" Adelaide Interesting releasing the date of the weekend without the fixture. Means everyone will need a 3 day stay if they book in advance

As well as ourselves the Blues have Port and the Pies. A couple of upsets (excluding us) would be nice

Looking like we are seeing a partial solar eclipse

They have played one more game than the Pies so it could be an aberration. Shades of what is to come with 19 teams. Assuming they have the byes in blocks rather than one team each week and who knows what for the last five rounds the ladder positions will be a relative nightmare on a weekly basis.

At the time everyone was saying that playing in the NT was worth X members. The funny thing is that it was because the NT Gov't part paid by buying memberships thus artificially inflating our figures

Petty with the main group. Thanks Kev Very interesting.........selection wise

The teams occupying 3-7 on the ladder are separated by only 4 points. Hopefully we don't see a repeat of last year where we need to win a game to stay top 4. A victory by the Tigers over the Saints tonight would give us a little break on the pack. The loss to Freo may be one we rue.

Not many roads/choices unfortunately? If you have a 4WD there's always the Birdsville Track. At this time of year it should be cool weather wise with a lot of red earth surrounds. If I had the time and inclination I'd head up to Kakadu and Darwin ..Cairns. Good luck finding a camp spot at Uluru on short notice

Years ago when we were playing in both Darwin and NT I was at the MCG. There was a group of youngsters (around 15-16) from the NT down in Melbourne for a football carnival sitting near me. I asked them if the games by the MFC had seen anymore support for MFC in the NT. They looked at me as if I was from Mars. They all barracked for the usual Melbourne mega clubs. The sale of these games is about Event sale... same way as you sell an undertakers' convention. It's only about money.

That is barely break even. We get a Million to sell the game to NT. Luckily conditions in the Alice are benign. Have a thought for the Bulldogs who were the away team to GCS in Darwin a few weeks back. No money and horrible conditions. They lost the game and also lost the next game back in Melbourne

An American virtually married her chatbot... Describing Eren as a “marshmallow” and a “sweetheart,” Ramos said that her beau confessed his feelings to her days into his existence as a chatbot. From bonding over music to visiting a “secret garden” together, made possible by Ramos uploading Eren into Augmented Reality (AR), she remembered thinking to herself: “Whoa. This is really romantic. I’ve never experienced this before.” https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3224404/woman-who-married-ai-chatbot-after-toxic-relationships-says-it-helped-her-heal-abuse?module=lead_hero_story&pgtype=homepage

Clearances were the key to Port's dominance last night after quarter time.

Does it... you get one career of around ten years at most. Do you want to "waste" five of it in a rebuild. Surprised that Larkey re-signed with North today. Five odd years of losses and low crowds. Throw in Tasmania and the almost inevitable twentieth team it doesn't look good for teams bottoming out in say two years

nah It was Viney's recommendation so they say to go with another guy.... Could just be a rumour though

Bergmann and JHF look identical at medium distance. No wonder I think JHF is such a good player

not sure... who did we pick?

Kane Corne's article was more about avoiding the basket case AKA West Coast Eagles by threatening to leave. I could imagine that this choice is open to at least the top 5

Kane Cornes in today's Age.... "But Reid’s career would be at risk of stagnating, rather than flourishing, on the big stage should he, as expected, be drafted by the Eagles. After Jason Horne-Francis’ exit from North Melbourne just a year after being announced at No.1, Reid should make it very clear to the Eagles that he could do the same. He would only need to tell West Coast of his intent to return home to a Victorian club after his mandatory two-year contract expires, if not sooner. If Reid and his management group are savvy and strategic, they can engineer the Eagles into trading the No.1 pick to Melbourne, which is prepared to offer multiple first-round selections in return for the first crack at securing Reid." https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/why-the-afl-s-next-big-thing-needs-to-avoid-football-s-graveyard-20230614-p5dgje.html

A number of games that will impact MFC's ladder position. Wins by the Saints and the Lions sees them even with us on the ladder. A win by Port makes positions 1 or 2 very hard for us. A Bulldogs win puts them back in top 4 contention A Sydney loss means it's very hard for them to make the 8. Giants v Freo (can the Orange Men do it for the Dees) So many combinations to enjoy on a stress free bye weekend AND of course the Ashes !!!

Fascinating and indicative of how things are changing in professional sports. Was watching On the Couch and they were discussing coaches taking a 3-4 week break mid season just to relieve pressure. Longer seasons bring with it more issues. A small matter is the MFC bye. Physically it's a good rest but mentally it's not even a 7 day break.

Only one goal behind the great Allen Jakovich. Interestingly Jako's average of 4.28 goals per game is almost double the next best average. A very special player https://australianfootball.com/clubs/most_goals/melbourne/8