Diamond_Jim

Interesting to see in Europe the continuing movement to re-introduce standing at the football. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-10342633/Clubs-introduce-safe-standing-grounds-supporters-feet.html Personally I've never understood the joy of it. The standing areas at most AFL stadiums are an afterthought. I wonder if a movement similar to soccer could arise.

It demonstrates that among the young at least there is little to fear from this variant of the virus if you are vaccinated. They are one of the few community groups regularly tested so they make an excellent control group.

The formal tested stats for the 20-30 year old cohort was around one in twenty. Obviously the real figures were a little higher Close to half of the AFL’s players, excepting those from the two Western Australian teams, have tested positive to COVID-19 over summer. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/footy-under-the-covid-cloud-half-the-afl-players-in-victoria-nsw-and-qld-have-had-the-virus-20220119-p59pj3.html TBH it's a good news story but very few media outlets handle nuance these days.

Just watching the Round 19 clash at present. Two things stood out to me. In the first half our forward play lacked cohesion and we missed 3-4 very gettable goals. (BBB was responsible for two of those.) Dogs scored around three goals "out the back". In addition the jury is still out on whether you tag Daniels. The good thing is that they rarely if ever dominated us even if they outscored us.

apparently they will then move onto naming them after universes..........infinite number 😪

Makes sense... will they do it ? Australia’s second busiest gateway, Melbourne Airport, wants COVID-19 testing requirements for inbound international travellers relaxed, arguing they do little to protect public health at a time Australia is recording tens of thousands of new cases a day. https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/no-higher-risk-melbourne-airport-pushes-to-covid-19-test-rules-20220118-p59p3r.html TBH incoming tests for most countries are of little use. Plays well however to the local citizenry

Not without merit FT. Would love to see it trialed in say the amateurs. Mind you with best handballer in the league let's wait another three years.

The ball rarely re-appeared if kicked into the Collingwood fans at the Yarra Falls end.

Fremantle is a possibility. They should beat WCE twice which is always a help in the Derby cities. Mind you I think they are most likely a 6th ranked team and would need a stunning finals series a la Bulldogs 2016

A few years back (Goody was coach so it wasn't that long ago) I went to watch Frankston V Casey. It's a beautiful setting and the sausage sizzle at a dollar a snag was fantastic. The Frankston supporters however (luckily on the other side of the ground from me) were a real throwback to the old days. Have seen glimpses of it at the Port Melbourne ground but otherwise the crowds these days are almost genteel.

In my rewatch of the season I am just on the last game (Bulldogs) of the period in which we went 4-1-4. Three games out from the end of the season many had us ending fifth. Strangely enough I thought that one of our best quarters was the final quarter in our loss against GWS. A furious attacking quarter but we just couldn't get the ball through those middle posts. As the season went on you occasionally see flashes of that last 45 minutes of the GF but you would have to be kidding yourself to think that it will become our norm. To win a premiership you need to finish top 4 which will require us to almost match last season's wins and then you need to have a good finals series. I'm very hopeful for season 22 but it's certainly no given.

Remember the WWII US military signs stenciled around the old Southern Stand. TBH you have to wonder if other than the row of superboxes whether the new Southern stand was an improvement on the old one.

Perhaps Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture replete with canons to remind us of.... Bang Bang Bang !

Hard to judge what is an adequate crowd in the present environment but going forward I can't see Punt Rd Oval as a good venue for this comp. It simply has almost zero spectator space between the oval and the perimeter fence. There's some room behind the goals at the railway end but otherwise it's the one lovely old stand. Princes Park is a better venue perhaps.

That's definitely worth further discussion. I wonder who has control of the play list? And of course a big thanks to you and PF for a great report

TBH I don't see much of a net benefit to WA opening up pre April/May. If they can keep the Big O out for the rest of January why do a Queensland in February. There's no perfect time to open up but as Qld, SA etc found out now wasn't a good idea. Everything points to Omicron burning itself out by mid March (just in time for the next variant) WA teams moving to the east coast for 2 months is a small price especially if those games were designated as non home games allowing a string of home games later on.

Lynden Dunn at 50 surprises me. A solid team player in the 10-15 ranking of a season's 22... 50th best player over the last 50 years though ?? Great list though !

In a round about way they already have the "extra" players in the form of the VFL listed players. The issue is when would a club be able to access the top up players. Do you first have to exhaust your AFL uninjured list. Can you top up by reference to positions etc. Fixed rules could be a nightmare. My suggestion would be to use an MRP type body to make individual decisions based on "overall fairness". From left field should clubs have to lend players to other clubs as top ups. (Ruckmen come to mind)

I had wiped that Essendon debacle from my mind. Thanks for resurrecting it. It's one of those games where we can all remember where we were at the time. Personally my line these days is 36 points up five minutes* into the last quarter. *That's five mins on the timeclock or about ten minutes on the groundclock. Carlton (2018?) was a fun game

Having never been to the Whitten Oval I would be very interested in a food report and in particular a burger report from those attending. A wide range of food and beverage options will be available including the Bass Strait Beef Burger Bar, Pancake Parlour outlets and food trucks.

I think you may find that the rules on isolation are very different in two months. We're already down from 14 to 7 days and there is talk of five days soon. In low risk environments where you are not mixing with the highly vulnerable one has to wonder if quarantine will become a thing of the past.

Don't disagree but do we not already have Rivers and Salem in that role. Does Hunt have the defensive skills of Hibberd? Hunt's main skill is the ability to break lines. Unfortunately he seems far too often to try and go that one bounce too far and his disposal is therefore pressured. If Bowey could add run to his game he would be excellent.Can't see Smith getting a game short of injuries and the Petty/Tomlinson conundrum is unanswerable. Rivers to the wing and Brayshaw back to the centre.... Interesting but then what about Sparrow and Jordon. Is Harmes at risk? Great to have such an apparent abundance of riches.

Interested to see a discussion about the relative strengths and weaknesses of Hunt and Bowey as we move into 2022. Hibberd will work hard to keep his spot but who else can take that role short term?

seems that catching covid in the last 6 months was an out. My cynicism radar is on full alert.

And just after you thought things could not be more "interesting".... Along comes another likely variant. In France at present from the Cameroons. The medical world is on alert yet again after a new mutant Covid-19 variant emerged in France recently. The new strain, dubbed “variant IHU” or B. 1.640.2, was first detected in the nation last month, but is now making international headlines after catching the attention of global experts. At least 12 cases were confirmed near the Marseilles area, and it is understood that many of those patients were hospitalised with the illness. https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/health/french-scientists-discover-new-mutant-covid-variant-which-could-be-more-resistant-to-vaccines/news-story/3f0f3dd255130ce57d68cde9292a94d6 But there could be good news..... However, on a more positive note, the new strain does not appear to be spreading rapidly. The article also goes on to say that it could be outcompeted by our "friend" Omicron !!