Diamond_Jim

Big jump in case numbers today both in Vic and NSW. Lucky the cricket is not on in another 10 days... Reading a UK non medical forum and the general vibe is that for the vaccinated Omicron symptoms are typically a runny nose and a scratchy throat. Hopefully they stay that way

And once again it starts..... No fans at this weekend's Newcastle Jets v Wanderers match in Newcastle, NSW. And.... A League Men’s side Melbourne City has had six players test positive for COVID-19, resulting in its FFA Cup tie and its round six clash with Brisbane Roar being postponed. The club said the six cases were all double-vaccinated and had taken tests on Tuesday after being alerted by their rapid tests earlier in the day.

How prescient of my good self. Israel came out overnight recommending a fourth shot for many. Israelis over the age of 60 and medical teams will be eligible for a fourth Covid vaccination to protect against the fast-spreading omicron variant, prime minister Naftali Bennett has announced. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/21/israeli-pm-announces-fourth-covid-jab-for-over-60s-to-tackle-omicron

AZ's major producer.. Serum Institute of India has halved production due to no orders. AZ did have an update vaccine, AZ 2816 which was in third stage trials but so far nothing. Personally I have booked Moderna as my booster in a couple of weeks. There are a few studies that suggest it shades Pfizer but they're both similar. Looking forward to a fourth shot some time in 2022. PS: You can have AZ as a booster if you have reactions to MRNA vaccines (very rare for older people.)

The Arden Street Memorial Pachyderm Match https://www.nmfc.com.au/news/302603/arden-street-archives-the-elephant

He's a fifth year player. Even at a lower banded salary of say $250-300k p.a. that's a lot for a reserves player

He and Melksham are very expensive injury cover OD. I think he stands a chance of pushing Tom Mac out. Have just finished watchng the 3 or 4 games that Weid played in mid season. Got into a marking position mltiple times but couldn't complete the mark. Needs to get better in that area and we can see what happens.

Eagles and Crows closed off their membership lists at various stages over the years. Of those 125k members my guess is that 50k will never see one game for the season

Interesting figure 125k members. Only 3 years ago we were amazed by Richmond hitting 100k members. Memberships have become such a rubbery concept over the years I don't really put much stock in those numbers. A far better measure would possibly be "reserved seat holders"

Pakistan v West Indies One day series has been postponed until June due to positive covid tests. Nine positive tests amongst the West Indian players and staff who had mainly flown in from Dubai. Five or more EPL games deferred. Have to love the "new normal" 😢

Oliver by the length of the straight Petracca to shade Gawn followed by Salem, Lever and May

So he's out Interesting that if this had happened in Vic, NSW or Qld (from next week) all he needed to do was test and wait for negative result (assuming it wasn't the dreaded Big O )

Australian Test Captain in covid scare.... https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/cummins-in-doubt-for-second-test-after-covid-close-contact-designation-20211216-p59i36.html A COVID-19 scare has caused chaos within the Australian cricket team just hours before the Adelaide Test, with Pat Cummins identified as a close contact of a positive case. A source with knowledge of the situation has told the Herald and The Age that Australia’s captain was at an Adelaide restaurant on Wednesday evening, with another professional cricketer, when a patron at the next table was identified as a positive COVID-19 case.

How is a midfield measured. In my time the Eagles had the best run and carry midfield whereas Brisbane had the best stoppage midfield. Centre clearances is another measure. Have we finally managed to leverage our ruck dominance (Gawn)..... not sure Jackson could just be the magic sauce that does give us that "star quality". Rewatching the season I just smile at the skills of Oliver and the impact of Petracca. Bit early to give them the "best midfield" laurel but the signs are good.

The first two games if not more were a trainwreck skills wise. It's about round 5 where things start to gel. Oliver was superb from the word go though. Now at Round 11 and you can see the system working well. Forward line still not at 100%.

After the opening nine wins I have just hit the next 9 games where we go 4-1-4. Good training for the glory days thereafter perhaps

Relatively well documented in past years that MFC is at the top end of turning supporters into members. Sure there's another 10-20k members out there but building real support will require ten years of dominance a la Hawthorn Never underestimate what 60 years of under performance can do to a club. You don't fix that in one year

nope It's essentially match payments for playing extra games in the finals. I imagine that it is divided in the same ratio as seasonal payments. When you consider that you are paying the whole squad it really isn't a moneyspinner for the players. Not that many years ago teams actually lost money by playing in the finals. Thus the "prizemoney"

I suspect Geelong have a big say in who they play in their 5 (?) home games at the MCG. The North game is strange as North would probably make decent money playing us at Docklands. Do other teams think MFC fans won't go to Docklands? If we want these games we need to get a reputation as a team that has a large away supporter base. I'm sure the numbers are crunched.

That money has gone into the Future Fund. Funding the home base will be interesting. Few clubs have used their own funds to any great degree in this area

Interesting to see that there was a decrease in the soft salary cap of around $3M which also contributed to the profit. Definitely a bit of smoke and mirrors. Next year is when we need to hit our straps.

An EPL game was postponed last night due to 8 players testing positive (Tottenham). One has to wonder how many players need to test positive before you postpone an AFL game. Close contacts are just test and release so it comes down to positive cases. 3, 5 or perhaps 7. Would it be different if all 5 were backmen for example Tricky days ahead come March 2022

I booked a nice airbnb last year (didn't get there unfortunately) but checking the main hotels a couple of weeks out they were fully booked. Not sure about the lesser hotel/motels. Uluru which is about 5-6 hours from Alice was booked solid for months. June/July is peak tourist season for the Red Centre

Sight screens for the cricket. These are used when the crowd is low (Shield Cricket) as it avoids the need for a sight screen attendant. Plus covers up anything that might be reflecting from the inner parts of the Stand such as catering signs. The two small screens can be wheeled into place if necessary. At many English grounds this area is permanently painted white and you can sit behind these little fences so only your head shows up to the batsman.

Yes I very much remember that year. BT did a very good job and the tree is now famous. Why not make it a week of indigenous celebration with concerts, seminars you name it. Invite indigenous cultures from round the world to give input. I can see logistics issues with one off events but that is just a challenge. I'm sure the Federal Government would kick in some money as would the big corporates.