Diamond_Jim

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.

We need to keep the Alice date rather constant for marketing purposes. Combining the trip with some time at the Rock etc requires bookings many months in advance not to mention airline bookings etc. I had my flights and tickets all booked this year but we know what happened. Will I head there next year... Maybe before I hit the world once again. Properly marketed this game has the potential to be a national blockbuster TV wise. It would be great if in years to come it becomes an invitational game where other clubs fight to play in it due to the nationwide TV coverage. From an NT perspective they need to do more to market it as an event week where people come for the week rather than just the night. While I hate tto think of it as such it could become a hot corporate ticket for the movers and shakers. PS: Just remembered I still have my airline credits from this years failed trip. Perhaps I mght get some use out of them after all !!

A wonderful day. My highlight was all the children decked out in red and blue. I think our club is in good hands for the next fifty years. Thanks to the MFC for going so far to make everyone feel involved. PS: Robbo and his band are rather good !

Casey and quarantine ended up well for us in the sense that it provided consistency Location in WA for 6 odd weeks at the end was a big plus. Would we have won in a normal season. Probably but GF day in Melbourne was cold and damp so it might have been a lot closer.

No comment !! An Italian man is facing charges of fraud after turning up for his Covid-19 vaccine wearing a fake arm. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/03/italian-man-tries-to-dodge-covid-vaccine-wearing-fake-arm

Not sure if it's a television event or a crowd grab. My feeling is that crowdwise it's way too much too soon and it will fall flat. TV wise it will rate well and TBH that is probably what it's all about As to our game what a stupid way to hobble a blockbuster

out of interest what did it pay for $1 bet thanks

I think I know what you are getting at OD and perhaps the debate is between forward structure and "kicking winning scores". We often kicked winning scores but in many games our forward structure was missing. The Adelaide loss which I watched last night is perhaps a perfect example (even though we lost). Kicked 14 goals 11 behinds and lost by a point but the forward line was a mess from a structural viewpoint. (Brown out and Weid in for his first game. Fritsch never looked like it and McDonald floating in and out.) I think we have it under control going into next year with both Jackson and Gawn floating forward and with Brown and Fritcsh. Hard to match up on the new Demons. My greatest fear is that the opposition pack the forward 50 and rely on fast breaks through the midfield using overlapping run and handball.

Pies in particular 20 in a row will do me Plus at some stage we throw them a metaphorical bone as a struggling club

What a waste of a blockbuster. Midweek night game Crowd 60k is my guess Probably the worst night of all four available evenings. Hopefully we make it big with the corporate dollars for the night

Will be interesting to see if we have to mandate boosters. If they make them at say 4 months it means January/Feb will co-incide with the due date for the vast majority of adults including those who were mandated. Why do I see complete chaos coming our way yet again.

Freo could be a strong candidate for the 8 assuming West Coast meander downwards. We tend to overlook the guaranteed two games against the same city team that faces interstate teams. Brisbane probably locks down its two games against GC. Not so sure about the Sydney and Adelaide derbies. Could be an even split.