Diamond_Jim

Definitely some upside available for the Dogs in returning players and the possible inclusion of Ugle-Hagen. Hannan will be lucky to keep his spot. As to our team I'm not completely sold on Harmes but have no idea who would be a better replacement. Hibberd is the other one who may not make it for the opening game. Can't see the 2 pre season games influencing selection that much given the squads etc. Will be interesting to see where Weideman is played in those two games. An exception might be the Jordon v Sparrow duel. Could it be that both play and Harmes misses out. McDonald is safe for at least 3 games. Suspect that the opening game will be strongly influenced by who kicks straighter

Hunt would walk into most teams if he could improve that final kick/disposal.

One more.... BRISBANE will place midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen on its inactive list after he failed to meet the AFL's COVID-19 protocols.

Vale..... https://www.theage.com.au/culture/music/legendary-american-singer-meat-loaf-dies-aged-74-20220121-p59qai.html Bat Out of Hell is also the best-selling album of all time in Australia.

Here's the thread. Not sure if it was officially confirmed

IIRC he was told to look elsewhere at the end of last season and no one picked him up. He'll most likely be delisted at the end of 2022

"The club will continue to support Jack as he contemplates his options and is optimistic that he will return to build on his outstanding career to date." https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-21/jack-darling-west-coast-eagles-covid-vaccine-mandate/100772604 Given the 3-4 weeks between first and second dose he better get a move on

Agree but will they revamp the first six odd weeks so they are all away games for the Perth sides. Forget the fairness etc but there will be pressure to maximise the gate figures for all teams after two years of compromised attendances.

I love symmetry In the 1890 attempt at federation it was NZ in and WA out. Fast forward to the 1900 attempt and it was WA in and NZ out. Now we have both NZ and WA out !!

Without wishing to go too far away from the topic.... Who was the more wasted talent Travis Johnstone or Nick Kyrgios ? BTW: Does anyone have a youtube link to the Adelaide game. The best quarter I have ever seen played by a Melbourne player....

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