Diamond_Jim

despite the official reasons it may be as simple as that a one week suspension for Charlie was irrelevant as he was not selected. One could not officially say that so they drum up another reason. It now makes 2 weeks the base.

If you want a lesson in what is wrong with the game at present watch a quarter of the Giants v North game. One of the most skilful teams of recent times scragged and crowded to an almost complete stop. Congrats North for being able to do it but spectator wise an absolute turn off. Obviously way too many players on the ground these days.

so right and so lucky that Rivers had a good game. There is scope for risk in selection but we loaded risk upon risk. Was it the only reason for our bad performance... no but it contributed. Was the Harley decision correct... line ball

GCS looked like kids playing against the Eagles but hell did they deliver. The conditions didn't favour the Eagles (slippery and humid is not exactly Perth weather) but few if any saw that one coming.

I would like to hear more from the experts as to whether there is room for both Smith and Lever in the backline. They seem to be playing similar styles. Who do we have to go with Tipungwuti?

You wonder if McDonald is a bit like Patton.Big and relatively slow. Has the game passed them by. If so it's a worry because we are definitely lacking the mobile forward. Fritsch being on target would help

Weid rarely dominated at VFL level so this is a positive. I agree however that this match was not a great test if both he and Brown can kick 6 a piece. Wonder who rucked while Weid was up forward

The good news is that Weid reportedly kicked 5 or 6 goals in the scratch match. The bad news is so did Brown apparently.

There are arguably only two teams worse than Carlton... GCS and St Kilda we almost managed to lose to Carlton... in fact we would have if they kicked straight. The selections were terrible. ANB's late inclusion saved us along with Hunt who I thought would never play seniors again.Where was our forward line. Weid deserved a game in front of Jackson. Smith is experimental at best. The only upside is that when I saw the team on Thursday I felt sure we would lose. Can we regroup... who knows

the red time curse is still with us Let's hope we wrap it up in the third q.

Correct... The open roof plays havoc with the TV coverage Terrible stadium but we're stuck with it

considering how many we had in from our 2019 best 22 it doesn't surprise me

come on .... I'll bet you have some blue blood deep down not to mention a desire to fly high with the jacket swinging Bomber brigade. Wait there's always the Dockers... guaranteed half empty stadium for every Melbourne match. It would be just like most MFC matches !! ?

Definitely GCS....There is merit (albeit small) in GWS

Agree. Time for the players and their managers to wake up and smell the roses.

Agree but they are in decline as well thanks to the AFL's grab for money. The VFL/VFA comp is an absolute travesty. Local councils are also increasingly loathe to support the old suburban grounds

Like newspapers the media market is being increasingly split. Reality TV rates or more to the point it's profitable. Netflix at $10 a month was the final gamechanger

some would be upset but to suggest that few would transfer their allegiances is simplistic. US sporting teams have been moving cities for years. What MFC supporter doesn't have a second team after 50 years in the wilderness. In the seventies mine was Collingwood. Now it's GWS

Correct it won't disappear overnight but like 10 it could go into liquidation. Nine is struggling as well to say the least. They are staying afloat by reality shows which are relatively cheap to produce. It would be madness to assume that FTA will continue indefinitely to pay big money for sports. They will do it as a "community service" for a lot less money. For those who think that it will be replaced by streaming services the numbers just don't add up unless the streaming service takes it on as a loss leader. The days of loss leaders are numbered. It would at the very least require exclusivity and what would that do to the fundamentals of the game. (Have a look at cricket in the UK after it went wholly behind the paywall.)

any news on this gripping contest. Not sure why its not played tomorrow thus allowing all the emergencies to participate.

Channel 7are not travelling that well. Someone in the AFL is I hope working out what they might do if the company fell over. Sure a replacement of sorts would come along but at what price. The present crisis has demonstrated that every sport including the mega comps live from year to year via TV rights money. Perhaps its time to look at the salary levels and start saving for the rainy day. Even a 10% cut that was then invested in a future fund would over twenty years secure these sports. It's not rocket science. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jun/13/seven-wests-afl-deal-cant-pull-it-out-of-financial-mess-insiders-say

it's arguably a breach... they are allowed out for shopping not to have a chat at the supermarket. A nod in passing sure but not a chat. On the other hand when half the world is at the beach or Bunnings is it any wonder. The complete reversal of form by both teams from Round 1 was interesting. Patton looks like a player from a bygone era. Hope he shows his best but the modern game doesn't suit him.

why not.... we supped with the devil we took the benefits and the new licence fees and now we reap the whirlwind Somebody had to be left without a seat when the music stopped I could go on but few will have sympathy for us

The TV companies have already said the ninth game is irrelevant.That probably means the 8th game is not that important. Four teams are expendable therefore from a television viewpoint. The TV revenues will fall. Foxtel who has been underwriting the past increases is haemoragghing on so many levels. Crowd revenues are flaky and probably one third of all games are played at a loss. Memberships grow but many are low value memberships. It's a tough world But wait... there's China and California and...and

Have a look at their balance sheet. It's very strong. If Tassie goes but there are say two less clubs in Melbourne he wins. I'd be gaming a Carlton merger to have up my sleeve if I was the MFC. In reality North and Saints are easier pickings for the axe so we could be safe.