Diamond_Jim

was watching a show recently on TV. It appears that certain Hawaiian printed shirts are now very collectable ?

Agree... That of course was the year Collingwood broke their premiership drought. There was no outstanding team and it was ours for the taking.

I'm still undecided but while there are over half a million cases in the USA with over one thousand deaths every day it's way too early to think about something as peripheral as a contrived football season. Let's have a look in a month and then think about it. To have games when it is illegal for two children to kick a ball in the park is not the right message. Like many I cannot help but think that the willingness of sports to restart is motivated by money rater than any altrustic desire to provide entertainment in these difficult times.

88 was similar if I recall in that we won the first 8 plus and then cratered but we recovered to sneak into the six? and then we all know what happened from there I was in Europe for the first six odd weeks of the season and was amazed when in the Qantas lounge in Singapore on the way home to read of our success. Definitely no internet cafes in those days

I suspect that the resolution for the NRL will be the CEO losing his job. It is clear that he has alienated Government and his media backers. Hard to see him continuing in his job. This is one time when sports need to follow rather than lead.

We were plagued by injuries. IIRC we lost one or more key players each of those last four games of the regular season

I was wondering when a country was going to use polling techniques to conduct a random tested sample of its population. While electoral opinion polling may get the final result wrong in elections the margin of error is such that for this purpose they can give you excellent trend analysis. The poll conducted in Austria had a surprising result: Less than 1% of the Austrian population is “acutely infected” with coronavirus, new research based on testing a representative sample of more than 1,500 people suggests. The research, if replicated and confirmed elsewhere, would appear to scotch hopes of countries being remotely close to relying on “herd immunity” – where enough of the population is exposed to the virus to build up a combined immunity – as a viable policy option. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/10/less-than-1-of-austria-infected-with-coronavirus-new-study-shows

TJ wasmy vote. He embodies Melbourne.... could have been anything but no His third quarter against Adelaide was the best individual effort from a footballler I have ever witnessed

you're right dc but having been to Bangladesh a few times it is a complex issue.The garment industry has greatly assisted in the liberation of the women of Bangladesh and has enabled them to put food on the table for their families. Like Filipinos their menfolk provide a very large proportion of foreign labour in the Gulf and South East Asia. Yes it's a horrible life but compared to poverty levels of thirty years ago it's a big improvement. As an aside the Bangladeshi workers love a protest march. The marches are lead by drummers and the must have is an elephant !! An amazing site on the streets of Dhaka

Reports that AFL and Channel 7 are in talks to extend the present media deal until 2024 at a slightly reduced fee. As Foxtel pays more than half the annual fee it could be interesting. At least the AFL are getting better press than the NRL who are looking almost rugby unionesque in their ineptitude.

Relocation of the GCS to Tasmania is the way to go but other than a few million a year I cannot see anyone down there interested in ownership. Back in the late eighties some teams played with public ownership (share listings etc) but it didn't really work out. One of the problems is that in an insolvency the licence reverts to the AFL so the actual asset values held by the clubs is limited. Relocation of GCS to Tasmania would also put pressure on North's existence

did we win against Freo last week? If not this is close to a coach killer match !!

can remember when Neitz and Schwarz debuted. The club knew they had two very special players. What a shame they never achieved that elusive flag.

The argument between NRL and Channel 9 heats up: https://au.yahoo.com/sports/nrl-2020-channel-nine-stunning-attack-mismanagement-015505242.html The game’s administrators are expected to announce plans to recommence a shortened 15-round season as early as May 21, however Channel Nine are considering that a breach of contract. Nine’s chief executive Hugh Marks has reportedly told the NRL they want to renegotiate the game’s $1.8 billion broadcast deal, launching an extraordinary broadside on the code.

Not sure what to read into this but if I was channel 9 I would be rethinking my weekly payment.... Channel Nine has launched a scathing broadside at the NRL over the league’s plans to restart a shortened competition as early as 21 May, claiming the broadcast rights holder has not been consulted on the proposal and accusing the NRL of squandering millions of dollars over a number of years. In a strongly-worded statement, the national broadcaster criticised the NRL’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, which forced the 2020 season to be put on hold after just two rounds and plunged the game into financial crisis. “At Nine we had hoped to work with the NRL on a solution to the issues facing rugby league in 2020, brought on so starkly by Covid-19,” a Channel Nine statement read. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/09/nrl-2020-season-restart-decision

masks not required here by law but social custom almost demands you wear one. Easily ordered 50 online but hell they're hot to wear on the equator . Week four of the lockdown about to start and no real sign of it being lifted. My State of three million only has one hundred cases. Biggest danger is that with little traffic many drive like maniacs as the speed limit is as fast as you can go !!! Somewhat amusing that the model state of Singapore is suffering outbreaks amongst its migrant worker population who live in very small and cramped accomodation. Usually there would be ten to a room with the other ten out working their shift. They would then swap over but with the construction closed there are now twenty to a room. The West has never really understood how Asia and the Middle East is so dependent upon cheap migrant labour.

wasn't that our own Max commenting on his missed goal that would have won us the game against Geelong

Some good news from Taiwan ?? https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2020/04/08/taiwanese-team-finds-key-antibodies-in-covid-19-patients

Aaron Davey redefined football with his defensive tackling in the forward line. He probably had more influence on the modern game than any other. While this does not make him the best he was probably the most influential. Cannot see how Nathan Jones gets a mention and while I love Gawn he is playing in a time where his style is less than crucial. Maybe Jeff White was better in his own way but the game was so different.

you have to laugh sometimes... Just saw an article in the Age where some medico is calling for a halting of burn offs during the non fire season as the smoke haze can lead to respiratory problems which might put pressures on hospitals during the pandemic. To think... three months ago we were ringed by bushfires such that the Indian chai wallahs I met all thought the whole of Australia had burnt down and then there were floods and now this.

unfortunately that is where the arguments will come. How do you manage it when you have the chattering classes screaming that even one death is one death too many not to mention populist State leaders all with their NIMBY agenda. Other than mass testing which is months off there is no easy way out of this. How long until we see breakdowns in the world supply chains of items that while not essential to our everyday survival provide us with our basic utilities etc. Think for example some item at a power station that is sourced from France who in turn sources parts from five other countries. The supply chain assumes you can fly one to Oz in 48 hours and we carry one spare. The list goes on. I keep watching China daily. If it can come out of it we should be okay but if it goes the other way ... ah well who knows...I certainly don't. Here they have closed the breweries as they are not deemed essential services !! Spirits disappeared from the shops weeks ago. Life is tough !!!!

It should be but the AFL won't give up. I could see spectatorless games being played from August (assuming things don't go pear shaped generally). They will try to limit travel so we may see some form of hubbing but Tasmania... no way The logical hubs are one interstate where all the non Melbourne clubs would be based and then one in Melbourne. That would give you seven rounds before the interstate hub had exhausted itself. You could then move four of the Melbourne teams to the interstate hub and 4 of the interstate teams could come to Melbourne giving you another 4 or 5 rounds. By this stage you are almost at the end of October and have played 12 rounds. The 17 round season would be possible but other than possibly the finals series it would all be spectatorless which would be considered by many as pointless.Another issue is would the media companies still pay big dollars for such a compromised season.. PS: I don't think it's possible before August because public sentiment will not countenance contact sport at a time of "distance isolation" and even if we see relaxed restrictions the distancing policy has another few months minimum to go.

Kennett with his insistence on remaining in the world of pokies and white anting the AFL's deal for Norf to play more games in Tasmania a few years back is certainly not the AFL Commission's poster child. A dose of humble pie caused by a few years of bottom four finishes would be nice I think.

2020 is GONE

A donation scheme based on success with players donating a percentage of their salary inverse to the on field success. (18th and the players keep 20% moving up to you keep 100% if we win the flag.) Hell if we had that in place over the last fifty years we'd be the richest club going around ! ?