Diamond_Jim

The momentum for the inclusion of Preuss is interesting. As pointed out in another thread when he has been played with Goldstein (an AA ruckman) in the past at North the results were not outstanding. Similarly a Pedersen/Gawn combination has rarely set the world on fire to the best of my recollection. I can see the logic of counter arguments in that it worked for the Eagles in the GF, the rule changes and giving Gawn a rest etc but the fact remains that in the long term the second ruckman needs to justify his position as a contributing player and not merely a relief ruckman. Another concern I have is that the inclusion of Preuss must to some extent come at the expense of one less midfielder or similar which begs the question of team balance against faster running teams. Could be an interesting conundrum.

you may be right and if so that is why the rule will probably change again at years end. It will lead to more congestion. The only way that congestion will be avoided is if the ruckman takes a relatively uncontrolled kick after gaining possession. In this day and age such a tactic is fraught with danger and therefore I can only see it being used when a side is in an attacking position. Just don't see this rule working for the overall benefit of the game.

Not sure that it's exactly revolutionary. The old positioning of the trainer's towel on the different chairs or similar has been around for years

why shouldn't we know the arrangements. One organisation, the MCG trust is a state government appointed body and the other is a community owned football club

Far too nice about a failed concept...yes I think we can say that this one has failed before it even started. No magical cricket under lights a la the World Series Cricket for this monstrosity. As to expansion the AFL are involved in subsidised trade missions to China and a lesser extent India. The games are sidelines,

To me Harmes and ANB remind me a little of the Febey twins in the late 80's. Both pairs went from being okay to very solid contributors with the ability every now and then to really turn it on. I know it's cliched but getting that bottom 6-10 players up by a couple of notches is where the coaching staff earn their dollars.

Just got an email from the AFL offering me a free ticket to the AFLX as an AFL member. Savouring the delights of Kolkata at present so I will have to give it a miss.How disappointing. I suspect the ticket sales are not exactly booming.

That Freo win against Collingwood has not done our finals chances any good. As others have mentioned there seems to be some disparity between the two conferences

According to the Whirlpool site the Android TV app will be available prior to season start. I can imagine they are having trouble making the app compatible with all makes of TV. If it is anything like the ABC app and Samsung TV's I can understand. The other thing that is becoming obvious is that they are not offering the full Foxtel with all its bells and whistles. It is the Foxtel Now product with perhaps better HD. As such you get channel 7 coverage if they are broadcasting an AFL match (including ads) and no easy recording. The whirlpool discussion on Kayo is now over 200 pages ! Plenty of discussion on the playing media along with syncing issues. https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/2763582?p=215

sage words Mr Chook In a strange way we are in a similar position to Collingwood with Mason Cox. Like Cox, Sam W had a good finals series but the jury is still out on their long term impact on the game. Looking forward to seeing how Sam goes as a full time member of the senior team.

A very thought provoking article from the Guardian about the ownership of various soccer clubs and their potential use as soft power in the world of international politics. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/feb/15/sportswashing-europes-biggest-clubs-champions-league-owners-sponsors-uefa Seems that only the German fans are pushing back... Must say if I was living in Europe I might be looking to follow a local second division team. "These facts on ownership, partners and practices are presented simply as information. At the end of which two things leap out. First, the level of actual English interest in the world’s top club football is negligible. Not one of the four Premier League clubs involved is majority owned by a company or individual based the UK. There are no major UK sponsors. All England is really offering here is some staging, a little colour and heritage. The actual property is all located elsewhere "

Doing my annual winter trip to India at present. Yeah it's different and it's unbelievably hot outside the November to March period. Almost every truck is a Tata so there's scope to think laterally if we want to bring in the brawn. Not that many years ago who had ever heard of Isuzu.

A big thank you Andy... I'm sure you have already thought it but a podcast from one of the AFLW team would not go astray. On a separate note I hope the club is busy getting some oral histories from the 1964 team.I hope they all make 100 but the youngest is probably 70. They would make a wonderful archive to the MFC website. Just arrived in Kolkata. Took the ferry from the Howrah train station across the mighty Hooghly river and then caught a cab past Eden Gardens. It has a certain resonance with the MCG. Not sure I have seen too much advertising for the upcoming AFLX series but one never knows !!

thought I could recall him retiring...thanks obviously still can play the game

Didn't realise Boomer was going around for another year. A truly good/great player who always gives you a good game. For years I would lament that you could not point at any Melbourne player and say they would play well irrespective of a win or loss.I think in the likes of Oliver and perhaps one or two others (Jetta) we can start to say that about some of the Melbourne players. Shows we are moving in the right direction. Thanks Saty for an interesting thread

That is a very sensible compromise and we could see how we go. Not sure if the site can handle simultaneous threads in both forums but if so that would be a fantastic outcome. Even the naysayers would have been happy with beating Collingwood at Victoria Park last week. It does take time for the game to evolve but as we have seen with women's cricket and soccer it can and will happen.

Thanks Saty the use of drones is an obvious one when you think of it for getting that overall movement of the ball angle Body cams is an interesting one too Cheers

Hi I would be interested to hear from the regulars how they think training and in particular the use of training aids has developed over recent years. Do for example they use the ball shooter that they were using for one of the entertainment comps at the quarter breaks etc. Thanks

Thank you Ernest... you lift the tone as always. May I remind you of another of your famous quotations... “Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” PS: No aspersions of course on your character of course Ernest... BTW been fishing lately

Their foray into formula 1 was not that successful. Lovely logo though and it's nice to have something on the jumper that people actually know. Took me years to work out who in the hell SEW were on the Hawks jumper !! Almost bought one a couple of years back. Out of the West the luxury cars were going relatively cheaply after the mining boom came to an end.

Great TV. Along with West Wing it can be watched multiple times and you still get new takes on issues. Has to be the best ending ever to a series as well.

I think he's backing himself to bring home the bacon (it is the year of the pig after all). I like it in the sense that if he does membership goes up and with that revenue... a bit for the coach ... why not. Can see the argument of the traditionalists but perhaps it's time we broke the mold.

what can one say.... very like the MFC a dud of a car back in the eighties being the butt of so many jokes. A lot better now Now owned by the big Tata conglomerate of India...perhaps we could branch out

Hi I can understand the need and place for separate forums but I would like to suggest that the AFLW forum be merged with the main board. This is not to suggest that they do not deserve their own place but until the competition grows in recognition it would be great if we could increase its exposure on the main board. Would also give the excellent posters on the AFLW some greater exposure. Cheers from Malda in West Bengal where AFLW is on everyone's lips !!

Great site as we all know. Please support and every now and then send a donation to keep the wonderful work going. I find the match day threads particularly therapeutic. One only has to look at the podcast guests to understand the actual not to mention potential reach a site such as this can have. Thanks Andy and Nasher and all those who keep the site ticking over. PS: I found this site around 2001 or slightly after so it has become part of my MFC life. Most posters are courteous and it's great to get different views. Long may it prosper.