Diamond_Jim

Spargo has trained lightly over the summer. He did not participate in any of the senior practice matches. He played part of a VFL practice match last week on which we have no reports. Amazed if he plays a full AFL game but who knows Edit... Obviously I don't Good luck to him

Up against the Mighty Socceroos

And in the spirit of synchronicity it's half time in all three matches

After a strong start by the Storm Penrith coming back 14-10 Indonesia's new very expensive coach may not last long. The Indonesian league was known for some vicious fighting between fans but things seem to have cooled down a little in recent years

Big night with Socceroos about to kick off in a must win game against Indonesia and Storm playing Penrith in a GF rematch

Agree That losing practice match between Casey and Coburg can't have been his best. Surprised that Spargo is a possibility after such a long lay off. His pre-injury form in 2023 wasn't stellar

TC is the man this year Dee Zone. Bell our long time stand in when Verrall and Fullerton aren't available has gone elsewhere. With Tom Mac and Jeffo in the seniors plus the possibility of TC being held back as an emergency we could struggle against North

Attendance numbers post covid for the competition have risen but mainly due to extra rounds, split rounds (round zero) and marketing of a few blockbusters. I suspect most home and way games are showing relatively stagnant attendance figures. Similarly TV audiences are up simply because we have 9 games per weekend that don't clash. I doubt that there's much more juice in the lemon unless you can increase the number of theatre goers and lets face it they were never coming out late on a Sunday against an absolute premier sporting event such as the F1 GP. It's all about the event rather than the game. (Just ask the racing clubs). A St Patrick's Day game (Jimmy's Game) might work but you would need to invest big in the hoopla and of course don't go up against F1. When LIV golf paid a DJ $2M plus to spin in Adelaide and even F1 said it wasn't within their budget you realise how things have moved on.

You wonder who sets this fixture. An 11am start at Arden Street would have been a great prelude to the Docklands match but no we're at Casey Will be interesting to see how Spargo goes after such a long time out

Makes sense but it does favour the big clubs who have much more to spend on the CEO not to mention sales staff, media dept etc. These days everything is about upsell. If you can get a member to buy $50 worth of product that's an extra $5M revenue for the bigger clubs.

Is the CEO's salary within any form of cap? Given what the big clubs earn I assume they pay a lot more

From an MFC viewpoint you want two Melbourne teams to kick away and establish themselves in positions 1 and 2. Hard to see that happening so ideally we want to see the interstate powerhouses lose which keeps the Melbourne teams including ourselves in the hunt for a top 4 spot. 16-7 could see a team top the ladder. It got Port second spot last year with the Swans on 17-6 being number 1. Another loss by Freo would please me

Season starts in earnest next week. I was expecting a loss today but bitter that we lost a close one. North are stacked with talent but rarely put it together. This is simply a "must win" game

You could say that but Coburg are traditional wooden spooners so it's a little worrying Anyway early days

One knew it would end this way

Torture to say the least

Agree mate.. it's certainly a change from the usual conservative policy. We're probably a 30% chance of a win but if three of these debutantes become regulars in a winning team as the season goes on I'll be very happy

Saudi Arabia is now confirmed as paying out the Foxtel/Telstra debt in return for a stake in Dazn. (For those interested Foxtel was effectively sold for nothing with foxtel and Telstra getting loans repaid. Not sure if they got interest if any on the loans prepaid). Similarly FIRB approval is imminent. Going forward an interesting comment from Dazn which could come true with Saudi money... DAZN has been known for buying up local rights deals in different markets across its near-decade long existence. However, during a panel discussion in Melbourne on Thursday, co-founder James Rushton signalled a change in strategy, noting the company’s desire now to control rights deals on a global basis. “One of the things that DAZN is looking to do as a business is to try and buy rights globally. We much prefer to own all rights in all markets,” Rushton said. https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/foxtel-s-petrodollar-fuelled-sale-close-to-the-finish-line-20250312-p5lj02.html

I agree that's the most likely but....

Out of interest do we play Richmond twice this year?

Think he meant Langford...

TMac is not your typical sub unless you are thinking injury sub. I think they're desperate for someone to back up Max but you could be right that in view of the weather they might go small. This game looks increasingly tough to win

No surprises in the named 18

You would not be happy if you missed the squad. Just released... so lets play which four drop out and who is the sub Jeffo definitely out and next TMac Billings for sub? or more likely Lindsay? Think Billings is in

It does have one in the sense that you're not allowed to spend more than you earn. This is what has got Manchester City in trouble. In simple terms the League is saying that the sponsorship fee paid by the Middle East owners is greater than what would be paid by an arms length sponsor. (Of course the more powerful/popular the club the higher the justifiable sponsor fee. You could even argue a higher fee on the basis that the recipient club will use it to buy "name players" that will enhance your sponsorship. Clear as mud but perhaps clearer than F1 team spending caps.)