Diamond_Jim

Remind me when Caulfield became the number 1 option? Can't recall when we moved on from the Yarra Park car park alternative which IIRC was the last seriously considered option. Must have been pre-2023

Traditionally I've had GWS as my second team. Their gamestyle and star studded line up has always been a good watch. May just replace them with the Suns this year. I doubt that they will win it but they could be a value bet. Their two games in Darwin do them no favours though

My eyes will be on the forward line. Way too many goalless or near goalless quarters last year. Accuracy is another. Make or break year for Jefferson especially if he drops behind Kentfield. I've little feel for how our backline will fare especially if we play a fast game where turnovers are common.

If we're going the fast disposal gameplan you have to wonder where Max fits in. Blocking a hole on the rebound perhaps. The long boundary kick is dinosaur play these days

Was watching a long interview of Claire Williams recently. Claire was the Team Principal of the Williams F1 team. She discussed the impact of Drive to Survive on F1 and made the point that sport is now far more than the race but is more about the story arc. Practical impact was that in 2016 teams were struggling to sign "Title Sponsors" for $8M. Now they are knocking them back at $80M. I think we'll see a lot more shows like this

Up early fishin' and crabbing I envy him Good luck to him. He gave us all a lot of joy that lonely locked down night in 2021

It may not have gone away.... But the close relationship between Geelong’s benefactors and its players has rankled executives from rival clubs. “There’s just so much smoke around Geelong, and every time the AFL puts out a fire, there’s more smoke coming from somewhere else,” said a senior figure from a Melbourne-based club who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “It will be interesting to see what they [the AFL] do now. Surely, they can’t ignore it … you have to wonder why the recent audit only went back to 2019,” the club manager said. One of Geelong's old sponsors has been accused of a very large fraud. Details in this Age Article: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/cats-sponsor-accused-of-fraud-paid-for-players-luxury-hotel-in-munich-20260212-p5o1va.html A former Geelong Football Club sponsor who is accused in court documents of defrauding up to $14.5 million from registered charity genU paid more than $3300 towards the luxury accommodation of Cats stars Joel Selwood and Mitch Duncan at a German hotel in 2018.

Age rankings gave Rivers 8, Gawn 7 and Kozzie 6.5 7 seemed to be the rating for solid/most players. BOG got 8.5 and 9 respectively Max Gawn (MEL)It was great to have the ruckmen again jumping – rather than just wrestling – at a centre ball-up (no longer a bounce under new rules). Had only four touches to half-time in what was a fierce battle with Darcy Cameron and Tim English. Worked hard late in the third term. Rating: 7 Trent Rivers (MEL)The Demons midfielder found plenty of the ball, finishing with 24 disposals and 500 metres gained. Rating: 8 Kysaiah Pickett (MEL)The Demons’ match-winner was a surprise starter at the opening ball up, and delivered his usual line-breaking run. However, he had two set shots for goal in the third term he would want back. Rating: 6.5 https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/state-of-origin-player-rankings-was-nick-daicos-snubbed-for-best-afield-honours-20260214-p5o2av.html

Surely you can't get suspended from real games for this Harlem Globetrotters spectacle

This could get ugly. Do you think they'll swap a few players at half time like in kids footy to even up the sides

No It's about odds. In the practice match you have say a 10/1 chance that if an injury occurs it will happen to a top line player. In this game it's a certainty

Odds on that someone will be injured. As the game involves the top 3 or 4 at each club the impact is always going to be severe. Is it worth it ?

If no one "retires" do we have any spare spots? Of course if they "retire" it will be a full payout so any "new" player has salary cap implications

$20M could buy you a decent helicopter service for many many years. Not as silly as it might sound

But you do have freely available match tapes. Using AI to analyse multiple tapes of an opposing club you get a great idea of playing styles and tactics. In the past this has been done by humans watching teams in real time in preceding weeks or by film watching. How long until teams pay people to video particular aspects of another team. When I wen to the Soccer world cup I was amazed at how people video taped games. I'm talking of large tablets on mega selfie sticks (drove me mad)

Just a guess but are we being smart in that we're offering to immediately vacate the MCG precinct, spend a few years in the Waverley wilderness in return for a heavy commitment of State Government money to an agreed fast track development at Caulfield. Now that might be something we could be interested in. Of course MFCSS tells me we're not that smart.

Thanks R11 One more question : does the pass run for 12 months from purchase or until the start of the 2027 season

Can you buy an MFC digital membership if you are already a "normal" member. I could of course buy one for another club or the Storm but may as well give the MFC a few dollars if I decide to go down that route

North play an attacking game and they have a decent list. It's not a panacea. Going to be a tough year is my guess. Even tougher for Casey given the injury levels and delistings.

It's almost a separate competition with standalone clubs playing 12 matches against other standalone clubs. Strange but I can see the logic (VFL not for this world much longer methinks)

Yep... give me Port Melbourne, Coburg even Windy Hill and Vic Park anytime. Williamstown in the sunshine is a dream. Box Hill is pleasant. Anywhere but Casey

F1 in Melbourne will get 400k through the gate over 4 days. Not bad for a race that most can't see and which only goes for 90 minutes

The GF is losing its event mojo compared to Tennis and F1. Time to think about the build up plus if we're going to stick with a daytime GF the evening entertainment

North will fold first unless it does a deal to sell a few more home games. Their balance sheet is papered over by leasehold improvements which have little value in the real world. My fear is that the big clubs are just salting away their dollars each year and incrementally they will pull ahead. The money goes somewhere if it can't go into players...marketing, media, exec salaries etc Of course we could be saved by their stupidity ie. West Coast

It started at 3:30pm San Francisco time where sunset was at 5:42. The half time show was roughly at sunset.