Diamond_Jim

Dropped into watch the Dragons v Storm match yesterday and perhaps a Star has been born. Electric does not describe his sidestepping movements: Sua Fa'alogo But this is a dawn that has been beckoning ever since Fa'alogo's NRL debut back in 2023, when he moved like he was firewalking, scoring a double that made him seem a star of tomorrow. That tomorrow has now arrived, and when you combine the weight of history and the possibilities of the future, it gives Fa'alogo the look of a chosen one, and that's what Melbourne — not just the Storm, but Melbourne itself — has been waiting for. Fa'alogo is a Victorian junior, a Broadmeadows and Northern Thunder man to be precise, and while he isn't the first local boy to play for the Storm, he has a chance to be their first homegrown star, which always shines brightest on the horizon. Why Melbourne has been waiting a generation for someone l...Sua Fa'alogo has been waiting for some time to become part of Melbourne's storied lineage of fullbacks, but nowhere near as long as Melbourne has been waiting for a player like him.

In that second half we kicked 16:5 That's magnificent... almost 2021 GF stats

Great accuracy that quarter with 8 goals 4 (Keep up the ratio) Saints scored 5:3 which makes on think it's an open game in perfect conditions. Thanks to posters at the ground and to KC. Wonderful to hear those scores and feedback.

Couldn't recall Warner but I found the young journeyman Corey Wagner. Great to see that he and Oscar McDonald have got another chance. Good luck to them.

I hadn't realised that the upgrade to Mars was part of the Commonwealth games promise. (The Games were supposed to start next week) Apparently many of the regional upgrades continued. https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/the-games-were-supposed-to-deliver-benefits-to-the-regions-but-many-are-still-waiting-20260223-p5o4md.html "Mars Stadium, which hosts the Western Bulldogs, will get another 5000 seats and extra change rooms by the end of this year, while the regional athletics centre will have new tracks."

I'd missed the no SA game. That's weird. I can perhaps understand WA because of summer time differences back to the East coast and the risk of high daytime temperatures but SA ?? PS: I see Jibroni above has posted a possible answer for SA (late finish to the cricket season)

Definitely worth a discussion in that the name comes from our decision to relocate to the City of Casey. It really hasn't worked from a local involvement perspective but the VFL as a competition has been in terminal decline for the last five years. The VFL should be the model for community football but instead it's a mess. Anyone know of a stream... perhaps from St Kilda?

Interesting point. Are we seeing Essendon and Carlton moving into a downward spiral such as hit Melbourne. I doubt that it will be as bad in that we missed the post 1970 growth phase whereas Essendon and Carlton will simply stagnate membership wise. It is a problem for the AFL in that the theatre goer who make up the bulk of the television audience will fall away. Personally I didn't bother with the Thursday game and watched ten minutes of the Hawthorn game simply to get an idea of Hawthorn's gamestyle for this year (it's different). West Coast is where the AFL must intervene. That State is growing and they need a vibrant team. Freo really doesn't cut it. Strange that Saturday (the worst day for TV audiences) has the best games.

well that went north quickly 7:7 from Hawthorn so it could have been a lot worse

Lovely story Thanks for posting Life is made of special memories

F1 Sprint Qualifying from Shanghai China tonight at 6:30pm. Goes for 45 minutes. Mercedes or Ferrari for pole. Can OP beat Norris?

Blues definitely got a great facility given the location and environs of Princes Park. None of the other traditional Melbourne grounds come near it. The one exposure that would concern me is the lease from the Melbourne City Council. What stops the MCC from putting up the facility to open tender when the lease runs out. Perfect spot for Collingwood 😅

There's four "big" games so it's not too bad IMO Dogs v Giants Cats v Freo Swans v Lions Pies v Crows No game in WA and a fizzer in SA is a potential black mark though

Is the Cage or whatever they called it still there?

Sorry I forgot that the interstate opening round had a Melbourne blow in. I was more concentrating on Oscar's off at Albert Park and didn't bother too much with football.

Should be a large number of Saints supporters given that it's the first Melbourne game with their new dream team. MFC makes good money from away supporters but I'm not seeing any great media build up. Essendon v Hawthorn seems to be the one they're pushing.

A keeper 3 years and then perhaps two. He could easily go until 34/35 with his ability to find space. Just have to give him good supply. Needs to recover his accuracy (not alone). He was a deadeye if IRC in his earlier years.

I'm generally in favour but perhaps the frequency of goals (say 16 a game) detracts from the impact. When Brisbane first did it (were they first?) the impact was real and gave them a differentiator. Anything is better than Zoom Zoom and Woof Woof though 😅 For those who suffer from MFCSS, "There's Got to be a Morning After" from the Poseidon Adventure" could be a possibility.

I'll wait for the serious number crunchers to tell me if this is more than a wet lettuce hit but given the Tasmanian entry my guess is that the draft is going to be a very cold place for most Victorian teams. I am also surprised that they have not done something to help turn the Eagles around. They are far more important to the competition than the Suns.

I think you just have to try it for a month or two and see if it works for you. I looked at a similar site and decided against it when it required me to join a crypto payment site or similar in order to make payment. The other issue (I think) is that they are live TV sites in the main so the ability to time shift and watch on delay is limited unless you do an old fashioned recording. I'll stick with Kayo but they are trying my patience (wallet) !

Not sure that Max will offer the same upside if we play a fast play on style game. Even then I don't see him holding anyone back. Could and should we have traded him in say 2024. Culture aside (which probably precluded a deal) it should have been considered. A trade at end of 2026 might have some value but I doubt it.

Boring last quarter Seriously this season is now just too long with too many over hyped AFL/TV promoted games

Wasn't a bad movie... Greyhound 1

It's all a question of rotations. With a fifth player on the bench can you afford one substantially on the bench (say 65%) and do adequate rotations with the remaining four. Heath really doesn't warrant a full game based on current form. Weather for next weekend is looking benign

That guy kicked another one