Diamond_Jim

Surely we'd be asking them to pay 30% or more of his salary as well

May I suggest Tuk Tuk in Lake Toba instead. Home of the Batak people. Former headhunters who drink beer, eat pork and love music

Doing a little searching my guess is that the third verse was an unofficial verse used within the club to "celebrate" the post war Melbourne v Collingwood rivalry. The second verse was only added post 1939 (penned by Bluey Truscott after the 1939 premiership) Certainly worth asking about among the last of the living 1964 players. History is often more about the little things PS Posted just as KIP provided the answer (Not sure that the verse has stood the test of time but I can picture Kiss doing well with it)

What a shambles. Collingwood now blaming Ticketek for giving out any standing room tickets to GFG members. The Pies called for the AFL to increase competing club allocation from 17,000 to 20,000 and on Ticketek to “improve their system” in a statement released on Monday, in which they also said that any priority one member that was given a standing room ticket in the ballot would be upgraded to a seated ticket. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/grand-final-guarantee-collingwood-to-ensure-top-level-members-get-to-the-decider-20230925-p5e7bo.html

Understand,,,, but the issue is are clubs selling expensive GF guarantee memberships that only entitle a holder to standing room. Is it just Collingwood or are other clubs doing it? MFC have never had a GF where the guarantee applies for example

Would you be happy with standing room because that appears to be what some were offered

1987 ... Hawks v Blues 30 plus degrees with a north wind

From the Age "Priority one members paid close to $1000 for a membership that guaranteed them a grand final ticket, but at least 37 of those members missed out when they selected no standing room during the registration process and then were allocated standing room tickets only in the ballot." So they obviously oversold the guarantee in the sense that they included "standing room". No one would think that a guaranteed ticket included the possibility of standing room Stinks to high heaven and I hope the ACCC comes down on them like a ton of bricks https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/how-the-afl-allocates-grand-final-tickets-and-why-so-many-die-hard-fans-miss-out-20230922-p5e6x4.html

Post Tassie entry the North travelling money disappears or at the very least is significantly reduced. Will they sell home games to WA/Qld like we used to or will NT become their 6 games a year destination. Hawks have the same problem but their supporter base is better

Agree I used to like the Alice Springs game for example but securing the 4 points is now more important. For the same reason avoiding games at Kardinia Park and Tasmania are essential. I wonder who will be Gold Coast's Darwin bunny next season. This year it was the Bulldogs who lost in Darwin and lost the following week. Those two losses were crucial as it turned out.

Those two round the neck decisions..... amazing and indefensible Umpiring does decide games

Imagine the conspiracy theories if Lynch came to Melbourne

Do we need the incessant commentary... the game is the entertainment

O to have a forward or three

Also doesn't make any economic sense to give North a leg up. They're a low drawing financially unsuccessful club with one of the weakest balance sheets in the competition. (Take out their leasehold improvement value on Arden Street and they would be in deep trouble. Want to buy some change rooms and a gym.)

Is there anything in it. Would love the drama

Storm hit back... 4 all Cricket... not bad.. Australia 3/154 after 30 overs (oven like heat)

You would think that the Dogs would be active in the trade market. Terrible defence and arguably surplus forwards. Add in a desperate coach.

BBB should be eligible for an early retirement pay out. Under the AFL rules a lot of this will be outside the salary cap. TMac elected to "smooth out" his payments by taking lower annual salary over a longer term. (Effectively costs us nothing). With the number of retirees we have ample list spots. TMac playing a year at VFL level isn't a big problem. Back ending is very common. Forward loading is far riskier (Ask the Suns with Ablett)

I would be hoping that we are doing rolling reviews of many aspects as a matter of course. Constant benchmarking against both internal and external KPI's. They've just announced the new CBA which I hope contains changes to the soft cap. Frankly the soft cap has probably outlived its usefulness. It's holding the game back. If teams like North can't afford the spend that is their problem

You wonder if it's injury risk. 18 months is a long time. Get injured next week and you kiss goodbye to big money. Should we have an NRL type system where players are signed well in advance of moving. There's really such little movement other than in fringe players you have to wonder how you break it open.

To trigger the higher band compo do you have to offer multiple years. If you offer say 1/2 year at mid level salary is that enough. I like the idea of gaming the compo band. Everyone else seems to be doing it

I suppose our bomb to the pocket is the AFL version of the wing attack followed by the cross. Strangely enough that became obsolete at the top level at least 10 years ago. (Apologies to the Socceroos who persisted with the style through Robbie Kruse for all those years) Mbappe slicing through the middle on an angle is closer to the Collingwood style perhaps

I was surprised how well our gameplan (which I have never liked) stood up against what I call the "corridor teams". Better accuracy and better forward play would have seen us atop the ladder. What worries me is that in 2023 even when we were winning we struggled. Close games even if you pull away in the last ten minutes take their toll. 2024.. I have no idea (2022 and 2023 have tempered my thoughts) Hoping for 3 youngsters from this year's draft like 2019 to give the team that fresh desire and skill injection

Wait while I "unpack" that