Diamond_Jim

The last single term presidents were Jimmy Carter and George Bush senior. Almost certain that Donald will join this team simply because of the third of the Americans who did not vote in the last election there will be enough that come out to vote for anyone but Trump. Frankly I cannot see him standing in 2020. If you follow this through the Republican leaders will be trying to distance themselves from Trump in time for the mid term elections due in November 2018. Unfortunately the Donald can do a lot of damage in the meantime but at least he ain't going to be around for long. Of course what replaces him is a fascinating question. The next biggie is the French elections with Marie Le Pen and the National Front. First round is on April 23 with the second round due two weeks later on 7 June.

Depends a lot on what State they are in as to who gets the taxes and the amount of those taxes. According to this extract the taxes on lotteries are much higher than on bookmaking. " Lotteries are taxed more heavily than other forms of gambling, with tax rates on player loss ranging from 45 to 90 per cent (Australian Treasury 2008). Average tax rates for other forms of gambling range from 20 to 35 per cent of player loss (Productivity Commission 1999a)." https://taxreview.treasury.gov.au/content/FinalReport.aspx?doc=html/publications/Papers/Final_Report_Part_2/chapter_e7-2.htm Yep...who would have thought it........ and what will they come up with next !

Great point... the ground should be properly landscaped and trees planted as long term wind break and shade. To be honest many of our football grounds suck from the aesthetic viewpoint. I know it is a bit much to hope for the classic English village cricket ground but it could be done in a retro style that makes the place a destination in its own right. The other thing is you have to build to a particular crowd number and type. For example I don't mind not having a seat if I can be encouraged to bring a fold up chair and sit on the lawn. Finally... it's a long way out and in a destination that most supporters have never been to other than as a drive through. The Club needs to do a little more to sell it as a desirable place to go. I am amazed that Collingwood has not tried to make its use of Vic Park more prominent. Wonderful history and great location. Perhaps the reality is that the VFL teams and their grounds are just an expense and in truth (or is that an "alternative truth") the AFL clubs aren't interested in getting more supporters to attend at their subsidiary grounds. After all there is little or no revenue in it for AFL clubs.

Is that a first... a game stopped for lightning !!

Good Post Macca Perhaps they could also reject the gambling sponsorship....... it is now way over the top.

The ads during the tennis prompted me to look at Lottoland. This is the company that allows "virtual" participation in foreign lotteries via the making of a bet. In simple terms they bet you that your numbers will not come up. The price of the bet is the equivalent of a lottery ticket. The payout if your bet is successful is similar to that which you would have won in the relevant lottery. Ultimately they take out an insurance policy to cover the chance of you winning. (Given that insurance is ultimately betting ... it is seemingly appropriate.) Anyway my discussion point is that local lotteries pay big taxes, support hospitals etc. Money from Lottoland goes to a UK outfit. If successful they have the ability to severely impact local lotteries. They must be making some money as Manly in the NRL have agreed to change the name of their stadium to Lottoland Another example of disruptive marketing. Fascinating

Thanks AW I used that site and found out that along with 152 million others I was part of the great Adobe hack of 2013 The world of password management is getting so complex......... I think the average Joe probably has 100 at least these days thanks again On the Melbourne App... I will wait until I hear from others about how intrusive it is. I downloaded the app for the recent Australian Open tennis and removed it after one day. I was not really interested in the constant updates. I only wanted it to check the scores in matches I was interested in and for checking the order of play. Have downloaded the app for Wimbledon in past years and didn't get all the junk messages. I subscribe like others to the MFC email and I am generally happy with the frequency of communication... seems to be about 2-3 a week

If Red Bull approached GWS and said we will bankroll you if the team name includes Red bull my thoughts are the AFL would approve it in a flash as would the other teams. Less AFL money going into GWS means more money for other things. The only reason it would be vetoed is if the power clubs got their noses out of joint. As to the name they could even become just the Red Bulls or the GWS Red Bulls. There is nothing invested in the name Giants. Same could be said for the Suns. Melbourne were the fuschias so name changes (okay symbol changes) are far from unknown even with the older teams.

As the OP I always find the digression interesting. Wiseblood is right that it is based on other sports but I posted the topic mainly to see if people could crystal ball the future and more particularly were there ways to move the MFC to a powerhouse team. Not sure that just winning does it... look at Brisbane and after GWS have won two or three out of the next five they will still be a basket case. My son barracks for Liverpool. Can't help wondering if he like me when I started barracking for the Dees in 64 has missed the glory years. Cheers and as always thanks for the continuing discussion Finally in keeping with our first game in China,,,,, Gong Xia Fat Choi

You are probably right AF. For them it is a return on investment issue. Begs the question however whether the brand can continue to return on the investment without the necessary capital injection required to give it success. I sense they may have recognised this recently but they are coming from a reasonable way back. Those oligarchs who own Chelsea and Manchester City must have some considerable money to throw at their teams. Getting back to the Red Bull Dees there was a time of course in the VFL/AFL where clubs were almost the playthings of the wealthy. Richard Pratt and Carlton, Sydney and the piano playing doctor and of course our own Diamond Joe to mention a few.

Good point NC but as Kerry Packer once said... "an Alan Bond does not come along every day" so perhaps there aren't that many "Red Bulls" out there One of the things that Liepzig has going for it is that it is the only team in the Bundesliga based in the former east Germany

Actually quite prescient daisy cutter the official name of the Liepzig team is RB Liepzig or more correctly "RassenBallsport" (which translates apparently to "Lawn Ball Sports") because the rules of the German Federation forbade the use of a sponsors name in the team name. The Red Bull name does appear in their other sporting teams they sponsor

I was listening last night to the BBC and they had a story of the Red Bull Liepzig Football team. For those who are not aware of this team, who are currently sitting second in the Bundesliga (the German version of the EPL) was founded seven years ago when it began playing in fourth division. With the backing of Red Bull they have moved through each division to their present status. (The club itself has not been without controversy as its meteoric rise has questioned some of the fundamental tents of club football in Germany). Okay ... it works because of no salary cap and money being thrown at a team (not unlike Manchester City and others in the EPL). My point for discussion is whether supporters would give up the name Melbourne in return for relatively unlimited funds and putting the sponsors name into the club name. Given the inexorable rise of GWS and the financial strength of the usual five or six clubs do teams like the MFC need to think outside the square to guarantee its future. We have the salary cap so you cannot put your money directly into players but there are other things that money (and lots of it ) can provide. Training facilities are obvious but what about paid media promotion and subsidised ticketing to increase the fan base. I am sure others could come up with some ideas for how to spend the money. The idea of company sponsored teams is not limited to red Bull. The J league has a few and I am sure there are many others. In other discussions about our future many posters have mentioned that the name "Melbourne" guarantees our future in the competition. This could be right but it does not of itself bring in any money. Interested in people's views on this and related topics.

The closeness of the competition underscores how we suffer (and will continue to do so) by our requirement to play at less than ideal venues. Darwin, Alice Springs and Kardinia Park spring immediately to mind. Throw in our inability to win at Etihad and we have 6 games (one win in Darwin aside against a very out of form Freo aside) that have proved unwinnable in the past. Need to win probably three to four of those 6 to show real improvement yet already people are expressing fear about what is possibly the easiest (or should be ) ... St Kilda at Etihad. That opening game is a real test !!

Netflix, Stan , Amazon etc..... they are all nibbling away if not devouring Foxtel. Optus took the EPL. A matter of time until the AFL takes broadcasting in house and then streams it onto the internet. The only thing that will keep it on Foxtel is if Foxtel is prepared to pay over the odds and then use it as the hook for the bells and whistles subscriptions. I wonder what the price would be for a direct pay per view/season if the AFL took it in house. It would have to be less than the $1K per year approx that one pays for Telstra bundle with the AFL In a few years perhaps we will think of Foxtel as we now think of video stores.

Interesting that Jim Stynes appears in most peoples teams as the first ruck. A magnificent club man, a wonderful man and a very good player but was he the best ruckman? I would think Jeff White pre injuries and rule changes was more dominant and Strawbs was not too bad. I am sure there are many others. I suppose it comes down to a point I raised earlier.. are we rewarding consistent great effort or are we looking for that special spark of brilliance that was displayed only on occasion but when they did... fireworks !!. (Jakovich and Travis Johnstone are excellent examples of the latter players.)

So true... was wondering if there were other MFC players about which the same comment could be made

Good Post Lord Travis Do your stats show how many of those 29 possessions were in the third quarter? Of course they were 29 "real" possessions in a time when 20 was probably considered outstanding You are also right about the tag. In the game for last place on the ladder (known by some as the Kreuzer Cup .... as he was the stand out number one draft pick for the next draft) the Carlton Coach did not tag Johnstone and he got around 40 possessions if I remember correctly. It was not a game that will be remembered as an AFL highlight.

Travis Johnstone..... perhaps I would not have him in my team based on most consistent players but if I was picking a team "hoping for a player to display some pure elite magic" he would have to be on my list. Who could possibly forget the third quarter against Adelaide in that final (the exact year escapes me). It was maybe one of the best quarters ever played by an MFC player (certainly was the best I ever saw). Unfortunately consistency was not his best suit but never forget the brilliance !

I'll get mildly excited after we win 4 out of the first 5 or 6 out of the first nine. Having difficulties forgetting the round 21 let down against Carlton.... everything to play for and .... well we all know what happened

"The sub-committee also found that the Giants’ board, chief executive and chief operating officer had not been aware of the misconduct and the club’s governance could not be faulted." That's the trouble with governance if there is no corresponding moral values system to go along with it. The treatment by the media and the AFL of the EFC case and to a large extent this case means that we are further from instilling those moral values. I suspect it will only occur when sponsors demand it. By the way I have never seen the public apology to the girlfriend. One might dislike Collingwood but I think their treatment of the two suspended players was measured. O well.... let us see how long it takes until the next issue like this comes along.

From that article: " The loss of 1000 points will have a minimal affect on the Giants' ability to recruit academy graduates but it does limit their drafting capacity with 1000 points being about the equivalent of pick No.15, the selection the club took into the 2016 draft." So the player got one month effectively and the club got a limp slap over the wrist Makes you wonder if the "managers" were the fall guys

So we cannot select a category A rookie which as I understand it are those who have played in an AFL comp at any time in the last three years. Perhaps not really a great outcome then

Posted around six weeks ago on this thread that it was apparent (or at least likely) that H had played his last game. At that time my thoughts were pay him out but make sure it is done in a time frame that does not stuff up our draft choices. It is now apparent that he will go (when is the question) and that we will upgrade a rookie. My question to those who follow the draft closely is assuming H had gone pre draft would we have chosen a player in the draft that we did not rookie anyway. Secondly assuming we promote a rookie pre-season are we allowed to replace that rookie with another. Many thanks

great verse and here's the sound track for those who are wondering: Perhaps something for young Hogan to the tune of I am Pegasus