Diamond_Jim

Dominance in an equal competition is not that hard (perhaps even easier) when some are more equal than others. You just need an edge Interstate teams = Home ground advantage Top teams = ability to retain players who are willing to take a few dollars less to be part of a winning team Wealthy teams= just that little bit more support/comfort for the player Teams with high membership numbers= ability to sell reserved seats= higher revenues Successful teams = TV coverage/ratings = sponsors Hard for the lesser bracket to get a run

Just shows what wonderful pundits we all are on Demonland Cannot remember anyone mentioning White as a possibility. (If I am wrong please accept my apology and my congratulations)

agree that three does sound high wonder what is the reasoning..... I suspect the shorter season is due to ground availability

Hi I take it that the number of byes in the VFL and indeed the length of the season is a function of there being only 15 teams and that number being an odd number. Just seems that it is disruptive to the season and player development. On the bye this coming weekend it makes some sense in that it allows MFC to take the full number of emergencies and an extended group to Darwin but on the other hand it precludes a perfect opportunity for some of the MFC members to get along and see Casey play. And then of course there must be the problem of having a two tier system within a playing group. How do the non MFC players deal at a personal level with the knowledge that they can go so far but no further not to mention that the success or otherwise of the team may be regarded by some as secondary to the plans of the MFC

Tasmania..... 300 kilometres 3-5 degrees cooler and a flight of 30 mins Darwin ??

The real point is that we should not be playing there at all if we are going to be taken as a serious player in Melbourne I know the financial arguments but time to look for an alternative source of funds (crowd funding perhaps? )

Time perhaps for an experiment along these lines........ the season is over (it has been for a few weeks) and my only interest is in improving the mix. The problem with Spencer is that I doubt he is a long term solution (eg 1.5 goals per game etc) but if ever he is going to get a chance to show his wares this is the time. The big bonus is that it should give us ruck dominance and thus compliment our game plan.

Thanks George Interesting listening to Leigh Matthews over the weekend where he was saying that the ruckman is almost irrelevant. All you need is someone to make a contest and that it is the old fashioned "follower" who has become the key clearance man. While we have a dominant ruckman we need to continue to work on strategies to maximise that dominance. At the very least we need to negate quick movement by the opposing side at our expense. The other thing he was saying is that some teams deliberately play from behind which allows them to sit on the player who receives the tap out and who then suffers an immediate tackle. This results in a secondary ball up which is of course a different tactic in that all players and a third man up are allowed near the ball thus negating the ruckman's dominance.

All Melbourne teams have to play one of their home games at Etihad. It was part of the guaranteed deal that the AFL did with the stadium to get them out of some other forgettable deal that they had done which was (I am sure you get the drift) As to the two NT games they are our fault just like all those home games we used to sell to the Lions. In defence of the club I suspect the AFL "encouraged" us as part of their largesse. Just one more hurdle for those clubs that merely make up the TV numbers

Very interested to know if the Diamond Defence was employed today and particularly whether it was used in the first five minutes of the third quarter. It does rely upon a clear win in the ruck which was something lacking today. On the AFL site it mentioned that as at the start of the final quarter: "Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn has averaged 37 hitouts at the MCG this season. So far today he has 34, including 12 to advantage. He has had the better of his Adelaide counterpart, Sam Jacobs, who has 22 hitouts, of which seven have gone to a teammate. "

You may be so depressingly correct but I live in hope

Strangely enough I am not as upset as I thought I might be. Sure we lost by around the same margin as we did against the Hawks and the other teams in the 8 but by kicking 8 in one quarter we showed that we have an attacking brand of football that can take us places. Just hope I am around to see it

An 8 goal to 3 quarter. I am impressed

But our woes are self inflicted A dumb game that looks a dumber move each year Imagine if our finals aspirations were riding on the next two weeks

3AW just suggested that Port are lobbying for this game to be played as next year's season opener. They want it played on a Wednesday which would give them a ten day break thus alleviating jet lag etc. Cannot accept that Port are driving this game but are not having to give up a home game...........but we know where we rank in the AFL scheme

That's very good almost Bradmanesque in its comparative analysis

I have always thought about it in the terms of dark and light. Are you suggesting we could not have all red against the Bombers all black strip I spent a few years in the US as a youngster and have become used to the non clashing colours in NFL so it was never a biggie for me. Agree that it should be an AFL imposed rule and the likes of Collingwood should like it or lump it.

Not a bad first quarter from a viewing point. End to end stuff and very loose by the Eagles. BTW I thought the Bombers were one of the "two" never change your jumper club. Pleasure to see the contrast

The article posted by Fork'em has a good section on the growing awareness. The football match was a function of the that growing awareness but I suspect there is merit in Stuie's argument.

Hard to get excited about this Round. Other than the Dee's game and one's natural interest there is the Swans v Dogs and then little else and still 8 rounds to go !!!

That is a powerful article. It deals with a lot more than Collingwood but puts a lot of things into perspective. BTW I am glad that the teams who play on the day were not selected by reference to "how many went to war". I can imagine that avoiding the war in 1914-1918 was a very difficult decision. Thanks for the link

I hope Oliver's omission is a "physio management" issue. Long season... wet weekend 2 weeks off to freshen up the young body.and then a run at Casey...... makes sense in that we have seen what he can do etc etc

I will be disappointed if we do not win this week. This and the games against St Kilda and North are a strong indicator of whether we are going anywhere. But the again .......................

Let me try and explain my comment regarding the Anzac round taking away from the central theme of remembrance. I have always been very proud of the way Australia remembers its War dead and other than our disrespect of Vietnam veterans (which is now being remedied) the men and women who fought in those wars. That pride has been based not only on natural appreciation and thanks which we share with all other countries in respect of their war dead but also because in "celebrating" that memory we are one of only a few countries to mark it by remembrance of a defeat and thus highlighting the inherent futility of war. It is that second aspect that we are endangering (perhaps only in my mind) by celebrating the memory with a game that is all about winning and losing. Perhaps also we are in danger of thinking that there are such things as winnable wars. Sorry if the point is off football but I just wanted to use it as an example of how all pervasive the AFL can become.

This is a topic I have thought about for some time. Politics and Sport are mixed and have been since at least the days of the anti apartheid movement. It is far too late to unscramble that egg and I do not think we need to try. That being said is the AFL trying to fix too many of society's ills and in the course of so doing risks turning what should be serious debates into one off "themed rounds." Dare I say it but I think the Anzac round is detracting from what is a perhaps one of our most sacred traditions and that is a remembrance of war by the remembrance of an ignominious defeat. Anyway what prompted me to post is another article in the Australian version of the Guardian which touches on this and other subjects. Not sure if I agree that the AFL taking up these issues is leading to a disengagement by fans but perhaps we are becoming tired of another week and another cause. This used to be known as "charity fatigue" or similar. Here is the article and as usual the comments by readers are well worth a look. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/30/inside-50-the-winter-of-afl-discontent-may-not-be-too-far-away