Pre 'professionalism' players could only go round for so long before they had to get a job. Now the $ are good, they are going to player as long as they can.
Be nice to say this is a one-off, but it is an oft repeated pattern
Not much from the first couple of Sheffield Shield games to bring in...
There aren't many players that'd say 'Nah, I'm not up to it, don't select me'. More the selectors fault for not rejuvenating the side and allowing players to determine when they will retire. By the time the current test bowlers retire, Neser, Richardson etc will be gone, so who will will be the pace bowlers?
This isn't disagreeing, with you Thry, but a quick look at the other side...and sorry, it's a longer post than anticipated...
I would be wary of LNP promises and totally dismissive of ON...
LNP are promising to reduce the government wages bill. Fine. But where from and what services are going to be reduced is the important part. As long as the public service isn't replaced by the consulting firms, which leads to an absolute disaster - no accountability, no public service knowledge and no IP retained in the departments and a cost that is eye watering. It is also additional cost and spending that gives no long term benefit to the state.
What are the LNP plans to replace the CFA trucks? They plan to scrap the fire services levy - so where is the funding coming from?
$5b to fix 1m pot holes - $5k each? Really? Better to bring back the Country Road boards and have crews do it properly, rather than privateers who can do a half-Ar34ed job, so it crumbles two weeks later.
They have just announced re-opening trains to Mildura and Dimboola at a cost of $51m. Is that for the feasibility study? Surely after 30+ years of not running it will cost heaps more to get the tracks back up to standard, get the trains and re-furb the stations.
As for ON who want zero analysis of their policies and costings - let alone any criticism. Easy to scream about problems, but give a costed viable alternative - everything offered so far costs - where are the savings? I do however like their Environment policy which talks about saving Koalas and other flora. Went to a nursery the other week to ask for a Koala plant, but they didn't have any.
SRL is a bit ugly. It is an inheritance that whoever wins will receive. LNP to pause and review (a favorite strategy of theirs, so they don't actually have to do anything), with a hint that it will be scrapped. ON will scrap it. Labor will continue with it. Scrapping it means losing everything that has been put into it and cost of paying out contracts. It seems as if promises are to then fund cost of living relief education etc, however, does providing this bring a better economic outlook to Vic? Is it better to pay the cancellation or go ahead - the East West Link debate.
Law and order - if the current gov isn't meeting police recruiting targets, how are LNP going to meet theirs (3k) and ON theirs (10k military veterans)?
I really just want the answers to a few questions there are probably a few more: 1) How are you going to help the lives of the most vulnerable in our society. 2) How are you going to responsibly ensure infrastructure is in place and maintained for the current and anticipated populations 3) What on going actions are you taking to decrease the cost of living pressures/cost of business in an operational sense ie not just providing government subsidies, but meaningful, sustainable decreases? 4) How are you going to help bring our communities back together so that reasonable debate and togetherness is achieved, rather than aggressive us v them style arguments?
Agree with the Rams, GTC - they didn't want to know about. Bit odd considering Australia is part of their assigned international territory.
49ers embraced it - be good to have them here again. One of their media pack has you tube of trying Australian foods - he didn't like tomato sauce, but liked Vegemite.
Apparently, there are quite a few international games - my son was saying London (3), Germany amongst other places.
It is a curious link, thanks Paul. Curious in that: - Not all the breakdown of crimes by states has a graph, so it is hard to see longer term trends - All the graphs should also include another line - crimes per 100,000 (some of the stats have the comparative) - Commentary on Vic MV theft says while it has gone up by 11% from last year, hasn't reached the highs of 2001 - maybe that's a target!
Maybe we should all go into permanent lockdown - crime rates seemed low in 2021!
Crime will always be a problem and society should be a safe place for all. However, all those that take part in recreational drugs, and purchase illicit tobacco do contribute. Is it OK for people to look for a headline or screaming match to shout about it without willing to be an actual part of a solution?
What is an 'acceptable' rate of crime - it's always going to exist?
What are the actual policies of the political parties around Law and Order? What is their realism - are they just motherhood statements to make us feel as if they are going address the issues? What are policies around preventation, incarcerations and post-release.
Both of you are correct, Thry and Shawny. Crime reporting used to be in the 'Waverley Gazette/Leader newspapers' and then the Neighbourhood Watch newsletter - local and late!
Now with the prevalence of footage, it is much more visible and seemingly brazen - and with clickbait, often in a different state. However, there is little doubt that violent and destructive crime (tobacco shops etc) is increased. While had to compare with 30+ years ago (partly due to different crimes having different criteria), it would be interesting to know crimes per 100,000 of population. Not really sure what it would achieve, though.
The first quarter gave us hope - but again, if we were able to kick a couple of goals (one easy, a couple less easy), that gives greater confidence. Then Geelong started doing things differently - and we also changed...
We were made to kick down the line to contests - i don't remember us taking a contested mark from these, or easily roving, creating space and getting away with the ball. The other is it seemed Geelong were happy to stand off players a bit and outside of the periphery vision of our player with the ball, so kicking to a seemingly free player resulted in a mark to Geelong or a spoil. Happened time and time again.
Three bad decisions - non-free to Harry M being held 35 out on an angle, high contact to ducking Cat (Smith?) resulting in a goal, and the hold on Weiters in the goal square not looking at the ball, resulting in a mark and goal. Don't think it changed the outcome, but affects the attitude and mood. Don't think that Harry D was at his best when he came back on...
I don't think that we gave up - but weren't at our best.
Confession - we left a little early - missed our last two goals - had a grumpy wife & son and an early start for a Saturday.
The season ended up being a good ride from round 9 - may it be better and longer next year.
Couldn't bring anything in at MLB or NHL in Canada in May (hand bags allowed). $20 CAD for a beer was enough to not drink, although all stadium food & drinks were very expensive.
Unfortunately, I was out and couldn't watch, so only had the replay. The game was full of pressure - both real and implied. The implied pressure made some basic skills look ordinary - dropped marks, missed goals, missed kicks and handballs.
Knowing the result before watching (wouldn't have bothered had we lost!), made it less stressful than it would have been live. However, there is a real commitment to the game plan and everyone knows what it is. There aren't nearly as many freebie opposition goals because of a stupid turnover that the opposition gets hold of and there always seems to be pressure on the opposition.
This team and their game is good to watch and hasn't really broken down yet. Ollie H's pass late in the third to set up Ainsworth's goal not long before the siren was a great example of the confidence that the players have. We weren't that far away from belting them, as our kicks and handballs weren't missing by much and there were so many 'nearly' marks.
That we can play below our best and still win is also a significant change from 14 or so weeks ago and will continue to build confidence. Just hope they don't get too far in front of themselves against Geelong.
She definitely made the world a better place. Hopefully there are some that can replicate her demeanour, attitude & philanthropy. There won't be many that can duplicate her music ~3k (not all recorded) songs & 50ish albums.
