13 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

I went to see Billy Crystal this week and I swore that if we beat Hawthorn, I would post this -

 

And I'm having what she's having too!

2 hours ago, CHF said:

If the umpires carry their form into the dressing room they will not just give Rioli the 3 votes, they will give him the 2 and 1 as well. That was the worst I have seen them perform.

I don't know. The 12 : 2 free kick count in last quater against West Coast when we had the ball 70% of the time was not only worse but could come back to bite us.

13 hours ago, bush demon said:

Jessie Hogan causes logjams in our forward line. i don't think he is the merchandise he was hoped to be. he is an excellent bullocking player, maybe should play off the half-back line. No dammit, we need him.

One thing for sure is that the players who are reserving their judgements about whether they will re-sign (McDonald T, Hogan) will be motivated to do so by wins like this. The almost universal take out from all of this by the expert commentators was not that we won't so much, but the sheer brilliance of it and what it means for the balance of power in the AFL competition. An almost universal comment was the Demons are coming and will arrive earlier than everyone thinks. 

It is fantastic to be building respect like this. Will be even more so if we can win our last 3 games, which I suggest now is a distinct possibility, particularly if Geelong cannot influence their ladder position one way another when we play them in the last round. We ought to be able to beat Carlton, and after Port's thrashing this weekend they are now very vulnerable. 

Go Dees!

Some great stuff from watching the replay

- Vandenbergs physicality on Hodge. On more than a few occasions he out muscled and straight up disrespected Hodge and made him earn everything.

- The tall backine trio of O Mac, T Mac and Frost. So much potential here.

- The James Harmes double don't argue and kick to Kent for a goal

- Tom Bugg the ultimate team player, does a lot of work off the ball that can go unnoticed.

I'm so proud of Wattsy.....not only did he bag 3 goals, but he's the ultimate team player....phenomenal last quarter.

Interesting interview with his Dad on 693 before the game...

13 minutes ago, jumbo returns said:

I'm so proud of Wattsy.....not only did he bag 3 goals, but he's the ultimate team player....phenomenal last quarter.

Interesting interview with his Dad on 693 before the game...

What did he say Jr.?

I'm watching the replay, some early observations:

Dwayne is still an incompetent moron.

That 50 metre penalty against Viney was wrong on two counts, he was already within 10 metres when the ball was marked and he was running to be the man on the mark.

Rioli must get weeks, Jonathan Brown and Brad Johson have no idea.

1 minute ago, old dee said:

What did he say Jr.?

Hey od...

Very reserved in his commentary, but quick summary:

• said that the game changed since Jack was drafted and the coaches didn't adjust the players to the contested style
• there were no leaders at the club, hence his development was thwarted
• too many inexperienced coaches
• Jack loves the club, but he's quite reserved. CP5 is, apparently, the life of every party!
• Was ready to walk if Neeld stayed
• Footy will never define Jack as a person
• Jack was frustrated at the ball movement...Dawes gets the ball kicked to him on his head and there 3 players on him...Jack is usually free in many instances

Very reserved and measured....

That pass by Kent to Watts was sublime.

Jetta taken high by Rioli, no free kick. Rioli ducks into Jones, free kick.

Even the peanut gallery in the commentary box saw the irony.

26 minutes ago, jumbo returns said:

I'm so proud of Wattsy.....not only did he bag 3 goals, but he's the ultimate team player....phenomenal last quarter.

Interesting interview with his Dad on 693 before the game...

I've given you some stick for your support of Neeld, so it's only fair I give you your due pat on the back for your unwavering support of Watts. Even on his absolute worst days, you were adamant he would come good, and boy has he come good.

6 minutes ago, jumbo returns said:

Hey od...

Very reserved in his commentary, but quick summary:

• said that the game changed since Jack was drafted and the coaches didn't adjust the players to the contested style
• there were no leaders at the club, hence his development was thwarted
• too many inexperienced coaches
• Jack loves the club, but he's quite reserved. CP5 is, apparently, the life of every party!
• Was ready to walk if Neeld stayed
• Footy will never define Jack as a person
• Jack was frustrated at the ball movement...Dawes gets the ball kicked to him on his head and there 3 players on him...Jack is usually free in many instances

Very reserved and measured....

Sadly Jr. I find all of that easy to believe we sure wrote the book on how not to run a football club.

On the high side we are now on the right track.

THANK GOD

The Harmes two don't argues and the pass are what he can do at his best.

No fifty metre penalty after the Rioli dump tackle when Langford kicked the ball away is a disgrace.

Roos knows how to recruit to improve...that's why he trades for players that have the capabilities required.

Bugg, Harmes, Oliver, Tyson, Frost and not far off, is Ben K....this guys will never, ever take a step back...

That decision to not pay Petracca the mark when the ball was knocked out of his hands is also a disgrace. There seems to be a common trend here.

5 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

That decision to not pay Petracca the mark when the ball was knocked out of his hands is also a disgrace. There seems to be a common trend here.

Yeah the umps suc. 

But this time we WON. 

Yes the umpiring was awful - worth three goals to Hawthorn and kept them in it but their lousy kicking for goal squared that for us.

For me the best of this game was to see our blokes prepared to back themselves with run (sometimes Viney overdoes it but that happens when you take a calculated risk often), shrugging tackles (Hunt in the first 1/4: sensational), breaking through their lines and hurting them physically as they have done to us. Mitchell and Lewis look finished on that showing.

And then the final quarter steadying just as Rioli had set them up to run over us was brilliant. Weideman a great debut. Watts and Gawn go strength to strength. Tyson sensational. Welcome back Oliver. Patricia and Stretch, wow. The two Macs strong. Pederson very serviceable. Jones back to his tough best. I could go on but you all know it.

Oh and yes, Rioli is treated like a God by the umps. He ducks his head, he tunnels people, head butts, cheats and gets frees he does not deserve. What's the chance he gets a Brownlow vote out of that when you could easily find three Demons who were better?

One thing I enjoyed about today is the spunk that they boys displayed. They didn't take a backward step and were handing out their fair share of sledges.
When Duryea dropped that ball near the goal square to gift Tracc that goal, boy oh boy did Tracc let him know all about that? Plus I saw Maxy give Gibbo a cheeky pat on the bum after he gave away that free to Weideman.
Hell, even Jack got back into Mitchell after he gave him that whack in the pack. 

The play by Oliver to win the clearance, assess the options and hit Brayshaw who kicked the goal was elite.

Brayshaw does kick a bit like Cameron Bruce which is a worry.

I am just really happy that the team is starting to believe in themselves and play team footy. 

I am especially proud of Watts and his enormous resilience and development. 

Keep it going boys. 

That must be it for Dunn Garland and Dawes. No?

TBH I can't remember the last time I was so involved in games towards the end of the season. 

Lets hope this trend continues and gets better next season. 

The broken nose to Vince wasn't high at all..