I hope we get a better shake from the umps than the Lions got yesterday.

Another example of a lowly team being given favored treatment at their home ground.

I won't hold my breath. In fact for once I thought King was actually right in the Eagles treatment on Neale. I know that's footy and credit to the Eagles for trying to nullifying him.

But in this new period of seemingly over umpiring and pettiness...ie Kozzie being given a fifty mp against him for a couple of cm, then maybe they should have given Neale a few frees for being held off the ball.

As Demon supporters we've seen it a lot against Oliver.

But the big thing for me this year is the inconsistent htb calls against us. 

Early on in many a game we are pinged in a millisecond for this but often we are not rewarded for our tackling. Often in the same game the maggots um sorry paid professional adjudicators just put the whistle away after they have blown it to their hearts content against us early on in the first quarters.

Enough. Just be consistent. Pay it as much you want just don't change week to week and even worse quarter to quarter.

And in the last quarter against the bombers, yea there were frees to be paid but they were so soft it was hard to not feel like there was an agenda. And it's not the blatant soft ones given to the bombers it was the ones ignored like Woey having a player ride into his back onto the ground way after he disposed of it.

You can always find dozens of soft frees if you want but it's the appearance of them at certain times and position on the ground that really is annoying.

I have a broken Tcl telly as a result of these muppets. Tvs these days are pretty soft and should withstand a remote thrown at them. You would have thought this was covered by warranty.😄

  On 15/07/2024 at 03:53, seventyfour said:

How is the drainage on Optus Oval? It's raining, significantly, every day from Wednesday.

Bowey looked short (which he is) on more than one occasion on Saturday. Fremantle play four forwards over 190cm, plus either Darcy or Jackson can be spending time there too. I wonder if we need Howes or Tomlinson.

Drainage at Optus is good, however the deck will be very slippery under foot 

  On 15/07/2024 at 05:50, Pennant St Dee said:

Drainage at Optus is good, however the deck will be very slippery under foot 

Definitely an inferior surface to the MCG. Potential to be somewhat heavy and slippery of there is a lot of rain. 

  On 14/07/2024 at 12:29, dazzledavey36 said:

I"m sorry but i disagree about Sparrow.

For instance he had zero centre bounce attendances, yet in a wet where the match was based on a contested style game through high number of tackling and hard congestions, he only laid 2 tackles, had 4 contested possessions and yet in your eyes that's playing brutal defensive mid?

Nah I don't see that at all..

I absolutely know Sparrow won't ever be dropped, so I don't bother bringing him up as an option to be omitted, but you can't even say that he plays a brutal defensive mid role when he in fact, he didn't even play as a midfielder last night.

All his midfield key stats are all rated either average or below average. That's including contested possessions, tackles, stoppage and total clearences etc.

 

Have a look at A. McGraths stats and you will have a better understanding of what Sparrow brings to the team, week in week out. Honestly you should probably have someone explain how AFL works at some stage

  On 15/07/2024 at 06:12, MrReims said:

Have a look at A. McGraths stats and you will have a better understanding of what Sparrow brings to the team, week in week out. Honestly you should probably have someone explain how AFL works at some stage

I reckon you may have an interesting reply from the dazzler

Rick Lever in this time will make a massive difference. Think Fullarton should come in to run with Dogga, if Darcy plays.

  On 15/07/2024 at 06:35, drysdale demon said:

I reckon you may have an interesting reply from the dazzler

🥴

  On 15/07/2024 at 06:12, MrReims said:

Have a look at A. McGraths stats and you will have a better understanding of what Sparrow brings to the team, week in week out. Honestly you should probably have someone explain how AFL works at some stage

McGrath was trying to tag Pickett you plonker.

First bounce and McGrath is trying to put an arm across Pickett to stay with him when Pickett was moving around the inside 50 stoppage. This was clearly a tagging tactic by Scott, he plays on the dangerous forwards each week and it makes absolute sense why McGrath tried to tag Pickett.. 

You also didn't watch the game on Saturday night otherwise you would have switched onto this straight away.

Looks like its you that needs a education starting from auskick level.

Edited July 15, 2024Jul 15 by dazzledavey36

  On 15/07/2024 at 06:12, MrReims said:

Have a look at A. McGraths stats and you will have a better understanding of what Sparrow brings to the team, week in week out. Honestly you should probably have someone explain how AFL works at some stage

This might just be my very favourite post of all-time. 🤣🤣🤣

  On 15/07/2024 at 09:01, WalkingCivilWar said:

This might just be my very favourite post of all-time. 🤣🤣🤣

Considering he got the Sparrow part blatantly wrong it would be my favourite post as well.

  On 15/07/2024 at 09:06, dazzledavey36 said:

Considering he got the Sparrow part blatantly wrong it would be my favourite post as well.

Sparrow is given a job

Sparrow executes that job

Sparrow ain’t goin’ nowhere. 

  On 15/07/2024 at 09:09, WalkingCivilWar said:

Sparrow is given a job

Sparrow executes that job

Sparrow ain’t goin’ nowhere. 

Who said he's going anyway? No one did.. 🤣

We're fully aware he's not getting dropped and that wasn't even the main discussion point. 

Not surprised that a few of you have just entirely missed the point.

Sparrow may be executing a defensive role well enough. 

But he needs to start better executing the fundamentals. Kicking, ball handling etc. 

At the moment, he's costing us in that space and if he continues to do so, the fd will no doubt have to decide which way they will go with him. 

 

Howes has been excellent at Casey and is a classy mover. Comes in if Woewodin misses. Laurie deserves a run of games but not sure Optus suits him.

  On 15/07/2024 at 09:21, middleagedemon said:

Sparrow may be executing a defensive role well enough. 

But he needs to start better executing the fundamentals. Kicking, ball handling etc. 

At the moment, he's costing us in that space and if he continues to do so, the fd will no doubt have to decide which way they will go with him. 

 

Can't be saying that around here...You'll trigger a few.

But you're 100% spot. As @DeeSpenceralready mentioned It's the constant fumbling under pressure and inability to get thr basic fundamentals right is what killing us on turnovers.

I d like the coaches to give Bailey Laurie a decent amount of game time in the same role that Sparrow is playing just to see whether he can translate his strong VFL form into AFL gives us a different look. His so clean with his hands and a upgrade in terms of ball use. 

But we know Sparrow will never be dropped so just have to put up with it for now until we can get some more midfield talent next year.

  On 14/07/2024 at 23:09, Garbo said:

Massive rain predicted might work in our favour to go small again

Might pay for Ed to get the team bus.

  On 15/07/2024 at 02:16, DeelightfulPlay said:

Appreciated Melksham saying in the post game interview that Choco had soaped up the balls at training to help our wet weather skills.  I wonder if we've done this in previous seasons or if we finally decided to address our skill deficiency in this area after one too many embarrassing losses in the wet and/or humidity!  Certainly being at the Opening Round game this season, it was disappointing how we seemed to have never met a slick ball.  Glad it's becoming a strength now!

We did it before the Carlton game too I recall, bucket of soap water during the early warm up.

 

In the presser Goody said improving our wet weather game had been a big focus, I think he said we'd lost 9 of our last 10 in wet weather. So it's good they are aware and working on it.

I'm backing Gawn in. 

B: Lever, May, McVee

HB: Bowey, McDonald, Salem

C: Windsor, Rivers, Langdon

HF: Tholstrup, Petty, Neal-Bullen

F: Fritsch, van Rooyen, Melksham

FOLL: Gawn, Viney, Pickett

IC: Moniz-Wakefield, Oliver, Sparrow, Chandler

SUB: Turner

EMERG: Laurie, Fullerton, Woewodin

 

  On 15/07/2024 at 10:39, WERRIDEE said:

I'm backing Gawn in. 

B: Lever, May, McVee

HB: Bowey, McDonald, Salem

C: Windsor, Rivers, Langdon

HF: Tholstrup, Petty, Neal-Bullen

F: Fritsch, van Rooyen, Melksham

FOLL: Gawn, Viney, Pickett

IC: Moniz-Wakefield, Oliver, Sparrow, Chandler

SUB: Turner

EMERG: Laurie, Fullerton, Woewodin

 

There's no way Turner is being demoted to sub. He's our best set shot for goal at the moment. 

I'm not sure the coaches think Melksham and Petty can be in the same forward line, but if they do, then I'd say Tholstrup would have to be sub. 

  On 15/07/2024 at 10:39, WERRIDEE said:

I'm backing Gawn in. 

B: Lever, May, McVee

HB: Bowey, McDonald, Salem

C: Windsor, Rivers, Langdon

HF: Tholstrup, Petty, Neal-Bullen

F: Fritsch, van Rooyen, Melksham

FOLL: Gawn, Viney, Pickett

IC: Moniz-Wakefield, Oliver, Sparrow, Chandler

SUB: Turner

EMERG: Laurie, Fullerton, Woewodin

 

Re bringing Gawn back..

i look back at 2022 as the one that got away.  We finished 2nd but players were banged up and exhausted… incl Gawn

During that season Gawn got injured and then Jackson got injured.  The next game was against the Crows at Adelaide oval and we went into the game with Mitch Brown and Sam Weideman in the ruck.  Despite being up against O’Brien both dees performed admirably and the Dees won the game.

the next week Gawn was selected, coming back from injury quicker than expected.  He didn’t play that well and we lost the game anyway v Geelong.

there is no need for Gawn at age 32 to be the Hero and come back early.  The key with him is preserving  his longevity.  I hope the selectors have learned that lesson.

  On 15/07/2024 at 02:07, chook fowler said:

just love TMacs resurrection. Hope he gets a new contract.

Deserves it thoroughly.

  On 15/07/2024 at 13:40, Razor said:

Re bringing Gawn back..

i look back at 2022 as the one that got away.  We finished 2nd but players were banged up and exhausted… incl Gawn

During that season Gawn got injured and then Jackson got injured.  The next game was against the Crows at Adelaide oval and we went into the game with Mitch Brown and Sam Weideman in the ruck.  Despite being up against O’Brien both dees performed admirably and the Dees won the game.

the next week Gawn was selected, coming back from injury quicker than expected.  He didn’t play that well and we lost the game anyway v Geelong.

there is no need for Gawn at age 32 to be the Hero and come back early.  The key with him is preserving  his longevity.  I hope the selectors have learned that lesson.

Gawny is surely playing mind games, Coaches need to save him from himself this weekend and not let him try to board the plane with his kit.

Personally I understand he would want to travel with the squad for moral support, but i'd keep him in Victoria and properly heal that ankle and save him a trip to Perth.

  On 14/07/2024 at 02:03, loges said:

Not all other teams, some will get found out, like last night.

The word is that Gawny is not feeling the effects of the chipped bone. Just hope caution is the word they use when considering him for this game.

  On 13/07/2024 at 12:22, Demons3031 said:

Maybe Woewodin or Tomlinson in and Bowey to go back to Casey to get some form.

stick with Bowser. He is a needed player

  On 14/07/2024 at 08:20, Winners at last said:

As L.P.  Hartley wrote (first sentence of The Go Between) -

"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."

 

Wal - the pose is more like what I would expect from Hemingway - I must say I haven't noticed any of his postings recently.

  On 14/07/2024 at 10:09, Nascent said:

Woey got injured at Casey so there might be an opportunity there as sub. Realistically he's in competition with Tholstrup for that half-fwd position but unlikely to see him dropped on current form.

Tholstrup, with his aggression and energy looks pretty safe for at least a few games.  He, with Melk, has invigorated the HF area.

  On 14/07/2024 at 10:47, Dingo said:

Weather forecasters get it right 99% of the time in Melbourne 

Dingo - just what do they get right 99% of the time is the big question?  Sunrise and sunset times usually pretty close.  But up until the last week they have called a lot of rain that failed to deliver.  Wind they tend to get close.  Temperatures usually within 5 or so.

Edited July 15, 2024Jul 15 by monoccular