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I know this will fall on deaf ears right now, but that was a cracking game. Both teams had so many missed opportunities. We had so many young players, we were always going to fade late. Disappointed with the result but proud of the team. Lots to work on though and a few clear gaps still in the list. Vent away demonlanders!

Form an orderly queue to make your apologies to Goody here please…

Anyone who isn’t thrilled with that (if it’s true), is an absolute fool! Securing our talls means we can focus on restocking our midfield!

It's the kids for me that is the story of today. Kolt has swagger and campaigner about him. I have desperately wanted this kind of player since Bernie Vince or Tom Bugg. He's also a very impressive young player JVR will be a our number 1 key forward from next year onwards. He's got it all. Windsor - Enough said, the kid has class and star factor. McVee - All class and silk. His composure right on the members wing pretty dam impressive. Andy Moniz Wakefield - give me a contract extension. The kid is a beauty. Tough, composed and reminds of another #45 who used to bounced off half back. Turner rarely loses a contests. He engages and then brings the ball to ground. He'll only get better with age and experience. Then there is Rivers and Koz who play like 150 game veterans.

Well, I for one will be much more concerned about how farmers are going to find wives in this bleak future.

So, there’s simply NO TRUTH WHATSOEVER to the rumours about Clarrie. I talked to Chocco then Selwyn (they were there a while before the players came out) starting each convo with, “I understand if you can’t talk about this…” but they each said they had no problem talking about it because there’s no substance to any of it. And you reckon we go to town on these so-called journos? Chocco in particular had some choice words for them. 😁 Then I saw Clarrie coming over from AAMI. I met him halfway and we walked arm in arm to the tent coz ranga mum n son type dealio. 😄 I said “Claz I’m not gonna ask you where you’ll be next year, I just wanna tell you how very much we all love you, regardless. Honestly, us fans just want you to be happy, and healthy, mentally as well as physically.” He simply said, “I’m not going anywhere.” Just like that. I said, “I didn’t ask you that but now that you’ve said it unprompted I’m thinking it must be true.” He said, “It is true. I’m staying with Melbourne… if they’ll have me.” I said.”That’s good because all that cr@p I said before about us loving you regardless… I was lying. If you leave Melbourne, you’re dead to us.” 🤪 Anyways then I talked to Perty and he was even more emphatic about it than the others. He said there’s not much for “these people” to write about currently so they’re running with a “non-story.” Long convo but that’s it in a nutshell. After the session when most everyone had gone Clarrie was sitting in the tent changing shoes. I told him I had asked Perty if Melbourne still want him and he laughed and wanted to know what Perty said. I told him “Perty said ‘That lazy [censored]-er? We’re trying to get rid of him’.” 😂 Good times

Just listened to binman’s second solo pod, and felt compelled to start a separate thread to bring attention to his defence of Simon Goodwin. It’s brilliant stuff, an antidote to the kneejerk, ignorant bagging of his coaching both now and previously, driven of course by the cold hard truth. Not the menace of selective agendas, of cherry-picking outlier stats, events, or subjective interpretations based on reactive disappointment to unreasonable expectations, just plain old common sense and factual clarity. Well done binners, you won’t convince everyone, but of course we know how ‘truth’ works in the modern world.

Some absolute junk comments. “100 games for just over 100 goals”? He’s kicked 150 goals in 99 games so ‘just over’ is doing some real heavy lifting there. Of the top 20 in his draft Koz is: #1 for games played #1 for goals, ahead of Cody Weightman on 119. #2 for goals per game behind Weightman, 1.75 vs 1.52. Georgiades is the only other to average >1 per game. #4 for tackles behind Rowell, Serong and Tom Green. #5 on tackles per game as Hayden Young sneaks ahead of him. #1 for goal assists overall and per game. #2 for marks i50 overall and #3 for mi50 per game. He’s elite, and he’s going to get better.

I will say something I definitely wouldn’t have said pre season. Melk and Tom Mac must go another season.

I say we win the last 8 and hit the finals at speed..............My dream is to beat Collingwood in round 23 and in the first week of the finals. Then roll the Bombers in a semi and Carlton in a Prelim. Then roll the Swans in the GF with Gawn giving Grundy a Masterclass and Oliver winning the Norm Smith.....Seriously folks could footy life get any better than that?

Of course it wasn't nothing. Which is why he has been able to play as well as he has. Despite having a very limited preseason and having a badly broken hand that required surgery (that he is clearly still struggling with) Oliver has been our best mid this season. And that's also despite playing a different role - a defensive mid. A role that no doubt he is playing because of his limited preseason (because he doesn't have his breakaway speed and stamina). It must be so frustrating for clarry, a bloke used to being a walk up AA. He is working his guts out week on week out. Just look at him at the end of each quarter - he's spent. He knows he's not near his optimal condition and knows there is little he can do about that in season. Because he is so far off his peak condition he is often starting on the bench and is only playing 72% game time this season (I think the lowest of any regular best 22). He's working hard by all accounts on his wellbeing and off field stuff. Doing what is asked of him, including the things like the koz trip home. And on top of all of that had to put up with the peanut gallery in the media taking lazy pot shots - peanuts who are predominantly ex footballers who know all about fitness and preseasons, and so are simply gaslighting footy fans. Wouldn't it be great if clarry, who by all accounts is a really nice young man, had the full support of dees SUPPORTERS who instead of amplifying misinformation the media spews out for clicks, ratings and profit pushed back and got behind him. Or at the very least bothered to educate themselves about some basic facts about AFL football circa 2024 - for example the impact of interrupted preseasons and in season injury and surgery on elite athletes.

This is your typical Essendon supporter. Gone the early crow at qtr time when they were 1 point up. They think they're better than who & what they are. We may not be that good but christ we haven't allowed Dyson Heppell to play 250 games for us!

FWIW… On Sunday I spent the halftime break with The Wiz and his mob and for the most part we talked about the Quairading - Going Home video (if you’ve not watched it, you really should). Jeff loves the video. He said that Kozzie’s mob will forever consider Goody and Clarrie and Shano part of their family, and that’s huge. In particular, the part where Clarrie piggybacks Kozzie’s grandmother up the hill is immense. As Jeff explained it, and I’m paraphrasing, it meant the world to Nan to be able to be up at that special spot at the top of the hill, the very spot where Kozzie and his cousins spent many carefree days swimming and playing and all the while Nan would be watching and enjoying seeing them so happy. But… she wasn’t able to walk up the hill without assistance and maybe it’s a cultural thing, but she wouldn’t ask for, nor expect, assistance. No-fuss-Claz without any ado just did it. I asked Jeff what he thinks lies ahead for Clarrie. He believes Clarrie will remain a Demon. As I said, for what it’s worth. 🤷‍♀️

Tremendous win. I’ve read the comments on this board for 10 years and generally never felt the need to add my voice to the many reasoned, cogent and considered comments. However, having noticed a growing trend for commentary against Goodwin and Oliver, I feel the need to speak up. The former delivered the first premiership for the club in 57 years and has turned around an absolute [censored] show, imbuing the group with the character on show tonight. The latter, regardless of how you personally judge him, is arguably the most influential player to ever pull on the red and blue. 4 best and fairests are some proof. Others in that conversation are Barassi, Flower, Gawn and possibly Petracca. I digress. As it transpired the move not to replace Gawn tonight was the right call, despite many using it as a platform to deride the coach yet again. We are two kicks from second on the ladder, and have an exciting young crop coming though. Windsor will be a star.

If you’ve missed a lot of the little things Petty has done with positive talk to his team mates, great forward pressure and routinely putting his body on the line then you’re letting your bias cloud your judgment. There’s a very good footballer - forward or back - in there. Don’t drop off now.

Where do these jackasses masquerading as “journalists” get off with their gaslighting the Melbourne Football Club? Clayton Oliver is a little over halfway through his career and yet, has already been winner of the Keith “Bluey” Truscott Trophy for Melbourne’s club champion for an equal number of times (four) including in our only premiership season in the past six decades. We can run our club and look after our own when they’ve gone through tough times without taking advice from the clowns on that program who quite frankly need to be better at their jobs than they are at trying to be sensational. Had they been doing that, then they might have noticed how well Simon Goodwin has managed his player given the difficulties he had to face over the second half of last season and the disrupted preseason he endured this year. Clarry’s still important enough for opposing coaches to find the need to put heavy tags on him and sometimes it works. Mostly, it doesn’t because Clarry is that good. The simpletons on Footy Classified somehow managed to miss how Goody kept him on the bench in the early goings against the Bombers (he had only one touch in the first quarter). Yet by half time Clarry had added 10 possessions to his tally and by the end of the game, he had 25 disposals (75% of game time) which put him at the club’s equal third ball gatherer behind Ed Langdon (100%) and Trent Rivers (67%). Sure, his disposal efficiency was down but it was wet and someone who plays the way he does at a frenetic tempo is never going to hit every target. He gained 392 metres on the night, second only to Rivers. Not long after the siren, it was pleasing to see who Goody was embracing and slapping on the back. Clarry of course because his was a significant contribution to the team’s win. I’m looking forward to more and better from Clarry over the rest of 2024 and even more so in the years to come when he’ll be able to put in the hard yards over the summer time, add a 5th & 6th Bluey and maybe a premiership or two and we can sit back and watch Cormes and co eat humble pie over their stupidity.

Collingwood lose, Carlton lose, Essendon lose and the mighty Demons WIN! It's the quintessential quadrella of quality. Woo hoo!

You really do deserve praise for your commitment to the club and the players. Very few attend as much as you do and imo it gives you every right to voice your opinions on all things to do with the club and maintain your strong defence of everything MFC. You go girl.

I don't care if we don't play finals, fixing up that mob is worth the membership price alone.

Mark Murphy's votes on abc radio were 3 Rivers 2 JVR 1 Windsor The kids are alright

Not much to do on this horrid Melbourne winter day. So put this together for discussion. State of Play Top 4 looks all but set with only Brisbane looking a little vulnerable: Of the remaining 24 games for the Top 4 only one is for 8-pt Of the remaining 24 games for the Top 4 only 4 are vs 5th to 8th teams Carlton and Geelong play 3 of the bottom 4 teams Carlton do not play a Top 8 team Geelong play one Top 8 team Their fixtures and % make them difficult to oust. Better news for Demons is that of the teams outside Top 4 we have a relatively easy draw, well ‘on paper’ Conclusions: Everything needs to go our way to make Top 4 We will make the 8. Hopefully 5th or 6th to get that first Home final. Spots 4-8 will be a bun fight between those currently 4 to 13 14 wins should be enough for Top 8 Given the fixture, finalists should be known after rnd 20 I don't give GCS, Coll or Hawks much chance of making the 8. I don't like Ports/WBD chances of making the 8, given their fixture.

Elite agility, vision, decision making and kicking skills. Very good speed, strong at the contest. Incredible maturity. The kid will explode when allowed to run into the midfield. They are clearly protecting him until he beefs up a little. Already very good, and will become super. Great rookie pick. Found an absolute gem.

Plenty of nuffies around. This is your post after last year's finals loss to Carlton. ...If McDonald ever pulls on a dees jumper again I'll eat my fist... How's that typing with one hand working out for you?

My hat goes off to Nibbler. Merritt could have been so damaging, but was kept reasonably quiet, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd quarters Nibbler's fitness and ability to put on pressure was immense

Lost Won it at selection !😀

I hate essendon.

Random stats. JvR kicked his 50th goal today and currently sitting on 51 goals from 34 games. Pickett kicked his 150th today. Fritsch has now kicked 243 goals equalling David Schwarz career tally and achieving it in 30 less games.

The umpires tried to snatch it in the end, but no dice!! GREAT WIN! My takeaways: - I think we saw a rebirth for the team against the Lions. Great pressure for the whole game. Intense. Belief. - The kids are the future. Disco kicking big goals, McVee’s skills in the wet, Kozzie doing things only he can. Rivers continues to step up. Windsor had another cracker. Great vision and speed. Kolt, love his grit. - WITHOUT Trac and Gawn. No axtual ruck. This is our character. - The bombers are FRAUDS and CHEATS! I’m glad we helped to show them up and help them back down the ladder (although their soft draw will continue to help). - How good was Langdon? - How missed was Melksham?? Great night, always love beating these mugs. Only disappointment was not winning by 40+ but I can live that that. HERE WE COME!!!! 🔥💙❤️

I think Weid has copped enough. Let it go. He didn’t turn out the way we wanted but he did give us a couple of good finals appearances in 2018 and was part of something Melbourne supporters hadn’t seen in 12 years.

Just to prove I don’t only whinge when we lose : that insufficient intent given against the WCE player who belted the ball forward was absolutely stupid. He was clearly trying to get it to 2 teammates all on their own 30m away. Came off his fist slightly off and went 20m and went out. Good grief

Just got home from Gosch's, thanks to all the Dees Army volunteers - my 2 monsters had a great time. Youngest kept trying to keep up with Petty while he was running laps. Was good to watch the training session, some of the end to end drills really exposed how poor some of our field kicking is. Kolt had some howlers but knew it and looks the type to work on it. I didn't realise how good Jeffersons wing spand is. Unbelievable. He could tie his laces standing up. Had a brief chat with him and he reckons he isn't too far off. Not sure if that's just his thoughts or the clubs, but positive to hear the enthusiasm. Had a chat with Jed Adams too, suggested he move into the midfield and he liked that. We agreed he'd win the Brownlow if it happened ;)

Thought the debut of AMW was outstanding

I was 37 when we won the flag. I’m 40 now. Goodwin is the only coach in my lifetime to build a list that won one, and has kept enough talent flowing through that we’re far from being done at having a shot at another one. It’s very plausible that this is the best we’ll be in my lifetime. I’m not going to pot the coach that delivered it.

I thought Fritta and Turner played well

So underrated. It looked to me like Scott started the game with his very tall forwards going up the ground to draw May and Lever with them, and destroy our defensive structure. And it worked. But Goody somehow turned it around, got our structure back on track, and we kept them to about 3 goals for the next 2 1/2 quarters, until the incredible effort told on our players. He covered the loss of Max by alternating relatively unknown "ruckmen" against Draper, and adjusting our centre square setup, so we held our own in clearances. And as happens so often, there players, who obviously love him, produced an extraordinary effort and showed the opposition up. A totally underrated coach.

Live footage of Langdon leaving the MCG...

Awesome, awesome win. Umpires did everything they could to make a game of it.

Lets not forget he coached the Eagles to a flag against the pies by under goal. Glorious day. We all should love him a bit

My sister from another mister attended training at Casey today, she was the sole spectator. These are her notes. She says apologies in advance if she’s left any players out or if anything is unclear. The gates weren’t open and most of the action was on the other side of the ground. 10am -Max out there -Group doing drills in 2 groups -Then doing 30m sprints all together -Salo doing 1/2 pace running -21 talking to coaches -Now 100m sprints -Bbb trying to run along boundary- really struggling -Goody not there -Breaking off into groups -Max with mids -Practicing drills -They’re doing a strategies training drill. Max hasn’t kicked and is slow -Max marked and kicked left foot small pass -Training with energy and loud speaking -Sestan running boundary -Break into 2 groups -Practice is tight- moving quickly from one activity to another -Jefferson and Lever on own with coaches practicing marking and handballing- lever disinterested- kept watching the fowards and backs group drill -JA26 Big talk in middle ⁃ 2 teams white and blue Blue 8 1 29 45 36 15 2 11 30 4 13 24 6 18 45 42 35(BL) White 16 44 38 19 43 33 14 12 20 28 16 27 22 37 18 35 36 43 blue 38 30 2 white -all practicing drills forward drills Split into training drills swapped bibs over. ⁃ 15 13 12 14 did 1 sprint Early finish at 11.30!!!! And… That’s all she wrote

Collection of misery on the Essendon Big Footy Message Boards: ”Too many spuds in the team. Poor team selection for a game in the wet” “Brad can't pick a team to save his life” “Well, that sucked” ”Shut up Ling” ”[censored] poor” ”That wasn’t annoying at all” “Just another pathetic display like the last 10+ years” ”I could have been watching Interstellar!” “McKay and Ridley passes. The rest can get in the bin” ”that was so awful - i’m actually looking forward to a 12 year old kick boxer kicking my [censored] next week” ”Let's face it, this was inevitable as soon as Carlton lost and we could've been second if we won” “What makes this team so ****ing unbearable is the hope they give us” - Could also be a Demon poster here “What an absolutely soulless performance. Everything set up for us perfectly and that's the type of footy we dish up. Nothing has changed.”

Picket, to be honest you are coming off as not having a great grasp on what might drive selection in modern footy. I think it is reasonable to assume goody selection is largely driven by picking a team he thinks gives us the best possible chance of winning that game (I say largely because a factor sometimes might be an eye to getting a player ready for finals - so, an eye to winning future games). If goody is picking petts at this point in the season, in a critical 8 point game, it is reasonable to assume he did so because he believed it would help us win. Petty is clearly playing a role, and doing what is asked of him. He is a work horse who gets to contests and provides a down the line marking option. In case you haven't noticed goody has ALWAYS had a player playing such a role in his teams. BBB and Tmac are two such examples. It is a critical part of his structure and method - not least because it gives maxy a chop out from being smashed in such aeriel pack contests all game. And have a listen to goody's answer to another inane question about our forward line. Asked about the forward line mix working in the last 2-3 weeks, implying something radical had changed, he, politely, pointed out that the only change to that mix has been melk and that petts, jvr and disco have played together for most of the season. Cohesion is critical in sport he pointed out. And that takes time he also pointed out. It takes continuity. That's exactly what they have been doing - continuity in selection and building cohesion. And we are seeing the fruits of that approach. Dropping petty does not contribute to continuity or cohesion. And brining in another kid like Jefferson does nothing to help us win, or for cohesion - or the kid's development for that matter. And seriously, do you really think Fullarton would have helped us win last night? Bloke is barely passing muster as a ruck at VFL level Despite the frankly ridiculous hand wringing on here about selection, we won the raw clearance count - which by the by is not a particularly useful stat these days as it's not a measure of impact. What is a measure of impact is scores from stoppages, which critically we won by 14 points. In fact it was arguably the deciding factor in our win given they scored 3 more points from turnover. That doesn't happen without petty. Goody deserves credit and praise not brickbats. Which is why, when responding to a question about who we might play in the ruck against freo goody visibly bristled, before noting the option he ran with this week clearly JUST WORKED, implying the obvious- why would we change something that literally just proved successful?

For the first time in a long time I’m not looking at the impact of different results on the ladder. I’m not looking at what we need to do, or who we need to beat to finish top 4, or even in the 8. I am just looking forward to watching a side with emerging players and a new appetite for the contest on a match by match basis. I must say, it’s been liberating. If you said to me at the start of the year that in round 18 we’d be taking on a top 4 side without Gawn, Petracca and Brayshaw, I’d say we’d be no chance. I’m not so sure now. This side, led by some of its young stars is showing a real intent and passion for the battle. I expect that warriors like Viney and Oliver and Lever will bounce back this week and give it everything against a despised enemy. This week is a free hit. Nobody is tipping us in the media. We’re expected to fade away with these injuries and a tough draw. Well I say write these Demons off at your own peril. If we don’t quite get up, then it’s another brick in the wall for our 2025 assault.

I think some underestimate how lucky we are to see a player of his calibre, The much lauded Cyril Rioli kicked 40 goals twice in eleven years of AFL. Kozzie has done it twice before he was 21. Last few years 40 goals, 41, 37 and 25 so far this year in 14 games. He is an outstanding talent that will go down as a melbourne great.

I'll never understand what motivates someone to go to the bother of trolling people on a footy forum. Most aberrant behaviour serves some sort of self protective purpose, so i hope you are ok. Be that as it may, better for my wellbeing if I put you ignore. See ya.

I liked the fact we look to move the ball quicker and at times through the corridor. The fwd line seemed less congested and we delivered it a hell of a lot better than we normally do. TMac should be offered a one year contract for next year.

The selection dilemma caused by the injury to Melbourne’s 209cm ruckman Max Gawn leaving him out of the side for the next two to three weeks recalls the panic that spread through the ranks in Simon Goodwin’s first season as coach of the club. It was early in the AFL’s 2017 season when Max, who was the reigning All-Australian ruckman, badly tore his hamstring in Round 3 against Geelong at the Docklands and was facing a lengthy amount of time on the sidelines. Luckily for the Demons, they had a back up ruckman in the person of 203cm Jake Spencer who was in his tenth season at the club spent mostly as second fiddle to Mark Jamar and later, to Gawn. He was called up to face Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands who amassed 53 hit outs to Spencer’s 15 in the Dockers’ surprise 2 point victory at the MCG. Things did not improve in the following match on Anzac Eve against the Tigers when Spencer was given a bath by Toby Nankervis (56 hit outs to 13) in a game where the Demons gave up a 20-point lead at the final break to lose by 13 in the wake of multiple injuries to their players including one to Spencer’s shoulder as the team’s finals hopes plummeted. Enter 193cm undersized ruckman Cam Pedersen who was called up to the senior side after spending the first five weeks with the Casey Scorpions in the VFL. His first assignment in the role was to take on 203cm Tom Bellchambers. Petersen lowered his colours by 18 to 33 in the hit outs but he fought valiantly as the Demons revived their season with a 38-point win over tomorrow night’s opponents, the Bombers. George on the Outer wrote in Demonland of his round 6 performance: “The return of Cam Pedersen to the side as a replacement ruck worked really well, for while he may have lost the hit-out stats to Tom Bellchambers, it was he who racked up 19 possessions to Bellchambers' miserable 9. Best of all was that he relieved the necessity for Jack Watts to ruck, which resulted in Watts kicking 4 goals when up forward. How we could have used that scenario in the final quarter last week!” Pedersen didn’t dominate the hit out stats by any means - against Adelaide, Sam Jacobs amassed a 74 hit outs but Melbourne won by 41 points. The point was that Petersen contested everything and became an asset around the ground where he played the best football of his career despite being matched against much larger adversaries such as Ben McEvoy, Jacobs, Todd Goldstein and Brodie Grundy. He was also capably assisted by Tom McDonald who was handy when called upon to give him a chop out. By the time, Gawn was ready to return to take his place in the ruck in round 14, the Demons were in fifth place on the ladder. While Pedersen was a handy back up who continued to play some top football, the team was squeezed out of the finals race by the narrowest of margins after the final home and away game of the season. Incidentally, Pedersen who was drafted as a rookie by North Melbourne made his AFL debut in the opening round of the 2011 season in the ruck against West Coast’s six-time All-Australian ruckman Dean Cox after Goldstein was a late withdrawal for the Kangaroos. He acquitted himself quite well in that position and gained the title of his team's "Mr fix-it" but fell out of favour and became a Demon in 2013. His first game was in a forward/ruck role in the club’s disastrous round 1 game against Port Adelaide when he was criticised for ducking when backing back to take a mark. After struggling in 2013 under Mark Neeld, he resurrected his career under Paul Roos in 2014 and went through highs and lows until he was thrust into the Demon ruck in that round 6, 2017 game against the Bombers. These are the teams for that game:- ESSENDON B: Patrick Ambrose, Michael Hurley, Martin Gleeson HB: Mark Baguley, Mitch Brown, Ben McNiece C: Travis Colyer, Zach Merrett, Andrew McGrath HF: Orazio Fantasia, Cale Hooker, David Zaharakis F: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Joe Daniher, Brendon Goddard FOLL: Tom Bellchambers, Ben Howlett, Dyson Heppell I/C: Josh Green, Conor McKenna, Darcy Parish, Jobe Watson EMG: Kyle Langford,Brent Stanton, James Stewart IN: Tom Bellchambers, Martin Gleeson, Ben Howlett, Kyle Langford, Conor McKenna, James Stewart OUT: Aaron Francis (rested), James Kelly (rested), Matt Leuenberger (rested),Brent Stanton (omitted) MELBOURNE B: Michael Hibberd, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta HB: Jordan Lewis, Sam Frost, Bernie Vince C: Jayden Hunt, Nathan Jones, Jake Melksham HF: Christian Petracca, Jack Watts, Alex Neal-Bullen F: Jay Kennedy-Harris, Mitch Hannan, Jeff Garlett FOLL: Cameron Pedersen, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney I/C: Tomas Bugg, Oscar McDonald, Christian Salem, Dom Tyson EMG: James Harmes, Billy Stretch, Sam Weideman IN: Tomas Bugg, Mitch Hannan, Jordan Lewis, Oscar McDonald, Cameron Pedersen OUT: James Harmes (omitted), Jesse Hogan (family bereavement), Jake Spencer (shoulder), Timothy Smith (lung), Billy Stretch (omitted) Pedersen announced his retirement on 25 September 2018 after 64 games with Melbourne and 16 with North Melbourne. It's a late call to make almost six years after his retirement, but when all is said and done, Pedersen’s role as an undersized ruckman against giant opponents made him a modern day marvel. Here’s hoping that Harrison Petty who is four centimetres taller, can replicate Pedersen’s efforts from seven years ago!

Too much talk about Max missing. Let’s see some more of this tonight.

Optimism = we will make the 8 Pessimism = we won’t make the 8 Realism = we have a chance of making the 8. The pessimists believing they are the realists is the misconception of the ages.

Really promising to see us win like that despite no Trac, no Petty, Gawn off in the fourth, Oliver ineffectual and Viney having sub-20 disposals. Yes, it would have been nice to kick one more goal to pass Collingwood on percentage, but it's not Round 17 when we need our percentage to be better than theirs, its Round 24, and to make that even relevant in the first place we need more wins. That starts with Essendon on Saturday night when we have a six day break, one less than them. So taking Gawn off as a precaution makes sense. And to the extent that we eased off late, that makes sense too. And how good it was seeing a 32,000 crowd for a Sunday game against a bottom 2 side. I know we let kids in free but that's a smart move when faced with this sort of match in school holidays. We've given our club plenty of heat this year, maybe we should applaud them for this idea because it seems to me it worked a treat.