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Pretty safe to say my $100 at $6 was a good bet. Im only thousands in the negative now.

I just read this thread from beginning to end, and it's fantastic. It has ups, downs, twists, anger, humour and a very satisfying ending...where can I buy the movie rights?

Best quarter of year by us

Game Day.... Finally!

Well here I sit reflecting in the glory of a winning side. To Mr. Leg, the Reverend and a number of others did I not tell you we would win today? I Said we would win by 4 goals and it was 3 with one leg in the air. oh ye of little faith I hope you take more notice in future. The gathering at Luna Park tomorrow should be a happy one. now for the Dogs next weekend.

I've been off the site since before the game started and was funny to read this whole thread after the game was won ?

Finished the replay my take on our players: Brayshaw: Poor bloke, hopefully not serious. Hogan: Delivery was a bit sloppy at times but showed that he is set for a big year. Looks noticeably bigger. Salem: Just silky and classy with ball. While he is one of our best ball users off half back I would love for him to push up onto a wing. Set for a massive 2016 if he stays fit. Watts: One of the best games I have ever seen him play. For the first time I saw Watts chase with urge and intent. I thought at times when we looked panicky he slowed the game down with his poise and calmness. His intensity and intent to go in hard was definitely a big step forward for him I believe. Keeps this up and we'll see a break out year from Watts. Viney: Glimpse into the future of what a typical captain game.. Nathan Jones will be licking his lips that he has finally someone else to shoulder the midfield load. Played on Wines at times and he completely pulled his pants down. Giddy up! Gawn: If he plays like he did today every week you can almost pencil him in as All Australian and a huge Smokey for the Brownlow.. His taps to advantage were first class and he was the big reason why we were winning clearances after clearances. Not only that but his follow up work and ability to almost play as an extra midfield will hold us in good stead. Tyson: My biggest worry with Tyson is that he hasn't obviously worked on a major weakness of his which is trying to take the tackler on and not giving first option. He got pinned not once but 4 times simply by trying to take the tackler on and not dishing off to a teammate on the outside. He holds onto the ball way too long then gets spun around in a tackle constantly. Bit rusty today also. Was disappointed with his game today. Oliver: His hands in close is elite and awareness around the stoppages. Loved how Goody threw him into the middle to gain some valuable experience. Great first half and loved his brutal tackle on Young. I see no reason why he can't play round 1. He is ready for the big time and he did not once look out of place. I hope he plays against the doggies next week. Great debut. Dunn: Played his role and that's all we ask for. Stretch: Played limited game time and looked a bit rushed but he provides run and spread. Another who will continue to step up and develop. The Grimes on the wing experiment didn't work for me so I think there is a spot up for grabs there for him. Kent: I have no doubt him and Vandenberg before the game went off side and popped a couple of angry pills. He played with such high intensity and aggression in almost like he wanted to prove a point. His game today showed why we missed him so badly last year. I just pray to God he has a fully fit year. When he tackles he just wants to hurt blokes. The Kent Garlett Kennedy threesome was on show today. Frost: Forget about him being a forward this year he just looks lost at sea. We recruited him as a backman so lets just play him there. Not in my round 1 team. Garland: Frustrated me today with the typical Garland errors.. Heart and soul player but his constant errors just hurts us too much. Pedersen: The perfect forward/ruckman who can give Gawn a chop out and still kick your 2 goals up forward. I thought he rucked really well and was quite surprised that he was jumping all over Lobbe. Took some good contested marks today and now will hopefully start to build some consistency. Tom McDonald: Just your typical McDonald game with the occasional poor errors that he provides every game. OMAC: Would have learn't a lot from playing on Schultz. Looked panicky and nervous and made a few errors. Will continue to develop at Casey this year. Personally id rather they persist with him up forward then Frost. At least Omac has shown in his junior days that he can become a good forward option. Hunt: Didn't notice him much but when I did he did some nice things. Needs to work on his kicking but also learn to really use his speed on the outside that we lack. Something to work with here. Grimes: Unfortunately the wing experiment just didn't work for me. Coughed up the ball and a couple of these went out on the full. Id still give him time over the Nab challenge to get use to this role. Bugg: He started off slow but when he went into the centre in the 2nd half I thought he showed genuine aggression and hardness at the ball. Does not take a backward step and he won some crucial clearances for us also. He will be a great pick up for us this year. A solid competitor who has a see ball get ball attitude. Kennedy: Played forward all in the 1st half and was quite. Then played as an on baller in the 2nd half and really got us going with his speed and outside spread. He keeps his feet and they struggled to tackle the little nugget. Loved his game and can see why we rated him highly back in the Toumpas draft. Will get better each game once he knows his new teammates and game plan. Garlett: His forward pressure was Aaron Davey like in his younger days. Was absolutely immense with the pressure he provided along with Kent. I still laugh at how cheap we picked him up. Absolute gun! Vandenberg: This guy can seriously play! Id loved to know his height because he didn't look much shorter then Hogan. The way he ragdoll blokes out of the way to get the ball is just a tad exciting. Played half forward/on baller and just dominated with his contested work and marking. A battering ram who played with aggression and that banana kick for goal on the boundary was magic. Jetta: Just your normal Jetta game. Nothing fancy just gets the job done. Just love the way he goes about it. Harmes: Impressed me a lot. Broke tackles and always tried to get the ball moving forward. Just another competitor who plays with an aggressive style that suits our game style. Kicked a ripper goal in the 3rd. Don't be surprised if he is playing round 1. Jones: The big surprise packet for me. Played wing and provided dash and in all honestly I didn't see him waste a disposal at all? When port counter attacked from our half forward I saw him sprint his guts out to help the defenders out. I have no doubt this will get pointed out in the reviews. Well done to him and if he gets pick for round 1 its because he deserves it. Id rather him on the wing instead of Grimes. Wagner: limited game time but did some class things and showed his clean disposal. Hopefully he starts next weekend.

This guy is a pocket rocket. He keeps his feet and bounces off packs and gets out of trouble well. As I said earlier I believe he is going to be our Zorko. Watch this space.

With our victory today carrying on from our win over GWS in round 23 last year we are officially undefeated for 27 consecutive weeks.

Fantastic debut. Knows where the footy is going and uses it creatively. Probably needs some work on his transition running but I'm super excited by what he showed today.

You're 12 months too late.

The whingers on here never cease to amaze/annoy etc me, it is the NAB Challenge, relax

For a bunch of slow, poorly skilled, second rate headless chooks with a leaking defence, that wasn't too bad. Shame our season's over already.

This thread is so schitzo....

Why the hate for Oscar McDonald? Firstly, The kid has played 2 AFL games and is now only in his second season. Secondly, key talls take a while to fully develop. Don't count him out just yet, I thought showed some good signs at the end of last year.

Too early to call for the team, but the Demonland gameday thread ... business as usual.

Only small minded people would bother sledging Toumpas.

Can't wait to get down to Elizabeth oval, to see all the new recruits live in action! Big decisions of the day: Pie or hot dog? Will it be too hot for the scarf? To sledge or not to sledge the Toump? Footy is back!!!

Just watched Goodwin's post game interview - and while the players and their development gets the plaudits, I reckon we're right on track with the succession and development of our next coach. No idea what he did or said at half time but a far improved team seemed to turn up after the long break. Simon Goodwin - Post Game interview

Didn't think we really played well, or moved the ball forward well..... We simply won/dominated because we won the contested ball for large periods of the day..... And I couldn't be happier! Tough, ruthless aggressive footy. So many individuals were good. Add Jones, Vince, Petracca, Lumumba, Trengrove, Brayshaw, Dawes (?????) to competition for spots and cut 4 from today's performance down to 22 and it's genuinely tight for spots. Exciting oh yeh, Gawn is All Australian if he gets through he year

Check out Hinkley's presser. Rather than blaming the free kick count or anything else he says that we were just harder at the footy and Port couldn't match us. Smiles..

And I suppose you'd say he played badly? He played bloody well

We hunted in packs for the footy in the second half which was great to see and actually had a plan heading into the forward 50 instead of just bombing it in. I was very worried in that first half but they really turned it on in the second. Probaby the best pre season game I have seen us play in years. Good signs!!

I am seeing heaps of positives - Maxy, Viney, Vanderberg and Watts are looking the goods. All of those ready to throw the towel in - a little perspective please, it is only NAB. We are competing well despite missing our strongest mids, away, against a team that played last week AND the game is far from over.....

Oliver is looking reeeeeeal good!

I like the cut of Clayton Oliver's jib.

One of football's most iconic images

Can we not turn this into another [censored] Toumpas vs Wines thread? This is a game day thread. If people are going to bring this up every time we play Port then you probably need to consider why you're continuing to bring it up.

... and don't believe everything you read. Sir Thomas Playford who was SA's longest running premier died in 1981.

They mostly reflected the speed with which some supporters start cutting their wrists.

Gawn vs Mumford in Round 1 will be an epic battle

Seeming we won the last round in 2015,I will consider this 2 in a row.

Sounds like a good old Melbourne 426.

Probably already been posted but yeah Melbourne FCVerified account ‏@melbournefc 1h1 hour ago Brayshaw has tweaked medial. It's a low grade injury. He won't be risked for rest of match

toumpas, effectively. did you just see that transition end-to-end goal? freaky.

GTFO Goffy, don't you screw this up for us!

agreed. he won't just play round 1, he'll start on the ground.

Kennedy has been great.

Took a terrific, gutsy mark on the hb under a tonne of pressure.

Intent seems alright. Lacking polish though. Seems weird seeing a gun in Jordie's body. More interested in an update on Brayshaw than the actual game really.

So every time hogan gets the mark or goal the commentators are gunna say he's a gun and has put off contract talks. FMD its gunna be a long season.

VandenBurg is drafting genius.

Holy crapsnacks it didn't take long for the self-pity wagon to get rolling.

Awsome!!! Good luck Jack! Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc 28s28 seconds ago Jack Viney will captain the side against Port Adelaide today in the absence of Nathan Jones. Well done Jack! #NABChallenge

Its verified, close to the recruiting team at the time.

There are so many rumours/urban myths about Mark Neeld. That's just another one of them that is untrue. It's been reported many times that the recruiting department considered the situation closely at the time and, like most keen observers, had Toumpas ahead of Wines. They also wanted to have a more outside running type in the team. Let's not forget that Todd Viney had a very close knowledge of Wines and it was entirely appropriate for Neeld to defer to his recruiting people on the matter of draft selection. Mark Neeld might not have turned out a good coach and he confronted numerous obstacles as an inexperienced person in the job but he wasn't Hannibal Lechter.

If you don't sledge Toump you should be banned from Demonland for a week.

I am here teaching Chinese students the finer points of VCE English. If there is one thing I have learned since arriving three weeks ago, it's to have patience. Everything happens in its own time here apparently. Some thoughts for some our fellow Demonlanders: A man's conversation is the mirror of his thoughts. The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns yourself more than him. To get through the hardest journey we need only take one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping. And my personal favourite: Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's forehead. And as Confucius says: It doesn't matter who's on the bench, as long as Watts is marking the ball on the wing and delivering it to Hogan inside 50. And; the longest goal starts with a single clearance from half-back. Go Dees.

We don't travel. 2015: GWS away lost. Adel. away lost. WC away lost. PA away lost. Frem away lost Not sure that proves much we have been losing to everyone everywhere for a decade