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I've always disliked that Kingy bloke.

Nervous anticipation upon seeing the thread title. Relief upon reading the news. Guilt upon feeling relief. Finally arrive at sympathy for the player involved.

Upping the price like that and there being no General Admissions makes a mockery of what that game is supposed to be about. It was supposed to acknowledge (and at one time, honour) what ANZAC stands for and to give the everyday citizen that goes to the dawn service, has breakfast a chance to then go and watch a game of footy. It is now the preserve of the well heeled and well organised. Lost all its ANZAC meaning at the altar of greed (and drug cheating). I hope our ANZAC Eve game always embodies the ANZAC spirit where anyone can get in and it stays a game for the regular 'Joe'.

If we have are the toughest midfield we haven't seen it yet. Same shyte we were hearing in 2010 from the media. I want to see results. The recent demolition job Cripps and Gibbs did to us reminds us of how pathetic we can be.

I've always thought he could be the best of them. I try not to post when everyone carries on about clarry and how he has the biggest upside since everyone should be able to wax lyrical about their current favorite but Gussy could easily be the next pendlebury. He has incredible football smarts and is always where he needs to be. The only mistakes he makes are typical young player ones, the occasionally poor disposal. I won't carry on, but that boy is going to be something special. He isn't a showboat so i think it will sneak up on people but even at this early stage he is able to motor around and just be in the right place at the right time. He can go inside or out with equal skill. He can kick in the left or right with equal skill. He is the full package. Okay maybe i did carry on a little

I've always liked that Kingy bloke.

Wow... Black, Voss, and Aker are superstars, ALL Brownlow medalists. There are players that went through that Brisbane midfield who you didn't even mention that are guns. I know what you were trying to say, but I hope this talk remains within demonland walls, my mates would tear shreds off me if I talked anything of the sorts with this Lions midfield comparison.. Taqlk about ngetting ahead of yourself. I talk about scraping into the 8 this year and I get told not to get ahead of myself, which is fair.. "Collectively, they remind me of the Lions midfield of the early 2000's: Black, Voss, Akermanis, Power". Hilarious!!!!! What about Nigel Lappin? Lappin was a gun.. Even Shaun Hart...

A gift to their long suffering supporters for sticking with them through thin.....

to those worrying about there being too much hype around the Dees, never fear, once we lose to the Saints in round 1 we will get hammered in the media and things will get back to normal

You forgot one of the best, Nigel Lappin. Only one of the above to earn All Australian in their four grand Final years....one of the 'Fab Four' The Dees have done nothing. These guys were out and out champs. This talk is frankly insane. But then it is Kingy

I'm just picturing the Martin's at the Hawthorn Family Day.

Apparently her ex boyfriend did her wrong. I think it was the first twenty songs that gave me the biggest hint.

Can't they move her to Casey? A low-loader should do it...

No, sorry i can't agree with this. Whilst no viney (who is) Wattsy's competitiveness and grit was terrific last year. As was his gut running and ability to stay in the contest. For Pete's sake he was our second ruckman last year and regularly had blokes 10-15kg heavier jumping into him. And while i'm at it i'm a bit over suggestions he was just ok last year. He was fantastic and won at least 2 games for us, played every game and really only played 2-3 poor to average games. He had a better year than Hogan. Which is why he came 5th in our B & F. If he has a similar year this year he will be in AA discussions at the end of the season. Whilst i'm disappointed he has not met internal KPIs let's not make the mistake of rewriting history. Make no mistake if we are to make the finals we will need Watts playing. Full stop. he is as important to our chances as Hogan. And i have no doubt Goodwin knows this. This quote from him is very instructive: "WHEN Jack comes back in the team we're going to have a really good player on our hands" PD has had his fun and must be chuckling at how long the Watts thread is and the fact this one keeps growing. It also provides him plenty of opportunity to ventilate his 'disappointment' in Jack (is there a psychologist in the house?). But let's keep things in the proper perspective. I for one will back Jack in and expect him to reach the heights of last year and be a key factor in our rise up the ladder. Anyone up for any bets?

Hopefully the Saints players are like Spud Frawley and think Alex and Neal Bullen are two different people. They won't be able to stop him.

Injuries are part of Football. The lord giveth, the lord taketh away. Remarkable how often sheer bad luck descends on the chosen few. I wish them all the best. I really feel for them. Every club seems to have that tragic warrior. Once again, I really feel for those poor baaastards.

What are you talking about ? I have dreams of Jonesy and Viney holding aloft the JLT cup....

Maybe stating the obvious, but I'm sure he means the 'physically toughest' rather than the toughest/best midfield in the AFL.

Don't know for sure, but I'd guess that all these have played in finals, except for Jack. I'd also guess that there wouldn't be too may No 1 picks whose team hasn't played in finals for 10 years. Jack would be one of the top half-dozen current players in the AFL for games played without playing in a final. And most teams that get No.1 picks are in the finals again with 3 or 4 years; Melbourne being the outstanding recent exception. Just about every other club has had a finals appearance during Jack's career. Jack is probably unique in that he walked into a crap team that has, by and large, stayed crap for 8 years. And mostly as a KPF, who depend on their teammates getting the ball to them. They're not like an in-and-under mid who gets first hands on the ball. In-and-under mids can do really well in a crap team. But very few KPFs who have played for 8 years in a crap non-finals team have done much. The best & most successful KPFs - and this goes back a long way (think Hudson, Wade, McKenna) - have had stellar midfields pumping the ball at them, often with precision. Jack for most of his career has played with one of the consistently worst midfields in AFL history (thankfully this now seems to be changing). So to the smart question: "Name me a year other than 2016 in which Watts has been any good" ... Name me a year other than 2016 in which MFC has been any good. (not surprisingly, there's a relationship). Conversely, in the last 8 years, how many KPFs have done well in teams that have been worse than ours? Oh, and 2 tackles per game is pretty good for a KPF. I looked this up a few years back, CBF looking it up again now. But I recall then that it was better than Buddy, better than Cloke (even after his one good year), pretty close to the Riewoldts. KPFs simply don't seem to tackle that much, for whatever reason. Or was Watts supposed to overcome all the other deficiencies of all the teams he's played in? No wonder 'some' are disappointed.

There's an open training session advertised on the club site to take place at Casey Fields today at 10.00am. This is the first of the autumn training sessions and with some light morning drizzle and a maximum temperature of 27 predicted, we should expect close to a full squad (possible exception being Bernard Tomic). If any of the locals is going, reports are welcome and let us know if you hear anything about a possible Casey Demons practice match at the weekend.

Well they didn't have any clout as it turns out: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/supplements-saga/essendon-supplements-saga-push-for-senate-inquiry-rejected-says-greg-hunt-20170303-guqeyl.html

The 2018 premiership is basically in the bag, but we're going to have to really work if we want to nail it this year.

Absolutely. He can do it. It just has to be automatic. I saw JW play a few games of schoolboy footy. He was that good he didn't have to try. I am sure this is where it all stems from.

Lucky it will still be positive on Demonland. I think the media need to take a lesson from the calm, level headed approach from the posters on here.

Im not sure its entirely based on the last 2 games. Its based on the trend. Percentage tends to rise before wins come consitantly. Before the last round disaster our percentage was 103%. Wins come with experience but percentage comes with talent. I dont expect we will jump to top 4 but the numbers suggest we will be improvers. Case and point: in 2015 GWS finshed 11th with 99% (they were also pretty ordinary against us in their last game). Eagles were 9th at 116% the year before then finshed 2nd, same year adelaide we 10th with 114% and played finals the next year. Lets face it, we all knew at some point the hype would come. All we can do is hope they live up to it.

I always sign up, and even if we lose 1st up I will still buy a membership (probably after a win) but want to make a point about winning over the Saints. Preseason hype aside, and I loved the Carlton game, I want the club and players to see a bump in numbers after we win during the season. I am also probably the only bloke going around who buys a membership for his ex and his new missus at the same time. Also one of the few upsides to having four kids is the membership bump, don't bother with signing the dog up.

I'll give him one thing at least he tries to lift the conversation around footy and uses advanced stats to explain what is happening out on the field. We need more of that type of footy analysis instead of ex-players waffling on about the good old days, wannabe comedians trying to work their bits in and social try hard telling us which player is dating his teammates girlfriend

The talk isn't insane at all. There are always stars retiring and stars emerging. It's been this way for over 100 years and will continue for the next 100 years. There will be a group take over the mantle and when I look at the already exposed form of Viney, Tyson, Oliver, Brayshaw, Petracca, together with Jones, Lewis and Vince I see no reason it won't be this group of Dees. It's not a far-fetched call in my view. We're developing a skull-cracking midfield and the competition knows it. EDIT: I'm not suggesting it will be the best midfield, although it's conceivable, I'm talking toughest.

Sniper on the field- presents well on tv - can't help but think being a football pundit would be the easiest thing in the world - vague statements, reactionary, revisionist... still nice to have positive articles being pumped out at the moment...

King is a [censored]. His opinion is worth less than the 73 HQ I bought for $50 back when. I'd rather him not on the bandwagon DH not Cu... in case anyone was wondering

Love a lot of what you guys post but this is just a bit of fun. I doubt many take it seriously...

Good little article on Gussy by Roosy. Really excited and intrigued on how Brayshaw will go this year. Another solid inside midfielder who has class and toughness to add to our side. http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/angus-brayshaw-an-unknown-yet-exciting-talent-for-melbourne-says-paul-roos/news-story/d4d64a1ddbac46b6385ebeb5e5aa400c

toughest midfield in the AFL according to Kingy. I can't believe he's being positive about us ha ha ha.

I'm a doubter... Good player but until he can hit a short kick target under 30m he'll never be a great. The amount of times he over / under kicks short passes for a player who is clearly so skilled is infuriating. Eliminate those basic mistakes and he'll become a great as he knows where to run and how to get it.

Adele - music to slit your wrists to.

No pressure! But, us interstaters are impatiently awaiting all of those in-depth reports that we all know are about to hit Demonland at any moment...

This. Even at his best last year Watts still lacked that true grit and competitiveness that we need.

If you are one of the slowest teams on the outside in terms of leg speed, you definitely need to be tough inside. MFC supporters tend to rate experts on how favourable they are toward the club, rather than objectivity and accuracy. I recall he was after (Garry's pick) Neeld's head after 2 rounds, which only those that could see clearly, were calling for. I think Brad Johnson's call regarding Freo pre-2016 was one out of the box.

Hate this article_Kiss of Death_STFU walk quietly and carry a big stick please.

The hype train is getting a little ridiculous on the back of a couple of good JLT performances. Sure our side looks exceptionally talented on paper and chock full of potential but we all know too well how this team historically gets ahead of itself after a couple of good wins. Losing to Carlton last year when we had a chance at the 8 was the pits! Until we eliminate those sort of performances comparisons to a triple premiership team aren't even worth thinking about for mine...

With the addition of Lewis and another preseason into the young fella's I consider this a fair call by King. I'm ready to embrace all the hype this time around. We're not going into game with Morton, Gysberts, Maric, Blease etc from the last 'potentially good' era. The signs are obvious that these guys are going to be renowned for their hardness. King is Captain Obvious.

DH or Cu, this time, fester?

I remember him telling us how Geelong had no chance of winning the 2011 premiership. None at all. Talked about it for weeks. Pointed out how they were aging, had lost talent, etc etc... Then when they won I saw him on one of the footy shows telling the world that he picked it all along. The guy is a [censored] of the highest order.

She went to car heaven many years ago. But I'll still take your $60

Kimberley Kitching is a die hard bomber I believe. And don't forget Lindsay Tanner, current president and ex-ALP polly

Any other info, for those of us who don't read/subscribe to the HS. As coincidence would have it just before you started this thread I had posted this to the Gus Brayshaw thread: "Our midfield is scary good: Viney, Brayshaw, Oliver, Tyson, Salem, (potentially Petracca). Collectively, they remind me of the Lions midfield of the early 2000's: Black, Voss, Akermanis, Power". You could almost match them up Voss: Oliver/Viney - tough as Black: Brayshaw/Salem - silky Akermanis: Petracca - strong, knows where the goals are. Power: Tyson - quietly gets the job done. Notice there are more Dees players than Lions...as I said our midfield is scary good! We could easily have a few Brownlow medalists in our lot - if they don't take votes from each other that is. Just as long as they deliver us a flag or two or three! No pressure of course

Reminds me of Jack Trengove 2010-2011.

I don't see much of Pendelbury in Brayshaw at all to be honest. I think he is going to be a great player but I can't see the similarities at all

Great that this bloke is being sheltered from external expectation by Trac and others. at another time we would have been relying on Gus to be the future I really rate him, he is a lot more than an inside midfeilder, he is truely an all rounder. even in JLT I remember he took possession, saw a player coming, dropped the shoulder and ran around hime so easily. he is a natural talent, great fella and fierce competitor 3 weeks til round 1! bring it Gus