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Not sure if it has been mentioned anywhere and it really deserves its own thread but this game against Hawthorn is the Pink Lady Match supporting the BCNA. There will be 1000's of Pink Lady silhouettes planted in Yarra Park and it is a very moving site. I looked at the MFC web page and could not find it mentioned anywhere but found it on the BCNA page. I am hoping it gets more publicity as the week rolls by. It is very close to my heart as I lost my Mum to breast cancer nearly a year ago. If you are at the game, please make a donation. Every cent counts. https://www.bcna.org.au/

I recon this has been mentioned every 80 posts or so, can some one go ahead and do it for the masses...

Get a room you two

And again i think that the facts do not bear your assertion out that from an 'from an intensity perspective, Jack Watts was very, very ordinary' and frankly it is ridiculous to suggest he went at 'about 10% all day'. And suggesting 'things went his way' implies he was lucky to get four goals rather then the reality of it being as a result of his hard work 5 of his 19 possessions were contested. Of his 5 marks, 1 was contested (a ripping effort where muscled his way to the front to take a chest mark and kick a goal). It is worth noting only Pederson, Petracca and TMac had more (2 each, with TMac's coming from 12 overall). He laid 3 tackles (and his season average is 1.8), with only Viney and Oliver laying more. Plus he ran hard all day. All of this after a five day break and having to shoulder rucking duties for 80% of last weeks game. But even if you are one to discount stats watching the game tells me his intensity was where it needs to be. And i i would argue Goodwin came to the same conclusion. I reiterate that there is no way Goodwin gives him votes if his intensity was down. No way. Goodwin could not have made it clearer intensity is a complete non negotiable in his team. Lack of intensity was the reason Watts wasn't played in the first two pre season games and is the reason Kent is not currently in the team. As if he gives votes to a player who runs around 'about 10% all day'. Get serious. And you think Goody gave him votes 'for his scoreboard impact'. Why then didn't Hannan or Garlett get votes?

I think you've missed the point I was making. Nobody in footy gets everything right but those who spend their entire life in footy at the highest level talking to other people who spend their life in footy at the highest level will get things right more often, I'd contend much more often, than those that don't. They are at the top end because they get things right, those that fail to get things right at the top level won't be there long. They also have much more information. For example can you tell me how Bernies toe is? They know, you're guessing. My point is when you have an opinion that differs from those who are heavily involved in the game then rather than just saying they are wrong you should question your own position. There are more absolutes. STMJ should ask himself why the two coaches at the last match thought Tyson was in the best 6 or 8 players of the 44 who played. As for the collective wisdom of Demonland getting it correct many many times I agree. I've also seen the collective wisdom of Demonland get it wrong many many times. I'm not dismissing others views. I'm inviting posters to entertain the views of others and give weighting to the experience of those offering the opinion. I personally give more weight to coaches than posters. You may differ.

This is one of the most staggering paragraphs I've ever seen on Demonland, and that's saying something....

Out of bounds. On the full.

I've been following this game for a long time and know that when knowledgable footy people have a view that differs from mine they are most likely right and I should at least consider their position before dismissing it out of hand. I think you should be asking yourself why you differ from people who make a living out of footy, notably Goodwin and Worsfold. FWIW Tyson has had two excellent seasons and a poor one and IMO had a slow start to this season. But his poor season and this season coincided with significantly interrupted preseasons and I know when he gets it right he's a very good player. I think he's working into good form now and will be valuable to us and unlike some I'm prepared to consider his positives as well as his negatives. I think you're wrong with Tyson and the coaches votes on Sunday make you look a little silly. Funnily enough while you can always disregard statistics when it doesn't suit your argument it's much harder to dismisses coaches votes.

Great post Vogon Poetry. The problem with people accepting the opinions of others (experts) as having more validity than their own is very topical. As a society we are arguably less likely now - than ever - to accept the very notion of educated or experienced authority. We suffer from the misguided belief that we have access to 'all' the information that those experts do, so are just as qualified (or more so, when a certain narcissism comes to play) to make judgements about that information. It's the reason the leader of the free world can openly reject scientific, historical and commonplace facts in favour of his own reality. Factor that in with the average adult male's often impenetrable belief in his own wisdom, which when it comes to football is tied in with issues of cultural worth and meaning, and you've got the perfect storm of arrogant self-delusion. As it is for the world, so it is on Demonland. Gotta love it, though.

SEN reported today (grain of salt , I know) that we are targeting Jake Lever and Steven May. Looks like a key back is on the menu.

I wonder if someone would be good enough to run all that through for me on say....a whiteboard

I'd rather we worried about growing the club in Vic than getting carried away pretending that one billion Chinese or Indians will ever care

"Pro" is big and ugly enough to back up his own wrong assertions with his own tough guy, no compromise lies and justifications. You act as if you have followed the team since March. We have known how Pedo takes a grab and competes even when he was fat.

Classy post Sku. And I think maybe a first in demonland. And yeah, I didn't quite see the playful tone. Maybe I'm just a bit of a dingbat myself. In any case... How good is Clarry!

My sincere apologies Dappa Dan. I certainly didn't intend to offend. I was playfully referring to the chaos it caused when you referred to Oscar MacDonald as 'Ozzie' in a previous thread. Ironic, as part of that mock-rant spoke of effective communication and I'm afraid I failed miserably in having my tone understood. I don't think you're a troll and I'm sorry again to have upset you.

From this weeks VFL review. Its not how many touches you get it is clear it is about showing the right behaviours, Dean Kent: Dean had 22 disposals, five marks and kicked a goal. His performance over the weekend was the type of football we know he can play. He was able to really impact some contests and put on a lot of forward 50 pressure. Kenty also laid some significant tackles in attack. His ability to put the opposition under pressure was really positive

D O O B Deliberate Out Of Bounds to the anagram Acronym ( thanks Demonstone..lol ) challenged. I can't remember a more contentious rule affecting our game. It's not only horribly considered and formulated but near on impossible really to decipher and the implementation is laughable bordering counter effective to its supposed reason. Fortunately our old friend Titus has received some timely updates . It clarifies it all. A memo from the National Umpiring Director Peter Schwab to all umpires regarding the Deliberate Out of Bounds Rule (DOOB) has been leaked. Here it is in full. FROM: National Umpiring Director To: ALL UMPIRES In recent weeks, the deliberate out of bounds rule has been the source of significant criticism from key stakeholders in the Football Marketplace of Ideas. As a result, and to make your job easier, we have clarified the rule and added even more interpretation, the solution to all umpiring problems. Here is the updated rule, to be applied from this round: Law 15.6.1(c) A free kick shall be awarded against a player who: Intentionally kicks, handballs or forces the football over the boundary line, without the football being touched by another player. The primary consideration in determining DOOB is the player’s intent or what mood the closest umpire is in at the time. A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t rewarded DOOB for a while, just decide that the next ball out will be deliberate, then pause a long time when it happens for the drama and award it. The below indicators can assist your decision-making process: Do you like the player or are they on the secret protected list? Has the player made a genuine skill error? If they have, don’t worry give a free against them anyway. Is the player kicking the ball off the ground under pressure? If so, the player will not be penalised unless it’s a critical moment in the game and the resulting free kick will significantly affect the outcome of the game. Is the player kicking the ball up the field to teammates, or is he kicking the up the ground with the intention of finding the boundary line? The ability to read minds comes in handy here, if you can’t do that, just take a wild stab. Did the ball travel past several opponents who could have picked it up but didn’t in the hope you’d pay deliberate? Then reward this as DOOB. It’s a wonderful look for the sport. Did the player dispose of the ball in a clever ruse of fumbling and even though it’s obviously deliberate you appreciated the acting skills? Then don’t pay a free. At least once a quarter, don’t reward an obvious DOOB to keep things interesting. If DOOB is awarded up the other end, wait until an identical situation occurs up your end, then make the polar opposite decision. As always, Razor can interpret this rule based on the camera being on him and the theatrical potential of the moment. A reminder, with Mark Evans leaving, the Hawthorn Special Treatment Loading is no longer in place. DOOB is less science, more art. As always, we are not looking for consistency or fairness, our aim is uncertainty and confusion, transitioning to anger. I hope this makes things more difficult for you. Yours in confusion Peter - See more at: https://titusoreily.com/afl/afl-memo-clarification-deliberate-out-bounds#sthash.7M7woJXJ.dpuf

I would have thought the Lewis goal from the boundary would have made the Goal of the Week nominations, but doesn't seem to be. Quite amazing really and was so casual that it lacked the theatrics of the other nominations this week perhaps...

Everyone including the coaches will agree that it would be great if TMac could kick more reliably. But people miss the key point - he's doing what the coaches want - playing "fearless footy". Clarkson at Hawthorn is on record saying he wanted players to try to execute difficult kicks and not to worry when they missed, but keep trying. TMac is following team rules. There's a reason Billy Stretch was dropped and he's a much better kick.

Certainly all science is fluid rjay, but a lot less than non-scientists would believe. The problem currently, and it's a very dangerous trend, is that poorly informed opinion is too often mistaken as evidence, and presumption given the same weight as fact.

yeah, i don't mind people get it wrong from time to time, after all it's only opinion, but when you go on and on about it ad nauseum and belittling any opposing views then you deserve to get called out

Scoreboard Impact. Now there's an interesting realm. Maybe , in the interest of conforming to new footyspeak it might be referred to as Numeric Pressure Acts

Or we could go with "I'm with stupid -->". Although that would look good when we play a man-on-man game but perhaps not so good with a zone defence.

I think if the ball goes out of bounds, the umpires should toss a coin. If it's heads, they throw it in. If it's tails, all 3 umpires fight to the death.

We are raging favourites this weekend...again. Selections, injuries, blah, blah. Its time to actually bloody deliver and put away teams we ought to. We have the personnel with the right skill sets. This is about mindset. This is about being taken seriously. This is about pushing for finals, dammit!

Usually... in fact always... we look at a player and say "it's scary to think where he'll be in 5 years." Think Heeney, Hipwood, Petracca... This whole idea that with a few years of development it's basically a definite that each young player will improve. How often do we end up disappointed? You can't even say he'll be great one day. He already is. The numbers he's putting up, for a 6 week stretch, are top ten in the league. SEN this evening did an All Australian Midfield, and said that after their starters were decided (the usuals, Dangerfield, Sloane, Selwood blah blah) they basically had Ollie on the bench with Wines. Screw the development. Even if this is what we got for 12 more years... He's still a gun already. Potential isn't even relevant.

This creeping default position in arguments here is becoming annoying, especially with the inconsistency it's applied. It's time for a little push-back. There have been many many people who have made a living out of football in the past, who have been sacked, because they evidently got it wrong. There are many many people who hold jobs that are not my profession who I am certain I and half the people here could still do better than. There are many many very intelligent people with strong analytical attributes who have been attending football for many many years. These people often don't get the opportunity to be involved at the highest level of football for existing outside of the circle. AFL coaches are people, with prejudices and blind-spots, and while they have inner-access to information we are not privy to, they are also operating in a highly insular environment and with the usual work-place hierarchies. They are also more highly scrutinised, and this can also have an impact on decision-making. The collective wisdom of the posters here has been proven to have been correct many many times in the past. IN: Wagner OUT: Melksham

Those were the days, Aussie Rules Footy on NES, Wagon Wheels and Cheezels.

I think you were proven wrong in 1991.

Aussie Rule Footy on NES was my favourite. And Duck Hunt.

Petracca on sen re his knee injury against the tigers: "i actually thought I did my acl...the scans came back negative, thank god it was just bone bruising" that's some neo level bullet dodging right there.

We have AHG as our main sponsor. I wouldn't have thought you would have 2 sponsors from the same industry.

Unleash the war chest!

Been to China over a dozen times and visited all the major cities and most provinces. The AFL is wasting their time. Might have minimal curiosity value. Chinese people with their Buddhist,Taoist and Confucian cultural heritage would be turned off by the violent nature of the game. I don't think they play much if any rugby. They like soccer and basketball for team sports. There are a lot of Chinese in Australia but how many actually play the game?

I will assume you haven't heard the sad news of Jesse's father passing and what Jesse has been going thru for the past year. (If you did know then that post is inapproriate and in poor taste). And, yes he is an enourmous part of our team. His teammates love him. He has shown great stoicism in very trying circumstances. He deserves our support, even if it is a fan forum. Jesse will come back when he is ready and I'm sure he will get a standing ovation.

Geez we need to get Rocky onto our coaching panel really quickly: obviously sees and knew far more that two senior AFL coaches.

I'm glad our players are not playing in China, reason because of all the pollution in the air, breathing that much c@$% can not be good.

All we need now is to draft a Roger and a Viktor and we'll have the set.

I hope they've nailed the Deliberate Out of Bounds interpretation.

*Weideman As you say in your post, it's important to get the basics right.

I don't think too many here believe Pedersen to be any more than a journeyman. He has however overcome a shoulder operation and changed body shape over the pre-season and now (for one game at least) played a pivotal part in a must win game. I imagine, like me, many posters are probably feeling pretty happy for him. Also there are one or two posters who were dismissive of Cam's chances of making any impact at AFL level and of those posters who suggested that he could. Im guessing that he may struggle to maintain this form but if he continues to play his role then we will all be happy little roosters

if Fyfe want to go to St.Kilda as RFA then Freo could let him go and they'll get the pick after their 1st rounder as compensation, Freo are 11th at the moment so that means they'd get pick 9. Alternatively if they match the Saints bid then the Saints would have to trade for him. They hold the Hawks 1st rounder (IMO around pick 6) and their own 1st rounder (IMO around pick 10). They specifically traded for the Hawks 1st rounder - wonder why? If Fyfe leaves Freo for St.Kilda then it will most likely be a trade.

Kent for mine does not get considered until he is absolutely busting the door down. Needs to work on his output and effort when we don't have the ball. Has an abundance of talent but needs to improve his professionalism and workrate. Hogan the obvious in with possibly a key tall in Omac going out and maybe Harmes for JKH

Richmond thought he would slip all the way out to pick 12. They had him in their sights and thought they were going to get away with a steal. As more talk came that he was set rise into the top 10 the tigers were filthy knowing that they had let one slip especially after the mountain of work they put into him.

The problem with JKH is that he never had a decent run in the seniors. I will withhold judgement for a while. I'd like to seem him string about six games in a row. Jetta was in the same predicament for several seasons.

I'd say it was quite intentional that he was given a week's rest...