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Anyone who says it's a success if we have more wins than last year but still fail to make the finals have rocks in their head. It's like me getting 50% on an exam which I need 80% for and then getting 70% the next time and saying "I done good". No mate, you did not pass the acceptable standard, you fail. Try again. I'm in the military, close enough isn't good enough and it hasnt been in the past 10 years of my career either. Fact is this. Richmond have been a laughing stock for years now for no good reason. 3 of the last 4 seasons they have made finals and this year are sitting pretty for a double chance. Essendon were in more [censored] than the early settlers and look at how their resilience has shown and now the entire AFL community is rooting for the drug cheats. GWS were given every concession under the sun and have taken every opportunity and are GF favourites. Swans started the year at 0-6 and are payng $4 to win the flag. And 11 years on it's still the same old [censored] Melbourne. "Oh, but the whole comp is more competitive this year." Mate, if i'm in a class full of students and I am still under the average exam score I can't sit there and justify it to myself by sayin I am only below the standard because everyone else is so smart...guess what? you're still the dumb ass that cant grasp the concept. I'll still pay my memberships. I'll still be on Demonland every day. I'll still go to as many gamesas I can. I'll still meet new family members with a Demons top and Demons Teddy. I'll still watch every game by hook or by crook. And I will still love my Demons more than anything. But damn, the last time we made finals I was 15, and I have still voewd that the first final I ever go to will be a Demons game. I don't wanna be 27 with still no finals.

I'm convinced they got their coaching appointments arse about. Eade, or someone of his ilk should have been their startup coach rather than a first time senior coach like Bluey McKenna. The damage was done under his watch and it has set them back years. The GWS example of Sheedy handing over to Cameron is instructive

Really? Hogan has lost a father, had surgery relating to testicular cancer, and broke his collar bone. Some excuses...

What?

I 'Like' * 1000!! All the stakeholders you mention only care about wins and number of members! That is the big problem if we don't make finals. They will say, yes Demons are improving but others are improving more or faster. All those people on here wanting to stop Home NT games, have fewer 6 day breaks, have no 'suburban' ovals etc just don't get it. If we don't win more games/make finals Jackson will have very little leverage on the fixture etc. A lot of our best players come out of contract next year. Other teams will be circling. They will wonder whether it is worth staying at the Dees... The chances of getting an elite player will be lowered. Peter Jackson set goals of finals in 2016 and winning one in 2017. We can still achieve the latter. Jackson will be tearing his hair out if we don't make finals. If we miss finals people can come with all sorts of feel good platitudes (injuries, youth, experience, 6 day breaks etc etc) but the truth is finals are critical to our future.

And be unmanned all game and have his best game for the year!

I live near TBO so the Sandringham away game is my best chance to see Casey play. Some observations. With a very strong NW blowing diagonally to the Beach Road pocket at the Sautner end, it was a very scrappy contested game with a continuous rolling maul, a lot of turnovers and skill execution was rare. Sandringham were well on top for the first 2 and half quarters, their extra men back in the first quarter were very effective outnumbering Casey forwards and intercept marking, Marshall and Pierce are big boys who marked well in windy conditions. Casey were 4 goals down at half time - 4 goals to 8, and 3 players down - Smith, Spencer and (I think) James Munro - apologies to James if I'm wrong. The start of the third quarter Casey failed to get on top and when Sandy kicked their second goal for the quarter half way through it was 6 goals to 10 and looking bleak for Casey. Dec kicked a goal midway through the quarter, there is really great spirit and belief at Casey and the boys really got around him and kicked the next 3 goals to be a point behind at 3 quarter time - each of these goals was strongly celebrated and that seems to be a team theme. At 3 quarter time Justin Plapp encouraged the team to write a memorable story and there was general belief among the players (but not me). The focus was on the "money ball" - I'm not sure what that is, but he mentioned it 4 or 5 times. I don't blame Earl for leaving at 3 quarter time, it looked like how far the Zebras - I actually moved to the northern end of the ground to enable a quick getaway myself and was able to enjoy the Casey action there in the final quarter. Sandy seemed to think it was just going to happen and Casey really lifted around the ball. Mitch King had an influence at the stoppages. Weid took two strong contested marks and Scott, Fritsch and Ferriera were dangerous around goal when finally matched up 1:1. Sandy got their noses in front about 20 minutes in but in an incredible effort Casey kicked the final 2 goals to win a great victory. Plapp really has the team playing with belief, spirit and cohesiveness and it's a great credit to him. Melbourne listed players: Gus Brayshaw: Was playing free across a half-back until midway through the 2nd and I thought was ineffective, he didn't get much interception at all but did land one bone crunching tackle on a Sandy player in quarter one. Went onto the ball midway through the second and immediately got his hands on it. He was a ball magnet at the stoppages and I expect his handball numbers to be high. It was hot in the kitchen and he would have gained a lot of confidence concussion-wise from getting through a fierce test. He's an inside/outside midfielder and half-forward and half-back don't suit him. If he comes into the MFC side that's where he needs to play to get involved. Billy Stretch: Got a lot of the ball in the heat and tried to be creative and run the ball up into the wind. He's a smart player who works hard on his game. Dec Keilty: As Drunkn said, he played very well, especially intercept marking and contested marking down back and kicked a nice goal when thrown forward to spark the Casey revival. He's got some ground skills too and is definitely a prospect worth investing in. JKH: He was very busy at the stoppages and got a lot of the ball. He's evasive so can get into some space. He's small so that works against him at AFL level. It's hard to see him permanently in the midfield but I think he's could play the Neville Jetta role and maybe apprentice there. I'd keep him on the list because ANB had a similar year last year and has shown improvement. Ben Kennedy: Also worked hard inside and is genuinely a tough customer. Kicked a superb long goal at the start of the 3rd from the wrong pocket with the wind and for a left footer. We need developing depth players but I have JKH ahead of him. Sam Weideman: It was a very difficult day for marking forwards. Was manned up against 3 or 4 Saints giants when we had the wind and could not get a run at it in the 1st. In the 2nd I think it only went inside our 50 once and Fritsch kicked a goal. Sam was rucking in the back half in this quarter part of the time. He was better in the 3rd and took a couple of marks and kicked a goal. In the last he was instrumental in the win when finally 1 out against the Zebra defenders. He took 2 strong marks, crumbed a Hulett contest to handball off for a nice goal and got a free for holding in a marking contest because he was making the defenders nervous. He missed that shot but he is generally a beautiful kick with the best action since Garry Lyon. It was great that he fought on and didn't drop his head and really contributed on what could have been a dirty day for him. Dion Johnstone: He played in the centre square and wing and got his hands on a few nice clearances. He's an aggressive player and gave away a 50 at one stage, but I like his hardness. He's small too but there's some ball finding quality there to work with. Mich King: Had to shoulder the ruck load when Jake went off injured and struggled up to 3 quarter time. In the last quarter he too was instrumental in the victory, he got his hands on the tap outs or at least broke even. Followed up with a crucial centre clearance which were like gold into the wind and also got forward and took a good contested mark. It's the kind of match that could be the making of his belief. Jack Trengove: He's a leader and was very good at the quarter time huddles with his guidance and advice. But I think unfortunately his AFL career is over, he just doesn't have a point of difference. Joel Smith: Stood on the shoulders of the pack on a kick-in - really right up there like his dad, but landed badly and was in a lot of pain when stretchered off. Hope he makes a good recovery, he has many AFL attributes - size, speed, courage and leap. He'll make it. Liam Hulett: I was bullish about Liam when he joined us last year but he has struggled. He played deep forward and really made a contest but was unable to get his hands on it much. It was tough conditions but unfortunately he seems to lack AFL level class. Jake Spencer: Went off injured in the 2nd and was in the tracksuit - I'm not sure what the injury was. Jake needs to be able to dominate the contest against a player like Jason Holmes and he wasn't able to. I think he'll be at another club next year. There's no clear elevations to the MFC side that will make a huge difference. Gus was very good but he needs to play in the guts to excel and I don't see a slot for him there yet . It will come with Lewis and Vince coming towards the end, or sooner if we have an injury or suspension. As some have posted, I think he needs more confidence building at Casey. Billy was very good too and is a class above VFL level, he'll make it as a player but he's not going to make a huge impact at AFL level yet, he just needs to continue to work hard on his game which no doubt he will. Dec was great but I think he's better playing back and I don't see him forcing his way in there just yet, he can continue to develop and build confidence and really dominate at VFL level. Weid is the most likely elevation IMO even though he had 3 quiet quarters he has some AFL level chops.

Trengove delivers greatest Australian marathon performance in London

There is no way, no way the club will trade Hogan especially for a backman.

terrible recruiting by scot clayton who was so overatted when appointed it's not funny. He favored lightly built skillful, nice athletic types . GWS went with strongly built competitive beasts as their no 1 criteria. They revolutionised they way other clubs now recruit . It also helped they had even more handouts than GC from a draft perspective and used all the pre selection , points / zone /academy system perfectly

Just nuke the joint and be done with it.

If GCS have been paying attention at Richmond's progress this year they would go for Blake Caracella. His ball movement program is a major reason for their turnaround. He has coached 3 years at the pies, 6 at the Cats, and 1 at the tigers. Is a Premiership player. Knows what is need to win finals as a player and a coach. There are few assistants around that have his breadth of coaching experience. Wish we had nabbed him last year rather than the Tigers.

I would rather make finals and get beaten in the first round than miss finals. We need to make finals. Players need to experience the joy of making finals and the pain of losing a final. Hopefully it hurts like hell. Missing finals will enforce the 'we are not good enough' mentality that pervades this club. We are already down on our target of making finals in 2016. The players need to learn that near enough is not good enough. They need to learn that effort is not optional and week in week out we must bring effort. Making finals will show the what needs to be done to take another step. They need to learn that 1 bad quarter every week is stopping this side from becoming a really good side. They need to send a signal to the rest of the competition that Melbourne is a difficult team to play against. Every team thinks they can beat melbourne if they put pressure on us. Even the bottom placed clubs. Until we can start belting teams and not accepting 3/4 efforts then we will never do any good. Players like Watts are frustrating with the effort they choose to bring. Even untouchables like Salem have plenty of very average games. Tyson can get the ball but is prone to butchering it. ,and All these and others are in the nearly there but not quite category. Hogan has some excuses but isn't where he needs to be. Garlett is a hit and miss proposition although would get a pass mark for the year. The mid-rangers like Harmes, JKH, Stretch and Frost have plenty of work to do.

Anyone who thinks that not playing finals this year is a success is deluded. With what position we were in 5 weeks ago our down turn has been stark we have ran into a wall and so far the players and coaches have shown no ability to change the trajectory. We won't go anywhere next year if we can't show the mental application of re-establishing form in season when we're up against it. The next 3 games are a must they need to be convincing and now we rely on other results going our way which should never of happened for finals. I don't know about others but I have had enough of a below average or average season.

Garland, while on the LTI list, is now a coach of our AFLW team. I'm guessing that was to give him a meaningful role during his rehab and perhaps allow him to get a taste of coaching. Casey are doing quite well without his onfield experience and he is unlikely to make it back to the seniors with the number of defenders in our team. So, I wouldn't be surprised if at EOS his 2018 playing contract is converted to a longer coaching AFLW contract. I hope so - I've always been a Garland fan but he totally won me over when Frawley won a flag. Garland was asked about it and he said (paraphrasing) '...if the premiership isn't with Melbourne it wouldn't mean something...' That for me goes beyond loyalty and shows true passion for our jumper.

How ridiculous is this season? Here's the rub from my digging around - We would still be a real chance to play finals even if we only won one game from our set of 3 in a row at the MCG to finish the season. Win two games and it is a borderline certainty, even if the loss is to St Kilda, because we would only need one out of Essendon or Footscray to slip up. Win all three and we're still a chance at top 4. HA! But, here's the thing. If you told me 'We will define whether this season is a success or not by whether the club can beat the wooden spoon club as well as either one of the two clubs directly below us on the ladder, with every game played at our home ground", the yeah, I'd take that as a fair measure. If we don't make the finals it will be because we failed when it mattered against inferior opposition.

Club told Rocket last night he wouldn't be getting a contract for next year, but wanted him to coach the last 3 games. He told the club to shove it up their arse. Really don't know why they wouldn't wait until the end of the season to tell him that. What a dumb club.

I was happy that he got 18 possessions in his 1st game.

Maybe. But that does not account for the gap in their performance and ours. My view of Richmond's success with injuries/young players tiring, is they have players with the accurate skills to play a fast flowing game which we don't. This is less physically demanding on their young players. Our game plan is based around crash and bash. They have also been smarter - we have lost almost as many games of our hardened players from suspension as we have to injury. Our suspensions are as much to blame for the pressure on the younger kids as the injuries. That was entirely in our control. Poor discipline and leadership. Tigers have both in spades. Rich have had injuries to their ruckman and #1 forward and managed to win (as we did). All in all I just can't agree that injuries and the resultant tiring of young players account for the significant difference in performance by the two teams.

The club is in huge trouble and if I were an assistant I'd think twice before taking the job. I think they do need to look at the transition model if nothing else just to get 5 years of the same thing without the temptation to sack someone again

What sporting club hasn't failed up on the Gold Coast...?

If we win 13 games and miss out on the finals on % then that is a very impressive failure. But does it really matter? What repercussions will occur if we don't make the finals? Public apology? Wholesale delistings? Mark the season with whatever grade you want. It won't change the attitude toward 2018 and the future, which - I have to say - is the brightest I have ever seen at this club.

Last 5 games we are 18th for points scored, tackle and clearance differentials and scores per inside 50 entries. Something has gone horribly wrong while we have had key players coming back.

Can't extend a blokes contract last year and shop him around this year. Talk about creating a poor culture.

Have her and Viney started dating yet

Good news: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-08-07/demons-season-over-but-ok-news-on-knee

All this talk about Watts would be negligible if he was just another recruit like most of the rest of the players. Gawn is rarely referred to as pick 36 and Hunt is also rarely referred to as pick 57. I could give you numerous other examples. But if a player is a top-end draft pick such as Watts, It's a completely different story. Collectively we then often judge the draft pick number, not the player. We really do. And by now, most should have realised that the draft and the order that we pick these schoolboy footballers is a misnomer and majorly flawed. Watts is turning out to be the footballer that he was always going to turn out to be - the issue is that we like to forecast greatness according to a draft pick number and if that greatness isn't forthcoming, we lash out. Not all, but many think that way. All because of a numbering system that is by no means accurate. All of the following players were standout juniors and in some cases, absolute star juniors ... Pick 2 - Sylvia (C+) Pick 5 - McLean (C+) Pick 1 - Johnstone (B) Pick 4 - Morton (D) Pick 4 - Toumpas (D) Pick 1 - Watts (C-) Pick 2 - Trengove (C-) Of the rest, It's too early to tell with Petracca, Brayshaw & Weideman although Oliver looks to be the goods. Nearly half of all 1st round draft picks are busts and in nearly every case, those players referred to as busts were standout juniors. By the same token, it would be interesting to see where Jack would be if he was a pick 50 or thereabouts.

The issue goes far deeper than that I am afraid. The rhetorical question is based on the fact that they appear to be a football club in name only. They have been surpassed by GWS who entered the competition after them. Let's not forget that the AFL's preferred option at the time was to relocate North Melb. As pointed out above, regardless of the code, no notable sporting franchise has succeeded up there.

As they say You can get divorced. Change careers. Change your religion. Change your name. Even change your sex these days. But you cant change the team you support. Damn it:

The jury is well and truly out on whether Cameron can coach. GWS are light years ahead of the Suns because their recruitment strategy was vastly different. They went for talent knowing that they would lose players but be able to replenish with high draft picks. GC's senior players were in reality very average (Ablett excluded)

Mark Neeld is available if they really want to bottom out.

They are distinctively different players from different eras. Flower played for a team with [censored] house zones and no facilities. That he got them up and into finals in 87 is testament to that. Which is my point. Flowers legacy would have lived on regardless but it was that little bit more special by making the finals in 87. When we had an opportunity he went above and beyond playing injured in the worst club of the preceding 2 decades. Jones' legacy is imo shaped around this very scenario, 30 years on. I'm not saying he can't do it. I'm saying he needs to. We need him to step up to the plate.

Then look at our talent pool: Hogan - mini draft pick 2 Jones - pick 12 Salem - pick 9 Watts - pick 1 Petracca - pick 2 Lewis - pick 7 Viney - pick 7 port bid Trengove - pick 2 Brayshaw - pick 3 Tyson - pick 3 Oliver - 4 Weideman - pick 9 We need another 10 first round picks to fill a whole team before we challenge for finals me thinks

It was inevitably going to happen, but the timing is interesting. It says more about the playing group than the coach, in my opinion. Clearly there are some players at GC17 who are sensitive little cupcakes and only want on play on their terms, former captain included.

Unless a disaster occurs we will end up with more wins, a healthier percentage and likely half the amount of losses by 5 goals or more. We have been in pretty close to all games going into the last quarter. We have played large stretches of the season without arguably our two most important players in Gawn and Hogan, add to this the number of games missed through our midfield by Lewis, Jones, Viney, Brayshaw. Our kids have shown some great improvement but we have had an over reliance on them and they have faded in the last month. I will be disappointed if we do not make finals because aside from all the above it feels like we have missed opportunities we should have taken but we have also taken wins we would not have expected. The additional fact that we have fell in a large hole the last month and look a shadow of the best pressure side in the competition also leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Is the season a failure no. Is missing finals a disappointment based on what we have done to two thirds through with much getting in our way? If we miss yes.

As with all of these issues, the question is whether you want kids throwing other kids (who are half their size) into the ground and causing serious injuries. I'm more than happy for the AFL to take a strong stance on this and put the onus back on the tackler. No different to the NRL suspending players for tackles that put their opponents on their heads and necks.

There's no point having captains and a leadership group if you're going to spread the accountability across a whole team including players with less than 50 games experience. Lyon made a good point about Saturday, they scored 10 goals in a row with ease and there was little resistance. It was a major indictment on Lewis and Jones and Co. Goodwin said at quarter time that we were too quick in the wind. That's part coaching, part leadership problem. Leaders are directors that ensure the directives are met. There was no talking or resistance to an onslaught that made us look like the worst team in the comp. And it's happened multiple times this year-- Freo, Hawthorn, first game against North --when we had our leaders playing without injury. GWS are very good,I'm not even angry about the loss broadly, but that first quarter was shocking revelation of where our leadership stocks are at.

Watts and Kent are our trade bait this year.

I also watch Watts when at the game and disagree. He always runs to a somewhere and usually this is a space where he then has time and most importantly balance to distribute the ball. He often does this at pace and does not avoid a contact if an opponent also gets to that space. He perhaps does not run to contests but rather runs to where the action will be. That he is often ignored by his teammates or that they do not have the skill or often time to deliver it to him is a significant factor in his performance. I don't bElieve he ever plays without intent. But perhaps some with less ability do not know what that intention is or was. I used to see Watts get the ball and instinctively go to give it off but in that time their was never any teammate with the ability to be where he thought they should be. I see that improving and the structures and playing complement has improved. We still have some way to go but there have been matches this year when Watts has been sublime, not due to his efforts but due to those around him using him or the space he created. Watts is often maligned as being non competitive but you do not create as many goals as he does without being at the contest. He cannot be at every contest but the more his teammates put him in the better he and the team go.

Just because a team improves, doesn't make the season a success. We now have 3 home games against bottom 8 teams. If we can't win those and make finals then the season is a failure. Anyone who says otherwise is an apologist who lives in lala land!

I think we missed Hannan more than most realise. The pressure he applies with his agility and pace has been integral this season and is not easily replace.

Why ywould we fold? We invented the game and remain the oldest football club in the world.

SECOND WIND by KC from Casey If embattled Demon coach Simon Goodwin is looking for answers on the vexing question of how his charges should handle windy conditions, he could do worse than consult his colleague Justin Plapp at Casey. Plapp's Casey Demons were well and truly under the pump by half time at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Saturday after Sandringham dominated the opening two quarters, mastering the windy conditions to hold a 28 point lead. Yet it was the visitors who triumphed in the end by 10 points despite the fact that they trailed by a point at the final break with three players already out of the game through injury and facing the prospect of 30 minutes kicking directly in the face of a wicked north wind. Early in the game, the Demons struggled to adapt to the windy conditions. They did manage the opening two goals to Bayley Fritsch and James Munro to lead by 13 points a mere six minutes into the game but they were then stopped dead in their tracks by the determined Zebras who played extra men down back, bottled up play in the defensive pockets and turned the game into a scrappy affair making it difficult to score even with the aid of the wind. A late goal to Angus Scott just before the quarter time siren helped the home side to a 15 point lead but Sandy took little time to whittle away the deficit. They kicked the next six goals before Bayley Fritsch dribbled one through at the 30 minute mark but a goal just before the half time siren gave them a big lead. Ben Kennedy was quick off the mark early in the third term, followed by one from Liam Hulett but when the Zebras responded with two goals of their own, they still led by 27 points with half the quarter gone. It was at this point that the entire complexion of the game changed. First, a great pack mark from Declan Keilty in the goal square, followed up with a goal lifted the team spirits and suddenly long, direct kicking for goal became the order of the day. Ben Giobbi, Will Collis and Sam Weideman all kicked long goals and the scores were level. Sandy kicked a late point to lead by a point at the final siren. The opening two goals of the final quarter were crucial. They went to Scott and Fritsch and Casey now held a two goal lead before Sandringham fought back with two of their own. Despite the fact that the Demons had lost Joel Smith, Jake Spencer and James Munro and their rotations were limited, they dug into their reserves of energy and from that came goals to Scott and Ferreira to sew up a famous 10 point victory. Jay Kennedy-Harris' 40 plus possession game was enormous while Angus Brayshaw and Billy Stretch were all class with their ability to find the football. Young ruckman Mitch King was important in the ruck contests while Fritsch and Scott were both damaging around the goals to set up the win. A win at home next week against the Northern Blues should just about seal another place for Casey Peter Jackson VFL 2017 Casey Demons 3.3.21 4.3.27 10.7.67 14.9.93 Sandringham 1.0.6 8.7.55 10.8.68 12.11.83 Goals Casey Demons Fritsch Scott 3 Collis Ferreira Giobbi Hulett Keilty Kennedy Munro Weideman Sandringham Cook Holmes Lonie Rich 2 Bailey Battle Long Phillips Best Casey Demons Stretch Brayshaw Keilty Kennedy Kennedy-Harris Fritsch Sandringham Lonie Long Weickhardt Statistics Angus Brayshaw 1 behind 16 kicks 18 handballs 34 disposals 6 marks 5 tackles 117 dream team points Liam Hulett 1 goal 1 behind 6 kicks 6 disposals 2 marks 1 tackles 33 dream team points Dion Johnstone 1 behind 10 kicks 14 handballs 24 disposals 1 mark 56 dream team points Declan Keilty 1 goal 9 kicks 3 handballs 12 disposals 6 marks 3 tackles 66 dream team points Ben Kennedy 1 goals 15 kicks 16 handballs 31 disposals 5 marks 4 tackles 109 dream team points Jay Kennedy-Harris 19 kicks 24 handballs 43 disposals 3 marks 9 tackles 147 dream team points Mitch King 4 kicks 3 handballs 7 disposals 2 marks 6 tackles 24 hit outs 66 dream team points Joel Smith 2 kicks 3 handballs 5 disposals 2 marks 18 dream team points [injured] Jake Spencer 4 hit outs 4 dream team points [injured] Billy Stretch 1 behind 9 kicks 13 handballs 22 disposals 2 marks 9 tackles 97 dream team points Jack Trengove 1 behind 8 kicks 16 handballs 24 disposals 1 marks 4 tackles 73 dream team points Sam Weideman 1 goal 1 behind 5 kicks 4 handballs 9 disposals 3 marks 3 tackles 3 hit outs 55 dream team points The Development League team booked its finals place in the historic last season of this competition with an emphatic 49-point win over Sandringham. Yillber Zijai impressed with four goals for the Demons. AFL Vic Development League 2017 Casey Demons 3.3.21 7.9.51 11.10.76 15.14.104 Sandringham 3.2.20 3.2.20 7.5.47 8.7.55 Goals Casey Demons Zijai 4 Di Pasquale 3 Briggs Byers Cox Foote Gardiner Hillard Lefau Vander Haar Sandringham Smith 5 Cathcart Iudica Pavlou Best Casey Demons Zijai Freeman Byers Lovett Di Pasquale Johnston Sandringham Iudica Verma Hooy Thompson Smith Butler

The Crows will slaughter Essendrug. We absolutely must take care of business vs the Saints.

That's fantastic news, it gives him a season that he would otherwise have missed. Given he's a player who hasn't come through the normal pathway he needs as much football as he can get. Missing a season with an ACL would have been dreadful. Great news in my book.

If we don't make finals then this season a failure. This is unarguable. In 2016 we finished on the cusp of the 8 and Roos handed Goodwin a top 8 quality list with good support around him. Anything other than making the 8 and playing finals means we have stagnated or gone backwards. We all know it's been 11 years without finals at this stage, which is pathetic. No other club has been this poor for decades. Even teams like Carlton, Richmond, Saints etc. have all made finals a few times in the past decade. The only other team not to have a finals appearance in the past 11 years is Gold Coast, and they've only existed 5-6 years and are deemed a failure at the point. Jesus since we last played finals over half my family has died, I've completed a University degree, I've lived overseas for two years, I've bought my first property, sold my first property, bought my second property, had 3 long term girlfriends, got engaged, got married, have a kid on the way etc. The fact I've been able to tick off so many of the key events in an adult life since we last played finals is [censored]. It makes me furious at the club and the AFL. Disregarding the 11 years missing, our current "rebuild" started with Roos, so we are now in year 4 of a rebuild. To not be able to turn it around in this time is a failure. If we don't make it this year, and somehow don't next year too, then that's 5 years of rebuild with no success, despite landing Paul Roos and him cleaning the place out to start us fresh. That is Terry Wallace Richmond level failure. Thank god we are now sound off-field! We now sit at the exact same spot we were last year. 10 wins, and a few weeks to go to win the final matches and earn a finals place. Last year we folded like an accordion and lost to bottom 4 placed Carlton and then got done by 100+ by Geelong. This year, we are in the same place but with an easier run, playing 3 bottom 8 teams. If we stuff up again, we have not improved on last year, despite having an easier draw. If anything, that means we have gone backwards due to the same result from an easier draw. Reality is we probably should have done better this year at this stage. Our second half of the season has been poor. We have won two matches by more than 8 points, and the rest we either scraped over the line or lost. While it was nice to win some of those close ones, it goes to show we weren't in control and it could have just as easily gone the other way. This past 6 weeks our contested ball, clearances, and scoring have all dropped off massively. Statistically we are a bottom 4 team over the past 6 weeks. When we were in a position to challenge for a top 4 place, we crumbed. Yes, we have had injuries, but the team we fielded on the weekend was probably our strongest for the year and yet it did not give a yelp and had 10 goals in a row kicked against us. Unacceptable. Until we can instil some mental toughness and some leadership into this team, we will continue to fail. I appreciate we have shown improvement at times this year, but fact is we are in the exact same spot as last year and the exact same questions regarding lack of leadership and lack of mental toughness are being asked. To me that says we have not really improved. Don't get me wrong, I'll be stoked if we scrape into finals, purely because I have invested countless hours and hard earned dollars into this club over decades of my life, and its been so long since I've seen us play finals that even a token appearance will appease me. Says a lot about how poor this club has been, and how starved for any semblance of success us supporters really are. I hope like hell we can manage to win the last 3 and play finals. Us members and supporters deserve to see that after all this time. It's time the players and club stood up instead of falling over again.

What a worn trope this is. It's not that Jack Watts doesn't play howlers - he most certainly does. It's the lazy, ignorant and mean spirited scape-goating that just grates. He can be critiqued, but he doesn't get 'critiqued,' not really, he gets blamed, he get the ire of those that can't fathom where else to point their anger and frustration. Not many could hit a target and the coaching staff failed the team and us with the way they instructed the team to play. And yet, who gets a thread dedicated to them and their role in our drama? One member of the coaching staff gets a fawning thread for a bunch of words and the easy kill gets devoured once again.

Nobody ever seems to be fed up with the club when we win.

It's painful, BUT our best players are kids. We can scare the crap out of other teams when we bring our best. We've been in almost every game, and it's just been a q here or there that hurt us. The bad is behind us. These are the teenage years. Sometimes a teenager will say something really profound and you will think 'wow! how did you come up with that?', a week later they will do something so dumb you will wonder if they are retarded. That is where we are now.

By now a player of Jacks talent should be in the leadership group and an All- Australian. He's never had the intensity or application to go to the next level. He teases by giving glimpses and then goes missing to the point of being dropped. I doubt that it will ever be any different - he doesn't have the ticker for the contest or the work ethic that champions are made of. We seem to collect players like this and I for one am sick of it.