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So my buoyancy for the New Year has been healthy. In high spirits, I packed up the family for a day at the beach on a beautiful day. Frolicking in the water with my young twin daughters, building sandcastles, eating sandwiches and much merriment ensued. Then 3 boofhead blokes and their squeezes set up shop next to us. I noticed 2 of them were wearing Collingwood FC shorts. Then I realised with horror it was Adam ‘the list’ Trelaor, Daicos junior and some other knuckle dragger I couldn’t identify. Trelaor was playing the alpha male and generally being an a-Grade [censored] as the boys played some beach cricket and the girls spent time bronzing their bodies, giggling at the boys’ hilarities and taking selfies. ‘You’ve gotta be better than that’ yells Trelaor as his mate puts down a slips catch in the shallows. Clearly distracted, one of my girls did a wee on my foot. In a fluster, we decided it was home time. My attempts to fold up our new beach shade tent were nothing short of disastrous (how do you fold the bloody thing back into a circle is anyone’s guess). As I flailed and cursed, I could see the 3 boofheads guffawing and their WAGs giggling at me. It took every ounce of self control not to outburst at them by either making one of many CFC jokes or hurling rocks at them and blaming my 2.5 year old daughters. Trudging back to the car with unfolded tent and two cranky toddlers with sand up their bums had memories of Round 23 rising in my gullet like reflux from eating a Big Mac too quickly. Happy [censored] New Year everyone. May the Dees rise and the Pies remain in their deluded mediocrity. BLEUGHH

I get so tired of economists, I really do. Economic statisticians in particular. There are a number of little fluffy statements that should be read as 'please note massive caveat on data and circular interpretation'. For example " While Melbourne did better with its lower picks, those players generally aren’t as important for team performance as players selected with higher picks. " Terrible charts, badly labelled, inconsistent formats being presented as if they are a like for like comparison. Conclusions thrown in as inserted sentences well before the discussion of the actual evidence. This is embarrassing to read. Anyway, to the substance. Richmond's 2005 and 2007 drafts were among the worst of any club, ever. Their 2010 draft was made respectable only by picking up Houli in the pre-season instead of a trade, unless you're a real fan of Reece Conca. 2011 produced only one player, Brandon Ellis. As discussed in a number of other threads, Richmond's premiership hinged on an amazing surge of recruitment in just the last few years, with close to half their premiership team arriving since 2012. Anyway... back to griping about economic statisticians. What the hell is going on with that first chart? Every year only has two data points, except for 2009... oh... oh my. Oh boy oh boy. I have a hunch... let me just check a few things... yep. capslock time PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AT UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE HAS INCLUDED ONLY PLAYERS STILL IN THE RICHMOND TEAM FIVE YEARS LATER AS DATA POINTS WHEN ASSESSING DRAFT PERFORMANCE Basically, all failures have been excluded from the sample, in a 'study' that claims to assess success or failure.

Must confess I got pretty ripped myself last night.

53 years of misery. What's one more hey?

Happy New Year to all on Demonland and I hope that 2018 is a great year for the Demons. CARN THE DEMONS.

It actually wasn’t the change in personnel that helped Richmond in 2017, it was the complete overhaul of their coaching philosophy.

The dawn of a new era ......... at long last! Happy new era Demonlanders. May it last a decade or two.

Merry new year Deemaniacs may 2018 be filled with nothing but glory and hapiness.

I listen to ABC Radio National. But it has descended into reporting far too much on Australian political squabbles, all of which are extremely tedious and which make Oz, Marko, Dwayne and KB appear like intellectual dynamos. So it’s back to Spotify full time, with most of my information in relation to matters AFL sourced right here.

A happy new year to all... I know a lot got upset with certain results in 2017 and missing finals but I reckon that could be put down to the age of our prime movers and injury to key players It's not so much that we have a young list, it's that our real quality match winners are 19 - 23 year olds and you expect some inconsistencies. Another year older and the addition of Lever I believe makes 2018 a whole different ball game. Barring significant injury, if we don't make solid inroads into the finals series then we will need to ask questions. I think the list is well set now to win one in the next few years. So...2018 Here we Come. Time to get excited 'Demonlanders'

Andy Maher is a k*ob.

Whateley is heading SEN as morning host and chief sports caller. Big get.

That’s the spirit, FD!

Sweet. I imagine the two point thing would be great if it keeps everyone picking. So why not?

New post for the hats-off to Macca. Great fun as always. Look forward to the post season tipping comp. I assume it's just pick every game, most correct picks wins?

Aim for the shoulder at the first bounce Jesus won’t help hom Jeelong really sh!t me

The wife was just informed that I'm watchibg the game Sunday, I was jist informed that she is going out... anywhere but here... ?

Once again, thanks Macca. Can't believe we are onto the post season already, the seasons seem to go quicker every year.

Yes their midfield is brilliant with the 3 stars and then add Guthrie and Duncan and our midfield looks sick in comparison, however, I don't think they are much everywhere else. They have lost Lonergan and Mackie down back and that is a huge loss and it forces an older and slower Taylor back to help out. That robs the forward line of their best marking forward and other than Tom, their only other good tall key forward option. I think we are better than them all over the field other than the mids. If we can limit their mids somewhat, we should win, injuries aside.

Whilst no Richmond fan, they beat Geelong by 51 points, GWS by 36 points and Adelaide by 48 points - all on the back of a win 15 win/3rd place season... doesn’t really seem like blind luck.

THAT WAS THE SEASON THAT WAS - 2017 by Whispering Jack The fog of despair that has now engulfed the Melbourne Football Club for more than a decade since its last finals appearance is lifting but at a such slow rate and in small steps so that it continues to frustrate supporters. In 2017 we saw Richmond come from way back and leapfrog over Melbourne and into the top four, from which it launched a successful campaign to win the premiership. On the other hand, the Demons, which showed promising form in the JLT pre season series and opened with two wins, sagged under the weight of injuries and suspensions, recovered in mid season and fell at the end to miss out on the finals by the narrowest of percentage margins. Perhaps, it was just as well because they appeared to have run out of steam in the end.The early season reports of Bernie Vince, Jordan Lewis and Jesse Hogan hurt the club badly as did the Max Gawn hamstring tear and the tribulations of Jesse Hogan that dogged the club in the first half of the season. Losses to the lower down the list Fremantle and Hawthorn didn’t help, nor the continued poor results against North Melbourne (twice) or the disaster on Anzac Eve when, hit by injuries during the game, they succumbed in time on at the end after dominating the eventual premier for most of the game.The frustration came once again in the form of inconsistency. One of the year’s best performances came at Adelaide Oval in round 8 against the Crows who were premiership favourites. The team came back from a deficit of almost five goals to win in a canter but the victory was sandwiched in between those narrow losses at the hands of the Dockers and the Hawks.The club did strike a good vein of form in the middle of the year under difficult circumstances when it recorded some good wins despite a run of six day breaks. Using a makeshift ruck, Simon Goodwin had come up with some interesting winning moves. Tom McDonald went forward and played in the ruck alongside Cam Pedersen and occasionally Jack Watts, the midfield with its blend of experience, youth and a hardened edge blossomed and the wins came. The highlight was a big win over the Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium followed by a nail biting victory in Perth over the Eagles.However, it was at that point in time when the team’s spirits were at their highest, that another run of injuries and the tough schedule that saw four games played in 18 days conspired to bring it down. Glowing reports and talk of a potential top four placing at the end of the season were met with Melbourne’s lacklustre effort on a Friday night against the Swans. It was an ominous sign. Suddenly, the Demons were without their co-skippers and with Christian Salem and Watts sidelined and Gawn and Hogan struggling to return to form after long layoffs, the team’s bubble burst at the seams. Even when it was able to win its matches, it was unable to hold on and then increase winning leads. In a season when the difference between an early end and September action was a matter of only two goals, there were too many fade outs. And in round 23, the team ran out of steam and hit the wall hard. With everything to gain, yet everything to lose, it failed to lay a tackle for ten minutes in an opening quarter against Collingwood which ended with the Magpies five goals up in what for them was a dead rubber. Their end result was the frustration of yet another failure. The stand out on an individual level was second year player, Clayton Oliver’s outstanding form that earned him club champion honours. The newcomers - Lewis, Michael Hibberd and Jake Melksham all contributed to the improved performance over the season which ensured a positive win/loss record for the first time since 2006. Hibberd won All Australian honours and the consistent and dependable Neville Jetta came close to joining him. The controversial decision to name Jack Viney as co-captain with Nathan Jones was a success, the former’s absence late in the season probably ensuring the finals miss.Things were looking positive for the future - particularly the club’s still emerging midfield, the re-signing of Max Gawn, the recruitment of Jake Lever and the sight of a lean, hungry and fit-looking Jesse Hogan at pre season training. However, at year’s end the edge was taken off all of that with the PR disaster surrounding the cancellation of the club’s commando style training camp at the behest of the players and subsequently, allegations that were made against a yet to be identified player of inappropriate sexual behaviour on a post season holiday.The club fielded a team in the inaugural AFLW which finished the season in third place and produced a truly watchable and exciting brand of football that has fans looking forward to the second season, due to start shortly. Names like Daisy Pearce, Karen Paxman, Elise O’Dea are already well entrenched in our football lexicon. Of course, because the competition had no finals other than the grand final, the women finished one off the finals pace - just like the men did later in the year.As we always do at this time of year, we now look forward to the coming season with hope. The difference is that the advances made in 2017 have opened up the opportunity to cross into more exulted company and to play finals football once again.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe new year.

Have we....?? I see a lot of potential but none of them have taken a match by the scruff of the neck as yet.

Ha ha! Again, just a great story D77. As much as it's a gambling sport, the stories that surround the winning & the losing of these major races is very real for the participants. I really do like seeing people achieve their lifelong ambitions. It's part of what attracts me to these group races ... they are quite literally life-changers. Anyway, we've got the Magic Millions coming up on the 13th of Jan but I may have a nibble at Japan & HK next weekend (there's 3 or 4 Group 3's on show - all with very healthy prize-pools) And for those who haven't seen the Perth Cup, here it is as well as the interviews afterwards et al ...

I think that's a furphy. They did well enough to wins some flags there in the last 10 or so years.

Yes it was, got stuck behind some traffic, hemmed in at stages and when a run presented, it finished off like a train and missed by centimetres. I thought the trifecta paid ok considering 2 favourites filled the top 2 spots. If they bring Pounamu here I will be jumping on the bandwagon. Always a great story when there's a family involvement and Ms L Warwicks' post race interview was a good one too. ‘’I was out in front a long time by myself – it’s a massive straight.’’ She said things were ‘real quiet’ but she kept telling herself that ‘no, he’s coming’.

Well there you go. Good call Gorgoth SEN just got serious. Still should have kept The Ox

Pounamu was a good thing beaten wasn't it? Definitely worth following if it comes over to the East - looks a Flemington horse the way it powers home. It's a 6 year old but it's found it's true form. I got a percentage of the Tri as I changed my mind on Material Man - took it to win as well as Pounamu & Trap For Fools instead of Royal Star to win. But it was a grandstand finish and a fairytale ending for the family involvement of Material Man. A great story.

Terrific finish to the Cup Macca, couldn't be any closer. Once again your selections filled the places. Pounamu can certainly chase hard.

I want to see Hogan kick 5 in a Quarter against a Top 4 side He is still to hit Top Gear...

Yep, agree with all that Gorg. The Browns just have to keep going back to the well with fingers crossed ... the Sixers (NBA) and the Raiders have also both had horrendous luck with drafting but both franchises are now slowly starting to come good. All that tanking and then they draft busts! Drafting is often a cruel beast.

Yeah, and super quick to dismiss players who don't instantly perform. Could Kizer make it with a decent offense around him? Would he be worse than Bortles? Browns will go for a QB at 1, if they dont I think the fans will burn the stadium down. Now to see if that college QB nominates for the draft or stays at school.

Lets hope the off season testing program picks that up...

Browns have picks 1 and 4. Need to make them count this year.

I must admit I thought he was older. At only 26 years old and 79 games on the clock Maxy will be in his prime over the next 4 years. With all the other young blokes around the 40-90 games mark perhaps the football gods will finally smile on us.

col sylvia was ripped

I struggle with the college games, the rule changes annoy me, seems its all O, no D.

Kids 3 and under use to be able to enter for free as long as they didn’t occupy a seat. Although I identify as a 3 year old, security still didn’t let me in. This doesn’t help you at all Egg, apologies.

If this team is going where most hope it is going I expect us to win this game !

This if Richmond win the flag next year I might take them seriously, a good run with injuries anyone can win it. do Richmond win the flag if they have our injuries? No way I doubt they play finals we lost gawn, hogan, viney, Jones for big chunks Richmond Lose riewoldt, rance, Martin and cotchin for as long as we lost our boys absolutely no chance they get anywhere near the top 8

We would have had just pick 2, so still would have taken Trengove.

1920 x 1080

Our former President would have been 91 today... (Included in this thread because his passing was also discussed here.) December 30, 1926: Former Opposition Leader and Speaker Billy Snedden was born. He lost the 1974 federal election to Gough Whitlam and died of a heart attack at a Sydney hotel in 1987.

I wish that lightning bolt created the 1.21 GW of electricity needed to take the MCG back to 1964 to remind us what it takes to win a flag.

Why do you froth at the mouth over the source ? Why not concentrate on the facts ? Obviously, and I mean obviously, Breitbart will report things the Leftist media won't. Thank God for a group like Breitbart, who don't shield or try to cover up the news when it comes to Islam. The Leftist media don't trust you to form an independent view, so they don't report on what they don't want you to hear. Yet you have the audacity to criticise a source that will. And you feel triumphant about it. The stupidity of Leftists never ceases to amaze.

Sons Girlfriend

Andy Maher back in the lunchtime slot. Cue the 3 minute preamble before an actual question gets asked of the 'guest'.

Corey Wagner signed on. Ex Kangas listed and played 8 AFL games with the Roos over 2016 and 2017. To play with his brother Josh plus to show he has some small forward role to play. Very handy player.

Colin Garland is what footy ought a be about. Have we had any better a clubman, then Garlo? Takes the train to the footy. just a great fella I reckon. A real community spirited person imo.