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This is compelling viewing imo: On The Mark: Neville Jetta Neville is an outstanding young man! We all know him as 'rock' in our defence, but this is more than matched by the snippets we learn about his 'journey', his family and the work he does away from the limelight of the AFL. Extremely well spoken, with a sense of humor that I hadn't seen before. Brilliant!

I want to message my Port supporting mates but I’m figuring I should keep my powder dry until tomorrow arvo.

St Kilda slowing up, Hawthorn are like a turd that won’t flush.

I'd be happy to play any team in any final.

100% agree with all these anti Geelong posts. I liked them while they won their flags, because they had waited so long, but since then, the unbearable arrogance of their supporters, the way g abblet, took the money from Gold Coast and ran, the unchallenged lack of sportsmanship from Dangerfield, and most of all the whinging, bleating of their coach, have made me hate them with gusto. May they be embarrassed out of the first week of the finals by 186 and spend the next decade at the foot of the ladder.

Port can kiss my rear end. How we lost to them I'll never know. Bunch of floppers and front runners.

The Melksham "non block"springs to mind as something that should have been questioned but as usual nothing. A bit like hanging Oliver out to dry last year when the umpires continuously called him for throwing the ball. In so many areas we are irrelevant. Where for example is our view on the priority picks. As the team most recently denied such a pick our public stance is very relevant...but nothing.

Phil Davis looks injured and headed to the rooms. Oppo watch for next week.

Port are out of the 8 after that loss. So that means Collingwood will likely finish the year with just the one win against the top 8 (either against us, or Port, or North, depending on who takes the last spot). Their repeat games were Richmond, Essendon, Carlton, Brisbane, Fremantle. Ours were Geelong, Adelaide, Bulldogs, St Kilda, Gold Coast. So we both got one good side (Richmond/Geelong), one middle-of-the-road side (Essendon/Adelaide), and three duds in our repeat games. But we're the side with the "easy draw", whilst they're the side who are flag contenders. (We deserve to have the spotlight on us for not being able to win games against the top 8, I just can't stand the way the same spotlight never goes on Collingwood).

A stadium the profligate State government handed over 10s of millions of dollars to build, at the expense of so many worthy causes. The stench of government waste is all over that stadium and these filthy mange infested cats have the effrontery to claim credit for its construction. Disgraceful !!!

Yep! Next stop on the ‘MFC Cheer of Shame 2018’ is Nth v Adelaide and the Adelaide oval... Carn the Crows!!

The "Port Collapses" theory has been Melbourne's best chance of finals for a while now, and the dream is still alive #BradburyPlan

Plenty of examples from a 30 second google search. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/melbourne-demons-coach-simon-goodwin-claims-umpires-are-clogging-the-centre-corridor-20170614-gwqmhj.html http://m.afl.com.au/news/2018-07-22/dees-want-answers-on-staggering-free-kick http://m.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-07-22/goodwin-staggered-by-ruck-infringement https://amp.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/melbourne/simon-goodwin-questions-max-gawn-free-kick-count-against-st-kilda/news-story/c58b772ab1fc8d2300372d3f93d98e0f http://m.afl.com.au/news/2017-08-13/goodwin-postmatch-r21

Don’t forget all that this games on Channel 7 today.

Ok, we're talking about 25 to 29 yo. Teams around our mark or higher. Tiges, Cotchin 28, Martin 27, Rance 28, Riewoldt 29 EFC, Hurley 28, Hooker 29, Heppell 26, Zahar 28 WC, Gaff 26, McGovern 26, NikNat 28, Shuey 28, Darling 26 GWS, Davis 27, Cameron 25, Ward, 28, Scully 27 Sydney, Hana 27, Parker 25, Rampe 28 Kennedy 30 during the season... Cats, on the way out but a couple who turned 30 recently Hawkins and Selwood. Danger 28, Duncan 27 Port have a few around 30/31 (Ryder, Gray, Boak, the Hoff) interesting looking at their list but I think they are gone if they don't make it this year... Point proven...these teams have players streets ahead of our list in this age group. We have been playing catch up since the disaster of the CS administration. Once the likes of Oliver, Trac and Brashaw get up around the 24/25yo 100 game mark we will be a very consistently good team and the talk of mental fragility will be put to bed. Edit: forgot the Hawks Smith 26, Gunston 26, Mitchell 25, McEvoy 29, Bruest 27, Stratton 29, Frawley 29

Don’t think we’ll be as bad this final series. Frost and some others I think still qualify for VFL finals, Casey have some very good VFL listed players and hopefully having Melksham and Hibbo back, maybe JSmith and fingers crossed Viney soon puts us in better shape, plus the double chance home finals gives us a huge lift which we didn’t have last year. Boys will be fine brudda.

The thing stopping us from being serious contenders is the experience/age profile of our list. With age/experience will come composure and a better drilled cohesion in our defensive structures.

No. He was a boy who had his confidence smashed early, was never given the appropriate support and consequently failed to develop into the player he could have been as a result.

If Gawn kicks straight in round 1 and Tuohy misses a few weeks back, we're currently sitting 3rd and playing for 2nd spot on Sunday with everyone hailing Goodwin a genius. 2 kicks is the difference. A fine line but the media and general public aren't intelligent enough to understand the nuances.

I know there's been a bit of chatter on here about the team with the highest percentage to miss finals and whether we will take the crown this season so I ran my own numbers. The good news is, if you go back far enough in VFL/AFL history our current percentage of 130.5 wouldn't figure in the top 5. We won't even take Melbourne's record. Of course, for a lot of those seasons the proportion of sides making finals was a lot smaller. If we look just at AFL history though we're a near certainty to break the record if we lose the next two: Better just get a win this weekend and I can stop looking at these morbid stats...

The club continuously gives us excuses to be that way. The ‘here we go again’ attitude of the last few weeks is well and truly justified. Personally, I’m caring less and less, I turned off the game during the third quarter last week and felt pretty neutral about the end result, maybe because it’s just what I’ve come to except from the club.

I want to play the Hawks in an elimination final... couldn't think of anything better than sending that mob packing while winning our first final in 12 years.

Love watching Sydney play. Every dumb thing my team does that has me pulling my hair out…Sydney don't do. It's nice to watch a smart team that gets back off the mark quickly, has a guy on the goal-line at all times to stop easy out-the-back goals, and actually delivers the ball inside 50 with some semblance of forethought and strategy.

yep... the scenes of them holding down the commentary tent were classic as was their commentary under what were very difficult conditions. I increasingly find myself turning the channel7 AFL commentary down

I hate Geelong. Beating up on teams at their pigstie of of a stadium.

How? Port won't catch our percentage, nor will North. If we win 13, we are 100% guaranteed in.

Lockhart is a very good footballer.

Yeah nah it’s definitely heading the scoreboard end

Nicholls does that all the time. Also a master of blowing the whistle to pay an uncontested mark BEFORE player has actually marked it, then paying it anyway or finding some other reason to give them a free when they drop it.

I'm in Fremantle sending the Dockers good vibes.

It hurts to barrack for the pies. It really does.

Why we bothered taking 18 year old rucks is beyond me... Develop 4 at Casey if you want to but don’t bother putting them on the list for 5 years before they become playable. Waste of a spot.

Haven't read the article, but notice off one bad game with frees and even though on top of the ladder, Hardwick is into the umpires , putting them on notice for future games. Clarkson, the Scotts and several others do it but not us.

The media are blaming the camp itself, The issue isn't the camp, or the fact we didn't go, the issue I think is why the players ran to the AFLPA and not the coach.

We couldn’t be more Melbourne if we tried.

I guess we all see things differently, God Bless these Bombers fans on their footy page. Not even on Demonland do I believe we would stoop to ‘bin juice’ delusional levels if there was such a huge discrepancy in our favour. ‘See, I don’t think the umps were kind at all. I don’t think they paid us a single free that wasn’t a blatant free. On the other side I reckon they didn’t pay a couple of genuine ones against Richmond that cost us 3 goals at least’.

Thing I’m most looking forward to? People letting go of this camp thing. Honestly, if it was going to be the difference, wouldn’t the players queue up to go? What specifically would they have learned or developed on a weekend away that would change what they are doing now? Game specific composure and experiencing close game conditions aren’t found up a mountain.

Without question, we should have gone on the Adelaide camp.

Worth discussing come end of round 23. Still 2 rounds to play. I dismiss claims we are weak or soft. IMO it is part leadership (or lack thereof), part coaching, and part lack of big game experience. No amount of personal reflection and mental analysis will change that. Also consider that, aside from the Hawthorn-Richmond games in Rounds 4 and 5, respectively, we have come up against top 8 sides having played lower-placed/poor sides for multiple weeks. IMO this makes it difficult to establish good habits and to play at a consistently high level, a problem for a young side that is not used to the pressure. How can they know of what it takes to play at a consistent high level when they can play in second gear one week and win by 90 points, and then face a tough side? We're talking about a team led by a brigade that has never played finals, nor played in such high-pressure contests consistently. I don't think we will beat WC but I think that coming into the match having just played Sydney is a good thing. There is a consistent quality of opponent over three weeks, and so, really, this is the best three-game period you could ask for coming into the finals: get that big scalp, and anything is possible. It's perfect timing. We will win one of the next two. I hope it's this week.

The general expectation , not only of Demons supporters, but the football world at large ,was for us to play finals. If we don’t , we haven’t met expectations. Its not that hard. The good news is we can and should still get there.

I both agree and disagree with you. If we miss finals again I will be filthy, I will think it's a missed opportunity in a year of ordinary sides and the monkey will be on the back all next year until we actually get over that hurdle. The experience of making finals and getting past that mental hurdle would be invaluable otherwise we'll spend all next year with the question being asked when it can't be answered until August at the earliest. But if we don't make finals I'll also recognise that we were bloody unlucky in a lot of close games, that we do still have a team where our core players are all still very young and we have a coach willing to back the side in and play aggressive attacking footy. Importantly I'll still have faith that in the long term I think we are in good hands list wise and senior coach wise. Our assistants might need a shakeup but I think we're still on the right path to success.

In my mind, for a long time all stadiums in Perth are Subiaco. No matter how many times they rename it. It would appear this prevented me from remembering that there is actually a new stadium. Well, after sunday it will be renamed The Sam Weideman Picnic Ground...

This is the big issue and it has been ignored. What kind of leadership and communication do we have when players go running off the AFLPA? Imagine Jono Brown or Luke Hodge finding out that the players had gone around them to the AFLPA. And the fact that communication was not able to be had with the coach who said he was 'blindsided' by the move. This is the crux. Communication and leadership. Two big voids.

Sometimes, I think the age/experience profile is a bit misleading as people look at the overall list rather than the top 30 from which the starting 22 is usually selected. eg In the all important 25 to 30 age range we have a decent group of players with a fair amount of experience: Gawn Hibberd Jetta Garlett Tom Mcd Melksham Jones Frost Tyson That is about 40% of our starting 22 (or 20% of our playing list). And the first few are AA's and near AA's. True, we have a bunch of talented youngsters who are in the 22-24 age range who certainly have some growing to do and will get much better with experience. But I am usually a bit reluctant to play the youth/experience card to explain why we aren't competitive with the top 5-6 teams. If were not careful by the time the youngsters have enough experience the above list will be ageing and then people will focus on the lack of players at the top end. This post from the Contracts thread gives our age/experience profile for the list and the playing group. And in this article is a comparison of where we sit relative to other clubs https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/the-age-and-experience-ladder-for-2018-where-your-club-sits/news-story/ec1626ea2a37e51263bd10b9084fc31d I think our issue relative to recent premiers isn't our youth per se it is that our top end experience/age players are no longer very good ie Vince, Jones, Lewis and don't impact games or provide the youngsters some protection.

I'm confident we'll be very competitive in a big match against 2nd on the ladder on their home turf even with 3 of our best 5 missing.

I’m saying all teams have injuries. We didn’t lose the mentioned games because Lever and Viney weren’t playing. I think mindset is the reason we lost, and that’s an area the Hawks have us well and truly covered.

It’s struck us for 53 years in a row. What’s another week?

I’m just waiting for Weid to start sticking his marks. He is our most aggressive and component tall forward in the air, he just needs to start clunking them. He just launches at the ball so well, a really good leap, it would be a shame if they never stick. The coaching staff are really bullish about him becoming an aerial threat in the future. Part of it is fitness and concentration for Weid. He’s one of the most aggressive tacklers on the list, but once he get what tired he stops sticking them. Hopefully he continues to build fitness, as the aggression and technique are already there. Here’s hoping this weekend it starts to come together more consistently.

To maximise our chances to stay in the 8 we need these results: Rich to defeat Ess. Pies to defeat Port. Freo to defeat Cats Crows to defeat North That will knock Ess, North and Cats out as our competitors as they will be one game and big % behind us guaranteeing us a spot in the 8, regardless of whether we win another game! So time to barrack for the underdogs, folks!

If you're flabbergasted by Demonland, have a look at the other 17 AFL team fan forums... I bet we sound like Poetry. But on a side note, I too am frustrated when people can't distinguish "loose and lose."