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Avid follower of the Dees since 75 - stuck with them through thick and thin. I built the websites for Western Demons here in WA ; on the commitee. Lived in WA for 22yrs now and its been a hard yard flying the colours in WA through the tough times. My late brother Greg used to drive down from Mildura to watch the games - sometimes I would go with him as a young kid. He passed on in 98 from a brain tumor at 37yrs. The Jim thing brang it all to the surface - it is always just below the surface. Greg was a truely mad Demons man & a one of a kind also. I write this in Gregs memory and he will be there when it counts - win or lose he will be there. Its a really personal journey for all the true supporters. Everyone has a story to tell - its been a long time. For all those before us & for all those that have stayed 100% true - we are back. Lap it up and be proud. I am sad and happy ; an emotional time bomb - its a really hard time for me. Go Dees - do it for yourselves - do it for those that cant be here - do it for us loyal supporters. We love you all.

Been a disappointment today, but I think this club has had a great year and while we had an opportunity it didn’t pan out our way. welcome back Lever, Hogan, Tmac and Viney for full years and I think we go one step further next year. Must Hunt top four and stay in Melbourne for all our finals. GO DEES!

I'm pretty flat after that. The Eagles mugged us from the opening bounce and everything they did turned to gold, both from a coaching stand point to even parts where we would smother a ball and it would still land in their lap. Everything that has made us so good in this finals series abandoned us and we didn't know what to do. That will come with experience. BUT... I am still super, super proud of the boys for not only fighting on today, but for all they have achieved this season. Every single supporter would have taken a Prelim Final appearance at the start of the year, and we KNOW how good this side can be. We have shown so many positives this season, from the emergence of a variety of players, to how much our game plan has improved and evolved throughout the year. So, even though this is a really tough pill to swallow, stand up and be proud. The Demons are back, and while we might have been vanquished this time around, I'll be backing in the coaches, players and us as supporters to come back bigger and stronger next season. I can't wait for 2019 already and what the future will bring for this club. Even facing a loss like this, how couldn't you still find a way to smile about just how good things can be in the very near future? It's great to think about, even as flat and disappointed as I'm feeling right now. Bring on 2019 and a Demons premiership!

We made a [censored] prelim after not making finals for 12 years and being trash for years. Chins up [censored].

Team - seemingly no bootstops!

You don’t make it to a preliminary final without doing something right for the season. Well done boys. I’m so disappointed with today’s outcome but the future looks bright.?

Well, that was a bitterly disappointing way to finish up. We were beaten comprehensively in pretty much every element of the game. Every single player got pantsed in that first half. People can rant and rave about individual insipid performances, and there were plenty of them, but like it takes a big team effort to win big games, the team collectively flopped on this occasion. It's not possible for every single player to be individually to blame. They beat us at our own game early and we couldn't recover. All the players get made to look much worse when that happens. It's exactly the same thing we were all laughing at Richmond about last night. Anyway I understand people's mode of grief is to blame Lewis or Jones or Goodwin or the the umpires or whoever. I'm perpetually frustrated at the way people become irrational and grossly exaggerate the magnitude of the problem after losses (and get told I don't care as much or I'm a happy clapper or whatever), but that's how people cope so fair enough. I'm gutted, but at the end of the day we've shown we can play a finals brand of footy in the previous two rounds, we didn't bring it today, and we therefore got given an education by the team that finished second on the ladder, and not by fluke. I hate ending the season this way but we got further than 14 other teams did, and we should absolutely build on that for next year. Chin up people. Bring on 2019.

Terrible terrible way to end the season. But it’s been a very good season and a great building block for a bigger and better 2019.

Agree with the sentiment. We cannot approach football by saying it's the flag or it's bust. To make a prelim after 12 years of not even being able to make the finals, to win four consecutive games against the top 8, to win two finals in front of 90,000+ against sides we traditionally lose to, all with TMac, Viney, Lever and Hogan missing 5+ games each this year, makes this season a resounding success.Obviously we had our chance this year and we don't just automatically get that chance again next year, but we cannot simply write off all of the amazing positives this year gave us because of today.

Our finals campaign started in Round 21 and we won four on the trot. Dropping games we should have won cost us a top four spot and a more viable finals campaign. We burned out bad on this difficult road trip. Too big an ask.

Just had WCE fans snatch my scarf, wipe it on his arsz and throw it at me. Laughs all round. I look normal sized sitting down but 198 cm & 110 kg. Sigh......I'm gonna have to hurt him.

It was this mob that ultimately knocked us out of the 8 last year. Time for some sweet revenge.

Me at the start of the year: If we make the finals and win one it will be an A+ year. Me prior to Hawks final: Everything’s a bonus now, win and it will be an A+++ year. Me now: If we don’t win today and then beat Coll next week I will neck myself!!!

Jeremiah 49:16 The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the cleft of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill.Though you build your nests high as the eagle's, from there I will bring you down.

This is the kind of stuff I don't get. We're just coming off two consecutive finals wins in front of 90,000+ against sides we've hardly beaten for 15 years, and you're going on about "the big stage" being the problem?

Terrible first half and 33 tackles not good enough. But I have full confidence this group will use this to drive a ferocious season in 2019. The young guys are proud and they will be far more gutted than anyone and have a lot to prove next year after dishing up 33 tackles and losing contested possession by 15. That is not what this group stands for. The most exciting thing over the last 5 weeks was the team learnt how to defend the entire ground. Doing that with Lever back and we are a 5 goal better team. Lever is a great intercept player and his kicking can break lines. Think we really need Preuss. Max has had a huge load this year and if he carries that load he’ll be 80% this time of year every year. I wasn’t at the game today but was at the last 2 and even then I thought Max was tired. We need max peaking in September from now on, not tired. Perhaps some outside speed but that had nothing to do with today. I think today our engine room is young, looked tired, and didn’t even bring the B standard game in the first half. Losing contested possession was completely foreign and they panicked and lost composure. They’ll learn from that. Selection had nothing to do with it. Smith had 10% of our tackles!! Fritsch wouldn’t have helped the tackle count. I think this will drive us to top 2 at end of round 22 next year. The sky isn’t falling in. Would have been unbelievable to pinch a flag this year. Progress next year will be making a GF. I reckon we’ll do it

West Coast finished 2nd for a reason. Today just wasnt our day. But the boys have had a taste of what is needed to take the extra step. They will use this experience and learn from it. Throw Hogan and Lever back in and it looks better. Lets face it a year ago when we lost against collingwood and we were all furious, if someone told us we would make the prelim the following year we would have taken it. Its still been an enjoyable year. Lets get Casey over the line tomorrow.

Too all my fellow demon mates on here, i may have disagreed with you, swore at you, and even laughrd at you. But its never personal and end of the day we support the greatest club in the world! I may not make it throughout the day (10 stubbies deep) but i just want to say that win or lose today, i love you all ( even you saty you hairy mutt) and have enjoyed the ride with you all this year. Go dees.

Ok heading out in Perth public alone decked in full demons gear. Wish me luck. Enjoy the game everyone!

Listen I’m all for the premiership or bust theory. I want a flag and nothing else really pleases me much. However to say that not winning a flag is a bust, is an absolute joke. Richmond can say that, but not us. We wanted to make finals and we did. We were hopeful to win a final and we did. We won two against experienced mature teams who have weathered this storm before. We went to Perth and we failed. It was a mammoth task against yet another very experienced team. We do not walk away from this season as losers, even though we lost the game. We now have a better understanding of what it takes. And we are as well placed as we have been at any time in the last decade to win a premiership.

From someone at the ground today ...terrible first half but fought it out..we didn’t play well last week & I think it was symptomatic of playing finals type footy for the past 5 weeks...they were done ...they aren’t quiteready...& in a way I feel a sense of relief that it is over...I would have hated to lose to Collingwood ...just wish the first half wasn’t so bad...HOWEVER....make no mistake...this team will give us many more highs than lows & i am glad I made the trip...glad I stayed till the end & I thank the club for one of the better seasons that I can remember....before I get howled down by the “negative nellies” just ask yourself one question “ how many of you legitimately felt at the beginning of the season that we would win 2 massive finals at the G against two powerhouse clubs & make a Preliminary final? I didn’t ...can’t wait for 2019 ...

Absolutely gutted. It's not that we lost, it's how. We lost the CP count once all year, but we were hammered in CPs from the opening bounce. We laid at least 50 tackles in every game this year, but today just 34. We haven't played like that all year. It was just so un-Melbourne and that is what is so demoralising, we didn't even put our best foot forward. During the first quarter we were trying so hard to keep our head above water and stay close to them, but all four of their goals came from appalling turnovers. We were missing targets under their pressure and we just never settled. Then in the second quarter we couldn't even get our hands on the ball. It was one of those days where everything went right for them (smothers would end up in their hands, the bounce of the ball seemed to always go their way, Nicholls doesn't reverse the 50 when McGovern throat-punches Viney), but that largely happens when one side works harder than the other. Trying to work out why this happened is the harder bit. I'm sure part of it is fatigue. Not just the fact that it's the end of a long season and we're fielding a young side, but as has been mentioned we've been playing finals effectively for 6 weeks, since the first West Coast game. We won 4 in a row but to win 5 or 6 in a row is hard enough at the best of times, let alone all against finals sides. There's nothing we can do now but learn from our mistakes and focus on what needs to be improved: not just based on today's loss, but based on the entire season.

Brayshaw listed as our best player? WTF? I thought he had a fuggin mare.

Look at the age profile and experience of Collingwood. Their best player last night is what, 30? We are at the start of a long ride to the top. Enjoy it. We take good lessons from today, look to improve our list in the off season, and move on. Lever, a fit Stretch and Hunt, another year of development into Weids Oliver and Brayshaw and hopefully a full season from Viney and we should finish top 4 and ensure we play at the G heading into the grand final.

We had a great year. Im ok with it. They jumped us at the start and it was gone by q/time. Looking forward to the next 5 years. Delist a few and add Lever Hogan. Bright future. Go Dees.

Great year and proud of boys except for today which was terrible.

when we lost to the aints i didn't think we'd even make finals, let alone win two of em exceeded my expectations in 2018; top four after home and away is the baseline expectation for 2019

The most graceful thing Lewis could do would be to just King hit Nicholls and walk off.

This is a very seasoned west coast side. 12 of them played in a GF. They have done their time. This is part of us doing ours.

3500km and close to a grand later, I've made it. GO DEES!

Fed Square is looking pretty sweet! Lots of red and blue, heaps of energy. Tons of sunshine, too - it's a perfect day for a rousing win by the Dees to storm into the GF!!! ?? @CityDee

Just met David Neitz and Shaun Smith at the Empire Bar on Great Eastern Hwy near Burswood train station. Any Dee fans in the area could be a decent spot to spend an hour pre game with some demon legends.

West Coast were slick and sharp and clearly benefitted from their week off. We made too many mistakes and costly turnovers resulted in goals. 12 Eagles played in the last grand final and this is their 4th year in a row in finals. They are a mature big bodied team with a good mix of talls and speedy smalls. This is step 1 for us after 12 years in the wilderness. There are a few gaps to fill and you learn more about your players under this intense finals football than in the season. Any talk of trading Hogan should dry up immediately as he is needed as a big bodied key forward. And the rehab for Lever is so vital, we need him down back. Some outside run as Spargo is our only small. I will be interested to hear Goody's take on things. I hope today drives the club and playing group forward. Finally I would like to thank Peter Jackson as in his own words his tenure finishes once the season is completed for us. sadly it was more abrupt and disappointing than I hope Go Dees

The entire team was horrible. Yeah, Lewis had a shocker but he was excellent in the last two weeks. Overreaction.

Nah

We did well but Goodwin's refusal to play Frost earlier probably cost us 3 wins & dropping Frisch for Smith was farcical.

I feel a little crazy I feel a little strange Like I'm in a pay phone Without any change I feel a little edgy I feel a little weird I feel like a schoolboy Who's grown a beard I'm livin' in the 70's Eatin' fake food under plastic trees My face gets dirty just walkin' around I need another pill to calm me down I feel a bit nervous I feel a bit mad I feel like a good time that's never been had I feel a bit fragile I feel a bit low Like I learned the right lines But I'm on the wrong show I'm livin' in the 70's I feel like I lost my keys Got the right day but I got the wrong week And I get paid for just bein' a freak I feel a little insane I feel a bit dazed My legs are shrinkin' And the roof's been raised I feel a little mixed up I feel a little [censored] I feel like a barman that can't drink a beer I'm livin' in the 70's I feel like I lost my keys Got the right day but I got the wrong week And I get paid for just bein' a freak I AM PETRIFIED !!

My thinking is completely in line with yours. This is a terrible result. Someone is bound to jump all over me for saying that. “Oh but playing Collingwood is our best chance of winning it!” “Bring it on” “You need to be more confident”. Heard them all and I understand it for sure. I desperately wanted GWS to knock them out. Under no circumstances do I ever support this team, not for a home prelim, not for some other dumb scenario that is meant to help us, not for nuttin. I am NOT one of those people that loves seeing Collingwood make a Grand Final so they can enjoy seeing them potentially lose it. As far as I’m concerned they should finish bottom every single year. I don’t know, I just don’t. A potential GF with them. If you wanted to come up with a way to give a reasonably healthy early 30s male a coronary, this isn’t a bad way to go about it.

The dream is over, but not angry! Just sad it had to end like this. Lot’s of “learnings” from today, but a fantastic ride over the last 6 weeks. This team will get better and better - especially by referencing the disappointment of today.

Look, we can still win (although unlikely), but that's not the point. We've already surpassed expectations this year. So our buildup for next year is what truly matters. We need to show that we won't stand for this. If we're going to go down, we have to salvage some dignity and at least send the message that we'll be back next year, a little older, wiser, fitter, angrier...

Leaders have gone missing again when it counts. Diddnt even know Jones was playing. Viney to be sole captain next yr please.

What a complete and utter disgusting display. I can deal with a loss but this is heartbreaking.

Good omen - Tulip just got up at Caulfield.

Win or lose, we have massively exceed all expectations and I’m so excited for the next decade of watching this great club of ours. Go Dees! ❤️?

I’m feeling sick and this day is dragging on. Can we fast forward to 6pm so I can choose which type of crying I need to undertake?

We just ran into Razor and his buddies. Told Nicholls to keep walking, we only wanted a photo with Razor. Believe it or not, he said our boys have got this. No idea what this means.

Not really 'Norm', the times he has been hard tagged this year he's really struggled. The problem is most coaches like Hardwick last night haven't given him the respect of playing a hard tag. No one should be getting 40+ touches in a prelim... If we make it Melcham wouldn't be the option, he's better suited to dealing with Howe...if not Harmes it's more likely to be ANB who has the running power to go with him & Harmes with Pendles.

The AFL would be salivating at the prospect of a Collingwood v Melbourne Grand Final. The first showdown between both clubs in a Grand Final since Melbourne's last premiership 5 decades ago! Nothing would be more fitting. There's such rich history between the clubs (both as rivals and of themselves) and fantastic stories across the entire ground. The two best rucks all year going head to head. Howe playing against his first team. Weideman playing against his heritage. It would also be the first all-Victorian Grand Final in 7 years and only the 5th time that's happened since our last Grand Final appearance. Alas, all the dreaming is for nought if we can't get the job done today. The Demons have their destiny in their hands, it's up to them now.