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If it were legal, Caleb Daniels value would increase. Imagine how high Preuss could toss him.

Petracca? Jeff?! GUs? Are you MAD?!?! WOW - the actual football nous on here is just way more of a blind spot than one could EVER anticipate! OUR SINGLE BIGGEST PROBLEM R1-5 was Groundball gets all over the ground, most of all between both arcs.. Jeffry has been a major help in this area and will only improve with time, allowing us a bit extra fwd 50 pressure also, another weakness but Petracca leads ENTIRE COMP in ground ball gets per game IFWD50 - with 3.0 per game.. and you wanna drop him?! Do you actually SEE our entries?! Wow.. Seriously ppl just need to stop the BS and realise we’ve been DECIMATED by inj to ALL our speed and pressure players, understand we’ve FINALLY got some grit & groundball cut through, and hope like hell we get some stability & likes of Hannan, Smith, Smith, Vanders, Jetta, May, Lever, KK etc back by back half in time to storm home or reinvest for momentum into 2020. So sick of keyboard warriors bagging the players they find easy targets without ANY actual insight!!!

Yes, is the short answer. For context I tipped us to beat the Hawks, but i will be tipping WC in this game (no surprise there). That said I think we are good chance to get within a couple of goals (on my ESPN footytips I will picking a margin 0f 14 points - it is the first game so a margin is required) and I have a feeling we are a sneaky chance of causing a boilover. Easy to argue why we will lose. So I won't bother. But here are the reasons why we can win: I've got a feeling in my bones (but that could be gout I suppose) Despite playing poorly last week, the last gasp heroics would have built team belief and synergy, with the dees getting lots of kudos for how well drilled were at the end (which reflected comments from a number of players that we had done a lot of work on end of game scenarios) Even in our losses we have been getting the ball inside 50 enough. If we suddenly 'clicked', the much discussed connection came good and we took more of our chances we might get a jump on them and kick a winning score WC are not going great We travel well and leaving aside the prelim horror show have the memory of last years home and away win and the TMac heroics in the one point win to give us positive vibes Hibbo and Melk are big losses but ANB and Smith are both fit and raring to go, and their fitness will be important Playing at night helps us a bit as it will be a bit dewy as it will gte down to 3 degrees overnight. Won't help our fumbling but will make it a bit easier to stop WC chipping it around it around and as any pressure will make marks harder to snaffle. That factor definitely helped us against the hawks (ie a slippery ball), who play a similar game to WC A cold night is also nowhere near as taxing or slippery as the GC game or as taxing as the prelim last year Lycett really hurt us last year and they won't be able to smash maxy (who was cooked) as they did last year even if they bring in their underdone second ruck man (whose name escapes me) Omac will do his job and get 10 plus spoils TMac is getting closer to some good form We will definitely use Frost , Fritter or Hore in a deep sweeper role, keeping the scoring down and us in the game (on that point the bookies have the Total Match Point line at a crazy low 154.5. Even in a wet game that is low but no rain is forecast - though as I said I expect it will get dewy, but it does start at 6:10 over there so perhaps not really bad to the second half) We are not expected to win and in some ways that can sometimes help teams to play with freedom, which is exactly what we need to do Surely we can't miss as many targets as we did last week. Surely Did I say I just have a feeling

Almost certain Petracca swam over there.

Lachy Reid, who is a mad Demon by the way.. just tweeted that Trac is in Perth, may have got earlier flight.

I was sure we'd lose until I just came across this Now I'm putting the house on us.

Tom Boyd's experience highlights the enormous pressure which comes with being number one pick and getting traded for a big pay packet, something which apparently never sat well with him. Grant mentioned in his meeting with the press that the contract and money was not spoken of when Boyd told the club of his decision. Grant was also not surprised by the decision, knowing as he did of Boyd's struggles with physical and mental fitness. Boyd doesn't sound like the kind of man who is motivated by money. I watched the interview he did for Headspace last year on the Bulldog's website. To hear him say he couldn't sleep for nearly six weeks due to anxiety, and suffered from panic attacks while only driving his car around before receiving help from the club psychologist, shows what an enormous effort he must have put in for his team in the finals and in the Grand Final in 2016. He will always be remembered by the Bulldogs and their fans as a hero for helping deliver the long awaited Premiership. I wish him the best for his future. Sometimes we forget how young these football players are, and the pressures which are placed on them. All of them have different personalities, and react to these pressures in different ways.

He lived the dream. Reached the top. AFL is a tough gig. Better to go out now than wallow miserably in the Reserves out West. Good luck for his future.

I inquired into players making a human pyramid once before and was informed it was against the rules for players to stand on each other’s shoulders in front of the goals. I thought I had successfully come up with a way to hack the game.

Baker to debut

Whate ever is best for him but its sad that he couldnt have a full career.

I will see their WCESS and raise my MFCSS.

If we had a full-strength side, we'd be pumping up this Friday night as our revenge and a chance to embarrass the Eagles like they did to us. Instead, it feels like we're limping over there and an honourable loss will satisfy most. I hope I'm wrong and the boys play their best game of the season to really kick-start our season.

I’m traveling around the place that Jack Dyer used to call the “French Riverina” and there are omens everywhere pointing to a Demon victory tomorrow night.

He could practice tossing Charlie

From memory it was outlawed after this rather hysterical episode in 1988... still cracks me up ?

In: Tim Smith, Neal Bullen, Baker, Pruess Out: Melksham, Hibberd, Keilty & Lewis.

Any chance Garlett came over earlier and is visiting family in regional WA

Trying to make his dad happy.

underwater?

I feel good about tomorrow night. The team will have a red hot go....

As far as footy goes, I’d consider what he’s done the last two weeks to be ‘sniping’. If he doesn’t like the tag, don’t snipe. Unfortunately the AFL have given him a free pass in what may be his last season.

I'm sure we could get a priest, rabbi and imam as well as an exorcist to work together to cleanse the area. Might need some heavy duty steam cleaning as well.

Those key players are due for some form, come on everyone lets have positivity, think good thought good thoughts.

I have my third positive feeling going into a game for the year. The previous two have been Sydney and Hawthorn so I’m looking to keep a 100% strike rate. I was nervous going into last week and the performance justified it. No Melksham will make it tough but Preuss and Bull Smith being the strongest performers in the VFL gives me hope that we can cobble something together which will see an improvement on our 33% inside 50 conversation rate. Whether or not we win, I have a feeling we’ll be more competitive than is widely expected. If we do win, it will be the best win of the Goodwin era given our injury list.

I'm thinking of going via Phuket... But skipping the Perth leg !

Money is irrelevant if you help deliver a cup. best wishes to him.

I second this - Petracca has been one of our best players for the past month and while Jeffy doesn't get alot of 'stats' he has been an important part of our ability to retain the ball in our forward 50.

I watched Petty last weekend at windy hill. He played ok but hardly a "pickme" game. But I suppose we have so many injuries there simply is no one else.

Doing what Port did, going mobile and ugly inside 50

This is what I think it will be too. Also think this is the best case scenario

Wish the boy well for the future, but with his manager, $2m won't be left on the table. There might be a saving to the Dogs and more cap space in 20/21 and a mid year draft pick, but don't always believe what you read. He will get most of that contracted $7m is my belief. If properly invested, he will have an income for life, even if he never works again.

All speculation. You have no inside information on even what the specific injuries are, let alone how they presented at the time. Nor do you have any medical expertise yourself. You're also guilty of confirmation bias (though we all are, it's the way our brain works), in that you're citing examples that support your (supposed) case, while ignoring all those that don't. i.e., you're ignoring all the times that players come off with injuries, are then patched up and sent back out - and are fine. Which is the majority of cases.

I agree, but it also might be a very bad game to debut in..

I can see why... take aside the prelim and our last 3 games against them (all in Perth) have been great games where we have really taken it up to them. 2016 - We lost by 6 points however my memory is we absolutely smashed them in all facets of the game just couldn't convert... 2017- TMAC the hero!!! 2018 - I think all of us shed a tear when Dean Kent kicked that goal from 50 in the 4th. For what ever reason no matter where each team placed in the season the past 3 premiership season games over there has been a cracking encounter with us seemingly rising to the occasion. I really hope the boys can rally behind each other, if we grind out a win tomorrow against the odds, given what they did to us in the prelim our season will really kick off. Sounds strange but I'd prefer to be playing WCE over there than Carlton at the G this round. It gives us a chance to play into form in a game where we are not expected to get close.

This subject makes my gut churn. Every year we see state and Federal govts Hands out money to clubs to build or enhance facilities. The latest promise is to Geelong again! What the hell is going on at MFC? Geez this is infuriating, always the lost and poor club. I will be long gone before our mob does something on this front. Why are the MFC so inept!!!

And extra protection from the inevitable ear massagings he'll receive standing underneath high bombs into the forward line from our midfielders

Having predicted the Hawks and GCS win I'm prepared to stick my neck out again and say we can win this!! In 2017 we went there with injuries to a lot of key players and a few underdone (eg Gawn and Viney). Below is our winning 2017 team showing a replacement for those now missing. Jetta is the one I couldn't find someone to replace him. But moving a few players around and bringing in Wagner or Smith will round up the 22. The point is we can field a very competitive team. And, we are much better than the exhausted team that played in the Prelim! My prediction: A repeat of the 2017 game where we win by 3 pts after a miracle goal from T.Mac in the dying moments of the game. Go Dees!

And an easy instruction to carry out: Goody: i really liked the way port denied wc tgw easy intercept msrks with scungy, crappy, scrappy kicks inside 50 and i want you to adopt the same method. Boys, to achieve that, with our inside kicks the only change I'm looking for is that you don't try and kick in high and long. Otherwise just stick to how you normally deliver the ball inside 50. Ya got it?

Isn't that our Standard Operating Procedure? I'd be gobsmacked if we did it any other way.

Wonder if we adopt the Port model of going i50 ugly? It stopped their intercept marking in its tracks Jeffy, Hunt and ANB (if selected) may prove to be very valuable Tape up fingers, boys!

Melksham out I would look to bring in Tim Smith and ask him to play a similar game as Melk. Run through the midfield every now and then and play high half forward. Hibberd out then move Fitsch back there to keep some run out of the back line. Anb to come back or maybe Ossie Baker gets a run. it may be too much of an ask to debut him in Perth against WC. it may scar him for life. Preuss for Keilty. Dec has had a taste and now knows the steps he needs to take. let him mature some more at Casey.

Could not agree more. I love going to the footy with mates who support the dees and teams we are playing. Great space to chat about the game, catch your breath and also catch up prior to the game game and quarter and half time breaks. Well it used to be.

IF Colonwood did return to “their ancestral home” then would not the Olympic Park oval and facilities become vacant ...... I realize it would feel dirty for a while, but .... In the meantime the small size of our training oval at Goshs could being an issue, surely be modified to match the G with little or no disruption to trees and other amenities.

Tas Johnson is your man!

I heard there’s a broom in the cupboard that’s been in decent form, it might be a chance of getting selected.

He will need a haircut if he wants to play for Melbourne.

182 cms. He can kick so not interested.