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I’ve been totally bored with Footy this year. Im sure it has some sort of correlation to the way we are performing, but I’m just not enjoying it as spectacle, and find myself turning off at quarter time and watching a movie or something. I can’t stand the modern day callers and commentators and finding it all a little contrived. Maybe im just old school, as today’s footy isn’t a shadow of what it used to be.

Parole

Given the number of people who have said they have nothing to look forward to MFC-related, or aren't excited for football, or have lost emotion/passion, I must be lucky (or just odd) but I see so many things to look forward to this year. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the backline works as we get games of experience into Lever, May, Hore, Salem, Hibberd and Frost as a unit. I love watching Gawn every time he takes to the field. Baker will hopefully continue to show promise and Lockhart will probably get games again as the season progresses. Weideman's contract signing and the lack of pressure on him to be the guy to carry us to finals gives him the opportunity to unburden himself and maybe that will release him into form. Finals might be gone but the long-term plan remains and the final 10 games give us plenty of opportunity to keep that plan alive.

Hoping we might get to take some of our frustrations out with a massive win. Don't know against who, and it would mean nothing but would a temporary break from misery.

from an overall perspective i'd like to see us forming some cohesion between the various zones - at the moment it doesn't look like the mids know what the forwards are doing, the forwards don't know how the ball is going to come in (other than not kicked to their advantage), and the backline has basically been completely rebuilt so needs time to gel i'd like to think that the heart and desire that i think we've shown over the last several weeks can not be lost as the season slips away; it's not the effort that is the issue at the moment, but instead the execution...our skills are probably the worst or second worst in the league as it stands 1: may - really show that he's going to be the player we've been promised he's going to be, especially defensive / offensive ability 2: jones - make the call that he won't be skipper next year but will play on with us, as he currently deserves to do so 3: salem - move further up the field and start impacting the scoreboard on a regular basis; really use his skills to advantage 4: harmes - keep winning the ball, negating his oppo and learn to lower his eyes with i50 kicks to advantage of forwards 5: petracca - keep doing what he's doing in terms of being an i50 target but start showing some selfishness and scoring ability 6: lewis - he's already announced his retirement; will be interesting to see what farewell game/s he gets; play him forward! 7: viney - stop trying to take every oppo on and start being more constructive with his ball use, plus show leadership 8: lever - start taking those marks that we know he can where he's reading the flight, and also directing backline as leader 9: spargo - start to show some semblance of form and ability of impacting the play; i believe he can 10: brayshaw - keep winning the ball but start to use it more effectively, and continue to show greater defensive intent 11: gawn - just learn to kick straight from a set shot, he's otherwise been awesome 12: bedford - develop in the magoos, maybe a game late if he deserves it 13: oliver - start being a lot more constructive with his handball and putting players out into space, learn to kick 14: hibberd - more run to break lines and a greater sense of defensive accountability when called to go back 15: stretch - make the most of his opportunities and start to use his run to take the game on; justify his list spot in 2020 16: kolodjashnij - show why he was pick 5 not too long ago; use the ball well, link up, and kick it well, plus better defensive workrate 17: frost - show that he belongs in the side alongside lever and may rather than being an also-ran 18: melksham - get fit, come back, be part of a successful 2020 side 19: hannan - better ball use as he starts to get the run back into his legs to break the lines, and set up for a big 2020 20: maynard - come back from injury and justify why he should remain on the list next year 21: preuss - get fit enough and the game awareness to play afl, showcase his wares in tandem with gawn later in the year 22: vandenberg - get fit, come back, be part of a successful 2020 side 23: jordon - develop in the magoos, maybe a game late if he deserves it 24: kennedy harris - continue his comeback from injury and justify why he should remain on the list next year 25: tom mcdonald - start to show some semblance of the form that he had last season 26: weideman - continue to impact the contest and show that the last handful of games last season weren't the exception, not the rule 27: nietschke - get fit, come back, be part of a successful side as he develops his skills 28: oscar mcdonald - get some confidence back and if he gets the opportunity at senior level again, make the most of it 29: hunt - nail his shots when he has them and be more than just an occasional presence in the forward line, particularly defensively 30: neal-bullen - get some confidence back and if he gets the opportunity at senior level again, make the most of it 31: fritsch - stop being a jack of all trades, master of none, and instead cement his role through sheer form 32: sparrow - get fit, come back, be part of a successful side as he develops his skills 33: baker - continue to showcase that he's part of the best 22 going forward, and impact the scoreboard 34: hore - continue to showcase that he's part of the best 22 going forward, and develop a symbiosis with may and lever 35: petty - get fit, come back, be part of a successful side as he develops his skills 36: garlett - show more commitment for the ball, and justify why he should remain on the list next year (which, i think, he actually is) 37: chandler - develop in the magoos, maybe a game late if he deserves it 38: tim smith - have some luck with injury, and justify why he should remain on the list next year (which, i think, he actually is) 39: jetta - get fit, come back, be part of a successful 2020 side 40: corey wagner - make the most of his opportunities and start to use his run to take the game on; justify his list spot in 2020 41: lockhart - make the most of his opportunities and start to use his run to take the game on 42: josh wagner - make the most of his opportunities and start to use his run to take the game on; justify his list spot in 2020 43: walker - get over what sounds like a really nasty, career-limiting injury 44: joel smith - get fit, come back, be part of a successful 2020 side 45: keilty - have some luck with injury, and justify why he should remain on the list next year 46: bradtke - develop in the magoos and with the u/18 games 48: dunkley - develop in the magoos, maybe a game late if he deserves it from a competition wide perspective, i'm expecting two of geelong, collingwood, gw$, adelaide, and meth coke to be in the grand final of that lot, i suppose the lesser of the various evils is geelong...really, they need a premiership NOW given the state of their list; if you recruit dangerfield and ablett in consecutive years you SHOULD be playing in grand finals i actually think gw$ are a massive chance of winning the premiership this year, moreso than any other year gawn winning the brownlow would be fantastic, but it's extremely unlikely; it'll probably be sidebottom or steve coniglio in terms of our list make-up i expect the following are under pressure to be on the list next season: 6: lewis 15: stretch 20: maynard 24: kennedy harris 36: garlett 42: josh wagner 43: walker 45: keilty that'd be six off senior list, one off rookie, one off cat b rookie, which might be cutting a bit deep - i can see stretch, jkh, and garlett all deserving of a list spot in 2020 if their second half of the year is stronger than their first half in terms of free agents i'd be keen on, more or less in this order: steve coniglio (gw$) cam ellis-yolmen (crows) robbie gray (pear) brandon ellis (tigers) in terms of players out of contract at other clubs i'd be asking the question of: hugh greenwood (crows) daniel mcstay (bears) lewis taylor (bears) pat kerr (blues) brayden sier (filth) tom phillips (filth) darcy parish (peptides) connor blakley (freo) ed langdon (freo) griffin logue (freo) nakia cockatoo (cats) jack martin (gc17) sam day (gc17) sam durdin (kangas) karl amon (pear) shai bolton (tigers) jack billings (aints) jordan dawson (swans) zak jones (swans) josh dunkley (footscray) top 5 in order of preference: josh dunkley (footscray) tom phillips (filth) ed langdon (freo) jack martin (gc17) zak jones (swans) i want to hold onto whatever our first round pick ends up being and use it, and use it well - hayden young is currently a likely prospect at pick 3, our current choice i'd rather take a top pick unless we only shifted back a few spots (wouldn't want to be picking outside the top 9 for instance), and it would depend upon what we brought in via the other part of the trade - e.g. if it was pick 3 and our second rounder for sydney's pick 5 and zak jones, i'd probably do the deal i want oztraya to win the ashes and new zealand to win the odi world cup i'd like to see the matildas win the women's football world cup kawhi to go to the clippers, kd to go to the knicks, klay and draymond to stay with the warriors, and the 76ers to get some decent shooters around embiid and simmons...would be handy if the latter could learn how to shoot too.....

I agree with everyone's poor opinion of Stratton on here. My only request is please don't call him a dog or call it a dog's act. Dogs are gentle , loyal creatures who do not deserve to be put in the same category as some humans. Thank you.

The playing for frees thing was always a beat up IMO. Peddled by true racists online and from radio talkback callers to mask shameful prejudices. A lot of people who boo'd Goodes would not have done so for that reason. Like most on here I've been a keen watcher of footy for several decades and know a furphy when I hear one. Goodes was no better or worse at milking free kicks than hundreds of other players during his career. He would certainly been in the top ten for me if would could magically manifest a player from the recent past. 6ft 3' 100kg utility who could dominate in virtually any position on the ground, run like the wind and pinch hit at full forward. What's not to like.

Hoping to see Goody develop a possession / momentum game style a la the Hawks/Cats before the season is out and we recruit Cameron in 2020. A Clean out of any forwards who can't learn to take some overhead marks and kick at around 50% conversion before season 2020 begins. Mids start kicking to favoured side of forwards more often (this season). Some speed, class & finish on the outside for 2020! Clarry, Viney and any other inside mids connecting with outside runners that aren't sitting 3 to 5 feet away and about to be tackled and who can escape their opponents with burst speed and deliver nicely inside 50. ..

Geelong choking in finals again would be funny. Fremantle, from 8th, eliminating 5th-placed West Coast. The Port Adelaide football club going into fits of self-hate after missing the finals with nobody to blame but themselves. Ditto Richmond. Demons going undefeated after the bye, for 13 wins total and a 7th placed finish, ahead of the Dockers and five other teams all on 12 wins with better percentage than us.

Buckley/Filth pipped in GF again would do me.

I watched some of Bob Hawke's State Memorial Service today and what astounded me was his granddaughter's speech about how a treaty was about to be signed for Antarctica to be exploited for its resources in 1989, but her grandfather refused to ratify the agreement and instead set about convincing the rest of the world Antarctica should be a natural reserve, devoted to peace, co-operation and science. How close we came to losing the continent to the mining industry and short term gains with no thought for the future. Hawke spoke of global warming and the consequences for our children and grandchildren 30 years ago. I wasn't even aware of this great legacy he left behind. When Hawke spoke he appealed to us as fellow human beings. Now we seem to have leaders and politicians who speak to us as though we are merely consumers who should be grateful for what we manage to attain for our families and not ask for anything else. I think this is why the AFL is on the nose at the moment with the fans. They are treating them like consumers who should just pay the money without question and do as they are told. They are forgetting the passion many fans have for their teams. For some their team is deeply ingrained in their life, just as going to church on Sunday is for others. Just as players are not robots, neither are fans. Stop the preaching.

They’ve got to suspend him for a week and send out a memo to all clubs that it won’t be tolerated. Why can’t the goal umpires who have plenty of time and opportunity to observe these incidents simply inform the field umpire at any given interval, or put them in the book themselves? How hard is it? It’s not just pinching which causes visible bruises, either. Defenders do it to the areas of the midfriff which are hidden by the guernsey and it is extremely painful. It’s not part of the game at all and frankly constitutes assault. Raking studs on the back of a player’s legs and ankles is the other one umpires often do nothing about. That should be punished as well. In suburban footy these are the types of dog acts which cause a player to swing an elbow into a jaw or punch some ribs in frustration. Then we blame that bloke for lashing out. Outlaw it all and throw the book at any kind of thuggery that doesn’t have any place in modern footy. It’s not tough, it’s not brave and it’s not in the spirit of the game. Stratton needs to ask himself this morning - “would I have done it to Tex Walker or Buddy?” Of course not. Pull your head in then.

Some skilled coherent football from the mids, a backline that plays as a unit, forward half accuracy with no half-witted attempts to pass when kicking from within 35 meters, and more wins than losses in the last ten rounds, including reversing the EAGLES, PIES and SAINTS results.

Freeing Willy is definitely grounds for ejection from any stadium

I am visiting Australia in July and will be attending the Carlton game. Looking forward to a big win on the day! Other than that, looking forward to May and Lever sorting out the backline after a few games together.

A Kyle Dunkley debut, Gawn smashing a “sore” Grundy again in the return fixture, winning the toss against Norf in R23 and kicking with the wind in the opening quarter. Like most, this household is feeling pretty flat. Would also like to see if Goody and the match committee have the gonads to omit players severely out of form.

I'm hoping to join the Rolling Stones

Drugs..... Chookrat is looking forward to drugs.

My tax return Getting my full 15 years worth of long service leave in 2 weeks. 4 weeks in Thailand starting next Tuesday. Seeing the cat in my profile pic for the first time n 14 months. (I really love that dopey looking thing) Christmas, because the place i live at should be visable from the moon with all the Chrissie lights we have planned. Draft period. Trade period. The Ashes. Hell, i might even plan a colonoscopy. Not really feeling the footy right now tbh.

Same here, plus: Wimbledon (Barty having a go) Tour De France (beautiful countryside to look at) Brownlow Medal Count (Max winning)

I’m not really looking forward to anything Demons related. If I had to choose something it would be the progression of Baker. Non-Demons related, I’m looking forward to Essendon not making the finals again.

Was waiting for Demonland's most notorious know all to come and explain things. in these types of debates conciliatory is just code for 'don't make white people uncomfortable'. And I think it's about time we were made uncomfortable.

Sums how I feel to a tee. Theres been crappy times in the multitudes in my almost 50 years as a supporter. But I expected them to be crap for most of them so I was never disappointed to this same degree. This has definitely been the worst feeling as a supporter I can remember....even if the team itself and the results are better than they were at our lowest Neeld ebb. Truly speaking had we won ONE close one last year instead of losing all 4 or 5 of them we finish top 4 and who knows from there. they were really a top side in 2018, perhaps one that didnt quite realise just how good they were. So it could well be that 2018 was the high. We go back to dreaming and planning.....and hoping this player or that one comes on. But however you spin it we're no longer in the elit bracket of teams, and probably ( even given players back) are still only in the lower half of the medium ranked teams.

those jaguar jumpers could become a collectors' item ?

.....dont forget the World Cup.

I see this - except The Dees are the ones on the ice

Looking forward to: Whatsaywhat getting his PHD for the above thesis. Convincing myself it’s just a game. Wimbledon and Le Tour. The cricket. Getting behind Miller in the MotoGP and Remy Gardner in the Moto2. Not feeling like I’m missing anything when my band is playing at the same time as the Dees.

At least you are speaking about subjects you know.

I’m with you ‘DeeZee’ and agree with everything you’ve said. From the rule changes to the commentary to Gil, the game has lost something. Even before our disappointing round 1 game I just didn’t have that same feeling of ‘footballs back’ excitement.

Denied!!!! For - 1. Total lack of remorse. 2. Absolutely no hope of you ever becoming a law abiding, functional or decent member of society.

I’m looking forward to this weekend. It’s a bye weekend so we don’t lose and I can relax and enjoy it.

Umpires are so gormless. Instead of trying to be the players' mate, they should be tough and crack down on this rubbish. And the AFL are always rattling on about the look of the game. This is childish behaviour from Stratton and he should be treated like a child. Punish him. Pay a free kick against him and if he protests or gives some lip, pay 50 meters against him. Tell him if he keeps doing it, he will be reported. Umpires need to grow some and take control sometimes. This can be stopped easily but no one shows any initiative or any guts to stand up to these smart guy players.

Top 10 aims - round 14 to 23 1- Weideman to step up 2- Defence to link up finally. May Lever Salem Hibberd Frost 3- Petracca to step up to hit the scorecard and build intensity 4- Build games into Hore, Lockhart, Baker. And get a look at Dunkley 5- see Jeffy Garlett find his mojo, tackle and rip in as the small forward we need 6- skills skills skills and skills Need to hit targets 7- goalkicking accuracy. Ridiculous so far in 1st half of 2019. Convert inside 50s into goals 8- Max Gawn to be the All Australian ruckman 9- no more crippling injuries. Get Vandenburg & Joel Smith back. 10- a few wins. Need to celebrate a few.

Come on, he's got us winning all the way through to the premiership. That's just crazy. ?

About the only thing left to do this season that involves leaning back DV is downing one's favorite draught or drop. Watching the demons while doing so surely no longer mandatory and more likely to spoil any enjoyment from the former.

Planning for Asia will begin on Monday, leave Late August after my Mum’s 80th Back before Christmas ? footy is done and dusted at the halfway mark. That is depressing

Lets just all enjoy the next 10 2020 pre season practice matches without the pressure of making 2019 finals. I'm looking forward to May, Lever & Frost gelling. Tom McDonald remembering how good he is. Sam Weideman living up to his preseason promise of helping us forget about Jesse Hogan. Deciding what part of my body I'm getting my 2020 premiership tattoo.

If we win thr next 5 in a row we will then enter the mathematical possibility conversation - one can only dream. In seriousness I'd oike to see our best 22 gel and start playing some good footy, finish the season with minimal injury, make some changes in the off season (not to drastic) and give 2020 a massive crack.

Storming home to wi the last 10 rounds, make finals by 0.1% and then win them all including the GF

SHIRAZ and plenty of it !!!!!!!

I am hoping that we string some good wins together. Seeing Lever and May playing some good footy together and avoiding any serious injuries. Oskar B has plenty to offer and should accumulate good game time and more so in the midfield. He has the talent and the speed and above average skills and most of all he is a goer. Hore and Frost to keep improving just love their commitment. Like to see more of Lockhart and young Mid recruit in Kyle Dunkley make his Debut soon. I like to see Petracca playing stress free footy and kicking a bag of goals. We have the talent just have to find the passion. I look forward to finishing the season off strongly. Think what you like if we lose more than 10 games we cannot make the 8 however the candle will burn while we have a mathematical chance. I must keep the faith until we can't make it. That is what keeps me going.

Bevo was a tax man at Austrac. Don Pyke I believe ran a mining company. Clarko was a PE teacher. Not usually a position that requires great intelligence. Buckley has refined media skills from his playing and media days but took years to use that to his advantage. Hardwick has a great feel for his players. But his coaching career changed dramatically when Balme - a failed coach - gave him great support. Longmire I sense isn’t all that clever but he has excellent strength of character. There’s never a perfect coach, there’s plenty of ways to do it.

Unfair, really? My critique of May was pretty balanced and fair i would have thought. A long way from the hyperbole that often masquerades as objective assessment that is more the norm on DL. I didn't even say May had a bad game, which he didn't. I thought in fact he had an ok game, not great, but ok. His spoiling was mostly really good, the best part of his game actually. I simply said that i was 'not nearly as impressed with his defensive work as seems to be the consensus on Demonland'. I noted that JDG kicked 3 goals but also said i doubted all 3 were on May. I said there was a number of occasions where he was beaten, which is true. I noted he cost us a goal flying for a mark when he missed it and got turned inside out by JDG for another - both true. Hardly unfair or examples of stinging, unfounded criticism. And i didn't say that the fact that JDG kicked 3 goals on May was 'the reason he wasn't as good as Demonland thinks'. That's a misinterpretation of my comments. Its actually not true that with Omac i don't look at who kick goals on us. It is a critical metric for a defender - as is the number of spoils (which as i say May was good at against the Pies). I have made the point many times this year that with one or two exceptions Omac has had very few goals kicked on him by direct opponents.The players that have hurt us this year are not the bigs but the small and medium forwards. Like JDG. Finally i wasn't comparing OMac and May, simply pointing out he would have copped it on DL if he had been turned inside out by JDG the way May was. Unfairly of course because as you say JDG is gun and defenders get beaten. But much of the criticism Omac cops is unfair so it would be par for the course. It goes without saying that May is obviously a much better player than Omac and may well end up keeping him out of the team if Frosty continues to perform well. But i'm not sure about you, but i have very high expectations of May. He is an AA defender in the prime of his career that we have paid dearly for (picks and salary cap space) and given up our best key forward for him in a season where we can't buy a goal. Glad he got though this game and i expect he will be a gun for us. But i mark him hard and expect better than ok games from here on in.

I watched May fairly closely, and thought he had a really good game. He added leadership to the back half, did a lot of little things, used his body well, positioned himself well and attacked the contests. For a first game (I’m discounting the quarter he played earlier in the year), he gets a big tick from me.

If you believe some of the posters on DL, jenkins is an average player. I wish our average players kicked bags of 3 or more goals three weeks running.

Keilty is already 24 and to be honest he hasn't improved that much from last year. Again, he's been on our list for 3 years for a return of 2 games. That's poor How long do we need to continue to hang o to these NQR standard players? I'm sorry but this might come across as harsh but we've barely gotten anything back in return from Keilty. He is a definition of a list clogger. Time to cash in and free some spots up for next year to at least grab a tall who will look like making an impact but also show that they have a future at this footy club.