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I had the good fortune to meet Brendan on 3 occasions and hear his football views thanks to the great man @george_on_the_outer Brendan has an uncompromising philosophy on the lifestyle sacrifices, and the skills and attributes required to make it as an AFL footballer. It's a tough philosophy that I find it very difficult to argue against - I didn't notice you doing that there either. IMO he made an invaluable contribution to both Geelong's and the Dogs' premiership success. His message is very tough and it probably has a use-by-date and I'm a bit surprised he was at Geelong so long, but he was a younger man then. I've got no doubt his contribution will be key to the premiership success of our current group at Melbourne and I'm thankful for his input. I wish him all the best for the future.

Shame Melbourne isn't playing. Could have gone to the footy and snow at the same time.

So much ignorant presumption going on here, and so little analysis. For those of you who are talking common sense, it’s almost pointless to argue logic against those whose agenda is set. The whole notion of poor medical management and poor conditioning should logically be scrutinised with respect to WHY players are unavailable. As an example, of the 14 players listed on this week’s injury list (by the club), all but 4 are unavailable due to traumatic orthopaedic incidents, like Tom McDonald’s knee. These have NOTHING to do with medical management. We have had a competition high incidence of these injuries. It happens sometimes, and is unlucky. Collingwood on the other hand currently is nursing 6 hamstring injuries. That COULD be coincidence, but questions about their methods and management are obviously justified. Our injury list is, and has been all season a hotchpotch of random stuff. Bad luck is the biggest factor. A less than ideal preseason prep plays a part obviously.

Thanks for sharing But Demonlanders need to realise it's a game Coaches play what's said to the media and what happens behind closed doors is very different. To anyone thinking the club is not reviewing what's gone wrong and how to get back on track next season, you are crazy

I know we are all supporters, members, fans whatever, and this season has been really hard, but the angst Goodwin’s media causes on DL really is unnecessary. The AFL community, whether it player, coach, club or head office carefully manage their message. It represents little of what is actually happening. Same with team selection, for example Preuss not being selected for most of the year had many on here yelling for goodwin’s sacking or worse, many pages on various threads were devoted to the subject. When Preuss was eventually selected, he showed manifestly that he is not ready. Turns out there was a reason why he was not selected. I know it feels hard to trust the club at times like these and we have been so badly let down by administrators in the past. Whether or not you’re suspect of the current mob, they will always have valid reasons to make decisions on selection of players, coaches , staff and will not disclose 90% of the machinations behind the scenes. Media can have agendas and it is a competitive space

We have money to spend, Mahoney already came out earlier in the season and stated we had room in the cap. But someone mentions on Demonland we have a tight cap and it's presumed gospel

But he didn't keep his mouth shut. He gave very expansive and positive quotes for a long article, something he didn't have to do. Of course he's not going to spill the beans on politics behind the scene, but I think it's a shame you don't see his remarks for what they are - a classy and dignified exit from a bloke who's just lost his job.

mccartney-sees-bright-future-for-dees Very optimistic about our future albeit tinged with regret about leaving (appears to not be of his choosing). Very classy comments and exit.

Enjoy your thoughtful posting LH and you make some good points about the line coaches' inexperience. But I think you're being harsh on list management - the list is still a work in progress and I'm OK with that. I see 6 best 22 in your list above: May, Lever, Melksham, Fritsch, Hibberd, Hannan - some may debate the last 2. KK and J.Smith are potential best 22 also, but have been injured. Hore, Petty, Baker and Jordon have all shown something this year are possible best 22 when they develop some more. Preuss is there as specific back-up if Max gets injured and was competent against Carlton in that role, at least until he ran out of gas in the last quarter. So a good selection IMO. Lewis was recruited for a sound purpose and was best 22 but is not now. IMO it's really too early to make a call on Spargo, Sparrow, Bedford, Nietschke, Chandler, C.Wagner, Lockhart, Walker, Bradtke and Dunkley and only the first four of them were selected in the ND, the other 6 are speculative. J.Wagner, Maynard, Keilty and T.Smith (mainly because he's always injured - he could be reasonable depth otherwise) look like busts but they were all Rookie selections - so it happens.

Here's a little something I'll share from a contact I have. Recently, Goody spoke at an event to a small group, (I won't divulge) but there were no media in attendance. The first thing I'll say is that both my source and I have been critical of Goodwin and his media performances in the past, however at this event he was very different, was honest and opened up a great deal more regarding this season. Some talking points and discussion: * The disruption and snowball effect the pre-season surgeries had cannot be underestimated. Didn't have nearly enough time with the players to not only get the required conditioning in, but to run and trial drills, build cohesion etc etc.. (We all know it's had an impact but he stressed the point again). * He believed in some ways that we were lucky to make the prelim with the list we had. We were slightly ahead of where he thought we should be by the end of last year and the hype that followed us into this season was too much. * There are some issues with staff and coaches right now and there will be big changes made end of year. (The event was held before the McCartney news broke) * The main message was that there will be some big changes to both playing list and staff at the end of the year. He doesn't believe we have the list to take us to the promised land. * Goody didn't say this but my source got the impression that a captaincy change up could be on the cards. (Gawn). I'll put my hand up to say that normally I'm hyper critical of Goodwin in media interviews for the lack of insight and information he shares, but I was assured that he was a completely different character away from the camera. Thought I'd share, looking forward to the end of this year.

I agreed at the start of the year to go to the game at Manuka tonight with a Hawks mate. If I don’t make it back, I love you all.

Many thanks for info. Would like to comment on the two highlighted items: Staff and Coaches: Goodwin's line coach appointments: Chaplin, Plapp, Rooke. Goodwin's staff/advisor appointments: Egan, McCartney, Jennings. The latter two were during Roos' reign but were Goodwin appointments as Roos, rightly, was allowing Goodwin to build his own team. His 3 line coaches were and are horribly inexperienced in the AFL or in the roles he gave them. So much so that Rooke was moved out of his line coaching role midyear. So I hold Goodwin 90% responsible for the mess of our coaching panel and related staff. The other 10% goes to Mahoney who oversaw the coaching panel build and endorsed the appointments. Playing List: The 28 players added in Goodwin's reign for his Game Plan: Rhetorical question: How many 'Best 22' from those 28 players? The jury is still out on some but I don't see very many. Not much of a bounty after 3/4 years! So its a bit rich for Goodwin to say 'we don't have the list to take us to the promised land' as: the coach sets the game plan, the coach makes the calls on trades, Recruiting fill the list gaps for the required game plan, with the draft picks left after trading. Taylor hasn't had much to work with for the last 3 years and it shows in the state of our list. I see about 12-14 good to very good players on our player list then if falls away very quickly. Overall, imv Goodwin has made some very poor decisions on coaches, staff and players. I find it staggering that our club is now having to make major repairs to our coaching panel and playing list after just 3 years. I have been going on for the last two years for an experienced person (call it director, mentor, GM Football or whatever) to help Goodwin avoid the pitfalls our rookie coach has fallen into. That Mahoney has not done that is an indictment on him. I'm still a believer in Goodwin but he needs to steady the ship, take a long, hard look at himself and start making better decisions. Edit: Was there any mention of the game plan?

OMac retains his spot and no Hore. Goodwin said Collingwood have some really good smaller players so we’ll need players who can play on big and small. Watch their forwards run rings around OMac. I give up.

Just to reinforce your point - the Cats, Pies, and West Coast have in order the 5th, 3rd, and 4th oldest lists. We're 13th for age and 14th for games played. The Bulldogs are 12th and 13th. The Tigers are 10th for average age, but are 6th for games played and have 14 players with over 120 games under their belts compared to our eight: five of those who haven't gotten on the field for the bulk of 2019. That leaves Jones, Hibberd and TMac. For the record, Geelong have 15, Collingwood 16, and West Coast 14 players with over 120 games of experience. Without naming the players it's obvious each of these team's core drivers are also older and more experienced compared to ours. Here, I've run some numbers (fairly quickly so there might be minor errors). Going by the top six in last year's best and fairest results, the average games played for each team's best on-field third was as follows: Geelong: 195.8 Collingwood: 181.8 West Coast: 181.8 Richmond: 193 Melbourne: 134 Sure, mean averages can be easily skewed with a small sample, but the only players with less than 120 games from those B&F lists outside of Melbourne are Tom Phillips, Tim Kelly, and Kane Lambert. For the MFC it was Gawn, Oliver, Harmes and Gus. Without having seen much of the other teams this year to make a comparison, our other two top six players from 2018, Jones and TMac, are likely to drop out. Salem and Petracca could feature, bringing our average down to around just 88 games! The numbers tell the tale.

Wandered over to Gosh's this morning. Appears training was cancelled. The rehab squad was out there. Joel Smith running straight lines with a tracker. Looks strong and has bulked up around the hip area. Aaron Nietschke and Tom Sparrow walking and running laps. Jake Lever was doing lots of ball work with two trainers. Appeared to be moving without restrictions.

For some reason I’m looking forward to heading to the G tomorrow, especially looking forward to seeing the look on the kids’ faces when we arrive after telling them we are heading to Wet ‘N’ Wild. Go Demons, gives us something.

Manuka Very different sort of snow at Metricon on the Gold Coast Mumford is in his element

These 2 teams should be wearing a Clash Jumper, if such things are needed. But of course the aren’t of course, because the AFL is a joke

Im tired of this assertion that Goodwin has a biligerant belief in game plan, is inflexible, stubborn, etc., from people who dont know him and do not work in the club.

I don’t think it’s as cut and dried as him getting the sack. In fact, I know it isn’t the case: It is about philosophical differences. Goodwin knows what he wants from McCartney; McCartney thinks there’s a difference between what he wants and what he needs. They don’t agree and it means everyone would be better off not losing friendships over something like this. I have plenty of mates I’d never want to work with, and I have worked with people where it’s been better to make the change before we inevitably end up hating each other.

I'd like to see Viney tried as a small forward. He has some real acceleration, could get to fall of the ball and win the contest, is a generally clean ball-handler, and would be a genuine tackling threat that would spark fear and panic in opposition defenders. There has been some resistance raised from a good judge because his kicking is not great and our inability to convert has really hurt us. This could well be the killer but he could not be worse than ANB.

Gil is a priority p(r)ick.

Methinks Hore comes in for Lever as a late out and this was always what was going to happen. If Lever does play then I have no idea why Hore wasn't chosen over OMac.

.Countdown Thought Demonlanders would appreciate a countdown to the end of this years misery. Bring on 2020.

Yep, I'd definitely be ok with keeping that first pick and getting Langdon and Martin. If we could also manage to pick up a quality free agent then that's a reasonably successful offseason IMO.

Watson just said on SEN he thought Martin was worth an early second round pick.

It seems like he has a bit of love for both teams: https://m.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-09-10/jeff-farmer-riding-the-demons-wave "I got pretty excited when the final siren went, and I was right in the thick of it with the supporters," Farmer told AFL.com.au. "I certainly celebrated, I was very proud of the effort and the way they went about the game. "I'm no different to anyone else, I love the Melbourne Football Club like all the other supporters, I certainly enjoyed the night and certainly celebrated with everyone else as well.”

Gold Coast just dropped Martin and Wright. So, they are either actually tanking or they are proving that no amount of top picks will be the answer to their problem.

I'd argue playing the individual in question is harming his trade value.

Then stop interpreting. Simples.

Hore not selected again and Omac still in the side. This is a complete joke.

What a bizzare and utter joke of a team selection. Collingwood have 1 bloke inside the forward 50 who is over the 190cm mark and we bring in Steven May yet continue to select Oscar!? To play on who exactly? Their 188cm full forward in Hoskin Elliot!? It's going to be wet and miserable and we stack a backline with tall defenders. Blind Freddy could see we need to bring in an extra runner or maybe reward a bloke by the name of Marty Hore who was a daylight BOG and much better match up for Collingwood small forwards. Sums up our year. [censored] you Goody

I would have Hore in the team rather than Omac with May, Frost and Lever already in the back six.

That may well be true, however if he got it wrong in those 3/4 years, I'd rather he does something about it now that he has realised it than just bumble along.

What insurance does Tim Smith provide? He's injured for about 16 weeks every year.

Despite injuries Collingwood is fielding a mature team: Average Attributes Melbourne Attribute Collingwood 187.5cm Height 186.9cm 87.7kg Weight 86.8kg 24yr 10mth Age 26yr 8mth 96.1 Games 117.8 Total Players By Games Melbourne Games Collingwood 6 Less than 50 6 9 50 to 99 3 4 100 to 149 6 3 150 or more 7 https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/afl_team_selections#9893

OUR BEST SIDE FOR NEXT YEAR B: JETTA, MAY, LEVER HB: HIBBERD, FROST, SALEM C : HARMES, OLIVER, ANDERSON HF: MELKSHAM, T.MCDONALD, PETRACCA F: FRITSCH, WEIDEMAN, PETTY FOLL: GAWN, VINEY, BRAYSHAW IC: JONES, HUNT, J.SMITH, VANDENBERG EMERG; HORE, HANNAN, LOCKHART, PREUSS CASEY B: JORDON, O.MCDONALD, J.WAGNER HB: HORE, KEILTY, KOLODJASHNIJ C : STRETCH, MAYNARD, BAKER HF: HANNAN, T.SMITH, NEAL-BULLEN F: GARLETT, BRADTKE, LOCKHART FOLL: PREUSS, SPARROW, C.WAGNER IC: KENNEDY HARRIS, SPARGO, DUNKLEY, BEDFORD EMERG: CHANDLER, NEITCHSKE, WALKER RETIRED: LEWIS POSSIBLE DELISTINGS: O.MCDONALD, J.WAGNER, KEILTY, STRETCH, MAYNARD, T.SMITH, GARLETT, KENNEDY HARRIS

almost as blatant as us keeping o mac in

Would rather Wynona.

But how many times did he scratch his leg?

A few feature races featuring a number of returning Spring horses highlights the meetings at Flemington & Rosehill on Saturday. The best betting race amongst the 3 listed below being the 'Aurie's Star Hcp' Only 5 acceptors in the Missile Stakes but it's an interesting race anyway ... picking the F4 in order in the 5 horse field might deliver an ok dividend. Rosehill - Missile Stakes Rosehill - The Rosebud Flemington - Aurie's Star Hcp

Stupid decision not to play Hore, as it was last week. You have to ask - what the F... is going on?

Come on mate, you go out of your way to find things to whinge about and criticise the club continually. I doubt there is a single Demon fan who is happy with what has transpired this season, but bleating on an internet forum doesn't help anybody. Unless it makes you feel better? Or maybe you're just a troll? *responding to Sorry poster, not DemonOx!

Time to go. Such an indictment on our development that in three years we still have a need for him. Has been worth the money. Quite happy to recruit another senior player with a couple of years in them. We just cannot produce our own Boomer Harvey or similar. Mfcss strikes again

Think you're in the wrong thread if you're coming here with all clubs get their share of injuries. Go back and read it again and you'll see we've had more than our fair share. I know a lot on here have somehow completely forgot we made a prelim last year, so clearly our drafting and development hasn't been sub-par. There's 46 players on our list and on the weekend we had a total of 31 to choose from, this includes Jordan, Bradtke, Bedford and Chandler who are yet to make an AFL debut. The cupboard is bare, and it ain't down to drafting or development.

I think the GC priority pick thing is happening. the last significant hurdle is the clubs where there will no doubt be strong opposition but when guys like Barrett and caro start saying it, the AFL is trying to slowly get the public to accept the fact this is happening.

Collingwood playing for a top 4 spot, Melbourne playing for a top 4 draft pick. Those motivations determine the likely result for mine.

Hell of a lot of guesswork going on there.

Right - and I bet none of the Hawks' fans give a flying what he costs. None of the other teams seem to be bothered by salary-cap concerns, I don't know why it's such a big issue with us in comparison. Give money to whoever wants to come to us who will make us better. We can cut our list to 38 if need be. Buy a flag and then sort out sustainable cap-practices from there.