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Its a 2 year deal Chell.... not like he's signing a big 600k 5 year deal. He's currently in our best 22 who's about to hit the 50 game mark. Makes perfect sense to me really. Still has a lot of development and improvement to go.

First time poster, long time reader As a Brisbane based supporter and member Im disappointed to say the least that I can’t go to the footy on Thursday night. I took my two daughters to the Gold Coast on Sunday night and although it was a disappointing result the three of us loved being at the game. I was looking forward to taking my eldest daughter on again on Thursday night! I too rang the footy club today to enquire about getting a couple of tix to be told the AFL had made the decision to limit the spectator numbers to 500 because it would cost them too much to open the ground up to more fans! I also emailed the AFL....no response of course! At a time when fan engagement has to be at a premium for the AFL I can not understand this decision even if it costs them a few more dollars. They are spending a fortune for the Victorian clubs to stay in hubs....surely spending a few extra dollars to let as many fans watch the game live is the right thing to do. Disappointed.....

Bizarre that there's actually supporters who legit think we shouldn't be giving contracts to talented players like Fritta. Can't wait until he hits the 80-100 game mark. I was filthy on him on the weekend for the 50. But there no doubting his talent that's for sure.

Does anyone know the last time we beat a team on top of the ladder? It's going to happen in 2 days time.

I can't believe the amount of Demonlanders who would like Fritsch dropped.......he is our leading goal kicker so far this season! We all know that we have struggled to kick regular winning scores so we don't need to drop the guy who has kicked the most goals this season so far. Sure, his conversion rate could be better, but this can very quickly even itself out. He is regularly getting the ball within scoring range. Give us a few more that do that and we will start winning!

A lot of threads complaining about the umpiring yesterday but I thought this really deserves its own one as it's a huge issue and was a big reason why we lost the game. And it happens week in and week out. It's the 'pre-tackle' where a player second to the ball starts his tackle early and isn't penalised. Gawn's ruck dominance is completely squandered. 4 out of the 5 centre bounces in the first quarter involved Brisbane players grabbing hold of us before we were first to the ball. (The 5th was won by Harmes who was caught fair and square). Petracca, Viney, Viney, Oliver all just grabbed before they get hands on the ball which makes it very difficult to get off a clean disposal. In the 2nd quarter it's Petracca with the saddle on and Oliver completely wrapped up. Carlton have put the word in to the AFL about the treatment of Cripps. I think we have to ask the question about why Gawn dominated and our mids got first hands on the ball but we were smashed in the clearances. Part of it is our fault but we're also getting no reward for being first to the ball.

Salem underperforming? Not sure I can agree with that

I don't want to be a pain and bore you Dee supporters but as you can see from my initial post and your support on this I'm pee'd off and will not let it go as I am now convinced the AFL/Gabba are playing with us and being very disrespectful to the MFC. Not convinced at all I will get tickets for even the Magpies game. Following is a email I sent to my local Qld Govt member who also happens to be the Sports Minister in Mick De Brenni and I CC'd in the ABC, Fox, AFL & MFC Quote "I’m in your electorate at Shailer Park and need to inform you of what I believe to be a ridiculous situation with the AFL game on Thursday night between Melbourne and Port Adelaide at the Gabba. I am a Melbourne Demons Qld member and enquired to the club about purchasing tickets for my 2 sons and 2 Grandsons to attend however was told that only 250 tickets each for both Melbourne and Port Adelaide are allocated for this game and that I would not be able to attend. You are the elected member for Springwood and also Sports Minister and your government led by the Premier are very good at getting in the media and telling all what a great job you are doing in getting AFL to Qld in these difficult times even sprouting to hold the Grand Final here. In addition you want to get people in jobs and improve the economy however come Thursday night only 500 people can attend. A friend of mine who is a Gabba Trust member informed me that the Gabba members area is also closed on Thursday night. I have been reliably told that this is due to cost factors alone as the Gabba or AFL or both do not want the added cost to EMPLOY extra people to supply security, food/drink venues etc. I would have thought that allowing 2-5k people in and paying a few more workers would be a better sight for the Government and AFL than only about 500 hidden up in the rafters at the Gabba. This is not a good look for your Government, Gabba or the AFL as I believe those Melbourne and Port Adelaide members and supporters plus avid AFL supporters in Brisbane, which are many would attend this game. Finally as a Melbourne member normally each year all I can get to see up here is when we play Lions or Suns and now in 2020 due to the fact that most of the games are being played up here because of the Virus issues down south we all were excited to pay our money and watch them play other teams only to be told it will not be the case. I need to let you know of this and no doubt you will do nothing or pass the buck!! It’s a real shame that we are unable to watch LIVE this game on Thursday. As you can see I have CC’d in the ABC , my club and Fox Sports for their information. Trust you will take this on." Unquote. Sorry for continuing on this but if Pert etc. at the club do nothing at least I can try. Why can't we see our team play live up here in Brisbane when the Govt. is allowing 50% capacity NOT 500!!

I'm a Qld member and went to the Lions game on Coast using my free interstate ticket. Enquired via email to the club today on whether i could buy a ticket for Thursday's game and received the following response. Quote."There is going to be only a small allocation of tickets for this week’s game, so we are prioritizing members who haven’t yet used their free ticket allocation. There is a ballot running at the moment. If there are tickets left after this we will email members on Wednesday to be able to purchase. There is a chance there won’t be enough left though.". Unquote. This is an absolute joke. Believe it is a MFC home game and can't even buy a ticket. MFC & Port members here in Brisbane would be lucky to get to 500 total. Have not even been asked or informed how to enter the ballot. This is either a Gabba or AFL directive to keep the crowd to a bare number to save costs however our club just rolls over and takes it up where you know where. They should be asking for enough seats to satisfy us members up here. Want to see games up here other than against Lions or Suns and this is what you get served with. Will be thinking hard on renewing membership next year for myself and twin Grandsons.

Surprised at how many have jumped off the bandwagon TBH. He's given away a stupid 50 metre penalty and despite a near-flawless kicking technique, he's had a bad few weeks converting set shots (which even the best forwards go through at some point). Other than that, he's barely put a foot wrong since he was drafted. Gives our forwardline a real point of difference and will only get better.

It was like watching a tennis match, only my head only turned one way. Bounce, tap out to a Fitzroy player, handball to Gary Wilson and then an old bloke in front of me would cry out "Captain's goal, Gary, Captain's goal!" I have lived with that nightmare all my life. AND I don't really like the name Gary. (With apologies to anyone named Gary.)?

FFS he is a 45 game player who is coming out of contract. No one is saying he is getting a godfather offer? Does anyone believe we should not sign in? Look at our out of contracts list which order you would sort them in. The earlier we tidy these no brainer decisions up the better for club and player.

An absolute joke alright. Went to our 'home' game on Sunday night and was told they were expecting to get a bit over 3000 people. I don't know the final numbers, but I suspect the 3000 was about right. Of those 3000, it felt like probably 2800 of them were Lions supporters - so much for it being our home game. If the AFL are saying they are only prepared to release a total of 500 tickets to other games featuring all interstate teams: a) That's totally rank and yet another example of the AFL doing over the top favours for interstate expansion teams; b) 490 of the 500 tickets should be released to the home team first to at least give them some chance of something vaguely representing a home game. Port have plenty of home games in Adelaide. The MFC is getting totally bent over here.

And would attract opposition interest for sure. much better to sign him up before they get a chance.

Why not sell as many tickets as QLD gov. will allow and then set your staff levels accordingly.

You poor bastards that lived through that, must have been torture. I admire the old Demon guard, have been through alot of pain.

Why would you drop Harmes? To manage him, l can understand a one game break will do him good and many others in the side need to be rested to freshen up However that is the nature of the game in 2020. If you want Harmes to miss because because of one ordinary game D, I hope not. He can play in many positions and is very versatile. I would be very surprised to see him miss at this stage of the rounds. OH! I agree with Pickett 18yo would need to be managed. Jetta might be managed because of the head high tackles also his form might not warrant him a game this week.

Complete rubbish (IMO). Look at the video and you see a player trying to bump rather than get the ball or tackle. And with his elbow raised. I guess you’d say that every such collision is down to the victim for not running away.

True, but Viney deserves plenty of credit as well. He had 7 touches in the first 7 minutes of the last term and was everywhere. Both he and Trac were the ones to get us going.

One of the most highly anticipated sporting podcasts is here, No Merger. The four-part docuseries delves into the truth behind the failed merger of Melbourne and Hawthorn. What happened broke friendships and tarnished legacies forever. Told through conversations with the people at the front of the controversy, including former AFL CEO, Ross Oakley, acclaimed AFL journalist Mike Sheahan, Demon Alternative co-founder Mark Jenkins, Operation Payback frontman Don Scott, ex-Melbourne coach Neile Balme, former players Jason Dunstall, Alastair Clarkson, Andrew Leoncelli, appearances from Demon Army cheersquad leader Sophie Galer, diehard Demons supporter Gary Marchant, and many many more! Sydney based actor Ditch Davey, who recently joined the cast of Home & Away, features as the voice actor of ex-Melbourne president, Ian Ridley, who passed away in 2008. The podcast pre-launched yesterday with front and back page attention in the Herald Sun, featuring Don Scott's claims that Hawthorn were breaching the salary cap in the 80s. The news was syndicated and picked up via Seven, Nine, Fox Sports, The Age and other various outlets. Listen via the following platforms or wherever you get your podcasts! Apple: https://apple.co/2X5ZOUq Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3hIy000 iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2X0yo22 Adrian from Podular Media and The DeeBrief, one of the producers of the series, kindly passed on this episodic breakdown of the series. Episode 1 - LIVE NOW In the mid 80s, the AFL began to go through its most transformative period. The appointment of Ross Oakley as CEO, saw struggling Victorian clubs' futures brought into question. Melbourne Football Club became embroiled in a number of these discussions, while Fitzroy were relocated and merged with the Brisbane Bears. Unhappy Hawks | 2 - Published on Tuesday, August 4 Hawthorn Football Club are the most successful AFL team of the past six decades. Despite their dominance in the 80s and early 90s they were an organisation on their knees. It begs the question - how could such a star-studded team find themselves in such a position? The 'Merger Match' | 3 - Published on Tuesday, August 11 When the Herald Sun broke the story of a merger between Melbourne and Hawthorn it sent shockwaves through the football community. Anti-merger groups were formed and the battle lines to preserve the identity of two historic football clubs drawn. The battle between economic rationality and passion had begun. Vicious Vote Night | 4 - Published on Tuesday, August 18 The Demon Alternative and Operation Payback scrambled to get last minute press ahead of the Members' Vote Night. Wild scenes greeted the pro-merger Boards, as the merger descended into a night of utter chaos. Vicious taunts and toxicity pervaded the Dallas Brooks Hall and Camberwell Civic Centre, where both sets of supporters would decide upon the future of their football clubs. I'm sure this will one stir our emotions throughout listening to the series! Thankfully, they were able to uncover some important information around the dubious nature of the vote night [in episode 4], which I know is a sore spot for many. And there's a big revelation in episode 2, as Adrian was informing me, about a misconception that still lingers around like a bad smell - keep an ear out for that one. It's an engrossing listen, you'll be hooked and no doubt it'll generate great debate here on Demonland.

Any merger full stop to be honest , if I were a Fitzroy supporter that three peat in 01-03 still wouldn’t have felt right , I would still feel a little bit cheated if the demons ever climb the summit for a 13th time at least I’ll feel completely fulfilled because it would be the same club as the one that won its 12th premiership so many years ago, on its own , with the same colours and with the same name

What an absolute joke!! I cannot believe this though I should not be surprised. If I was a Queensland based supporter I would be furious! A once in a lifetime chance to see the Demons play multiple times over the course of a few weeks and they're locking people out. People having to try and scalp tickets like it's a bloody grand final! Not good enough the club needs to make some noise about this and put pressure on the AFL they need to go into bat for our supporters

Another 40% off code out today. Good for the next week.

Petracca was a forward and Viney was injured then.

It's a fair point re: Harmes. Those three are our best midfielders at the minute and deserve as much time in the middle as possible. Using Harmes in a tagging role is going to take someone out of there, which I think they want to guard against at the minute. I'd like to see Harmes given a run with role across half forward. He has a good set of hands and gets to the right spots, and he could be a bit of weapon clamping down on one of their primary runners off half back which would either help us in forcing more turnovers or locking the ball inside our 50.

Unsubstantiated speculation from someone who has has zero actual experience of Goodwin's coaching.

Just play in front of nobody. An allowance of 500 is an insult to the locals. It's unfair that some can go and many miss out. Therefore play it behind closed doors.

Agreed. Vineys goal lifted us. Viney played a great game. All 4 quarters. Definitely my best player on the day for the Dees.

for me the shuffle you make is you give Oliver more forward time and give Gus more midfield time and the net positive overall seems better Oliver has shown he's capable of causing headaches up forward

So who out of Petracca, Oliver and Viney did you want out of the primary midfield rotation to enable this to happen?

Pert has to pickup the phone to the AFL and make sure we can get 15000 to the Pies game. And not get screwed in tix allocation. MFC needs to get all Qld members along to the Dees v Pies “whatever it takes”. The Saturday night v Pies should be a big game.

You get a few of these strange calls every week. Reality is that we will make one or two changes, with those coming from the likes of Jetta and Brayshaw. Goodwin might be disappointed in Fristch's efforts at the end, but he won't be dropping him for it.

Yes and MFC gets 250 tix and Port 250 tix even though we are the home club. FFS. Gil and the team are tools. Why not try to seize the chance to promote AFL in QLD and give interstate members a chance !

Spot on WWS. Don Scott is an average conveyance but that has nothing to do with it. During the time of the alleged breaches he was someone within the club who held considerable influence. Investigate. If there's nothing there, so be it. Otherwise, there's no point in having an integrity officer whatsoever.

Remember when I think it was Brett Allison that used to give real player performance reviews. He got canned for doing it. I thought it was great.

That's good news. While I thought he was slightly stiff on the weekend with that 50 metre penalty (but I'm happy to concede he shouldn't have pushed his luck), he is a very good player for us going forward. He can play out of the square, has a good set of hands and is a very good kick of the footy (unless he's kicking for goal, although it seems he is starting to kick a little straighter as the weeks progress). Will be an important part of our forward line in the coming years, so locking him away is the right move.

This is all about strategy and coaching rather than umpiring. Surely we must know that we have the best tap ruckman in the business and teams are going to concede and scrag him and our midfield whole covering the odd free kick. So what is our counter strategy? We don't seem to have one. Yes raise it with the umps and the media but We should have multiple strategies and we should train for it. E.g If you're being tackled and haven't yet taken possession, maybe don't take it. Block and Shepard for each other. Maybe target a slow midfielder from the opposition and have Gawn tap it down his throat and have Viney bury him multiple times. Protect Gawn at marking contests where we can. I dunno, mix it up a bit.

You are right every team does it, including us. What I hate is why do the umpires need to be "made aware of it". They umpire games every week, they should be watching tape to pick up on these things just like players watch tape on opposition. The AFL refuses to make umpires full time so they can argue they don't have time to watch tape but this is a perfect example of why they should be made full time professionals. The scragging around contests has been going on for years, it does my head in.

Not at all surprised but the story will probably go away because the AFL will make it go away. And they won't have to lift a finger to make it go away either. With the backing of the media & general footy public. One big happy family and it gets kept that way. Look at the systemic cheating that went on at Essendon ... 80% of the footy public didn't want to know about it and simultaeously clammed up and went into denial. And it was the much despised Essendon. And that included 80% of the prominent posters right here on this site. No comment at all from any of them. The silence was deafening Footy rules and footy must win out. The same people often complain bitterly when it suits but they protect footy like it's their children. There is no absolute honesty and never will be. Tony Liberatore was told to shut up or else over the widespread tanking that went on at Carlton. So he shut up. Don Scott will be portrayed as an eccentric old fool. It's already hapoening on this very thread. But what he is saying could well be true and if so, a proper investigation should follow. But what are the chances?

Shocked so many are wanting Jackson dropped

Typical home ground decision. In the Fritta one the crowd were screaming for the 50. For the Petracca one they weren't.

Has game day been rescheduled or is the AFL App not synching the calendar correctly?

Werridee interesting but don't think 4 changes will take place although some case for about 3 or 4 for relegation and/or managing are credible. One clear "error" each week in your team is May at full backClearly Oscar takes this role as our goalkeeper and May is now mostly at CHB. I would also argue that Lever is at HB. Sometimes it depends upon match ups I admit and the kicking back into play is mostly done by May and Salem. I also think Oscar could do this and May offer an alternative to Gawny to kick out to. Our kick outs are a little underwhelming IMO as not many players make space and then opt to play on rather go back and delay moving the ball, with some aggression.

Something I always liked about how Neitz approached set shots was that he never did the dinky kicks, he always kicked through the ball with purpose. I wonder about the training that we have with set shots as that seems quite common. Weid could be a few steps away from being a very good forward if he can sort a few of his issues out and I feel that a lot of them are between the ears.

Not sure if these vids work but both tackles were not dangerous in my opinion. Just the usual crap from biased, corrupt umpires: Tackle 1 - 3rd quarter (I assume this was the one that copped the fine): https://share.vidyard.com/watch/GpymjpxmkHzYhUSozgY5fz? Tackle 2 - 4th quarter: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/heKFcDHi1XPPcVVpW6pgn4?

send him to boak for mine aints set steele for trav and it worked a treat

Then we spread the news, send it to the various footy shows; they are always looking for content. Maybe Titus can make a joke of it raising its profile.

Melbourne Storm says hello..... stripped of their 2007 & 2009 Premierships and 2006, 2007 and 2008 minor premierships for salary cap breaches and a record fine. ....if there is a paper trail, then there is a paper trail......bank accounts dont lie. ...unlikely we would be awarded a Flag, but they could certainly lose theirs.

No it wouldn't. If there is hard evidence, it puts the integrity of the AFL in serious question if they sit on their hands and do nothing. All that sucess that Hawthorn had through that era at the expense of everyone else and they are still reaping the benefits of the inflated membership base it allowed them to build. Taking away premierships retrospectively would be hollow. A fitting punishment would be for them to loose a bunch of first round draft picks and exclude them from free agency for the next 3 or 4 years to thwart the rebuild they need to have and make them mediocre for the next decade like other teams have had to endure.