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I have hope of seeing our great club play at the Gee in front of a crowd in 2021 and in front of their members waving red and blue flags and cheering the boys on. Twenty thousand or so mostly members and singing the song as they venture out onto the ground. So be it to start with. The adrenalin pumping through your veins and being loud just supporting the boys in that famous jumper. I won't miss it for the world. Ending the day with a big win singing the song again and again, Bring on the opening round against Freo.

Wowsa you've missed out arguably the most important responsibility a coach holds. Gameplan. Since 2018, Goodwin has been too slow to make changes to an unbelievable one-dimensional game plan which in-turn has seen us select the same side for too long, have the same problems during games for too long and lose games in a similar fashion for too long. Goodwin is largely responsible for where we are as a club. The two losses you speak about can still be linked to the same problem areas we've seen for this entire period I'm speaking about. It's nothing new.

I prefer no hubs. And, I wonder whether the industry would accept another year of hubs? From known and rumoured tales the hubs took quite a personal toll on some coaches, some players, absent family and solo attendees. Not to mention rumours of unreported and unsanctioned breaches of AFL and covid protocols - the old its ok just don't get caught! The AFLPA and AFLCA may take some convincing to set up hubs, especially clubs from NSW and Vic who had no opportunity to get home during the hub regime. Lets hope the vaccine arrives early and is effective (and Premiers get sensible on border closing) so that the season can continue as featured without hubs, even with reduced crowds.

Good luck sending positive vibes.

Good luck Tim, hope its nothing.

I firmly believe that Richmond and Geelong would’ve got the job done had they been sent to Cairns to play Sydney and Freo instead of us. Why? Because good sides get the job done when the whips are cracking, and they were certainly cracking in the 4th and 3rd last rounds of the season. Case in point being Geelong. The last round of the season they were down all day against Sydney and were playing terribly. However they willed themselves over the line because they had a top 4 spot to play for. I’m positive they also would’ve got the job in the adverse Cairns weather because that’s what high quality sides and coaches manufacture on a regular basis. Conversely, we had a rare finals appearance at stake and the destiny was in our own hands. Unfortunately it took us 3 quarters to wake up on both occasions and the club blew another opportunity on behalf of their supporters. I’m blaming Goodwin first (after a repeat of 2017) and then the playing group second. Another season of missing finals on the back of blowing a crucial game against a bottom 4 side and he’ll need to be replaced.

2020 was incredibly tough, obviously no-where near as tough for me as others but it was a major drag. Caught up with a 'sort of' ex today who moved back to Adelaide in May and was getting some stuff back off me. I really don't think she fully understood how hard the Stage 4 lockdown period was. It can be real frustrating when people in that position who never really felt it use the line 'well it would have been like that for everyone'. Like many others I was hoping the mere changing of the calendar would change everything and I'm confident it will eventually but it's definitely going to be a slow burn.

I don’t have an excess of years so sadly I would prefer not to lose one DJ.

You are more confident than me Hardtack. I doubt I will see a game live in 2021 because in spite of what the feds say I cannot see us getting the vaccine any time soon. But my objective this year is be alive at the end of it. We are in the kill zone and I am being super conservative about where I go in 2021 and crowds are off the list.

All the best mate.

100% correct.It just stuns me with the borders. It is a virus and there will be a vaccine in march. if WA wants to play hardball then sit out eagles and dockers for the season. mcgowan can get stuffed.

2020 was shall we say an interesting year. Three days before a scheduled Knee replacement in February, we discovered that despite 25 years of Private Health Cover, Knee replacements were 'off-side'. In the meantime, our one year old Swiss White Shepherd began its journey into some kind of urban sanity, our daughter, despite being put off from her part-time job at Laurent, had a good year at Uni, and from April onwards my Wine Agency business went uphill instead of treading water. And, most importantly, I managed to get my tally of Short Stories from 14 at this time last year to 43. In the meantime, my wife has found a UK publisher for her Novella and I started an exercise regime which alleviated the pain of my severe case of Double Knee-monia. If there are any publishers in this readership group, I assure you that my stories are Nobel Prize quality. Ha Ha. All the best to the lot of you, friends and jousters alike, and though I have learned to not anticipate much, I have a feeling the Demons might be onto something bonzer in 2021.

After a tough 2020 who knows what lies ahead for us all in 2021. No matter what, here's wishing you and your families all the best for the coming year. May it be a happy, healthy and prosperous one and maybe, just maybe an end to our long suffering NS curse...please. Happy New Year!

Call me a glutton for punishment but I watched the freo game last night - Goodwin either had a bad day at the office or, he has no idea. I like to watch games we lose to see where it was lost and where we can improve.... This game was lost not only at selection, but game style. If not for inaccurate kicking from freo we should've been at least six goals down at half time. We played a hard running hand ball game in driving rain ! We were often caught out of position and freo caught us on the rebound and made it look easy...... Can you believe it ? Also, Please remember that we were beaten by a first year coach while we were a team fighting for finals. I'd like to share your enthusiasm that he is a good coach - lets persevere with him - it's our year, BUT if we are down 2 and 4 at the end of round six next year and that is assuming we beat Freo (ha! ha!) and Hawthorn it will be the SAME OLD !

For @old dee and @hemingway there are a few clips that they would remember.... and perhaps the last players, Alistair Lynch, Moorcroft....who last kicked one seriously in a game? https://www.afl.com.au/video/32505/myth-breakers-what-happened-to-the-drop-kick?videoId=32505&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1420484400001

Thanks mate... I'm pretty certain it's something, just what it is, I'm not yet sure. In the words of a former coach, "it is what it is". ?

Yes OD, I'm expecting that is what will happen, but if I live another 30 years on one, I've just about hit the ton, so I'm not sure I want it to be quite that effective ?

I really hope we’re not hubbing in QLD again this year.

Well, State Premiers have shown in the last week how trigger happy they are with borders. What are chances of getting a remotely 'normal' season played? The biggest risk to the fixture is WA: To get unquarantined entry a State must have zero local transmission cases for 28 days. No chance of all the eastern states achieving and maintaining that. They retrospectively imposed border/quarantine restrictions to people already in the state. They are dead set stubborn on trying to make (any type of) sporting fixtures work. Wouldn't be surprised if the AFL is doing a deep dive into where to place the hubs for 2021. Hopefully, sanity prevails and state premiers find a way of allowing people movement without shutting borders every time a dozen people get ill. Not optimistic on this at all. Well, I like our fixture: while it lasted ?

There’s always LSD mate.

All in all the narrative generally follows the performance. Very few people see it coming, they use perfect 20/20 hind sight to tell the story of how Hardwick or Clarkson, or whoever, was always a genius. If Goody coaches us to a flag everyone will say how they saw the seeds of brilliance even in the dark times of 2019. If he flops, well that is another story entirely. People are already warming up that narrative. As for me, I can see a definite game plan based around winning the ball at the contest and pushing forward aggressively. We had problems with getting spread from the point of contest and we seem to have addressed that now. We were leaking goals due to some poor positioning and an overly aggressive press. We have addressed that too, our back 6 are starting to gel and seem to know where to be. I think May and Lever are a big part of that, they both know how to organise. Our forward structure and entries have been a big factor in our losses. I don’t think that is news to Goody or the tactical geniuses on DL. A really big part of that has been confidence though. Fritsch couldn’t miss in 2018 from within the 50 meter arc. With his confidence down and pressure on him to be the major goal kicker he could barely put it through from directly in front during 2019 and to a lesser extent in 2020. Another factor has been forward half pressure. It seemed like when we eased the press our system didn’t adjust to keep the ball locked in the forward half with reduced numbers. Back to that confidence problem, that played out across the whole field in 2020. Suddenly we were making basic skill errors and turning the ball over way more. I think that was mostly between the ears. This team needs to notch up some wins and get some swagger going. We need to stop worrying about drinking our own bath water and embrace a healthy arrogance, and not give a toss what the media says. I am one who believes we do have the people do get the job done. I see talent everywhere and with quite a few, we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. Kossie, Jackson and rivers all have a ton of development in them. I’m watching Baker carefully next season, he has had flashes of real brilliance but let’s see. Brown was the piece we absolutely needed, the competition between him, Weid and TMac will be very healthy. I see Jackson as something completely different and I’m really keen to see him develop. To say we don’t have a game plan or a recognisable style is just wrong. Sure, it is a work in progress, and sometimes we go to pieces or make a string of basic blunders, but I for one can see what Goody and the coaching group are trying to put together. If they tune it and get results they will be hailed as geniuses, if not well, let’s just wait and see. There is plenty of time to get the knives out and carve into our own when and if that happens.

The hardest thing I find is to think positive about 2021 and I don't mean football. The world has change and I may never again see like it has been all of my life .

Prob with our game is we need to win and so do cards but we have lost too many. Looks like Floyd will be added to the not playin* list, so 6-7 starters no playing as Kisser who was due back now isn’t. Now we get to see if McVay is truly a genius at offensive schemes cos he will need a gem. Wolfed is the unknown. if he plays pretty well and protects the ball then we are a chance especially if our D plays to their level.

Sorry to hear that. All the best to you. I just want 2021 to be 'Nice'.

Agreed and think Buddy would be struggling to have taken 6 pack marks in his career

As supporters we are all loyal. But how can we expect our players to feel like we do, when clubs give no loyalty to their players: look at OMac and the attempts to get rid of his brother. It starts with the draft, when a young man is recruited regardless of who he barracks for wants to play for. And on this site I have seen it seriously suggested that we get rid of Gawn, FFS! So where is loyalty supposed to come from? As I remember it, in an attempt to tank we once played Chip on the forward line, making him look, and no doubt feel, foolish. I don’t blame him leaving for greener pastures. The club’s job is to make OUR pastures green enough. And we should try to convince our players that one-club players get something in tangible in terms of the love of their supporters. That is an attractive asset, it seems to me,

Thanks.

Conversely , and looking how the current Vic - NSW originated outbreak is being managed by all states, I think there is a reasonable chance if a hub is needed it will be a combined WA/SA/Vic bubble, and NSW and QLD (unfortuantely and unfairly for Lions and Suns) teams will relocate here.

We both need our football club to fire up. Finals in 2021 would be a good start.

I hear you brother. My 2020 started ok, but got progressively worse as the year went on. Living in Brisbane, working in a professional role and for a company moderately impacted, COVID wasn't a big thing for me. Missing finals was a 'very ordinary' way to end our, season, but was a pleasant experience compared to some of the personal hell I've been through over the past few months. Mate of mine suggested that instead of new years eve parties, everyone should have a f#@$ off 2020 party on Jan 1 and that sounds like a dam good idea to me.

That's funny, I think of people who don't know how to use apostrophes.

Second to none in ‘21. Best wishes to everyone.

Neither Lockett or Dustall would have taken 6 pack marks in a game. Of the current tall forwards Dixon, Hawkins or Lynch might take one, 2 on a good day...Cameron rarely takes a pack mark. A lot of the problem is how we move the ball in, the expectation of the pack mark is higher because we bomb the ball.

Nah, just a dream ... I regard his footy nouse and communication very highly.

I hope your 2021 is much better, Wrecker. Best wishes and better fortunes to all.

Another great Demonland myth. (Though most supporters at most clubs think the same thing.)

Another Collingwood player,Colin Tully who sadly passed away in Sept of this year was also renowned as being the longest kick of his era. In 1966 he kicked a drop kick from the centre of the MCG for a goal that was estimated to have travelled 78-86 metres,not yards, but metres.

Hardwick was a terrible match day coach, now he' seen as the 2nd coming of Clarkson... I think it's going to be more about Goody's intent to listen...if he listens, his match day coaching will improve as of course will we. If he's stubborn, then he's done. I have no idea what Goody is like and how he handles his role apart from seeing the results shown in game & on the scoreboard... I do know he has the strongest, most experienced team working with him in the FD now so there should be no excuses.

Actually... Quite a long way!

I thought the same. A fantastic warrior, but the fact that he won 3 x B'n'F s without ever being AA shows how poor the team was during his career. Oliver and Petracca are way better players. Hopefully they have long careers with MFC.

Father started playing with us at the same age....

Best of luck Kobe!!!! Hope you can make it and earn a spot out onto the ground for a game or a 150.

As for coming out of retirement Frawley might have got the tap on the shoulder at Hawthorn (they do that at the Hawks) So the Saints offer him a 1 year deal when he is still fighting fit ... what's the big deal? You're a long time retired

Didn’t say it when he went to Whorethorn, but good luck to Chip

But aren't there better days ahead?

My grandfather being one of those “losers” (kidding of course). He was lucky enough to see all the Dees success but admired RDB so much that he supported the blues When he moved across. He got to see 2 sets of glory years for the clubs he supported. Dad and I mercilessly mocked him for not sticking true and he would just laugh telling us we were fools for following the Dees... here I am at 43 trying to brainwash my 2 lads into our cult lol.

As a 10 yr old at the time I felt exactly the same At the time it actually split some families as RDB was so popular that some supporters transferred their support to Carlton

Not really comparable there. Sure, I get them posting, but not sure it breeds much loyalty within the ranks of the club to be celebrating past defectors. I'm not saying we have to snipe, I just don't think it's warranted. What were your thoughts on the third season of Breaking Bad?

Sure, that's not the point I was making though. I don't think the club needed to say anything.