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2 goals, 3 score assists, 6 disposals at 83% efficiency. 4 Marks, 2 tackles all during just 66% time on ground til half time. Not too bad at all I would have thought.

I do. Mainly because of our list profile. It's taken a number of years, but we're now the 5th oldest team and from a ''games played'' perspective we're 7th. Importantly, many of our best players are in their 20s and most are 23-25 and finally in their prime. Petracca 25, Oliver 23, Lever 25, Langdon 25, Salem 25, Brayshaw 25, Fritsch 24, Weideman 23 and hopefully an improved Harmes 25. Every one of those players should expect to finish top 10 in the B&F (except for Weideman-delayed start). And May, Gawn, Viney and Ben Brown are still under 30 for all of 2021. That's a healthy core. We've also got 4 of the best 30-40 players in the competition imo, which is nothing to sneeze at. If we can get the added excitement that comes from emerging young players such as Jackson, Bowey, Laurie, Pickett, Petty, and a couple of others, then I don't see why we're not a finals team at a minimum and knocking on the door of the four. I sometimes think supporters just assume other lists are better. But when I look at most of the other top 8 teams, or aspiring top 8 teams, I see plenty of flaws. We really should be good enough to be at the pointy end of the ladder. The reason the media and opposition supporters don't have us there is the same reason you doubt us. They don't trust us. We're a flaky club. And let's be honest, it's pretty hard to argue with. Yes, we have to improve our ball movement, the delivery inside 50 and not relax our intensity during games (maturity). Just about every other club has the same issues to varying degrees. There's also a sameness to the midfield, but I reckon that can be sorted with quality coaching and better ball movement. It's a long journey developing a unit ready to regularly compete in finals. I reckon our list profile is finally perfectly placed to be thereabouts. As long as they believe they're good enough, because that's the one area I'm not privvy to, i.e. their pysche. Choco Williams and Yze couldn't have come along at a better time to help with those belief systems. It's a long season and there'll be stumbles along the way, but Goodwin has no more excuses not to have this group playing finals (barring the standard horror year with injuries).

I believe they were 2015 and 2016 whilst playing for Casey in the VFL. Certainly at AFL level he hasn't. I think ANB is a better player than most think he is .... but Dr D is clearly wrong about him (among others). His value is as a hard running defensive forward, not as a midfielder because he isn't big enough, quick enough, classy enough or good enough. If he could solve 2 or 3 of those problems then he can play midfield. But full credit to him for pushing past all those failings and getting a satisfactory AFL career almost entirely from hard running and a first class attitude. He should be lauded for what he has been able to do.

Great news. Hopefully Oliver extension not far away either.

After the shameful way he was treated, I doubt Stef would ever want to return.

just chucked a pineapple on that also put some money on Rivers paying $41 for the rising star then got carried away and liked the look of $21 for the Demons to win the flag! Put the phone down Dub. move away from the phone.

some people obviously enjoy hitting their heads against a brick wall.

It smells to me like we aren’t happy with our wing options. That Baker and Harmes didn’t do what we needed and Rodman isn’t there yet. See how this bloke goes, no harm no foul.

Tried Google Translate with this and it couldn't detect the language. Anyone able to interpret?

I can't find this covered elsewhere, but Robbo has his annual top 50 published in today's Herald Sun. We need a thread just so we can criticise his choices. I haven't got the list in front of me, but there are 4 Demons: Gawn, Petracca, Oliver and May. I think Gawn and Petracca are both in the top 10, Oliver is (I think) number 33 and May is in the forties. Congratulations to them. And may the criticism of Robbo begin... Mark Robinson’s 2021 pre-season top 50: 1. Dustin Martin (Richmond) 2. Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong) 3. Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) 4. Lachie Neale (Brisbane) 5. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs) 6. Christian Petracca (Melbourne) 7. Patrick Cripps (Carlton) 8. Tom Hawkins (Geelong) 9. Nic Naitanui (West Coast) 10. Max Gawn (Melbourne) 11. Liam Ryan (West Coast) 12. Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) 13. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood) 14. Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs) 15. Harris Andrews (Brisbane) 16. Lachie Whitfield (Greater Western Sydney) 17. Jack Steele (St Kilda) 18. Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide) 19. Jordan De Goey (Collingwood) 20. Travis Boak (Port Adelaide) 21. Dylan Grimes (Richmond) 22. Matt Rowell (Gold Coast) 23. Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane) 24. Luke Ryan (Fremantle) 25. Nick Vlastuin (Richmond) 26. Joe Daniher (Brisbane) 27. Jeremy McGovern (West Coast) 28. Jeremy Cameron (Geelong) 29. Darcy Moore (Collingwood) 30. Toby Greene (Greater Western Sydney) 31. Luke Shuey (West Coast) 32. Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn) 33. Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) 34. Michael Walters (Fremantle) 35. Jayden Short (Richmond) 36. Caleb Daniel (Western Bulldogs) 37. Luke Parker (Sydney) 38. Tom J. Lynch (Richmond) 39. Shai Bolton (Richmond) 40. Nick Haynes (Greater Western Sydney) 41. Jake Lloyd (Sydney) 42. Mitch Duncan (Geelong) 43. Zach Merrett (Essendon) 44. Taylor Adams (Collingwood) 45. Steven May (Melbourne) 46. Jacob Weitering (Carlton) 47. Sam Walsh (Carlton) 48. Jordan Ridley (Essendon) 49. Bailey Smith (Western Bulldogs) 50. Jy Simpkin (North Melbourne)

I wouldn't be so hot-to-trot on that bet if i were you Bombay, 'cause you know as sure as [censored] that if you do place that bet that the only game that North will win will be against us! So turn on the aircon and cool your jets.

Despite all the hype around the kid, it's more likely Rosman will be a good year or two off. Missing a year of footy will set a lot of kids back, particularly the development types like him. Natural footballers like Bowey won't have been effected as much.

Most of you have Jones in your 22, we have youth with more skill that need game time Sparrow Chandler Jordan, give them a go

Thanks. To be honest, I didn't mind Bruce's commentary. I'm less enthusiastic about some of the other TV callers, though, but whether that's enough for me to go to the effort of synching radio with TV is questionable.

Very, very debatable..

I was blessed to see all 6 flags and the 58 travesty. I was sitting on the fence in 1963 when Roger Dean threw himself to the ground after RDB missed him by a foot right in front of me. That censored [censored] got Ron suspended at the tribunal and undoubtedly cost us another flag. I have hated Richmond ever since.

Rubbish. If we go though the season unbeaten the dees would almost certainly lose the Granny. Coz that would inflict the most pain

In 2019 the last full season - the small forwards for the Premiers Richmond: Castagna 27 goals / 24 games Rioli 17 goals / 22 games Bolton 15 goals / 19 games Higgins 9 goals / 13 games

Of 2020.

everyone's so reactionary, just let it play out. this thread has now ruled out Daw, Kobe thread has a line through him and not a single person has any credible source. the only way to look at it is that we have 4 available slots and no one has been turned down yet so they're all still a chance

I'm going to miss the really small screen.

Fair point about the impact of missing a chunk of preseason but the fact the club is talking about him playing round one points to how critical he is to our fortunes. Of course it would great if he snagged more goals. The goals will come but ATM they are a bonus. His two key performance indicators are inside 50 tackles and pressure acts. No other player in our team comes close to the pressure he applies in our forward half. Which is an indictment really, but there it is. Forward half pressure is one of the most important elements of modern footy. Obviously if you can't trap the ball inside 50 you miss opportunities to score, but really the big issue is allowing the ball to be moved out of the forward 50 under little pressure. Lack of pressure not only creates an opportunity for the for the switch and/or easy transition, lack of pressure on the ball carrier means that the clearing kick, the chip kick to a free defender and even a handball, is more likely to hit a target. And it is an area we have been very poor in since 2018. Think of how often the ball has just bounced out of our 50 and pinged down the other end of the ground. This as feature in all of our really bad losses last season. And think of Richmond. Forward half pressure is key to their success.

Luke Jackson $26 for the Rising Star is attractive

Williams joined us 2 days before the draft. Probably too late to seriously influence our strategy, but maybe not too late for some influence into individual decisions. Declase seems a "similar" type to Rossman in that he is a tall running winger. We don't have any other similar players on our list. Perhaps this is an opportunity to have a more developed mentor for Rossman in terms of how they play? And assuming Declase is more developed, it might also place some competition on that role as well, which is always a good thing.

I get angry when the Club shows incompetence or loses the unloseable games each year. tells fans that it will learn from this humiliating defeat and doesn’t. I always enjoy Wins Smokey!!

He would have had to look pretty hard to find out via the media I Only found 2 references to Kobe in the past 12 hours one of them is a fox sports article simply stating the fact that he played last week with no update on his status https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-news-2021-majak-daw-melbourne-demons-list-spots-train-on-players-kobe-farmer-kye-declase/news-story/7f7c8c982519fdaf6c31f5bb7480717e The other is a Herald Sun article I'm pay walled from reading that Google quotes 'looks unlikely to receive a spot' which sounds like opinion and even if true is not really new information. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/news/vfl-defender-kye-declase-gets-an-audition-for-list-spot-at-melbourne/news-story/19a7f110753b02de89e71582e9a30439%3Famp&ved=2ahUKEwj1kvLJwZXvAhUZILcAHZ_3ChoQFjADegQICBAC&usg=AOvVaw0Lv4eTmBCfRNOQT6xWxbpX&ampcf=1

Let’s hope that if true, Kobe learnt through the club/coaches and not the media. I would also hope that players get some counselling and support after being cut or not offered a place. It’s still disappointing for the player that his expectations have not been fulfilled.

Yes a few nasty words took place. Never stopped FD. Just out of action for a couple of days.

Interesting to look at the names in 59 & 60. These teams had something. They were great teams, with team spirit, belief, grit and determination and mobility. They loved Norm who was inspirational and a great tactician. It only took a Norm Smith roast for the team to come out and lift after half time. They had great players and leaders on the field. However, what strikes me is that the teams were also made up of good ordinary players. Not stars but players clearly playing a role. Players like Alan Rowarth, Dennis Jones, Trevor Johnson, Fenton Smith, Len Mann, Clyde Laidlaw, John Lord, Brenchley etc. Some like Lord, Trevor Johnson and Fenton Smith were good overhead but slow on the ground. I guess I am just thinking that you don’t have to have a team of stars to win a flag but you do need a champion team (sorry for the cliche). We sometimes think that the great Melbourne teams were composed of champions but this was not the case.

Fair? In comparison its quite a lofty expectation for someone who's assesses a player as good off the back of finishing 11th in the BNF 4 years ago lol

I think you are expecting too much from club web sites. Have a look at other clubs. They are very similar. IMO the club web sites are for info on match day info and player / club fluff pieces. 95% of the the info is positive stuff aimed at promotion of club objectives. If you expect more you will be disappointed.

Currently paying $6.50 on Sportsbet.

The team is a bit soft both physically & mentally so I'd be playing AVB if he can get himself fit and healthy We need 2 or 3 players of his ilk ... they don't have to dominate the stats sheet either. 3 physical types in the 3 main areas of the ground (as long as they can play of course) Melksham can play a lot better and needs to get to more contests but if he can return to his best form he plays as well ANB is wasteful and I put him in that small forward type bracket (and you can't have too many of those types in the same team)

I was sure that was one of the reasons Daw got picked and the former number1 pic from Saints didn’t (name escapes me).

What strikes me now is that we are getting closer to building a very solid and across each line number of footballers who are all in their own way hit many talents and attributes. Now it's up to the Coaches to develop and unite this talent into a TEAM that can start imposing and impacting its considerable will on opponents. Dont know how long it might take but I firmly believe there are a lot of the jigsaw puzzles in the box. As I say don't know how long the journey will be but I am sure hitchin'along for the ride. Jske is as integral player in this team.

Don’t forget all - it was Choco whom suggested GWS take Ricardi when he was at Werribee .Therefore he knows his players, if indeed Declase turns out to be half as good as Ricardi, I will be extremely greatful to Choco .

I rate myself very lucky to have been been around in our 'glory years', and mention of the names from that era bring the memories flooding back. To coin a modern day phrase, I'm still 'proud to belong'. I have a wife, 3 kids and 5 grand kids, all of whom share my passion (they had little choice on that!). I only hope that they, and all Demonlanders who have not had the privilege, will soon experience the joy of #13.

If he stays fit for the next 3 years, there will no one criticising us trading him in. Coming into his prime. May and Tomo/Petty locking two fwds down. Lever and Rivers intercepting, Salem and potentially Bowey running off and distributing. good solid backline with cover

Hi P2J Yes-legends for sure. I was born in 1950 and sop lucky that Dad used to take me to matches at the MCG to see these guys-they have given me so many memories to carry through the years. I would love to meet some of them before we all pass on. :)

Poor old "Censored' Fenton-Smith...

If we can go all season without losing a game I think we’re a good chance of winning the granny.

Last year I had the teams divided into four main groups: - Top 4: Port, Lions, Cats and Tigers. These teams were at a higher level and could beat each other on the right day. - Gunning for the 8: Dees, Saints, Dogs, Pies, GWS. Anyone of these 5 could have ended up in the 8 but 2 had to miss out. I had West Coast on their own. Definitely not top 4 but a cut above the “Gunning for the 8” group (context helped them). - Having a go: Freo, Blues, Dons, Suns, Hawks, Swans. Big group with some showing more improvement than others towards the end. - Hopeless: North and Crowd. Demons: When the FULL TEAM turned up to play FOUR FULL quarters, we could beat all the “Gunning for the 8” teams and give the top 4 teams a run for their money (but we weren’t at their level of skill, intensity, team work, strategy, etc). But when half our players made a poor effort and we fell asleep for full quarters, we’d struggle to beat “Having a go” teams. See Cairns. A lot could happen this season, but my baseline scenario: - Crows move up a group, hawks down a group. - Carlton and Freo move up a group, Pies and GWS to move down and Eagles to become part of the “Gunning for the 8” group. This group will expand. Some will miss out by definition. - Saints to move up a group, and Cats floating between top 4 and “Gunning 8” groups, like eagles last year. Where does that leave Melb? Realistically, we’re in the same Gunning for the 8 group as last year but if our forward line works and the FULL TEAM turns up to play FOUR FULL quarters EVERY week, we’re towards the top of this group and knocking on the top 4 door. That’s a big if. My two cents.

As much as i would like to the Cats to drop off, just can't see it happening with Hawkins/Cameron, stacked midfield, experience all over the ground, and of course a favourable draw with plenty of home games. They will be top 4 again as much as i would like to see them falter and fail. They just seem to know how to win games, ugly or pretty, they get it done. Have been hoping for years they would drop off with older legs. It just does not seem to happen as they keep getting talented/experienced players and lets face it their system down at Geelong is A1, and they are a very good team.

In an interview discussed here: Goodwin said of B.Brown and Weideman: "They're both on track, pretty much in line with each other..."we'll have to manage that as a team. They'll both obviously come back through the VFL, so we'll get a good indication as to when they're ready to play AFL footy." So whatever the time frame is it applies to both and we may not see them in the seniors for quite a while..

LOL so he played 18 games in 2017 and didn't finish top 10 in the best and fairest in a team that didn't play finals. Played 23 games in 2018 and was worse by finishing 13th. That on average is a poor finish by someone that played all year. Again proving how silly you look here. Finishing 11th and 13th in a best and fairest is not something to be proud of. Me like many other on here see great potential in Kozzie because he showed talent in his first year of AFL football on the back of a season where there was basically no VFL team to develope and living in a suitcase. If you want to go back on best and fairest results, where Alex Neal Bullen finish in 2019 and 2020?? In fact between Kozzie and ANB where did they both finish last year on comparable?

So many things wrong about this post that again you need to be called out once again. This also proves time and time again your lack of footy judgement and knowledgeable I find it bizarre that you continue to pot a first year player in Kozzy Pickett, yet more then willing to accept a plodder in Alex Neal Bullen the benefit of the doubt. He is a average player who like Oscar McDonald has been gifted far too many games time and time over the journey, and one of the key reason we've been an average side of the last few years because we continue to carry average plodders like ANB and Oscar. It's only last year that Goodwin finally woke up to Oscar, hopefully he'll wake up to ANB. And for your information, ANB did not play midfield back in 2017. This was the year Goodwin played him in that high half forward role. You're making up stuff just for the sake of it and have the stats and proof to provide that further. At the end of the year I expect the likes of Bailey Laurie, Charlie Spargo and Kade Chandler to go straight past ANB because that will mean we've improved further as a team. I didn't name Kozzy because he's already sped straight past him as a player.

I think a huge factor this season will be aerobic fitness. And it is a factor that works in our favor. We were super fit coming into last season. Unfortunately the 20 min quarters took away our comparative advantage. I think it is a reasonable assumption that we have at least maintained, and hopefully improved our fitness. If this is the case we will be well prepared for the change back to 30 minute quarters. 20% more game time, 10 minutes a quarter of 'red time' and a reduction in interchange rotations will make a huge impact. You could see it in the tigers practice game how the game opened up at the end of each quarter. And just as was often the case last year, even with the shorter quarters, we were at our best late. I thought the Cats would do ok last year, in large part because the shorter quarters would mitigate against having such an old team. I predict the converse will be true this year and they will be found out big time. I don't think they will make the eight.

Was there some kind of hotdog eating contest to measure this hunger? Or is it a special sense that you have? How would you have measured Port’s hunger before last season?