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An Irish Gaelic football fan here who has enjoyed watching the 3 Dublin girls with the Dees & other Irish girls in this years AFLW. Glad to see the opinion of Goldrick is as high on here as it is here at home. She is a phenomenally consistent player, 8 all stars in the last 9 years (All-Australian equivalent I believe?). Will go down as one of the greats of Ladies Football and is a household name now which is fantastic. There is no player in the country that can match or track her for 60 minutes. Shame about her injury and it puts her at risk of competing here at home when they return and she’ll be a huge loss. I thought the Lions game was Magees best showing and hopefully she builds on that for the Freo game. She’s another big talent, less flashy than Goldrick but is physical and gets through a mountain of work. She could be a real asset if she returns next year after this year under her belt and a proper pre season. Shame McEvoy hasn’t got much of a run, she’s a different type of player here at home than Magee and Goldrick and the game probably dosent suit her as much. She gave an interview not long ago indicating she wouldn’t return for 22 which is no surprise however I could see the other two give it a crack especially Magee and might possibly bring another teammate or two. The connection between Dublin LGFA and Melbourne has now been built which will encourage more girls to follow the same path these 3 have. Fingers crossed the Dees get through the Freo test.

Yes I have seen it first hand, previously worked in the Sex Crime area. Whats seen can't be unseen and what's read sometimes has a bigger impact. I became immersed in an investigation that consumed my life more than it should have a few years ago. It impacted me and my family to a point I never thought it would. It was tragic the victims ranged in age from late 30s to late 40s when they came forward and to see the effect it had on their lives and the destruction had a big impact. The offender was a Catholic priest who in the 70s and 80s preyed on vulnerable children and destroyed lives. The actions of the Catholic church we uncovered were deplorable. The bravery of those victims to relive some horrors of their childhood should not be underestimated. The day we knocked on the priest's door was gratifying to look him in the eye and acknowledge we knew what he'd done and they were no longer frightened children, who didn't speak up because they thought they wouldn't be believed. Many of the victims were substance abusers, suffered mental health and were severely effected to a point they will never recover from. The Rod Owen story unfortunately is not isolated

I first saw him in 1982 when he was starring for the St Francis junior football team in a Chelsea District Junior Football League match. Rod Owen was just 15 and already built like a man. A year later, he was playing for St. Kilda. A year after that, he was already an alcoholic and a drug addict. The troubled young footballer suffered injuries and managed only 60 games in a chequered career of eight years with the Saints before he was traded to Melbourne in 1991. He was spectacular in his brief stint at the Demons but managed only nine games (and two five goal hauls) before he was traded again — this time to the Brisbane Bears. This painful story is a long and harrowing read that details the horrors of abuse as a child by a teacher and by the uncaring officials who advised a 16 year old to sign away his life to a football club and not worry about school just weeks after his father’s passing. It’s a narrative about the tragic journey of a young man who appeared to have the sporting world at his feet but who never achieved the dream of sporting heroism and instead, endured the darkness of addiction, prison and a long journey towards rehabilitation. None of this was imaginable to me when I first saw the young Rod Owen wearing the green and white guernsey against Ajax at Le Page Park in Cheltenham almost forty years ago. He was just playing a game of footy back then. Addiction almost killed AFL star Rod Owen, but he was hiding the agony of abuse

So very brave of Rod to tell his story. My Year 8 coordinator at High School is serving 40 odd years for molesting over 50 boys. Our local priest in our very small town will die in jail for abusing over 65 kids. As a kid I knew something wasn’t right, I just didn’t know the scale and audacity of it. Don’t raise your kids to be compliant. Raise them to be aware, and to have the confidence to know they can tell you anything. Watch them like a hawk. If something doesn’t seem right, it might not be. And to those families, and individuals, impacted by these crimes thank you for telling your stories. The courage it takes is truly heroic. You’ve helped make our society a much safer, and more just, place.

Amazing what the AFL will do to keep the Swans relevant. In the space of a pre season they have become top 4 certainties and skipped 5-10 years of hard yards that other clubs have to do without zone academy picks. They knew their cycle was coming to an end so instead of losing the sydney bandwagon market lets create a conveyor belt of talent through an Academy, change the draft system to suit them to select Academy talent to keep them in contention. Makes me sick.

Provided we keep winning does it really matter??

Me too. Can't believe how much I've enjoyed watching these girls play The club should be promoting the hell out of this team. They just never give in! Tough as nails. Very proud of them

A dodgy bump perhaps, but a win tomorrow would be the first time we've started a season 3-0 since 2005, a 16-year drought.

Welcome to Casey, Freo. It is not a place to showcase the game. Took control in the first when we were against the wind. Great team work. All running as one, with a smart game plan. Fell away in the second half as we made it an arm wrestle. Some of our small release handballs were beautiful. Good tackling, took any run away from the docks. Big kicks when we had the wind and hugging the boundary and creating stoppages when against it. Paxman, what an effort all game. Gay has the strut. Mithin will run at a brick wall. McGee had a good game and popped up when needed as did Colvin, Birch, Parry and Lampard, Sheriff as well. Hanks did a tie down role on their star. Zanker, Cunningham and Pearce good play. I think, we did not have a passenger. We need just a bit more composure around the goals. Train smart, then bring the pressure and be first to the ball when we play the crows

These pieces by Russel Jackson are top notch and prove there is a place in the world for a long read, not just shallow, sensationalism that we're too often served up nowadays ... Reading Owen's story it is hard not to feel empathy for his victims. As much as he has now turned his life around, the trail of damage he left was extraordinary. I saw that first hand at a suburban club where, as a spectator, he started an all in brawl in the crowd that ended in multiple ambulances arriving.

1st world problems but I'm finding the lack of team announcements on Thursday very irritating. Was hoping that would be reinstated for this season.

I knew it was in the bag within the 1st few minutes. Could tell they were switched right on. Was very impressed wih some of the lightning handball chains. The skills are coming along very nicely. Zanker crashing a couple packs early letting her presence be felt and would have loved it if she held that screamer. One thing is for sure , win or lose, these girls won't die wondering. Love the effort.

Shaping up to be a crazy unpredictable season and that is GOOD FOR FOOTY.

The truth of football, particularly early in the season, is that ANY team can beat ANY other team. If you’re a bit off and the oppo are on, it’s even likely to get ugly. Momentum is EVERYTHING, and if it can be sustained, it breeds confidence like a virus. Likewise the converse will make you look slow, unskilled and lacking method if you're trying to come back from a margin of perhaps 5 goals. Beware teams with nothing to prove or significant expectations to meet. If the Dees should be aware of anything tomorrow, it’s that. Not confident. At all.

Petracca’s excellent season can stay though.

Sydney were clearly tanking, St Kilda weren’t that good, Geelong benefited from the shorter quarters thanks to their geriatric list, Brisbane didn’t have to travel and we did have to travel lots and were cooked having to play in Cairns twice.

Best from where i sat behind the southern end goals... Gay, Pearce (especially the last quarter where she refused to concede and kept getting to contests / clearing the ball), Cunningham, Hanks, Zanker (who almost pulled off a great speckie in the last (her and hanks a bit wasteful at times though. Especially when Zanker marked well about 50 out, breeze at her back, just had to get it in long and quick to Bannan deep one on one for a chance to seal it, but instead took forever to dispose allowing numbers back then kicked it shallow to the pocket for zero return), Paxman, Parry, Scott, Birch and Mithen. Maddie probably BOG. Paxman was in everything as always but i have a feeling she was double teamed a bit around the stoppages. The biggest tactical mistake for the day, kicking and running the ball early in the third for about the first five minutes to the club wing, allowing Freo the opportunity to rebound with a four to five goal breeze (AFL equivelant) at their back vs the outer side where they had to kick into the breeze a little with less accuracy and a little less distance. Thankfully the girls appeared to wake up to this flaw after Freo's first goal and started kicking / running it out along the far wing from then. All up they did well to score in both the first and third quarters against the howler and kick away a little in the last 5 minutes in what was a scrappy ugly game in blustery fickle conditions. Nice win indeed Demons!

Good win. Now for the prelim. I hope Daisy can play next week. Our first quarter was brilliant. To not concede a goal with that breeze was fantastic. I want to say congradulations to Lilly Mithen. Again she was at the bottom of every pack fighting like nails for the ball. Gutsiest player in the league. Lauren Pearce was great as well as Paxman, Scott,Lampard, Guy, Hanks and Zanker. Tough ask next week but this is one side that I believe in. Have not said that much about the MFC at all.

that certainly was a long harrowing and tragic read. i do hope his life stays turned around child abuse is such an horrific and devastating crime it's also such an insidious and secretive activity carried out by very calculated people for too long no-one wanted to talk about it (victim or just anyone) and it was ignored, disbelieved or brushed under the carpet with little or no consequences to the perpetrator(s) sadly paedophilia still thrives and has gone further underground. It's perpetrators could come from any class or occupation. I was just reading yesterday of the current trial of Sir Ron Brierley an active paedophile at 85 ffs. they are everywhere. Increased vigilance, more transparency and education of minors is still required

I met Rod a few times in 1991 in the company of George Simon and his son Andy mentioned in the article as the people who “adopted” him as family during his short stay at the Melbourne Football Club. I think George headed up the club’s coterie in those days. They were regulars at the Chinese restaurant below my office and they took Rod there a few times when he was burning it up on the field with the Demons. Needless to say the conversation was pretty upbeat and enjoyable. It was a time when people rarely spoke openly about personal issues and things like paedophilia or alcoholism or the possible connection between the two weren’t even considered in blokey conversation. How different, Rod’s life might have turned out if only ... “Rod's housemate gave a statement to police (about Ray’s paedophilia), prevailing upon Rod to give one too. But fearful of living in a world in which everyone knew what had happened to him, Rod wouldn't unburden himself of 23 years of anguish.”

Just another example of why that Royal Commission was required. The duty of care that young people like Owen deserved was nowhere to be seen in schools, sports clubs or basically any institution. That he survived at all is a credit to his resilience and his strength of character. He was an amazing talent and I was truly excited by what he showed us in the early part of 1991.All I thought about then was his footy; he obviously had so much more on his mind. Good luck to him and well done to those who have provided him with ongoing support.

If they are not going to release teams on a Thursday night, then it should be compulsory for Werridee to release his side on a Thursday night. Has he even submitted a team this week?

Nothing compares to her.

My guess is the coaches don’t judge his performance on either of those stats. I thought he looked too slow pre-season but his pressure has been good first two games.

He's also rated 'elite' for defensive one on ones, one percenters and disposal efficiency, as well as 'above average' for spoils and contested marks. Interesting stats also. Also, according to the AFL website, he's gained 31 metres this year. (Not that that's anything to write home about of course).

Nah, I heard one of them already saying they've got players out. Yeah, two ruckmen. Crouch played today and had little impact. Old man Hannebery? Laughable. People need to get serious here. St Kilda are all system. They don't really have elite talent, certainly not under 25. Maybe King in time, but he's still developing. If they're off at all, St Kilda get beaten.

Doggies win in R3 knocks us out of #1 on the ‘biggest winning margin in the history of the FFC’ list. I’m taking it.

Says we didn’t kick straight. Essendon and us had the same amount of shots as of right now.

Well that was worth the wait.

No change makes sense. I want to see someone absolutely bang the door down to get selected

I’m turning this [censored] off. I cannot stand seeing happy Essendon supporters

I thought the saints were supposed to have gone past us.

How good is this. We haven’t played yet but are back in the top 4.

I'm sure Longmuir is enjoying rubbing Hardwick's nose in it.

Adelaide at their place. Tough ask.

Stand out stat - Marks inside 50: Us 9 them 1

Brilliant win. Switched on right from the get go. Tackled like tigers. Adelaide next week i believe. I wouldn't bet against us.

Here is a map showing Fritsch's set shots so far this year: So, obviously, he's taking his shots in low-percentage positions. Having said that, the two behinds on the left are the preferable side for a left-footer. Here's the same map for Fritsch since Round 1 2019: Same deal. Very few shots from the corridor. A heap of shots from 30-50m out on the flanks. Some of it is intentional I'm sure, but some of it is Fritsch leading to the wrong places. Obviously the left flank and pocket are not good scoring zones for him, but he's already taken four shots from that area in the first two rounds.

Meanwhile the advantage rule is broken IMO. So many umpires wait to see if the team who takes advantage retains possession and if they don't, they recall it. That's not how the rule works. If you take it, and immediately turn it over, bad luck. Case in point just now: Sydney had a free, player picked it up and kicked it, turned it over, so the umpire called it back and that gave Sydney a new possession and a goal.

I wonder how long until we read a story like this about Liam Jurrah, whose alcoholism controls him and whose family have pretty much given up on him. I have contacted and spoken to the AFLPA to try get him help but never heard back from them, the impression I got was that they have done enough in the past... Sadly, with Liam’s dad having recently passed away, I suspect things will get worse for him, tragic really as his community would benefit enormously if he could get himself sober and be the leader that he should be.

That was a tough read. I saw a lot of Rod’s Little League games at Moorabbin when i was at school Such a harrowing life. Hang your head Ian Stewart...

They've proven over the last few weeks and in last year's semi-final v GWS that they have big hearts and plenty of fight. If we lose today it'll be because Freo were the better team on the day not because of any lack of effort or intent on our part. Dees by 10 points.

Those advocating Melksham or anyone else must have forgotten his abysmal 2020 season where he should have been dropped but wasnt. Hunt, Jones and Nev all doing enough and I m backing Gus to improve. For mine Vanderburg is cooked and cannot give consistency given his injury concerns. Hibbo maybe but again needs to force himself into a winning side. Jordon and Sparrow are the future and should be perservered with at all costs. With Ben Brown and Weeds to come back competition for places willbe hotly contested. This game would in the past be a typical Melbourne fail, however with Choco and Yze now having a large say, lets hope that we dont revertback to old typical Dees. One thing ill be watching is Fritsch kicking for goal coz unless he converts his place may be in jeopardy! NO CHANGE THIS WEEK

Man I dislike the naming of teams being moved from Thursday’s.

teams being named the night before is the new normal coaches liked it, wagering companies liked it, afl wasn't fussed, it's only the FANS who don't like it and, pfft, as if they count

Suns are still a bit too reliant on their older/reject players like Greenwood, Ellis, Witts, Harbrow, etc. Their midfield still needs work and depth and they need to wait two or three years for King and Lukosius to come on. Dew is doing a good job with them though.

Good list and explanations, Lord. I've always loved Wrecker. He's proof you can be a tough, aggressive player without being an alpha male.

I'm often on the side of the broadcasters in a few areas ... more open footy (less congestion) more scoring, less stoppages etc etc. But we don't see a lot of our team on prime-time TV for good reason. Losing a lot creates its own issues But they (the broadcasters) are paying the bills so they are obviously going to get a say in proceedings. They plough in $Billions The coaches on the other hand darn near ran the sport into the ground with their boring defensive mindsets. Thank goodness for Steve Hocking. He cops a lot but he's got his heart in the future of the sport. He has listened and acted The footy has been great this year (finally) and I take my hat off to the AFL for recorrecting where the game was heading Have you heard anyone critisising the game this year old dee? I've heard virtually nothing and I talk footy to a stack of people on a weekly basis (outside of the internet) Most I know are back on board and we're talking a sizable demographic By the way, with more attacking footy and more scoring comes more blowouts. That effect as a consequence stands to reason

I see Chunk Jones is expecting twins. A good incentive to play well - he’ll need a 5 year contract to pay for that lot.

Stats from the weekend - he seems to be doing something right Metres gained from centre bounces: Melbourne: 821 | St Kilda: 195