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Back in the day (I love that expression) some friends and I voteds to see who we thought were our most important players. This was after the 2018 season and before 2019 started. My number one was Tom McDonald. I voted for him because I thought if he went down we had nobody to replace him and we would struggle. He was never injured but in a sense he did go down, for the best part of two years. The first was a result of operations on two ankles and then that was compounded by the idea he needed to become a "beast" and so he put on weight. It didn't go well and we missed finals in the following two years. Like most I suspect, I thought he was finished and that Weid and Brown would fill the KPF spots in 2021. Not so. Tommy has largely flown under the radar this year, not that he hasn't been noticed, but he certainly hasn't been noticed enough. He's polled coaches votes (the only votes I take much notice of) in 10 of the 16 games we've played. I haven't compared that with the big 3 (Trac, Clarrie and Gawny) but I suspect he may well be at the top of the list for number of games where he's received votes. Often it's just one or two but regardless, one coach has considered him to be in the best (say) 8 players on the ground in 10 of 16 games. This should have him in AA territory but I suspect he's not even in the top 40, perhaps not even being considered. IMO this is wrong as he's been as good and as consistent as anyone that plays his role which is clearly not the say at home forward. I've always loved Tommy. I love his honesty and I love the way he presents off the field. I've always felt he's been judged against very high expectations and his clangers have been highlighted and his good stuff discounted. One of his great skills in 2018 was his clunk marking. I noticed, particularly in the 2020 PS, that this had disappeared to be replaced by the double grabber. But the clunk is back and he's now a very dangerous player for the opposition to manage. He was shot at the end of 2020 and on the trade table with no takers. He's now a vitally important player in our team. It's a credit to him but it's also a credit to the relationship that Simon Goodwin has with him that they could go through the process at the end of last year and get the result we now have. This of course is one of Goodwin's great strengths but that is a topic for another thread. Anyway I think he has been as important as any player on our list to our success this year and he deserves much more recognition than he's getting.

It's the Pink Lady match this week in support of the BCNA breast cancer cause, which the club has been involved with since 2005 iirc. The connection is personal for the Dees on a couple of levels. Oskar Baker's mum was a breast cancer survivor, who sadly lost her life to bone cancer a few years later. And the ambassador this year is Fraser Rosman's mum Trudy, who was diagnosed just before COVID hit, and whose past year has included 16 rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, 15 rounds of radiation, Fraser finishing year 12 and then him being drafted by the MFC. From the HS article: As Covid hit Melbourne, Fraser waited until after 10pm – once everyone had gone home – to do his running training at a local football ground to keep his immune-compromised mum safe. They spent his 18th birthday together with a supermarket cake at the kitchen table, because Ms Rosman was so sick after chemo. “He was my absolute rock. I had times when I was certainly down, and days where I just didn’t want to go to treatment,” she said. “He would tell me, ‘you got it early, you can do it, you’ll be all right’.” For Fraser, knowing his mum had finished treatment when he fulfilled his football ambition as pick 32 in the AFL draft, helped atone for the tough year. “When my name got called out I was ecstatic. When mum was told she was cancer free, that was spectacular as well,” he said. Ms Rosman said while news of being cancer free didn’t instantly erase the lingering worries and treatment side effects, she was looking forward to turning her attention to Fraser’s football ­career. “I do feel some guilt over the last 12 months and what he’s had to go through. It’s not really fair. He was only 17. It was a lot on him,” she said. “I can’t wait to sit back and see where this footy journey takes him.” You can donate to BCNA here: Pink Lady Match

Good luck with the latest lockdown, fellow Demonlanders. Here are some tips from NSW:

My in-laws were planning on visiting this weekend. Silver linings ?

?‍♀️ Breast cancer survivor over here. Thank you so much, Grapeviney. Thank you for that beautiful post. As a ‘survivor’ it’s heartwarming and humbling to know that so many people care. ?

Well Rosman just became one of my favorites ... what a champion young man

Good morning everyone! This week on the Deeluded podcast, we celebrated our brilliant win over Port with an interview with Port-star turned media mogul, Kane Cornes. This interview is fascinating—we discuss Kane's polarising media persona, how Petracca compares to some of the greats that he tagged, and the techniques of his old coach, Mark Williams. Kane can come across a bit brash on the football shows, but we found him to be very thoughtful and reflective—keen to hear what others think. You can listen to the episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/forgetting-todd-marshall-with-kane-cornes/id1219118375?i=1000528818327. If you like it, please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much! Kiran & Nita

At the very least A Current Affair should be chasing them through a car park like they do to dodgy builders and people that have swindled the fortunes from some granny in an online pyramid scheme.

put dr.d on ignore

My Mrs is not happy at all about this lockdown, she has tickets to see Magic Mike on sunday and now will be stuck with the not-so-Magic DubDee. I might start by seductively peeling my socks off one at a time

You've got to feel a little bit sorry for the Hawthorn fans who now won't be able to go to the game. Both are reported to be devastated by the news.

Hahaha and then Today Tonight will have a pixilated interview with a 'whistle blower' from inside the company... "they bullied me and called me mask face if I tried to wear one".

For what it's worth, I reckon Gil and the AFL have done an extraordinary job at keeping the 2020 and 2021 seasons going. Just imagine the hours he and his team must have worked as they traverse the logistical minefield which keeps changing daily. Kudos.

Wow I hope that Fraser's Mum is 100% clear and can enjoy watching her son develop a very successful and long career with the MFC Fraser obviously has a great deal of character - fingers crossed for a bright future for both he and his Mum

i'm sticking to the bleach, webber. need to add a lot of lime cordial otherwise i'd gag......works a treat but

Whenever you need Freo to do anything other than be completely useless, they disappoint. Failmantle.

If you’re in Melbourne, go get takeaway from your local restaurant tonight and save the massive food wastage these businesses are about to have thanks to a last minute lockdown. Absolute balls.

Come on... this isn't a Collingwood forum. Let's not wish injury on a player.

We’ve done that a few times over the journey. I remember a game were we played 18 short.

Thanks Grapeviney I just donated for a spot for my wife Jan who survived breast cancer in 2014.

Call the season off now and give the premiership to the team that's on top...

quit my job and join the removalist industry.

They are all drummers: B: Earl Young Mickey Hart Buddy Rich H/B: Phil Collins Travis Barker Moe Tucker C: Chester Thompson Elvin Jones Ginger Baker H/F: Pete Thomas Charlie Watts Cosy Powell F: Matt Cameron Max Roach Chad Smith R: Thomas Lee Clem Burke Mitch Mitchell I/C: Bill Ward Art Blakey Roger Taylor W.S. ‘Fluke’ Holland

NSW removalists are the gold standard though.

Good and timely post Pollyanna. This morning on SEN Malcolm Blight's view was that now we have completed 18 matches, its a real season, and if a worse case delay happens, and no more home and away games can be played, an acceptable finals series could be conducted with those times in the 8 right now, probably slightly later. He said whoever then wins will be a Premiership for the ages. Whately agreed. Go dees.

I remembered hearing a football writer/commentator (can’t remember who) say that every week there was a “worthy cause” connected to matches which diluted what footy was about, “forgetting you troubles for a few hours and having some fun”. COVID has meant that all too often we see the results of the pandemic with less or no crowds, so our troubles never seem to escape us in that respect. I can only imagine what it must be like for those fighting breast cancer or family members affected by it, and I doubt that footy fully distracts from it. This is such a worth cause and I am so proud that our club has been at the forefront of standing in tribute to those fighting and those who have passed away, and I can only hope that at the same time we raise some $$$ to aid in the R&D of treatment and a cure. Fraser Rossman hasn’t even played a game for us but he’s already got a gun a bloke and I’m happy he’s a Demon.

Avoid Demonland, as per personal policy. It's not going to happen though.

It might also be worth pointing out to those who think hydroxychloroquine might be helpful, that it, too, can also have serious side-effects. I used to have it prescribed for me (under the product name of Plaquenil) as a treatment for arthritis and had to have my eyes checked regularly because one of its deleterious known side-effects is some form of eye damage. I'm no longer taking it as alternative drugs are doing a better job. And my eyes, thankfully, are fine. In short...follow the science and trust the medical establishment as a group to know what it's talking about and don't listen to a few people who might have Doctor in front of their name but operate outside the main stream. And definitely don't let people without medical training influence your decisions.

Raspberry makes it 56% more effective, daisycutter. And faster….all about the redness.

I am. There is no evidence for efficacy of ivermectin outside conspiracy land. It is in fact dangerous when misapplied.

I would still like to know. Need to plan my move from the bed to the couch (big TV prime location) and time my drinking to ensure I’m just drunk enough to endure a Melbourne loss should it occur, but not so drunk that I won’t appreciate a win.

What a wonderful young man to support his mum like that All the beat Fraser (and mum) in all your endeavours

Good luck!

Great to hear you beat it. It’s a horrible disease. My brother wife died from it at age 34 leaving two young children behind. She suffered terribly in her final months. The Pink Lady appeal is the worthiest of causes.

It’s 3 notoriously headline seeking Medicos in the US who reject the need for randomised controlled trials (RCT) to legitimise drug efficacy. The entire medical model of medication-based therapy (prevention and cure) is based on RCTs. Ivermectin has not met any standards of efficacy in RCTs. That is science. Any quoting of its positive effect anecdotal, and we went down this route early with hydroxychloroquine. It’s a distraction to create notoriety and fuel spurious reportage. If only we could put all that energy into the KNOWN EVIDENTIAL SCIENCE - vaccination and effective quarantine , we’d be a lot happier and healthier.

not be surprised...

They'll be at the bottom for a while because they stuffed up there recruitment big time. Patton, Scully. Wingard (traded out burton to get him in). Chickens coming home to roost. Good luck Sam Mitchell. You'll need it.

Thanks Kiran. I hadn’t listened to your podcast before but I thought I’d have a listen. It’s become a bit of a little secret of mine recently, which I dare not mention on Demonland, that I’m becoming a Kane Cornes fan. It was interesting to hear him talk about going over the top on certain issues in the past - he said the “extra 10%” or the “bit of mayo”. My observation is that in his recent work in the media, he’s cut that aspect out of his work. Since then I think he’s shown that he’s able to analyse the game and give us some insight without the need to make headlines, and that actually makes him more interesting to listen to. I think at the core, he knows what he’s talking about, and as his experience in the media increases, it’s starting to shine. The observation on Gawn getting back to help out the defenders is a great example of the type of things I want smart commentators to point out to me. I watch mostly on TV so I don’t get that view, but even if I watched at the ground, I doubt I’d be observant enough to notice. Great stuff, thanks.

Sorry Kent, not specifically footy related, but as of Monday I'm double AZ dosed . Not a single symptom. Apart from my recent blood clots. Jokes. I had a runny nose

Has it effected your life much. As a result of WA’s tough border policy we have lead a pretty normal life since last June. Businesses not as badly interrupted as our eastern states counterparts. We have been able to attend community footy, kids have gone to school uninterrupted for the best part and played near enough to a full season of sport last year. I think I know which policy I’d prefer to live with

8 to 10 years ago we’d have had a thread on him up and running in May

I love it that I have no idea who that is

Agree with all the above. I know we've missed plenty of games this year but if you're choosing between being locked out of the Hawks game or the rd 20 Dogs game or a finals game, most would be copping the Hawks game.

I heard the other day that Hawthorn fans are currently enduring their 2nd longest premiership drought since 1971. It'll take more than a century of wooden spoons before I start feeling sorry for them!

As much as I love the footy, if cases go up in the next 48 hours, I think there should be no crowds this week, until we get on top of it. I hope it doesn't get to that. We're meant to be shooting my current film in Sydney at the moment, literally in one of the most impacted councils in the state. It's so frustrating, but public health should come first. If the Federal government cares about businesses it should support them and workers with COVID payments. Treasury appropriates funds, instructs its central bank to type numbers into a computer to mark up accounts, money instantly lands in people's accounts. That's how federal finances work. There's no excuse not to support Australians. That's literally the purpose of government. If we need to lockdown for a few days, we need to lockdown. The footy can still go ahead in empty stadiums, provided all teams return negative tests. You do realise WA has some of the most vulnerable communities in the world living there, right? My step mum's sister is high up in WA Health and they're paranoid about it ever getting into indigenous communities. Their strategies of short sharp lockdowns have not only been incredibly successful at suppressing the virus, they've been incredibly politically popular.

that's beside the point, they are categorised as essential there are 1,000s of trucks going interstate every day, that's how the rest of us get supplies these removalists were cowboys and broke their conditions of operation and worse told a few fibs which cost the tracers a few days of tracking with who knows what consequences hope they are appropriately punished

Removalists are generally considered essential workers as people need to move house for a whole host of completely valid reasons, including to escape domestic violence or because they'll otherwise be turfed out by a landlord. There is only so much governments can do. In this instance the individuals who were allowed in failed to follow the rules.

For clarity, I had my second az dose in Monday. Have had literally no symptoms. And no blood clots. I reckon anyone who has had two doses of vaccine should be able to go to the footy. And that is not a joke.

rubbish.....vaccination centres have plenty of az.......they are not fully utilised and haven't been for a while 3 of the family that got it from the removalist were over 60 and not vaccinated people's understanding of risk management is woeful and cavalier