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Merry Christmas Demonlanders! As is tradition , FoxFooty will playing all of our 2021 wins including two replays of the Grand Final on Christmas Day ! A whole [censored] day of Melbourne kicking the [censored] out the rest of the competition in 2021! No need for those old boring Mariah Carey or Michael Buble Christmas anthems this year to keep the Christmas spirit up while you entertain at home, just keep it on fox footy and be sure to remind any family or friends who don’t support the mighty dees who’s the reigning premiers! Merry Christmas and Go Demons 🔴🔵!!!

Sorry CF but I was admiring Kate for her past achievements as well as her 8 years on the Board and how she understands what it takes to be successful.

The pressure on this kid from day 1 was immense. I have it on good authority that his social media feed was constantly full of girls throwing themselves at him (in the most graphic of ways), blokes doing the same, girls turning up at his house, unbelievable amounts of vitriol thrown at him etc. The lot. I don't know whether this caused an issue or whether it exacerbated a pre-existing issue but the pressure on young men generally at age 16-20 that are trying to pursue their dream of an AFL career is something that very few of us would comprehend. Clubs try to guide them but with the intense demands and regimen of AFL they are cut off from their former lives in so many ways that its such a critical medium for young people to connect. Easy to say "just turn it off" but its way harder than that. They can't go for a beer or a walk without some kind of attention. And the attention today is relentless. I wish him well

Tallied up the numbers. Congrats to @deebug and the appropriately named @The Oracle for sharing the honours this year. Big props to deebug for predicting the largest winning margin of 98 points exactly. DCB honour roll 2016 - wretched sylph 2017 - ding 2018 - Skuit 2019 - Demon Dude 2020 - Bring-Back-Powell 2021 - deebug/The Oracle Other honourable mentions:

I bet you were that guy who’d buy someone an LP for xmas (back in the day), gently remove it, tape it onto a cassette then put it back in its cover before giving it. 😁 I just realised you may be too young to even know what I’m on about. If that’s the case, ask your old man; he may’ve done it in his time. Everyone did. Well, I did. 😆

"I WISH I KNEW WHERE I WANTED TO BE WHEN I WANTED TO BE WHERE I WAS TODAY" Picture this.... temperature around 25 warm , balmy DAY and the Fence enjoying the majesty of the very pleasant surroundings of Casey Fields, does this sound inviting? Well I can tell you it beats the hell outa a weekend in Siberia anyday! But out here you still have to worry about slitherers but they are far more dangerous and bigger entities which have the capacity to be a .. more menacing presence .... which might or might not be related to the sign above! The usual drone of House music emanating from the Boom Box speakers at Casey Fields just blended nicely into the soundscape of what was another "Full On" Blitzkrieg Training session today. The following report was filed for the Demonland Brethren so what are you waiting for...... read on Absentees NO MAJAK No W.A Contingent except for Kossie On modified duties Jayden Hunt Warm ups This is done two ways 1 At the new indoor facility where players go through a thorough graduated stretching and graduated drill sequence 2 Out on the ground where small drills focusing on precise ball movement, quickness of delivery and rapid fire ball drill sequences are related to in tight match simulations One of these was a drill which I now call "Three Blind Mice" Players run backwards, with ball, Pirouette and run forward in a triangualar type sequence zig zag and then deliver the ball slighly off balance. It looks like the type of drill which equates to players being surrounded by opposition and then need to squeeze a correct delivery whilst slightly disorientated and slightly off balance. Skills , Drills and Maneuvers Two groups were maintained with one doing whole ground ball movements from various positions of stoppages both forwards and back and selecting again correct options for longer run and carry type work and also ground switching. The other group then continued in small confines contested ball work and again emphasizing delivery, blocking harrasing and disposal under pressure At the completion of this drill an excellent drill where players were involved in a triangular formation with 3 players moving the ball with precise handball which was punctuated by the gadfly tendancies of two harrasers who provided contest and pressure. This was an excellent drill in which hardly any group made a mistake! Delivery was precise, Handballs were given at the right moment then opening up the play. Following that a full match simulation was conducted under match conditions which again featured some at times breathtaking full ground transferance of the air conveyance! At the conclusion of that another minor activity some run throughs and Goal kicking was maintained and warm down completed a just over 2 hour pretty intensive and hard workout Player watch Several players really stood out for mine and I'll go through them now ADAM TOMLINSON A few on this site have commented on his "Readiness" but after seeing him again today he WILL be ready to go round 1. He marked well, moved well, was assured and showed NO sign of being hampered by his knee reco. He looked bloody good. DEAKYN SMITH Caught my eye on a few occasions with his Charismatic ball skills and skill level, will be one to watch in 2022 BAILEY LAURIE Looked much more assured and confident with some very "Astute" decisions and ball use TOM SPARROW Every time I see this kid I just keep thinking he plays like a turbo charged Ollie Wines, he is a bull who is becoming more confident and imposing. JAMES JORDON Scott Pendlebury Mrk 2 in the making here. JAKE BOWEY How much better can this kid get? Just never ever makes a mistake just cruises along the ground mopping up better than a thirsty Jex in the desert! JOEL SMITH Looks confident in body and took some excellent intercept marks and delivered very well in run and carry sim. N0 27 AND 42 Not sure who they are but boy did they do some excellently crafted runs and deliveries "Lace out" I wondered whether 1 was Luke Dunstan but not sure. OUR STANDOUTS Im putting a few buck on Clayton OLIVER for the 2022 BROWNLOW He just does not stop improving , some of his escapism and brute strength and dazzle from stoppages is almost impossible! Our culture is being driven by Max, Tracc, Stephen May and Jake Lever were irrepressible and Ed Langdon ANB, J.V, BBB, and Big Mac were all eye catching. Fritta snapped a couple of "Freak Goals" and Harmsy and Rivers assured as was Christian Salem IMPROVERS Fraser Rossman shows signs of steady improvement once smothering with full body on a Clarry Kick and Toby Bedford, and Kade Chandler committed very well. FINAL COMMENTS Competition for places is at all seasons high with selection headaches aplenty. Long gone are the days of limited backups and I forecast based on what I've seen little let up from the professional and exacting standards established in 2021

Will it be a full-length game or a trunkated version?

I heard his mum has been pretty crook, which would explain the "family matters" reason. If that is indeed the reason then I hope he takes all the time he needs. As we saw with Jesse Hogan losing a parent can have a big effect on a young man, even more so when you're already grappling with mental issues. Wish him and his family all the best.

If he has a solid support network around him and gets wise advice he’ll be ok My advice. Focus on footy and ignore social media. Never heard anyone ever say social media helped with their mental health and wellbeing

Picked up 'MAX GAWN - A Captains Diary' for the old mans Christmas present this morning and I'm half way through it 😉😀 Pretty much a diary of the year that was. We all want to know what was on the players minds during the season and their thoughts as it panned out. Well this is the ticket. Gives a good insight into the different personalities at the club also. I'm up to Rd 16 .... What a great read. 😎

The previous president wanted to oust Goodwin from my reliable sources and it was a non-starter from the board and particularly Roffey. Not many cardboard cutouts can do that.

She has been on the board for 8 years already, but of course that means nothing….

No need to apologise to anyone, esp CF, DeeZone. Your'e spot on IMO. 8 years on the Board means she was involved in all key issues of the re-build, Roos, Pert, Marketing, Goodwin extension, stability and cohesion, financil position after selling gaming venue ....etc. What on earth was easy in 2021?

Kate Roffe has bought another layer to our great club, very impressed with her personal and business life, so down to earth and has such a great understanding of what it takes to be successful. Her understanding of Belief and how it needs to flow top down and bottom up once you have the right mix of all the key ingredients to succeed. What a champion person Kate Roffe is.💕❤️💙

OK, I'll start: Kangas'll have the tusk ahead of them...

Hells, I got excited just seeing this thread was back on the list of recently posted topics!!!!! WE’RE REIGNING PREMIERS!!!! Never. Gets. Old. EVER.

Yep I'd say so, though it might have just been an experiment for Plan B scenarios. I can see them both chipping in depending on the opposition. And, yes, Caris is just as you describe. I thought she showed good presence and held her own. If we were to lose L.Pearce, I'd expect them to play her. Fun fact I heard on a podcast called "Footy, Actually", much recommended for AFLW analysis. Top two tallest in the league are at the Dees: Caris and Gillard both at 190cm. Midfield struggled a bit to get their hands on it in the first, but came good after that. Hanks and Mithen were their usual selves. I felt Hanks was a little rusty, but the longer the game went on, the more she got into it and by the last she was everywhere. Mithen - you know what you get with her and that was her game on Saturday - tackling pressure, lots of setting up teammates by hand. Would love her to really nail her disposal by foot and even hit the scoreboard a bit. Probably the notable thing in the midfield was how they went without Paxy. She's so dominant and such a fixture, it's actually hard to remember a game where she hasn't had a big say. But it wasn't the gaping hole it would have been a few years back, so that was interesting (obviously would prefer her out there!).

Ahhh .... I know exactly what ya talkin' about 😉 But the old man hated Iron Maiden 😂 But I learnt the trick from him. Got a couple Gene Pitney albums back in the day for Xmas. Gotta say though.... "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is still one of my all time favourite songs. So thanks Dad.

Really good insight into the person that is our club president. What an amazing leader. Kate speaks very well: no bulls**t, just clear and direct. We are blessed with some fine people doing the important work in the background setting us up for continued success. https://omny.fm/shows/afl-daily/afl-daily-20-12-21

Apart from PF and GF they are the 30min minis

🙋‍♀️ I’m that mate. I taped over my best friend’s wedding. 😬 She had left it at mine and I wanted to tape The Young Ones which was premiering on TV that night. I just grabbed the nearest tape and the rest is history. Thing is, I was one of the bridesmaids and made no secret of the fact that I didn’t like the salmon-coloured, puffy-sleeved, frilly-edged number I had to wear. She was like, ‘Awww, thank you so much for agreeing to wear it even though it’s not your cup of tea.’ I said: ‘No sweat, I’ll just destroy all photographic evidence afterwards. It’ll be like your wedding never happened.’ I actually said that! 😳

Tusk tusk

A really mammoth tusk. Or, if you will, a woolly mammoth tusk. (Soz, that’s all I’ve got)

Or someone taped over it. Agggghhhh.

She admitted in an earleir interview that after Bailey Fritsch's goal in the 3rd roved off the back of the pack, putting us 1 goal down, she leaned across the Gary Lyon who was siiitng close to her and said "... Gary, wev'e got this..." Was super confident at the time.

Nervous nineties?

The Arden Street Memorial Pachyderm Match https://www.nmfc.com.au/news/302603/arden-street-archives-the-elephant

Goodwin can coach from the bench because he can trust Yze and others in the box to make calls. He also does it to predict the momentum from ground level. If the opposition get a run on he decides if it is due to our structures, matchups or a bit of luck. He is proving to be very good at it.

Marcus Bontempelli should really have been reported for his hit on Oliver around the 12 minute mark in the second. Maybe he has. I apologize if I've missed it. Clayton had his head down low going for the ball and good old Bont only had eyes for collecting him. His arm was tucked in and he went straight for the ram. Bont wasn't protecting himself or going for the ball. It was a clear premeditated hit. Lucky Oliver wasn't concussed but it could have had a big impact if he was.

Ayyyy

Not that I have found. We do have the top ten at end of season. For those players: Finals Points: 102 (PPG: 34.00)– Christian Petracca 094 (PPG: 31.33)– Clayton Oliver 091 (PPG: 30.33)– Max Gawn 086 (PPG: 28.67)– Christian Salem 078 (PPG: 26.00)– Jake Lever 078 (PPG: 26.00)– Alex Neal-Bullen 066 (PPG: 22.00)– Ed Langdon 060 (PPG: 20.00)– Kysaiah Pickett 046 (PPG: 23.00)– Steven May 034 (PPG: 11.34)– Tom McDonald

Has already had quite a few midfield minutes. Has done well there, No question he is the best 22 He is 21yo built like a brick outhouse, kicks like a mule, has a good footy IQ (as evidenced by his kick to Fritsch in the 1st qtr, his one step goal on the 3rd and his sublime kick to Brown in the last) and is going to be a powerhouse for the Dees for many years..

Agree. Whilst Clarry called himself out for a s$&t speech, I thought it just added to the triumph our club has become. We value honesty and effort, and Clarry brought both to this being crowned the best this year and his effort in that speech. The fact he doesn't have the polish of a used car salesman just adds to his persona. I just hope he signs a Trac sized demon for life deal soon.

I'm sure every club and sundry would love to add Luke to their ranks. I thought he would take a few years to really start impacting games but he's smashed not a few this year. May he have a long and successful career AT MFC.

2022 AFL Pre-Season Scratch Match North Melbourne v Melbourne TBC 2022 AFL Pre-Season Game Carlton v Melbourne Venue: Marvel Stadium Date: Thursday 3 March Time: 7:20pm

All clear from the MRP (Comedy Division)

Good old Dr.D. Always the pessimist. Where's he gone?

Interestingly leading up to and after the GF, he was the focus of all the media for the bulldogs (Mostly likely by his flowing hair). The interest in him was intense, and that included his online activities. Not sure if its related, but wishing him the best and quick return to footy.

I just post date what you mean. But we did have a double tape deck soo....

For the visual learners.

Konrad Marshall, who writes for The Age and SMH, worked with Max on the book.

I've just finished reading it and judging by his Gus & Gawny podcasts there is no way he wrote it. Whoever did though has been able to articulate his thoughts and feelings very well though.

It’ll be March 16th before we know it! Of course, it’s exciting when you think that we get to open the season, and it being our first game in the defence of the title of PREMIERS. But at the same time I kinda don’t want it to come too soon. Still totally enjoying this post-premiership feeling. 🙂❤️💙

A bit of a weird tradition I discovered while listening to the Kick to Kick podcast (they go through the history of the VFL/AFL one year at a time and the hosts are 3 Melbourne supporters and a Bombers supporter) is that teams often have the flag unfurled by the club President's wife (or husband in recent times I guess). It sounds like we are likely to break with that tradition and get RDB to do it which I couldn't be happier about especially considering he missed the chance to hand over the cup and then missed the chance again 2 weeks ago at the G.

I want to dislike him, but I don’t. And I find his vulnerability to be endearing. I really hope the young fella is able to manage this and still have a long and prosperous career, and be an inspiration to others.

It was not that long ago people were saying the Dees would fall apart without Hogan. Glad to see they were wrong. I tend not to follow ex players as I lose interest once they leave the club. I must have watched the Grand final onslaught at least 57 times and it keeps getting better. I still find it hard to believe the Dees won. My rehab is going slow after the stroke and it taking much longer then I hoped to get full functionality back to my right side. Fatigue is still an issue. But on a lighter note WA is opening up on the 5 February 2022. I am hoping 2022 is again the year of the Demons, as only one Grand final win in the past 57 years is not enough. Plus the winning feeling is intoxicating. GO THE DEES! Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all.

I was thinking the 2021 grand final was like every Hulk Hogan match from the 80s; starts out winning, the heel gets on top during the middle then a big comeback at the end to win.

Does any one else experience the following . . . ??? You come to this thread on the weekend wondering what page number you were up to the last time you checked it out. You're pretty sure you've read every page and you don't wanna miss anyone's posts. So you cycle back 10 pages just to make sure you haven't missed anything? Takes up about two hours of your time. But you don 't care . . . cos the Deez won a phuuuukkkkking premiership 74 dayz ago.

We raised this on our flagstaff at our bowls club last Saturday. It makes it all the more real for me and I love it.

MFC predictions Ladder position at the end of the H&A season: 2 Position at the end of the season (e.g. stage of finals): 1 B&F top 5 (1 point for correct inclusion, 1 point for correct place): 1. Trac 2. Gawn 3. Tomlinson 4. Harmes 5. Oliver Leading goalkicker: Bailey of the Fritsch variety Most marks: Hore Best first year player: Rosman Most improved player: Adam Tomlinson All Australian 40-man squad selections (1 point each): Trac, Gawn, Tomlinson, Harmes, Oliver, Langdon, Viney, May, Brown, Fritsch, Hore All Australian final 22 selections (1 point each): Trac, Gawn, Harmes, May, Fritsch, Tomlinson, Oliver Big Ben Brown will kick his biggest goal tally against: Hawthorn (who having no key defender of league standard available try an undersized James Sicily as their first option. However after Brown has 6 goals to his name by half time, make the switch to tall fellow Ben McEvoy, but who lacks the mobility and pace to stay with Brown on the lead. Just before 3/4 time, with Brown on 12 goals, a frustrated McEvoy gets nasty and attempts an Al Clackson special, drawing in Steven May who parked at CHF for the loose kick out promptly closes in and puts McEvoy on his [censored] with a powerful shove (like swatting a fly) and stands over McEvoy in a menacing manner. After 3/4 time with Fred Fanning's record looking under threat, Clarkson concedes the ruck and switches Ceglar onto Brown, but to no avail as the Melbourne team, having wiped out 186 and absent Ceglar in the ruck put on a Harlem Globetrotters like performance and now turn their intent to helping Brown surpass Fanning's record, with him ultimately finishing on 21 goals for the game, (which also incidently exceeds the total number of goals kicked by Hawthorn in the season to that point). Biggest winning margin (exact guess is 5 points, within 1 point margin is 4 points etc): 204 points Vs Hawthorn Biggest MFC story of the year (5 points): Asides from rewriting the record books Vs Hawthorn, the return to longer quarters and reduced interchange has the footy world in awe of the depth, endurance and toughness of the MFC midfeild, which has many drawing comparisons to the great Brisbane Lions teams of the early 2000s. Other MFC predictions (1 point each): James Harmes's partner to have a baby boy and name it Jon. AFL predictions Premier: Melbourne Runner-up: Bulldogs Wooden spoon: Hawthorn Biggest improver: Melbourne Biggest slider: Brisbane Brownlow medal: Patracca Coleman medal: Cameron Rising star: Hollands