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Knightmare seems to love doing what he does. He gets notoriety from it and seems to enjoy watching the players too. I think it's very difficult to be a draft analyst without access to the clubs because you simply don't have the resources available to know any players other than the obvious ones. As a result you have a very strong bias towards the high production players in the mainstream underage competitions, and it's then easy to reinforce those opinions as those obvious players keep putting in good performances. But good, high production underage players aren't necessarily good AFL players, because the roles these players play at underage level (usually a ball winning midfielder) usually aren't the roles they will play at AFL level, as those positions are taken by the best players in the competition. The other part is that it can be very difficult to go against the grain by trusting your eye and risk looking stupid. As a result he just follows the consensus. Ranking players is really hard, which I think people underestimate. Once those on the internet come to a consensus it becomes very hard to break, and then people rank the success or failure of a team's drafting based on that internet consensus .... except that the internet consensus is not a reflection of reality. I don't think he has a very good eye for talent spotting, but I am sympathetic to his draft rankings because it is much harder to formulate than it appears (especially without using a reference, such as the internet consensus). I am vastly less sympathetic to his ratings of a team's drafting/draft grades because it reflects a lack of self-understanding of just how far away from reality he really is.

Interesting to see that 81% of respondents to the survey recognised that we are too good right now. God I’m loving being top dog for a change!

I dont have room for any more merch...

They all saw what we did to the next best teams in the comp. They know it's us .... Then daylight.

I wonder If Trac surprised himself with our first goal. Off one step that was an incredibly powerful kick. It's no like it just made it either. Man that bloke has powerful legs. Which brings me to Sparrow. His goal was not too dissimilar. Given his age, I wonder if we have another CP on our hands. Tom Sparrow's efforts seem to stand out more every time I watch the replay. Such poise and presence for a young fella in a granny. When he didnt blaze away in that first minute of the last and pass to Bbb, was a moment when this kid became a permanent part of this team in my mind. To think he will continue to get even stronger gives us a very tough midfield.

Duryea was a 5th round selection...at that pick you are a development/spec pick. JVR will come in as you say when and if ready, but as a first round pick if he doesn't get a game in his first 3 years he's more likely to be a bust. I trust that won't be the case.

I was chatting to a Richmond supporter this week who reckons, with Dusty Martin back and fit, they might have one more flag left in them ... if it wasn't for Melbourne. In his words, the Tiges are on the decline while we are reaching our peak.

“..haven’t got any worse...” Lols!!!! I’d suggest we’ve gotten better, players improvement plus additions like Dunstan, Tomo etc back from injury. Plenty of competition for spots and room for growth from within this already incredible group.

At dinner tonight up in Airlie beach in far north qld with my two daughters…..and there was another Dees family!! The dad was wearing his premiership cap… my 12 year old daughter was in her “give ‘em hell” tshirt and I had my premiership face mask….he walked passed us and yelled go Dees!!! Loved it 😍 ❤️💙 who would’ve thought that would ever happen in FNQ?!?

She predicted we would lose to Port in Round 4. Not likely. Port are such a non-threat The idea that we had no injuries last year is a furphy. We started the season with our KPF 1 Brown and KPF 2 Weid both injured and lucky for us TMac stepped up. We did go into finals with a healthy list though

The last time i went to Vic Park was ‘92 We beat them, with Allen Jakovich kicking a bag. It was a heavy vibe waiting for the train at Vic Park Station. i still have the same scarf, that went to all those grounds, and was at Waverley in 1987 i wore it very proudly during the Grand Final

Every Saturday arvo my brother took me to the footy much to our mum’s disquiet, as she worried about my safety. Her reservation was justified since I heard and saw things that would disturb a 56yo let alone a 6yo. Thing is, she remained none the wiser. Pretty much every week my brother would have occasion to say, “don’t tell mammy about this.” One time at Victoria Park there was a Collingwood supporter a couple of rows behind us. She was hands down the most feral, filthy-mouthed piece of scum ever there was. She was literally screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs at anyone and everyone, with Collingwood players being the sole exception. And the language! I was hearing words that I never knew existed and to this day I don’t think I’ve ever met/heard/seen anyone, male or female, so disgusting. She was flanked by two huge Neanderthals, her meathead friends, so since everyone in earshot valued their lives, no one dared say a word. Nor even look at her. They all learned from my mistake: I foolishly turned to sneak a furtive glance at her early in the piece to which she responded, “what’re you [censored]in’ lookin’ at, ya freckle-faced, c**k sucking lil mole?!” And that was nothing compared to what she had to say about oppo players and the umpires! I was silent all the way home. When my mum saw me she was mortified. She turned to my brother and said, “what happened to her?! She’s as white as a sheet! She’s looks like she’s seen a ghost!!!” My brother, bearing in mind that if she knew the truth that’d be the last match to which he’d be allowed to take me, said, “Oh, she’s just kinda in shock, we just witnessed the most scintillating footy match ever!” 😆 That’s just one of many, many experiences that wouldn’t and couldn’t happen nowadays, but were commonplace back then.

Victoria Park was known as 'the zoo'. Somewhat disrespectful to animals I think.

I went to all these grounds. I remember seeing Hassa Mann‘s goal in 1964 at Glenferrie; I certainly remember the final round in 1987 at Western Oval. But strangely, one golden day was at Arden Street, the last round in one of the late 70s, we were getting thrashed and were expected to, and a North player attempted a dropkick. He flubbed it but it was still interesting. The weather was perfect, very early spring, and the day was just golden despite the result. I loved the old football. At 2.10 on a Saturday afternoon something like 10% of Melbourne’s population would go to the footy, which I think is extraordinary.

Knightmare article rating 2019 draft choices (dated 29/11/2019): Melbourne Traded wisely and secured value in their trade with Fremantle. The move back allowed Melbourne to add pick 28 and a future fourth round pick without a meaningful move back down the order from pick 8 to 10. While Melbourne's trade looks on paper like value was acquired, their first two picks of ruckman Luke Jackson and small forward pressure specialist Kysaiah Pickett are arguably reaches. Jackson, a sub 200cm ruckman is athletic, plays with aggression and follows up well but was arguably not the best available player. Similarly, Pickett while the forward pressure he applies is of a best in draft standard and he has speed and is damaging with ball in hand, his low scoreboard impact and product makes him a difficult sell so early on. Trent Rivers, who Melbourne secured thanks to their trade with Fremantle represents strong value at what after bidding became pick 32. Rivers is a classy ball user off half-back who moves well and can push through the midfield as a ball winner. Grade: C Collingwood Improved their draft hand slightly in the latter half of the draft to increase their involvement without losing a lot. Jay Rantall represents strong value as a basketball convert with elite endurance who does his best work inside winning the contested ball, distributing by hand and moving through traffic. Oakleigh premiership captain Trent Bianco is a second selection who represents strong value as one of the best kicks in the draft and the most advanced outside player in the pool. Trey Ruscoe at 192cm with his versatility to play defence, midfield or forward, is a third solid selection with his skills, mobility, ball winning capabilities and the way he reads the ball in flight and takes marks. Though the question of whether Collingwood should have retained pick 51 to draft key forward Jake Riccardi rather than trade it to GWS who used the pick to draft the VFL's Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal is a question that will be asked given Collingwood's lacking key position stocks. Grade: A Note: Rantall has already been delisted

Two Redlegs memberships arrived in the mail on Friday. Eighteen consecutive years for me and my fiancé having her first ever membership. Guest passes are all but over….

I've posted this before, but it belongs in this thread. In round 20 of 1982, my Demon mate and I went to Victoria Park for the first (and last) time to watch Melbourne play Collingwood. We found standing room in a packed outer but soon realised we were surrounded by a seething mob of dirty, ugly, loud, abusive, obscene, smelly and toothless black and white supporters. Almost without exception, they were drunk, smoking like chimneys, swearing like wharfies and even at this early stage of the day fighting amongst themselves. Rather than relinquish their spot in the crowd, they were peeing where they stood. Some of the men were just as bad. We started well with the wind but the Pies had regained the lead by half-time. The third quarter was all ours with eight goals and in the last, we kicked another eight to finish all over them by nine goals. Glenn McLean was magnificent that day, marking everything in sight and earning the three Brownlow votes. Collingwood were so impressed that they traded for him and you will rapt to hear that Glenn went on to have a wonderful two-game career with the Pies. Having kept very, very quiet all day for fear of attracting the wrong sort of attention, the beers (ice-cold cans!) finally got the better of me and this is when I did the craziest thing in my life. As Mark 'Jacko' Jackson kicked his seventh to seal victory, I let rip with a loud "Go Demons!!". Things then went eerily quiet in the outer as hundreds of pairs of beady eyes bored into us. I looked at my mate, he nodded and we turned and ran as fast as we could towards the exit and kept going all the way to Johnstone Street where we jumped on the first bus we found. It didn't matter that it was heading in the wrong direction, we just wanted to get away from that horrible joint. Only my drycleaner will know just how frightened I was that day.

One of the funniest and Scariest thinks I have ever witnessed was a Victoria park. For some unknown reason there was a hot dog stand in the middle of the crowd opposite the social club end, and I saw 4 Collingwood supporters tip the hot stand to an angle of a bout 45 degrees, with the hot dog guy madly clinging onto each side of the booth, (and hot dogs sliding along the counter) until one of the local constabulary, casually looked across and said "I think that will do boys", and they tipped him straight again

If a player has got the right stuff he'll play early ... at local level I've seen any number of teenagers playing in the seniors (early) because they just can't be held back And there is nothing like learning on the job if the structures, systems and those surrounding you have got what it takes Test them early but only persevere if worthwhile. Or, if they are really raw, give them an extended run in the 2's. It's not one size fits all Equally, I've seen any number of players waste their talent and not make it. Some were so lazy (and not switched on) that they weren't even given a chance. And rightly so too And we now have real proof that the current match committee & coaching staff actually know what they are doing

And they are all still so young…

I think that was Austin Bratdke.

Still seems hard to fathom at times, even if I have watched the replay over forty times.

I think I get where you're coming from with development now. You can't assume it's some kind of passive process. Head down to Casey, do my development time isn't the right thinking. I certainly want all our young players thinking of themselves as AFL footballers and actively working to improve. But that can be true without such a clear goal of playing round 1 or early. I think we're more process driven these days. It's about ticking off the skills required to play team football and improve in that way. AFL history is filled with guys who played very early then didn't have great careers, whilst others came in a long way off and played 200+ games. I look at Bowey who I don't think once expressed any great desire to be picked in the side. He seemed very relaxed about it when he was interviewed. His focus was ticking off the things the coaches asked with his defensive game. Bowey had the advantage of having AFL ready skills and facets to his game, so it was pretty clear what he had to do. JVR as a young tall might have a lot more to work on, but a similar focus on the process of what he has to do to be an AFL standard team player is what I'd ask him to do. Pretty keen to see how he goes with competing in the air, getting contest to contest and with his defensive work/tackling. If he can impress in those areas he might be closer than I think to playing.

I went with a great tigers mate too and watched Mark? Lee punch Peter Moore in the back of the head at every marking contest but... Half way through the 3rd I looked down and saw 4 tinnies had come adrift from the bogans in front of us. Every now and then I pushed them closer and closer with my feet. Late in the 4th it was obvious that they had been forgotten so I casually bent down and put them in my mates bag. As he packed up to go he looked in and I could see his brain ticking over. (Please dont say anything). On leaving the ground he said 'Dont you ever do that again'. Tasted divine.

Grand final replay will be a ripper in round one. Not a fan of timeslot for young families sake but cant wait to watch it. I guess dogs have more to play for...revenge etc. But we have the task of winning a cup at the Mcg so we will need to channel our granny efforts again. Kudos for the afl for this concept. It will also be good to see some Nt games again.

Ah yes the old suburban footy grounds. I have vague memories of Glenferrie oval but I was young back then, My favourite ground was the lakeside oval. Can srill remember the freezing days watching the mud splash standing near the Melbourne grog squad behind the goals or being camped under the channel 7 rickety stand on the wing. The 2 I hated the most were Kardinia Park and the Western oval. Don't know why it is just the way it was. Vic park, Windy Hill and Moorabin were a breeding ground for the most despicable urchins to be bred in Melbourne but they did have that interesting factor to them. Yic park was definately the end of the sewerage grounds in Melbourne. I have a fond memory of the Junction oval especially as it was the only place I saw a live premiership. Prahran in 78 Princess park was the most soul less and boring place as well. I do miss the suburban grounds.

I have seen us win at every VFL opposition home ground in Victoria. Yet to see a Premiership live ♥️💙 🏆

I was on that wing 10 rows back from fence it was commando type stuff from Clarry.

The thing most likely to stop us being top 4 again won’t be other sides but injuries in our own. Like the Tigers during their flag years and the Swans in their one we were incredibly lucky with our injury run last year.

Yep, that's my thinking. I remember in the dark days when we recruited Lucas Cook. In one of his first interviews he talked of playing at Casey, developing his game. It seemed like he did assume it was some kind of passive process. There was no aspiration...I really worried about him from then on. As you say our approach has changed significantly since those days in drafting and development. He did have the skill set... ...and coming into a backline with Lever, May and Salem was also a huge advantage. The lessons he would have received from them are priceless, not to mention playing against the best...these are the things you don't get at Casey.

Its gunna happen. All our players will get even better. Buy your tickets asap.

Those things were deadly at a quiet patch during the cricket. Whoever invented a dangerous projectile, only to then fill it up with an anger inducing liquid was evil.

I guess umpires had to be braver in those days as there was no sheltered exit for them.

Lakeside... https://theholybootsfootballemporium.com/2012/06/12/home-away-5-lakeside-oval/amp/

To a certain extent. My cousin used to regularly take his younger sister into the rooms after a game. Dressed in footy gear and with her long locks hidden under a beanie in they would go.....never stopped....

Joining the throng of Melbourne supporters in the change rooms immediately after a win at the ‘G’, chatting to the players as they rehydrated with cans of VB, and joining them in rousing renditions of both verses of the Grand Auld Flag. There were plenty of wins back then too. Of course, it was a male only domain.

Action Jackson doll.

It's an extra long drive back from Geelong when we used to lose. I was never brave enough to go to Vic park. At the age of 12 ( I cant believe even before that age then how much freedom to wonder, I had. ...my parents were irresponsible but it was great) my mate a crazy tigers fan wanted me to go with him but we chickened out.

Covid paranoia will make the changes for next week. And why would you drop Fitzsimons ?

I had my booster on Saturday and tested positive Monday - so not enough time for it to work effectively. My partner and a friend of ours both had boosters in December, and both tested positive but with no symptoms. The booster seems to be much more effective than just double vaxxed. My entire family got told today that their PCR test they did a week ago had to be thrown out due to huge demand. I wouldn’t be buying the numbers. I suspect they are 100-200% higher than what is being reported. So many people I know are sick.

Matches the home team there perfectly.

Or anywhere for that matter.

So you don't think he should aspire to play round 1. I'm not saying he will or he will even be looked at but surely he should be doing all in his power to play round 1. He's got to want it...that's all I'm saying. Maybe I didn't express myself correctly.

Yep, my brother used to tell me to make sure I’d been to the loo before we left home for Princes Park since there was no way he was gonna wait ‘two lifetimes’ for me queuing up for the ladies’ room. Pretty harsh of him since I was only 7 or 8 years old. 😐

He was a truly wonderful gentleman. Friendly and always willing to get into a conversation about footy. I remember him once at Trevor Barker Oval Beach Road Sandringham when Melbourne was still affiliated with the Zebras. I got there early and we were watching this gangly young ruckman, Stefan Martin who had come down to play VFL after a year with Old Haileybury. Scotty was fascinated by the fact that Martin had scored a 99.75 in his VCE and we discussed why someone with those qualifications would want to play in the VFL ressies. He was great company for a while before wandering off into the rooms to get a scoop that would enable him to come up with another one of his punchlines. A real character. Condolences to his family.

Are you sure that was mud 🤔

Jackson is a remarkable athlete and also capable of playing a role for which he was the standout option very early on really. Being able to hold up in the ruck in year and even more so in year 2 meant he was just about a lock in the side and could play quiet games. Further to that if the draft is a Bell curve then JVR at pick 19 is really miles from Jackson at pick 3 and somewhere between Weid, Pickett and Bowey, Laurie, Spargo, Sparrow, Rivers, JJ and even Petty. Of all those players he might remind me most of a key forward version of Sparrow. Athletic, decent build, likely to have a crack, but with a fair amount of development work to really contribute and find a role behind a number of strong team mates. But there's a range of options from Bowey's flag in 7 games to someone like Spargo. Making a real difference in year 1 as a skinny kid but taking unitl year 4 to really put it together consistently.

Still cant fathom Norf letting Bbb go. I hope he has a great pre season and plays a full season. He still has several seasons left in him and if he topped the h and a goal tally for 3 years in a low team he could do much more with us.