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I had nigh on given up when that pass went there. My thoughts on the game, Rams did well stifling their run and run pass option, but our offence just couldn’t finish. I couldn’t believe that hit on Stafford wasn’t called. Couldn’t believe Skrowonek dropped that pass in the endzone and the INT misses by both teams. Nerves huge fir both teams showed. I had a shower after work and I’ve sweated balls since and need another shower. Im stoked, to make a SB is huge, to do it over the cards then Niners who I watched destroy us for over a decade was a little extra sweetness. Commiseration to you niners boys it was a huge run in.

I have to admit even after watching countless replays of the granny it still seems very surreal at times. I know others have expressed the same.......I guess it goes to show how deprived we have all been.

I guess because we are deep in the off season and on a demons fan forum. Watching the GF replay and exploring hypotheticals around the draft is about all that we have for the next few weeks 🙁 My post about Amiss was not intended to imply that we made some kind of mistake at the draft table, just looking at the only other comparable tall in the first round.

You're only as big a dlckhead as the dlckhead that employs you. The management at Ch 7 have a warped view of sport and think that BT's barely coherent splutterings are an integral part of the entertainment. They probably grew up listening to Rex Hunt, whose efforts by the end of his career were barely recognisable as sports commentary.

These "fortune tellers", tarot readers, etc, are actually skilled at what is called "cold reading", whereby knowingly or unknowingly, they are picking up on subtle clues that you (usually unwittingly) give away to them, such as wearing a Melbourne jumper, having number 6 on the back of the jumper, and saying "God, I hope our young dark-haired ruckman doesn't go back to Perth."

The myth Ben Brown was a stay at home forward at North is wrong. In his good years he covered more km per game than Gaff, Sculley, and the other elite runners. But North realistically decided to rebuild when Noble came in, and they are getting games into kids. If their board sticks fat with the ups and downs of a rebuild I can see them contending in 4-5 years, by which time BB is probably finished anyway. It was a win-win for both clubs.

Cold hard logic based on post 2018 performances no doubt justifies the pessimism about Weid's prospects. I remain a bit more optimistic based on the fact he has already shown in games he has all the skill, physique and footy smarts to compete with the best. I maintain the hope that his problem remains above the shoulders. Most of his preseasons have been cruelled by injuries and it seems to be extremely hard to build a tank and therefore be competitive and confident if you've missed big chunks and are starting with a low base of confidence. I'm hoping with a full pre season we will see the best competitive beast version knocking down the door for best 22.

As usual another journo who hasn't done their homework. Last pre season Weed was heading for surgery on both hips and BB was on a severely modified program still overcoming the knee surgery before coming to us. BB then had further knee surgery. So the players last pre season who were expected to be our two key forwards basically missed the whole pre season. From memory Clarry had further shoulder surgery and had a modified program for some time. There was quite a list of players in rehab at various stages last pre season. We are in way better shape this pre season. Even Tommo seems to be recovered enough from his ACL to be in full training and is expected to be available Rd 1.

I wonder if supporters at other clubs have watched the replay of their side winning the GF as many times as the majority on here have? I watched it again yesterday and there's always something you see that you haven't noticed before.

And the name worries me a bit too. 🙄

That is not quite correct. A few weeks ago a fortune teller came into the Salvo's store that I volunteer at and offered to read my palm and she said I followed a team that wore red and blue colours and there was a tall black haired player who had played around 30 games, and was about 20 years of age that came from the west of Australia and that he would remain at the club for many years to come. True story.

Appreciate the concern dieter. Thank you. Your timing is impeccable. Last night I had a coughing fit so bad the bride wanted to call an ambulance, but it was probably the last hurrah, as I woke up today feeling MUCH better than any of the previous 15. Looks like I finally have it beaten, although still have cold symptoms. Will be interesting to know if I pass the RAT test they will no-doubt make me take when I get back to work next week. Thanks again for the concern.

That was a gift Macca and all Tartt did was return it to sender. My son and I couldn’t believe it when he dropped it but these things often happen in big games, there’s always something to talk about. All the best in the big one Gorg, been on holidays the last couple of weeks and as a neutral with the tipping comp here as the only vested interest I’ve been very lucky to witness half a dozen cracking games.

Roosy stated some years ago that if a player missed the pre Christmas pre season which was when the fitness base is built they would struggle to get full fitness for the rest of the season. It's safe to say the disastrous 2019 pre season shows enough evidence of how hard it is to recover competitiveness having missed large chunks of pre season. BBB did a great job overcoming his interrupted pre season. We have no idea how much his fitness was effected compared to Weid's or how long it took for each to get back to full function to be able to build the base. BBB is a lot more experienced and has a lot more proven form to rely on in building his confidence compared to Weid who is yet to cement his career.

I didn't see a lot of this game, but over the last 2 weeks I have noticed handballs not hitting the mark. Often low or behind the targeted player. This (handball) is one area that is still poor from my limited observation in women football. I might be wrong here 'bin' but it would seem like it's not the best tactic to be using when the skills are not up to standard.

Agree. She was put forward last year because we had no-one else. Now we have Harris and Bannon. Daisy doesn’t like set shots, not good for a forward. At HB she can read the play and position herself to defend. Hibberd, May and Lever aren’t sprinters, but they know where to go and when. Daisy similar. And her abilities aren’t used when , like in this game, the ball rarely entered the forward 50, but the backs were crying out for help.

Everything’s Marvellous

Really hard to pick 5 players. 5 McNamara 4 Hanks 3 Goldrick 2 Lampard 1 Birch

These two comments are absolute rubbish.

What a despicable fellow you are Biffen! Your weakness for sins of the flesh is well documented and your predilection for substance abuse is infamous. Now you add gaming! You choose to ignore the wonderful spirit of jingoism that surrounds the tennis in favour of your venal needs! Disgraceful!

Yes. He had the run of the whole ground, not bad for a stay at home forward with a dodgy knee. Watch the 3rd Quarter later on and its Ben who is working really hard in the middle And then goes forward to kick the 3rd!!! Whatever Nought’s reasons were for getting rid of him, they look silly now. Ben still has some good years in front of him

We were seriously in trouble when Zanker and Paxman were unable to contribute in the middle. Putting Goldrick in there really showed others how to play football against seasoned strong opposition. Also was impressed by the first class efforts of McNamara who just kept getting the ball when others couldn't. I wish Mick Stinear would wake up in the same way as he did half way through last year. Short kicking was the go in the early years of AFLW, because players who could kick beyond 20m was rare. Now they can, and so it requires a territory game, not a possession game. And in the same line, kick the ball off the ground, don't try to pick it up....kick the ball as first option, not handball, especially in the middle. The game has changed and improved, what worked previously doesn't today. Especially when we have a good core of talented players who do have the skills to execute long and deep, and have the forwards to capitalise on that. Make no mistake. Adelaide is the SA state side and have been gifted this through AFL poor planning again. So no small wonder their girls are bigger stronger and more skilled than other sides, given SA is a football state.

Chill guys, Jacko ain’t going anywhere for at least 2 years. If he did indicate he wanted to go home, a prudent agent would advise him to do two more years in Melbourne, get another flag, spend 2 more years developing with the games best ruckman and two of the best mids, then watch your value skyrocket. I think the whole homesick thing is petty overplayed these days. I actually think he’ll be a 1 club player.

Now to decide where to hang.

Are things picking up, bro?

Loved the extended shots of old mate here after the Petracca goal, wish we'd seen his reaction after the following goals. Because this felt like the beginning of the 'Is this real? is this happening?" thoughts, where we were all close to tears, but the result is still in play, so the dam has not burst. Mix that in with the excitement that a superstar from our club is ripping a grand final open and declaring himself the best in the comp. Epic moment.

I read somewhere that Jacko is now sporting a few extra ink pics following the GF. One way to check if he is going or staying is to check the tats. If he has a demon tat, he’s staying. If not, there will be no contract extension. Simple.

I think a few mergers were 'signed and sealed' in the 80s. Most likely on a napkin.

That's Jacko !!!

Really why talk about Amiss ? We were never able to get him early in the draft and have done a mighty job getting Van Rooyen. All indications are he is progressing well and Picket advised of this in his report. Your Amiss vs JVR is a classic case of better knowing a devil AND NOT knowing another ATALL. Have a look at his highlights. He is versatile and can play back as well as forward which he has gone successfully in WA Colts and Under 19 state Football plus about 5 Claremont games where he concentrated on FF.

Didn’t Carlton buy shares in North at this time too? swans were owned by the Dr. VFL or AFL bought the license back for one dollar I think. Collingwood were within 30 minutes of insolvency I believe - needed all of Galbally’s and Jack Hamilton’s skill to avoid that.

Yeah/Nah . . . doubt he was thinking Dr. Gonzo.

But he hasn't played 30 games.

I can honestly attest that Uncle knows his wine, his women and one or two songs😂

You'd have to say that he got out on his own terms and at the top of his game I'm a tad surprised that he is retiring but he is 44 years old. Maybe the body said enough (or the mind) 7 x Super Bowl Champion! What a career!

Judd McVee isn't that tall

The Melbourne Lions was much closer if I remember correctly (also 1986) - was all but signed, sealed and delivered until the MFC basically pulled a swifty to try and ensure we would have majority board members (think it was something like equal MFC/FFC board members but the MCC having a board member with a deciding vote?) Probably what McGuire was thinking about.

Oh yeah .... Watched that too. Saw that and wanted to win one the same way. Turned out ours was even better 😎👌

Me too layz….making a wide run before the final bend. Bengals 27 at Chiefs 17 49ers 24 at Rams 13

That might be right - for what it's worth, I thought Weid made some big strides in 2020 before getting injured / dropping form. He had a patch of 6 or so games in a row where he averaged a bit under 2 goals a game but it was more about his effort - he was using his body and playing aggressively and flying for marks etc. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic but it seemed like the sort of form that you see before a player goes to the next level. His next pre-season he was apparently flying (I know) and then got injured. When he eventually got into the team he had every chance and barely fired a shot - confidence? fitness? Hard to know. I think there's still a role for him if he can find fitness, form and confidence but it seems Brown has already mastered what we need from him - providing an aerial threat that the opposition has to worry about and capable of bringing the ball to ground if unable to mark / attract a free

Just a quick comment re BBB. After watching the 3rd quarter replay so many times I've lost count,I finally noticed who's running into the Bulldog goal square a little late to try and spoil Johanassen's mark, BBB

DMee I agree with your last sentence but your BBB summary was IMO a completely inaccurate summary of his journey and trade on table. NBB averaged 60 goals per season for NM and we are told that 180 goals was the best in AFL over that period. In 2020 he played about 7/9 games for a very poor return of less than a goal s game. Of course he suffered a knee injury and was not fit for most of the season. He would probably have been low on confidence also and Larkey has started off his AFL career in fine style in the meantime. I dont know anything about BBB and his marriage and non football lifestyle views but he is a very devoted family person and his wife appears to be strong lady as well with fitness etc part of the setup. Contract negotiations had been ongoing for months and a large contract was offered to BBB which he refused. ( May have been around $700,000 it is rumoured ). Something seems to have gone wrong at this point as not much else happened when out if the blue North advised Benny he could look elsewhere ( or wasn't required anymore). If the "Mr Flopsy" free kick story has any legs I doubt it. Ben may have not handled bring injured well and this may have resulted in form loss and losing his appeal as their chief goal kicker and " golden boy" BBB has got frees and plays in a tall gangly style ( Long legs and height) accentuate this. We have remodelled him partly as he is moving outside the arc and he is a good Avenue to goal as well as a reliable mark snd kick and requires the No 1 tall defender. But getting BBB for trade pick 28 with a couple of pocket money trade exchanges is a complete bargain. What is good that has not been said is he is being paid FAR LESS than 7 triple figures and he is totally invested in our Club, assisting coaching our AFLW girls. Not free but our market negotiation skills are still in great hands as he has sured up a flag with about 10 strong grabs 3 goals and been spearhead of a multi talented group of forwards who played even better than the sum of their parts together with a connectivity not seen for a few years. Long May " BBB Mr Flopsy Sideshow Bob or Big Bad Benny " extend those arms (big dukes as BT would say) and be our "long run up " goal kicker for all of his next 3 years of his contract. Dees fans now love his hair and long run up but I think his team play and above all his reliable and straight kicking !!!

Some of these crows women will put a fortune through the canteen after the game too

If Burrow can play well then this like the Bills game will be high scoring and end to end.

Just had a read. Makes me wanna slap a bunch of those clueless fools upside the head. Little wonder it's Dusty this, Dusty that. They've only got one player and if he wasn't there they'd have no recent flags.

Seems like the ultimate 'killing time at work' or 'waiting in bank queue' thing to do. I haven't yet, but I think I just might. Ill start with reddit here: https://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/pv27lc/match_thread_melbourne_vs_western_bulldogs_2021/?sort=new It's pretty messy to get through. Not even sure if it will load every comment. Below is the post-match thread for more relevant comments. I find reddit a little more witty and less vitriolic, with the way the upvote filtering works: https://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/pv5i8d/post_grand_final_thread_melbourne_are_the_2021/ @Dr. Gonzo

Jackson, Rivers and Pickett all played in their 1st season. As did Bowey. If he's good enough, JVR will play. Age is irrelevant.