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We're not... We're posting about a young man going through a difficult time. He's a joy to watch when he's not playing us. Plays with great flair and spirit, I wish him all the best and hope to see him back out there. ...and if he's not, then at least be in a good place with his life.

Saturday night the Ballarat Demons had organised a "Dinner with Demons" event in the function room at Bray Raceway. In attendance were: TMac, Clarry, Salo, Frieter and Gus. Mrs Dw surprised me with tickets saying it was an early Valentines Day gift (Damn, if that doesn't put the pressure on). We had the great pleasure of sitting next to Paul McDonald for the night and had some great conversation with him, absolutely terrific fellow. Now to some of the information from the Players. Early on the question was asked; who is the standout in training? The other 4 all pointed to Clarry straight away and one of them said "you just can't bring him down!" On the question of losing Burgess they all said the transition to Selwyn has been seamless. While he had introduced some new/ different things, all the philosophies and language was the same and they are all well on track. I think it was Clarry mentioned 18 of the players had PB's during testing. I asked some questions regarding AMW, does he have a nickname yet? They all looked at one another and burst out laughing and one of them said "we'll just stick with Andy" . I'll have to put Fence onto that one. I asked if he was as quick and elusive as Cozzie? The reply was "nobody is as quick as Cozzie". What was also said was he did have pace, was elusive and had excellent disposal. Interestingly they said he was currently being played all over the ground, again another one for Fence. On Choco, they all think he is crazy and you never know what your going to get from him next but then they all agreed what he does works! (Their emphasis) Can't think of any other insights I can share but it was obvious they are all very comfortable with each other, very relaxed but you can just sense they are raring to go and want very much to do it again.

dogga must be quite a chatterbox. they've been talking for months now

Maybe a tad misguided, but If he ever left….

When Barassi left Melbourne to go to Carlton I was a kid and I cried for days. If Clayton Oliver went anywhere but Melbourne Id cry for years.

For the first time in a long while, I was back at Casey Fields, "enjoying" that blazing sun lowering inch by inch. It was a return to normality with a little league match at half time and a much-enjoyed and long-anticipated return to kick-to-kick post-match, in which I starred. Credit to the cheer squad who were at full strength and in full voice, with a ripper banner. Other notable attendees included young players from Melbourne's Alice Springs Academy team which was great to see. The Dees had Caris and Magee replace Hanks (protocols) and Gay (quad). The Suns were also missing a big name in Pregelj. At the forefront of the minds of a somewhat jittery Demons crowd: how would the team respond to last week's less than stellar performance? FIRST QUARTER The Dees won the toss, and my attention was soon drawn to Zanker going to the number one draft pick in Rowbottom, an intriguing match-up. The Suns applied plenty of pressure early, well aware that's the way to go against Melbourne's ball carriers. Unlike last week, however, it wasn't a one-way street, with the Dees bringing much greater intensity around the ball. The Suns did well to stave off numerous Demon attacks, making use of an extra player back to fill the hole in front of Harris in particular. Of course, it's not a Casey Fields report without some weather details, and it was that typical tricky Casey wind: swirling one minute, a gale the next, then dying intermittently. This wreaked havoc on all players' ability to read the ball, though some strong marking by Birch both in defence and up the ground put the rest to shame. Unable to capitalise on their chances, with some downright ugly shots falling short and spiralling way offline, the Demons took a three-point advantage into the first break. Yet I've watched enough of this team to know that, in games like this, against opposition like this, when they pepper the scoreboard and trap the board forward, they generally win out. A slow start, yes – but at least no damage in the 'against' column after Lampard and Heath put on some excellent defensive pressure to stifle late forward thrusts by the Suns. SECOND QUARTER The second quarter brought much of the same, although with more forward time for Gold Coast. L. Pearce took some handy marks as a result of good positioning. However, Melbourne’s inside 50 entries left a lot to be desired, with its forwards failing to find adequate separation due to a lack of speed on the lead, while those with ball in hand did little to put the ball to their advantage. Finally, a great kick to the hot spot by Zanker found Harris exactly where she was meant to be. Unfortunately, her kick let her down; an unsure attempt to work with the wind. Another good lead from Harris soon after lead to a free kick from a nervous defender, with Scott taking the resulting shot from advantage. Her poor execution, however, couldn't be put down to unfamiliarity with the vagaries of Casey Fields. With around four minutes remaining, Drennan of the Suns opened their scoring with a major, courtesy of a kick out of the ruck against Caris by ex-Dee Perkins, and it was a familiar, frustrating scenario. However, a goal meant a rare re-start in the middle, and a chance from a secondary ball-up for L. Pearce to combine with Zanker, who successfully fended off to find some space to launch the ball forward and onto the chest Harris. She got the ball moving quickly to the top of the square, where Daisy crumbed front and centre to scramble a goal for the immediate reply. The Demons doubled up in the next passage of play, with Bannan rushing a high kick forward in similar fashion. Parked bravely underneath it was McNamara, and her commitment to an unlikely marking opportunity earned her a free kick, which she duly converted for a handy ten-point buffer in a low-scoring affair. THIRD QUARTER With the wind again, it was time to attempt to set up a victory. In a similar move to the one that gained her first AFLW goal, Fitzsimon tried to step her opponent and was the recipient of a panicked high tackle. Her shot was expertly directed at the right goal post, and the margin stretched to 16. The Suns didn't look like scoring, while the Demond were able to find some more space as the game opened up somewhat. Case in point was Mithen taking a couple of bounces on the wing after Birch mopped up down back and linked with Paxman. Mithen drew the player and gave a slightly off-target handball to McNamara, who had time to gather in oodles of space before calmly going in the Harris direction. With the resultant free kick from the marking contest, she took the simple approach and just slammed it through hard, giving Melbourne a 23-point lead. In the last five minutes, the Suns nabbed one off a booming kick against the flow, and it became all-important to see out the quarter strongly to prevent a comeback from building. The necessary physicality came through Harris, who imposed herself with a strong but fair tackle on her opponent, Gold Coast's reigning best and fairest Ahrens, who went off injured. A few late chances to the Dees went begging, so they hadn't snuffed out the Suns completely, with a 19-point advantage definitely "gettable" for a team bolstered by two consecutive wins from last-quarter heroics. FOURTH QUARTER Gold Coast were full of fight and keen to use the wind advantage to snatch victory. However, the Dees made a strong start out of the ruck and had good control in the middle of the ground in the early part of the quarter, with a clear emphasis on kicking low and hard into the wind allowing them to string together some marking chains. This included a rare sight this season: Daisy being hit up on the lead. She turned quickly to put the ball to Harris's advantage who then snared her second goal. In a crucial moment a while later, all that stood between a sprinting and side-stepping Sun and an open forward 50 was Heath, who gritted her teeth and did enough to halt their progress. Still, some hesitation over the footy and a lack of clean disposals dogged the Demons and cost them the chance to really kill the contest. For the Suns, Stanton was impressive, kicking a great goal after getting out the back and leaving Sherriff to a hopeless, though valiant, chase. From there, all energy went into slogging out the game defensively. Howarth kicked a classic goal in the dying stages, amusingly commentated with the remark, "She couldn't! She can! That's a sausage!" by an enthusiastic Sun on the outer – you can't get that at home on the couch. While they leaked the last two goals of the match, they defended desperately, as the Demond notched up their tenth-straight win at Casey. While it wasn't the convincing rebound victory we'd have liked, the team needed to get back to the grind, and this game certainly had plenty of that. The day they bring that contested effort and better polish together in equilibrium against quality opposition for four quarters will be one of true satisfaction. STATS & STAND-OUTS Melbourne showed a greater willingness to kick and less propensity to be handball happy, though the Suns' pressure still often had the intended effect. The home team returned to their dominance of disposals (220 to 157) and their efficiency inside 50 (74% to 40%) was crucial. The accumulation of 20 shots from 27 inside 50s (regardless of how good those shots turned out to be!) meant that weight of numbers eventually won the day. A victory in the contested possession was likely high on the priority list and was delivered (116 to 90). The 177 combined tackles were the highest aggregate in competition history, which is saying something! A mark count of 33 to 18, including 8 contested to nil and 7 to 2 inside 50, reflected a strong aerial showing in this game. The ability to trap the ball inside 50 that was so lacking last round was fostered partly by 26 to 10 tackles inside 50. If only they'd put it on the board! L. Pearce was prominent, leading the disposals with 20 to match her 20 hit outs, supported by 12 from Caris. I liked West's game; still some dicey moments with ball in hand, but her endeavour was great and she's strong over the footy. Her 6 clearances were beaten only by L. Pearce's 7. Zanker bounced back with a solid 18 disposals, better connection with L. Pearce and Paxman in particular, and greater aggression around the ball, though still with some occasional poor decision-making. Lampard was effective across the back with 17, and while Paxman continued to have some fumbly and slow-reaction moments, I was pleasantly surprised to witness her speed across the ground after not seeing her in action live for 10 months. Mithen was another with an improved performance, leading the tackles with 12, while McNamara felt way more involved than her 8 disposals would suggest. Daisy could have had 3 goals off 4 disposals – unfortunately, it was only to be 1.2. Heath showed some great intensity in her battle with a talented player in Surman. Birch has perhaps been our most consistent player this season so far, with another steady contribution in this game. On the downside, Hore was again well held. My thoughts on Parry didn't change on live viewing. It's time to see what else we've got, especially after another quiet game from Scott as well. MELBOURNE 0.3.3 2.4.16 4.7.31 5.8.38 GOLD COAST SUNS 0.0.0 1.0.6 2.0.12 4.2.26 GOALS MELBOURNE Harris 2 Fitzsimon McNamara D Pearce GOLD COAST SUNS Drennan Hampson Howarth Stanton BEST MELBOURNE Zanker Mithen Birch L Pearce Heath GOLD COAST SUNS Drennan Stanton Howarth Yorston Rowbottom INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil GOLD COAST SUNS Ahrens (hamstring) REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil GOLD COAST SUNS Nil CROWD 1,124 at Casey Fields NEXT ROUND Eighth-placed GWS at Casey on Sunday. THE LAST WORD We're third on the ladder mid-way through the season, but do we truly belong with the top tier?

Our highest scores were the GF, PF, Round 20 and Round 22 shared with round 5. We scored heavily towards the end of the season.

I think that there might be a trend off the back of Jackson but I reckon that they are probably still going to be missing a trick with it. At that's because he isn't a hybrid, which is a combination of some elements of a ruck and midfielder, but rather he's two different players ... a fully functional AFL ruckman during the ruck contest and a fully functional AFL midfielder after the ruck contest. There's no sacrifice being made in fitting between the roles. There are two parts to Jackson's game in the ruck, and I think there's a danger in looking at one of them in isolation. Jackson has genuine midfielder athleticism and movement, rather than just being 'really good for a ruckman' (like Cox, Grundy, Fraser, Kreuzer etc). This is the bit that everyone sees because it is special and we haven't really seen this except for Goodes when he rucked. Teams have tried this before and it hasn't really worked out well for them (especially since the third man up rule). Players like Tim English have had good games but get destroyed against strong, decent opposition because of their lack of competitiveness in the ruck contest, which brings major issues. The lesson to learn is that it's OK to lose the ruck, but you can't get smashed. Teams default back to strong, competitive (and cheap) battering rams rather than pseudo midfielders because of it. Jackson is still a genuine ruckman but he plays the ruck taps very differently, which is difficult to emulate. He takes away the natural advantage of his opponent (ie, his physical size and strength) by dodging and weaving, but being big enough still to tap the ball once he dances his way to good position. He jumps quickly, not requiring a run up or balance step, letting him get position on his opponent and disrupting him. The end result is that his style is so awkward and disruptive that, even for a big strong opponent, he's nearly impossible to dominate in ruck contests. I think there will be a trend towards trying to find a Jackson type ruck, and those efforts will likely see people select tall midfielders to play ruck or athletic rucks to play around the ground. But they will all be making sacrifices in one of their roles, either they will be passable midfielders that are big enough to play some ruck time (eg. taller versions of Grigg) or slightly underwhelming rucks that are athletic enough to win more ball around the ground (eg, English). It's a wild goose chase because Jackson is special and different .... it's like everybody trying to pick up the 'next Buddy' or 'next Judd'. You can't because they're unique players. People weren't leaving Chris Judd undrafted in the past because they didn't like his style combining line breaking speed and contested possession, it's just that there generally aren't any Chris Judd's around to draft! We're just lucky that, when we had pick 3, there was a Luke Jackson around for us to draft.

Yep. I get the feeling he may really show North up and be in the running for the Coleman. Sorry Fritta. But how exciting to have such a quality tall.....medium tall and a small in Kozzie. As well as a few talls in Tmac....Jackson..Max and maybe SW will show some old form. Some big scores looming.

Thanks Picket. Stellar job as usual.

The players who played before 1968 had a season of 18 games with at most 3 finals so just to play 200 games most players had to play at least 10 seasons without injury and play in finals, to play 300 games you need to play at least 15 season without injury and play finals. Players were not paid very much and were recruited by the VFA, country or interstate clubs as playing coaches at a much younger age. Prior to 1968 only 4 players reached 300 games Gordon Coventry 306, Jack Dyer 311, Dick Reynolds 320 and Ted Whitten 321. Today there are 623 players who have played 200+ games of those 97 players who have played 300+ games of those 5 players who haveplayed 400+ games. In 1968 and 1969 they increase the season by 2 matches, in 1970 they increased the season to 22 matches making 200 games in 10 seasons easier and 300 a little easier with finals. When players play in bottom clubs they became dispirited and players usually retired when they felt they had enough playing in losing sides, thus players for the MFC did not get to 300 games until Neitz.

There is an element of dumb luck in clearances and, indeed, almost all contested possession. Anyone who has played footy and been inside a stoppage will understand exactly how random a lot of it is. The hit out is about a 50/50, the ruckman can't really see what's happening on the ground, the tap is hard to direct under pressure, the ball takes a lot of time to hit the ground, opposition players trying to stop a clean possessions, .... and, on top of this, the ball is a weird shape and could bounce anywhere. All of it means that both teams need to balance defence and attack, so even a dominant ruck cannot run basketball style set plays ... because one bad bounce or deflected tap could mean the opposition goes bang, bang, bang. But some teams are better than others, but even the best and worst teams are pretty close to each other. The best and worst centre clearance teams were still only 3.4 centre clearances a game away from each other, which is a big deal but demonstrates that, in a match between the best and worst using season averages, the best team would still only win 57% of the centre clearances (and only 54% of total clearances). It took a lot of luck to go bang, bang, bang, but you need to set your team up to take advantage of that. We were able to turn clearances into goals, whilst preventing the opposition doing so, which is a big tick for the setup. The Dogs were not able to do that .... they had too much faith in their ability to win clearances without investing enough into what happens if they don't.

Who's going to tell Harmes that a jumper with a different number, a brutal haircut and hiding his face from the camera is not enough to de-identify him? Another reason not to have visible tattoos.

I'm not one to overstate things, but I reckon Trac will be the best player to ever play the game. They should start sizing him up for a statue now while bronze prices are good.

Guys the world authority on footy crowds ( all crowds probably) BT said when it' was 10 mins to go NO ONE has left! All are waiting for the end of the game etc. NO MORE to be said I presume. PS Channel 7 Sack BT he talks mainly rubbish.

Nah. If another team wins that means we lost. No way am I ever wishing another team wins 5.

A nice thread on Twitter about Laurie’s life from his family.

CAPTAINS LOG STARTDATE 422022 We have found ourselves stuck in timewarp and are seeing visions of something not yet identified. Captain Kirk. "Spock it seems we are trapped in a time warp from which we may never return"! Spock . "A time warp from which we may never return? Why Captain, I can't believe my ears"! Captain Kirk " Neither can we Spock", Neither can we"! Uhura "Captain I’m getting a voice message from somewhere called Casey Fields. From someone or something called Picket Fence"! Captain Kirk "Picket Fence sounds like a Romulan! Put it on speaker!” Training notes almost a three three and a half hour training session, a few casualties crackle crackle BANG CRACKLE STATIC Uhura "I'm losing him … “ Captain Kirk “A three and a half hour training session? Bones what do you make of it"? Bones McCoy" Sounds brutal some sort of games are played requiring levels of conditioning which go far beyond human endurance. Must be super fit!" Spock “Captain I’ve run a scan and it seems this Picket Fence is a native of planet Earth and attends training conducted by Melbourne Football Club, as a sort of Scribe" Kirk "Fascinating. Keep communique channels open Uhura Spock, Bones, Lets Beam down and find out more, Scotty get ready to beam us down.” Scotty "Aye aye Captain but I'm not sure the Dilithium Crystals can take too much more'"! Mr. Sulu " Captain there is a strange figure crew cut with a beard starting to materialize holding something in his hand" WTF IS IT? STAND BY Uhura "Captain, I’ve downloaded this Picket Fence summary, I'll put it through computer and relay, NOW” Arrived at training at 9.15 for what turned out to be a marathon training session lasting over 3 hours probably closer to 3 and a half and was it a brutal and punishing session. No beg pardons about training loads and INTENSITY. In fact I can't ever recall a longer or tougher session There were several notable injuries throughout which I will get to. A brisk wind was blowing down the ground towards the south end and although fine this contributed marginally to some skill errors by foot. REHAB Mitch Brown who ran a lot and hit the bike INJURIES Spargy went down after a hit to the head and was escorted of not to be seen again. Mild concussion a possibility. T Mac went down and limped of the ground with what could be an ankle injury. Both these occured in Simulated Match Practice. Then just near the end of training Trac was being attended to by a trainer/Doctor by what could have been a lower leg possibly ankle injury. He too walked gingerly of the ground but was not escorted by training staff. Hopefully all are minor. SKILLS , DRILLS AND MANOUVERS Drill 1 Possesion kick and weave In formation Drill 2 Full match simulations RED VS BLUE 4 QUARTERS of about 20 mins each Drill 3 a Tackling practice 3 b One on one grappling push of and then kick to leading player 3 reps by each pitted one on one player 3 c short kick handball and corridor football type style drill in small space 3 d Running running and more running. MATCH SIMULATIONS AND PLAYER WATCH CLARRY CYBORG Just cannot be stopped hence name Cyborg not being disrepectful, he is just like an indestructible man, again he just takes on the tackler and is impossible to stop, runs all day tank just got bigger and disposals are elite KADE CHANDLER Will clearly press for a place this year his skills and pace are major weapons and he knows where the goals are JACOB VAN ROOYEN Blink and he's gone, he is very elusive and not dissimilar to Bailey Fritta. He also took a magnificent contested mark from 20 out and duly converted. MAJAK DAW was respectable in the ruck vs Max and his work around the ground and in stoppages was very good. Also took a strong contested mark about 30 out and converted. JAKE BOWEY Has found another gear and continues to use the ball well and in my view is already better than Caleb Daniel which say plenty! FRASER ROSMAN Was pitted against Ed Langdon and got plenty of quality ball. is noticeably fitter this year. MICHAEL HIBBERD as hard as a cat’s head. Just does not know when to quit was prominent in match sims TOBY BEDFORD Was eye catching with some of his moves dazzling with pace and flamboyance - might be a wild card this year. DEAKIN SMITH Very steady in back half, never flustered and has telescopic arms. DAN TURNER ditto! STEVEN MAY and JAKE LEVER are rarely beaten and know each other’s games so well, it appears a telepathy exists among them BBB Watch out if he stays fit we might have a 70-80 goal Key Forward. Clunked marks, Kicked goals and roams far and wide. BLAKE HOWES, JUDD MC VIE, BAILEY LAURIE, All flashed into the play with deft hands and very precise disposal. MAX, JACK V, CHRISTIAN S all were their usual excellent selves. LUKE DUNSTAN The more I see of him the more I think he plays very similarly to Stephen Powell. Gets in good positions and his disposal is very good. SAM WEIDEMAN Took one great contested grab in the square and converted and did several useful things JAMES JORDAN AND TOM SPARROW Both had there fair share of the ball and used intelligently and tellingly. ADAM TOMLINSON Making some big strides one or two errors but a very solid game I thought. FINAL THOUGHTS As iterated this was as hard a session that I have seen and it proves one thing to me … that the defence of the Premiership is foremost in the minds of the players and coaches who clearly want mo more. There are just no passengers in this team and the healthy competition being created builds a strong unified culture of excellence. No beg pardons, No shortcuts, just hard relentless footy played at breakneck intensity. Welcome back we are hear to ROCK AND ROLL P.F Meanwhile back on the Enterprise Mr Sulu. ''That figure is materialising, I've seen his face before its ITS MAX GAWN and what's he holding""?? Captain Kirk " It looks like a cup a trophy of some sort and whats that number on it Spock. "2022!!! FASCINATING"!! Captain Kirk "WE MUST LEARN MORE"!

Watched this one again last week myself... It was a great performance, the whole series was dominated by us. One take away for me was I still don't understand why Salem wasn't an All Australian...I know we were heavily represented but the finals series showed why. Very stiff to miss out.

The Demons will host North Melbourne at Casey Fields on Thursday 24 February, with the first bounce scheduled for 11am (AEDT). Fans will be able to attend the match at Casey, with Kayo Sports announced as the official streaming partner, allowing fans at home to tune in live.

The reality is Luke while a gun in the making still has a lot of development to go through before going to another club for big $$$. He would be far better off for his own good signing on for a least another 2 years if not the RFA. Its way easier to perform in a top side like the Dees with the likes of Gawn and our mids than with a rebuilding team without a Gawn. I am tipping his management will advise him to stay while at the same time negotiating a good deal.

Brilliant analysis. Thanks AOB. I played a bit of ruck in my time and you are so right. When you are looking up towards the sky to tap the ball you obviously can’t see the ground until after the hitout. This is Jacko’s point of difference. His speed of switching from looking up to his awareness of what’s going on at ground level and being able to impact is unique. Gerard Healey apparently thinks he is going to change the way the game is played. Or I assume at least the ruck. I wonder if this will impact the trend of getting taller and taller rucks to going back to hybrids like Jacko. Although his vertical leap more than compensates for his lack of height. As we saw in Bang Bang Bang all he or Gawny have to do is be a post hitout physical presence to create blocks and open corridors to take us to another level in 50/50 contests.

Maybe he and Goody are working on a joint deal with another club?

In my season rewatch I reached the prelim final last night. Unlike most games where I watch one quarter an evening this one I watched in one sitting. It is arguably the most comprehensive performance of the season. Other than missing a few gettable goals in the second? quarter it was near faultless. The GF was special and no one will forget that 35 odd minutes of domination but I think this game was the pinnacle performance wise. Obvious kudos to Max but the performances by Brown, Spargo, Petty ANB..the list goes.... on are what should stand us in good stead in the coming season.

It is a tough ask no matter how good or durable a player is. It basically takes 14 years of full seasons to reach 300 games. Even getting games from your first year you are still talking about playing to 32+ without missing a season. Testament to the sheer determination and resilience of Nathan Jones to get there while spending most of that time being used as both battering ram and castle gate. Of current (one-club) players with at least slightly realistic hopes; McDonald; 29 years, 193 games. Would need 4 1/2 years worth of games, but is durable and smart, and a key position player. Viney; 27 years, 150 games. Would need to keep plugging along to 33+ but isn't as far behind in the games vs age balance at you might expect as a lot of the time it has been more a case of being limited by injury than not playing. Salem; 26 years, 130 games. Limited games in his first few seasons, but I can't see any reason why he wouldn't be able to keep playing until at least 40. Harmes; 26 years, 122 games. Similar numbers to Salem but is not as certain of a continuous place in the 22, and doesn't have the wise head and kicking value that adds to longevity. Petracca; 26 years, 127 games. The idea that this guy is less than halfway through his career... Brayshaw; 26 years, 119 games. The coach loves him for a reason and it isn't because he's super quick or a mega-athlete. Outside chance for an unusually long career. Neal-Bullen; 26 years, 105 games. In a tough position to be stable in the best 22 and behind the count a bit already. Unlikely but I hardly think he'd be embarrassed if he 'only' managed 200! Fritsch; 25 years, 85 games. Mature-age recruit the only thing against him, but it makes it very hard. Oliver; 24 years, 124 games. Piece of trivia; Simon Goodwin has only coached one game without Clayton Oliver playing, and that game was as stand-in coach for Essendon. Clayton Oliver is 24 years old. *Snort-smirk.* Rivers, Pickett & Jackson; Sure, why not?

Most times I just need a quick hit over the slow burn. Best part is we can pick how quick the hit is. Time to kill .... Whole game. Time for the good stuff ...1st, 3rd and last qtr. Snack before bed ... Last 10mins of the 3rd. Sheesh it's late, better go to bed .... Last minute and a half of the 3rd. Sweet dreams baby 👹🏆

The reason why so few 300 gamers is that we were unsuccessful and rarely played in the finals. A sustained period of success can add up to 30 games to a career. Clayton Oliver.

I do genuinely feel for the individual, but I'm not sorry that Essendon will be deprived of a bloody good player.

One of my all time favourite Demons. Such a polished, beautifully balanced footballer. He had the perfect combination of sublime skill and toughness. It was always a delight to watch his brilliant passages of play which occurred oh, so regularly. RIP Laurie and thanks for the memories.

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."

Never, I hate to say it but she is a cats supporter. Also not interested in playing football. I am now working on the four year old.

being an orderly type of chap. i've been doing my planning for next 4 years. it goes something like this: back, back back back

Good comment - way back even in our relatively successful times in the 1990s and early 2000s, I used to get so frustrated when a player made a great move or play, then left it at that. Little shepherding, second efforts (Kozzie v North early 2021 was such a great example, and Ed Langdon's GF goal, Kozzies under recognised block freeing Track for "that goal" in the GF), or "dummy leads" knowing they would not get the ball but instead drawing their opponents leaving space for others. We saw far more of these selfless acts in 2021 and long may they continue. ❤️💙

I've been on for years that creating space and shepherding were two of the most significant attributes we were lacking . It is interesting that as selfless team play became more recognised attributes, improvements in the former happened. I notice the same lack in the AFLW side and wait for an awarness to correct the style

Walsh eyeing off a spot in the Melbourne midfield once Viney gets into his 30's.

Not related to clearances, but I wonder if Goody and his use of Brayshaw has started to change the way wingman will be used. On afl.com today it mentioned that Mitch Wallace at the dogs is spending all preseason on the wing, which you would assume would be to copy Brayshaw’s role.

I still find it amazing that Hinkley has kept his job. i really like Ken as a person, but that Performance from Port, at Home, should have been a Coach Killer… What is he going to say to them now?

Just trade him for the eight 1st round picks and be done with it

We are supposed to be playing North Melbourne at a venue yet to be revealed. I believe it will be near the end of February. For some reason I think Ballarat was mentioned.

When is she going to play for the Dees?

Leaving Sparrow twice, once for the Sparrow goal and the other for Sparrow to kick to BBB in the last. When to attack the ball carrier and when to stick to the receiver is an art, at which Daniel failed miserably.

Watson, although selected in the 1992 pre-season draft, had retired and never went to West Coast. Sheedy lured him out of retirement in 1993, just in time to play in that year's premiership. He played his 300th in 1994, which was his last year at Essendon. My opinion on the topic raised in this thread is that the only statistic that really matters is winning flags. I've never heard any supporter boasting of how many 300 gamers they've had or how many Coleman Medallists have played for their team and, although "nice", it's not really that important. Team success is paramount IMO.

I watched the first 5 minutes watched them miss a couple of shots, saw the Dogs attack, retreated to my computer to write great litracha. I checked the score at half time and tried to console myself with, Ah, well, they've come a long way. I then checked with about ten minutes to play, nearly fell outa my chair and raced back to the telly....

From where he has come from, if he is able to get back to enjoying life, then he is a success.

Best wishes to Walla and I hope things work out for the best for him. I just like watching him play. How many football players get a song written about them?

I hadn't heard that (about goody coaching from the bench to get a feel for momentum). Makes a lot of sense and gels with one of the key things i've picked up watching the replays from last season - how dam good we are at absorbing sustained opposition pressure and negating any momentum they have. So many times teams have stretches of relative dominance, but don't hurt us on the scoreboard. I watched the Port game the other night and the third quarter was almost a mirror of the dogs' third quarter in the GF. If anything Port were even more on top than the dogs, but like the dogs threw everything they had us at us. But for all their effort, Port, like the dogs, could only manage two goals in the third. They got within 5 points with their second. We then kicked an answering goal, against the run of play, and seized the momentum. We had a shot at goal for a point almost immediately and then 3 minutes after our first goal of the third, kicked our second to take the lead back out to 3 goals. And it was game over. Port had fired their best - and last - shot and we held them at bay in the last. What was incredible about that game is watching it again, Port had good stretches where they were on top, yet we looked in control all game. How good we were at absorbing sustained opposition pressure and negating their momentum was evident watching the games during the season. But what i have really noticed more watching the replays in the last few weeks is how we go about doing so. Which is where your comment about goody coaching from the bench to get a feel for momentum intersects. Most teams try to wrest back momentum by scoring a goal themselves. Footy 101. But we seem to be happy to simply absorb pressure and make it hard for teams to score. And a big part of that, an element i think is unique to the dees, is we are really happy (well happy is probably the wrong word - prepared?) for the ball to be in our defensive half for long stretches. Unlike most teams we don't panic or take big risks. And we are happy to dump kick it out of our 50, even if it is likely to come straight back because the other team have a wall set up. We just deal with it again when it comes back inside 50. So, we negate. But what i have really noticed is what we do once we score and stop the opposition's momentum - we attack, and switch from a defensive mindset to an aggressive one. Like holding your serve in tennis after getting a break, we lock in the change in momentum with one or two quick follow up goals. It reminds me of boxing. Absorb pressure, let your opponent tire, land a punch that stops their momentum - and then attack and get all the momentum. But unlike your opponent, take full advantage of that momentum Another key element in that battle for control of momentum athat i really picked up on is how we use the clock as a weapon, something I hadn't fully appreciated. It reminds me a bit of how soccer teams look to manipulate time left. Its like the clock is another team mate. Control is the key word. We control the tempo and the clock so much and so well. A big difference between the home and way games and the finals is in season often once we have got the momentum back, and got the lead out to 3 plus goals we go back to control mode. Which explains why so many of our wins were in the 3-5 goal range. But in the finals, particularly the prelim and GF, once we got momentum we never went back into control mode. We just kept attacking - which explains how high our scores were. I expect we will see exactly the same pattern in 2022. Which can be frustrating to watch in season as you want them to put teams away and get a percentage boost. But watching the replays you really get sense of how much energy they conserve by not going all out attack wire to wire. Again, the Port game is good example. We won the game only kicking 4 goals in the second half (though frustratingly we kicked 10 points in the second half!). As i noted we absorbed their pressure in the third. Despite it only being a 3 goal difference at 3 quarter time, Port never looked a chance in the last and we were happy to control the tempo and and suck time from the clock. Port were stuffed and if we had gone all out attack we could have beaten them by 10 goals. But at what cost? Save your legs.

“Man this is going to be hard… when do I tell him… I’m sure he knows but I don’t think he knows how quickly it’s going to happen… how will I do it, over a wine at his restaurant or a coffee from his coffee van… I don’t know but I’ve got to tell him at some stage and possibly this year he’ll be spending most of his time playing as a forward and becoming a relief ruck to Dogga…. What tough decisions I’ve got to make…. oh chit he’s staring right back at me.. say what.. oh nothing Maxi, you’re looking a million $$$ mate, can’t wait to see you in action this season keep up the good work mate, do you mind doing some goal kicking practice now buddy, off you go…”

I know it’s not always appropriate to make comparisons between eras but if you think Ron Barassi (6 premierships) as Christian Petracca and Laurie Mithen (5 premierships) as Clayton Oliver then you might understand the importance of Laurie Mithen to the golden era we experienced during his career with the club. The other coincidence is the influence of players coming from Ormond to Melbourne and getting the # 11 guernsey. That’s 6 flags that I’m aware of to date. Laurie Mithen was one of our truly greatest ever players.

So do I 😊

He is a high-character kid, and I think he genuinely values his friendship/partnership with Gawny and as long as Gawny is at the club, Dogga will be there too. Hopefully by the time Max retires, Jacko will be fully entrenched in MFC culture and Melbourne city living - I don't think he's going anywhere, for years at least.