Leaderboard

As I remember it, we tried about 8 players unsuccessfully in the wing role prior to 2021 - including Harmes and Brayshaw! We then went after Smith, who agreed (in principle) to come to Melbourne, then reneged and went to Geelong on a shorter contract (suck a fat one Isaac!). Goodwin then asked if Brayshaw wanted play as an inside mid, or play in finals. Brayshaw then went all 'team first' and agreed, embracing the new role. The rest is magnificent history.

So here is the thing, we supporters spend our time focussing on player's onfield abilities because that is as far as our involvement extends. The thing about Angus is that he clearly sets the standards off the field through his group dymanic skills (starting fun training clubs, podcasts etc) his training expectations in general and the fantastic culture that he brings. It should not be underestimated how valuable he is to the club in general.

Isaac Smith had his opportunity and blew it. At the time I was disappointed but it worked out best for the Dees. Isaac has slowed up and is not the damaging player he was with the Hawks. He is a quality person but so is Angus. The latter also has footy nous and is considerably younger. And is now a premiership player with still more to play for. I hope we keep him. In a playing sense Angus may be replaceable but he has special qualities that we should try and retain. He has leadership written all over him. Of all the players who spoke after the final siren, he (for me) was the most impressive. Articulate and passionate and with commitment to team and club. Love what he brings to the club.

Watching the GF on TV live i remember Pearce's comments in the 3rd when Dogs went 19pts up. She mentioned how long it had been since we goaled and the value of resetting the momentum. Said something like that we just needed to find a way of getting a goal, toughing out a way forward, to reset. Then Viney pushed out space for Harmes to kick to Fritter and off we went She read exactly where the game was at and described it succinctly. Perfect commentary Wish there was more like that within the commentary team and less 'wow-wee!' dipsh*ts

A super enjoyable game to watch. The skills were great, in large part because of the brilliant conditions and surface A good example of my point about the need to play all the AFLW games on AFL standard grounds with stands to provide protection from the wind.

I thought you turned it off? i get we are playing poorly but your sweeping statements are a bit harsh. Hore is a great kick. And regarding the Irish girls Goldrick is a reliable kick.

The AFL Supporters Survey released today, and hightlighted on The Age back page, talks about, among other things, fans fed up with the boys club commentary ruining the watching spectacle on tele. Who'd have thought? But the good news is Ch 7 is allocating this season Daisy Peace to the Friday night commentary team for special comments, moving Wayne Carey to Saturday. How good is that, but a good call by 7 after Daisy's suberb comments contribution on the GF. At times it was emabarrassingly good. Well done to 7 on that. She even had BT saying during the GF's 3rd quarter "....Daise , can you explain just what's happened...?" So she did. Priceless.

What are the odds of the same player having a kick after the siren against the same opposition twice? Assume the free was for holding the ball against McGee she was pretty unlucky, but the result is the same both times! Purcell looked like a really good midfielder to add to our depth. Zanker was almost non-existent. Good coaching from Mick Stinear to move Daisy to defence and shift Bannon from the wing to deep in the pocket to offer another tall foil so Harris wasn't continually triple teamed. West continues to improve, she just needs to have a bit more confidence in her own kicking, should never have handballed to Hore from only 15 metres out from goal. Hore was also quiet again. Pearce of the Lauren variety continues to influence the coalface, her ability to make second efforts at ground level after a stoppage are first class, as is her ability to take the ball from the ruck and throw it on her boot (the latest example this week lead to Harris' 2nd). Parry tried it a couple of times when filling in in the ruck too. Gillard was pretty impressive for a first gamer, can only get better for the experience, her height will be welcome in an undersized backline since Downie retired. Hanks, Paxman both continue to rack up possessions and metres gained in the engine room, as does McNamara on a wing. What a great win!

Mate I'm not "Eddie Everywhere" put a few together but can only do about 1 a week presently.

It’s a fair question, I think he was the back up plan to Isaac Smith. I don’t think it was a case of we tried every other option for him, I think it was a recognition that we needed a player with footy smarts on the other wing and gave Gus the challenge. My thoughts are that Gus still would’ve been placed into that role to create positional competition with Smith. History will show now that Gus made the position his own when thrown the challenge. I actually don’t think there are many others at the club that could’ve done what he did this year, his contribution through our wins have been massively underrated. With Jones and Jetta gone, Gus is one of our true heart and soul players.

Half the team live at Brayshaws parents house. He is going nowhere.

Yes I do remember this clearly. One of my missus best mates is actually close friend of Daisy and they usually come up to Bright a fair few times. I've met Daisy once and was blown away with her in depth knowledge of the game around structure and game plans. Regarding Daisy's comment, I said to my other half whwn we first watched the replay that Daisy could see where the game was going well before the other commentators. I really do hope she gets into some sort of development coaching in the men's competition whether that's with the dees or another club.

Tayla Harris, just wow! Right up there with the most influential game I’ve s seen from any player in the AFLW.

I don't know what everyone was worried about... Read the comments from the first half and happened to catch only the 2nd half. Never in doubt.

Great comeback win. Harris was outstanding. The umpiring for both teams was poor and it’s probably just me but I can not stomach Jack Hevrin as a commentator.

That free was rubbish Great win Dees

My God what a game!!!

I’ll always stand up for Irish women. Goldy is a beauty. 🙂 O’Dwyer from the Lions should be a trade target too. Gun

I can understand if the AFL world thinks he is a bit strange, with the supposed gambling and his infatuation with that ridiculous "energy healer", but he got us to a flag and that is all that matters. I wouldn't be unhappy with a 3 year extension.

So we've now got six pages of discussion about an article (in the same rag that has been attacking Simon Goodwin), with the same conjecture that we had last time before he signed (about going west, presumably because of his brothers). All based on some journalist's total speculation. Why worry about something that hasn't happened?

No, not tongue in cheek. I don't want to bag Daisy as she is fantastic and the best special comments person in the footy media. But in the second half i think she got a few things wrong. Funnily enough the examples you highlight are two of those things I hate to say it but BT was right - that kick should have gone to Pickett not Tmac, albeit not for the reason BT said. And curiously for the very reason that Daisy noted a few minutes after that the kick to Tmac was the right option. Pickett had space in front of him and if he did win the ball he would have swept it forward into our forward line with his electric pace, as he so often does, which would have made it impossible for the dogs defensive zone to properly set up and mids etc to push back and allow a forward like Fritter to lead into space. But of most significance kozzie was close to the boundary, so if he had not won the ball there was a high chance it would gone over the line for throw in and stoppage, allowing us to set up behind the ball and get our defensive zone set up (which, ironically, was Daisy's argument for why it was right to go to Tmac). If his opponent wins the contest, they are hard up against the boundary and either have to risk switching (which we are brilliant at defending) or kick down the boundary line, which is how we like it as we set up to cover it and if we can't intercept smash it over the line for a stoppage. Tmac was central, nearly in the centre corridor and had a man on him (ie not leading up into open space for an easy spot up kick). If the dogs win that contest it is in a very dangerous spot, one that is very hard to defend, as they have three lanes to choose from going forward. Going to Kozzie near the boundary was the percentage play and as such in line with our tactical model and related team rules. The fact we ended getting a stoppage and were able to to set up behind the ball was lucky. As for the comment about us going into our shells, that was the one of the things that really rankled for me. At one point Daisy said we needed to 'rediscover our dare' and later after we had kicked some goals, used the example of one of our players keeping the ball in play rather than letting it go over the line as an example of us doing so, noting it was something we weren't doing in the second (ie before we 'rediscovered our dare') But that is how we play, and how we always play - indeed there was an example in the second quarter where Gus did a look away over the head handball right on the boundary line rather than take it over as he easily could have. I posted right after the grand final that Daisy fed into what i think is a false narrative that the dees were looking shaky and came back from the dead, so to speak. I think she got it wrong in the third declaring we desperately needed a goal just for confidence. We had a poor second quarter. The simple reason why was that they smashed us in contested ball. It was not surprising the dogs lifted their rating in that quarter, but it was really surprising we dropped off. And they were clearly on top. The dogs carried that pressure into the third, but despite them getting the first goal in the third (early) we were matching them in contested ball and had clearly got the game back into the shape we like it to look like. It was back to contest to contest. We had stopped their transition game. And stopped them flicking it around. And stopped allowing unpressured kicks by the like of Daniel. We were back grinding. This is how we played all season. Absorb opposition pressure, let them take their best shot, and then kick a goal against the run of play and then pile on multiple goals and take the game away from our opponents in a ten minute burst. There were so many examples through the season of that exact same pattern, and funnily enough examples where that occurred in the third quarter as it did in the GF. The two best examples were the round 17 Port game and the round 23 Cats game, where both teams were on top but couldn't score enough to, in the Cat's case put us away and in Port's case get in front. In both games our opponents could only manage 2 goals (same for the dogs), despite throwing everything they had us. What Daisy, and all the other commentators, should have been all over is that the dogs simply had to get more reward for their effort in the third quarter. Two goals was never going to be enough, particularly because we had such a huge fitness advantage. We were always going to score a goal and all evidence was that once we did we would pile on more. It is important to note in this context that it is not like the dogs missed any easy shots or failed to take their opportunities - they only had 2 scoring shots in the third, both goals, and perhaps only 2 or 3 other deep inside 50s that might have resulted in a score. We didn't win it becuase we 'rediscovered our dare' or scored a goal to get our confidence back. We never lost our dare or our confidence. We won the game by absorbing the dog's pressure and getting our pressure levels back to where it needed to be, after it had dropped right off in the second The dogs lost the game by not finding a way to score more goals in the third quarter. They simply had to get get the lead out to 5 plus goals, and even then i am confident we would have reeled them in. In fact if anything i'd argue the dogs needed to show more dare in the third. They needed to take more risks, switch more often perhaps or try different match ups. Instead they just played into our hands and did the same thing over and over, largely trying to engineer a goal from a inside 50 ground ball, which is their go to. They were the critical points that needed to be made.

Neither Harmes not Hunt have the footy IQ for the role Gus plays. We tried Hunt and it didn't work.

I'm pretty certain he wants to stay, but I'm also certain that our salary cap will be getting tight. I'll quote a Dees poster from BF (billyboutsis): ''His current contract is approx 625k a season which was renewed when he was having a breakout season in 2018… Was great for us when it counted last season but its a lot of cap space for a player playing out of his natural position. Langdon is on a bit less than 500k for context. Happy for him to stay if they can resign him in the mid 500’s, otherwise emotions aside he is the one player who would be of value to another club, “replaceable” and frees up space to hold onto the younger regular first teamers who would be due a considerable bump up in their 1st or 2nd contract renewals.'' Billy's views perfectly sum up mine. I don't know how accurate his comments are, but they sound about right. I like Angus and understand the ''fabric of the club'' argument, but he's definitely a player I don't want to be paying too much to retain.

Excellent win. Although with a big rest advantage making a huge difference. Credit to Mick Stinear for good coaching adjustments, but a worry why we thought the existing plan would work. Nor do I think 6 behind the ball and way too much corridor kicking at half forward will work. But: Bannan FF - tick Paxy wing - tick Daisy spare back - tick Gillard as Harris Andrews will work long term too. Reads the ball very well in the air. Liv Purcell is the solid built mid we’ve been crying out for too. Needs time to get back to full fitness but she’ll be huge for our midfield.

7 contested marks in 60 mins of footy on a dewy night with only 26 inside fifties what an absolute star!!

Westy!! Cracking quarter!

Back to MAFS

There's some strange umpiring here

Just saw 5 in a row by the Lions. Umps not even pretending to be balanced.

The amount of throws that go unwhistled in AFLW is a joke

If you go to the Demonland Podcasts there’s an interview from December 2019 with Jason Taylor where he discusses the players drafted by the club in November 2019 including Luke Jackson. Taylor says that Jackson was the first player his team interviewed for the year (in February 2019) and that over a two year period he played in 25 matches for which vision was available for them to see ranging from Colts to National Championship games for WA. Jackson was runner up for the 2019 Larke Medal at the National Championships. You’re right concerning the second part whereby clubs will be looking to add to their ruck stocks with mobile second rucks. Time will tell whether the risk taken by the Suns pays off.

Not sure, but I will have a crack. Brayshaw is a Melb F.C premiership player Brayshaw is loved by players, coaches and supporters. Brayshaw plays an important roles in the team structure. Brayshaw is coming out of contract and has put off talks. Brayshaw has been chased by other clubs before. This is Demonland, a platform that was invented to allow discussion of the above by Melb F.C supporters.

Gus is a lot more than a role Player, i am suprised so many here, think of him in that category Gus doesn’t play on an opponent, he plays a position, and a very important position it is Without his work, we do not win the GF I think (his work in the 3rd Quarter helped keep the dogs scoring to a minimum) not every player can do that. he plays the opposite style to Langdon, that’s why it is so effective across the ground.

So we've got some saying that Brayshaw is just a defensive wingman ... that is just clearly the wrong type of appraisal Many times he wins the ball in contests on the wing and then releases the ball forward ... often into the forward 50 to a target And his opponent nearly always plays an ineffective game

Daz, I have questions about your 3 statements above that I have plucked from your post. 1. who says he’d need to take a significant pay cut to fit in Oli and Jacko? Is this a fact? Or have you just assumed / made this up? 2. who says we are overpaying him, or would overpay him? Has the club or anyone else said or hinted at that? 3. who says we need to make tough decisions about him? We don’t know why contract talks were put off. It could be for a number of reasons, including that the club may have delayed them till Jacko’s contract is settled, for example. Your whole post is based on pure speculation - which may turn out to be right, or wrong. The thing is we do not know what is going on, and posts on this subject imo should reflect that, not speak as though basing their statements on fact. I have every confidence that the Club do what’s best for the team. And IMO Gus plays a very important part in the bonding and performance of this team. I don’t think he will be going anywhere.

Daisy seems pretty astute so good luck to her. I think she’ll be very good. At least we won’t get any ‘slick Fritsch’ or ‘Kozzie the little mozzie’ type garbage that Fox gave us last year 🙄

You are allowed to use your hands to hold your position - you can't push. BBs was textbook. The Dog player was backing into him. JJ is allowed to have his hands in the back to take that mark. Had he not taken the mark it would have been a free,This rule interpretation has been in place for a long time and encourages 'high marking' - a hallmark of our great game. Think last year when Weightman used his hands to climb Max like a stepladder - because he took the mark it was fine.

‘Well in excess of 100k’… You are just setting yourself up for disappointment. We need to be in the top 4-6 teams for 6+ years with at least 2 flags and then we can talk about having market share like that.

And McDonald was training there too before injuries forced him forward. Bradshaw on the wing was, of course, down the list of desirable players for that role. He may want to back himself to take Harmes’ spot? Angus played an important role but please don’t let stats tell you a tall tale; Langdon was so dominant that teams avoided his wing at all costs. It was really quite something. Langdon is the superior winger and that’s not to be sneezed at; and if you are sneezing, you should probably head home.

Daisy's footy nous is as good as anyone in the business. Has a knack similar to Ricky Ponting in that she can she things unfold before they happen. Would love to see her on a coaching panel in the future.

Does that mean for every cat that takes up a pet membership, it counts 9 times towards their tally?

I liked that they played deliberate out of bounds a couple of times when Doggies had no options and tried dump kicks… thought umpiring was great, loved the JJ mark was paid, highlight of our game.

Would rather the GF be under umpired rather than over umpired. Thought the worst decision was the non free kick to Kozzie, all in all they did a good job.