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Ben Gibson is a really good acquisition, from the first day he walked in. Our Media output has improved so much since he arrived. No offense to those before him, but some kids just know how to do the job, and do it

Accidental Trackwatcher: Witnessed Jack Viney tearing around an oval doing sprints and laps before sunrise in Hawthorn this morning. Very eager and looks angry – I did not approach.

Great to see Daniel Turner get a gig. This to me says that he's put in a pretty strong pre season on the track. Was blown away how extremely fit he looked when I bumped into him at the gym over the summer. Had lost all the puppy fat he had prior to being picked up and looked like he'd stacked on the muscle.

Hey Picket, you must be thrilled to see anybody who is vaccinated can attend the game tomorrow, rub shoulders and share a drink with their best mate but you were locked out and forced to watch training through a fence when there would have been nobody within 50 metres had you been allowed inside the ground. Go figure. Thanks so much for your efforts over the preseason, your reports were insightful, detailed, imaginative and well written which helped me and I imagine many others get through the preseason. Outstanding work, many thanks.

I'll microwave my membership if we lose.

You need to introduce this fella to demonland picket. We can use all the trackwatchers we can get.👍

Not sure who works harder as they play different roles. Oliver is in the thick of it to get the ball, Petracca is the burst player to go forward. Yep, great to have the two. Who is better? Depends on criteria and one's emotional investment in each player. But, now that Oliver has learnt to hold his ground in or run out of a pack, instead of treating the ball as a hot potato and blindly hand pass out of congestion, I reckon he has a few more levels of improvement. Now that is a truly scary thought.

How ironic. West coke have to sack a player for REFUSING an injection

Thank you very much, Baghdad Bob, really appreciate your sentiments😁 Yes it to me has been mystyfying as it has been, frustrating and perplexing that I have had to watch training on the other side of the fence. BUT, I have enjoyed not only bringing information to the mighty DEMONLAND faithful, but creating a bit of humour as well in these changing and challenging times🤩 Cheers PF

Could not disagree more. If you want more evidence to prove this further then go watch the Grand Final again. Bontempelli cruises out from stoppages like Pendlebury and uses his football smarts in getting around his opponents. Oliver's ability to explode from the stoppages and break away with speed and power is more significant then Bont.

As well as being a palindrome, it’s an ambigram… reads the same upside down. 🤓

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So based on this thread, somewhere between 25K - 90K

Terrific to see Tomlinson getting a run. I'll be interested to see both how much time he gets and how he goes!

It was a potentially season-defining Monday night match-up for both teams, with the “beaten no-one” FIFO Dees taking on the reigning premiers who were on a five-game winning streak but playing their third game in nine days. Colvin, Caris and Brown were replaced by Lampard and debutants Gillard and Purcell, while Brisbane continued to feel the absence of defensive stalwart Lutkins and forward powerhouse Davidson. Could the Dees celebrate ruck royalty L. Pearce’s 40th game with victory? FIRST QUARTER Looking schmick in our stunning indigenous guernsey, it was a good start for Gillard with a mark as her first involvement in the big time. Unfortunately, soon after, Lampard’s handball to an under-pressure Paxman caused the ball to spill, with O’Dwyer finding space on McNamara to open the scoringwith a goal in the first two minutes of play. Brisbane was playing at break-neck speed, clearly eager to blow us out of the water. Their forward pressure was stellar, and our players were a step behind in gaining first use. All attempts to exit D50 were rushed and easily cut off, while fumbling further up the ground allowed Brisbane to regain possession and slice through wide spaces in their forward line. After Lions’ ruck Hickie took yet another uncontested mark on the 50-metre line, she sent the ball straight back for eight inside-50s to zip. Lampard was having a nightmare as the designated kick-in player, with two attempts intercepted and then the next deemed an insufficient distance. Eventually, the Dees managed to get the ball to the edge of the centre square, with Harris and Parry getting involved to force a contest. McNamara calmly spotted up Harris who’d circled back, and she found West in a mile of space. The attack came to nothing, but a repeat inside-50 followed, with Harris again the target, a harbinger of things to come. Her kick fell just short, but we’d clawed back some stability. All was not calm though, as Parry, having won a free kick out of the ruck, yelled as she kicked in the hope of drawing a leading target forward, a repeated scene throughout that game. Though we’d done nothing on the scoreboard, a nine-point deficit at the first change was as fortunate as Hore dropping the dewy ball, having her opponent step over the mark in response, and winning a 50-metre penalty! SECOND QUARTER Another quick goal, this time to Conway, undid some hard work, with Brisbane capitalising on the classy touch of Hodder. At the next bounce, Hanks and Paxman worked overtime to contain the tackle busting Svarc. However, a free kick that remains a mystery to me (and to Goldie!) allowed Bodey to take the advantage and stroll into goal, and the game was disappearing rapidly. A centre clearance through good ground level work by L. Pearce gave some brief respite but a slip-and-fumble fest between the arcs soon ensued as the dew set in. Some better transition through the middle soon followed, but the next link in the chain was elusive; it was essentially Harris or bust. A Lions poster then another misskept the game’s faint heartbeat alive, while Fitzsimon and West both cracked in, trying to make something happen. Twenty-three points in arrears and staring down a scoreless half with two minutes remaining, Daisy (having moved to the backline) had the task of setting things in motion from deep in defence. With the luxury of an undefended mark, Daisy switched the ball to Harris, who quickly swung around and hoofed it to a two-on-one on the wing, from which Goldie linked up to West. Instead of running towards goal or simply bombing it, she changed angles, bought some time, avoided an all-or-nothing precision kick and put the ball to Bannan’s advantage. The speedster dashed into scoring range and snagged a drought-breaking major. Victory still felt an unlikely prospect, but the door was ajar, with Brisbane’s lead cut to seventeen at the main break. THIRD QUARTER Finally, a good start to a quarter, with Hanks hitting up Harris who fired a bullet of a pass to West. Perhaps hearing me urging her to look at her options, West did just that, although unfortunately selected Hore in a den of Lions. She did her best to step around several, but the post had other ideas. Regardless, the Dees looked super lively around the ball, with West flicking some zippy handpasses and Paxman going in hard then running equally as hard to link up. She delivered to the goal square where Bannan took a leaf out of the Harris contested marking playbook and clunked a beauty. The response was swift, however, as Brisbane again took advantage of a poor handball from Paxman, with Birch and Gillard caught out as Wardlaw expertly worked them over to release Farquharson into an open goal. Time to close up shop and start thinking about the midnight plane to Melbourne? No way! After Bannan attempted an unsuccessful dribbler, L. Pearce’s positioning for the resultant kick-in allowed her to set up Harris, who marked and goaled. Birch denied a Lions foray forward, then Harris became the target again, bringing the ball to ground before cleverly working back towards goal to receive after Purcell and McNamara combined to win the scrap. A rushed behind was a letdown from the promising build up, but the Dees had the wall up for the kick-in, with Gillard making a strong contest before going long and high, to – yep – Harris. West was in prime crumbing position, and with no time to second-guess, she jammed it on the boot for her first goal in AFLW. Contested possessions were 30 to 18 in Melbourne’s favour in the third, and at the siren, Brisbane’s lead had been chipped away to the narrowest of margins. FOURTH QUARTER With the possibility that Brisbane might fade on everyone’s mind, our forwards strived to lock the ball forward early. L. Pearce pounced at the boundary throw-in, dispensing with her opponent and getting the ball to the goal square where Harris was waiting. She kicked what turned out to be the match-winner, but there was a long hard slog to endure first. Soon after, a fumble from Daisy opened the door for Bodey to stream forward and miss by an inch, though the Lions disagreed. They were somewhat compensated when we gifted them a 50-metre penalty due to Goldie not hearing the umpire’s call, focused instead on instructions from the bench and perhaps a little stunned from a heavy knock. Yet the Lions weren’t able to execute to save the victory, plus gave away some tired free kicks and turnovers. Harris missed a chance to add to the lead with eight minutes remaining, the only real blemish on her performance. The Dees hung on valiantly, with multiple dicey moments countered by great tackling efforts from Heath and Hanks, some desperate stuff on the last line by Gillard and Birch, and Purcell sticking out her first AFLW game in almost a year. A neat chain from the backline involving nine mostly short kicks and marks was pivotal in chewing up a solid minute. The nerve-wracking dying stages mirrored the Dees-Lions encounter in Round 9 last year with the same free kick (holding the ball), against the same player (Magee), in roughly the same position (40ish metres out on an angle), to the same recipient (Bodey), for the same result (a Dees win). The only difference was the margin, three points this time rather than two; that’s progress. In terms of the shot after the siren, I like to think the collective effort to get the giant debutant in Gillard on the mark made all the difference. STATS & STAND-OUTS The team stats evened out in this game of two halves, with disposals level at 234 each. Brisbane had the ascendency in tackles (66-38) and tackles in forward 50 (14-2), while Melbourne was supreme in contested marks (13-2) and marks inside 50 (9-2). Brisbane had 39 inside 50s to 26, but the Dees were more accurate. The Dees’ disposal leaders were Paxman (23), Hanks (16), D. Pearce, Mithen and McNamara (15), while Bates (22), O’Dwyer (18), Dawes (17) and Bodey (15) were prominent for the Lions. Shout-out to Goldie’s nine disposals at 100% efficiency deep in the third quarter. Mithen and Hanks topped the tackle count along with the Lions’ C. Svarc (7 apiece), though Brisbane’s dominated the tackling overall (66 to Melbourne’s 38). I said Bannan looked ready to burst last week and here she did, though in a different position. Harris’s impact was immense, not only in equalling the AFLW contested marking record, but in converting her chances and working hard when the ball hit the deck. McNamara found space to notch up 7 marks and while Paxy made some errors, she did an absolute tonne of work for 413 metres gained. Daisy steadied the defence structurally and spiritually – try not to walk taller when Daisy’s suddenly next to you. Her 15 disposals comprised 14 kicks, and on re-watch I counted six off the backline that found a target or safety, an area in which we had struggled in the first term. Aerial dominance, straight kicking (shock, horror!), a bit of luck and some good old scrapping did the job. Credit to Brisbane’s effort in an unenviable situation; they‘re the team I’d most love to steal some players from – Hodder and C. Svarc for a start. Questions still linger as we look ahead. How can we get better control of games early? Can we mix up our lead-up options as attention builds on Harris? Should we freshen Zanker up in the ruck or forward? Do we keep Daisy back, in a reversal of the 2021 mid-season switch? MELBOURNE 0.0.0 1.0.6 4.4.28 5.5.35 BRISBANE LIONS 1.3.9 3.5.23 4.5.29 4.8.32 GOALS MELBOURNE Bannan Harris 2 West BRISBANE LIONS Bodey Conway Farquharson O'Dwyer BEST MELBOURNE Harris Hanks Bannan McNamara D Pearce BRISBANE LIONS Bates Bodey O'Dwyer C Svarc Dawes INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil BRISBANE LIONS Nil CROWD TBC at Metricon Stadium NEXT ROUND An in-form North Melbourne at Casey Fields, Saturday 7.10PM THE LAST WORD Our 23-point comeback was the biggest in AFLW so far, but the challenges just keep coming.

About halfway through Maxy mentioned the lone supporter who peers over the fence to watch all the training sessions. He must be talking about @picket fence

...but he's on the money with Laurie Bailey, great player this kid. Also noted JVR as a defender when he's been brought in as a forward. Top notch analysis Hugh.

that won’t work anymore as it’s all digital now … so if we lose to NM tom you’ll have to microwave yr phone!

HUGH FITZPATRICK hasn't watched much footy if he thinks Sam Weideman has great hands.

Obviously it’s just us demon fans who can see what a jet Tom Sparrow will become in the midfield

They don't want Viney to kill someone and spend the season in remand

Viney on covid isolation. Lever rolled ankle and Fritter had a sore calf.

I would argue that he has more break away than Bont!

Or, as Robbo put it in his top 50 players list, having Clarry and Trac is like having Batman and Batman. Only thing I ever agreed with him on.

Drop Foxtel and just get Kayo. ☺️

Oliver and Petracca are like having two Martins or two Bontempellis, or one of each.

It's funny being the same age as old people!

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I thought her comments in the GF were fine - the non-kick to Kozzie is in the eye of the beholder and I think she was right to point out when Track was blatantly trying to keep the ball in - it was an indication that we are back in this and happy for the chaos to continue as it was in our favour. It was that mindset that led Track, Viney and Oliver to put the foot to the throat in the last minute that turned a 12 point lead into GF over. The amount of critique she gets is far in advance of any bloke so even those that are in her corner are using the fine tooth comb. Watch in a normal game that doesn’t include the Dees - she brings simplicity to concepts and in understandable language. And she can read the game. There was a random Tigers game early in the year where everyone were thinking they were about to reignite and she didn’t see it and it didn’t happen. Made buffoons of BT and co. Not that that is tough.

Imagine living in a football world where there's no Petracca From the Top Shelf, no Bang, Bang, Bang, no Despondent Hot Girl, no Daniel and Goliath, no Heart Beating True and Blue, no Daisy correcting BT, no tears on Goody's face on the boundary line, no Bearded Demons Fan in Tears Covering His Throat, no recollection of someone kicking six goals in a GF for the first time in nearly 25 years - that's the life of a Bulldogs fan.

In the latest Gus and Gawny, Gus describes Oliver as "...looks like superman, no-one can tackle him". It will be scary for the opposition to have two immovable forces in the middle who can both turn on the jets at will.

Who is better? He won the coaches award, Mongrel Punt ranks him number one, I think he is clearly the best player in the competition. He reminds me a great deal of Barassi - they have the same relentless, nothing-will- stop-me approach; Total aggression at the ball.

What we got 'ere is failure to commun'cate. Daisy shows up all the recent special comments commentators because she is one thing the they are not - a good communicator. You'd think the ability to clearly communicate would be a KPI lock for a commentator, but for the last few years - decades - the special comments commentators have been players first and communicators last. Duck is an absolute wood duck; it's no contest between him and Daisy. Bucks is actually a good communicator too, so he'll be a welcome addition to the commentary ranks.

After a very long time, I'm getting over my deep seated animosity towards my father "guiding" me down the path of being a dees supporter. Hopefully my son doesn't feel the same way. Very much down to our star studded lineup. When Clarry did that one handed pickup under pressure against the Hawks (2016/7?), I knew we were onto a winner.

Any time Daisy confirms that BT is substandard is fine by me. Whether she’s right or wrong in @binman‘s eyes.

Nice to see Benny G still getting a run I think that he rose in stature around the club during the finals series doing what ever needed to be done including covering as water boy. But agree it was like watching them find their feet for 2022, glad that Baker is getting a run off half back, looks like Rosman and Howes have taken over the wings. I hope the first round goes better than the first episode. Lol!!!

Grumpy Lingers

But we're counting on you! I'll be there and can't wait even though I live in the Macedon Ranges have kids and have a serious job.

A somewhat meandering affair I’m afraid! A bit of gossip, a bit of news: a bit too unstructured for my taste.

Bannons goal in Rd1 was one of the most exciting I've see in the womens comp. A turn of blistering speed to burn off her pursuer and then kick the goal at top pace 😎👌

Dont think that its me he is refering to,as a supporter has been backing his cab chassis back and sits on a chair and watches training near the entrance. He is very very keen and loves the Dees!

Oliver > Fyfe

Can spend 2 or 3 years up forward winning games with goals after he has finished his domination of the midfield.

Podcast mentioned that Oskar Baker is out of the wingers club as he is being played off half back.

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117,245 with the newly built MCG roof on display

I’ve probs watched the last few minutes of the Round 23 match more than I have bang…bang…bang (which I’ve watched an ungodly number of times). For mine, apart from the actual winning of a premiership, the end of the Round 23 match was the highlight of the season.

I reckon half of Demonland have said that at some stage.