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I hope you realise now, having seen Brisbane lose to Hawthorn and Fremantle lose to Collingwood, just how ridiculous this post was. But if not, here are some more reasons: GWS beat West Coast by 52. We beat them by 74. GWS played them home. We played them at Optus GWS conceded 86 points to them. We conceded 38 If "miles off" means being 10-0 with a percentage of 161%, two games clear of second, three games and 35% clear of fourth, and with just one side within 35% of us, then your expectations are horridly skewed.

This. We mostly refer to bruising as soft tissue damage, but bruising of bone, in this case ribs, is effectively damage to the bone surface. Can be pretty close to rib fracture pain but mostly recovers a lot more quickly. I’m tipping Lingers will be fit for the weekend now that he’s been cleared of lung damage.

This guy is my Demon Army comrade. He actually hated all the attention he attracted back then. I’m happy to report, he is no longer melancholy. 😁

"No one in the AFL has a better percentage of marks taken inside 50 off his kicks than the 22-year-old small forward"

The best contested possession player ever. Under yze he has added something that I think has taken his game to another level, a level that if maintained will put him in not just the discussion about the best ever dees player ever but also in the all time great discussion. Big call I know, but just look at his results in the bluey. He won his third bluey, in a premiership year no less, last season. Three before the age of 24. He must be raging favourite to win his fourth this season. He had made two aa teams (should have been more) and is a lock for the next 5 years at least. And has changed how footy is played by mids. Which is where my comment about yze comes in. Leigh Matthews, who I hate still, was amazing to watch because of his power from the contest - particularly later im his career playing as psmall power forward. Dusty has a similar ability to burst from the contest, not to mention style. But under yze, Oliver had taken the mattews template to another level by applying it to ever contest he is involved in as a mid. He still wins as many contested balls, but now instead of handballing to a receiver, Oliver is now driving from each contest with three or four powerful strides, balances up and, when not handballing to an outside runner, driving it 50 metres forward for a 60 metre territory gain. It is fundamental to our game plan. And increasingly other star mids are looking to rhe same. Players like cripps and neal are the ones that come to mind

Votes: 10 Clayton Oliver (MELB) 6 Christian Petracca (MELB) 6 Tom Sparrow (MELB) 4 Tom McDonald (MELB) 2 Luke Davies-Uniacke (NMFC) 1 Aidan Corr (NMFC) 1 Charlie Spargo (MELB) Coaches Split 5/5 Oliver 4/2 or 3/3 Petracca/Sparrow 4/0 McDonald 2/0 Davies-Uniacke 1/0 Corr 1/0 Spargo Leader Board And Oliver takes the lead : 61 Clayton Oliver MELB 53 Patrick Cripps CARL 50 Christian Petracca MELB 49 Lachie Neale BL 47 Andrew Brayshaw FRE 41 Callum Mills SYD 40 Bailey Smith WB 39 Jack Crisp COLL 38 Touk Miller GCFC 38 James Sicily HAW 37 Charlie Curnow CARL 34 Jeremy Cameron GEEL 31 Hugh McCluggage BL 31 Darcy Parish ESS 30 Max Gawn MELB 30 Sam Walsh CARL 29 Shai Bolton RICH 27 Jack Higgins STK 27 Jayden Short RICH

In this report on Salem training it mentioned that Ed Langdon had a light program after his crushing tackle against North. Surely he wouldn't be even there if he has broken ribs?

Spot on. Plus he is generally disliked by opposition supporters whereas the other guys aren't. His game is constantly disrespected by opposition fans. His 45 on the weekend were "only against North". Or his 22 contested possessions were "throws" or "nothing backwards possessions". "How many flops did he get" etc etc etc. Outside of Demons supporters, only true football fans understand exactly how good he is. One of the authors for The Mongrel Punt is one such fan and is always raving about him for exactly the same reasons we all do. It's a shame the other supporters can't see past their own personal opinions of the great man so they can appreciate an absolute master and future GOAT in action.

Langdon missed round 12 last year and we beat Brisbane 14.13 to 11.9. Because of covid it was played on the neutral Giants Stadium. He was tagged out of the game last month vs the Hawks and we won.13.13 to 11.15. It was at the MCG With or without Langdon our system will prevail. It doesn't mean we will win but if we don't it won't be because Langdon is missing. And by the way, what an unbelievable effort to kick that very difficult goal after having his ribs smashed into.

Best news ever on Ed.

Great for sparrow to get some votes.

One handball he gave this week was so quick, straight to our bloke running past....goal I need to look it up 3rd quarter I think, with an opponent over his shoulder really great Go Dees

Clarry is very special in his midfield role excelling in lightning quick hands ( quickest in AFL) with amazing skill backed up by pace and good disposal. Clarry is also the hardest most determined player I have ever seen with an elite competitive attitude. A match winner whose consistency is amazing.

On track for his 4th bnf and 3rd All Australian jacket. Seems to be well regarded in the media these days but certainly is deserving of more adulation. I think he won't get that until he hits the scoreboard regularly, which is a stupid metric. He runs harder defensively which speaks volumes to his maturity and buy-in to a team first mentality.

You are obviously this ubiquitous troll that has hung around Land/Ology for years and your true colours were shown in your absence after we reached Everest. You’re not worth any more internet from me, and I hope others join me in putting you on ignore. What a waste of a life, spent trying to get a rise out of people.

Sorry, but how is this guy not spoken of as the best player in the competition. Absolute freak, only 24 years of age, if he plays at Melbourne until 32 or 33, he'll become our greatest ever player.

I am pretty sure you wouldn't want it to be this one.

I said to my wife, If only he’d kick a few goals, her answer was pure gold “It’s pretty hard to kick goals when he’s doing all the hard work getting the ball out to the goal kickers” And the fact he’s so unselfish

For a long time being short has been seen as a disadvantage for afl footballers, and in many ways it is. But Spargo uses his status as being low to the ground to change direction quickly with quick steps and baulks and then to deliver short sharp kicks. Add in the free kicks he draws (at times cheekily) and he takes advantage of his lack of stature. He played a little on the wing on the weekend I think. I’d still love to see him get the occasional centre bounce, he might get pushed around but I think he’d be really creative in there.

Maysy will just have to console himself with his Premiership medal, and the fact that every Melbourne supporter adores him.

Agree. It's time media really start to realise that Oliver is having a significant better season then Petracca. Trac still getting the hype where as there isn't not enough praise on Oliver.

He is the greatest player in the demons modern history. he is 24 years old.

People choose to support the club in different ways. If we have 40000 turning up to games and 20000 members you would still be complaining. People have lives and footy is simply not their no 1 priority. Games at different timeslots mean it is often hard to plan for. Playing the 18th placed team at a crudhole of a stadium is not conducive to big crowds.

Literally couldn’t have said it better. Banking wins whichever way they come is huge, Brisbane losing to the Hawks could be huge at the pointy end. Also just a side note, an embarrassing record fell yesterday. We had never beaten North at Marvel/Docklands/Etihad/Colonial, but this team have broken that record. Just a word on the crowd numbers, I’m willing to give passes for a while given we’re creeping back from covid and I understand picking certain games to go to. But next week we NEED the support, it this game was in Perth it would be just about a sell out with with crowd absolutely going bonkers for Freo. Our players, for all the incredible work they have put in over the last 18 months deserve to have our fans turn out for this crucial match and make some noise. I have to work and will only get there for the second half, but I want to stands to be packed and loud. Is that asking too much of our fan base?

I agree that the media will claim it is that he doesn't hit the scoreboard, but in reality it's because he isn't doing the finishing, he is doing the extracting and set up, so they don't pay enough attention. There is a reason he won the AFLCA Champion Player Award last year (and will be leading it again once this week's votes come in) yet the media still talks about Pettacca first.

Patrick Ryder tonight was asked during 'On The Couch,' who were the best three ruckmen in the comp (currently). His response was 'The two Melbourne boys' followed by himself. I expected Max to be named at No. 1, but I sure as hell didn't expect Dogga at 2 (or vice versa for that matter)! 🔫 🔫 Lyon later mentioned that Gawn still rates Ryder as the best centre square ruckman in the comp!

I would love to be sitting next to our much shown GF friend who reflected what most of us were thinking after Petracca's beautiful dribbling goal to give us a 2 goal break on the Bullies.

lil charlie is a lil ripper

I actually think now is the time to focus heavily on umpiring. Not to have a crack at the umpires themselves, but to put the issue as squarely in the AFL's focus as possible., Umpiring is becoming increasingly inconsistent. Fans and players are increasingly unsure as to why decisions are paid. Rules are being interpreted and applied differently from week to week. Like the MRO/Tribunal process, the AFL needs a proper review of its rules and how they are applied. Umpiring needs to be reviewed and overhauled, the standard needs to be lifted, and certain rules need to either be dispensed with or modified to make the game cleaner and easier to umpire.

I hope so!!! Gotta don my heavy-duty banner-building pants this week!!! It’ll be a beauty! ❤️💙2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣❤️💙

Langdon training, even moderately, is fantastic news. Hopefully he won’t be out for long. I never ever thought we would see Salem before the Bye. He will need at least one week at Casey to get some match fitness and we won’t risk him in the slightest. We can’t afford a re-injury or a soft tissue injury (which he has had history with) now.

He was Goody's assistant coach at Adelaide from 2005 onwards.

BBB would need a month of what he dished up on Saturday evening to be on shaky ground I reckon. I think he's clearly best 22. Even though he didn't hit the scoreboard, the two goals we kicked in the third quarter were set up by BBB which the coaches will give him credit for. I agree with you that he should've kicked that sitter in the second quarter.

So glad we didn’t take parish. Jason Taylor’s best call yet

I listened to First Crack, and Joey (who i generally enjoy) was banging on about too much winning. Last year he was saying how unlikely it is to win the premiership as minor premiers. My first thought was 'has he learnt nothing'? Tonight he was repeating himself. I was wondering if he even believed what he was saying. To be fair, his comments have been settled opinion for the last century; about being able to maintain form across an entire season and the need to time a finals campaign; but that paradigm is no longer when you talk about the Narrm FC. The way we are playing now defies previous norms, and I'm wondering who is going to recognize it first in the media. King (who alternates between praise and drive-bys) mentioned we are the best at this stage of the season in a decade on a number of metrics. I mean seriously we (the Coaching team) have revolutionized the game (much like Flash did with forward defensive pressure or Polly with his handball), we are historically 'best practice' for what we do defensively, and after the losses Fremantle/Brisbane and the Saints have had, it is clear that in 2022 they will not be where we are at without ball in hand. Next season I see no reason why they will not be there as well. People need to understand History is being made, we are lucky enough to be part of it. We might lose, but it won't be by getting ahead of ourselves, and we might just go through the season undefeated. As @Titan_Uranus said '10-0 with a percentage of 161%, two games clear of second, three games and 35% clear of fourth, and with just one side within 35% of us.' The only professional team in the world doing better than us right now is the Harlem Globe Trotters, we've even put the All Blacks in the shade. So to those wobbling that we are not kicking cricket scores, chill: ...will admit I wouldn't mind the occasional cricket score, but will take what we have for a month of Sundays

Will you keep yourself accountable for being wrong about us losing to St Kilda? Will you come back on here and keep yourself accountable if we don't lose 7-8 of the last 12 games, as you've said we will? I felt like I said this far too often from 2014-19: being negative/pessimistic is easy. Most clubs don't win the flag, so you can set the bar there and most of the time, you'll be able to say you were "right" all along. But of course, if we do well, no one cares about you, and like Dr D and olisik and others before you, you'll disappear. And just on the fixture point, two of the sides you keep banging on about as likely to get the better of us are Brisbane and Carlton. Brisbane's played two top 8 sides for a 1-1 record, Carlton's played three top 8 sides for a 2-1 record, and as you've pointed out we've played two top 8 sides (but of course you omitted to mention that we're 2-0 and not seriously challenged in either game).

Re crowd numbers, I don’t begrudge people’s choice or (in)ability to attend games. All I will say is that our team has evolved into a once-in-a-lifetime champion team and every performance - much better seen and experienced in the flesh if you can do so - is to be treasured and savoured. Thank you, MFC/Narrm, I for one will never get enough of this winning feeling!

Whoever Dr. D was never had the courage to come on here and face up to how wrong he was. Hasn't posted under that name since. Not a Demon supporter.

It was a decent game to watch, which surprised me. Well done to North by bringing their best. Is it just me, but watching on TV, our jumper looking like a Christmas jumper (When there were no close up footage). I think last years was a better "Footy" jumper, far less busy.

60,681

How rich from the umpires’ pet team.

Yeah 100%, and for mine, we could actually really do with 2018ish Melksham about now - our forward delivery has been a bit poor this year and in his prime he was one of our best at that.

I thought he was poor and had little impact in anyway, but can be swayed by roles. Can you explain what his role was and what he was meant to do?

And he is ours. We get to watch him every week. Happy happy joy joy.

I think it was a pretty hard fought win in the end. There were plenty of things that didn't go our way. Norf hit us with everything they had. Langdon being subbed out was a big blow. Max had virtually no influence. Nor did Brayshaw, BBB, Petty or Hunt. There were a few blokes down on their normal output but they all contributed. The positives though were Lever is getting back to his best. Rivers was very solid. The small forwards in Kozzie, Spargo and ANB put plenty of pressure on. Jordon and Sparrow were handy. When teams hit you with all they have and you win by nearly 50 points and remain undefeated then you should be pretty content as a supporter.

Miss no weeks at all if you’re Jimmy Stynes. He played with a “shirtful” of ‘em! I don’t know how……I couldn’t even turn over in bed when I had some! ps……”broken”;is synonymous with “ fractured”.

Not bothered what other Clubs do. We keep winning and people will want to watch us. Kids will wear Demon Gear and become long term supporters and Members and The MCC will continue to be mostly MFC People Nought will wither and die

Was a poster on here last year liked to deride the teams performance, make predictions like won't make top 4 lucky to make the 8 etc. Strangely been missing since the grand final win.