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Sir Why You Little: This is what a typical Demonland thread looks like. Lord Nev: No it's not. I'm sorry SWYL, but you've got it all wrong. binman: I'd like to add a brief comment but we all know that's not bloody likely. old dee: This thread will never be any good. It's doomed to fail dismally. picket fence: Sheeeit!!!!! I'm more EXCITED about this thread than BIG KEV could ever be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jaded No More: I (censored) hate Geelong and this thread is almost as bad. Clintosaurus: The umpires will influence this thread. It's the narrative that the AFL and media want. Lucifers Hero: Can the thread title be changed to "What They Are Saying At Brunton Avenue"? daisycutter: i don't see how capital letters could possibly improve this thread. Ethan Tremblay: This thread has sewn up a trade coup for MFC. Make of that what you will. Bitter but optimistic: Has anybody "maid" a double entendre yet? WalkingCivilWar: Have some "manors" Uncle Bitters. Soz, but Ima say it anyways. faultydet: Sigh. This is just more woke virtue signalling. rpfc: I've nothing to say but here's a GIF for you. Cranky Franky: I object to everybody and everything in this stupid thread. dazzledavey36: I've been watching this thread since its junior days and knew it would make the top level. willmoy: This is a biased thread because of the maggots. adonski: This thread would be far better if Jacob van Rooyen was in it. Demonstone: Oh dear. This thread is riddled with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. WERRIDEE: I've made up a possible team using the names of all the posters in this thread. Engorged Onion: This thread is loaded. Or is it? joeboy: Worst thread ever. Demonland: This thread is now closed. Take it to the "Changes For Next Thread" please.

Joeboy: Was rarely noticed

Was hoping you’d tell us.

He's a left footer, played mostly in the guts and a bit on the wing on the weekend for the Chargers. Their team had a number of high profile players missing and they gave games to some of their under 16 players, including defender Doug Kerr who was probably their best player and is an extremely exciting prospect for the 2024 draft. Kynan is only small like his dad, but links play up well and is a good and simple decision maker with clean enough hands. His best attribute is probably his speed, when he gets ball in hand he has a good burst of acceleration that can put two or three yards on an opponent from nowhere. The knock is probably going to be on his kicking, it's not awful but its not damaging. All in all probably a similar player to his dad but probably with more of an attacking bent - a small, quick, hardworking goer. I'd be surprised if he's a high draft pick next year that has us being seen to be exploiting the draft system, but wouldn't be surprised if he was in Vic Metro's squad next year and then was on our list in some way, shape or form come year's end.

Demonland: ANB's pressure acts aren't worth a cracker, drop him! MFC are 17th for pressure acts - the sky is falling!

Ratugolea is terrible

Sorry @Demonstone but you're completely wrong and here's some stats that actually could mean anything but I choose to interpret them in a confirmation bias way to start an argument that will never end...

Just as long as they’re talking about me👍

What are the odds that % dictates finals wins? I'd say 42% of the time it is unclear

He's a jerk

Give yourself a jolly good thrashing Demonstone!

This thread is going nowhere until we get a permanent home base in the MCG precinct

Well, that’s just a matter of taste. I personally find them a little on the objectionable side. (sorry, I’ll just get my coat…)

I just hope we send Grundy to the Richmond Doctor for a check up first.

We don’t usually announce rookies so early in the piece, that’s interesting. AMW: Really like the Niz, he makes quick aggressive decisions with the ball and can take a mark. Groins haven’t quite held up to afl training just yet but if he gets on top of that and puts in the work I think he can develop in to something. Smith: I like the way he plays as an aggressive small defender with a great leap, but his skills haven’t come on too much and he’s undersized. A touch surprised they locked him in this early. McVee: has settled in well at Casey and is improving his output. Seems like a smart player with a good balanced all around game for the VFL level. Struggling to see the AFL upside though. Hasn’t really shown the pace, size or ball winning to fit in any backline role.

I'm not sure why anyone is surprised after 2 years of this game plan. I'll be very clear: The players are under coaching instruction that says "unless you are confident you can hit the lead up or lateral kick, play the %s and kick to the pocket". It is the #1 building block of our much vaunted defence as it narrows the opposition's exit, allowing us to set up the full ground zone accordingly. This plays to the strengths of our key & intercepting defenders. It is also why we have so many inside 50s - from the pocket, you're the least likely to score but the most likely to get repeat entries. This also comes with an advantage of tiring the opposition's defence & mids, and giving our defence a break (adopted from the NFL). The longer you play front half footy, the theory is the more you score. We play a mathematically conceived system that ignores low conversion & low efficiency in favour of sheer quantity. If you unflinchingly play the %s every time, those %s are realised in the results. This is not to say anomalies can't occur, but its a system designed to keep us competitive for long periods of time in winning positions, somewhat irrespective of personnel. Sprinkle some luck, skill or moments of class onto this system, and you'll be OK a lot of the time. If you're complaining about kicking to the pocket, then you can't laud our high i50 count or laud the fact we have conceded the least points all year. They're fundamentally connected. Where this falls down is: 1. The majority of our players are not confident they can hit the lead up or lateral kick, so they don't bother, because if they miss it the defensive system falls down & our 'defence first' gameplan falls apart. Lacking this confidence, they play the %s, ignoring blatantly open options. Spargo is told by all and sundry he's our best i50 kick - he now knows it implicitly and is the only one who takes the chances others are too scared to try. 2. Our bigs need to be able to contest the pocket-kick & at least bring it to ground or get it out of bounds. With one tall (often taking the bail out kick on the wing), it falls down and we get intercepted. 3. Having intercepted, teams like Collingwood move it out from the pocket incredibly fast. This negates the defensive benefit we were getting whilst still limiting our chances to score. It is however for them a risky strategy that relies on supreme fitness. Teams can do this, but they'll not often succeed. #1 and 2 can be addressed by encouraging players to be bold (they have the skill; they've been coached out of it) and simply picking a competitive 2nd tall. #3 has emerged this year and is a challenge for the coaches. On the eve of finals we're not going to change this plan. It is the reason we are competing for top 4.

We were spoiled by what happened in Finals last year & it's tainted our expectations. We came in this year believing the hype and genuinely believing that we would beat most teams by 100 points every week. When we struggle through and win by 20, even going 10-0, a lot of us were disappointed. The reaction on here was testament to that. Noise & passion is based on how performance compares to expectation; when we had nothing to lose in 2018 & were dreaming of a flag run, we were raucous. The Pies didnt expect to be where they are & they're riding the wave. They're raucous (moreso than usual). The other key driver of noise & passion is demographic. I've covered this before but put simply - footy means more to those with less. It's a weekly highlight (for many, the key highlight) & an escape from the daily pressures. You can see this at Pies games, Blues games & Tigers games - there are swathes of grown men who rock up in pilly trackies, a 1999 bomber jacket & are incredibly vocal. You get the impression the footy is their key weekly outing. It's a cliche but our more affluent supporter base results in less passion - put simply, they've got a lot of other things to do. We on this forum aren't the problem & by definition have some fanaticism.

There should be a penalty if you lose an appeal. Its just a waste of everyones time. Carlton have nothing to lose. AFL is so badly run. Amateurs running a professional league.

What a surprise Picket calling for Spargo to be dropped, Must be permanent cut and paste, unbelievable what you can’t see or more likely too pigheaded to acknowledge you don’t understand Your footy IQ is severely lacking

He might be dirty, but they have looked tougher, stronger and more resilient than us in each of our last 3 meetings. The only way to respond to this stuff, and to their general physical domination of us is to raise the intensity at our end...give back bettet than what we get...

Kennedy is cooked, body can’t handle AFL football demands anymore just getting up for games has been a big issue for the last 2 seasons. Will make a few cameo appearances in the next couple of years for Cervantes and Northampton in WA country football

Yes, here are all our players with 10+ shots this year and a comparison to last year, noting that our overall accuracy is higher than last year.

It's pretty clear Jackson's gone even before we met with Grundy. It's now just a matter of what we can get back for him and what we use that on. I still don't get it from Freos point of view but I guess they can't pass the opportunity to get high level talent in the door when it presents. Oh and I'm not keen on Grundy at all. Let Collingwood suffer with that contract stuffing their cap for a few more years.

I'm not familiar with that term. I've followed the Dees for 45 years and haven't come across that notion.

It's the right decision

Injury prone seems a bit of a stretch as well. Edit: No doubt we will want to manage any particular re-occurences of his pcl going forward, but he's been pretty durable.

It's a brilliant move. Have the Filth pay the first mil a year, BG plays at Casey and comes in when Max needs a rest. Max plays until he's 40.

You'd be more at home in the grammar thread, Jimmy!

Can't believe I'm not apart of this.

A serious question, given the amount of posts on any given day,,,, are we either A Unemployed and have nothing better to do than post on Demonland? B Employed and using company time to post discretely on Demonland? C Politicians, Tax Collectors, Itinerants and Cameramen for speed camera's who post on Demonlander coz there aint much to do? D Retirees with nothing better to do than post on Demonland? E Connected in some way to the MFC? F Unspecified category?

That's fine if he didn't cough the ball up through fumbling or getting caught in possession, because he's been slow in mind and body. I didn't need stats to disprove what I'm seeing. I just read all the definitions of Pressure Acts. They are so broad, it borders on meaningless. The only Pressure Act that is relevant is one which results in a turnover by the opposition or a stoppage. In a recent Crows game, Laird and Gray had something like 40 tackles combined, and they lost the game. I've had no issue with ANB for a season and a half, but since the bye, he's been out of form. And our team structures have been dissected by the better teams who are prepared to take us on. Something needs to change.

Percentage is the most reliable indicator of a teams performance. As the fixture is not equal, lower placed teams from the previous year such as Collingwood have an easier run and can accumulate more wins (which is all that matters). Teams that make finals with a low percentage usually fail come finals time. They have struggled over the line throughout the season, and once the pressure rises in finals they are no longer competitive. The lowest percentage by a premier in the past decade is Richmond at approximately 114%. Dogs won at approx 116%. Premiers average percentage over the past decade is 131%. Collingwood currently have the lowest percentage for a top four team in over a decade at 106%. It’s why I rate them as very long odds to win the flag. They’re a middle of the road team who have had a good lucky run. Statistically, some of their wins this year have been anomalies that will not happen again. They have no consistent game style that they execute consistently and instead rely purely on emotion and momentum. Credit to them for making it this far, but it is not sustainable. When pressure rises, you need a defined system and style or you’ll run around like a headless chook and be dismantled by a well drilled side. If they win the flag, it will be a miracle (or nightmare) and they will statistically be the weakest premier this millennium (I didn’t bother scrolling back past 2000).

Interesting how Spargo is the outlier here Incapable of bombing it long to the left forward pocket? Yep! Tick! We need more Spargo types (little fellas that can't kick over a jam tin!) I'm not being entirely serious but Spargo should be stationed 65m - 75m out from goal (in the corridor) used as a link up player to the forwards (when the ball is in general play) Play to your strengths A strike rate of nearly 1 in 2 means we get a shot at goal every 2nd time Spargo kicks the ball into the forward 50. That's handy 2 or 3 more Spargo types* and we're cookin' with gas *We have any number of players who can use the ball like Spargo with regards to forward forays but they are obviously coached to kick long to the forward pocket ... so it's more of a coaching issue

Yes they have a sports psych. Through the AFLPA, athletes can also access psychs from a welfare perspective, and these psychs often ALSO have experience in the context of sport. My two cents... 'Mental attitude' is about your willingness to experience a range of discomforts, (thoughts, feelings, physical sensations) in the service of what matters (values). Let's assume that each athlete can execute a particular task, really really well in training. What shifts, on game day, is their relationship to their internal experiences. Thus, their attention moves away from task, and goes to trying to fix discomfort (anxiety/frustration/fatigue) at the expense of replicating the same behaviours under stress. For example, this looks like a biomechanical alteration ('technique!') when kicking for goal. The compassionate question to ask is even with honing skills around minfudlness and willingness to experience discomfort to remain on task in stressful contexts... how realistic is it to ask players to do it for 22 weeks straight, in each and every moment of every match, particularly when they are coming up against other humans experiencing the same things...

Never paid much attention to him previously, but between him acting like a tool and the pies fans singing that nauseating “USA USA” chant I’ve developed a strong dislike for the bloke.

Ok membership I account for 6 memberships as I have a family group with four kids , who all barrack now for the Dees . but I get to about only 3 games the others none. Just too far to drive and too costly at the moment. Not in full time employment and no pension. but I will be there this Saturday with one boy he was the first I corrupted go Dees get it done

Yep agree, can Demonlanders stop making excuses and lowering mitigating factors for him? Left the ground, chose to bump, player concused, should have got 4 weeks. End of story for him

Thank you to all our posters/listeners who provided questions and comments. Thank you @Wells 11 @Dr. Gonzo @At the break of Gawn @1964_2 @pewpewpew @Royal Demon @layzie @Lefty @Rascability @YesitwasaWin4theAges @BillyBeane @DemonWA @RedsoxMan @raDeelaide @BigMacjnr @ElDiablo14 Thank you to Andrew H & Tristan F for your messages on our Facebook Page Thank you to Noah from Brighton for the voicemail Thank you to all of our listeners and thank you to @binman & @george_on_the_outer

Gerard Whately described it as good entertainment. A bloke being attacked, head driven into the ground, elbows and fists on his face, while on the ground defenceless, against 5 players. Yep great entertainment. Stuff the rules. I think we need some nastiness back in our play. Maynard smashed Langdon and ANB and also belted Max in the back of the head, in a spoil in our forward pocket. No free to Max of course. We need to get nasty and ruthless with our tackles and tackle to hurt. Teams need to know that we mean business. I think we have become nice guys, helping the opposition up off the ground and joking with them during the game. Harden up guys and hit hard and often.

Why don't people consider goal kicking a skill? Luck has nothing to do with it when we're missing easy set shots, and they are kicking theirs. It's not like we've been accurate all year and just had an off night.

From The Hun today Petracca 58 shots for 16 goals Gawn 34 shots for 11 goals ANB 25 shots for 6 goals and Spargo 22 shots for 9 goal no wonder Bayley Fritsch doesn't like to pass off.

Guys, most of you will not be pleased to hear this, however, I’m going to tell you what I know. Despite the Coaches continual public support of Brodie, the Pies are keen to move him on IF they can get the right terms. Naturally, Brodie, who is contracted, will not be forced to go to a Club unless he is totally satisfied that they are a successful Club on & off the field. Right at this minute, there are just two Clubs that have had preliminary discussions with his management to get all the facts around his current contract, where his head is at, his physical condition etc etc. I can tell you Melbourne is one of those two Clubs. A lot of water to pass under the bridge, and I’m not saying at this point in time that it will happen, but I think it’s perfectly reasonable that the Dees would explore this in the likely event that Luke Jackson departs.

What a mongrel act by Cox. Knees Max in the guts and only gives away a free.Not going for the ball. Just a free? Surely a deliberate , dirty action like that is a reportable offence? What do others think?

Thought this thread was going to discuss the merits of recruiting him as a second ruck.

Haha not bad by you @Demonstone

Thing is he kept doing it in subsequent ruck contests....and the umpires did nothing.

Mason Cox is an entitled disrespectful c***. Gave the Melbourne supporters the middle finger on the way to the bench smiling, thinks he's good it's actually sad. And that dog act on Max was inexcusable but nothing to report unfortunately, it was just dirty.

We are really missing that 2nd tall. Gawn just doesn't kick straight enough to be a threat. I think it's time to unleash the Rooy. In van Rooyen and Harmes out Melksham and Sparrow.