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They lost me at “With exceptional ball users in Petracca, Oliver, Viney, Angus Brayshaw” without mentioning Bowey. The problem with most footy commentators is they don’t know as much about each team players as that’s team’s supporters, particularly the passionate ones who would inhabit places such as this.

Geelong are seen as masters of trade and free agency deals and they have performed extremely well for over a decade. I Thought I would have a closer look at our own performance in this area. Steven May - A master stroke play by the club. Defence was an area of weakness in 2018 and the club took some what of a risk with May who had proven his worth at GFC, but had a few question marks in regards to behaviour and attitude despite being a club captain. Definitely not high risk, but a risk considering we paid big dollars for him. The club took full advantage of the Hogan situation here. Big win! Jake Lever - the club was right into Lever in his draft year but went with Trac and Angus. Lever had done his knee in his draft year and fell to the Crows, but we continued to pursue him and drafted Lever after the 2017 season. Was somewhat a risk. Past injuries, not fitting a traditional key back role, but had great work ethic and was seen as a club leader from an early age - Big win Michael Hibberd - Essendon were cherry ripe for the taking after their cheating scandal and Hibberd was/is the perfect prototype the club were after. Strong and tough backman to played on small to medium/tall forwards. Never gives up. Big win Jake Melksham - high draft pick with talent who was inconsistent at the Bombers. Goodie knew him well and brought him across. Had some big games, and contributed well to this club. Came to us when no one would. I call this a win, despite the hate he gets on here. Adam Tomlinson - at GWS was never afforded a position to play regularly. With great endurance height and size, was seen as the prototype midfielder and the club needed a wingman. We got him and whilst never living up to his hype, has been adaptable and serviceable. Was great as a backman prior to doing a knee. Neutral with this trade. Cost us with money and length of contract, but at the time was a good move and has not hurt the club Ed Langdon - A winger who had a great year at Freeo and was next to Hill who took all the hype at the time. The club loved his endurance, work ethic and we got him for a steal. Disposal was seen as poor but with his work ethic, this is no longer an issues. Big win I put up there with May. BBB - For some reason was not afforded the respect by Norf and other clubs and the MFC got a KPF which was our weakness. Whilst not a big bulking forward to suit our game plan, BBB has adapted and has been all class. He was significant in getting us a flag. Significant win Luke Dunstan - good depth and cost nothing - neutral at this stage, but can’t be a loss due to his cost. Grundy - too early to call. Big potential trade win and is significantly better than Jackson at this stage. I’m Making this assessment by looking at past performance. IMO Brody was better than Jackson in his 4th year of AFL and Jackson will not get an AA or club BF. Lachie Hunter - too early to call. Big potential. Hunter was/is one of the best wingman at his best. If it fails, he cost nothing. So can’t be a loss. Schache - too early to call, could be a good move by the club despite where this ends up. Depth player and better than Weid. Could be a big win. Either way can’t be a loss. Overall it’s an A plus to the club and football department with trades. Kudos to all

Are the parmas any good?

I think each team will back in their preferred setup, and then it will be a matter of who blinks first if things are getting out of control. As a few have pointed out it’s likely the Dogs will only have three talls in their forward line at any point in time with Lobb giving English a chop out in the ruck, and all of those talls needing bench time too - especially Darcy who doesn’t have great endurance. If teams are selected as expected it’s more likely to be an even 3 v 3 talls in the Dogs’ forward line and 3 v 2 with Melbourne having the additional tall in Melbourne’s forward line. They will need to have a Bailey Williams or Crozier giving up massive size to someone if they don’t go for Bruce, who played back against North, in their 22. If I was the Dogs I’d either have Bruce in the 22 or have him as the tactical sub. McDonald and the possibility of one of the rucks dropping back give the extra defensive options already in Melbourne’s likely team. If Fritsch doesn’t get up Melbourne could try to stretch the Bulldogs even more with JVR or Schache to also have as many as 4 tall forwards. I don’t think they would do that as the match sim and practice matches were opportunities to try that setup and they didn’t use it.

Yeah, this pub…

1 Grundy Gawn combo? 2 run and gun ball movement? 3 can they emulate Tigers sequence? 4 will Hunter get back to his best? 5 will Pickett be in red and blue in 2024? Hmmm - apart from the obvious Question 1, not really the most insightful questions to be asking. 1- the workings of the Gawn Grundy combo (of course) 2- will the Demons discover their mojo to dismantle teams and put the score on the board when they have control of the game? 3- will the Demons be mentally and physically strong enough to withstand 2nd half comebacks by the opposition ? 4- will the Demons maintain the strategy of kicking to the deep forward pockets (as a defensive attacking move) ? 5- do the Demons have the depth to have rotations and ensure their stars are fit and firing come September? These are more of the “pub questions being asked”.

I know who trod on Fritta’s foot. Hey, this can be our next quiz! Answers in PMs only (looking at you, @Lampers!) First clue: it’s a male person Second clue: he plays for the MFC Third clue: It was accidental Three clues right off the bat. Ya don’t get that with @Demonstone et al. JK not a legit quiz. Please don’t PM any answers. 😁

Join @george_on_the_outer, @binman & I LIVE on Tuesday 14th March @ 8:30pm for our massive Season 2023 Preview Podcast. If you have a question or comment about the 2023 Season then please leave your comment below and we will read it out on the podcast. You can also leave us a voicemail at 03 9016 3666 and we will play it on the show. Don't worry nobody answers it so you don't have to talk to a live person. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

If you just go by the center bounce starting four, you could reasonably argue that... Gawn, Oliver, Viney, Harmes and Grundy, Petracca, Brayshaw, Pickett ...would both be in the top 10. Neither would be first, but both sets would compete with any other team at a bounce.

Regardless of where you rate Gutherie, we have arguably the no.1 midfield in comp, we’ve had the no.1 ranked defence over the last 2 seasons. We finished the H & A season last year 2nd after playing some ordinary predictable football in the back half of the season, along with a few injuries. An argument could be made for our depth compared to other top 4 hopefuls. Barring major injuries to a number of players there are simply no excuses this season, none. Top 2 finish is a must.

Have they checked behind the grassy knoll? I believe Picket Fence was seen lurking around there.

All I got from this article is that they need a proofreader.

Lions on that showing should incrementally improve this season. But a competitive practice match against the Casey ‘seconds’ doesn’t inspire too much confidence of a climb out of the basement. Casey boys certainly worked with prevailing conditions and took their opportunities better than Coburg. A few observations on individual players thru red and blue glasses. Jack Bell; mobile competed manfully supported his team mates Riley Baldi; impressed last season in his appearances at Casey. Showed grunt in tight as a inside mid-fielder. Cooper MacDonald; backline sweeper who read the play well. Paddy Cross; provided defensive pressure on opponents and gave plenty of rebound. Miles Shepherd; utility who was prominent in defence first half, swung into attack second half and hit the scoreboard. Rhys Galvin; stood up in defence with his intercept marking. Wal Wual; athletic player who covers the ground panther like. Still raw but involved in a play of the match nomination. Gathered the loose ball in a congested situation btw centre and CHB and laterally scythed thru traffic to commence a scoring chain which resulted in a Casey goal. An impressive cameo.

Last year she bagged MFC for getting a crowd of about 30k against an interstate side then Richmond got an even lower crowd the following week.She said nothing on footy classified of course. She did say what a great CEO Tricky Gil has been. Vomitious stuff from Caro the daughter of a Richmond FC president.

This is the greatest time of the year. MFCSS only sets in after a loss.

I'm one of the guys that project manages the build and deployment of this type of technology. Here are the underlying mindsets of organisations in change of these projects: do it as cheap as possible we trust no one on the project team, or inside our own organisation, and the default position is "we are being ripped-off" we don't know anything about information system development, but we'll tell you how to do it security concerns are a low priority "what does the contract say" - refer bullet-point two. It's downhill on one leg, blindfolded, with no poles.

On the whole, the crowd averages you pointed out for the last few rounds of 2022 are completely misleading due to the sides we played as FearTheBeard rightly points out. Regardless of your optimism and red and blue glasses. Melb home crowds were on the most, disappointing last year. We turned up in round 1 for our unavailing of the flag and for the Qualifying final against Sydney. Aside from those games, the big crowds were most obviously helped by playing big club who are also on the up or competing. (Carlton and Collingwood). This year I'm hoping we turn up more often, in part due to ticketing going back to normal. But also because covid is less of a thing and we'll have a point to prove. People underestimate the influence a crowd has on a game. Just ask the Collingwood footy club what it feels like to have that noise behind them in the last quarter of a game when they're a goal or two down. Time to turn up this year.

Morning run - hope their season ends up here

It's a sad fact of life that both Ticketek and Ticketmaster are a complete disgrace when it comes to anything resembling customer service or providing a quality customer experience.

Lord must’ve exceeded the facepalm cap.

I don't understand the hype on the Tigers. i see no evidence at all to suggest they're a legitimate premiership threat.

For those who aren't aware, I manage a website Wheelo Ratings that has a range of AFL stats available. I have added quite a bit of functionality since last season, including player and team stats back to 2012, individual player profiles, match stats, and interactive charts. Here are some of the key pages and features. I will probably add new functionality as the season progresses but if anyone has any suggested features, let me know. Player Stats (2012-) https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_stats.html Key features: View all statistical categories or save your favourites. Includes 60+ stats, including AFL player ratings, coaches votes, centre bounce attendances, one-on-one contests, ruck contests and all your usual stats. Filter by team, position, etc. Interactive scatter plot, with the option of highlighting players from a particular team. Download data as csv file. Team Stats (2012-) https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_stats_team.html Key features: Team averages, opposition averages, differential. Interactive scatter plot. Download data as csv file. Match Stats (2012-) https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_match_stats.html Key features: View specific match or all matches for a particular round. Interactive scatter plot. Download data as csv file. Grand Final 2021: https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_match_stats.html?ID=20212701 Player Profiles (players who have played AFL since 2012) https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_player_profile.html Key features: View stats for each season, including overall career. Trend chart by season. Compare a player with up to four other players. Search for players or navigate from links on player stats and other relevant pages. Clayton Oliver: https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_player_profile.html?ID=2db9dd Christian Petracca: https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_player_profile.html?ID=231162 Max Gawn: https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_player_profile.html?ID=22f360 Jack Viney: https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_player_profile.html?ID=22f8be Steven May: https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_player_profile.html?ID=22ce7d Bayley Fritsch: https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_player_profile.html?ID=14074de Angus Brayshaw: https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_player_profile.html?ID=2311a7 Team Annual Summary (1897-) https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_annual_summary.html Key features: View win/loss records and team ratings for all seasons in VFL/AFL history. Interactive scatter plot.

We’ll do a little preview of the Bulldogs game too.

I'd like to know where the extra 50 goals this year are going to come from? Lobb out, Logue out & Acers out. Luke isn't going to kick 50.

This is undeniable, Jimmy. What we hear from the stands is nothing compared to what the players hear from the ground. Must be some sort of acoustics thing (?) Last QB match, we were on the ground waiting to raise our banner. When the Collingwood players ran out the noise was absolutely staggering. It was literally deafening as in I couldn’t hear the person next to me even if yelling. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. When our boys ran out, again the crowd noise was off the charts, only this time it was booing. There’s simply NO WAY this doesn’t have an effect on the players.

Lets hope this time next week we are reading about a victory

Agree Jimmy. I know we’ve been over this a lot last year but in general I found out crowd numbers super disappointing in 2022. There’s no excuse this year. Tickets are back to how people want them, and we’ve had 18 months to acclimatise to life with COVID. If people aren’t showing up now they just don’t want to go.

Don't forget to send in your questions and comments for the show which will now air LIVE on Tuesday night 14/3 @ 8:30pm If you want to play along with us you can also provide us with your picks for Which Team will Rise & Which Team will Fall and we will read them out on the show. You can also leave us a voicemail at 03 9016 3666 and we will play it on the show. Don't worry nobody answers it so you don't have to talk to a live person. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Same my renewal took a few days to show up, presumably because at Ticketek the carrier pigeon was scared by the ferret.

What? You now need a ticket to take your gun to the footy? What is the world coming to?

No, Casey don’t have a seconds side. Players who don’t make the Casey team usually go back to their local side.

Was it Viney, in the study, with the candle stick

I don't think the amount of talls in the opposition team really will have much of a bearing on how we play, we'll try to win it out of the middle and put them under a lot of pressure, make them kick it long and high and let our team defense do it's thing. I'd suspect Gawn will go behind the ball pretty early in the game but beyond that it'll be more about beating them on the inside where i think they're a little thin without dunkley

We should be less worried about Caroline’s prediction & more worried about the article saying ANB will spend more time on the ball

I like Caro.

I am a fan of CW most of the time (she gets it wrong on occasion like everyone) and believe the footy landscape is better for her presence. But she is so one-eyed it’s ridiculous!

Lol, I think the typo is funny enough that I won’t edit my post 🤣

I’m sure you’re right Gonzo, it was a very tongue in cheek comment. Apologies to Gator - you must feel insulted by the inference

I didn't say our crowds fell off at the end. We were not outnumbered by a small number at the game, we were mobbed. There were at least 50,000 of them, the ground was shaking in the 4th quarter when they hit the front. Finals crowds will always bring the fair weather supporters regardless of the clubs plus 5000+ neutrals. ur crowds this yea for round 1, Anzac eve and KB are a huge watch. They need to be over 50, 70 and 75 respectively and round 1 ticket sales are not good.

Someone called Max is not to shabby dropping back!!

I reckon Freo drop away and just miss the 8

Are you sure there aren't any women here today?

No, not even with a complete exorcism at the Manor.

I thought he was training with the massage table.

can't see us changing our structure built around three tall defenders plus four-five rotating flankers, at least a couple of which are excellent intercept marks due to their ability to read the play first trick is stop the ball getting forward, or at least put them under pressure when they do bring it forward, use our smalls and runners to sprint away from their surplus of lumberers

Ticketek is a disgrace. Admittedly we are not young, but it's not as if we are out-of-date oldies who are fazed by technology. This household has at least 3 professional IT people in it who have even written the sort of stuff Ticketek is trying to do and we struggle getting it to do what we want in an efficient manner.

Now I'm really worried. Wilsons' judgement on actual footy matters (you know, the game played on an oval-shaped field with 18 players per side)* is generally appalling. Would rather have her predicting that we finish 15th. We'd be certain of winning the premiership then. * Unless it's Footscray, in which case you play with 21 players.

Alternate view could be she is priming herself to stick in the boots if we fail to win the flag.

She might fancy us, but sorry she is not my type and I do not reciprocate the affection.