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I rang in to Demonland tonight & was thankful Andy & Binman gave me some time to share my thoughts on this great team we barrack for. Here's what I said & what I feel. I'd like to share my thoughts on the Redlegs as a whole circa 2023. As a club, we're in rarefied air; a men's, women's & VFL Premiership all within the last 2 years. A recruiting, administrative & conditioning team that made impeccable decisions for almost 10 years. The highest paid up memberships in the history of the club. A pool of generational talent signed to long term deals. A strong list of youngsters pushing our best 22 for team selection. A destination club that has attracted All Australians, Best & Fairest's and previous club captains. A team of A list assistant coaches. A coach that tasted the highest success in his playing career & now also as a head coach, that not only learnt from a genius & passionate Demon fan in Paul Roos, but is young enough to relate to his players, young enough to grow with his players & young enough to be around for another decade which creates an environment of trust & cohesion. If you think back to your amateur team sports days, be it AFL footy, local cricket or even indoor soccer, when did you, as a team, create success? When you had consistency & cohesion & trust. When you had the same 22 fellas running out to kick the sherrin, the same 11 blokes going out to field, the same 5 friends putting on shingaurds. Why, because you built patterns, game plans and trust in their abilities. You could anticipate what your team mates were going to do & when they needed your help. The Dees finally have this. Stability, trust & importantly genuine class. What we don't have is a recent history of it. They're learning to be successful. Just as we as a supporter base are learning with them. We're not used to this success, being the favourites to win every game, being in every game, no longer being thrashed each week. But what I consistently see when I read frustrated fans' posts on various platforms is that we should be better. And it's this word I'd like to analyse. 'Better than what' is what I would like to ask. Is it possible to win every game? Of course not. Is it possible to only lose 4 games in a season. History would suggest not often. It's been decades since we've had this kind of heat. Teams need to play at their very best to beat us. So each week, we are playing the very best the opposition has to give, week in, week out. This takes its toll on the boys; you simply cannot be up every week. You simply cannot be 'better' all the time. This not an excuse, or a defeatist attitude, it's a fact. We all know the cliches; you don't win flags in 'insert any month except September', you have to peak at the right time, you must finish top 4 to win a flag. They're cliches for a reason, because the better teams have fulfilled these cliches better than other teams. As Binman says, if you have all the pieces in place as we do (talent, good governance etc), the key determinant is injuries & increasingly suspensions. These are the things to concern yourself of. Not the team itself. In the cut & thrust of battle ie the home & away season, it can be hard to pull back & see the bigger picture. What is it? The future has never been better. It's ok to be angry at losses but let's get behind them rather than walk away. Let's be that club that turns the umps whistles our way with our own noise of affirmation. Let's continue to pay our membership, to buy whatever merch we can afford from the Demon shop to assist the club to find a spiritual home for us congregate; not Casey or Gosch but a real home. Let's not feed into the collective anxiety that if we don't win a flag in the next few years, we never will again, but rather strive for sustained prolonged success. Because then the flags are inevitable. Simply my point is, trust in this team, this collective organisation. The club has never been in a better position. If we can't enjoy this now, when can we enjoy this team?

Just been told Taj Woewodin will debut this week. Unbelievable moment for the club and his family. Our first father son since Billy Stretch IIRC? And our first son of a Melbourne Brownlow medallist to play for the club.

I will endeavour to read this post after every loss. Unfortunately, I'm one of those supporters who doesn't take a loss well, especially if we've been patchy within a game. My proclivity to seeing the negative gets the better of me. And perhaps some of that impatience has been influenced by seeing the club go through such dark times. Like it has with others. And that I'm hyper aware of the finite window that exists for clubs to be in with a shot of a flag when everything is in order.. And because we're firmly in this window, I'm hyper critical of the team at times. I admire your perspective. And you're right in that I now hope that even if we do dip over the next few years, it won't be long until we are competing again, ala Collingwood, Geelong, Sydney.. Due to the strong position the club is in across all facets. One flag at the G this decade is all I ask. Please.

10 years of Big Freeze. The average prognosis is 4 years. Neale just keeps defying the odds Absolute champion

The rules say the Tribunal can view other incidents and if those incidents are not similar, the panel can be advised to ignore them. I don’t know the full facts, but on what was disclosed, we asked for similar incidents to be viewed and Gleeson refused, apparently out of hand, quoting rule 5.5. I have disclosed that rule above and it appears he has misquoted or wrongfully interpreted that rule. Why am I not surprised? To see those videos in the Tribunal, would have put out in the media and the public, the inconsistency of the MRO and the Tribunal. It would also have made it extremely difficult to uphold the suspension of Hunter. If Gleeson has nothing to hide, why would he not allow vision of similar incidents and simply explain why they are treated differently? To me this smacks of a dictatorship type of behaviour, where you don’t want the public seeing, or knowing what is going on. Suspensions affect the competition and this to me is another blow, to what is left of the disappearing integrity of the AFL competition.

If Hunter is guilty then the Essendon player who braced for Spargo's head first action needed to be found guilty as well But that player wasn't even cited (not that he should have been, the contact was on Spargo) The inconsistent citing and outcomes from the MRO & Tribunal is astonishing

Where this club has come back from is remarkable. It’s no wonder that during the post match grand final press conference that Goody mentioned he was in tears before the game even started as he reflected upon how far this club has come back from. The problem with success though, is once you taste it, you want more and more of it. As a supporter, I thought seeing us win the flag in 2021 would fill my cup for many years. However, the fact I wasn’t able to see it in person at the MCG has left a void, that I, and I imagine many others, also feel. Given the talent of this group, if another can’t be achieved, it will be a failure.

Great post @Kieren from Canberra. The club and team intent are indeed trustworthy. The application of that intent on game day this season is however a bit more fickle. But that’s just footy, which we should all (myself) understand, despite struggling with the very concept. What I have lost complete trust in is both the intent and application of the AFL, reflected most egregiously through the complete shambles that is umpiring, and obviously the current actions of the MRO, a predictable extension of that shambles. And we should all be deeply concerned about this. Predictable, consistent, TRUSTWORTHY adjudication of the ‘rules and laws of the game’ is central to its survival. Watch any AFL game you like, and the standard of adjudication is simply appalling. Many invoke the idea that predicting umpiring decisions is akin to a raffle. This is no longer hyperbole. Even as an impartial observer of non-Dees games, it’s wholly depressing (laughably even, because it isn’t the MFC) how utterly spectral are its umpiring decisions. As many have suggested, it’s making the game close to unwatchable, and for this central reason. Yet nothing happens. There is no accountability, because the AFL dictate total silence from everyone in its employ, at risk of punishment and censure. Even questioning the quality of umpiring is ‘outlawed’. There’s a word for this type of authority. And we should all want to know how this has come to pass? It’s killing the game. rant over.

Patently untrue. Last year we were reliant on stoppages for scores. We went long to the pockets. We played the same three mids at almost every centre stoppage and were trying to be perfect out the front of stoppages from these situations. Leading into the Port game, we were in the top 4 for scores from stoppages, scores from turnovers and scores from kick outs. A much greater ability to score than last year. This has translated to being highest scoring side in the competition (not the case last year), but we've managed not to greatly sacrifice our defensive side of the game, as we still have the fourth best defensive record in the competition. We are also rolling many more players through the stoppages this year and experimenting all over the ground, particularly with our forward and defensive set ups (personnel wise), and using our wingers differently to 2021-2022. For example, they no longer sit off the back of the contest, they literally stay out. The anti-bees to the honey pot. So we've managed to go from a very safe, move the ball slowly and predictably to the pockets, to a team that moves the ball quickly, plays more defensive smalls than talls to win defensive ground ball and run and carry off half back, and we also enter 50 more centrally and less predictably than 2022. It's made the emphasis on winning the contest even greater. If we win the contest, our game flows and we score quickly. If we lose the contest (think Port on Friday night), we struggle to score, but our defensive organisation keeps us in games. Ground ball remains the only real weakness that has followed through from 2022. What has arguably gone backwards is our stoppage work, but this is easily explained by the fact we're rolling our less talented players through there more often, to take lessons from Geelong and rest our elite players in game more. What has stayed true from 2021-2023 is that if we win contest and ground ball, we're extremely difficult to beat. And in 2023, we have far more avenues to goal (ways of scoring and personnel). In fact, again, going into the Port game, we were top 5 of all time for spread of goal kickers per game. Our game is set up to score from both stoppages and from turnover, something that is clearly very deliberately set up to beat Collingwood, who rely on extra numbers at the stoppage. So if we commit less to the contest, it means we have runners on the outside. Providing our contested players win the inside battle, we're a huge shot of scoring heavily on the outside and off turnover. I'd love to know how you think we're winning and losing in the same ways? I hope you've got more than 'we beat up on the weak teams and can't beat the better teams'...

What BS, back in the Neeld era you could rock up on the day and be guaranteed entry.

https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/NNNRS7287758366?selected=NNNRS2457598670 anyone who thinks Hunter went with the incorrect technique or had another option ie arms out, head first needs to listen to this from Harford. Nails it

We should change our name from the Demons to the Guinea pigs as we seem to be the AFL Guinea pigs for obscurity. A 50 metre penalty against Richmond for a bloke in the “protected zone” behind the man on the mark. Happens most weeks never paid. Roo charged for striking when clearly going for a spoil. Free kick against TMac which later has lead to a match review panel charge on Jonas.Now Hunter stopping and picking up a groundball yet other similar incidents go unpunished. A jumper punch to the guts which was meant to be stamped out get stamped out and is not a football act just a fine but contesting a ball one week. The MRP and tribunal are like the AFL fixture….. they are Fixed!!!

You’ve come to the wrong place.

Wouldn't it be lovely to hear a slow chant of "Colleeeeeeeeee Wobbles" ringing out around the MCG midway through the last quarter as despondent Pies fans file out with their heads hung low.

Then let’s say he deserved a week. I could live with that. How do we then explain worse incidents and even injuries being caused, being let off?

Shout out to my man FTB! lovely chap who went out of his way to make sure me and my mate can attend. And attend in style in the MCC, I'll have to fish a collared shirt out of the wardrobe! lol

Great result, now we just need the right result on the field . Can't wait

Yes x 1,000,000. Of course, it was brilliant to win the 2021 flag. But for me it still feels not quite real because it was in Perth. I went to the 1988 and 2000 grand finals. God awful experience both. But, living in Melbourne, the week leading into both games was brilliant. I want the brilliant build up AND witness a victory on the hallowed turf of the 'G. You make an excellent point about 'the finite window that exists for clubs to be in with a shot of a flag when everything is in order'. Even though we had poor 2019 and 2020, you could argue that window opened in 2018 given our finals run. For the sake of argument, and taking a line thru the Cats, let's say, with excellent planning and list management, the premiership window is open for 10 years. We are more than halfway thru my nominal 10-year premiership window. Five more cracks at it.

Bravo BigShorts. Should be compulsory listening at all levels in the AFL. Unless things change there's gonna be a serious, serious injury. Players are being rewarded for placing themselves at risk. The ruling by Gleeson just put a player closer to permanently losing the use of his arms and legs. It's just a matter of time

It is hard not to be paranoid and have a victim mentality when there is such blatant unexplained inconsistency in MRO decisions. We have had 5 penalties in last 3 rounds. Any other club near that? I hope we are taking this up with head office.

I have trust in the team. Just not the administration of the game right now. If I was to go out on a limb, I wouldn’t be surprised if overall fan numbers decrease significantly next year. I’ll continue to buy my MFC membership and support the club but the AFL can get stuffed.

Melbourne supporters are a lot like the Irish. We don’t know how to be happy and frankly we are happier when we’re miserable

I think if the only thing that can make you happy is a premiership then you're destined to have a lot of unhappy weeks as a football supporter. We're a very good team who regularly gives a red hot go - that's all I need.

I just went back to the link the club emailed last week with the member barcodes. I went into the buy tickets. When you select public/club members it says sold out but if you then enter your member barcodes it still unlocks tickets to upgrade to a seat. I got as far as being allocated a seat so if u havnt already upgraded I suggest you have another go ..

I’m actually really looking forward to Sparrow’s next month of footy. Huge opportunity for him to show his wares.

If you need help I can get you MCC guest passes which are still available for level 4 or walk up on the day. Just hit me up and can work something out

It largely depends on whether people who already have reserved seats turn up. My reserved seats sections is never anywhere near full and I don't believe there are any spare seats available for sale.

Taj Please Please Please Peroxide your hair for the debut

Yes, it is difficult to win the flag, some of us are just enjoying the ride and whatever happens in September happens. Not so sure we are having the same problems as last year though. In most games last year we had decent leads only to cough them up. This year we've seen teams play out of their skins to beat us. For all the doom and gloom against a red-hot Port we were a kick away from winning. Essendon couldn't do anything wrong against us in Gather round and it was only in the 3rd they really got away from us. The only time I've seen us comprehensively smashed since 2020 was against the Lions earlier this year before the power outage. We will see what we are truly made of in the next month or so.

This is what the AFL Wants, I am just about done with the game might aswell watch netball, I have gone from watching most games to just dees games, the game is a joke currently

I think the fear and concern is that we could end up like the bulldogs after their long breaking flag drought. Similarly they too successfully changed a lot of things like many of the positives you mentioned about our beloved club. Since their premiership, they have had finals success but also failure. Quite a few years of contending but not delivering the ultimate prize. Yes this success is wonderful and better than being on the receiving end of losing all the time but maybe we were hoping for back to back cups or at least another one this year It's not to say we won't but it's not looking as likely lately. As you say we have some wonderful talent but like all talent in Afl, it has a window for achievement. Are supporters genuinely concerned that this window is closing? I'd say so. Are we like the players, frustrated by a weekly occurrence of injury? Yes. Has our club been exposed in our forward line issues and other clubs outcoaching us? It's not all doom and gloom but after a shocking end to last year's clear chances, this season seems to be slipping behind again. It's great to celebrate our success but sadly that can bring contentment which ironically leads to failure. Perhaps like the bulldogs, breaking that long drought was enough for the club and their hunger was satisfied. I don't want to be too negative but we seem to be a shadow of the 21 side atm.

Every single week we are seeing players rubbed out and the game is all over the shop. Where's the players association? This has sped past any semblance of common sense.

The Wednesday Footy Classified is the very bottom of the barrel, mainly because Eddie never shuts up.

I think we should tho because again the AFL is making stuff up to suit their own narrative and punishing Melbourne players. Far worse actions than this last week, including ones that resulted in injury, didn’t get charged.

360 is a very good show. It would be a great show if they kept Robbo off it!

And that's saying something when you have the Sunday Footy Show still running 🤣

It's beyond a joke now. Hunter contests a ground ball by keeping his feet and turning to brace for contact (in the manner the AFL has tried to encourage since the sliding rule came in). I'll repeat. Rozee dives at the ball head first, Hunter turns his body to brace. Both contest a ball in dispute. How is it so complicated. These are the unfortunate outcomes of these type of situations, both are lawful. Both can result in an outcome like this. And Rozee's choice to dive head first should be just as questionable given the ball was in dispute!!!! The AFL and the Tribunal are an utter clown house.

Well the shoe fits for most of its audience I guess.