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Tomorrow morning in Fed Square a group of us DA members will be packing parcels of dry goods to be sent to disaster zones, namely Ukraine, Syria and Turkey. The aim is to have 100,000 boxes packed in one day. This has nothing to do with footy; the organisers contacted Sophie, one of our leaders, because it’s well known in ‘charity circles’ that when it comes to volunteering the DA will always help. This is not an indulgent trumpet-blowing sesh, just wanted y’all to know that you happen to barrack for a team whose cheer squad is THE BEST. Okay, a little bit of trumpet blowing there. 🤭

We beat the dogs in round one by 50 points. Narrative - maybe the dogs are not contenders this year, asterix on that win. Dogs get beaten the next week by the Saints, who at that point are tipped to finish bottom 3 by many, and certainly not considered the serious finals contender they are now. Narrative - the dogs are struggling, are not a top 8 team, double asterix on the dees round win. Round 3 the dogs beat now top of the table Lions, but at that point their round one drubbing by Port still has pundits questioning where they are at, their victory of the dees notwithstanding. Narrative: the double asterix remains on the dees round one win Cut to round 10 and the dogs smashes a team in the top 8, everyone's favorite bolter, the crows, for their 5th win on end, and cement their spot in the top 8 on the same number of wins as us (albeit with 30% less percentage - a massive number for two teams on equal wins). Pundits are starting to wake up to the fact that the dogs are a serious team. Narrative - the double asterix remains on the dees round one win because it is too long ago for the media fishbowl to compute.

My indigenous guernsey and Narrm beanie arrived in the mail in Amsterdam today! Both look fantastic, can't wait to wear the guernsey this weekend, though I'll keep the beanie in the closet til winter. Can't wait for this weekend's match.

We have a chance to possibly put all our eggs in one basket and get a seriously good player, OR, have a strong draft hand, to get some very good young players in and maybe solve a few of our problems. I am in favour of the latter.

There's booing and there's booing. Booing Wacko Jacko is fair game unless it spurs him on, but only for one game. Booing Oskar Baker was embarrassing and pathetic. I certainly won't be booing the Weed but am expecting the filth to boo Grundy on KB

The pundits and naysayers really do forget that these teams like Sydney and the Bulldogs are/were struggling because we contributed to their loss column. Chicken and egg argument.

Why do people keep comparing us to the Dogs of 16? Because they want us to fail and say I told you so? In the two years after their flag the Dogs finished 10th in 2017 and 13th in 2018. They weren't even making up the numbers. We went 16-6 to finish second in 2022 and our exit was disappointing yes, there were some reasons for that. This year we've been in the 8 at the end of every round and it remains to be seen where we finish. I do agree that the next three games are huge, I'd be happy with a 2-1 record.

Petty's absence should not be underestimated.

No, it wasn't Gudnik or Gutnick. He was ousted as Club President in 2001 and up until then Olympic Park was in the hands of Athletics Victoria/Australia until Brumby, McGuire and Fildes did secret deals to obtain it for Collingwood in 2008. Ignoring his business failings, Gutnick deserves a life membership for helping Melbourne survive during the wretched merger period and pumping millions of dollars of his own money (or someone else's!) into the Club.

Lots of good discussion in here. But still blows my mind that so many people (dees fans too!) post about footy as if the only way any enjoyment can be taken from it is to see your team win a flag (and/or be the most inform team in the comp at any given point). This is the best Melbourne team I've seen in my lifetime. Generational players on every line. I've seen a flag. Might see another one, might not. Either way, stressing about it wont change a thing. Strap in and enjoy the highs AND lows imo.

When we beat Sydney Round 3 and at that time they were at full strength and considered contenders

Said this a couple of weeks ago, games just a mess. I’m struggling even getting into our matches.

Watching the paper baggers get [censored] upon would lighten up a cold and dreary evening no end.

Dan doesn't like glass....far too much transparency.

Yep. in fact, that win is probably a better example than the dogs win for the point i'm trying to make. The Swans game is swept up the narrative that the dees haven't beaten anyone, eg 'who have the dees beaten - the dogs, who were poor, the swans who are big sliders, the tigers who are 14th, the underachieving Suns and competition easy beats, the Hawks, Roos and Eagles' blah blah blah. When in reality, the Swans and Dogs wins were both impressive and the Tiger's and the Suns brought serious pressure and heat, played super well and our performance in those games was also very impressive. Even the Hawks and Eagles brought heat.

And yet at the time were 2-0 and still playing with a full squad AND many pundits had top 4.. They mention we may have got the Dogs at a good time, but fail to mention we go the Swans at a bad time (for us) and ran the game out 50 pts winners... didnt fit the narrative = doesnt get mentioned.

Listening Steven May on LJ yesterday, he said that Dogga rocked up to a off-season planning meeting after he had been traded was told blunty that he wasnt supposed be attending that meeting. The guy is genuinely from another planet. i dont think booing will phase him one bit.

Expecting Jeremy Howe type boos. Nothing over the top but still enough to hear through the TV. Agree that the Baker booing was embarrassing. The guy was (probably justifiably) way down the pecking order and we delisted him accordingly. Then the Dogs kept his AFL dream alive.

Thoughts and prayers

I just got an email from the club telling me how to forward my reserved seat tickets onto others if I couldn’t go. I think this is a great idea. I’ll be there, but I know some people can’t, and that way the seats are filled with Red and Blue. The club is really trying to get this right.

My old man played with him for Hamilton (and against him later when Fanning moved to Coleraine). Said he was very tough but not as good a footballer as Bill Barham who was father of Bill and Jamie who both played a few games for Melbourne and also Ricky Barham who played alright for Collingwood for many years. Country football would have put Michael Christian about 5 weeks behind in writing up suspensions if today's rules were in place.

I loved having Dogga at the MFC. He reminds me of my puppy. Slightly crazy and unco at times, but happy to be alive and in the moment. I hope he plays well, but we win. Then I can focus any negative energy on Cripps, the Daicos media storm, and the entire city of Geelong.

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?

As Andy/Demonland said in another thread, I really hope the Carlton hierarchy hold their nerve and refrain from sacking Voss - the week before we play them.

If Swans win our top 8 record improves :)

Yep, that's my take too. If true, it would be one example of prioritizing finals success over home and away wins.

You'd have to think it is the degenerative nature of his knee injuries, something Goody said last year he would have to manage for the rest of his career. I worry TMac is now in much the same boat with his foot injury.

What a boring, predictable and underwhelming side. 20 months on from the 2021 grand final and Goodwin is still nursing that group of players. 18 premiership players named, plus the GF sub is likely to be sub again on Saturday. Of the four missing premiership players: Oliver and Petty would clearly be playing if fit, and Jackson obviously plays if he was still at the club. That means one player (Brown) has lost his spot in the team in 20 months. No wonder we look tired and stale, and every other team has worked us out. What it will take for Goodwin to try something different?

I love the narrative around football. Melbourne haven’t beaten anyone, Freo have found form. Freo have beat a completely wounded Swans and Cats

I think I’m over booing. Even for umpires. I never feel good after it. Same as like during the last quarter against Port when I threw my phone at the couch and it bounced and crashed into my favourite coffee mug and broke it and my chihuahua looked at me fearful and wide-eyed never having seen such a thing. Time to rein in the crazy.

More fun facts about Fred Fanning: - His 97 goals that year were the highest of any Melbourne player before or since. - The game where he kicked 18 was the last game of the season in 1947. - His next game was for Hamilton in the Western District League where he was offered a coaching position for an amount of money four times his VFL pay and Melbourne couldn't/wouldn't match it. - He kicked 22 goals in one of his games for Hamilton.

I think of all the things I dislike about Demonland, revisionism tops the list. We were 17-1-4 with a percentage of 130%. That’s the entire season of course, not just the last month. Pre-bye we beat Geelong (prelim finalist), GWS away (they finished 7th and won a final), Sydney (finished 6th), the Dogs at Marvel, Brisbane, plus St Kilda, Richmond, Fremantle and Carlton (10th-13th - so not finalists but also not bottom sides). Post-bye we also beat Port away (prelim finalist). Saying we didn’t click until round 20 ignores the stunning body of work we put into the first 17 weeks. Saying we got “beaten up” by the Dogs ignores that we’d already beaten them at Marvel, and is inaccurate anyway - that was a 20 point loss where it was single digits midway through the 4th quarter. We beat 16 of the 17 other sides that year (only missing out on Collingwood). Our 2021 season was, from start to finish, supreme.

Sounds like the train has sailed.

Too funny. MA rating. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CsapTe1r3xE/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

No it doesn’t.

So he was wrong the previous week having us as favourites to win the flag? A week's a long time in top end football analysis.

He's a fringe 22 player. And would be at almost every other top 8 team's midfield. It's not that I don't rate him, I just don't think it matters whether or not he plays. He is fringe, which is why he's always in and out. He is serviceable, doesn't have any outstanding attributes and certainly no point of difference as a player. And in a midfield full of contested players who display the same weaknesses, I think he is surplus to needs, (as I do with Sparrow). Some may say he's unlucky and maybe he is. But who is he playing ahead of in our side? And why? Sparrow is more powerful, explosive quicker and can take a contested grab. Hunter is a specialist wingman we deliberately brought in because Jordan was playing wing and doesn't have the attributes. And he's obviously not playing ahead of Trac, Clarry or Viney who are all contested ball winners. It's a recruiting prob also. I think we need to start bringing in some other types of midfielders. And it's clear the FD are finally realising we need this with the addition of Rivers and Pickett more through that part of the ground. I hope for Jordan's sake he goes, but if he goes to a top 8 side, I'd be surprised if he was a consistent starting mid season upon season.

No, I will just write his name on some paper and put it in the freezer - guaranteed to bring bad luck according to my mother-in-law. She has used that technique successfully on me in the past.