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Drowning out the Collingwood boos of Grundy was one of my more prouder moments of being a Dees fan.

What this one.

Loved them all but left out Hibbo's 1 v 1 win vs Lipinski (?) out of the pocket. Think that's the quickest ive seen Hibbo run since ... The crowd went nutz. My other fav was Smithy's run down tackle of Maynard. Could've easily tackled from behind and probs ITB but went alongside instead to make sure there was only one outcome. Clever boy.

Agree, but it's very hard to notice if the only opportunity to view games is via TV. What the hard runners like Neal-Bullen do isn't really observable on TV. On the other hand it was very noticeable at the ground on Monday, particularly in the last quarter. At one moment Neal-Bullen is in the back pocket and the next on the wing; he's chasing an opponent and then is suddenly providing an attacking option. It's actually quite enthralling watching him play, just for the way he switches so quickly from defence to attack and back again. And he's not the only one.

No.

One less competitor to worry about

Dangerfield took a mid year preseason last year and really this year too. We did the same with BBB in 2021. For someone like Rich who’s had a very disjointed season it makes sense to get some work in to the legs. Gunston might be more of a mental toll of a forward in poor form. But no doubt his body is crying out for a freshen up too. I could certainly see it becoming a trend for teams that are up the ladder but in patchy form. Obviously you risk missing the top 4 but if you can dip down a little over the next month you’ve still got 6 weeks to catch up. As we showed last year, there’s really no point limping in to a top 4 spot and hoping you can get hot. You need to carry some form in to finals for the last month or so of the home and away season.

This has a very strange feel about it - that both players would go to the coach simultaneously. I can imagine one player might do that but I struggle a little to see how the situation evolved where both do. Maybe they both received a post-game bake and got together to discuss the way forward and came up with this.

Alright. I’ll retract this.

Hi Andy, I apologise, but 50 years of journalism has made me something of a pedant. There is no such road as the Princess Freeway. The road between Melbourne and Geelong (indeed, between Sydney and Adelaide, of which Melbourne to Geelong is but a portion) was, when the various existing roads were linked up in 1920, originally named the Prince's Highway in honor of the visit of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII the Abdicator). Subsequently the name was bastardised by the bureaucracy (NSW 1993, Vic 2010) to the Princes Highway (as if there were more than one prince involved) and, more recently, following upgrades, the Princes Freeway. Not a girlie in sight, I'm afraid. I see this as another slight on the important but humble apostrophe, which is succumbing to the old Death by 1000 Cuts. Hardly anyone knows how to use the apostrophe these days, which can't help when people are trying to make themselves understood in posts on Demonland. Wouldn't you agree? GoDees!

Craig McCrae is all class. Compare his reply of "zero" effect of illness on his team with Chris Scott's whiney performance after the 2021 PF. I grew up to hate Collingwood but there isn't a more likeable pair of leaders than McCrae and Darcy Moore.

Other: Favourite: The final siren and being able to breathe again!! Honourable mention: when we out cheered the Collingwood boos of Grundy.

Had Grundy kicked the goal after that it would have been the biggest lift ever. Gave me goosebumps similar to Neitz on McCabe or Whelan on Hird. There's nothing in my view that fires you up as a fan more than when you goal straight after these moments.

Mixed emotions Love Cats being thumped Hate Port stretching ahead on ladder

Geelong getting reamed

We want Port to lose. I keep naturally reverting to hating Geelong though, then have to remind my poor tired brain. It’s exhausting.

Tom Hawkins looks like a baby someone inflated with air and rolled in a tub of oil.

When was the last time they missed the finals with their soft draws? Must be a while. With losses against GWS, Tigres and Fremantle in recent weeks they are definitely questionable. Interesting odds atm with Cats 1.72 and 2.10 Dees. I have a Cats friend who is OS atm and says hes not bothering with the H&A and will just get the AFL App for the finals. Oh the arrogance. Love it. (I should ask him who he will be following?). :)

It's an odd qualifier to say "indefinitely". Surely, they will simply return to the VFL and until their form aarrants selection, play there. "Indefinitely" implies that they may not return to the VFL either, but take time off. Or is that just me?

In the lead-up to Fritta's goal in the third he also bullied Adams out of the way like he wasn't even there. He had so many Jack Viney moments.

there's a reason jake lever ends every game hoarse he is constantly instructing people where to run and when

Last year after the game and I queued for the toilets behind the cheer squad bay, I had Collingwood supporters jumping, yelling, one jumped in my face "Go home, Dees!" and I felt like saying to him, "We are home, it's been our home since 1858", but I didn't. Just wasn't in the mood. This year, totally different affair. Queued for the toilet, and engaged in a very pleasant conversation with a Pies supporter in front of me who said, "you guys deserved to win that". We discussed who could play each other in the finals and agreed it would be cool if it was Melbourne and Collingwood. Afterwards she said to me, "Thank you for being so nice, we don't often get that."

A lot of anti Filth sentiment on this thread. Two of my best mates are pies supporters and very knowledgeable about the game. I went to the game with one on Monday and was telling him that I hoped his feral mates would behave. He just smiled and said, “you know it’s not fair that all pie’s supporters are tainted. It’s 99% that give the other 1% a bad name!”

The highlight for me, or should I say highlights, was seeing so many pies players on the ground in pain as we relentlessly hunted and hurt them. We got tougher as the game went on.

Hunter has literally gone from one of my most hated players to one of my most loved. He is everything I hated him at the Dogs for and more.

Hope Chris Scott enjoyed Narkle’s 2 goals tonight.

Nothing make me happier than seeing an angry Chris Scott.

Or even dissent. Descent would imply that they could get lower - is this possible?

I need to see hamstrings go POP

My Geelong nephews were texting me at quarter time saying they’re just warming up for next week. lol.

I must admit that I have not read every post in this particular discussion, but one thing I want to mention is the number of children I saw of the match in Melbourne colours: very pleasing indeed. My grandson got his jumper autographed by Kozzy Pickett before the match and after the match, high-fived by Max Gawn: best day at the football ever he reckons. Lots of kids now growing up as Demons supporters😀!

Fancy a number 1 pick going to the worst team in the comp err that's kind of the idea

Can close this thread with the Chandler contract signing. Well done to everyone who bought the shares at a low price. And particularly well done to Kade who has delivered some excellent games and consistent level of pressure and attack at the contest.

Jvr coming in to stick up for Smith after so called dangerous tackle was a good thing too.

Hunter running through WHE really did have me out of my seat. It was the moment I realised we were starting to put our game together. Having said that, my favourite moment from the KB game did not come until earlier this week when it dawned on me that in consecutive weeks we had knocked off Carlton and Collingwood. For decades post our flag in 1964 these two lorded it over us and the competition. To send the Blues into an even bigger tailspin and to nail the Pies both within 10 days was sensational.

Round 13 banner, front… PROUD TO WEAR THESE BEANIES FOR YOU LET’S FIGHTMND & PAINT THE TOWN BLUE Round 13 banner, back… ZURICH INSURANCE PROUDLY SUPPORTING FIGHTMND’S BIG FREEZE ❤️💙

looks like most here have a negative view of this. I actually read it as a positive for the club that its leaders are taking responsibility for losses. Sure, selection committee should have pulled them out earlier maybe, but I'd rather senior players make a call then not make a call. They are senior players, basically on-field assistant coaches, they'll know they're not doing well. A few weeks out, a bit of a training block and one or both will probably make a difference later in the year.

For all the ANB haters, I note that in a theoretical State of Origin team for South Australia presented in today's The Age, he's been picked on the bench. That team was selected by Kane Cornes.

So myself and Mrs Fence ventured out for a spot of Dinner and a few frothies at picturesque Husskison Beach club South NSW Coast of course wearing my club windcheater. A bloke wearing Filth regalia sidles up to me at the bar and says how lucky we were to win we had Jordy out, Ginnivan out yadda yadda yadda, when he finished I said just this...... yeah but we had 6 Ace PREMIERSHIP players out. End of conversation as he fumed and searched in vain for a response, I smirked. Scoreline...? Fence game set match... Nuffy...zero Nuffin.😇

Twice I think. One from a set shot first quarter. One from a snap in the last

Hope it was a loooong train ride and they had to sit there with you for most of the journey. A little smirk every now and them would keep them ticking over. Haha I promised myself not to have a go at Collingwood when we won BUT I just cannot help myself. Ingrained since birth a long time ago.

In 2021 it may sound strange, but I feel our team had a fairy tale run of sorts. It appeared that they were not fazed by not having crowds attending games for a lot of the home and away games that season (due to Covid lockdowns etc). This did not seem to phase them. They were galvanised and on a mission. Got the minor premiership, can’t ask for much more. Come finals time, particularly those held in Perth, they got the best rent a crowd support you could hope for. A significant majority of the football loving state adopted Melbourne as their team in the finals. The crowds were electric and loud! Make no mistake, that really lifted our boys untold. They certainly got the job done and did it with style. I was so proud. 2022 was such a struggle year on so many levels. Premiership hangover, the draw, being the hunted, injuries etc. In the scheme of things we did well but it wasn’t a great year if that makes sense. In my opinion although our crowd numbers were reasonable, for the most part lacked real passion. Lesser opposition crowds at times were louder than us! That’s how I saw it. This year we seem to be disregarded as serious contenders by media, opposition fans. I get it, we lost a few close games and didn’t have too many big scalps. Such is. That was until the Collingwood game. The boys lifted and our crowd got behind our lads (eg. cheering matching the boos Grundy received - I was so proud). Not only did our players step up, so did our supporters. I know it was a big crowd but it was different. Although we were outnumbered, our supporters stood up and showed real passion. I have no doubt our players would have noted this also. I am optimistically thinking this is a turning point of sorts for the rest of the season and hopefully for many years to come. I like it how the media are critical of us. I actually love feeling the hate other supporters from some clubs seem to have for us. The doggies, Hawthorn, Collingwood and Geelong supporters come to mind. I hope there are others. Most people only seem to think that Collingwood, Brisbane and Port are the only serious contenders. We are disregarded by a lot of people. Again, I love this. I hope the crowd reaction for the Collingwood game was not a one off. I want our mob to galvanise, I want us to feel as if it is us versus the world. I want our passionate supporters to turn up and back in our boys for the rest of the season. Goody at his press conference pretty much said words to this effect. It is the least we can do to help our boys. I am looking forward to see the ‘disregarded’ demons become the team that everyone fears. Same for our supporters. Rather than being ridiculed, I want people to be amazed at our size and more importantly our passion. For over half a century we by and large were on struggle street. It is time for us to morph into being a football powerhouse, players, support staff and supporter base. I want us to be feared, hated and respected all at the same time. Life is too short. I hope we smash Geelong next game, although a close win will do. GO DEES!

I was very impressed how he competed for the most part of the game against 203 cm Darcy Moore. He made himself look taller and stronger, like a 2nd tall not just our superstar medium tall. 👌🏻

I’m watching the replay. When they kicked 3 goals Hamish Mclachlan had the nerve to yell ‘bang, bang, bang’. Yuck. Let’s not tarnish the greatest moment in sports history. Also, is BT on the payroll at Collingwood? Did he realise 2 teams were playing? I feel sorry for people who can’t get to the G.

I don't think this gives enough credit to Goodwin and co. Our press was highly sophisticated. It wasn't merely a frenzied press (ala 2018), it was denying corridor and pressuring into wide areas. When they did get it into the corridor, we sweated on them for the turnover. As for corridor style and attacking game plan being the best strategy for winning games, the best strategy for winning games is the strategy that is able to be replicated under intense pressure in finals. And good defence always beats good offence in finals, because the games are often arm wrestles that have less open space and more pressure. Relying on handball chaining like the Bulldogs do will only get you so far. Collingwood have at least four elite ball users (Daicos, Daicos, Sidebottom and Pendlebury) who can also do damage, but it's the forward handball that enables quick ball movement. Because they run and gun, it's a hard thing to replicate in finals without costly turnovers back the other way. I guess we'll see in due course though.

Carlton ⭐️ lawyer would argue Brayshaws fault for wearing leather on his head.

Odd little quirk - against Collingwood on monday Fritsch did not leave the ground - 100% game time. First time he has ever done that, with the usual figure being somewhere in the mid-80 range. Suspicion - we've been working on his tank, and noticeably using him more up the ground (17 inside-50s in the previous 4 weeks, which is easily double his usual) but the purpose of that is that also he can be pulled back closer to goal and play maximum game time there when it suits the tactical needs. The theory grows that the Demons are calmly using the whole season to sharpen their axe.

Talk of dropping Neal-Bullen is always a good laugh. He’s one of the first picked by the coaches every week because he fronts up and does the thankless hard stuff that the general footballer watcher doesn’t appreciate because it’s not flashy etc. He was our 8th best overall rated player on the weekend. He was rated the best player on the ground overall defensively. We beat Collingwood because we had applied immense pressure on the ball carrier. Nibbler had 26 pressure acts, the most of anyone on the ground with Viney second at 24. Nibbler had 6 effective tackles, third behind Viney and Trac. He had 5 tackles inside 50, the most of any player on the ground. He was a key part of our victory and I’d go as far as saying if he didn’t play we would have lost that match. What he brings in pressure and running to link up or block space is immense, and as long as he keeps fronting up and busting his gut he will rightly never be dropped.