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He actually said Melbourne’s training is brutal and it’s at a level he hasn’t seen from other teams and he countered it with that it would be difficult to sustain that level of intensity throughout the year. He wasn’t wrong we dipped for a period mid year and started to build strongly after the Brisbane win, anyone who doesn’t think we were into it up to our necks before Petty and Melk went down is trying to rewrite history. Lucks involved and you make your own, but from August onwards despite what he says now in hindsight Kane Cornes had us as favourites, Cam Mooney had us as the team to beat, Brenton Sanderson had us as grand finalists and most pundits had the Pies second half of the season pointing to alarming heading into September Could of, would of, should of I know but IMO the window ain’t close to being closed

The only year it wasn’t rigged was 2021.

I didn’t mind Watt for Campbell. Watt looked good for me and it’s been a long year for Campbell. Plan might’ve been to use Pearce forward more too. Ivey for Wilson was very strange. Paxy a late out, I would’ve bought Wilson back in and sent Ivey forward. But no good options there given we likely didn’t have any runners as emergencies. Need Paxy, Aimee Mackin, Colvin and Gay back next week if possible with hopefully just Watt out injured. Gall, Ivey, Fitzsimon (unlucky) make way. Can Sheriff play 3rd wing and Banno go deep forward and get them out the back?? Bannan is ineffectual on the wing and high half forward, needs to be able to do her out the back runs. FB: Gillard Colvin HB: Goldy Birch Gay C; Mackin Heath McNamara HF: Paxy Harris Mithen FF: Zanks Hore Foll: Pearce Purcell Hanks Int: Chappy Banno Sherriff A. Mack West

We were a whole lot closer to the mark than a semi final exit would suggest in my view, we probably SHOULD have won both finals, but didn't handle the big moments all that well and missed some big chances. also one of our better players getting knocked out early in a final by an action that was at best, ridiculous doesn't help anything. i know it's a controversial view but i think it speaks directly to the integrity of the AFL competition that they forgot about Brayden Maynards duty of care to Gus conveniently because he's an important player to Collingwood during a finals series. I would be very very confident that would have been a suspension if it was a St Kilda player and it was during the season

Luckily one day we’ll all be dead and not have to worry about it any longer.

Not the only factor, but we got smashed in the ruck until the last qrt which created a lot of their dominance. Pearce really struggled against a more athletic high jumping ruck. Pearce is a fantastic ruck but didn't match up well tonight. Our dominance in the 2nd came when Zanker was rucking. It was a shame to lose Rhi Watt, but dropping Cambell for Watt was a stupid selection in my opinion. No shade on Watt, but she is low on match experience and Cambell has been terrific this season.

It’s all ok We’ve got the million dollars baby suck on that lions

Clint, wish you all the best and now go and beat it and get back to good health. Kudos on your brave choice to warn and help others. Thats True Demon spirit.

Good god that umpiring was horrible

The Brayden Maynard act of thuggery with no consequences proved the AFL is purposely "soft" on the bigger Clubs in the AFL. Anyway, I have already had my rant about it previously and I am not going to get emotional about it anymore. Let's hope the Melbourne Demons win the 2024 AFL Premiership. That would be the ultimate act of vengeance!

I agree Us against Everyone Else. We won’t get any Sympathy next year We need to shut out the noise and get the job done

I love David King now

AFL generates and has a lot of money where there is money there is self interest, manipulation, self enrichment and all the usual sins associated with greed. Salary cap manipulation, favoring clubs that have lots of supporters, throwing bones the the bottom clubs occasionally. its just business

Gambling advertising should be banned as its becoming a cancer to TV viewers. I only watch Friday night games outside of Dees games and most games provide little inspiration to watch. The quality of media commentary is also putrid compared to other sports.

Not surprised by result. We played poorly though. Really missed paxman. Hore has to be played in the forward line all the time. We lack goal sense without her there.

When is Aimee Mackin due back from injury or has she recovered already? I thinks she’s a must if fit, pacy and classy.

I've got faith in this team to learn and rebound. Really need to get our midfield humming and our run and carry going again.

How the utter smeg was that chase down play on. Mind blown.

I think we've seen how important Paxy is, with her missing against both Adelaide and Brisbane. She's smart and runs all day. And having that extra top level mid makes a massive difference.

This umpiring is a joke. Free kick Brisbane

Hanks is being held at every stoppage. The fix is in

We miss Paxy’s input badly.

Never said this about an AFLW footballer but Davidson is an absolute [censored].

Tackled completely without the ball too

you are an impossible poster

I don’t think our hand is very good. I wouldn’t give ND1 for ND7, ND 13, FND15. So just take the best couple of kids you think can help us extend/expand our window.

Sliding doors. “In the year of live trading being introduced to draft night, the Demons tried to be the first club to make a major move and called Port Adelaide while the Power were on the clock for their second pick, No.12 overall, after they had grabbed local forward Connor Rozee with No.5. The Demons were armed with a future first-round pick to make a deal happen (that landed as No.3 the following season when they took Luke Jackson), but the conversation didn't last long. As the Power picked up the phone, their recruiting team had punched Butters' name into the online draft system. Melbourne hopes of moving up the board to get Butters and their willingness to part with their following season's top pick – were based purely on Butters being available “

Just saw Brodie Gundy's comments. Here is the link to it: https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2023-brodie-grundy-trade-melbourne-to-sydney-max-gawn-collingwood-contract-salary-leaves-club-after-a-year/news-story/37ba08c1b2ba2db26acb2936921b71fa A class act from Brodie Grundy. It's a shame things didn't work out at the Demons. It had so much potential during the Pre-Season. But it just wasn't to be. I wish him all the best at the Swans (except against us).

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1059770/plugging-the-leake-tassies-mr-fix-it-james-leake-rockets-into-draft-calculations

Shoulder surgery obviously limited Butters’ exposure. Interesting to read at the end another 2 cautionary tales of picking for size and potential over football ability (Hately and Collier-Dawkins).

I would love to know what write ups on Zak Butters where like post draft for him not to be a top 5 draft pick and if it compares to Windsor or a player like Leake . edited (cal twoomeys final phantom draft of 2018) 😂

4 premierships. Though your point clearly stands well enough on that. Plus there is some bonus credit for beating Hawthorn in consecutive Grand finals. I reckon even Sam Mitchell has that on his bucket list. So, here's a fun 'would you rather'; Would you rather the 84/85 double premiership or the 1993 'baby bombers' evolving to the 2000 'greatest'? I wonder who our conceptual Hird-Mercuri-Misiti-Fletcher-Wallis core that would play in both be? And on that note - I would never have thought that there were only five players from the supposedly very youg 1993 side who were still around for the 2000 win. I'm running with the thought; 2021 premiership players on our list now who would realistically be young enough to also contest a 2028 premiership; True youngsters are Petty, Spargo, Sparrow, Pickett, Rivers and Bowey. Then of the mature players Petracca, Oliver, Brayshaw and Lever are all contracted to at least the end of 2028, so count them in. Fritsch with his brain-and-skill based play should last that long, too. 11 players realistically in the window for both a 2021 and 2028 premiership! Noice. 🦄

In fairness, chook, not just injuries but combination / clusters of injuries Petty Melksham Frittata Brown McDonald could not have been worse and we only failed by a couple of shots in both finals.

‘Us vs the world’ is an overly emotional motivation strategy, that worked better with previous generations. These days it seems like coaches take a ‘growth mindset’ mentality, and don’t try and make everything feel so dramatic. They recognise that people get burnt out by feeling like the world is against them - as it begins to become a self fulfilling prophecy. I think the ‘us vs the world’ mentality is a huge part of the problem for the Bulldogs under Beveridge. There can be less opportunity to find joy in the process.

It's probably a little odd for a 40yo to have a 'favourite' player. But Tayla is my favourite. The handful of conversations she's had with my kids and I over the boundary line have shown her to be a terrific person. Loves her team mates. Excited about footy. Genuinely Appreciates the fans. Very giving of her time.

I reckon occasionally Tayla goes into a mode where she throws her body around even more than usual, but agree she's very controlled and usually plays with a sort of calm aggression. There are several more hot-headed players on our team and certainly a few more interested in the niggle than she's ever been. Speaking of hard at it, enjoyed this interview with Goldie. She talks about the switch between codes, moving to Australia this season, and the Jim Stynes connection. It's very obvious how Sinead's experiences at Dublin, failing many times then achieving success, made her a great asset for our team in taking the next step. Probably an underrated aspect of her contribution, aside from what we (and she, as it turns out!) describe as the "chaos" she brings on the field.

we love our club. the club is the only reason i continue to follow.

The Cripps suspension followed by a AFL pardon and the Cripps Brownlow medal set the tone of hypocracy and corruption in 2023. The disgraceful behaviour of the AFL ignoring the welfare of Brayshaw and rigging the tribunal so Maynard could play in the finals was the last straw for me. Remember what MRO goon Michael Christian(pies player) blurted. He basically threatened to resign if Maynard was suspended. Christian would have sent May straight to the tribunal and got 4-6 weeks if he had knocked out either of the Daicos bro's. The AFL is definitely rigged not to mention all the money going in and out the rear door of GW$ Swans and Suns. Is the AFL ever audited or is it the same as the church and treated differently to the rest. How much did Gil McLacklan pay himself every year? 5 million maybe more? Do the clubs have a say or are they too frightened to speak up. CEO's are just employees. Grossly overrated office clerks.

The AFL is a for-profit business It will always act in it's own interests to ensure that it maximises profits, therefore keeping things fair and equitable for all clubs has its limits I'm still amazed that the Tassie team actually got up, but the cynic in me believes it was a concession made for some good public relations points and nothing more than that. As a business, a Tasmanian team makes no sense compared to another team in NSW.

Correct!

Round Zero is a code/acronym that clubs are using to refer to the four northern state games to open the year, prior to the actual 9 games of proper round 1 on March 14-17. Obviously we’ll be one of the teams involved in round Zero (against Sydney) and we will get a bye before or after Anzac round to even the ledger.

Then again, Chook, add Melksham and Petty to the 2 finals side, say Brayshaw was not the victim of common assault, and Van R not rubbed out, he would have been correct. Luck is such a big part of it because, in the end, not much seperates the 4 really good sides...

It's not quite the same, but Essendon in 2000 was so upset by not getting into the GF in 1999, that they went through the whole 2000 season where they won 21 out of 22 home and away games (and the pre-season competition which they also won) without once singing the theme song after a win. In the team's view, winning a H&A game was not good enough. They didn't consider themselves to be winners until they won the Premiership, which, of course, they did.

Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) used it as continuous motivation and mind game for his players throughout the 90's and early 2000's. In England particularly, you either love or hate Man Utd, a bit like Colonwood in Australia I guess. The media scrutiny is immense and it's something that some players don't particularly deal with well, so Ferguson would take the heat of the media off the players by playing mind games with the media and other managers, and then privately build an us against them environment in the dressing room. At times it boiled over on the pitch with players like Roy Keane who was fearless and confrontational with opposition and also referees. Overall I think his management style produced results as they were successful over a long period and his leadership methods are the stuff of legend really.

John Northey had an 'us v the world' approach in the late 80's. It dragged us from the depths to be a contender.

There is absolutely - without a shadow of a doubt - an opportunity to really use recent events, the Maynard incident, double straight sets and arguably a few other things to galvanize the group this pre-season. Drive them hard. Goody will need to be careful in how he chooses to use the 'theme' as it can grow tired really quickly - maybe save the good stuff for finals, but the theme has to be prominent throughout the year and really build a story around it. End of the day, clubs look for an edge. We were 7 and 2 points away from a PF. That is nothing - so every penny counts.

And Gus doesn't get knocked out by that POS Maynard