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A friend told me Caleb Windsor was super impressive in the full match sim today. Just about BOG.

Our media department all have ticktok brains. 1 minute videos with pegs, coins, forks, candles and Taylor Swift lyrics. Made for 8 year Olds. It's an insult too our intelligence.

His half-brother, but I don’t like that term. I have sons who are considered half-brothers and last time I checked, they’re each a whole person 😅

Teams with an ever so soft underbelly don't win 16 or 17 games 3 years running And we romped in the flag in 2021 ... but no injuries that year And that's the main issue - injuries (specifically to our forwards) And most supporters and even the media are highlighting that facet

I think it's disappointing there is no single family day this year. Yes it's chaotic and there are huge lines but the fact is the kids look forward to it. The splitting up of the family day in three events doesn't really work IMO. Firstly, the Melbourne-Richmond game is 7 quarters of footy. I will go and watch it all but I don't think I can take my kids - it's not really reasonable to expect young kids to stand at Casey (presumably in the heat) watching 7 quarters of a practice match, with possibly the last 3 of those quarters not consisting of too many Melbourne players. The training sessions in school holidays are not accessible to everyone, as lots of families will be away over the school holidays, in contrast to the usual family day in March when kids are at school. As an adult it doesn't really bother me, but I think we've missed a trick here for the kids.

I think it's time to place on record how poor our media output has been since the departure of Ben Gibson. Training photos, the odd awkward interview and generic reprocessed information. I understand the strategy of the club this off & pre-season has been to close up shop and let their footy work do the talking but I truly believe the lack of insightful and creative media content will impact membership numbers, engagement and anticipation ahead of the season. Our website still shows the exciting launch of the 2023 merchandise range. We never hear from Gary Pert or Simon Goodwin unless it's a members forum or AGM. Andy Moniz Wakefield's re-signing was never announced, we are none the wiser on his contract length. I've just gone on to a few other random AFL club pages for context. The Bulldogs have a unique video feature where Cody Weightman (and others) have been filmed from their morning coffee, routine once they get to the club with even a snippet of Luke Beveridge's whiteboard strategy session. It's a unique insight without giving too much away. Sydney have released a 15 minute video from their training camp at Coffs Harbour which shows the player bonding up close and how these camps play out. We know the powers at be read the forum so please place more resources in this area. Love from all of your fans!

Enjoy. Mbl ==> https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-gL7BLf/i-SNLGXjH/A 4K ==> https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-gL7BLf/i-bZWB8bG/A

Someone on Bigfooty went to training and said it was a full match sim. Gawn was BOG by that far it wasn't funny. Sparrow, Viney, Spargo, Bowey and Brayshaw were reportedly good. May went off injured with a groin to continue our best pre season since 2018/2019 but he said it wasn't serious.

All very reasonable points. Why has the club not communicated to member's and fans why the club has decided not to have a stand alone family day this year, something that is immensely popular among young fans and their parents? If the reasons WCW has noted above are accurate, why not communicate them to fans and members? Instead all i can find about the family day is the short article on the MFC website WCW links above dated 31 January, with this headline, sub headline and opening two paragraphs (I'm not sure about others, but i didn't get an email with any info). Demons launch Family Series It will be easier than ever for Demon families to get their footy fix in 2024. 'MELBOURNE’s family day has been super-sized in 2024 to include three epic family events, kicking off with the Demons taking on the Tigers in the side’s first inter-club match simulation of the year. The Demon Family Series, presented by Beyond Bank, will feature events stretching from Casey Fields to Gosch’s paddock, making it easier than ever for Demon families to get their footy fix. Personally i find that disingenuous at best, dismissive of fans at worst. And i expect better from my club. I mean, c',mon ditching the super successful family day that people look forward to and claiming it has been super sized? Super sized? What does that even mean? It certainly doesn't mean a bigger family day event with more free rides and activities. What i assume they mean is they have split family day into 'three epic family events' that make it 'easier than ever for Demon families to get their footy fix in 2024' C'mon, i get enough spin in advertising without my club trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The three supposedly 'epic events' are: Demon Family Match Simulation at Casey Fields, with: seven-quarter match simulations (that little kisd wont sit through), signing opportunities (after the players have played 7 quarters of footy?), kids' activities and partner giveaways Demon Family Series April School Holiday Open Training at Gosch's Paddock or nearby location, with: players training (? like wow - they do that twice a week), signing opportunities (after the players have trained?), kids' activities and partner giveaways Demon Family Series July School Holiday Open Training, at Gosch's Paddock or nearby location, with: as above Perhaps i'm out of touch as my kids are young adults now, but when say they were 6 or 7, it would have been a lost cause convincing my kids any of those 'events' were 'epic', let alone actually getting them to go. And we had all three of those 'epic events' last year - in ADDTION to the family day. Easier than ever for Demon families to get their footy fix? Please. Casey is total non starter for any one with little kids who lives anywhere but in the south. Again, my kids are young adults, but i live in West and the thought of packing up two little kids into the car for a 3 to 4 hour round trip to watch seven quarters of footy at Casey and bounce on a jumping castle swaying in the Casey wind gives me cold sweats. (To be clear WCW i'm in no way knocking you or the quoted post. And i'm not trying to make you a spokesperson or proxy for the club. I love how supportive of the club you are. You have worded your post in a really balanced way that provides the reasons behind the decision not to have a family day without dismissing legit concerns about that decision. I've quoted you because in relation to the focus of this thread - the clubs poor comms - your post is very useful in terms of highlighting my concerns about the club's comms to fans, and in particular to members )

Missed Opportunity

There is so much hand wringing and hope of failure for us in the media. A player might be having loads managed or precautions taken, and they become the most important player on our list and ready for an amputation. We might be good enough as we are, with a forward line of JVR, frittata, Kosi and McAdam, with Petracca going forward has a lot to like. Petty or McDonald will be nice when ready and will be useful. We also have disco and Adam’s to offer more depth down back, and as we saw with McVee last year, players may emerge. My trousers have no nasty marks in them yet. Let’s see how we shape up in the praccy games and the first 6 rounds. I think the work on transition and delivery into f50 will be more important. summary: glass half full for now…

And there lies one of the big reasons McAdam was unsettled at Adelaide. Lots of words went back and forth between him and Burgess. McAdam said he felt an injury and he shouldn’t be in main training to make sure he doesn’t trigger anything. Burgo told him to do get in the group and as you say ‘run it out’ and an injury occurred that session and he missed 4+ weeks. That’s McAdam’s version of events anyway.

I'd be flat out knowing any songs she sings, is she actually any good?

In 2021 Langdon played both wings (although not at the same time) and could pick and choose which side was most effective. I recall that there were times when he stayed on the same wing all game. Hunter plays left wing only, out wide, so that he never has to play through the middle. Langdon gets stuck on the right wing all the time and with all our kicks ins and forward entries going to the left side, the FD needs to work out a better strategy to keep Langdon more engaged in the game. His up and down running is too valuable to lose.

They trained today, at Casey. Training next week is: Tuesday and Thursday at CASEY Saturday at GOSCH’S As is usual, that’s subject to change But at this point in time, they’re the sessions for next week

NSFW @binman

How can ANYTHING cost $2.7 bil? Someone somewhere in construction is making an absolute killing, while governments and councils are busy trying to distinguish their elbows from their [censored]. The Hoddle Street upgrade a few years back was delayed and its budget blew out by some $60 mil (and this was not the only delay or blowout) because someone somewhere had underestimated the amount of crushed rock required. So they had to get in an extra $60 mil worth of crushed rock. SIXTY MILLION You could build a row of luxury houses along that same length of Hoddle Street for $60 mil. But they needed $60 mil of crushed rock. SIXTY MILLION It's like developers watched "Utopia" and took notes, while govt people watched it and said "gee, maybe we need MORE sensitivity training!"

they could have saved themselves some money on the review and just read demonland.

So now we have reports of his hamstring, calf and groin. Amazed he can walk.

I’m hungry for any news about the MFC, but now I never go to the club official website, since there’s never anything interesting or up to date on it.

So sorry, the above is NOT accurate. The boys will be on the Community Camp from Monday the 12th to Wednesday the 14th of February. The Club will publish dates and locations of future training sessions after the camp.

Off to see Northlane on Sunday.

It's hard to form much of a view about season 2024 until you see them perform against opposition, i.e. upcoming games against Richmond and Carlton. Even then, there's only so much to take out of practice matches. Obviously, the key forward stocks on the surface are concerning, but I'll wait for a bit more evidence before getting too forlorn. It's a very long season and plenty of our ''game'', as in backs, mids and overall talent, will be superior to most. Things don't have to be perfect from the get-go to succeed.

I did some analysis and compared the break between games for our first 14 matches with those from last year. While we have two 5 day breaks compared to 1 in 2023, we have a 13 and 12 day break, along with 10 and 9 day breaks in there as well. Last year we had a lot more 6 day breaks, and the pitiful bye period of just 10 days. I'm interested to see if this helps keep our players fresh during the year, and opportunities for Selwyn to better manage player training loads. Having a large gap between our 1st and 2nd games, and then the gaps between our 6th, 7th & 8th games also allows periods for those with interrupted pre-seasons to catch up on conditioning. The table shows the breaks between our games this year and last year. The first column is the game number, not the round (because of 'round zero' and our bye after the ANZAC game). The location is for this years game, not last years.

Smithy’s VFL Round 1 Friday 22 March Sandringham vs. Collingwood, RSEA Park, 4:05PM * Frankston vs. Williamstown, Kinetic Stadium, 7:35PM Saturday 23 March Gold Coast SUNS vs. Richmond, Heritage Bank Stadium, 11:05AM Southport Sharks vs. Port Melbourne, Fankhauser Reserve, 12:05PM Essendon vs. Brisbane Lions, NEC Hangar, 1:05 PM * Geelong Cats vs. Werribee, GMHBA Stadium, 2:05PM * North Melbourne vs. Northern Bullants, Arden Street Oval, 3:05PM Sunday 24 March Sydney Swans vs. Coburg, Tramway Oval, 12:05PM Footscray Bulldogs vs. GWS GIANTS, Whitten Oval, 12:05PM Casey Demons vs. Box Hill Hawks, Casey Fields, 2:00PM (Ch7) Bye: Carlton

No training report for today? Whats the go?

I heard he also had a tooth ache.

No 'old dee' is a realist and he gets it right more than most. And if you get it right most of the time you're keeping it real But he's seen as a pessimist by the optimists He made his call on the flag early in 2021 but I have no idea which threads I noticed because I always read what old dee has to say. rjay, Axis & bing are others who keep it real And they never complain about umpires either. Another thing I notice

I think we have reached the point where MFC supporters will count their lucky stars that we have the likes of Schache and Tomlinson on our list! Our midfield is still amongst the best, most feared in the comp. Our backline is blessed for wealth and depth. Our forward line round zero, given injury concerns, should read as follows, HF: Spargo, JVR, Billings F: Fritsch, Schache, Tholstrup with ANB and Chandler off the bench

If he's ready to go early, then that would be great, but I am happy waiting until the coaches decide that the time's right. One thing that we have done particularly well over the last few years is blood the kids properly rather than have to rush them in as saviours before they're ready. Having said that, from the limited vision I've seen, the kid reminds me of a young Lenny Hayes.

So basically the Family Day has been canned. We have a scratch match every year and there are usually kids holiday programs anyway and open training sessions aimed at kids.

Demon shop closed ??? !!! How can that be? I've never actually found the place!

Not my type of music but my understanding is that she’s a really sound person so as long as she takes the Dee’s to be her team I’m happy for her to borrow our ground.

Jumped on twitter to have a pointless scroll through and the first thing that pops up is this [censored]. It's almost like they film this and go "this is exactly the content the fans want..." We are dead set bottom 4 in the competition when it comes to media and communications. Say what you want about Collingwood but after watching the Harry De Mattia stuff, I absolutely loved it! It was a fascinating insight into a first year players experience starting in the AFL system. Collingwood just do it so well and I could name half a dozen clubs that are in the same boat. The GWS giants for instance posted this early this year. Why not do similar of all three of our new boys? Kynan Brown is a son of a former demon, do a short doco on him on what it means to be in the AFL level that not only his old man represented, but the club he grew up barracking. Instead we've got trash content such as the above and Daniel Turner pinning washing pegs on his teammates at a team photo shoot.

Hope you are correct re the Pies. I could not stand another season of them winning again and the media fawning over them. I wish them, Geelong, Carlton and Essendon nothing but pain and misery this season. I still haven’t forgotten what Maynard did to Gus. Still makes my blood boil.

I think we’re running out of things to talk about. Bounce the ball already.

It is important to note we had over 70,000 members in 2023. I remember the club did the To Hell and Back episodes in early 2020 preseason documentary series. The media department did a great job putting together these episodes and the content was great to watch. Initially the club received criticism, but looking back it was the best thing the club did, and a year later we won the Premiership. I want to be more honest with my feelings about the media department, but I won't. Our Loyal Fan base wants more media content and the Club must deliver and service its member base better.

100% agree. I just watched a clip on Harry deMattia's experience since joining the pies. Yes, I feel dirty - filthy in fact, but it gave good insight into the drafting and preseason experience from the recruit's perspective. On the MFC website is some lame candle conundrum thing. What I'd like to see: A brief preseason training update from the line coaches for every player, a profile or two on our recruits, accurate training time info, a weekly post-training interview with a player or coach and a decent content build-up to the start of the season. Have we heard a word from our new midfield coach? Nothing against Mini, but can the comms people have a chat with him FCS? Conversely, I'm happy to be sold a pup on any injury issue that the club doesn't want the opposition to get wind of before a game.

Sadly what has been produced since Ben left is outright slack, lazy and simply not directed at us...the fans. Demonland was producing "happy snaps" of players at training 20 years ago, and what we are seeing now is nothing more. In fact our own @Six6Six produces far superior quality shots when compared to the amateur efforts shown by people who are being paid to do the job. At training sessions we see them behind their camera, and scrolling through their phone, while spectacular marks go un-noticed, and what's worse....not a single written report about what is actually going on right in front of them....or behind them as injuries occur during the session. Or who is training, who is not, who is rehabbing. ....off we go to Demonland to get that information. Podcasts from the club? No, you have to come to Demonland for that!. Interviews....once again unsighted since Ben left, except for the banal questioning line of "what was it like out there today". How about something as simple as asking Christian Salem how his recovery is going? Essendon have a run down on their community camp over a couple of days. And how about writing something? There is more food for the supporter needs right here on Demonland, than can be found on the club website. Like @Dannyz has pointed out, go to other clubs websites ( yes that hurts), but it shows what their fans are being given and entertained with, and can get excited about. That is how you build a fan base, that is how you maintain a fan base.

Should wear one of these.

Of course she's good 'picket'... You don't have her level of sustained success if you're not.

No Family Day this year. Instead, three events to replace it. The scratch match at Casey on February the 18th, an open training session at Gosch’s during the April school holidays and the same thing during the July school holidays. There’ll be player autographs/photo opportunities, kids’ activities, partner giveaways, various coffee/food vans and of course, a Demon Army BBQ and cupcake stall.

Apparently the Filth collect the used ones off the streets and recycle them as underwear Step (over) one...Get Some!

This is how it looks today… The large brown area is where the stage will be. The MFC admin staff have to relocate and work from home and/or Casey and/or AAMI for 10 days. No functions will be held during this time. If a room that has windows which overlook the ground does have to be used during the lead-up to the concerts, the windows will be ‘blacked out.’ There are huge black curtains already erected between the concourse and the ground level seating. All this because Mz Swift demands total secrecy. She doesn’t want the details of her spectacle to be known before the event. As for the Demon Shop, I was there today and asked about them shutting, and it seems one reason is because it’s not worth opening when there’ll be so few people wandering in and out of the ‘G. (Many people who visit the ‘G incorporate a visit to the Demon Shop.) I don’t know why they’re shutting for such a long time though.

Do I put my legs through the loops???!!!! Don’t be ridiculous! My arms go through the loops!

You mean the side that we belted up there in the last round last year with a makeshift forward line? Grundy won't make that much difference and their captain Mills is out. There's reasons to be positive.

Very nice morning for a run around, not too much wind and temperature is perfect. Looks to be about 32 to 34 in full training. The drills were done with skill and precision. Mainly controlled by Taylor Whitford (VFL coach) The occasional reference to the super-bowl appeared. Our new young players lead the way with their skill sets. Windsor, K. Brown, rarely miss, Tholstrup if he slips up, the next action is perfect and the effort he makes is great. Setting great standards. Jefferson has worked well on his tackling, he brought a few down in the sims, taking some marks and getting separation. Sestan doesn't have a defensive game, will need to improve himself through Casey, I reckon. They continue to rotate quite a few through the mids during sims. They split into the lines at one stage, mids (McQualter) had Gus, Viney, Tracc, Windsor, Spargo, K.Brown, Langdon, Laurie, Max, KFW, Sparrow, Taj, Verral. Backs (Chaplin), May, Lever, Adams, McVee, Rivers, Hore, Howes, Bowey, Tomlinson. Forwards (Stafford), JVR, Fritta, Kossie, Billings, Jefferson, ANB, Chandler, Sestan, Tholstrup, Schache. Loved K.Brown's (untouchable), Sparrow's, (field kicking) Viney's (making links), Adam's (holding JVR), May's, (intercepts) and Max's (marking), during the sims today. Sims were run by Goody.