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Clearly Koz just needs to go around with a bottle of wine and some flowers for Mrs Soligo and we can put this all behind us and move on to the Lions

Thought Chandler was fantastic. His contested stuff brilliant. 7 tackles. Great goal from boundary. Gave him votes Hugely improved player. Glad he was out there

I'm just loving how we are defending the ground and setting up to defend space. It's going to become very difficult to play against. It's very noticeable that we block outlets by hand and then sag our zone back to our half back (when defending from our own half forwardline), which creates space in behind for us and enables us to turn the ball over, usually in the corridor. This means we're starting attacks from in the corridor in the centre square, and then moving the ball either to our forwards running back into space towards our goal, or to leading forwards with much more space in front and around them to work in. You can see the result of this tonight. We were devastating on turnover, and most chains seemed to start through the middle of the ground. Being happy to lose the territory battle can mean we are defending from quite deep inside our own D50, but it eases our forward connection, because we're not kicking to a crowded A50. I'm loving the coaching and the discipline from the players to execute this. I think it's a bit of an evolution of how we tried to play Collingwood on KB last year. We sat deeper and allowed Collingwood to run into our zone, and then closed in around them. Well done, Goody and team.

How did the Pendelbury love tap get graded low impact and this is medium impact? Oh I know, Michael [censored] Christiansen is how.

"Yes, Maynard was a bit worse". The understatement of the year.

Tmac deserves some love.

The group really looks galvanized, don't they? There is a sense of 21' with their outward celebration of 1%ers and unselfishness. The injection of Windsor has been immense, what a wonderful start to his career. He's clearly been told to back himself and take the game on, but he also has the ability to 'check' his kicks and go to the right option, not blazing away. Very mature young fella with incredible potential. Players like Windsor and Howes would have struggled to perform so early in previous Demon teams, so, credit to the boys and the coaching staff / on-field leaders who have made their introduction into the AFL seamless.

Why didn't they talk about or even replay the clear push on Rivers by Dawson?

Sick of seeing our own supporters taking shots at Kozzy. Time to back him in. Fingers crossed we make a successful challenge.

Definitely fight the grading

I truly can’t believe those saying this is anything like the Maynard one. There are clearly some fans that have made up their minds on Kozzie and want him to pay due to their perceptions. The only thing they have in common is both tried to smother, otherwise. Compare the pair: Maynard: front on, travelling towards kicker, misses the smother immediately then has more time to decide what to do. Lowers shoulder and turns, fist clenched, flexing for the hit square on the head with his shoulder. Impact is front on direct, so intense the player is knocked out cold, through a helmet, for two minutes. Kozzie: jumps on the spot, ball goes past him much later into his jump, clumsily tucks in elbow, hand open and loose, not flexing for the hit, glances Soligo once he is beyond him with his upper arm. Impact is glancing to the side, Kozzie is beyond Soligo and Soligo runs into him. The impact is so light that Soligo gets up and plays on immediately, is not assessed, has no injury of any kind. This is a careless, high, low impact fine. Anything else we go to the tribunal and FWIW I think the club would LOVE that as it gives us a chance to point to the Maynard decision, why the rule was brought in and point out the clear difference in impact. The media bias against us is so shameful, I’m not reading or listening anymore, they give air to absolute, credibility-less rubbish and whack our players any chance they get. Filth.

I've started watching on mute this year also, and I find it a lot less stressful. The ideal TV option would be just crowd noise with no commentary.

Gawn - great without dominating Viney - great first half Petracca - class above everyone Salem - not always convincing Fritsch - classy ten minutes May - brave and impressive Lever - continued excellent season McDonald - turned career around Neal Bullen - some impressive moments Sparrow - is becoming elite Howes - maturity belies experience vanRooyen - was almost exciting Langdon - running game returns Oliver - lacked smooth transitions Rivers - was mostly classy McVee - career best game Windsor - a smooth operator Petty - slowly finding form Brown - was rarely sighted Chandler - great first half Woewodin - had limited opportunities Billings - wasted easy conversions Pickett - exciting but undisciplined

One of the ideas behind the Gather Round concept is to give life to the host city, which is something of a challenge for a town like Adelaide where the mid-week entertainment usually involves nothing more exciting than watching the traffic lights change their colour in Rundle Mall. Fortunately, the powers that be gave the Demons the opportunity to help open the show at the Adelaide Oval against the Crows and they duly responded by bringing some bright lights and brilliance to the place with another decisive win against the hometown side. With Melbourne coming off a five-day break from a game against the team from the less salubrious and desirable part of the city, and with Steven May returning from rib and back injuries, surely this was a chance for Adelaide to shine? However, it was not to be, and for a side that missed playing finals in 2022 courtesy of a dodgy AFL non score review, they were shown up by the benchmark side that Melbourne has become for the competition this year. The Dees now have four wins on the trot after playing three of their five games at interstate venues. With the parochial home crowd behind them, and umpires heavily under the influence of the same vociferous baying horde, the going was always going to be tough, and it turned out to be exactly that in the first quarter. The home team had to make a statement early to give themselves any sort of hope by getting in front of, and indeed on top of, the Demon juggernaut. The trouble was that the juggernaut’s defences simply kept denying the Crows thrusts forward. Led by the tough Steven May, with Tex Walker as an opponent, he just kept marking and intercepting the ball. Normal humans would have struggled to lift their arms above their heads with similar rib injuries. May did it with aplomb - nineteen disposals for the game, including an incredible five marks in the first quarter alone. Alongside May, young Judd McVee was the main man repelling Adelaide attacks, and with his eleven first quarter disposals, he also recorded an incredible seven intercepts in the same period at 100% efficiency. Amazingly, he has played just thirty games and is a mere 20 years of age. With the standards down back set by these two in the first stanza, it was a repeat of the scoreline for the Crows from their previous week, as they could only manage 2.5. A solitary goal conceded in the next quarter, reinforced the strength of the Melbourne defence, as others like Jake Lever, Tom McDonald, Blake Howes, Trent Rivers and Christian Salem chipped in to hold them at bay. There were no leading lights in the Crows forward line, and like their Rundle mall counterparts, the signs were flashing “caution” in the Adelaide coaching box by half time. What they failed to see was the “Go” sign that signified the Melbourne third term blitz, led by Bayley Fritsch, who despite having barely contacted the Sherrin in the first half, booted three majors in the third, to effectively put the game to bed. Little was left for the Crows to do, other than throw everything they had at the Dees in that final quarter, but despite closing the gap by two goals in the dying minutes, Melbourne had already put up the shutters to block out any light. In the end the scoreline of 63 - 78 was emblematic of two tired sides coming off five- and six-day breaks, respectively. Many players went for extended periods without any impact on the game, but the Melbourne players know what is required at the business end of the season. And it was interesting to hear Steven May at the end of the game, saying something like “ we came over here on a business trip.” In other words, this “Gather Round” was not a weekend celebration, but rather, part of the job description for a professional team with a strong culture. Another shining light for the Demons this week was a player in only his fifth game for the Club – Caleb “The Duke” Windsor. Normally a young player at the dawn of his career can be a little overwhelmed by the intensity and strength required at AFL level, but not so for Caleb. We all know that he is lightning fast, but he uses his speed, not only to break away, but also as a closing weapon as well. He fears not tackling or the in-and-under stuff. With 461 metres gained from sixteen touches in this match playing as a wingman, it is easy to see why comparisons are being drawn with the great Robbie Flower. Oh, and while we are mentioning the brilliance of others, then the skipper with an incredible eighty-six ruck contests attended, four contested marks and five clearances, simply outshone anyone who Adelaide could muster to compete against him. Equally, it is easy to not notice the standout supernova of Christian Petracca and the extraordinary ability he has to extract the ball, burst through tackles that would impede others and so strongly impact the game, both in possession and on the scoreboard. With the Demons’ shining lights showing the way to finals football, the broken-down Adelaide Crows Camry was left at the Rundle Mall lights with steam emitting from the bonnet, out of business and suddenly realizing it was in a dead-end street! It’s something that Melbourne does these days as part of its business plan. MELBOURNE 2.0.12 6.7.43 10.13.73 10.18.78 ADELAIDE 2.5.17 3.8.36 6.9.45 8.15.63 GOALS MELBOURNE Fritsch 3 Pickett van Rooyen 2 Chandler Petracca Petty ADELAIDE Fogarty 2 Dawson Keays Laird Rachele Rankine Walker BEST MELBOURNE Petracca May Gawn McVee Sparrow Viney ADELAIDE Soligo Dawson Laird Keane Rankine INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil ADELAIDE Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil ADELAIDE Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Taj Woewodin (replaced Ben Brown in the fourth quarter) ADELAIDE Sam Berry (replaced Chris Burgess in the third quarter) UMPIRES Simon Meredith Nathan Williamson Craig Fleer Martin Rodger CROWD 48,020 at the Adelaide Oval

What’s all this nonsense on here about “he should get a week so Kozzy stamps this behavior out of his game”? This isn’t comparable to his bump against Bailey Smith. This isn’t even him electing to bump. It’s him running parallel to a player, trying to smother a hand pass with a semi-jump (if it was a full jump his hip would have made contact with his head) in the same way every other player on the ground does multiple times a game. If he gets a week then he’s unlucky, but enough with this hanging him out to dry business!

I thought Kozzie was the victim of a blatantly high tackle right in front of goal very early in the game. Apparently I was hallucinating.

There’s one thing about winning a game when you also finish with a free kick count of 21 to 9 against you. You can be really magnanimous about beating a team that has four maggots playing for them on top of 23 of their own, knowing they robbed us but we still won.

If this is anything other than careless, high, low impact, fine we should sue. Seriously, we lost a player FOREVER to a bump with ten times the impact, more intent and incredibly severe consequences, (it knocked a player out through a helmet for two minutes FFS!) for NO suspension! Also the media can get stuffed! Where’s the “football act” horseplop from last year?! Or the “love tap” bulltish from last week?! Maynard ends a guys career, “football act, can’t suspend for that”. Pendlebury tries some martial arts to the diaphragm “love tap”, Kozzie jumps on the spot to smother a handball and lightly brushed a guys cheek, “suspend him, coach discipline him he has issues!!”. [censored] this noise! It was a free kick, but because the AFL needs to protect the head in the wake of the serious time it failed to protect the head six months ago it will be a fine, any more than that and the MFC should seriously consider legal action.

He is not a Pie, so gone. It didn't end a star's career. It didn't concuss. It didn't injure. It was light impact. It won't matter.

Chandler and Kozzie 7 tackles each. JvR with 5 and Petty 3. Some hard work by our forwards.

How good is Windsor? Blown away by his poise, footy IQ, and ability to win the contest. 10/10 drafting again.

off to the tribunal to argue it was low impact (which is what it was) don't hire adrian anderson!

My brother and I both live in Adelaide and went last night to support our beloved Dees, and their supporters were worse than ever. Fans around us all squealing for free kicks even when we pointed out how lopsided the free kick count was, booing players for no reason, and basically saying how bad their own team was and then aggressively abusing our players. They are a disgrace. Worst in the league. We kept offering tissues every time they booed Rick Lever, and bronx cheered all of the 9 times we got a free! Stuff em. Hope they go zero and 10, sack the coach and head to the bottom of the ladder for the next decade.

If you have the SEN app, they have a feature where you can sync their commentary to the video broadcast and even adjust the delay manually if it's not correct. Connect your phone to a Bluetooth speaker and you have Channel 7 vision with synchronised SEN commentary. Not a single wowee to cringe at all game. It's life changing.

I was at the game, thankfully sitting in a bay full of fellow Dee supporters. The noise and booing from the crowd was deafening. My Apple Watch was alarming constantly as the decibels were off the chart. Steven May is my hero. What a gutsy performance. He was obviously in considerable discomfort but played his heart out. I thought Tommy Mac was great but don’t get me started on the umpires 🤬🤬 They totally got sucked in by the crowd and were so inconsistent with their decisions - absolutely appalling. Well done team. My first game at the Adelaide Oval and I definitely don’t see what the fuss is about. The MCG is the true home of football.

Tom McDonald is looking a beauty

Loved: The improvement of our second tier/new draftee players. Chin played a blinder last night. Love Juddy McVee; Blake Howes and Caleb Windsor have only played how many games? Trac seems to always get a kick away with 2-3 opponents hanging off him. So strong, always holds his feet. Spaz's smother in the forward line Roo's one handed contested mark holding off his opponent. Bloke turns 21 the week after next. Ridiculous. Fritta and Roo's kicking for goal. Put the glasses down, they just don't miss. TMac reborn in the backline, and fit and firing. Maysie's/Ricky's interface marking. I've got to stop yelling "punch it" at the telly. Clarry's turnover and hit up kick to Fritta in the 2nd. Liked: Trac's goal after Spaz's smother Hated The umpiring. The booing. What a bunch of morons.

I'm not condoning what Kozzie has done. It's a week for me. But the amount of noise in the media about him is crazy. Where were all these pundits now crying for Kozzies head when Gus was knocked out of his career?

Love this comment in the guardian in the crows game review. “Harley Reid’s had more column inches devoted to him than Bruce Lehrmann but Windsor may end up being the steal of that draft at pick seven”

Sparrow played a really good game. 98% midfield, huge pressure stats and a brilliant desperate smother resulting in the Tracc goal Key grunt worker

Windsor, the Kid has got it We have a deadset Gem here He will be singing a new contract soon.

Sparrow played 98% Midfield and 2% forward tonight. Rounds 0-3 he was 46% midfield. A very solid game by Tommy tonight.

It’s a pleasure supporting a good team. It really is. We all have a whinge and get down on them from time to time but we really have to remember to appreciate this team and this time. Won’t last forever. And blimey we all know what the lows are like.

Steven May take an absolute bow. What a star!!! A great team performance, against the umps, off a 5 day break, against a team that desperately needed a win at their home ground. So proud of this club, after all the garbage we had thrown at us this off season, we didn’t let it impact us instead we said “watch this” 🫡

I took my dog down the park just now and let him off the lead to test out this theory. My dog was all over the place, pushing other dogs in the back, blocking other dogs, nipping at their heals, overall having a ball and chasing other dogs balls too. Not one umpire called him out for his unduly rough play, head high contacts, pushing in the back, tripping offensives etc. I had a word with my pooch for playing the boundary line and not walking in one line. Im not sure who I’m more frustrated with. The umpires for not listening, or the dog for not walking in a straight line toward the goal, as he was coached! I have more respect for Goody now

I could be mistaken but think from memory injury and covid stopped him from playing any footy in his draft year. JT liked what he saw in the under 16s.

Top Game, he played well against Port too. A lot of his work goes unnoticed. Sparrow is a very important player, moreso now that Angus has been Forced to Retire

I have to say, I thought Adelaide in general were very fair last night. I was especially impressed with Walker who I expected would try and absolutely smash into May. He had plenty of opportunities but didn’t. Same with the rest of their forwards. They also received a lot of frees that frankly they didn’t deserve for high contact, BUT unlike Port, their players weren’t throwing themselves around. It was just the umpires being horrible and getting sucked in by the crowd.

No it wasnt. Meredith, Williamson and Fleer are very senior experienced umpires.

Despite our game vs Adelaide being telecast on both the Seven Network and Fox Footy Channel, both neglected to bring us Goody’s Post Match Presser. So here it is for your enjoyment, entertainment and edification. RD 4 | Media Conference | Simon Goodwin

If you're winning in Adelaide 5 days after winning in Adelaide with a free kick count against you, then you must be doing something right.

Careless/low/high = fine apparently but medium impact would be 1 week. Also here is the wording of the new smoother rule. I truly believe they could just have charged Maynard under existing rough conduct rules.

1 thought that comes to mind is who gives a flying ****?

Strong team win from a tough scrambly game ... on top of a short break. Class does show through ! Two wins in Adelaide - who else has done that? Inexplicable umpiring at times! Bring on Brisvegas!

All class from Fritta

Mr Score Involvement Christian Petracca does it again with 10. Along with 29 touches, 15 contested, 8 clearances and a goal. Give the guy a Brownlow

Windsor is our best winger.

I salute Steven May. Bog with broken ribs.

Demons 4, Adelaide Umpires 0.