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I was dragged into an antiques / brick-a-brac store in country Victoria (Maryborough) by my partner today. I wouldn't say that I was kicking and screaming, but I think it's fair to say that she was more keen than my good self. Anyway, whilst browsing I discovered this book - which I was not only not aware of, but it appears to be a first edition (1958). Needless to say, I wasted no time purchasing it, and can't wait to settle in for a good read. What it did do, though, is got me wondering if any fellow Demonlanders have made any unexpected discoveries of little gems whilst on their travels. I'd be interested to know of the treasure trove that we have out there.

Tom Hawkins hasn't kicked a goal in three weeks. I'd like to make that four!

The good thing about Woey is his speed off the mark. Cats have some nippy small forwards and the one thing that stood out to me with Woey’s game in the backline, was the speed in which he closed down the Tigers’ space on Wednesday night.

It's amazing that some posters still aren't aware that Jordon was a free agent. We wanted him to stay. He chose to leave.

Beautiful weather in Melb. Just had a nice lunch at the local with man's BF and come home to the filth presently in 10th place behind GC. A very pleasant Sunday

It’s not the fact that Carlton gave up 20 goals, Carlton’s defence is horrible at the moment. They’re in the bottom 10 for points against. No premiership winner in the last 20 years has been below 6th for points against. I know they’ve got some players out, but even Adelaide has conceded less than them. Melbourne is 1st for points against. I’d almost be willing to bet that we wont give up more than 80pts against Geelong. If we take our chances and kick accurately we’ll win.

I’ll tell you who is fit - Blake Acres. He almost single-handedly got Carlton up yesterday. His ability to still have bursts of speed very late in games is unbelievable. I find it fascinating that 2 teams essentially watched him walk.

Well hang on, this factually incorrect. Doesn't hurt to go back over time and see where other premiership teams and contenders have conceded huge amount of scores in games. Collingwood and Brisbane 2023 Geelong and Sydney 2022 Richmond 2017 Happy to add more if you'd like? These just small examples. What does this prove? Nothing.. Just because you're a contender doesn't mean you're vulnerable to conceding big scores. Sometimes it's a good thing to have games where you do concede big score because it gives you the opportunity to reassess your team defensive structure. Not even a bad thing if Carlton failed whatever test you're thinking of. Geelong are just a bloody good side with a strong offensive and forward structure. Simon Goodwin has been on record in stating this over the last few years.

2021 Preliminary Final Melbourne 19.11 125 v Geelong 6.6 42 Hibberd May Lever Bowey Petty Salem Brayshaw Petracca Langdon Kozi TMac Harmes ANB Brown Fritsch Gawn Oliver Viney LJ Rivers Spargo Sparrow Sub : Jordan Out : Hibberd, Bowey, Salem, Brayshaw, BBB, LJ, Spargo, Jordan, Harmes In : Chandler, JVR, Windsor, Howes, McVee, Turner, Woey, Laurie, Billing’s Z Gutherie Hawkins Miers Ratugolea Cameron Rohan Duncan C.Gutherie Smith Kolodjashnij Blicas Atkins Henry Henderson Tuohy Stanley Selwood Dangerfield Holmes Bews Close Menegola Sub : Higgins Out : Selwood, Ratigolea, Rohan, Smith, Henderson, Bews, Higgins In : DeKoning, Bruhn, O’Connor, Stengle, Dempsey, Parfitt, Bowes

Grundy was a wasted bet. Gawn excels as the main ruckman playing 80-90% in the ruck. He can’t play forward, which was the crux of the plan. Simirlaly for Grundy. We tried, it failed , move on. JJ different story though. We didn’t expect Brayshaw to retire. If he retire prior to trade period, JJ would have been guaranteed more game time and money and would have stayed.

As iterated and I'll double down on it, its a NO from me, what if anything has Van Rooyen jrn shown?? BBB is a Proven forward and valuable Melbourne player and a great bloke! END OF CONVERSATION!🤮

i think it has lot to do with the success of the college system, plus their recruits are quite a bit older than here college footy is huge. big crowds, lots of publicity and the supporters are hugely invested in the college stars. compare that to here with our u18 competition. average fan has never heard of most of the recruits. no point hyping it up too much here if you don't have a feeder system fans are invested with

As you no doubt know, Dazz, one swallow does not make a summer We all hope Disco continues his good form, but Richmond were/are terrible at holding down in defence Unless there's an obvious mid available in the MSD, I reckon a project ruck/forward is a strong possibility. In JT we trust!

It does make you wonder in an 18 team competition how it’s even feasible that these 2 teams play each other again in 7 weeks. If I was a Blues supporter I wouldn’t be that concerned. I said it yesterday half way through the game on here - but Geelong couldn’t have been more efficient. It’s interesting because that Carlton game style was very familiar to Melbourne supporters over the last 5 years - beat a team around the ball, not finish well, and watch the ball go up the other end and see a team take literally every single opportunity. We feel that pain.

Usually. It's on tonight because of various scheduling issues. It's going to be funny doing it on a Sunday. Gives me WOS vibes.

Almost nailed it. Danger is an A grader = two b grader hammy. And I'm suspending my assessment of the blues. I mean they were soundly beaten by the cats, with late goals flattering them. A reality check Real contenders don’t give up 20 goals. If i accept the prevailing wisdom on DL that next week is some sort of critical litmus test on our premiership bona fides surely the blues just failed their test?

Free farms and Cotton On job for the lady friend doesn't hurt.

We can and should ignore Schache

This is how we got a double whammy with Brayshaw. People don’t realise the impact that one hit has had. If Brayshaw retired immediately then JJ stays. But he didn’t and we ended up losing 2 players.

Does James Jordon ever make a mistake? I get that he had a poor semi final as Brayshaw’s replacement, but he always seems to make the right decision and reliably hits targets. The epitome of a good ordinary player, with the “good” being the operative word. A smart and cheap pick up by Sydney.

Only way Simpson still has a job is if they all agreed to tank

Watch an NFL game and you’ll understand. 4 hours with about 10 mins of action. they are used to being bored

It's not a fixture. It's a scheme of arrangement.

This is Demonland @dazzledavey36. Please desist from introducing facts into the discussion.

I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you that Geelong are good but when we win games despite those same underlying stats how many on here say “we were lucky” or similar? (eg the Port win)

Yes, the AFL fixturing really is absurd.

Agreed. And he seems to be a player thst thrives on the big stage in big moments. Something he didn't have much of a chance at St Kilda and Fremantle. Was an awesome pickup for the Blues. I can put up with his occasional wayward kicking because he provides so much in other areas. He is becoming a cult figure at Princes Park.

The Blues have McGovern, Marchbank, Saad, Cerra, Fogarty, Docherty, Motlop & Martin out. They all played in the second half of last year and last September. Only Docherty (and Silvagni) are out for the whole season. All the others are returning over the next month. Carlton get to play Geelong again on 21 June, it is not that far away, a lot more about the prospects of all contenders will be known by then 😊

Daniel Turner has filled that void just perfectly.

I’ve lost a day. I thought today was Sunday. I must get off the pizz.

Sorry if this has already been asked. Pregame there was an interview on SEN with Troy Chaplin and he talked about us wanting to get back to our brand and play more forward half footy , which we did for patches I thought. It’s sounds like from his interview we overcorrected at the start of the season with trying to play back half footy. But where is the balance we are wanting to achieve ? is it to break even in inside 50’s and still look to punish on turnovers and intercepts or are we still wanting to convincingly win inside 50 and time in forward half ?

If it counts for anything, I think cumulative breaks are an issue as much as a single short break. And going the game against Carlton will be out 3rd in 16 days and 4th in 29 days. (11/4, 24/4, 4/5, 9/5) While for Carlton it will be their 3rd in 13 days, 4th in 20 days and 5th in 27 days. (13/4, 20/4, 27/4, 3/5, 9/5)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4MXr6bPW6v/?igsh=MW9hcmNrZnB2bWltaQ== A few months ago now but nice little clip with one of the young blues talking about Claz giving him tips during the preseason game, he’s a nice guy Clarry

Gents, happy Monday! do you think our poor first half was just a byproduct of the bye? Rich were just as bad and we managed to turn it around after half time. Our fwd line, i wrote last week about Petty not being a Fwd but having to play the role due to lack of options. Disco was great but we shouldn't read to much into it as very similar to Petty's good performances it was a very weak opponent and being a bit of a surprise selection Richmond wouldn't have put a lot of time into that match up. McAdam looks like he is gaining fitness and i think Goody said he still need a full game in the VFL which i think is a good idea, but is he the answer? i did not like us getting him as he is lazy and has had attitude problems in the past, hoping the change fixes all that and the early injuries this year were just due to him actually putting in the work in pre-season. We still have some good players to come in: Bowie, Salem, Melksham, Hunter and McAdam 3 of them at least are in our best side and we are sitting 5 & 2, good start to the year now the footy starts to slow down in the colder/wetter period and having a healthy list is huge! Go Dees

Can’t argue with that. It’s a one week penalty to prevent it but the AFL dropped the ball because one of their pin up boys was first to go. For a professional sport the level of umpiring and tribunal decisions are incredibly amateurish. It’s actually embarrassing that the AFL believed putting more amateur umpires in the field was the solution rather than making them professional’s and training them 5 days a week. I look forward to those concussed from this game receiving a payout that goes close to bankrupting the sport. The whole administration needs a giant kick up the bum.

I’d really love to beat both these sides. I have no idea how good or not quite we are this year. Our mids are down, I can’t see how that continues. I think our forward half is 10 weeks of injury free footy from being quite strong. We have to finish to 4 so probably need to win at least one of the next two.

Really hope we don’t go down the fatigue excuse if we get done x2. We’ve played just 3 games in the month of April and should be cherry ripe to attack Geelong and Carlton (and then a 10 day break into West Coast)

Thinking about the long and short breaks, I noted that when we play Carlton it will be a short (5 day) break but the game against Carlton will be Our 3rd in 16 days and 4th in 29 days (11/4, 24/4, 4/5, 9/5) While for Carlton it will be their 3rd in 13 days, 4th in 20 days and 5th in 27 days. (13/4, 20/4, 27/4, 3/5, 9/5) What does the pod think is likely to be more important, the single short break or the cumulative effect?

Neither can Van Rooyen! Plus Beveridge to be sacked before end of year is looking very real!

Yes, our mids need to be at their best. We're competing against 2 other contenders & it's one of our strengths. As for clearances, the Cats were belted in the first half but comfortably ahead on the scoreboard. ...an interesting 2 weeks in a long season coming up.

Our defenders will do what they do, it’s upto the midfield and forwards to cone to the party

What if Seinfeld was set in Melbourne? Kramer: "I got tickets to the game, Jerry!" George: "To the ANZAC Day game?" Jerry: "Thomastown vs Whittlesea. He only watches local leagues." Kramer: "It's more real."

Just wondering what you thought about Caleb Windsor being subbed off in the last quarter? I know Laurie came on and made an impact but I thought Caleb’s game was ok. Are they managing him? I know he’s just a kid but getting some more game time into him on the big stage seemed to me to be a no brainer.

Just a playful tap to the diaphragm - such as this observed spectacle - can be extremely debilitating, easily bruised and very, very painful - hence, professional boxers utilise this 'hitting zone' more frequently than most other bodily sites. It renders breathing difficulties instantly when not braced across the abdomen; for example, Clarrie was approached from behind as he was evaluating the play ahead, so he knew nothing of the cheap shot he was about to receive. It was almost a professional assault as if it was pre-determined (coached) to occur, totally regardless of forcefulness. Unacceptable, totally handicapping for a short period of time, and the mark of a coward within the game of footy.

The Podcast this week has been moved up to Sunday Night @ 8:30pm.

Thank you for your birthday wishes. I agree with you 150% about the Cripps incident. I'll bet my bottom dollar that Clarrie had a difficult time growing up, that he was picked on. I recall an ex North player whose Beechworth winery I represented, telling me that Clarrie was 'Trouble' when Melbourne recruited him. Now, let's just say, because of where I came from in July 1956 when we landed at Port Melbourne on the good ship Fairsea, I got picked on. These incidents beyond one's control stay with you for the rest of your life. At the time it's happening, you are forced to 'deal with the real' and make the best of it. I'm not relating this as a sob story, I am trying to make a point that as survivors of those 'facts of life', people like Clarrie choose to behave with true compassion for the rest of their lives, something I recognize, because I chose to take this option as well. In other words, it taught me about the true meaning of, I am you and you are me.

Disagree. Smith has never managed to be more than depth despite his athletic ability. His game in the semi-final was as a makeshift stay-at-home forward. He had 6 disposals, 3 of which were shots on goal, and he had no involvement in any other scoring. He was also basically unsighted in the final 50 minutes of play. His absence is not a factor in our structural problems.