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There was a free kick paid in the final quarter of Carlton and Port Adelaide where a Carlton defender leapt up to spoil and collided with the Port player at the 50 metre arc. Unlike Maynard, when that the defender realised he would collide with the Port player, he then actually puts out his hands to push off him. He was still penalised which seemed like the wrong decision because there didn't appear to be any head high contact. I know we all need to move on from this but one of this things that angered me so much about the Collingwood tribunal defence was the discussion around 'reaction times' and it being somehow impossible for Maynard to have taken any protective measures to reduce the possibility of injury - they even had some kind of neurologist to support the claim. Anyone who has played any kind of fast-moving sport knows that it was complete nonsense. Anyway, I haven't found the clip anywhere but if you can be bothered it's 1:39.20 mark here. https://www.afl.com.au/video/1180655/match-replay-carlton-v-port-adelaide?videoId=1180655&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1722040200001

If we make Finals from here, that will be great experience and exposure for our young guys. You can’t pack up now, that is an attitude we had 10 years ago. This Club has got to learn to fight, better than it does now Clubs around us will lose, we have to keep fighting

Well, here we are again. I probably don't need to post on this topic after mouthing off in the aftermath of the North game. But I will anyway. Going to games is expensive at the best of times, significantly more so when you have children. There are, unfortunately, too many Melbourne fans (and indeed, fans of all 18 clubs) who simply can't go because they can't afford it. Similarly, there are sadly those of us who can't go due to health reasons. Then there are those who can't go because they live too far away, whether that's in the regions, interstate or overseas. And there are those who can't go due to personal commitments, or because they have kids and night games are near-impossible, or because they have something else on, etc. And it's completely fair to note that with train lines down, the ability for some to get to the game was borderline non-existent. So let's ease off on broad-based "what's your excuse" style posting. And focus instead on the real issue: the disappointingly, and embarrassingly, high proportion of MFC "supporters" who are able to go, but don't, because they want to "send a message" to the club about how we play, or similar. You're killing this club from the inside. If you choose not to go because you don't like how we play, or you're still upset about us being belted in the first quarter of last year's QF, or you don't like Petty playing forward, etc., don't then post on here about how disappointed you are in player effort which appears to wax and wane. If you can't make the effort to go, you don't get to attack the players on effort. (Presumably some will say "well they're paid to perform every week" - if it were that simple, there would be no home ground advantage against travelling clubs, because the vocal home crowd wouldn't impact performance. We know that isn't how it works. Players aren't robots.) And don't complain when our fixture in 2025 is littered with timeslots you don't like, or a lack of prime time games from which we can make money. And then don't complain when Roffey and Pert can't get stellar sponsorship deals. And don't complain about us continuing to sell a game each year to the NT. And don't complain when eventually the AFL starts moving some of our home games to Marvel to allow for Carlton, Essendon and Hawthorn to get more access to the MCG. Our history isn't going to override your lack of current day investment in the club. Whilst this particular game and timeslot was never going to pull a massive crowd (MCG games in winter should be in the day unless they are between Victorian clubs), when we're in finals contention against a fellow finals contender and have 65,000 members, we shouldn't be sub-20,000 to any game. If you can go, but don't, you're not "smart". You're ruining it for the rest of us, and particularly for those of us who can't go.

Only a loser club would stop trying to make finals while still in mathematical contention to make it. Don’t see Pies or Hawks giving up for goodness sake. It sets an awful standard and achieves nothing. We still have plenty to play for.

Nathan Jones in a Shane Crawford podcast openly stated that missing out in 2020 finals series was what set up the 2021 premiership. Whilst the club just missed out, he explained that that they knew that they had the list and belief capable of contending the following year. There was good exposure of games into first year kids in Rivers, Pickett and Jackson which also helped Jones also stated tha missing out on the finals forced the club into refining a few little things here and there, and then set themselves up for a huge pre season It's not a negative if the club misses out this year. I see huge positives in it if anything.

This week was the first time I was able to get to a game this year: living out of town and with family commitments - I actually did the sums and on Saturday traveled 750km to do children's sport and get to the game. It was Bl**dy cold - and only thanks to sprints at Flinders Street and then Southern Cross I got home at 12.30am rather than 2am. I felt those who were able to get there made a good noise - well done on the cheer squad (I was a couple of bays to the left). Why don't I attend more regularly? the AFL seems to tolerate really poor fan behavior - I can't see myself (and children) attending a game against a "big club" for some time. The AFL (this is a theme) are making a TV product*. The inconsistencies with the way the AFL enact the rules of the game* and the tribunal processes make it hard for a fan like me to get excited about something beyond the MFC. *one of my reasons for making the effort to attend was to get an understaing of what happens off the ball - Clayton being wrapped up and literally calling out to the umpire to pay attention was something the host broadcaster is happy to overlook. Also - it was so cold! I have some sympathy for fans who attended but wanted more to be there (for me - I don't like people, so loved having a few rows to myself) but footy pundits who are paid to attend are not good for the game.

Pass. Can't stand his haircut.

Started wearing a dees jumper since i was 2 saw great success during 1950s and early 60s then spent decades standing in pouring rain etc watching thrashing after thrashing.When at the G we owned bay 19,joined Redlegs in the 70s now in my 70s still pay membership would kill to go a game but my health cant handle it getting a walker in and around is not easy.So careful what you post there are a lot loyal supporters who cant be seen,enjoy youth and health it doesnt last forever

Really? Ask Richmond how they did it at the end of 2016, or Collingwood after the 2021 season. Look out how we nailed the 2019 draft with Jackson, Pickett and Rivers and then Bowey and Ben Brown the following year. It really can change quick smart if you absolutely nail your off season season with trades and draft.

Reckon there’s a few trolls signed up to the site recently

It certainly won't be the end of the world to miss out on finals, nor will it stop us from competing next year, but what would be a massive negative is for the club to simply give up trying to make finals, while it is still mathematically possible. That is not how you build a winning culture. Not to mention that making finals is also of massive importance to the club's revenue and commercial viability. We are no longer in our tanking area, and I trust JT to be able to get us a good player whether he has pick 7 or 10 or 12. There is no doubt that we 'lucked' out in 2019 by bottoming out due to injuries and were able to get LJ, Kosi and Rivers, but we tried really hard to make finals in 2020 and just missed out. We didn't go on to win in 2021 because we decided to stop trying in 2020. We were a whisker away from making the 8, and we are now as well. In a competition where I couldn't tell you who wins the flag this year, there is still everything to play for and we have to keep trying to win every game.

Melbourne fans were put through the wringer on Saturday and ended the night with a sinking feeling as their team suffered a two-point loss to the GWS Giants at the MCG in front of their ailing coach and fell to 11th on the AFL ladder, a game and percentage outside of the top eight. With only four rounds left to play, they must now win every game to advance to the finals. The Demons welcomed back skipper Max Gawn and were off to a flyer as they kicked five goals to one to take a quarter-time lead of 27 points. In the cut throat game that football has become in a year when so many teams are in line for September action, you need to take advantage of every opportunity and whilst they had a handy lead at the first break, it could have been greater with one or two opportunities lost through poor disposal when going forward. The Giants had come back from an even worse position three or four weeks ago against the Blues and they repeated the dose this time kicking 12 of the next 15 goals. They did it by taking control of the midfield, and breaking the Demons’ defensive structures with plenty of run and spread. They kicked with greater accuracy both in front of goal (65% to 52% in scoring shots) and disposed of the ball better in general play where they led by 74% to 66% in effective disposals. GWS also had some luck with a clear 50m penalty missed that could have given away a goal early and a clever drop of the knees by Toby Greene that drew a free kick in front of goal. You need these things to go your way in close results but the visitors earned the victory by taking their chances against a more predictable opponent. They did that to good effect in coming back to within three points at the main break and then weathered the Demons’ storm in the arm wrestle that ensued until time on in the third quarter when held goalless during a period when they were on the back foot. They then changed gears, applied the heat and kicked three goals to one to take the lead by three points at the final break. With former Demon Jesse Hogan on fire, taking marks at will and kicking goals with his stuttering run up, the Giants stunned the embarrassingly small crowd of 16,246 with four goals in the first seven minutes of the final term to open up a 27-point lead, marking a 54-point turnaround since quarter time. The following 25 minutes of time to the final siren were excruciating for Demonkind as their team made a late surge that fell short by two points, their third defeat by less than a goal for the season. Imagine, an extra goal in each of those games, would have put them in second position on the table at this stage. Although the team was beaten in the middle, Clayton Oliver responded to his critics (as if he had to) and Trent Rivers and Jack Viney plugged away for their team. Jake Lever was a stout defender and Ed Langdon added with his drive from the wing. Max Gawn was clearly not at his best after a two week absence with his ankle injury but there were too many others who failed to apply themselves for the full hundred minutes. The irony of Hogan’s match winning goal kicking was not lost on the fans who missed out on similar heroics at their end of the field. The Demons return to action on Friday night when they take on the rising Western Bulldogs who look likely finalists after occupying Melbourne’s current place just a few weeks back. That will give coach Simon Goodwin some pause for thought as he makes his recovery to good health and considers the way to prevent his team from sinking out of the finals picture. We wish him well. MELBOURNE 5.5.35 6.7.43 8.9.57 12.11.83 GWS GIANTS 1.2.8 6.4.40 9.6.60 13.7.85 GOALS MELBOURNE Chandler Fritsch 2 Gawn Langdon Melksham Neale-Bullen Petty Pickett van Rooyen Viney GWS GIANTS Hogan 4 Greene 3 Daniels 2 Bedford Green McMullin Ward BEST MELBOURNE Rivers Viney Lever May Oliver Langdon GWS GIANTS Green Greene Hogan Daniels Callaghan Whitfield INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil GWS GIANTS Nil REPORTS MELBOURNE Nil GWS GIANTS Nil SUBSTITUTIONS MELBOURNE Daniel Turner, replaced Jack Billings at three-quarter time GWS GIANTS Joe Fonti, unused UMPIRES Nick Foot Justin Power Hayden Gavine CROWD 16,246 at the MCG

Severe mental illness and not earning enough money will do it. Happy you’re able to go but some of us struggle every day just to survive.

2021 Draft: 8/10 Trades: N/A Pick swaps: 6/10 Another tricky year for recruiters with many games cancelled or made off limits and the new world of Zoom meetings altering how things were done in October. What was clear though was that Jason Horne-Francis was the best live pick after a stunning SANFL finals display for South Adelaide and that Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy were huge father-son choices – part of what is shaping as a super draft year. While we were caught up in an amazing season, a rule change on academy picks resulting from Jamarra Ugle-Hagan being gifted to the Dogs, meant our athletic Academy talent Mac Andrew was no longer guaranteed to be taken by us if he fell in the first 20 picks. A few strong showings for Dandenong and some impressive combine stats, meant that Andrew ended up going pick 5 and if you’ve seen him play this year, you will know why and what we were robbed of. All that didn’t seem to matter once we won the flag with an incredibly youthful list, but Andrew’s height would be a huge bonus now. Nor did we get involved in player trades. We were not alone in this regard, presumably getting players and their agents to talk in the COVID was tricky as well. But we did engage in a key pick swap. Having given away our top pick for ostensibly Bailey Laurie in 2020, Tim Lamb again decided to offload our top pick of 2022 to Sydney via Adelaide and in so doing received back pick 17 belonging to the Bulldogs. This time however it worked a treat with the player we had earmarked staying around that level, although at one point, fearing JVR would go, we did ask about swapping it for the Giants pick 15. Only 65 kids were taken at the draft and less than a dozen untried kids at the rookie draft as clubs struggled with the new dynamics, but thanks to rookie magic with Judd McVee it will actually go down as one of Jason Taylor’s best efforts, even if we are only just three seasons in with these players. The Cats would also be toasting plucking Oliver Dempsey via the rookie draft, while Essendon struck gold in the pre-season supplemental picks snaring Claremont quick Nic Martin. The Gold Coast Academy would also bear fruit with Broadbeach local Bodhi Uwland taken as a rookie by the Suns. And it now appears we may have nailed one via the NGA system with Andy Moniz-Wakefield starting to look the part after being nabbed from Nightcliff in Darwin. And earlier in the year, Taylor had already plucked a bit of a gem from the mid-year draft, which proved to be quite fruitful for several clubs. The Hawks were able to tie up Box Hill star Jai Newcomb, Gold Coast got a good ruck back-up with Ned Moyle, Essendon got a warrior with Sam Durham. We snared a young defender in Daniel Turner who has become a handy forward this season. 19 Jacob van Rooyen Who do you add to a list that is regarded at the time as the best in the comp? The best available. The Zimbabwe-born Roo had impressed enough for Claremont Colts to train with Fremantle mid-season where he was a little starstruck with idol Nat Fyfe. The question was would Freo take him and thankfully they used their first pick (8) on East Perth forward prospect Jye Amiss star. They also liked another Subiaco prospect Matthew Johnson who they took at pick 21. But Sydney did call a Claremont kid with pick 18 – Angus Sheldrick. JVR has been developing nicely and has the key element of physicality that I reckon makes him a better long-term bet than Amiss and certainly one that can cope with the ruckwork buffeting. Almost played finals in 2022 and his absence via suspension from our second final last year was mega costly. 39 Blake Howes We are starting to see just how deep the 2021 draft was with guys like Sydney’s Matt Roberts (pick 34) and Crow Jake Soligo (36) now stepping up, not to mention Marcus Windhager (47). Howes showed a bit as a half-forward with Vic Metro and Sandringham and was expected to go mid to late twenties but slipped through to 39. He had a stressie in his foot in 2022, but showed enough on the wing at Casey in 2023 for Goody to trial him as a defender this season. He wasn’t overawed in round 1 up in Sydney, but still needs to work on his body-strength to play on the bigs, which he will have to be given since we are keen on playing up to four smalls down back and at 191cm he’s a giant by comparison to Bowey, McVee, Moniz and Salem. 65 Taj Woewodin Another West Australian, but this pick was a no-brainer for Taylor given his dad Shane was a Demon great with a Charlie and we got him automatically at the end of the draft. He’s got good foot skills and enough size to graduate into our midfield like his Dad did after starting as a defender. But whether he has the determination to make it there is questionable, given he hasn’t got amazing pace. Will be an interesting watch to see how he goes in next two seasons. Pick 16 rookie draft Judd McVee Most clubs baulked at taking kids in this draft, but Taylor’s love affair with the west meant he liked the looks of another East Fremantle prospect – McVee being a teammate of Woewodin’s. He spent a year muscling up and learning his trade in the VFL and a few eyes were raised when he played round one in 2023, but he’s become a key down back, often minding the quickest and most dangerous forward. What’s impressed most onlookers is the cleanness of his ball movement – it’s a little like late 80’s/early 90s back pocket Alan Johnson – just so deft and precise. Unearthing great rookies hadn’t been Taylor’s forte. But it was this year. NGA Andy Moniz-Wakefield We haven’t had much luck via this method until now. M-W had impressed with his dash as a high half-forward for NT Thunder in his draft year and we had listed him as an Academy kid, presumably spotted via one of our last Darwin trips before Gold Coast took over that region. He was only 18 when we took him and many felt he couldn’t kick far enough to make it in his first few games at Casey. But this year he has developed as a running defender and eventually his weight of big possession numbers forced Goody to elevate him. And he’s been a great find in just four games so far, providing defensive spark and looking for all the world like a Matty Whelan 2.0.

Running back with the flight of the ball, so bloody brave. Never ever will I move on, if Maynard had owned it and apologized then maybe, but the victim blaming and BS about what he could have done, was next level garbage.

While injecting new energy into a team can be invigorating, it's crucial to consider the broader picture. Simply swapping coaches might provide a short-term boost, but it's essential to address the root causes of underperformance. New faces can certainly offer fresh perspectives, but relying solely on this approach overlooks the complexities of team dynamics. Sustainable success often hinges on identifying and addressing deeper issues within the group, rather than seeking a quick-fix solution. Furthermore, continuity with coaching staff is often overlooked. Building strong player-coach relationships, developing a cohesive team culture, and implementing long-term strategies require time and stability. Numerous examples in sports, such as the sustained success of {insert dozens of options here}😎 , highlight the significance of this factor. I don't think the players are bored of the message from Goodwin, nor the 10 months that McQualter has been there... good to throw some ideas around though M.A.D 😀 *I can appreciate that once a team has won the premiership, and then not for 3 years - it feels as though time is slipping by, and like the season that is spring, it's time to renew.

I'll explain how: -Max Gawn was barely moving after quarter time because he has a broken leg - Clarry is severely lacking fitness and after a brilliant first half could no longer compete at the same level - Rivers had a sensational first quarter, but has played 3 games as a midfielder and does not have the tank to play that role for 4 quarters. The difference between winning and losing that 2 point game, comes down to one thing, GWS had their best players able to perform for 4 quarters, and we did not.

If I give even one more second of my emotional energy to that [censored] canoe, I will explode. One day he will be hit by the karma bus, and hopefully the bus will get off on grounds of it being a 'transportation act'

One factor may have been a decision (I believe it was during the third quarter?) by the umpires to stop bouncing the ball. There had been a number of recalls during the game and even though there was no rain and this is the best oval in the country they made a decision to change that parameter of the game. Max seems suited to the unpredictability of the bounce (I believe he has said that before). Once the umpires took to just throwing it up Briggs took an aggressive position right on the line through the circle and Max was not jumping over him (perhaps related to his injury). Our centre clearance rate went south after that.

I swear Tom Morris lives rent free in hospital dumpsters. Is it really necessary for you to disclose personal medical information Tom? Like are we all better off for knowing why Goody was in hospital? I hate that man.

Given we are likely to have a top 10 pick this year I hope we don’t use it on Houston. We can get a gun mid for that pick. I’d be hopefully taking Cummings as a free agent instead. Guessing we will also look at a decent back up ruck option. Reidy from Freo. Bryan from bombers. Anyone else a potential option?

I thought so too, and to an extent he us a victom of the high bar he had set himself, but he has def lost a bit of his confidence. Made some average decisions last night and his kicking, which is one wood when on, was off and has been for a while. All that said I think it is often under rated how difficult it is coming back from serious contact injuries. Bowey was terrific in the preseason games and prior to injuring his shoulder in that sickening collision when he put his body on the line. Like langers after coming back from his broken ribs, bowey hasn't looked the same player since coming back from his shoulder.

I noted this is the announcement today Should we dangle a line as this seems to be a massive weakness in our armamentarium

Mate - I haven't moved on from Matthews flattening Peter Giles and Steven Smith off the ball in the '70's.

I reckon the club might lobby for some Sunday 1:10 games next year, purely from a crowd rather than TV exposure point of view. It's the most family friendly timeslot and you can be home before dinner and prepare yourself for the working and school week ahead. 44,000 against the Dogs and 32,000 against West Coast which incidentally was our second biggest crowd at the MCG against WCE suggests that the MCC faithful are responsive to this 1:10pm timeslot. Compare that to the paltry mid-high 20K we got to both North Melbourne Saturday night games in 2023 and 2024. Saturday 4:40pm games are also becoming the next big thing.

Interesting that the brain dead commentators still saying “ what could he do… he was in the air” despite the fact he absolutely changed everything about the type of connection he was about to make while in the air! yep.. that tribunal call still makes me furious.

Put aside the obvious reasonable reasons people missed the game. I do think cost plays a huge factor. I feel so privileged to have gone to every MCG game for the past 20 years. I'm an MCC member and finding it harder and harder each year to budget for this but I'll continue to find a way (sold a bunch of records at the starts of the year to help pay for this season). That aside I'm sure the OP is asking the question to the fair weather supporters. Against Freo was the most hopeless performance against a simply elite team, something we haven't seen for quite a while, we didn't have a chance with how poorly we played and how incredibly they played. I can understand the hesitancy wondering if a similar performance was instore on Saturday night. But the difference in this current team is you won't see that sort of game two weeks in a row. This teams responds well to bad losses these days. We've had an up and down season with plenty of negatives and positives but come along for the ride and barrack the club we all love so much.

So many people here are just being difficult for the sake of being difficult. Nobody cares if you live in Canberra/Wodonga/Wollongong/Mars or if your wife is giving birth etc - You people are not the ones who are expected to make up the crowd and are just being flippant. Pretty sure the OP is aiming their post at the people who live in Melbourne, who are not going through momentous life occasions and are able to jump on the train and barrack for the team (ie 90% of our fanbase). Saturday nights are bad of crowds, the team isn't going to win a flag and a lot of us are sick of the coach. That is not an excuse to not get minimum of 20,000 people to a game.

The Toby Green one when Viney tackled him is everything wrong with the game. Player puts his knee on the ground to make it impossible to tackle him, inexperienced umpire sees a star in the comp get touched a little too hard and blows his whistle. Same happens with Daicos, Bont, Cripps all the time.

Agreed. He's hardly had whole games and he was fairly good given the amount of game time he's had. Some positive signs from the youngster for sure. Bowey on the other hand is a worry. Since he came back from his shoulder injury he has been nowhere near his best. Windsor characteristically quiet despite one or two classy acts. AmW still going ok and like Windsor I predict a big future. Jvr didn't get going and had a disappointing day. Mcvee is traveling very nicely. A shame Disco didn't get a full game as many of our fwds didn't do much.

Showed a lot more than Billings. Got to give him a run of games to see if he's up to it. He showed a few good moments with extracting the ball and handballing out of congestion.

The club certainly won't give up and their mindset will be different to us supporters. But unfortunately the reality and realistic point of view is that we pretty much have to win all 4 games with a higher percentage. I can't see that happening. On form alone we are no way near a top 8 side. It's hard to go past Hawthorn and the doggies. I am satisfied where we now sit. With all the issues the club has faced this year it was always going to be a grind. This isn't about accepting a loser type mentality but more so I think it really has taken a toll and with the last few years the way it'd panned out I think a good reset is needed within the club.

In a season this even, why wouldn’t you try and make the 8? Wouldn’t you rather we win one final and walk away from this season having removed the finals monkey off our backs and given our young players that finals experience? How is finishing 10th better than finishing 8th? I really don’t get the vibes in here. 5 years ago you’d all be thrilled at the prospect of making the 8. Now we discount it because it only matters if you win the flag? You all do realize that finals experience is really important to winning the whole thing right, and that 7 other finalists will also not go on to win the flag. You think Hawks fans don’t want to make it because they know their chances of winning the flag are incredibly slim?

Seriously, what on earth are you on about? Did you fail the conclusion protocols or something?

Thought that was his best full game. Didn't smash it but certainly better than quite a few others.

The umpires certainly saw it that way last night, never missed an opportunity to reward them then blatantly refused to pay identical free’s for us. Grrrrrr.!!!

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 29th July @ 7:30pm. Join George, Binman & I as we analyse the Demons loss at the MCG against the Giant in the Round 20. You questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human. Listen & Chat LIVE: https://demonland.com/podcast Call: 03 9016 3666 Skype: Demonland31

Was I just imagining it, or was the centre square clearance work in the first quarter like watching a different team? I feel that not once but several times, the tap was aggressive and creative, and the resulting clearance was clean and incisive. After that, Max seemed to wane badly, but even when he did win taps, it was back to the same old same old: very conservative. And then the last quarter - what a disaster. I genuinely don't understand how THAT midfield can lose eight in a row. (I can't overstate how much I think we need to take the best midfielder we can with our first round pick this year, but that's a topic for another thread.) Better footy judges might be able to give their thoughts.

We really need to develop some forward movement to advantage, especially when we have the ball around 70 metres out from goal. So many times we have players looking to pass and all they see is a static half forward line standing in the same space that they should be vacating to allow the big boys to lead into. They should be working to create more space and clear a path for the bigger bodies guys to lead into....and then run over any defenders that get in the way. Maybe that's too simplistic but the alternative of just bombing it long to a contest gets a bit predictable.

Umps seemed to blow the whistle and give giants a free just when we had started to build momentum. It's like they were often doing whatever they could to slow us down and stop us from scoring. Obviously I'm a bias Dees supporter but I did watch the replay ( well half of it) and there were definitely occasions when Gws were paid some very iffy frees when it looked like we had arm wrestled some control of the game. I know it's a tough job in real time but honestly the umps either have an agenda( which is very hard to comprehend) or are they are simply just incompetent. I think more training is required and certainly more experience. We need to raise the standard of umpiring as I think 2024 has seen the lowest grade ever.

It was bloody ridiculous and felt like a banana republic court. Anyone knows that our brains can process and make decisions in milliseconds. He had plenty of time to assess the situation and take action.

There was one against Petty that was a 50 mp always. I recall one against Kozzie the other day where he was a cm over the mark and pinged. The inconsistent application of different rules has been very frequent this year. The umpires are all over the shop and as hard as it is to watch, it must be very difficult for the players. The ducking issue is as big as it has ever been and the Afl needs to come down hard on players like TG who have a decent history of doing it.

Laurie best game so far, showed something to work on.

Right at the moment I wouldn't trust Hunter to deliver a newspaper.

I've believed for most of this season that we need to reset the list. The talk of making finals this year, it's not happening. Any chance went out the window with Trac's injury & probably earlier with Gus' s retirement. Reset with a decent draft hand, good trade period & go again in 2025.

I know a heap of Collingwood and Carlton supporters and most of them would be lucky to go to 2 games a year. They get to gloat about what big clubs they are and their big crowds and give [censored] to me about Melbourne crowds/supporters despite hardly ever going to games while I've been going week in/week out for about 35 years! Ok a bit less frequently in recent years due to a young family and the commitments that come with that but overall I've actually supported the Demons a thousand times over compared to them with their clubs. It's tough being a Melbourne supporter because you feel this personal obligation to go every single week and feel as though you've let the club, players and other supporters down if you dont go despite probably being some of the most rusted on supporters in the comp. Supporting a club shouldn't feel like a chore or obligation, it should be fun but sometimes I feel like I have to drag myself along to games to make sure the club isn't embarrassed by a poor turnout. We have a smaller supporter base, that won't change overnight. Sometimes you will get a confluence of factors lining up which sees a poor crowd like last night but I think part of it also comes down to our supporter demographics. I'm surprised the club weren't spruiking for supporters to get out and attend this game, they must have known there was a risk of a really poor crowd. Sometimes supporters need that extra motivation to get off the couch, especially in the middle of winter against a franchise who is not a traditional rival. I know my family have been less inclined to go this year despite my cajoling, my parents are getting older and hate the night games, my brother still plays so Saturday's are usually a wipeout, my kids are young and play junior footy early Sunday, and amongst all of us most have had this 3-4 week virus that seems to have been niggling half of Melbourne this winter. None of them could be convinced to go last night (especially after the rain hit in the early arvo) but they were umming and aahing about it so a bit of a push from the clubs media team might have been enough to get them to come along. Anyway I can imagine if my family was like that there were plenty of others in the same boat.

Is it just me or is Demonland collectively falling apart more than usual? 😅

I was thinking about another way our success of top four finishes has played against us, such that I’m open to us losing the rest this year, not for draft picks but to reset our draw in 2025 to be average versus the hard draws we’ve had every year since 2021. In the AFLs crazy new world of “entertainment” over competition, teams that finish top are penalised the following year with a harder draw. It’s a new “innovation” that makes it considerably harder for teams in their window to win multiple flags, as they are worn raw by the inequitable draw. So how do we get a fair, or god forbid, a favorable draw? Not in terms of when and where, but who we play…? if we’d had tha same draw as the Hawks, or Dons we’d be sitting top 4… but for the fourth year we’ve had a horror draw. Makes the competition unfair, and it’s a blight on the game.

People who think they will be giving up on the season are delusional. We are half a game out FFS! Beat the Dogs and we are back in the running

Bollocks. We are 2 points out of the 8.