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Mmmm, a vulnerable post. My father died of MND 5 years ago last Thursday, just as I became a father (and he had his first grandchild), and had a relationship with Neale, through Daniher's Drive . Previously because of my unwillingess to attend to the G for The Big Freeze, I've headed to Alice to honour the old bloke and watch a match live around the date of his death. In a somewhat hilarious course of fate, it's taken me around 5 years to have the courage to head to the 'G' to celebrate the life of my father, and honour the work that Neale and the entire community that facilitates Fight MND have committed to do. I've often envisaged myself sitting at the ground, sobbing, overwhelmed with the occasion, and most likely heading to the Bullring to have copious amounts of pints throughout a game. This year, I felt as though I've worked through a lot of my unresolved grief, to a space of being joyous about turning up to the G, and marking his absence, by taking my 5 year old up to the ground to watch the Wiz go down the slide and have yet another generation support the red and blue and mark it with a solid [censored] win against the Pies. Anyway, best laid plans and all of that... I'll be putting my days outing cost (train ticket, plus beer, plus food, plus gate, plus more beer) into a MND donation tin/online somewhere instead.

I think it's a perception thing based on the fact that the majority of his marking 'opportunities' are contested marks or pack situations. He could definitely improve, but I believe he gets marked very harshly in this area due to that. This year so far he's ranked 4th for us for average contested marks per game. Only Gawn, Lever and TMac are ahead of him. Would be difficult being a young key forward, trying to build your confidence, in and out of the team, bad luck with poorly timed injuries, who then comes up against pack mark situations most of the time at AFL level. Weid can definitely improve, but I'm pretty staggered by the amount of criticism of him so far this year.

Quite simply he's a confidence player, if he gets his hands to one, more typically follow. The one he dropped from Spargo was a killer.

Love him or hate him, the bloke knows talent when he sees it. Mark Robinson names his mid-season All-Australian team for 2021

Officially Giants Stadium: https://www.afl.com.au/news/624485/fixture-update-r12-blockbuster-finally-finds-venue-crows-pies-clash-still-tbc Not the worst result. I'm just happy it's on and not going to derail our fixture for now.

Correct. SCG is a pointless stadium. Apart from the money aspect, playing the Lions at Giant Stadium is a win for us. It is an easier trip than going to the NT and we play well there. Lions are not advantaged by this at all. I know missing out on the money is really hard, especially for our club which has worked so hard to be financially independent of the AFL. But, in terms of purely football, this is not a bad outcome (if it is the outcome?!). We really really need to beat the Lions, anyone who thinks the risk of playing at the Gabba is worth it, has lost their mind. Brisbane are directly competing with us for a top 2 spot. Imagine if we go to the Gabba and lose this game and as a result end up finishing 4th and needing to travel up there again in finals. No thank you! This is the most important game of the our H&A season outside of last week. Make it 2 from 2 and top 4 is all but sewn up! Lose and suddenly we are par with the Dogs and Lions are only 1 game behind us.

Mentored by Dawes perhaps. Needs Choco Williams to get in his head, make him believe. He has the ability.

It's just snowed in hell. My wife and daughter are going to join my son and I. Never happened before. Real dilemma now. I have no idea how to behave at the football. They've never seen me at a Dees game before. It's only been 28 years with the wife and this a first. To be fair it's all been O/S or Sydney but still. Any advice on behaviour management at Dees games. They're already somewhat broken in having watched me screaming at the TV but this will be different. Hopefully they play nice and I'll behave nice.

Don’t think the $800,000 is what we receive for the game, think it’s more like half that, the rest is in advertising. I have no time for the government here (or any politicians), but I hate to say that they are doing the right thing. A good proportion of the crowd travel in from remote communities, if the virus somehow got into the stadium, then subsequently the communities the death toll would be astronomically bad. As much as I would love the game to go ahead for selfish reasons, it is the right call.

So just saw this post match interview with Harmes where he describes his role against Libba and he makes some pretty clear comments about where and how he plays his best footy. "It was good to have a tagging role again. It's where I feel like I play my best footy... I just tried to put work into him at stoppage and then after that work off him and try and use my running power." Really good insights. It's clear that's his role when he plays defensive mid. It's not a purely negating role, but it's certainly a tag. He does it very well.

I’d prefer the stability of Sydney than FIFO in to Brisbane. I accept Sydney is the better choice if we want the opportunity to prepare properly. It’s just the being afraid of boogie monsters in the crowd at the Gabba that I reject. The hostile crowd will soon shut their traps once we get on a roll and we’re good enough to do that. To be perfectly honest, I fully understand the anti-Gabba argument and if I were a decision maker, I’d choose Sydney for the same reasoning as those above. But I’m not a decision maker, so I’m prepared to let my testosterone decide for me, and it’s decided we’re 10-1 and wants to give a big F U to one of our fellow contenders and fleece their supporters for gate receipts in the process. At the moment I’m the footy fan equivalent of an invincible 18 year old male.

We spent years whining about selling our games for money. To Darwin, To Brisbane, to Alice etc Forget the money. You want to finish top 2. everything flows after that. The money takes care of itself. Win the games.

According to Bigfooty’s Knightmare, Melbourne’s greatest list need is a mid-forward who can add speed. He recommends a West Australian by the name of Haiden Schloithe. What every AFL club needs to do at the 2021 mid-season draft Schloithe was included in Knighmare’s recent top ten draft rankings:- “Averaging 32 disposals and kicking 11 goals from his five WAFL games so far, Schloithe is arguably the premier state-leaguer and is the ultimate choice for any club looking to instantly improve their midfield and front half. Schloithe has been a dominant player so far this season and has been a star for several years, previously winning the Sandover Medal ahead of then teammate Tim Kelly who went on to get drafted the same year. There are 'accumulators' in the state leagues (who might not damage teams with their touches), and then there is Schloithe, who has good speed and is a classy and damaging ball user who finishes around goal and hits damaging targets. With Schloithe's capacity to hurt rival teams through the midfield and close to goal, he is good enough to slot straight into any club's best 22. The component that will have some clubs pausing is his age with Schloithe turning 28 in June which may see his chances limited to clubs with shorter time horizons.”

just listened to the podcast and the criticism of weid is so disproportionate. he has a presence and crashes packs which allows crumbing goals like the harmes and jordan goals that i don’t think brown can bring. a week ago brown had 4 touches in the vfl without a goal. give him a chance and let him get some continuity and we’ll be rewarded for it

My thought is that he's great against lower opposition in the VFL. Great against people that are undersized or not as strong as him. But in the big dance he's up against the best of the best every step of the way. And he can't out-body people most of the time and can't lead with clear space. He's an inbetweener. Not AFL standard for the most part, but way too good for VFL level. It's just a reality he's not going to be as good as what some people will lead you to believe

Anywhere, anytime has a nice ring to it and I'm glad that Max and the team feel that way. But I'm against playing it at the Gabba - if we play there then a reasonably possible scenario is that we lose and Brisbane makes top 2 because of it and we have to go back there to play them in the finals - not a good outcome. I think Premiership takes care of financial issues and that's what I would prioritise.

All the posters on this site are passionate about the club. And despite the stereotypes, Dees supporters are a passionate mob. Many of us are experiencing something new and different this season. Its a new found belief and confidence in the club and the players. You can see it with the players. There is a new found alchemy within the team. A realisation that we have a group of great players and some young kids who will be great. Something special is a foot. We will lose games and we may not take the ultimate prize this year. You need a lot of luck and at any time that luck can go missing. Injuries, form, suspension, umpires. Irrespective, we have a team worth watching. We want to go to the games, we want to watch the games on TV. Hey, do you believe this old team of ours is in control of the game. They may be well paid but they are playing for more than money. They want to experience success and feel proud of their team, and they want to give back to supporters. They really care. So soak it up and enjoy every minute. It will not last for ever so enjoy the present. And be generous in our praise. And let’s avoid harsh criticism and scapegoating individual players. These young men are under enormous pressure to perform. They cannot all be champions but you can tell that they are giving it their best shot. They are playing like Demons. However, the whole club needs a big pat on the back. We are starting to behave like a successful club on and off the field. Let’s all enjoy the ride wherever it takes us. We no longer have a winter of discontent ahead of us. We have rediscovered our love of winter and our great game. Most importantly, our love for our great club.

As a Dees fan living in Sydney, I’m incredibly excited to be able to cheer on the boys in person. I will be screaming my head off

I hope the delay is due to our executive trying Mafia style tactics to get the NT government to let us in.

TMac said it can take a while to get in to a groove with marking, especially if you're returning from being out of the side. I figure as someone who has had two seasons where he marks everything and two in between where he really struggled to mark anything, he's qualified to talk on the topic. And it makes sense to me - the ball moves so fast that your timing, either of arriving at the ball, or getting your hands to it, only needs to be out by a fraction and you've blown it. I remember when Gawn, pre-elite era, where things just started coming together for him, but it seemed he couldn't catch a cold. Obviously he's still not perfect, but you'd back him most of the time now. Weid's shown he can mark before. I'm backing this part of his game to come good with patience and time in the side.

No way to the GABBA. Can we stop giving Brisbane a free pass to another top 4 finish. In 2020 they played 14/17 games in QLD - you read that right - 14!!!!! They were absolutely gifted a premiership. They duly finished top 2 and blew it in the prelim.

Seriously, we're not going to get a premiership-ready KPB in the mid-season draft. We've currently got B.Brown, Majak and M.Brown not getting a game who have been with us all season and longer - we're not going to find someone more ready than any of them. We're possibly playing one extra tall in attack at the moment and could go with one less there if necessary too. If crisis struck and we lost 2 talls we would need to shuffle existing resources.

Please yell go redlegs super loud whenever we kick a goal. And a quieter c'mon redlegs when we need some encouragement

Living in Sydney, I will going with my 9 year old.

I’m enjoying Jackson’s development like most fans, but the bolded sentence isn’t true. Jackson seriously struggles with contested marking contests. He’s averaging less than one a game, and is worse performed than Weid at this skill. This threads existence is baffling. Weid is averaging 1.4 contested marks a game, 4th in our team this season. Somehow his marking is a problem? What does that say about the other 40 guys on the list? Weid isn’t having big impact on games right now, but if he starts clunking even one more contested mark a week, then he’ll be up there as a league leader with Gawn and Dixon for contested marking stats. He’s not far off, and it’s not really a problem. People need to get over their bias and be objective towards players.

As frustrating as it is, I look at it like this... he is getting to the contest and making a good fist of it. That is half the battle. The hands will come with more consistent game time and some confidence. He could have kicked 5-6 goals the other night with the contests and positions he was putting himself in, but unfortunately he is just not holding them. 5-6 goals is a solid day out against a solid opponent. It will come eventually.

Come finals time 2-3 extra goals could make all the difference, so let's draft their umpires.

It would be difficult not to like him Dr. from the games I have seen ( not all of them ) I have yet to see him put in a bad one right from his first game. I know they are all different player types but he has been the most consistent of the three players we took in his draft year. Now that is not to say the other two are not as good but has been the most consistent. Actually I think we have selected three good ones.

Dill taking the ultimatum: credit @Superunknown

Given his ball use, his hardness at the contest, his second and third efforts, I think he could be in contention for a genuine midfield spot. His ball use out of there would be very handy too. He's such a brilliant defender that unless we can replace him behind the ball, I wouldn't be rushing to put him in our midfield.

10-1 (should be 11-0 except for some rubbish umpiring) 11 Rounds played…..10 wins….. 40 points in the premiership bank. A game clear at the top of the ladder. Be still my pounding head….. Monday morning hangover and the blame for my condition can be laid directly at the feet of the mighty Demons. A Friday night win over the top of the ladder to take over top spot a game clear meant for a stress-free weekend during the footy season. Good weather in my part of the world and a couple of friends over for lunch yesterday a few (too many) good wines and Bob’s ya uncle….. Monday morning slowness and headache. Watched the game and saw a very good team win. We looked very focused and composed both when we had the ball and when we wanted the ball. Excellent decision making and pressure all over the ground. Did not give them an inch. So different to the Adelaide game. A very tight back six that worked off each other well. Play like that week in week out and we will go deep into the finals. And so, to the Round 12 encounter with the Lions on Friday night to be played somewhere. This is going to be a big game no matter where it is played. The Lions are in good form with an excellent hard-working midfield and a lot of forward potential. Last week they had 13 different goal scorers for 19 goals so we will need the defence to perform well as well as our midfield to make sure they are held accountable for their roles in defence. The facts: We are coming off an excellent win at Marvel against quality opposition – Advantage us They are coming off a big win against a depleted Giants team – Advantage them We have one day extra rest – Advantage Us We are playing at ??? – Advantage Channel 7 As long as we play at a neutral ground there is not a lot of advantage either way. Problem areas of the game for us. Covering the loss of Langdon may cause a problem or two. 1st Vs 3rd at this time of the season just has to be the match of the round. Two very good sides in form with quality players across the ground. I think it will all come down to which side maintains their structure the best. Our defence is back to being water tight once again and that back 6 just looks so composed, tight and competent, do not change a thing back there just do more of the same. Another test this week with Big Joe and Hipwood as the leading talls. There are a lot of scoring options if we allow them to dictate terms in the middle. I will back our defence to do the job and keep the Lions to a small score. Nothing like the 34 scoring shots they had last week. A bit to sort out in the Lions midfield. Zorko and Lyon are their best clearance chances with Matherson also putting in for a few. Harmes to Zorko? Similar sort of job as he did on Libba would be nice. I can see us asserting ourselves in the middle but without Langdon we might find ourselves a bit exposed on the outside. It will be interesting to see how we play Robinson. He looks to be in a great run of form at the moment. Gus as his direct opponent? My tip for the players is to make sure that dead head Matherson does not suck them into anything distracting or silly. I love our pressure. Max was good again last week and is working back into some excellent form. I can see he and Jackson tag teaming McInerney and I think we will win the hitouts easily. Last week McInerney looks to have rucked by himself most of the day with Joe taking a few of the forward rucks. Now for the forwards……. The good; We kicked a winning score last week….. Never gets boring…. The bad; Some of Weid’s marking attempts The ugly; Looking in the mirror this morning….. Well, it all worked pretty well at the pointy end last week against a quality defence. We had talls doing their job and not getting in each other’s way too much. Looked to be much more space in the forward 50. We had smalls at the base of the contests and managed to snag a few. Looks like the plan is coming together…… maybe…. Langdon out will not do us a lot of good. Baker to slot in? Seems the most likely. The way selections are going this season we look to be trying to disrupt the structures as little as possible that is why I cannot see them robbing the back zone to move one of them on to the wing. Like for like as much as possible. Bathwater Express is back to purring along like the potent animal it is. Barrelling along singing the song and letting the world know we are on the way. We acquired a pet bulldog along the way. Ugly beast but as timid as they come and loves to be on the leash. Any suggestions for a name? Loser? Now for the prediction…. Don’t worry…… We got this one. There will be a spark from them in the first quarter but then it will be all us the rest of the way. Dees by 4 goals going away.

Tried to watch as much of Sam replays over the last 5 years as I could. I still cant work out what his problem is> It appears that in a pack he doesn't compete strongly enough or his body position is quite right Also he is very close to marking more but continues to drop them Any body have a thought?

By Hawkins nature, he’s a bloke who would apologise for bumping into you, but he does have a nasty streak & I have no doubt the contact was intentional, while the result was not so.

TMac was on the ground for both of them. First mark was after a good leading pattern and got himself open, second was a genuine one on one. That's what will build his confidence to take more of the pack marks IMO. Get him some decent looks, not every opportunity has to be in a contested numbers situation. Adding pics for reference:

Simply confidence and concentration. He does everything else right. His strength and positioning are great now. I'm expecting them to start sticking the next few games. Thought Friday was a step in the right direction. He's putting himself in a position to succeed with marking. He just has to grab the opportunity with both hands....

He should have stuck 1 or 2 but if he ended up clunking all of those contested pack marks on the weekend he'd be the second coming of Carey.

We’d have all the support from Port fans, that’s for sure.

I can't remember tomohawk or Jack rewoilt being incapable of holding a mark. They have come from and built premiership winning sides. Petty can mark it and kick straight. I'm sick of the idea Weid is still developing or lacks confidence. Nathan Jones is still developing but it gets to a point in your career when you need to bring something. Not fluke a few marks in a final when everyone else fell over like Bradbury won gold

would be madness if we dont select a player for the immediate future rather than a long term prospect. Get Stengle, get Freeman.. they can play.. we managed to control teh HB project, he let us down but it was clear we as a club were able to handle, wouldn't have years ago..

I’d hate it to be at the Gabba even if it means $$. I want 4 points. The SCG doesn’t suit us, so it’s a no from me. Preferences based on what we know. 1. Manuka 2. Giants Stadium 3. Metricon Stadium

Gabba please ? I want to beat them there, in front of a big crowd.

Win the flag and the money looks after itself top 2 position vital. No free rides for opposition

If we played it at the Gabba (which I can’t see us doing) I would be telling the AFL they will cop a $2-3 million fine from the club if their umpires start making crowd decisions like they did in Adelaide.

Just keep doin' what ya doin' boys. Strangle these fools like the rest. I'm lovin' it.

Another Friday night game, woo-hoo! Happy with this floating fixture, if they set it preseason, we would be at our usual Sunday game. This will be a challenge and will need to shift gears. The lions won't be falling over when we bring the pressure or our defensive structures. Unlike the other teams who we have made to look ordinary, my guess is the lions will fight through it. Hoping and expecting some classy football, not just our bread and butter approach. Our structures and systems are good, but we will need more. The next gear please Dees: Clean gets and disposals, we have been good this season, maintain it. Keep working for each other. They share the load and are genuinely happy for and with each other. Our fitness and gut runs have been remarkable, it is like we have extra players. Get the ball or cause them to rush their plays. Hoping for more quick ball movement. From the contest we have to have some outside runners, we have been generally busting through the middle, Lions won't let us do that. The forwards need to find separation and space on their leads, perhaps have some decoys, and don't get in each others way. Work for each other, do the 1 percenters. Oliver has been beating all his tags, Tracc is too strong to be matched. My guess, is that there will plenty of off the ball or around the contest, holding, scragging and cheap shots. Lions are a tough team and we better be ready for their muscle. Hope the umpires are up to it. It will be a cracker, we have turned up for most of the quarters this year, but we need a 4 quarter, full participation and with a strong work ethic, to win this one. This will test our best game. Go Dees.

Sounds like the typical day after our games in 2020 ...

It is a fair question but I feel it’s giving Brisbane too much of a free kick. We’re absolutely playing for sheep stations at the moment and we shouldn’t be giving a direct contender an additional home game. Not this year. All the talk is that the game will be in Sydney so it’s pretty much a moot point. If we really wanted to play in QLd we’d get the exemption from their government who are full of double standards.