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I have no idea why this thread exists. Why do we have a thread specifically for criticising one off plays from a 20 year old second year player who, on any measure, has been fantastic for his age and experience as part of a top 4 defence? Judd’s a star.

If he cleans up Maynard this week then we can have a knees-up.

One thing that BBB does which always goes unnoticed is his deft taps in marking contests. Watch Fritch’s first goal from Saturday - came from BBB deliberately tapping the ball to the back of the contest for Fritsch to run onto. Does it week after week, and of course doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but is invaluable to the way we play.

Steven May also makes mistakes and I would fight anyone who says he isn't the best defender in the game. Juddy is an absolute star in the making. Holding down the best small forwards in the game in his first season just proved that, and his ability to hit the contest at pace and not only defend but also attack, makes him super valuable. Speaking of which, Howes has just quietly slotted into the best backline in the AFL and not put a foot wrong. Certainly exceeded my expectations of him!

Nominated… For goal of the year.

Disco only a week away helps with our flexibility down back.

Langdon has had a very good start to the year

Though I know not your name, lone Demon, nor from whence you come, I salute thee....

How a fractured thumb keeps a player out for 3-4 weeks but breaking three ribs and a vertebrae is 1 week I'll never know. Shows the importance of the thumb in handling the ball I suppose.

Looks like we could notch up a fair few this year: The big one to look out for: Petracca in the Finals series potentially. Spargo just needs a couple more to hit 100. Pickett will likely get his hundredth, and Sparrow's a good chance in the finals too assuming he plays every game and we make it. Tomlinson would be doing pretty well to get his 200 this year. EDIT: Added in Hunter (thanks Demon Jack).

I’ve changed the title and some contentious parts of the OP. If Twodogs isn’t happy with this, we can delete the thread entirely. In any event, please be polite when talking about footballers from other clubs. They’re still human beings and it takes courage and lots more to play the game at this level.

I think he means Mabior Chol. He does need to stop using his knees in that manner, not unlike a certain Texan Magpie.

For mine, Windsor’s stand out feature is his composure. Watching him, it’s hard to believe he’s just kid with 4 games under his belt!

Coaches Votes for Melbourne players, 2024 https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_stats.html Votes Matches Polled Matches Max Gawn 17 3 4 Christian Petracca 15 2 4 Alex Neal-Bullen 12 2 4 Clayton Oliver 9 1 4 Bayley Fritsch 8 1 4 Steven May 7 1 3 Jack Viney 5 1 4 Kysaiah Pickett 4 1 3 Kade Chandler 2 1 4 Jack Billings 1 1 4 Trent Rivers 1 1 4 Round-by-round votes Votes 0 1 2 3 Max Gawn 17 • 7 2 8 Christian Petracca 15 • 5 10 • Alex Neal-Bullen 12 • • 4 8 Clayton Oliver 9 • 9 • • Bayley Fritsch 8 • • 8 • Steven May 7 • 7 • Jack Viney 5 5 • • • Kysaiah Pickett 4 • 4 • Kade Chandler 2 • • 2 • Jack Billings 1 • 1 • • Trent Rivers 1 • • • 1

I hope this is not a year long Judd bashing thread.

On Saturday night I was giving out flags and giant heads etc. before the match. Towards the back of our bay I came across a “mixed marriage” couple, he a Dees man, her a Port gal. I said to him, “What happened here? You dropped the ball in the wifey stakes!” He said, “We’ve been together for 15 years and I’ve spent the whole time trying to convert her, now I’m just giving up.” I said to her, “And you’re fine to sit in a bay full of crazy Dees fans?” She said, “Have you SEEN Port fans??? I feel safer sitting with you guys!” 😂 Also, a family asked if there was any giant heads left. I brought the Chin head to them and said, “this is the last available giant head. But it’s by absolutely NO means the least. Chin is a much loved and respected young player and a future champ of our Club. The dad said, “I know, he’s my nephew.” And if there was any doubt, it was dispelled when I noticed the distinctive familial square jaw, even on the kids! 😁

Those complaining about Kosi going for marks, need to understand that Kosi is an instinctive player. If you try to rob him of the freedom to be the unique player he is, you will ruin him. He is so special and does things very few are capable of. It’s what makes him so good. He should be given license to go for goals and marks he believes are realistic, so long as he’s not burning teammates in the process. He does more than enough at ground level to fly for a few marks here and there.

One of the corporate sponsors of the South Metro Junior Football League which has produced a number of Demons including Angus Brayshaw, Jayden Hunt and more recently Blake Howes is the Grill’d Burger chain which has a promotion called “Mad Bunday” Members of the League which stretches from Port Melbourne to Mordialloc can join the Grill’d App and nominate their football team. If the team wins then you’re entitled to a free burger (on a 2 for 1 basis) to be claimed on the Monday after the game. Thanks to the boys on Saturday night, my wife and I lunched on a burger each. You don’t have to guess - my choice was the MIGHTY MELBOURNE (hold the bacon)!!!

We’ve all gotta vote!!! Not just for Leb to win it, but also for Weightman and 🤮Stringer🤮to NOT win it!

Great to see Nibbler on the Leaderboard Votes Player (Club) 8 Max Gawn (MELB) 8 Alex Neal-Bullen (MELB) 8 Willem Drew (PORT) 2 Connor Rozee (PORT) 2 Travis Boak (PORT) 1 Trent Rivers (MELB) 1 Dan Houston (PORT) Leaderboard Interim leaderboard due to byes Votes Player Club 32 Isaac Heeney SYD 23 Harry McKay CARL 21 Tom Green GWS 18 Matt Rowell GCFC 18 Caleb Serong FRE 17 Zak Butters PORT 17 Max Gawn MELB 16 Luke Jackson FRE 15 Jesse Hogan GWS 15 Christian Petracca MELB 14 Connor Rozee PORT 14 Sam Taylor GWS 14 Nick Vlastuin RICH 13 Patrick Cripps CARL 13 Andrew McGrath ESS 13 Zach Merrett ESS 12 Nick Daicos COLL 12 Willem Drew PORT 12 George Hewett CARL 12 Touk Miller GCFC 12 Alex Neal-Bullen MELB

I don’t know if it’s been raised here, or even if it’s worth raising, but shouldn’t Soldo’s (it was him, wasn’t it?) head-on with Max have been looked at by the panel (or was it?). No damage was done, but it was a late tackle and he did launch himself into the air before colliding with Max… so if they are serious about removing these kinds of tackles from the game, shouldn’t he at least have been fined for the action (like they did with Rivers)? It should not just be all about the outcome!!

Danger game given they will come out firing at 0-3, copping it in the media and playing at home in prime time. However we showed great resilience, discipline and character last week. Ride the storm early and maintain our defensive set up and we should prevail in another tough one

JVR is providing Max with a good chop out. Not too concerned about young Roo. Key position players take longer. His numbers are tracking well compared to similar players at the same age. Heard others on here roll out those stats but don't have them on hand.

This. I think it's safe to assume that most of time koz flys for a low chance mark inside 50 it is under instruction. Play tall and bring the ball to ground.

It’s on again for our Crows match on Thursday night! By all accounts last Saturday was a great success. A room full of loud and proud passionate Dees fans revelling in that incredible match. Great food, great beer, great atmosphere and all for a great cause: FightMND… Love you Neale❤️💙 THIS TIME, BE THERE! 🥳

Suggest you go back and watch the replay. Petty went forward after half time and then was sent back again in final term where he played a very good quarter. It was the first time under Goodwin that I have seen a player moved twice and just shows the value of having flexible players who can play at both ends.

If BBB can remain fit over the season and show what he shown the first few weeks- he is a huge asset to our flag push. Gives us great flexibility and frees up Petty to play either forward or back

two first round picks is what a 21 year old tall defender who has made an all oztrayan squad should be worth and that we got some 'change' out of it - and with jt picking the eyes out of the draft in selecting petty - was a bonus similarly, by this logic, we made flagmantle 'pay up' for dog jackson; never had a team given as much for a player as they did to get him in getting rid of grundy - who didn't want to be there and was contracted to us for ~650k for the next handful of years - for a pick 46 last year and sydney's future second-round pick (which is actually more than it cost us to get him in i think? pick 27 or so?) was good business

In this case two wrongs make a football act.

The first and last time I ate that McDonald's tripe it was still being packaged in those foam clamshells.

Considering the degree of difficulty and time of the game, I don't think you'll see many first AFL goals better than Windsor's.

Sort of related to us, I was watching the highlights of the Hawthorn/Geelong game and saw Tom Stewart laid out from a Mabior Chol knee to the back of the head. It got me thinking, after he cleaned up May as well, that he's got a bit of form. Can see the AFL making an example of him at some point for an excessive hit on an opponent. Would like to see this trained out of him a bit (leading with his knees).

This hasn't been widely reported, but a large group of Port Adelaide players and coaching staff took the time to visit a local orphanage on Easter Sunday. "I feel really sad for them. They looked so lost with no hope for the future" said Jack, a five year old resident.

Casey

After listening to a number of players speak about how they prep for short turnarounds vs standard weeks over the years, i suspect this week will be mostly about recovery, skills/touch, a bit of gym and ye olde strategy / match ups. Certainly very little stuff, if any, that resembles the usual match sim or scrimmage / tackle type work. Some very tapered tailored running / training loads (for some) A significantly lighter week all round., especially for the more senior guys. And also a focus on freshening the mind by not keeping the boys on the track for long and instead letting them do other freshener upper recreational activities that still keeps them exercising like a golf day / swimming or similar non-footy track stuff. Obviously 5 days is a very short turnaround. For me a win by any margin will be a super result, especially after the effort given on Sat night.

Worth remembering this is his 2nd year. 28 goals in 20 games year 1 (1.4 goals per game), 5 in 4 this year (1.25 gpg). He’ll be fine.

Can I just say that I'm loving the commitment and spirit that Jake Melksham has shown since his ACL. He could've proudly retired last year, but has the hunger for one last shot. His professionalism in rehab is showing the rest of the list that we must not take winning for granted, this is our time. He's going to be an asset in the back half of the season

May he rest in peace!

I have to admit it’s pleasing to see some of the new young players shine. Not only is Caleb Windsor showing his pace and skill is a big addition , but Blake Howes (pick 40 in 2021 and now just game 4) and Judd Mcvee (rookie pick and now in his 2nd senior year ) are showing great signs. Some always dismiss later draft picks or rookie picks because they historically have lower success rates. But there’s always diamonds to be found sometimes in players who unbelievably drift down the draft board or get over looked until given a chance. In this round for example , for the Blues, Jack Carroll (pick 41, 2021 draft) has been finally given his chance and looks comfortable to start to secure a more regular spot. Luke Ryan (pick 66, 2017) is now one of the first picked at Freo and a key defensive player. Nic Martin was overlooked in 3 drafts then got his chance at 21yo (SSP 2022) in the weekend was BOG for the bombers, whilst Riley Bonner delisted by the Power was probably one of the Saints best, using his run and skill off half back. Finally yesterday James Worpel (pick 45, 2017) was BOG even in the Hawks loss and just knows how to win and use the footy. Yes it’s nice to get top 10 picks, but there’s always diamonds to be found as well in other picks.

Fascinating how certain players are key to teams fortunes (structural integrity) and are overshadowed by the glamour of goals and high possession gatherers. They used to be called ‘workman like’ or ‘agricultural’ and now ‘role players’, yet even (to my mind) that is underselling them. ANB’s career has been encapsulated by what he does defensively which is ultimately unheralded unless you are a key back man. It’s not just the last 3 years, and I get that people see his last match as a version of a ‘break out’ - but he’s been consistently consistent for years with the attributes that he has. I loved hearing that someone from the Hawthorn FD flagged that people should sit down and watch what ANB does with the down the ground footage. They watch it knowing how subtly yet significantly influential he is. For a thoroughly obscure reference - he is the Claude Makelele of Melbourne.

They still owe us for Scott Thompson.

23 goal assists in 2023, second only to Trac with 26. Bold to assume he’s not following team rules each week and Goody’s just letting it slide I would’ve thought.

I would really love to see Jake with a premiership medallion around his neck on the last Saturday in September this year. He could retire knowing he helped will the team to the holy grail with his dedication and persistence.

But he hasn’t taken one screamer in 2/3 years. ( ever) and already tries to snap goals when others have to centre the ball and do the team thing. Understand he has an ability above others but team rules still need to apply to all otherwise there will be occasions when we lose or are burned by selfishness.

Total gun. Believe the hype. I still think we're a real chance of getting him. West Coast is a disaster zone. I honestly can't see them making finals for at least 5 years. Their list is terrible. Just one example - paying gaff 800k a year to play in the WAFL. They need a rebuild just to get to the stage they can do a rebuild. Will Reid a Melbourne boy, really want to spend 6 or 7 years playing in a rubbish team in Perth?

Surely not. Tmac has been awesome down back, don’t ruin the rhythm.

Smacca (McAdam) said he'll be right to play by next Monday (roughly).* Whether that's via Casey or straight in... who knows. *subject to no further setbacks

I agree his output has been limited this year, but his work rate in the last quarter v Port included lots of crashing packs and 2nd efforts up the ground. This attitude and willingness to compete secures his place in the 22.

Unless we get a godfather offer or another key forward coming in we should hold him to his contract. Even if we end up getting less for him at end of 2025 it gives us two more years to have a crack at a flag with him while Gawn, May, Viney are still around. You gotta strike while the irons hot, no point planning for the future when now is the time to win flags.