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FWIW, last Saturday at the captain’s run Judd said that his decision on his future has nothing to do with who our head coach is/was. He said nothing has changed with the sacking of Goody, he’s always planned (and still plans) on staying. Then on Tuesday he said “just some loose ends to tie up, but yeah, I’m not leaving.” Incidentally, I don’t ask him about his decision, he volunteers the info. Ok, so I may’ve given him the odd death threat or two, but that was in the past. I don’t even need to give him the sideways stink-eye..: he knows. 😁

I hope Kalani isn't disheartened by Jobe's inclusion. We don't want a flat White.

He saw me trying to sneakily take a pic so he pulled the jumper down, crossed his arms to keep it down, and breathed in…

My boy Luker won’t be debuting this season. He’s not as disappointed as I thought he’d be. He said they don’t want him in his debut going up against Barrass and Battle, or Collingwood. LOL… they didn’t specify filth players, they must mean the whole side.

Jobe Watson is a trained barista so makes sense as a lot of caffeine will be needed during the process

For those scratching their heads are you aware we have only won 8 games from the last 28 with 16 premiership player still on our list? It's not that hard

There are times when I really don't like Caro, and this is one of them. She makes stuff up, and most of her columns are now highlighted with "Opinion piece" I know Steven Smith and had a chat at a Gosch's training session before he went to Italy. He stated that he wouldn't assume the role at least until the AGM, as it would be too disruptive to take over on his return from OS. He was at the President's lunch on Sunday, let it slip that Italy was really hot and that he video conferenced into board meetings while on his holiday. Caro I call BS. She cannot have it both ways, either. You cannot say there is a leadership vacuum due to the president being acting and the CEO absent, then say Green is being dictatorial and overreaching. The fact is he was appointed to be president and until the AGM and elections come up, which may well be in December, he is the president, end of story. As for Keith Thomas, the moment he put his foot in his mouth, he was never going to be selected. Or did she neglect to say that? Her history of bagging this club, whether it be tanking, Goodwin and bad behaviour, inuendo re Oliver or any other opportunity to badmouth our club, indicates to me the best thing is to ignore her.

van Rooyen has has a terrible season but he’s played two reasonable games in a row where he’s been attacking the ball in the air and grabbing a few. We are relying on him for the future. Dropping him when he’s finally starting to get going would make the entire season a waste.

The boys are all in their junior football guernseys. Some jarring sights here: Essendon, Richmond, Collingwood etc. guernseys. Tmac asked me if his jumper is too small (it is) but I said it looks fine. Nothing wrong with a belly hanging out from a jumper, right?

Exclusive footage from inside the meeting with Bucks.

The recent conversation on Max's heir apparent (or lack there of) has had me thinking that I believe Daniel Turner is best placed to be our next captain. The growth in his game has been huge in the last two years. He's been forthright in his love for the club. Commands respect from his team mates. The expected timeline of Max having at least 2 more solid years in him fits in with Disco's development timeline. I think he may be the next Melbourne Football Club captain. What are the the thoughts of other Demonlanders?

Take a cold shower. Jesus. This site has become a cesspit of negativity and misery. Add whining stupidity. You'd be better off watching some porn, or reading a book. (It would have to be large print.)

On the leaking angle, first person Goodwin called after Green and the board possie had finished giving him the news, was his manager... my total speculation is it's the managers, the confidants of players, coaches and the media are the source of most "leaks" in the footy ecosystem. Information is valuable, so gaining credits with Caro or Morris by leaking Goodwin's sacking leads is part of grooming Caro or Morris so that when managers want to influence the market for their players (i.e. do their jobs during contract negotiations) then their mates in the media will be amenable...

This is a pathetic post. Surely, we can discuss trading players without being disrespectful like this...

Hird a No 😂 What a load of [censored]. Nobody asked him, nobody would. What’s your next tweet Ralphy? Jock McHale and Tommy Hafey have withdrawn interest due to being dead?

I've just taken a quick trip forward in the time machine and recorded half a dozen of the many questions asked by the panel and the corresponding answers given by unsuccessful applicants. 1 - Where do you see the team finishing in 2026? "I'd say my biggest weakness is not listening". 2 - The position requires a responsible person. "I'm your man. In my last job, when anything went wrong, they said I was responsible". 3 - What is your greatest strength? (30 minutes later ) "I'm very comfortable with silence". 4 - Would you be willing to relocate? "Of course. Where would you like me to sit?" 5 - Why did you leave your last job? "It was something my boss said". What did your boss say? "You're fired". 6 - Can you perform under pressure? "No, but I'll give Bohemian Rhapsody a go".

Players that are unhappy with the position they are asked to play, makes me think of one man. Do what you have to do for the team. Maybe success may come along.

So just so I have this straight, Caro's argument is that Buckley shouldn't come to Melbourne because we don't have a proper training ground and we have some uncertainties around key roles at the club. And instead, he should wait to maybe get offered a job at a team that doesn't yet exist. How embarrassing for her.

When you say hes missed so much footy, exactly how much are we talking about? Because so far this years hes only missed one game this year off the back of two last year. So a total of 3 games in two years so far which is really a solid effort. The excuses were out last year with the broken hand and everyone said he only needed a full preseason and he will be back to full form. Did the whole pre season so he came into this season fully fit and ready to go. This isnt a criticism of Oliver off the back of yesterdays performance because he was actually quiet good, but honestly, we really need to stop finding every single excuse in the world for Oliver. He's been okay year this year, but not great to justify the 1.5ml we are paying him. Champion data alone has him ranked the 211th best player in the competition. That's only a slight improvement from last year. I watched Marcus Bontempelli yesterday who mind you is two years older then Oliver and missed the first 7 games of this year with injury and you'd excuse him if he was playing poorly this year because the difference in terms of input and class between he and Oliver/Petracca was stark. Can't be justifying excuses for Oliver this year when someone like Bont who only a few years ago Oliver was rated above him, has missed significant chunk of the first half the season with injury only to come out and put in a quality season so far where hes still rated inside top 10 players of the competition this year. I mean its not even guarantee that Oliver will be back to his best anyhow? The game is sliding away from having a contested beast inside your midfield and turning into a more quick transition, free flowing game. This is where Oliver has been caught out at times this year. I'm still in the trade Oliver camp at the end of the year and have been for a while, but I also now understand if a new coach wants to try and rediscover his form in some capacity.

Having worked with someone in a not dissimilar scenario to CP5 - and went on to win a couple of premierships, the energy and effort expended each match was huge to manage his anxiety of re-injury and the potential cost of that, whilst being in a culture of - it's happened...just harden up. Coming back from a life-threatening injury isn’t just about healing tissue; it’s about re-wiring the brain’s threat systems. From a neurobiological point of view, those systems are designed to keep you alive, not get you back into contested footy. Even when the body is “ready,” the brain often keeps running protective patterns – subtle hesitation, altered decision-making, or a shift in how risk is assessed – and that can permanently change a player’s game. To me, that all looks pretty clear in how he plays now post injury. If Christian was 22, then maybe it would be different - the holistic view is, presuming he wants/has (IDK) a family, other interests, then mortality (be it philosophical or literal) would be consistently front of mind, be it game day, or training in terms of having to protect himself, subtly sometimes, and more pronounced at others. The challenge isn’t forcing the old version of yourself back, but learning to operate within the new reality. And that’s not failure; it’s the natural adaptation of someone who’s survived something most people never have to face

David Parkin was my coach for a season. He was doing his teacher training at my primary school so they naturally made him the football team coach. He said I’d make a good cricketer.

Thank you Picket, coming from you that means a lot

Roos: "I think Melbourne is a different kettle of fish," he told the ABC AFL Daily podcast. "I think they're way better than people are giving them credit for. If you get the right off-season moves, I'll go on the record, they could win a flag next year. Not the year after, they could win a flag next year. "They've got 14-16 premiership players on their list right now. They won a premiership in 2021, they're not super old, so I think this is a different one." "If I'm someone like a Nathan Buckley, I'm not taking this job to resurrect this team. I'm taking this job to win a premiership in the next two to three years," Roos said. "That's the mandate, for me." https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-11/afl-paul-roos-melbourne-premiership-coach-hunt-buckley/105639016

He missed half of 2023 with the hamstring, came back for finals and injured his knee but kept playing. Missed the entire 2024 pre season, for both publicly known reasons and also reasons a lot of the public doesn't and will never know. Came back to play round 1 2024, and broke his hand. His hand was so badly broken he couldn't lift weights for nearly the entire year. It was insane to not put him straight into surgery, but there were reasons why we wanted to keep him playing and focused on footy. It was not good for him physically, but actually it really helped him mentally which was rightly the priority. He also injured his PCL again at the back end of 2024. So essentially he's had no continuity with his body for 18+ months. He completed a full pre season this year, but as we know from guys like Tmac, Viney, Lever etc when you miss so much footy with persistent injuries especially entire pre-seasons, it takes a really long time to get back to peak fitness. The problem for Oliver is that to play his role effectively he has to be 100% fit aerobically. Not 99% fit, but 100% fit. Until 2023 we never saw him battle injuries that impacted his fitness. Yes he had ongoing shoulder issues, but they didn't prevent him from running, doing weights and so on, and he didn't miss entire pre seasons as a result. I think it is a credit to both him and Trac for doing so much work this pre-season to get through a whole year without any soft tissue injuries given how much footy they missed. Although in the grand scheme of things Trac missed 6 months, but was very fit prior to injury. Clarry has battled for almost 3 times that long with a variety of issues that impacted his fitness. As the year has gone on you can see that Clarry has naturally improved his fitness due to playing more and more games, and that has really improved his game. I agree that footy is moving away from needing multiple contested beasts, but you always need players who can win the ball and use their hands to release others out wide. That will never change, and it will be even more noticeable come finals. Viney is at the back end of his career and his skills will never get better. Trac has his own mental demons to deal with, and we have no idea if he will ever over come them. Clarry also has mental demons, but from a physical point of view he is only going to get fitter (unless injuries stop him of course). I am not sure who wins us clearances if he leaves, when we all agree that Viney and Trac need to play predominantly different roles in the future. Do I think Langford, Lindsay, Kosi and Windsor will be good mids? Absolutely. Will they ever get to the contested winning abilities of Clarry? That is a big unknown.

Happened to be in the committee room at Caulfied yesterday when J Kanga, during a pre-lunch speech, said in the future at Caulfied, there will be the MRC, and there will also be the MFC. I nearly fell off my chair. No details were given, he was just addressing his Demons loving mate at the time who I think heads up Mornington race track. My wife had to assure me l wasn't hearing things. Unfortunately didn't speak to him in person but hey, maybe things are well progressed like a couple on here have mentioned???

Can't we all just get along? We have a wonderful opportunity for a full Demonland reset. The Goody is NOT the right guy crew must be thrilled. The Goody IS the right guy crew (of which I'm a card carrying member) have moved on - the king is dead, long live the king! Let's all rally around our interim President, acting CEO and yet to appointed head coach (*cough bucks cough*).

Goody has been around footy long enough to know that you live and die by results. He would have known his job was not safe after a 0-5 start, following a bad off season where a review was undertaken and pointed to issues with Goody (amongst other issues), and after a bottom 4 finish in 2024 and two straight set exists prior. He maybe didn't think he'd be getting sacked 3 weeks out from the end of the season, but he is not a stupid man, and to suggest he didn't know he was in trouble especially after we lost to St Kilda in Alice, a [censored] side in Carlton and then that debacle against St Kilda the second time around, is naïve. The outcome of the review last year was that we were good enough to play finals in 2025. That was the expectations and Goody and the board agreed on that. When it became obvious we won't play finals yet again, despite Goody's strong belief that we are not too far away, his position became almost untenable. Does the board still believe we are not far away from success again? Perhaps. But with a new coach coming in, my guess is that they are open to going into a mini rebuild. The problem doesn't lie in the board and the coach not being aligned, the problem was that they were aligned on their expectations, and the expectations were not met. Had Goody said we needed to rebuild 2 years ago, it's very possible he would still be in the job today, but he was adamant we could play finals after a poor 2024 where perhaps injuries didn't help after a pretty promising start. 2025 was a no excuse year.

Goodwin is good bloke but is treating every media opportunity like a job interview He is acting like the board and us members knew we’d have a couple of down years and then go again. I’m fairly sure that was not the plan We all thought we were in contention still. So clearly that is a falsehood. I wish him well but let’s not rewrite history

Well nsc let me give you some facts re: Kade Chandler Goal kicking = 4th at Dees, same as the Bont Disposals = 11th at Dees, same as JJ marks = 10th at Dees, same as Rankine Score Inv = 7th at Dees, same Milkshake & Logan Morris Fantasy pts = 9th at Dees same as Cam Raynor Tackles = 4th at Dees, better than JJ and Sidebottom Contested Pos = 8th at Dees, same as Bergman, Watson, Fletcher So Kade may not be a Daicos or Langford but he is a very handy sml forward, gut runner and handy around the goals.

Dont ever make Howes the sub. I might be in the minority but I rate Howes pretty highly and I think over the last few weeks he's taken some really big steps forward. Him being the sub was genuinely an odd decision. Make Sparrow the sub if we have too.

Bloody chandler and his inappropriate and insecure hand gestures cost us that game.

Men’s and women’s teams both out on the park together. Training separately but geez it’s good to see them all out there. The boys are all in trakkies and puffas, the girls are in shorts and sleeveless guernseys. Just sayin’ 😉

DEES TO REWARD PRE-SEASON PICKUPMELBOURNE is rewarding Jai Culley with a new contract after an eye-catching fortnight from the former West Coast midfielder. The 22-year-old earned a lifeline at the Demons after the AFL briefly reopened the pre-season supplemental selection period in February, following knee injuries to Andy Moniz-Wakefield and Carlton's Jagga Smith. Now Melbourne is extending the Langwarrin product with a contract for 2026. Culley played 12 games across three seasons at the Eagles after being selected with pick No.1 in the 2022 mid-season rookie draft. After being delisted at the end of 2024, Culley joined Casey at the start of the pre-season when Melbourne didn't have a list spot available. The Demons then signed Werribee premiership player Jack Henderson after Shane McAdam ruptured his Achilles, but were blown away by how Culley handled that news from former coach Simon Goodwin. Culley got his first shot for Melbourne against his old side West Coast in round 21, where he kicked two goals from a wing and showed he can perform at the level, before finishing with 16 touches, 11 contested possessions and five clearances against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday. – Josh Gabelich https://www.afl.com.au/news/1388149/race-heats-up-for-in-demand-blue-record-in-sight-for-veteran-lion-luckless-saints-new-deal

Max is unbelievable, I reckon he’s the best player Melbourne has had for a long time, since Robbie

To me, after everything had unfolded this year and after the off field mess we have had for the past 2-3 yeats, along with the media noise, if Goodwin did not feel his job was under pressure then he's delusional. Tim Lamb put it on record (video below) after the trade period that we would be a much better team then last year because once again a reliance on Oliver and Petracca to have injury free pre seasons etc etc.. if the talk from Lamb was to be better then last year then that would be aligned with Goodwins vision as well and obviously the goal was to clearly play finals. We failed horribly at that off the back of where the rort started which imo was the game against Norf this year. Players looked completely broken after that. The Saints game was pretty much the final nail in the coffin. Supporters, media experts could all see it was eventually come to an end. Was I surprised at the timing? Yes I was.. thought they would let him play out the year at least, but I can understand why they pulled the pin early because they clearly want to get on the front foot immediately.

Fact is, if Buckley comes to us then from day one he will have exactly as many premierships with us as with Collingwood. He could well be with us for a decade, and by the end of that time Collingwood will be 'the old club he played for that never quite reached success despite every advantage', while Melbourne will be where he won the 2028, 2030 and 2031 premierships. The story will be that he never really found happiness until he separated himself from that awful club. This isn't Collingwood 'giving' us something, this is us taking an opportunity to redeem a soul.

It’s kinda silly isn’t it professional sporting club tests the market to see what options they have before making enormous decision on premiership hero coach I’d argue it would be negligent not to have those conversations ahead of time and common practice within the industry

So I asked Luker to sign this jumper of mine in readiness for when he debuts (next season, but you never know)… Before he signed it he was waving the sharpie around with a very serious look on his face. I asked him what he was doing. He said, “I’m practicing first, I wanna make sure I do it properly.” He was actually fresh-airing his signature. Bless. 🥹

I’ll attempt it. The jumper is not only too short, it’s skintight as well. He’ll take out someone’s eye with his nipple.

The board made a unanimous decision to sack Goodwin And guess what, Smith is a board member Even if it was driven by Green he alone couldn’t have made the change

MEGGS’ 2025 AFLW SEASON PREVIEW TEN-HUT! Ten seasons. Eighteen teams. With the young talent pathway finally fully connected, Women’s Australian Rules football is building momentum and Season 2025 promises to be the best yet. In advance of Season 10, the AFL leadership has engaged in candid discussions with all clubs regarding strategies to boost attendance and expand fan bases. Concerningly, average attendances in 2024 were 2,660 fans per match, with the women’s game incurring an annual loss of approximately $50 million. The AFL is looking for improvements such as: • scheduling more fan-friendly timeslots, consolidated at selected suburban venues. • holding the Grand Final every year in the last weekend of November. • enhancing the ‘on-field’ product with clubs instructed to transition the defensive tackle-fest and focus on fast-flowing outside game plans. A handful of teams are already primed for this, including the Mighty Demons. Season Format & Fixture Shake-Up • 12 rounds over 12 weeks, followed by 4 weeks of finals. • Season kicks off Thursday, August 14 with Carlton vs Collingwood at Ikon Park—a throwback to the inaugural lockout game. • The AFLW opening rounds overlap with rounds 23 and 24 of the AFL men’s season, with fixtures staggered to avoid clashes. Five Key Things to Monitor in 2025 1. Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs – R1 Hampson–Hardeman Cup under lights 2. Razor Ray returns to AFLW umpiring bringing his trademark flair and quirkiness 3. Fremantle vs North Melbourne – R3 will the Kangaroos make it 15 wins on the trot to break Melbourne’s existing 14 game winning streak (R5 2022-R5 2023)? 4. 50 Game Milestoners – #24 Megan Fitzsimon (45 games) #22 Eliza McNamara (44) will hopefully join the 50-game club in rounds 5 and 6 respectively. 5. Geelong vs Melbourne – R12 two top teams tuning up for finals at GMHBA Stadium Team Spotlight: Melbourne FC Demons Fixture Highlights: After last year’s ‘fixed-ya’ fixture and finishing 9th, the AFL has given Melbourne an easier draw. The Demons have not been drawn to play home and away games against three of the leading contenders: • reigning premiers North Melbourne, • heavyweight Adelaide, and • 2024 finalists Hawthorn. We play our first ever games for premiership points against Port (R5) and Sydney (R10) and travel interstate for the Port Adelaide, Fremantle and Brisbane matches. With five games at Casey Fields (the Field of Dreams) and one game at Ikon, it is a friendly fixture and won’t harm our prospects for a top 4 finish. List Changes • Outs: Lily Mithen (Gold Coast), Delany Madigan (delisted), Grace Hill (delisted). • Ins: Molly O’Hehir (speedy tall halfback), Maggie Mahony (competitive small mid), Milly Dethridge (promising hockey cross-coder), Laela Ebert (skillful defender). Injury Watch • Tahlia ‘Jules’ Gillard (MCL) – out for half the season and will be sorely missed. Given our early-season opponents, we may hopefully be able to cover her absence. • Grace Beasley (ACL) - recovering well and expected to return during 2025 • Gaby Colvin (MCL) - out for the beginning of the season. • Jacinta Hose (back) - out for the season (replacement: Laela Ebert) • Aimee Mackin (ACL) - out for the season (replacement: Denby Taylor) Meggs’ Season 10 Predictions • Premiers: North Melbourne – the first team to go back-to-back. • Top 4: North Melbourne, Brisbane, Melbourne, Geelong. • Leading Goal Kicker: Kate Hore (again), closing in on 100 career goals (currently 78). • League B&F: Jasmine Garner (finally the year?) • Smokey: Sydney – stars return and bounce back to finals. • Flopper: Despite the best efforts of boom recruit Lily Mithen, the Suns to struggle in 2025. • Dees_In_October to change her name to Dees_In_November Meggs’ Final Word Having watched a bit of VFLW and the AFLW practice matches this year, you can see that our core group of best players are set for a great season. While we have several injured and recovering players, our team list is deep and strong so there should be no excuses from our inspirational coach Mick Stinear. Mick has coached 87 career games (with an impressive 71% win-rate). With 12 home and away games, just one finals match would see him reach the ton. Wouldn’t we all love to see that! Meggs will be back with a preview of Melbourne’s Round 1 clash under lights at Mission Whitten Oval. Until then—get excited as the Dees are primed and ready to deliver in 2025 and keep the #demonspirit alive.

So if you're lucky to win it, like say McRae or Beveridge was, it counts, but if you're unlucky to just miss out, like say Buckley or Lyon it doesn't? We operate in an industry where every year 17 clubs lose. It took us 57 years to win a grand final, 21 years earlier we got smacked in one. Winning premierships is the most difficult matrix to judge coaches on, because it happens so rarely to just about every club even those with the luxury of AFL support in terms of fixture, home ground advantage and draft / academy picks. The problem for us over the last two years is that we haven't been in the race. You need to be making finals and finishing top 4 to give yourself a chance, we haven't done that. A new coach is not guaranteed to win us a flag, just as Goodwin was not guaranteed to win us another one. It's about getting a new voice that can maximise our chances of being in a position to compete. To get back into finals with a game plan that stacks up against the better sides, while getting the most out of our current list. I can make a million cases where rookie coaches failed, and failed miserably. Including at Melbourne. Just as you can make a case that second time round coaches have also failed. The success rate of coaches is literally 1 in 18 per year if we only judge them on flags won.

The love for Goody within the playing group did not exist throughout the whole team. Yes, there was a lot of love within most of the senior playing group, but there was also discord from the younger players and not a lot on confidence with the game plan. The player interviews coming out of the review last year came up with words like boring” when talking about game plan. Goody was told to change this.

Lost you at interesting and Kane cornes in one sentence

I love Trac. I’ve met him several times and he’s always been a great personality and with my kids when they’ve met him. He brought real star power to the team, an elite player over many years and was amazing in our GF win in 2021. I think his recovery this year has been great. It was a traumatic experience and he had to take time to mentally and physically recover. But there are glaring weaknesses to his game that were at higher output and performance to where he has slipped from being one of the very best, an A grader to being a very good player he simply fumbles and fumbles and stumbles too much now. The fumbling is definitely a problem. Not sure why? Pressure?? He even goes to ground in key moments when he was always so strong over the footy Goalkicking? He looks nervous. Uncertain. Would like to do anything but kick the goal ? The constant looking up at the scoreboard or spinning the ball countless times simply cannot be good and it shows. He is on track again for more behinds than goals. Tackling pressure. Despite the max Viney jujitsu training, Trac’s tackling is poor. Players break his tackles too easily. It’s something to work on and bring back. I’m in the minority perhaps that really wants TRAC to stay in red and blue. I know many want him gone for picks (in a weakened draft pool year) but I say he needs to focus now on the above keys and get back to an A grade weapon in our team. @george_on_the_outer @picket fence @adonski

We should be getting a letter from the president Tom Morris today or tomorrow 😆