Bang Bang Bang

He started slowly with us but the 2020-2022 iteration of Steven May was the best defender I've ever seen play for us. I am not ashamed to admit that I hoped he would be able to defy science and play at that level forever or at least for another decade. During the doomed 2022-2023 straight sets era, he was by far our best performed player under pressure, with the 2022 QF performance on Franklin one of the all time great finals performances in a losing side. I know he wasn't everyone's cup of tea out there on the field, and I'm sure it wasn't all that useful for morale, but I kind of liked the bakes he used to give out. At least there was someone out there with high standards and who suffered and cared the way us diehards do. He looked completely washed last year and it would have been even harder going around again this season being another year older, but I'm still a bit flat about this. All the best, Steve. One of the greats!

First glimpse of KingyBall and I absolutely love it. He seems a good bloke too, long way to go but the shock of signing him ahead of Bucks is disintegrating with each passing week. Not much to add from others views on the game TBH. I thought Steele was fantastic and brought a skill set we haven’t seen from a Dees mid for a long time. The media will mock us if Clarry has a bounce back year, but everything he does should be compared to what Steele does for us. I think we’ll be OK there. Langford and Lindsay look like they’re ready to take the next step, Trelle was electric, Heath looked better than expected. Taylor good when he was on but looks to be down the pecking order. The red flags still there with Kolt and Jeffo unfortunately, but Kentfield looked like a 100 gamer out there. Howes was fantastic too. OK let’s just say it. Aiming for a wildcard is not an unrealistic hope this year… is it? I’m probably already getting slightly carried away as we belted them in the same fixture last year then nek minnit we zip 5 (including a trouncing from North themselves). [censored] it.

I wanted him to stay but then we absolutely fleeced the Suns in that trade so I've moved on quickly. Three first rounders for a guy who may have five years left in the game, but is also five years past his prime and probably has only one or two more seasons where he is anywhere near his best. All we need is one of Taylor, Pickett and this year's pick to be a 200 gamer and we are laughing. Worth it for the Suns too if they pinch a flag.

Think I’ve hacked into picket fence’s personal stash. Jeffo looking minted.

Who knows what happens without that kick in 2021. Maybe the single most pivotal disposal in our history. All the best in retirement Harmesy! Very solid career.

I like the NFL, it ties in nicely with the AFL season, meaning there’s football of some kind all year round. Most of the playoffs this year were incredible to watch and I just love how there’s no second chance saloon for any team once January hits. But, today’s spectacle was an absolute snooze fest. Definitely wouldn’t have won many casual fans over. About as interesting as a 2 hour long Simon Goodwin press conference.

Windsor is the standout in that clip. Will be interesting to see how his career pans out from here. He looked like a genuine A-grader in 2024, then last year Goody had the genius idea of playing him as a defender. Made him lose all confidence and it took Dan [censored] Butler to kick a bag on him for Goody to give up on it. Played a quarter against West Coast in the guts later in the year and looked a million bucks (granted it was junk time against witches hats), then did his hammy and wasn't seen again. Will he be a flash in the pan and become a glorified Jayden Hunt, or can he become that A-grader? I'm confident it can be the latter.

Very interesting article. Am I reading it correctly? If Essendon took X Taylor then we would have taken Nairn and Pickett and left Farrow on the board. The melts would have been something else.

First time in many years that our early picks weren’t foreshadowed in the media so this was a pleasant surprise! Really happy with Taylor sliding in particular and then the bolter in Pickett. As mentioned, normally it’s Cal Twomey who knows exactly what we are doing in advance so I was looking through some highlights vids of Farrow and Nairn in recent days. I know it’s easy to say now, but I just couldn’t get excited about either of them. Farrow looked really good but I’m sick and tired us investing in these Perth kids, and Nairn’s kicking action and overall highlights were just… meh. Glad we ended up with our two. Glad we didn’t dangle our F1s to grab Nairn too. Nice work JT and Timmy!

I don't see why everyone has such a big problem with this? I reckon it's great. More footy, more sudden death and more hope for fans. The argument that its rewarding mediocrity is a bit weak IMO. The final 8 system is flawed too, in what world do we want a 15-8 team to miss finals like what nearly happened this year? The Dogs missed it with a % of 140! They definitely deserved to play finals. Nothing wrong with selling a bit of hope to fans either. Our 2024 and 2025 campaigns would have been a lot more interesting than what actually transpired with dead rubbers in June this year. If we go 0-5 then 5-6 again next year and start shooting for a wildcard? That's way more exciting. There's always the hope a team will catch fire and win 5 in a row. Of course, it will never happen, or once in a blue moon, and the premiers will keep coming from the Top 6, as it should. But overall, more footy is good! Just the way I see it.

Went the early crow here. If Tom Morris' trade is the real one, then Lamby boy has made out like a bandit!

You have to be kidding me! Sick to death of Lamb treating picks in the 20s like expired coupons. No wonder we have no depth.

I'm not into personal attacks on Demonland, people can choose to believe stuff written here or not, but I'm still curious, how is Demon Forever's track record? Don't really recall any of his/her prior intel. Are we dealing with another goodwindees/Chook in Perth or Grand New Flag?

Yes and no. Trac and Clarry were two of the pioneers of the modern day mega-deal. The Clarry one is a clear fail, although who could have predicted his fall from grace would be so steep. Perhaps internally it isn't such a shock, who knows. One things is for sure, if we pay him 700,000 a year NOT to play for us for five more years, then that has to be a black mark on the regime that penned it (LAMB). Trac on the other hand, being contracted for four more years, clearly works in our favour. You can also see with Curnow, Merrett and even Humphrey, that 3+ years on a deal give clubs a lot of strength and bargaining power at the trade table. I think that's why we're seeing a lot more of them in recent years. They work for players and for clubs, in different ways.

Analysing that chat from Lamb and a few prior musings from the coach and CEO - I think Clarry is a goner for sure and Trac is likely to stay in a 'professional for hire' role.

Always a nice feeling when a player wants to play for this great club. Welcome Brody! Still not entirely sure what Lamby and Steve are playing at, are we playing finals next year or not? But I guess, either way, having an old head who can actually kick straight should help in one way or another.

Gave more away in 18 minutes than Goody did in a decade! Goody did get us a flag and this might not even get us wins but as a fan this is refreshing!

I know it’s early days and may end up being untrue but I don’t think Guerra could have answered that any better. Like every single word is perfect. I’d rather he stayed. Don’t really care if he’s a prime donna or a poor kick, he’s still one of our best players and 30 is the new 25. Draft picks are so overrated and the ones we’ll be offered will be absolute rubbish by the time the compensation picks and bids come through. If it’s Bailey Humphrey or we can get Flanders and change from a trade I’d be listening but let’s wait and see. But seriously, how good is that communication from Guerra!

Geelong are a good team but they get a free pass into September every season. They are literally the ONLY team that gets genuine home ground advantage and that dung heap down the highway. Like, a proper advantage. Interstate teams can provide a hostile environment when they play at home, but it’s still just a regular ground. Geelong’s ground is incredibly hard to play at with its dimensions AND THEY GET TO TRAIN ON IT. So, 9 home games a year against minnow sides means 7-9 guaranteed wins, then 5 at the MCG where they have no real disadvantage to the tenants, a few at Docklands, etc. Imagine if we got 9 home games a year at Casey. They’re still a good side, always have been always will be, but it’s kinda unfair if you ask me.

Honestly feels like my team won the flag, such is my disdain for Geelong, and admiration for this Brisbane side. How good is OMac, a moment all about him, and he still treated the Auskick kid better than anyone. Love that guy.

This is actual porn.

I think the argument is that AFL is quite taxing on the body, both in season with knocks and niggles, and pre season with heavy loads. A lot of older blokes probably retire because they don’t want to do another pre season. It takes its toll. So yeah, in theory, Mihocek should be able to go around a little longer than average. I’m still a bit skeptical on the decision to get him though. He can definitely hang around and play a role for a couple of years, and if we were actually contending then it makes sense, but are we? Why is May getting phased out for Adams? Just a bit confused by it all. Signing Lachie Hunter for two years was OK in terms of on field performance but him leaving opened the door for Lindsay to play 20 games this year, which was much more beneficial. Just hope we have a clear plan and Mihocek doesn’t get in the way of a younger player while we go through transition / mini rebuild.

i [censored] love the Brisbane Lions to be honest. Doing God’s work year after year. Yep, even Zorko is my friend today!

Really impressed with how he spoke today. It will be harder to impress the fan base once the losses start, and it will be hard to implement a game plan that focuses on ball movement when you have Viney, Petracca and Oliver putting the ball inside 50, but it sounds like he knows exactly what he wants tactically and also has an element of that Sam Mitchell, Craig McCrae style new age style of coaching to go with it. I liked Goody but a fresh voice is exactly what this club needs, and I’m really buying it.

Shocked by this. Thought Bucks was a monty or we’d go for the fresh style of James Kelly. Thought the announcement would be next week. Truly shocked, kudos to the club for the tight lips they kept. Don’t know too much about King, I remember he was an amazing player who once kicked Jeff White in the head, and has spent years holding whiteboards up in huddles. I wonder what swayed the board to pick him ahead of Bucks? What’s his vision? I hope whatever magic he spun that he can persuade Trac, Clarry and McVee with it too.