hemingway

St James Park no doubt. He just needs a couple of blokes in Hawks jumpers to run through. Assault and battery perhaps an unfortunate consequence.

With a lifetime of watching footy and the Dees both the Bont and Clarry are two of the best footballers I have seen. They have similarities and differences but they are both great players. Would not even try and seperate them.

Whatever happened to that other bloke?

Exclude anyone who lives outside of greater Melbourne, exclude families with young kids, exclude anyone with a serious job. In fact exclude a hell of a lot of people who don’t have the luxury of going on a Wednesday night or need to be in bed at a reasonable hour. Oh I forgot it’s televised. Stations and advertisers will be elated.

Yep that’s about it. More bread for the circus. Money for the circus. No problem. Money for the homeless? No, that’s the role of charitable organisations.

Possibly saved lives. And possibly the most important thing he has ever done. Doesn’t get much bigger. And humble with it.

Daisy is a star. It’s such a relief to have someone who is knowledgeable, modest and articulate. Someone who does not have to refer to their own playing days or try and entertain us with their pathetic blokey humour. The jocks with big egos but little idea of anything else. The entertainers who fail every test of excellence in sports broadcasting. Her voice may be irritating at times, but if you put her up against the jocks, I would listen to her every time. I would have preferred that The Duck be banished to a duck enclosure both on commentary grounds and moral grounds. Perhaps place him in a pen at AFLW games so that he discuss the big moral questions with the spectators. So please Ch 7, make an effort to improve the standards of commentary.

Isaac Smith had his opportunity and blew it. At the time I was disappointed but it worked out best for the Dees. Isaac has slowed up and is not the damaging player he was with the Hawks. He is a quality person but so is Angus. The latter also has footy nous and is considerably younger. And is now a premiership player with still more to play for. I hope we keep him. In a playing sense Angus may be replaceable but he has special qualities that we should try and retain. He has leadership written all over him. Of all the players who spoke after the final siren, he (for me) was the most impressive. Articulate and passionate and with commitment to team and club. Love what he brings to the club.

Makes sense for both parties to defer contract talks. Many variables that can impact the outcome. In another world this approach makes sense but in the footy world it becomes gossip in the the footy media cesspit with all its distractions.

Many of you need medical attention with specialist psychiatric treatment for OCD.

From all accounts Laurie was a bit Clarryesque. Played in the centre and generated a lot of play. He was tough and was a target for the opposition. Not overly fast but read the play well. An instinctive player good on both sides of his body but had his fair share of injuries as his career continued. I was unaware of his post Melbourne days at Port Melbourne and in WA. At 87 he had a good innings. I hope he got to watch the Granny and celebrate the win. One of the greats. Like others of that era , he was loyal, self-effacing and modest.

I had a selection of quality wines that never failed to induce romance. In addition to Mateus Rose, favourites included Ben Ean Moselle, Cold Duck and Blue Nun. All within the budget too. Suited all locations including confined spaces and spillage was not a problem. Although, I was surprised when one beautiful young student was less than impressed and opted for Stones Ginger Wine.

Fair enough. He seems a terrific kid and someone who you would love to see playing consistently in the ones. Weeds problem irrespective of form is that we have our premiership players then a list of guys queuing for a spot. Speed, agility, running hard both ways and hardness at the footy and opponent are now ingrained in our way of playing. We have a team of guys who play for one another and do the one percenters. We have a group who based on 2021 form have maximised their talents and gone beyond, including players who used to be seen as not quite good enough or fringe players. For Weed to get a game he will have to rely on injuries and outstanding and consistent form for Casey. Even then he may get an occasional game but unless there is dramatic change I just can’t see him cementing a place in the 22.

Brilliant Tarax, you have the gift.

Old Dee, I can see that you have travelled along the road to Damascus. Things will never be the same. Can we ever be that pessimistic again as we were prior to the flag. Fancy looking beyond pre-season to the full season ahead without that veil of negativity. We no longer remain sad about whether we will see a flag before our last hurrah. Before the strains of the GOF waft into the ether.

Our team this year was phenomenal. Awesome. Not hard to please, just reflecting on the differences, the grounds, the fans, the players and the behaviour. Still love the game.

I had the good fortune to attend all the suburban grounds. Its was footy in the raw. Honest, gritty and hard. For fans the conditions could be cold, wet, muddy and damn well inhospitable. But on a dry day, you were up close and personal to both the play and the spectators. You could see and hear the whacks and the intensity of play. As a kid, it was an education. The first time I heard men swearing, the first time I witnessed punch ups in the crowd, , got showered with beer, taken to the game. A kid with grown men. Treated as an equal. A ritual and an initiation. Watching the footy gods stride the turf. And don’t ever say that the Demons of the 64 era were soft. They were tough and ruthless. Of course, we would not stand for the playing and spectator conditions today. However it was exciting then and memorable now. Favourite ground was probably the Lakeside. Swans fans were not too bad. The outer at other grounds could be frightening. But it was an education, an exercise in growing up. Of becoming a man. The game has become professional but has lost so much character.

Not many remaining Uncle. My preference would be to have my resurrection followed by something analogous to a resurrection, sorry ladies. Pleasures are few and far these days. Discussing bananas does not help although it probably works for OD.

Nothing has changed.

Agreed. The consensus within the club was that living at Joondalup suited the team. It was an ideal way to prepare for games and importantly took them away from the pressure cooker environment of Melbourne. The feeling was that the pressure would have been much worse for the team in Melbourne particularly for the young players and those without finals experience. In particular, a comment from one of the coaches went along the lines that Petracca would have been fine in Melbourne but Oliver would have struggled.

Isaac moved to Geelong for lifestyle reasons. He rejected MFC offer for this reason. I’m sure he would reflect on this decision but I’m told he loves playing and living in Geelong. He is not a guy to live with regrets.

Agreed, it is an odd thing to bring up.

Such a divisive person. Hard to imagine anyone being sorry to see him go.

You were not alone.

It’s called compassionate leave.