hemingway

He looked exhausted after Sat game. Pale and completely spent. Reduced immunity. Lots of possible infection spread with all the players, staff and families.

Ummm enjoy the fraternity of fellow Demon diehards. Personally, I would prefer a nice peaceful environment with the person you love and a glass of McLaren Vale Shiraz, perhaps Samuels Gorge or Paxton, Alexandrina Cheddar and Willunga Olives. There are plenty of quiet spots to indulge life’s pleasures free from the noise of footy supporters. The trick is to avoid the Port Adelaide and Crows fans. Particularly if they win. If we win, take off your scarf.

The long long grass of home.

Amazing how hope, faith and expectation return after a win. After pretending to be detached from footy and behaving like a wise and sensible adult trying to get through the Freud series on net flix ) I am reading DL, looking at stats and generally behaving like an excited kid. My Collingwood supporting wife already has head in hands and using profane language to describe my elevated mood. Amazing what an emotional game this is, and how irrational is our loyalty, prejudices and thought process..

Who cares Binman, stay positive.

Hate the headline “we want to be more like Collingwood” Disagree, we have our own history, culture, players and supporters. Taken in proper context, Kates comments are probably fair enough but I hate the reference to Collingwood. The things that Kate refers to such as membership growth and noisy support etc comes pure and simple from having a team that consistently wins games over the journey. Winning and playing a brand of footy that fans love to watch. So Dees fans feel proud and in love with their team and club.

Bingo spot on. Interesting to read Pies supporters bagging their team after one game. Comments around injuries, a defence hopeless without Murphy and Howe, a hopeless forward in Ash Johnson and new recruit Lachie Schultz, a lack of connection into the forward zone etc etc. Sound familiar? Hmm, a little perspective required.

Total agreement, the whole Grundy thing reflects very poorly on the club particularly the coach. As you say Earl a stuff up.

Not far wrong OD.

Join the club. I’ve been on the site for years and it remains a mystery. That is its charm and intrigue. Like Seinfeld It’s a thread about nothing. The other threads purport to be about something whereas this thread is really about nothing. Some odd balls , eccentrics, and philosophers pretend it has a deeper meaning particularly with the constant reference to bananas. For a long time I thought this was Freudian mumbo jumbo however it defies analysis and like life has no meaning. It’s just nonsense.

“The tone” of this thread has suddenly gone down a few pegs.

Only appears sweet and innocent. Her crush on the boys appears sweet but is it really innocent?

Don’t know what’s happened to Chandler. His form early 23 was terrific. For a short period he became a real excitement machine. Yet he went off the boil late 23 and so far this season has been underwhelming. He needs to cement his position this year or may well fall by the wayside. Hoping to see some of that 23 form but beginning to have serious doubts.

Agreed. I really don’t know why we pay attention to the footy media. I suppose it’s hard to avoid and when you do read the comments it’s frustrating and annoying. . It’s a world influenced by media. Social media has just made it a lot worse. Standards have dropped and commentators exhibit their biases, laziness and need to be noticed. We need to avoid them all. I now avoid most of the mainstream commercial media particularly Murdoch based organisations. They are appalling. Dunstall is bad but he has many mates. Tell me a good one. However, their laziness and lack of homework is annoying. Stick with DL for information, commentary and spirited debate.

Ok Froggy I accept that you have made positive comments about ANB but that you would like to see improvements in his disposal. Fair enough. However, ANB seems to attract forensic comment over his skills. There is not a player out there without a weakness or not prone to error. However it’s best to look at a players strengths and what he brings to the team. In most cases a players strengths will outweigh his weaknesses. So you accept the weaknesses if on balance he brings added value to the team. At the end of the day, ANB is a premiership player whose efforts that day contributed to a famous victory. I’m sure he had his fumbles along the way. I seem to remember another premiership player nicknamed Froggy who was slow, turned like the Queen Mary and kicked wobbly old punts that were lucky to stretch beyond 50m but who happened to kick the winning goal.

True. Sir Les was entertaining and funny and of course a great Ambassador for the country.

Does he have any aggressive aggro though ? Or will he be pushed aside?

Robbo makes Mike Sheahan seem like Einstein ! Robbo seems such an appropriate name. Conveys a suitable bogan image of a character with poor habits and not too many neurons. A la Sir Les Patterson. Apologies to all the Robbos out there!

Agree well said. He has so many positive characteristics that enhanced the team. Perhaps we are only beginning to recognise the true value of those characteristics and the extent to which he will be missed. He was the thinking footballer that backed up with natural intuition and courage. One of the most courageous players I have seen. Above all else, his versatility across all lines made his role in the team almost irreplaceable. He ranks up there with Petracca, Oliver, Viney and Gawn for contribution, leadership and value.

He may well have all the attributes to make a good coach but why would he subject himself to the pressure and stress of coaching ? We all now know that stress has a major impact on health and all types of disease. Perhaps skills base coaching or mentoring but not game day coaching. Personally, I think he will step away from the MFC and footy to consider his future options but hell there is no hurry. Some form of media role would suit him but I reckon he is better than that. I thought he was studying engineering or something that requires greater intelligence than a media role. With some exceptions footy media is a resting place for morons or for people who could not get a job in the real world.

Sensible

Mixed emotions. A naturally gifted footballer with a footy brain. However, definitely the right decision given the importance of his health. I think we were all worried about the prospect of another knock during the season. Even a minor knock. I don’t think I have ever felt as sick as watching him knocked out during the QF. I remember muttering under my breath, “please move Gus, please move”. One can only imagine the horror for his family. Despite the sadness of his forced retirement, he leaves the game with an impeccable record as a player and and a reputation as an outstanding person. He will be missed. A heart and soul player. He will be remembered for his outstanding service and passion for his club. Who will ever forget that courageous mark and goal, and his emotional reaction with his teammates and Demon supporters. Thanks for the memories Gus. You are a star.

It’s all been said before but I hate the term “spud”. Its unnecessary, insulting and disrespectful. Tomlinson and others may have deficiencies but we all do. Yet we don’t go around calling family members, friends and work colleagues, “spuds”. Just not necessary.

Exactly

It was only a practice match with lots of reasons for the way the game was played and the result. However, there was nothing to allay the concerns from 2023. The 10 unanswered goals is a real concern given our inability to lock opponents down and stop the run. Like 2023 there was an inconsistency in application and effort. We play in patches. We see no obvious solutions up forward or with forward connection. In general play, the good is very good but the bad is way too common. How long do we experiment with tactics and game plans? We don’t want to spend the first half of the season experimenting. . We need a better level of effort and consistency. We need stability in team selection and positioning. Our injury list and potential injury to key players does not help. Also I can’t see Gawn, Petracca, Viney, May etc playing week in and week out. If they do, they will be stuffed come finals time. Do we have a group of players that have the hunger and confidence to play a dominant brand of footy that marks us as a top side? Do we have a group of players that have slipped or are not that good? Do we have a coach that has run out of ideas? Do we have a coach whose message to players has worn thin? We need to have early wins to instil confidence and belief. Winning papers over the cracks. Losing will result in media speculation, internal rumblings, pressure on the coach and players. One thing is for sure. We cannot afford more injuries or players on the long term injury list. Hopefully my early disappointment is an aberration.