hemingway

Thankless task. Those at the coal face put their bodies and lives on the line in an increasingly dangerous world. In the old days they would "walk the beat" to break up fights and maintain order. Most louts stopped when they saw the boys in blue. However, police are now subjected to unprovoked attacks from gangs and simply those under the influence alcohol and drugs. They are also at the front line of terrorist attacks and attacks from deranged individuals many of whom carry weapons. In the City of Melbourne, it has become increasingly difficult to roster police to walk the beat because of unprovoked attacks. They are increasingly required to bring in officers from the wider metropolitan area and even country stations. Like all organizations there are some rotten apples but the majority of police officers are decent individuals with all the same feelings and attitudes like the rest of us. Unfortunately, have a high rate of suicide, PTSD and other mental health issues and many leave the force never to work again. Most of us would not last a day in the job.

Great post Hell Bent. We see kids and so many young folk that are deeply affected by social media and 24 hour commentary from people who don't know the person or don't care how a careless or critical comment can impact them. This can lead to anxiety, and in the case of a sportsperson, performance anxiety and depression. This may not be Fasolo's situation but it is a common problem across society. I know from first hand experience that anxiety and depression go hand in hand and is a dangerous place to be in.

Fearless on the field and it would now appear fearless off the field. On the field he always put his body on the line and injury wise suffered for it. His instinctive reaction was to go after the ball without thinking about the consequences.. One of the most hard at it Demon players over recent generations. And one to have beside you in the trenches. In this world of anxiety, fear and folks turning the other way, we need more like him in this world. Other than for the Demon faithful, always underrated by the football world. But not underrated in life and things that really matter.

Agree but the Wiz had his "off days". When he was on he was without peer, but when he was off, he was really off, particularly when he was heavily marked or targeted by a tagger. I always thought that Garry Lyon was a critical factor. When on the field at FF, Gary kept the Wiz focused and settled but also acted as a protector against aggressive defenders. Lyon was constantly in the face of any opponent that targeted the Wiz. Off the field, he was a lovely bloke who was happy to sign autographs for the kids. Like Jurrah, he was the reason to go to the game. An excitement machine.

bj, you and red should get together for a fun night out.

Comments accepted. Should have stopped at the end of the first sentence. That was really the point of my response.

Red, you are not the material body but an eternal spirit soul. I suppose we need to look after the material body at least in the short term, as long you are still the happy Red and have not become the grumpy Red, longing for a bottle of Red and salivating for real food.

Hineni, here I am my Lord. Acceptance of the inevitable has replaced wisdom Uncle.

The moral is don't consume weight loss shakes or any other commercially produced weight loss products.

A consistent inconsistency, just does not do enough. A successful team needs every player playing his role. Kent's role is to create opportunities, make the most of opportunities, kick goals and apply defensive pressure. All these things are missing. Unfortunately, there is now an established pattern to his game that has not changed. You need more than potential to succeed at this level.

good question.

Ultimately his future will rest on medical advice and the risks associated with continuing. Is it worth it ? Probably not given that Gus is a young guy who is only starting his footy career. The physicality and intensity of the game is not going to get any easier so the chance of further concussion is high. Even if he goes on to have a successful footy career, it would be awful to read down the track that he has neurological deficits as a consequence of footy. The recurrent nature of these incidents suggest that Gus's way of playing puts him at risk. We all know players whose attack on the ball exposes them to more risk of injury than others. Some players seem to have more spatial awareness than others. Just like players whose marking leap makes them more at risk of knee injury. In any event, if it was my son my view would be clear. Although with either son, the response would be predictably dismissive.

Agreed. We have definitely improved and there are good reasons why we lost. The intensity of the game is such that it is difficult to maintain an edge over the opponent every week. Look at all results to-date. Virtually every side has had trouble maintaining the mental and physical edge every week. Crows supporters tell me that the Demons appeared ready for the battle at the start of the game, whereas the Crows did not. A week later this edge was lost and regained for the respective sides. Anyone who has competed at a highly competitive level in a sport knows how difficult it is to maintain mental and physical intensity from one weekend to the next. Coaches try and get their charges to "peak" at different times during a sporting season, but particularly for championships and finals. They understand that during the season there are going to be good and not so good performances and the challenge is to maintain a level of consistency and to reduce the variability of results. There are champion individuals and teams that can do enough to keep winning but in most cases there are going to be wins and losses. We are still not halfway through the season. Hopefully, we will regain some players that will make a difference. At this stage, I am still confident that our improved performances will turn into wins.

Wagner is the future, Melksham is not. Play Wagner every single time.

I have spent some time in SA. Generally its a very like-able place. Some observations: It has a different culture to Vic and that include's football culture. It is more parochial than Vic. Locals are encouraged to buy SA goods. There is a much stronger focus on jobs for SA. Melbourne and Vic tends to be left out of the news particularly footy news. It's Crows and Port news but little or no coverage of other clubs. SA has a stronger footy culture than Vic. The minor leagues including country leagues are much stronger than Vic. If you go to a league such as the Greater Southern Football League, most towns have a team and strong depth in colts/juniors. The standard of football is better than in Vic. The competition is tough but not as dirty as local Victorian leagues and I would say that matches are conducted in a much better spirit than in Victoria. You are expected to do the right thing. There is less competition with the other sports, such as soccer and rugby etc. Similarly for girls, netball is huge. South Aussies are more polite, courteous and private than Victorians. They tend to be less overtly critical and do not gossip about one another. Interaction/communication tends to be circuitous and less direct. This can be very frustrating as conversations take longer and can be very indirect. You don't necessarily get an answer to your question first up or you don't ask the question first up. There is the feeling that everyone knows everyone and networks go back over many generations. Like a small country town, you need to be careful what you say. There is clearly less ethnic diversity and people are more homogeneous. There are more rules and etiquette is observed. Sometimes rules are observed, sometimes not, and sometimes etiquette is more important than the rules. There is the sense of either being an insider or an outsider. If you come from Victoria, you are clearly an outsider. There are things you will never know or never be told because you are an outsider. There is a stronger divide than in Melbourne between those that are part of the old establishment and the rest. The quiet unstated sense of superiority from old Adelaide, particularly if you went to one of the establishment private schools such as St Peters or PAC, is very strong and influences social groupings and jobs. This sense of superiority tends to be more strongly displayed by Crows supporters than PA supporters. They expect to win all the time and there is less resilience to defeat. Just look at recent weeks. They would not have been able to comprehend a loss to Melbourne last week. At local footy games, supporters are very polite to one another and there is less baiting of opposition supporters, even where the supporters look as feral as anywhere else. In regard to footy there are different groupings. There are the Crows and PA supporters. As everyone knows they hate one another, and that hatred has stronger roots than the Vic rivalries. And often the hatred between the two SA clubs is stronger than hatred for Vic clubs. Crows and PA supporters still hate interstate clubs. Kick a Vic is still often talked about, probably stemming from the old days of interstate footy, when Victoria dominated the competition and when many ex-SA footballers played for VFL sides and indeed for the VFL state side. Many South Aussies think that Victorians behave in an arrogant, and sometimes rude or superior manner. Many South Aussies also support a side in the SANFL. Many South Aussies have a soft spot for a Vic club, probably as a result of the old days of state based leagues. A minority of South Aussies support a Vic club over a local club. I met quite a lot of Demon fans in SA. I have probably made many generalizations and my comments are perhaps loosely formed opinions. However, if nothing else there are major differences between South Aussies and Victorians and this is reflected in many things including footy.

Thanks AF for your positive and rational comments and for providing meaning to my reflective mood. You aren't a member of the Australian Rationalist Society by any chance? The only bit I don't like is the possibility that Essendon may be a future threat.

Until this happens, people will remain unconvinced that we are the real deal.

Wonderful stuff Skuit. A touch of Jean-Paul Sartre. A little along the lines of Being and Nothingness. You are not alone in your thoughts. However, the fundamental truth is that you can't live without joy and suffering, it's just that we Demon supporters have had more suffering than joy. However, I cant help but think that it will be anticlimactic when the Demons win the flag, particularly when one realizes that other than for Demon supporters, the rest of the world will not give a flying...... For a brief moment, we will experience joy and the gratification that comes with success, but it will be a transitory moment that will quickly submerge in the flotsam and jetsam of daily life. A brief escape from the horrors of this world and the destructive behaviours of the human race.

He may not be the player he was in the Hawks great years but he must be one of the best acquisitions we have ever picked up in the mature veteran class, alongside Bernie. Experience, skills, and know how go a long way. Also intelligence. One of my most hated Hawks when he played for them. Incredible, how a player can go from hated or disliked to a Saint...err Demon with a simple jumper change. I guess however, there was a grudging respect when he played for the Hawks together with the thought that if only we had a hard man like Lewis. We have transformed from the softest team in the competition to a bunch of tough nuts lead by players like Lewis, Jones and Viney.

Agree, we always have trouble with their height. Also in the past, their physicality, so it will be interesting to see how we respond to their aggression. The one bonus is that there is no Boomer this year. A real test for our young Demons. We will need to move the ball very fast and direct. However, no change for me after such a good win.

Sanderson did not want him, but most Crows supporters did. Greatly liked in Adelaide town. Has been a great acquisition for us. Like others I prefer to see him in the midfield or down forward.

Correct. Distribution of talent, skills and footy smarts are very uneven. In some cases, it is youth and experience, however there are probably a number of players who are not good enough per se. That of course could be said for all clubs.

Feral is right. They are hard to stomach at any time but their expectation of certain victory at AO and born to win attitude is sick making. Like a lot of things Adelaide they identify themselves and the players as family. Perhaps in some cases they are because it's an incestuous city and state. Apologies to any Dee supporting South Aussies.

3 names fill me with trepidation. Betts, Sloane and Walker. Can all mark, know how to use the spaces on AO and kick goals. And we have no counter to Jenkins. My worry is that Goodwin is trying to play an Adelaide game style without the talent or finesse of Adelaide. Can only hope The Crows are still off. We will need to get off to a good start and get early goals otherwise it could be over early.

Think you deliberately missed my point Beezle but it doesn't really matter. Some disappointing performances but all is not lost. It's a long season.