John Demonic

If Gus is going to captain after Max, you'd think it would be a very brief transitionary role before passing it on to the leader of the next brigade in the 20-25 age range right now, as I don't think he's the kind of player that has too many years left in his legs/body in 2025. I also cast him in the loveable rascal mould like Max, so I think the club might be ready for a change after Max. Tracc on the other hand is not only a player who I can see with 5+ years of great footy left in him (With Clarry) - but also seems to be a natural leader on and off the field with the way he carries himself in the footy and social media. I can see the next evolution of his on field game being the brave and fearless captain that can turn a game in the middle or up forward. Also the kind of person that could be the President of the AFLPA But I do echo similar sentiments about getting the leadership group right. I think its fair to say we (compassionately) get a mulligan for last Friday due to how massive a person Gawn is the the club on and off the field - but if it happens again in a final, then we need Jack and the new vice / leadership group, to steady the ship before the break so we don't concede a heavy score and flush our season away.

He needs to do 3 years of purgatory at GWS first. So I propose a 3 way trade involving Hogan to us and our 4th to Freo

Jacob Van Rooyesing Star ⭐

You'd have to take that up with your local council

I think the success of Sheezel and Daicos suggests we should just draft a hard working and skillfull pure footballer high iq mid and play them off the half back line straight away. Either that or we trade both firsts and potentially next years for the best kid in the draft, and they're pretty much ready to alternate with Viney in the middle and replace him in the future. Would Hawthorn or another bottom club want a 2 or 3 pick package given their aspirations to build a deep list of first round picks immediately? I'm guessing the FD will want to draft a KPD with one of those first rounders though.

So if Spargo is having a shot from 40m out after the siren down by 3, to win the game. Whether he kicks the goal or not, will decide whether we are doing much this year? Strange logic, I would've thought its more about 'how' the game is played next week, rather than the result. It's a round 3 match against a red hot team coming off a grand final, without our captain the most influential player on any football field. Take a breather!

Demonland right now

LDU is a gun. What's shocking is that the Kangas are standing up in every tackle and disposing of it by foot. They seem to have 5 Petracca's out there with the way Freo aren't sticking anything.

That Ashsoft kid has a big career ahead of him, as my most hated Lion

Not that it would've changed the result, but It's nights like these where the strengths of a leadership "group" of 4/5 players could've come to the fore, and been more attuned in that 1st quarter to keeping our collective minds on everyone playing their roles, rather than being confused and lost out there wondering about Gawny. Who even is our VC now that Viney is Captain?

Remember when we swapped Luke Jackson for Brodie Grundy, Mathew Jefferson and Harley Reid?

Have we beaten them since?

You misrepresented my point. I said if May is 1 or 2 weeks away, then Tomlinson and Petty should be competing on form over the next week or two, if the club is going to select on form and not reputation. I also said if Petty has a bag (or two) kicked on him them, it would be logical to bring May in to play his position. This is obviously a highly unlikely circumstance, and it is a very slim possibility of occurring - but no player is immune to a dip in form, even 23 year old key position players. If there's no selections made because of selection pressure, then we're back to where we were last year. Apologies for shooting Bambi.

Like clockwork, the week a Melbourne player is in trouble, is the week everyone in the AFL Media decides "Enough's Enough" </myvictimcomplex>

Didn't catch the Essendon game, but saw that Weid kicked 2. Good on him!

Meanwhile over on reddit post round thread: The Bulldogs discover the major problem of having 4 tall forwards is that they take 40 years to bend down when the ball hits the ground

B. Grundy d L. Jackson 79-50 ROUND 1 FANTASY LADDER B GRUNDY 1-0 L JACKSON 0-1 --- I'm not vindictive and immature enough to post this in here every week - that would be irritating for all involved. I will do it in my head every week over on my fantasy page however.

Spoonmantle

CAMA NITIIII

We won't be winning another flag IF we're picking players on reputation and not form. Let's be clear, I'm not saying Petty deserves to be dropped, I'm saying the next week or two should be the selection criteria for who May replaces.

Tomlinson was excellent. I hope he's given another week and potentially more if form permitting. Am I crazy in thinking Petty isn't an automatic lock, if he gets beaten next week and May is ready to return v Sydney? I know some,even me, have pencilled him in as a future AA Backman, but that doesn't exactly mean his spot is an absolute lock, if others 'below' are performing. It's easy to forget he's still 23* and isn't immune to a dip in form.

The Kings Bday and Geelong matchup is too far away! The next two weeks will be a fantastic test, but i can't help but feel like we're already in the box ticking grind to get to these key pre-finals matchups to put rival game plans to the test lol It was great to beat up on the Dogs last night from a confidence and tactical reaffirming perspective, but gee I want an entertaining contest for 4 quarters again!

We probably should've trialed him at full forward over Weideman, in hindsight