Mazer Rackham

Matthews was an exceptional footballer but had the worst case of white line fever in history. Some amazing feats on the ground but at what cost? By his own admission he was a pretty strange cat and didn't really have normal relationships off the field either. Football first, daylight second, then family and friends somewhere lower down in the top ten.

Yes, it's pretty straightforward. CFC were first to the ball. That works in any era of football. Northey would have said, get to the ball first or I'll have Leigh Matthews tough up Spargo in the showers. (well, the first bit at least. JN might have reserved the toughing up for himself)

The order of these things is always, the winning comes first, and the jostling to explain the "identity" or the "brand" comes later. Everything is contingent on winning. We used to be accused of "not standing for anything". What do Melbourne stand for? The question is completely meaningless. It is code for they are contemptible losers. Now the question isn't asked of us, it's asked of Brisbane and GCS. What changed? The winning. As an example of the retro-fitting of "brands", the Tigers are the current premiers, so everything they do is automatically the best, and they are invincible. A year before it was the Dogs. Apparently the Dogs were invincible all through 2016 even though they finished 7th on the ladder. Now, because they're losing, they are in disarray and soon will be accused of not standing for anything. TL,DNR: winning cures everything. "Brands" and "identities" takes care of themselves, afterwards. You will find that his more clinical and less emotional ways magically become virtues as we win more. The winning makes it "the brand". "Super cool coach Goodwin can't be shaken by outside distractions", "unflappable ice man Goodwin", etc. It's outside yours, mine, the clubs control. If you win, a narrative is made up about you and that becomes your brand.

That's the spirit. Meanwhile .... GO DEMONS!!!

You must learn, as the Demons must, to be hard at the man and ball every time. As a habit.

Well that was disappointing Credit where's it due. They played in front and were first to the ball. We were somehow unable to. But crikey ... That was a game where everything went C'woods way. It happens. Every bounce of the ball, straight into their hands. For us, odd bounces or slow ones giving oppo time to grab us. Every stray kick went to them. Every rushed, side of the boot, up in the air .... went to them. They were really geed up for this. It really was their grand final. They targetted Max. They formed huddles and circles and spent a lot of nervous energy. Great for them but I don't think any team can can sustain it. If the game was played again next week, result might be different. But ... It was played Monday and they outplayed us. With a fair slice of help from the footballing gods. Disappointed but no more than that. GO DEMONS!

No PhD required, it's simple. Watts was our Robbie Flower mk II. In those dark days of the late 70s/early 80s, when there was nothing to live for, Robbie could always be relied on to bring some magic and breathtaking football ability. The ray of hope, the footballing genius. Something to be proud of. However Watts was forever "just about to" deliver the magic. That he could is why he was loved. That he didn't is why he's not.

Don't tease us with omens. What's your dream win/loss correlation percentage at Champion Data?

Is there anything as satisfying in such a situation, as to save up all their derogatory comments against the DEMONS, and then shout the same things ironically, as we surge to victory? "You're not good enough Oscar" (as he outmarks Cox), "soft possession Hogan" (as he marks & kicks truly), get off our ground, it's their grand final, they're too fragile, send them to the VFL, etc.

We will win this going away. Last year the Pies were too hard and focused for us. Still had the soft underbelly. Thanks to them and the Hawks this year, we have since learnt the art of being hard and focused. witness the Dogs game. They did the old "throw the kitchen sink at 'em and watch them wilt" trick. It only made us stronger. DEMONS by 40+ GO DEMONS!!!

Nothing says "AFL applying worlds best practice" like looking at grainy blurred lo res footage and using it to overturn a decision made by an actual human 2m from the event that they're reviewing.

It would be more believable if the prez came out and said, we can't sack him coz it would be too expensive. Which might be right, he's contracted through the end of 2020. So this and two more seasons. Ouch.

Comments section is good reading. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/melbourne/robbie-flower-melbourne-legend-and-afl-hall-of-famer-passes-away-aged-59/news-story/45c40f6c1cdaec869aad059965197419 One of my favourite memories of Robbie was in the state team surrounded by class. When state footy really meant something! SA was giving us the run around and we were well behind at half time. Robbie played the second half at centre half forward! and sparked the Vics to a stirring win.

I have a gut feeling we will comfortably put away the Pies. Missing out last year may have been the very thing needed to put that hard edge on our mindset. Getting thrashed by Hawks honed it sharp and keen. Since then we haven't looked back. Looking forward to a hard focused relentless attack on ball and man Monday. Win or lose, how we play it out will show us whether we're the real deal or just pretenders coasting on a streak of hot form. GO DEMONS!

Dunno about that. He's not that good at one on one. Reckon they would have given him a spanking.

Not long to wait. Swans went from South Melbourne to Extremely North Melbourne. Kangas will soon be Extremely South Melbourne

Jesus Christ. That was chilling reading. "We can make the game more beautiful" Translation: anything that increases ratings is beautiful. Maybe more explosions, G-rated strippers and in-game prizes for the punters at home!! "If we can get Collingwood firing, that helps" Translation: Carlton have let us down badly. Screw integrity, fairness, competitive balance, all those touchy feely fartarse things ... we will manipulate the game to advantage Collingwood = ratings, the most important thing in the world!!! How long before Gil completely outsources the management of the game to Channel 7? Think of the money it would save. (Money = king, so therefore good.)

I can live with that. It's so much better than the opposite.

MND gig should be at an MFC/EFC match. He was a truly great player, better than Terry, cruelly cut short. One of those players so good that you admire them even though they play for the enemy, ie another club.

Tell him, "I think therefore I am" and work it out from there.

Like they say ... don't argue with fools. They'll drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

Give them *some* credit. they realise that Melbourne has former great players they remember that there is a club called Melbourne (albeit they're not quite sure which one) they know to go to the MCG on Monday. (Although there's always the chance that they go to G every day, having learned like lab rats that sometimes CFC is playing there.)

Someone on bigfooty did some digging and had this to say ..... If the same teams tend to get more or fewer free kicks every week, that strongly suggests that the cause is the different game styles or levels of discipline that they apply. The much bigger issue is when one team (West Coast) gets a huge free kick advantage but only does so at a particular venue (Optus). Specifically, this year in the first 11 games the stats look like this: At Optus Stadium: Games: 7 Frees for: 172 Frees against: 121 Average West Coast advantage: 7.3 free kicks per game At all other venues: Games: 4 Frees for: 73 Frees against: 83 Average West Coast advantage: -2.5 So when playing at home, apparently something mysteriously happens to West Coast's discipline and game plan which means that they deserve an extra 10 free kicks per game compared to when they play away from home. It's also interesting to note that West Coast's opponents get significantly fewer free kicks per game (ignoring the differential) at Optus, whereas West Coast gets massively more free kicks per game at Optus. That strongly suggests that line-ball decisions are heavily going West Coast's way at home, and not being paid to their opponents. What's more likely - West Coast play radically different footy at different venues, or there is something else affecting the umpiring at Optus...?