leave it to deever

We do but I'm sticking to my guns and I'm backed up by some big international betting companies. We will be top four come finals time.

Cricket was a long time bw breaks for smoko. Playing out in the deep was a sought after position.

Being fat in the old days was par for the course. Just like having a smoke during the halftime break.

I forget how young he is. I have a theory I plucked out of..... Players are at their best @ 25 years of age so watch out.

I wish my scales at home complied with this policy.

Is it just me or do most of the player reviews seem to reveal that most players were a little down on form? Yet we came so close. I still think we are a lock for top four this year.

I feel Kozzies in for a a big year. He seemed down on form last season. But he has all the makings of a star. I love his high flying attempts but realistically probably need to stay down and do what he does best. Our inside fifty delivery wasn't the best in 23 so I don't think that helped him. Needs to harness his aggression as well. Hopefully this season will see some effective fwd use. Love to see Kozzie operate in a less congested fwd line and see him snag some bags . When he's on, he's a pure excitement machine that can destroy opposition teams.

This bloke has a tremendous work ethic. Love his passion for the club too. Seemed a little down in form last season but still had a good one. An underrated player who is deservedly respected and liked by his teammates and supporters.

We will be in the mix this year. I have absolutely no doubt about this. We have recruited well and a number of our younger players will step up . We have been a force to be reckoned with for three years now. The more the media drills in on our finals losses just cements the fact that they see as a major threat. There may be a couple of issues at present but nothing that will makes us fall of the cliff. I also doubt that our forward line will be so decimated by injuries again. Hold on good Demonlanders. It's time to be excited. This will be the year of the Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

There may be a little truth to this, I'm not sure I was a little disappointed that more people did not go after Maynard. But like courage there are different kinds of toughness. We saw Kvr and Kozzie get a little agro but that's not what we need. I don't think we are soft per se. I mean soft clubs don't win flags. I do think as a group we need to hit back when players are deliberately targeted. So yea somewhat in agreement Rif. Viney is very good at this. I've seen elements of it from Jvr.

Strangely I wasn't angry in 22. I think I was still satisfied with the 21 flag. Maybe the team was as well. Maybe after fifty odd years we were satiated. Last year was different We were crushed by injuries all the time. I was miffed by several selections and angry after dropping two again. There were a couple of posters here who messaged me and pointed out how close we came but our injuries ultimately cost is. I listened to reason. We gave it all with who we had. I feel very positive about this year. You need a lot to go right to win a flag. We are not a huge club supporter wise and don't get much love from the AFL. That aside we will definitely be in the mix again. Hang in there Swyl.

Great article. I think that the stats around Max are a little misleading. Last year he missed quite a few games and also shared Rick duties a lot of the time.

Minder was a great show.

It's hard to fathom how one could think we we are going to bomb this year. Even though we've lost four straight finals, last year we almost won both of the two we played. I was very disappointed and confused about some selections but we almost beat the premiers of last season in our first final. Not one person could say we weren't competitive in that game. Yes we used the ball poorly going fwd at times but in the game prior to it we lost a key player in Milkshake who had been playing some of his best footy and been a competitive fed target. On game day we lost Gus in a very morale deflating manner very early in the game. His loss played a significant part so it's hard to claim the pies won fairly. Our loss against Carlton was a result of some more players missing. But back to 24, anyway you slice it we still have a strong fairly young list that is definitely going to play finals again. We also have a good deal of players we have developed and grown since 21. The betting sites make good money from this game and the fact that we are placed at finishing fourth by all of them is not for nothing. Collingwood are a good side but I don't think they were really much better than us or Brisbane. They only just scraped in winning against the giants. Brisbane will be a genuine threat but seem to be perennial bridemaids. I'm not convinced about Carlton. Too reliant on a few players. There will probably be a new kid on the block as there usually is. If we get a good run regarding fitness and injuries this season, then it would be hard to understand how we cannot be a real contender again. When you read most of the players reviews it seems most of us feel that many were down on their standard form last year and yet we were very close. There have been a few off field distractions and noise in the media but I reckon this will actually work for us and be a genuine catalyst for us raising the cup on our hallowed home turf this year of the Dee. To write a club off after a flag followed by two seasons of finals is just wrong.

I guess your right. I do think that hotels and airlines often take advantage with these type of events and raise prices. If people are happy to pay higher prices then they haven't really " shot themselves in the foot" I guess they are allowed to. That's Capitalism. Personally when things go up in price above the norm because companies have been greedy I don't help them and go without.

Your probably better served making a week of it....some time in the Hills and Valley. I'm sure pre booking was the smart way to go. Accomodation probably doubled for the football weekend. Airfares probably went up as well. Sadly greedy Vendors and companies shoot themselves in the foot with these events.

I have really high hopes for Jvr. Our forward line was on a state of constant flux and there was no real time to have everything gel in terms of game plan. It would be wonderful for some consistent key positions covered consistently if that makes sense. Jvr came on in leaps ( literally)and bounds last year and if that trajectory continues into this season he will be a star. Would like to see him settled at chf all year creating a strong leading marking option. Petty played little time up forward but proved that he was a star in his last two games before injury. He his a very hard matchup at full forward. Fritta was plagued by injuries as well. He is a natural fwd pocket player. If these three are firing and the three crumbers in Kozzie, Chandler and Anb can get back to their best then one could expect to see probably one of the best forward lines around. Spargo can play the odd cameo there as well. Also without mentioning names if all goes well maybe Trac can spend more time in our forward line in the other pocket. Although he does need to fix his set shots on goal. Joel Smith would be a good forward sub. I think injury wise we are due for some good luck this year.

Sadly I think his career has probably come to and end. Playing wise that is. If it is, I certainly hope the club keeps him on in some capacity. Maybe a goal kicking coach.😀 I would love to be wrong but he seems a lot slower these days and has the turning circle of an old front wheel drive Mitsubishi Magna, I once owned. He has been plagued by injuries over the last three years and his performance in both our finals last year was umm .....yea. He has been a wonderful forward option for us and helped set up our 21 granny birth. Aa much as I would love that to continue, I think most of us would probably agree that it won't.

This Jamar Jamil bloke isn't too shabby. Hopefully we will see a bit of turn for Lyon.

What a tale of two tails this test match is telling.

Spoke too soon.

Good knock from Carey.

It's true. I think my parents were very negligent letting me and my siblings play outside as kids to all hours. It didn't seem to be on the radaar of most parents forty years ago. A pedophiles happy days were the seventies.

Did Summers on Melbourne seem hotter when you were a kid? I remember water restrictions with buckets to fill up our clark pool and swimming Christmas day. Visiting Melbourne...St kilda East where I grew up I was reminiscing about taking up street leaves from Great trees and burning them in the gutter. No such fun these days. Oh yes and the fireworks I could get at my local Milk Bar . Fireworks were the best entertainment money could buy. I'm seriously considering driving to the Territory to get some. I also noticed there aren't kids playing cricket in the street with bins like I did until the sun went down. Probably kids are all on the Internet buying laptops and phones. Sheesh.

Having lived in both Sydney and Melbourne, I've never understood the schedule of test matches in Oz. Sydney's weather is reliably rainy and should be the first cab of the rank in late November. Melbourne is reliably unreliable and should be the last in late Jan. But too much tradition too change now.