Forest Demon

We have a few good players who are out of form. Off the top of my head Lever, Hunt, Jetta and Salem, have all looked a bit off in the first 2 games.

Gold Coast threatening to get away from Carlton already here

Last year, I thought St Kilda would make the 8. This year, I have tipped them to finish well outside the 8, and that would place Richardson in a bit of strife if things are bad enough. Their midfield lacks real stars. Steven is close but his disposal holds him back from being an A-grader. Taking out Riewoldt, even at his age, and replaing him with McCartin automatically makes you a 4 or 5 goal worse side. A forward line of McCartin, Bruce and Membrey is pretty ordinary. For them to succeed in the next 3-5 years, on top of the usual good development of players, they need McCartin to really come on, and need to bring in a quality free agent, but I can't see either of those things happening, which leaves them in no mans land.

You lot are more than welcome to think this will be a walk in the park. No easy games these days, and Brisbane are always a better side at home. I think we will win, but we need to play well.

Oliver is so underrated it isn't funny, not just in this list, but in general. And to remove bias, I would take him comfortably before any of our other 3 selections in that top 10.

Seems reasonably clear cut, but come Thursday evening, I'm sure there will be some curve balls. Tyson for Maynard is a no brainer

So what? Of course it was a rubbish decision, like 10 other ones throughout the afternoon. Didn't see anyone else deliberately deciding to unload a tirade and give away a goal. I might forgive a youngster, but not someone who was solely bought in to steady the ship and add experience.

OMac butchered his first couple of involvements, but got a lot better after that. Wagner the same.

He mouthed off twice. He made a snap decision to unload on the ump knowing full well it would cost him 50. Unforgivable, regardless of whether the decision was right or wrong.

The frustrating thing is I already know we can match Geelong, so I can't take any positives from just running them close. Every concern I had from last year was only amplified today. The mental demons are still there.

if you want a scapegoat, Jordan Lewis is mine. Bought in for his experience, makes a mental decison to gob off at the ump and give up a goal. I can excuse skill errors, but that really pisses me off.

Game plan issues aside, when the [censored] are these players going to learn every moment, every point counts. Second quarter was shambolic. Lewis gives away 50 and a certain goal by lipping off. One of our leaders misses a gimme to win it, and so on. We dropped so many points last year and it cost us big time, but we keep doing it.

Does it? This is the most embarrassing thread on Demonland.

We rarely lowered our eyes and went inside 50 meaningfully. Compared to Geelong who had less opportunities, but looked likely every time.

Better team for 3 quarters, 1 pathetic quarter, and there goes 4 points down the drain. Unbelievable.

All our eggs are in the basket of the contest. As soon as we turn it over, we get killed. This isn't sustainable.

We are better in close, but look like conceding every time we turn it over. Really need Lever to have a big one.

I can barely tell the difference, but that's not the point. My issue is why the AFL think they have some sort of ownership over our song. It would be like them tweaking our logo.

Funnily enough, I see Brisbane in Round 2 as the bigger game. On our day, I know we can beat Geelong and we may or may not win Round 1, but the Brisbane game is the exact sort of game we would drop in the past. I did a thread a couple of years back with stats of games where we went in favourites and the numbers were undeniable.

100% correct

A little from column A, a little from column B.

What has happened to Weideman? I literally forgot about him until today. Is he injured?

Given 24 (?) played last night, my team for round 1 is... OUT: Bugg, Wagner, Maynard, Stretch, Pedersen, OMac (more likely Frost), Fritsch (or Hannan) IN: Viney, TMac, Harmes, ANB, Lewis Backs: Lever, Frost, Hibberd, Hunt, Jetta, Vince, Lewis Midfielders: Gawn, Jones, Viney, Oliver, Salem, Tyson, Petracca, Brayshaw Forwards: Hogan, McDonald, Hannan, Garlett, ANB, Harmes, Melksham

Good to see we've learnt to stem the bleeding when the other team gets a run on

The thing I like about it is that Hogan is one of those players who builds confidence with every touch. And the benefits of this are twofold, one he will be more damaging up forward after getting his hands on it in the middle, and secondly we are less likely to see him rotting away at full forward getting frustrated, with the body language issues we sometimes get with Hogan. I feel like the wider footy media have forgotten just how good he can be. A lot of talk around Lynch, Daniher and a couple of others, but Hogan could potentially be the best of the lot.