titan_uranus

Yes. The one we’re running out of as I type is wider and has more signage. But I’d prefer we were emerging from within the heart of the MCC like we used to.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it. I suspect attendances are up for other clubs/sports where they do this. But I also suspect those other clubs are playing attractive football/sport and winning. IMO, if we played 2025 football this year, no amount of “activations” would bring people to the ground. If we play exciting, top 4 level football, I suspect people would come watch even if we had borderline silence on match days outside of the actual game.

GWS last year ran all over us late. It was IMO the single biggest reason they won the match. We just slowed to a walk when they kept running.

Genuinely excited. I’ve got a lot of optimism about this season, at least relative to expectation, but even if we’re a bottom 6-8 side this year I’m still excited to see our new players, our new coach, our new game plan and our new club (but not our new game day “activations”).

Guerra sheds light on this, and other “game day activations”, here: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/nba-style-how-the-demons-plan-to-amp-up-their-home-games-to-get-crowds-back-at-the-g-20260313-p5oa86.html Moving to the other, bigger, race to make use of more/bigger screens More use of LED signage Songs after goals (Let Me Entertain you after the first goal of the match, then players’ choices) More in-game information from announcers (eg as to injuries)

Brisbane is playing Sydney, who also played last week. No advantage. Collingwood’s already taken the lead but let’s see how the game pans out.

Whilst it’s clearly a sign from the selectors, we just have to be careful IMO to not pick athletes for the sake of athleticism. Sharp, to date, has been in that category at AFL level. Obviously a new year/system so we’ll see what it looks like in 2026 but aerobic capacity can’t override the ability to find the ball and use it.

Confirmed side on AFL website. Melksham, TMac and Heath are the emergencies.

Great news - according to the OP we didn’t hit 50k last year until the end of April/start of May.

Insightful piece. I like this quote from King: “The issue isn’t teaching them the new game plan, it’s giving them the freedom to unlearn the old one. It’s removing components and letting them play instinctively” He adds that the question remains - when challenged, “will we revert to the past or have the courage to keep moving forward together?”.

Pretty sure the three debut announcements today are just for the three who are confirmed in the starting 18. Latrelle and Heath could still be picked when the squad is narrowed tomorrow. FWIW I reckon TMac, Heath and Sharp miss from the extended bench, so I reckon we get a Latrelle debut announcement tomorrow.

Agree 100%. Again, I would love the AFL or the MFC to point us to research or empirical data which shows us that the majority of fans enjoy this sort of stuff. I'm quite confident it doesn't exist. Instead, there is a pervasive thought that to attract new fans to the sport, this is what is required. Put aside whether it works, it completely disregards the rest of us. As usual, rusted-on fans are taken for granted while the AFL panders to those who don't care.

Did anyone else just hear Garry Lyon on radio with some news on Kozzie being in Darwin for a family/personal issue? I caught the end of it only, but I heard he missed training yesterday, is expected to be back on Thursday but it’s delicate. What happened?

My understanding is that we and Richmond used the “smaller” race and Hawthorn and Collingwood used the “bigger” one. Why did we need to swap? The “smaller” one was in the middle of the members, the one part of the stadium that’s usually full at our home games. It was uniquely us (except for once every 1-2 years when we were away to Richmond).

Is it just me or did Garry groan when Watson asked that question? I’d love to know if the other clubs who have done membership days on SEN have had questions like that thrown at them. It’s such a stupid question too - what do you want him to say? “Yeah [censored] I wish we hadn’t traded him”? Or “Nah [censored] that guy I couldn’t care less what he does now”? As for the interview itself, like others I’m most keen in how much truth there is to the whole “we prefer to back our system in” when asked about tagging Nas. If we lose on Sunday and Nas gets a stack of it running unchecked, we’re going to look unbelievably stupid, and Demonland is going to riot.

You have a habit for being very critical/negative/displeased, and this post is again no exception, but the bolded bit is one of the most absurd things anyone has said on Demonland, ever. You are seriously suggesting (in a critical tone, mind you) that we should have traded Max Gawn in 2024, or at least considered it. Our captain. Coming off, at the time, his 7th AA season (the 8th came the year you think we should have flogged him off elsewhere). With what had happened with Trac that season, he was at the time one of our only marketable players. Whether we like it or not, he was also one of our only leaders. All because of some rule changes that were 12 months off being announced, and which you seem to think will hamper Gawn but which of course you haven't even seen him play yet. And to back that up you're now also suggesting we should consider trading him in 2026 but that we've missed the "value" boat. Seriously. This has to be on the podium for worst things anyone says on Demonland in 2026.

I reckon, subconsciously or not, we got a bit of insight into what might have been going on behind closed doors last year. He spoke of wanting the players to have fun playing footy, to not be afraid to make mistakes, and to play with more instinct. I just can't help but feel those came to his mind because they are what he's been required to instil in the club after last year.

FWIW:

New and improved St Kilda? Against a Collingwood side missing Moore and Howe, in the warmth of March, they kicked 9 goals. I wasn’t a believer pre-season and I’m still not a believer now.

I hate this. I hate it so much. I would love to see any data which supports the proposition that music after goals makes people enjoy going to the game more.

By blown away do you mean surprised? If so, why? 30+ touches and 3 goals playing centre forward is quintessential Trac. Doesn’t surprise me one bit that playing in an elite side with Anderson, Miller, Humphrey and Witts helping him, and up against a slow and undermanned Geelong in early-March in GC’s weather, that Trac would bring this sort of game. If you mean more that you’re struck by just how good he is, fair enough. I reckon we’ll have to get used to watching elite Trac again this year. It’s going to sting.

The bolded bit is IMO so true. Trac’s a star. It may well be the case that he could not have reached this level with us, but with Clarry, May and Goodwin gone, and King instilling a new mood at the club, I’ll always reflect and wonder what could have been had we been able to convince him to buy back into the club. He was checked out though, and in the circumstances we cashed in as well, if not better, than we could have expected.

My preference would be to leave Taylor in 19 for his (hopefully illustrious) career with us, and give 1 to whoever joins us in the next off season.

Yep, a major disadvantage. They ran all over us late. It’s likely going to happen again this year, which is frustrating. True, but we also got quite unlucky - the kick out from AJ’s point went to a contest and bounced perfectly for Callaghan, which led to the chain giving Keefe the mark. Who then kicked truly despite not being a renowned goalkicker.