The Panglossian

There was a fair bit of time left after Froggie's goal. The ball went deep into their forward line. Magpie Ian Graham nearly marked, and could have been paid a free, but wasn't (times have changed....good on you, Ron Brophy!) Barry Bourke cleared it and the siren went. I'll never forget the joy! Like Dante, I expected us to keep winning premierships year after year. It's been pretty rough since then, and the many thousands of Demon faithful should be proud that they've stayed with the Demons so long, for so little reward. That's what's made the last month so good!

I can’t hack those two thugs pontificating on the Gaff affair. Gaff’s gaffe was a one-off shocker from a previously fair player, and he was lucky to only get 8 weeks. Matthews repeatedly perpetrated cowardly ,behind the play atrocities ( Giles, Smith and McMullin for us, and every team can quote similar incidents against their players) Even worse is Judd, who on two occasions was found guilty of attacking the eyes of opponents.....the EYES! Obviously delicate, sensitive, and important structures, crucial to a normal life. Not satisfied with that, he “chicken-winged” an opponent with a known shoulder injury. He was also guilty of deliberately standing on his taggers abdomen, and twisting his stops into his guts. The guy is a vicious, heartless hypocrite, and should never comment on unfair play.

We haven't played at the MCG much in the last 6 weeks, and I think the Membership booth there is the best place to attract new members. I'm hoping for a big sign-up outside gate three next Monday. There has been a lot of publicity about what a great style of footy we play, and how we're likely to play deep into September. Surely that will attract a few late joiners.

Did you have a good day.? I sure did,and it only took me 10 min to get there,! You deserved it, coming down from PNG,! ut

Geelong seemed pretty "pumped" during their premiership years under "Bomber"

Oscar has beaten Hawkins, Roughead, , Riewoldt, and Daniher in succession. I've forgotten who he beat at Brisbane; they tried several on him. I thought he was good last season, and he has improved. A.A. in the near future.

But it’s all clear with the block chain.

I think Harry's son, Brad, is a Dee supporter.

Does anyone know if Kristen Beams, the Aust women's team legspinner is Ben Beams' sister.? Ben was a talented cricketer who once made a triple century in a 50 over Club game in Hobart. Ben was a last minute replacement for Cam Bruce in the 2000 GF. I know Kristen is a Tasmanian, too. She's 33, and he's about 38.

I was so surprised that anyone could say OMac was "abominable" in the first half, I watched the replay again( for the third time). He played pretty well in Q1, then very well for the rest oft the he game. Yes, he had two hurried kicks in Q1 that did not end up to our advantage, but overall, he defended well. For he rest of the match,he disposed of the ball excellently apart from those two kicks, which were under great pressure, and far from "abominable". Twice his creative play from the backline ended up in crucial goals. My good mate that I sit next to each week reckons he's hopeless. Anything that goes wrong he ends up blaming Omac. You might be like him,jnrmac. ( by th way, Omac is another "jnrmac".)

The Bont

Leading wicket taker, at a good average ,in last year's Sheffield Shield. Deserved selection. Should get another chance.

I reckon he was the only one to think of this excuse. Or perhaps he was the only one not too ashamed to pretend he was scared of injections. Everyone seems to forget that Essendon players are probably still benefitting from the effects of the supplements three years ago.I compare it to the gradual build up of strength in recruits after several pre-seasons. The Bombers had an accelerated bulk-up,and it's still helping. Weve got two of them. I hope it helps us.

Despite this great start, I'm not 100% confident. I might have a nibble at the $12. for SA. As you suggest, Titan, the Aust batting is thin apart from Warner and Smith.

I was very impressed with"SOS"s form yesterday. I'd be very surprised if he's not upgraded next year. He looks to me as if he could be a very useful contributor to our backline next season. Could he play midfield? His attack on the ball, his decision making, and his disposal all impressed me. I was a great admirer of his dad Shaun's guts, standing his ground in "the hole" to be crashed by the likes of Lockett. Shaun Smith, like another brave Demon hero of mine, Steven Icke, was a fantastic transfer from North. I'm so glad we have Joel as a Demon.

We've been pretty competitive v. Port on the Adelaide Oval, though we haven't beaten them there yet. The first AFL game there (?2012 or 2013) we lost by about a point, but we actually won. The home town bias of the umpires that day was beyond belief.

Herath's a good bowler. It was a good tactical move to bring him on in gthe second over. It probably caught Burns by surprise. A poor shot, but I wouldn't write him off on the strength of that one dismissal. Warner's shot was a shocker, but I always think bat to pad to stumps is a bit stiff.

Are you sure that's right, Barrie? I reckon Danny played after the drop kick had faded out. But he could barrel them with a torp. And he was so tough! Tassie did the big drops.

Torpedoes are banned by coaches, yet they allow dribble "check side " kicks with players running into open goals. Players love practising those fiddly skills like curvy dribble kicks from impossible angles. You see AFL players (and kids in parks) spending lots of time having fun practising those things. I contend that training and practising in the special skill of spiral punting should be a routine part of AFL skills drills, which would be thoroughly enjoyed by the players. I think it could be worth 2 or 3 goals a match if all Melbourne players were the best in the league at torpedoes. Have a look at "Fork ''em's" You tube post above. See how inspiring those torps were !

Demonlanders will yawn that I'm on my old hobby horse again, but there was an interesting incident yesterday involving Jeff Garlett doing a torp. The ball ended up at our full forward line, but had to be relayed back to a player with a free outside 50. Garlett had the ball right on the full back line. He effortlessly torpedoed the ball 65 m back to the waiting Demon. Yet I'm sure that if Jeff had to have a set shot from 45, he'd pass it off, knowing he couldn't make the distance with a drop punt. I think players should practise torpedoes,since there are occasions when they'd be the kick of choice. e.g. a set shot from 55 after the siren, or running from defence and spotting a forward 60 metres downfield requiring a kick over the back. Dunny occasionally lets one go from full back, and critics complain it often comes straight back. But in a situation when you're, say 3 goals down with three min to go, it's worth a "punt"( a torpedo punt!) Coaches ban torps ,because they're so liable to come off the side of the boot and create a turnover. However this unpredictability can be an advantage, creating "chaos" near the goals. Would anyone ever argue that turnovers never occur with drop punts? With current players' skill levels, and the large amount of time they have to practise skills, I think torps should be part of our training programme. I'm suggesting a "torpedo-inspired recovery!"

The umpires have high-pitched, squeaky voices!

Only vague memories, Tim. Please remind me who hit him that time.(was it that rough StKilda ruckman who later played for us? I can't think of his name)

Smith got crunched lots of times, and Lockett might have done it, but I think you might be thinking of Sean Wight, who stood in the hole,yards in front of Plugger, on the MCG. Lockett knew he was too late to spoil, so ran full pelt , both knees up , and crashed his back. I reckon it was worth 4 weeks, but the ump didn't even give him 50 m. It ranked with Judd's efforts , as one of the most vicious assaults I've seen on the footy field.

His Dad was one of the most gutsy players I've seen......not just a spectacular mark.He was prepared to stand in "the hole" and be crashed by the on rushing pack, time and time again( a bit like Steven Icke.

I reckon we'd have won but for the 11 from Johnsons first ball. No balls must be avoided at all cost.