Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Umpiring howler - how can you pay in the back to a ball that has gone out on the full!#!

Jones has done some good stuff. Very much involved in the game.

... and my Essendon mate said he was "just a player" when they traded him.

Weid has been good. Gee Melksham makes a huge difference to our forward line. Salem playing the backline general well I recon he is the replacement for Lewis.

Fritta making every touch count. Been really impressed with his poise and ball handling.

27 - 15 our favor

Come on Nibbler!

We have looked sharp. Great pressure. ANB has been good so far.

Forget Oliver, Brayshaw has the Brownlow sewn up already.

Brilliant selection!

Great pass Melksham

Fair show of faith in young Sparrow. He seems like the type to take the expectations in his stride and not be intimidated. Good luck to him. GO DEMONS!!!

I reckon that old Barassi would have loved an electric shock button. Might have saved his blood pressure and a few phone head pieces.

Love the players running out to that Hell's Bells - makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

for when players don't follow coaches instructions. The coach could have a big red button in the coaches box they could hit - would make great TV!

I know that's his reputation, but it didn't stand out to me that much in his JLT performances to me.

Glad that Collingwood got their season off to the right sort of start. Goes well with the below good article from The Duck, which I actually think has some relivance to our season as well (though not as much so according to the man himself): https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/afl/why-collingwood-are-in-danger-of-missing-the-top-four-20190321-p51673.html

Can someone make the case for why Hore is playing ahead of others like Petty today? I was generally pretty unimpressed by Hore's preseason performances. Didn't think he contested that well to win the ball and also thought he was pretty untidy with his disposal at times. But I guess the coaches were happy with his form and performances otherwise he wouldn't be out there. Perhaps it was about him completing the defensive assignments set for him well, which doesn't nessasrily come across on the telecast? Can someone elaborate?

Hammies are an old man's injury, so would be very unsurprising really. I'd never done one until my last season, but I was hardly the professional footballer that Lewis is either. Probably done it at this point as he is priming himself to go full bore in training, where as I could understand if someone of Lewis's age and experience could have been more or less in cruise mode up to this point.

The other aspect of the May suspension, similar to the Viney one a few years back that the later got off, is that he essentially just held his ground and protected himself whilst the other player charged at him paying very little attention to where he was going. I haven't seen the incident from the other night, but to me it appears similar in so far as there wasn't intent to line the player up and take them out, the main difference being down to a bit of luck as to where the contact was/wasn't made, though due to May's height, he is probably more likely than most to make head contact and he should be aware of that. If the AFL is going to be serious about reducing head injuries, then it also needs to put some empasis on players with or going for the ball going on kamikaze missions. In the May instance, I'm pretty sure that the Brisbane player had general awareness that May was there, otherwise he wouldn't have dished off the handball when he did. As much as May could have avoided the contact or made contact differently, the Brisbane player could also have acted to have avoided contact. Instead the Brisbane player dished off the ball, ball watched, looked for ways he could have stayed involved with the play and pretty much expected that May would just jump out of his way. It's not like May came and snipped him from behind or otherwise out of his vission. This realization of needing protect your own body is something that has enabled Angus Brayshaw to further a career that might otherwise have ended.

I do get the feeling that May was somewhat of a scapegoat for the AFL to set the standard early in the season, but would rather it now than him being suspended during finals.

Must say, as much as it usually gets occupied with the weekly chores that need doing, I do find this period of waiting till game time tedious.

This preseason seemed to last forever it only took me a couple of weeks to get over the West Coast debacle, before I just wanted us to rip-tear into the new season. As you say @La Dee-vina Comedia the banter from fellow supporters did help it pass with some fun and I typically enjoy your querky, humorous interludes on the conversation (as well as the ocasional serious footy comment ? ), so thanks to you too as well as all the other fellow contributors. It's funny you know making finals again last year seemed such an achievement and relief, that now we have been there done that again, I'm much less concerned about just making finals this year. Now that we've been there done that, with the side we have got, I am expecting finals will just happen (which it won't 'just happen' I know) and that in it's self will not be such an achievement. What I'm really looking forward to building a ladder position, form, solid system and beleif that sets us up in a genuine position to go all the way to winning the flag - i.e. what we've always lacked in my years following the red and blue. GO THE MIGHTY DEMONS!!!

"...well the AFLPA got us an extra week off during the off season and I got a bit bored, so I got engaged". Lol

I've got a 2011 or 2013 scarf from the time we were in the depths of our despair. If anyone accuses me of being a band wagon jumper during our upcoming period of ascendancy, I'll rub their face in it before I use the rest of the scarf to choke them.