Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Agree 100%. What really peeves me off it that this was all totally obvious from the moment that FA was introduced, so what are we paying these glorified half wits like Dil McWhatshisface all the millions for.

I have a mate who's a Cat supporter and quite genuinely concerned about facing us on Friday. I'm really hoping that we come with the same sort of physicality to finals that we did against West Coast and the Giants and that we really maul some teams (within the rules). Not sure we can go all the way this year, but if we don't go all the way, then I at least we go down fighting. If we can do that (and I think we have the team to do it), it would build some real confidence for the next season ahead and shut some people up a bit. GO DEMONS

We were within a few kicks of finishing in 4th place and had the third best %. We beat the second placed team on their home turf and then smashed a team in form and on a roll - That's not falling in. Or alternately, two or three weeks out everyone from Collingwood down was at risk of not making finals (like Port didn't), so I guess most of the finalists just fell in. West Coast last year are probably a decient example of a team that fell into finals.

If I recall correctly Deledio was traded and not FA. Still even with trading players, the top teams seem to have more currency. My memory fails me as to how Bergoin and McAvoy were viewed at the time, but they were probably the other two big player movements that kept a strong Hawthorn in the hunt...possibly others as well, but they are the ones that stick out. Granted they were trades and I forget what was received in return, but it does all feed into the problem with the power imballance between weak and strong teams. ...of course now that the MFC is embarking on an era of strength, I'm in no hurry for them to fix it, ass long as we can actually out manouver the other top teams like Richmond, Collingwood, West Coast etc.

I wonder if beard has the same effect as blond or red for attracting Brownlow votes?

Love the respect that Maxy has for big Jimmy. Though some of his contribution to some of the administrative decisions within the club during his time at the helm lost him some respect, Jimmy's passion and drive for the club to improve and be successful and his ability to impress upon others to be the best that they can are surely his lasting legacy and no better exemplified than through Max. I love that like Jimmy, Max has fought his own adversity and despite his often aparent confidence in his own ability and extraverted personality, he still comes across as being so down to earth and a great human being. Maxy is the sort of guy that great footy clubs are made of.

If Maxy keeps playing as well as he has, perhaps he will redefine the role to the point that it will be defined as the Gawnman position... perhaps a tag reserved for players of sublime tapwork, marking, athleticism and comedic skills.

If the stars align, it could be a huge week for Maxy: Brownlow Medal; Playing 100 AFL games; Demons Premership; Norm Smith. Should get pretty good odds on all that I recon.

He has always show glimpses of doing the things he has done over the last few games, but would only do it in a few passages of play and would fade in and out of games. He's now doing it for whole games and week in, week out. I get the feeling that the difference is that Harmes along many in that similar stage are now have developed strong mature bodies and the confidence and understanding/coheasion with their team mates to fully utilize it. On the whole, we really looked so much more physical and agressive at the ball and man than GWS yesterday, a team that I think we are at a similar development stage at. The contested ball stats for the season also back this up. Hoping that it is a sign we will be in a position to bully and dominate most of the rest of the comp in the years ahead.

I think we will be doing well to get more than 2 out of Lewis, but hopefully by that time, his work imparting knowledge and confidence is done.

That play a few weeks back against the Swans when he turned with ball in hand and burnt off Lance Franklin like the later was standing still was the highlight of an otherwise forgettable game. Perhaps in retrospect, Franklin was carrying an injury, but was still an impressive feat.

If we make the GF, I think it works out to be big Max's 100th game, so would be quite a day for the big fella.

A Tassie team would have real passion

Rent a crowd from AFL HQ

Good lord I hope AFLX isn't the predominant future of the game.

Thing for me is that when I look around the market, there are few if any that I think I'd have over Goody. Longmire, Clarkson, the Scott brothers and I guess now Hardwick. For all his suposed brilliance, I don’t think Ross Lyons record at Freo has been anything positive. Perhaps Fagan may prove to be a good coach in years to come. Counter to that, I can also see quite a few clubs that would like to get their hands on Goody. I recon that like many players these days though Goody probably values sucess over money and on that basis, I think there is a good mutual benifit with Goodwin at the MFC and I recon both parties would think they're on a good thing at this point.

Predicted top temperature of 22 degrees C in Brisvagus tomorrow, but just try stopping me from wearing my 2013 membership scarf!

Dean Kent nails it through the big sticks - THE DEMONS ARE HOME!!! Jump to my feet and huge fist pump of the air - GO THE MIGHTY DEMONS!!! Finals 2018 here we come!! Ohhh yeah. I thought it was so fitting that some of the guys that steered us home - Jones, Harmes (life long MFC supporter) and Kent who has also been there since the dark days of 2013 and a somewhat maligned player at times - maligned no more!

Not sure my 11yo daughter understands the euphoria... as I was reflecting, I figured out that she was at about a 3mth embryonic stage the last time we played finals!

Great interview. Nev does come across much better in this interview than he did in the Demonland podcast earlier this year, in which he came across as a bit flustered and distracted (trying to get the kids to bed in the background from what I recall). Very refreshing in that someone of his realitive celebrity status as an AFL footballer is so grounded in family, comunity values and very self-less in his actions (just like his onfeild performances). Found it interesting (but not surprising) the love that Nev's son has for Bernie Vince, to the point of naming their family dog after him (a bit naughty like Bernie, lol). I really do get the feeling that with guys like Nev, Bernie, Max, Jack Viney, Jones, Stretch, Freitch and others around the club that their would be a great off feild culture at the MFC these days.

Missing out last year was a wake-up and to some extent our percentage and performance against the also-rans this year has been the response to that. I recon winning so easily to GC the week before Sydney was the worst possible lead up game. Would have had a sedative effect. I also think we need to differentiate lacking composure and knowing how to handle changing momentum in match situations from being mentally soft, which to me infers a lacking in resolve and giving up. One is a confidence thing and the other is an attitude and character thing. I'd agree that on many occations this year we have suffered from the former, but the only time we looked close to surrender was against Hawthorn. My veiw is that the mental toughness of this group is evident in their willingness and ability to pick themselves up off the canvas and fight another day. We keep doing this and the confidence and composure will come over time through experience and shear brute force. So who on this forum thinks our key players like Oliver, Jones, Brayshaw, Gawn, Harmes, McDonald, Melksham, Hibbard, Jetta are 'mentally soft'? And who would be prepared to say it to their face?

The let down of last weekend has seen me somewhat dejected from the pre Sydney hope that we could have been playing the last two weeks with a finals spot all sewn up. I've also almost been sucked into this whole mentally week chokers thing that so many experts (including many of our own supporters) want to burden us with, so haven't had many expectations during the week and almost accepted a yet to be determined fate that finals are gone for another year. But as I've thought about things over the last day or so, I've remembered a few things: 1. I don't think there is a side in the competition this year that we can't beat; 2. The majority/key of players in our team (Gawn, Oliver, Brayshaw, Jones, Jetta, Harmes, Melksham, Hibbard, Trac, Tommy Mac, Vanders, ANB, Salem, Frost, Lewis...) are hard, agressive, compeditive types. These blokes won't have liked the tags being leveled at them this week and will have fierce determination to right that wrong; 3. The above is also true of Goody's personally and ethos and I recon the boys will pickup and feed off that as well. Against Sydney we dominated play early, but I'm not sure the physical intensity was up there and it seemed like we were on cruise control with the expectation that we would coast to a win against them. Last week would have been a huge wake up call to the team, which I recon will jolt them into action this week. I'm hoping and expecting that the guys come out breathing fire like we did against Richmond earlier in the year and physically take it up to West Coast in a way they really don't want to deal with right now. I'm also remembering the resolve that we showed against Adelaide a few weeks back and the ability to grind their way back into the game and then dominate it after the Crows got off to a flyer. As a supporter I've resolved to not let the disapointments of the recient past cloud my outlook on the challenge we face and looking forward to the ride over the next week and a bit, then hopefully month to come. GO THE MIGHTY DEMONS - TEAR WEST COAST APART.

Blood hell, another expert putting our team down. Personally, I'm finding all this pessimism and negatively surrounding the MFC absolutely nauseating of late. To be honest, I find the media coverage of teams, fickle and mentally week in it's self. One or two good wins and they talk up teams as 'legitimate premiership contenders', lose one or two and all of a sudden the team has these huge fundemental flaws that have been exposed. Hardwick and Bucks were cannon fodder for the last three or four years and now all of a sudden they are the role models for how every struggling coach/team needs to turn things around. I think Goodwin is absolutely right about the fugazi. On the topic of mental fatigue, I'm pretty much in a place where I just want the next two weeks to be over from a footy perspective and either we fizzle and miss again or preferably we dig deep pull out a win or two and STICK IT RIGHT UP THEM and charge into finals with an opertunity to wreak some havoc. I'm glad the team has Goodwin as coach and believe we have a good opertunity to win both games. Proud of the team regardless and with the developing players we have in Oliver, Brayshaw, Harms, Freitch etc, I'm and confident we are building in the right direction. You only have to hear the way some of the improved players like ANB and Brawshaw talk of the confidence the get from Goodwin as a coach to know he is having the right sort of impact and whilst the coach has that sort of impression and suport of the playing group. The next step is really up to the players to take the games by the scruff of the neck, believe and get the job done - there is only so much a coach can do.

No more than loosing to Geelong twice, Port and to Sydney last week. This year it has been more just failing to get the job done against the better teams that has cost us. Sure the St Kilda game was disapointing but many of the top sides have lost to lesser teams during the season, as I think the competition is that close where you have a bad game, an underdog has a good one and senses a victory and gets up on the day. We have done pretty well by AFL standards getting the job done against lesser teams. Geelong bad losses: Bulldogs, Adelaide, Essendon; Hawthorn bad losses: Brisbane (twice), North; Port bad losses: Freo, Essendon, Adelaide; Sydney bad losses: Suns, North; GWS bad losses: St Kilda (draw), North, Essendon. This not beating top teams thing is starting to get over hyped and over rated. Last year we beat 4 top 8 teams (Adelaide, Port, Essendon and West Coast), but still missed finals, because we had dropped so many games to lesser sides. I feel like we have been so much more competitive overall and consistently better this year, that I'm hoping we look at the lack of beating a top team to this point as more of a querk than any kind of mental deficiency or lack of ability. It's about beating who ever is in front of you on a weekly basis and the rest is retrospect... but only time will tell in the next two weeks I guess.

Recon we have missed Melksham big time last week. I know he has probably been in the team for those 5 losses with +10, but he is both one of our best users and compeditors entering inside 50 and a real loss to a team that seems to struggle so much in this area.