Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Chandler also provides a second dynamic small forward option that the opposition will struggle to contain both him and Kossie. I'd suspect that Kossie usually gets the best small defender, but that may change and Kossie will have a day out.

Nice attempt at sarcasm David 🤣. But if you're serious, I think you've been watching different games to the rest of us!

Oh yeah. I was just reading about that last night too. It was the thought that counts though 😂🤣😂

In all seriousness, I was rapped with how sedated the Richmond fans near us were all game. A few started to get a bit extravagant when they got that run-on (umpire assisted) in the second quarter. But overall, they weren't the most feral obnoxious supporter group I've come across. Guessing they're pretty content with their three flags and are resided to knowing the time of thier current list is up. Incidentally my feeling was that MFC supporters significantly out numbered RFC ones last night and / or were alot more vocal in support of their team. Could make for a massive crowd at the Kings birthday clash against the Pies in a months time.

What the Tigers fans should be talking about now is how good the top draft pick is, but that they are going to get out tanked by Hawthorn. At least they might be able to get ahead of Freo in the draft race - "oh wait, maybe we can beat Melbourne on that one!" Pitty the second and third best players in the draft are a crow eater and a sandgroper who love their mummies.

One day he'll pull one down, then every time there after he'll do the same. The one skill he hasn't yet mastered, but watch out if he does as I think it will make him pretty much a complete player. On another note, I didn't notice him much on the ball tonight, which I thought was disappointing, because the games he's played significant time there, I've thought he's looked really good.

So only just pretty much got home at 12:40am after some great decisions by the geniuses at Public Transport Victoria. No only is there already replacement buses galore from Camberwell to Box Hill, but the nuckle heads decided to also shut down the Glen Waverley line on the way home and couldn't organise replacement buses better than a bunch of kindergarten kids. Give yourselfs an upper cut whatever manager was responsible for organising and supervising all that chaos tonight. You bloody peanut. And to the bus driver who sat in the way of other busses that could have taken some of the hundreds of passengers who'd been left waiting nearly an hour while you sat there and picked your nose - time to get a new day job. Between this crazy drama and the rubbish the umpires dished up tonight, you managed to take 'some' of the shine what was generally a satisfying win by the mighty Demons.

Perhaps Peter Bell might end up in the dust bin of football administrators first.

Absolutely rapt for Chin again tonight. Was bloody excellent. The boy from the bush just keeps producing the goods. Skills tenacity and poise under pressure in front of goal. Thought he made a very valuable contribution tonight and kicked goals when we needed them most pegging back the Tigers lead in the 2nd and third quarters and linked up brilliantly around the ground. He's definitely earnt his place in the best 22 so far this season.

I can understand it from a players perspective, but from a supporters perspective, I think we have every right to despise it and disrespect it on game day. Equally there is good reason why guys like Flower, Jones and Gawn are revered buy fans. BTW, I don't have quite the same level of distain for Frawley as I do some others. He's Max's brother in law after all isn't he. This professional / corporate view of sport also borders on a disease. It's the sort of thinking that is why the AFL permits wall to wall sports betting adds on every telecast and at games. The number of seats sold and given away to corporates at Grand Finals makes me sick. Sport is not pure business, people hardly head out in crowds to cheer on Coles, Qantas, Commonwealth Bank etc.

Agree with most of your post here Deanox and particularly this last bit. During the Dogs game first round this year, their supporters started booing Lauchie Hunter - to which I yelled back "You didn't want him you idiots" . On cue, nuffy MFC supporters boo Sauce Baker when he got a possession soon after 🤦‍♂️. I personally think players that leave for big money or to play at a more immediately successful club such as Tom $cully, Jerremy Howe, James Frawley etc deserve to be booed by supporters of their former clubs. There's an old notion of disloyalty, greed, selfishness about that, which shouldn't go unrewarded and unrecognised. However personally I'm a bit more neutral towards players that have given good service and/or just genuinely want to return to their home state like Jeff Farmer, Jessie Hogan, Scott Thomson and Jacko.

My biggest beef with this rule is when a player who's on the ground goes to gather the ball to distribute it out subsequently gets pushed in the back and then basically sat on. If players are just holding the ball in to attempt to create a ball up (as was the old interpretation of the rule) - fair enough, pay holding the ball. But if players are stacked on top of said player, in my view, should be paid push in the back. If they want a free kick for a player that drags the ball in, they should have to lift the player up by the back of the jumper etc. Players picking the ball up off the ground and feeding it out (in the absence of being sat on) would actually keep play moving and result in a faster moving game IMHO.

Full stop

And on a similar note, I get the impression that our indigenous players in particular really love the opportunity to get out into the area and then play in front of so many of thier people. Not sure if it was related or just something of a coincidence, but Kossie cut loose at Alice last year, had an absolute day out and kicked a bag. Would love to see that again (and again and again!).

Agree with this and similar to what @YesitwasaWin4theAges post, thatmy recollection was that our 2021 experience was that living and training in the hubs created great team bonding opportunities. I'm sure that partners etc would rather spend more time with the players, but perhaps a few in-season mini hub experiences could help us get that edge that helps us win another flag. In some ways though, it's not the end of the world for us to have dropped these early season games if it keeps us humble and hungry. I'd just rather have not dropped 8 point games to teams that are up there at the moment. Would have been better to drop a game to North or the Sun's as at least that would have been something of benifit to the Freo death rude.

Love the topic Monbon but: Scott Thompson was far better than a bench player in this side. I think Spalding was a better CFH than Hogan and if memory serves me correctly, Earl played in 2 Grand Final sides, including a premership with Carlton in a dominant year. I like Jessy, but I don't think he's delivered on his potential. Conversely, while he was arguably a less talented player, Earl squeezed every bit of potential out of himself and was a valuable contributor and performer for two teams right up there at the pointy end of team performance. Again nothing particularly against Walsh, but Nathan Bassett was a better player. Always loved Martin Pike. What a beast. And how many players around in the modern era could claim to have played in 3 different teams and 4 premerships. If the chips had fallen differently, he could possibly have played in Premierships with the MFC in the early/mid 90s, which was bursting with talent, but just couldn't put it together consistently enough and/or keep it all out on the park long enough to capitalize on it. Regardless of them being amoung the elites or not, I'm actually generally really enjoying see some of our recient departures like Sauce, Hunt and Jessie in particular get a game and oppertunity to perform at the top level. I've no real love or hate for Jackson and who knows if he'll be another that got away, but I'll never view him with the same kind of distain as that rat $cully, who despite all the tickets he had on himself, never really justified the huge price he accepted from that scum Sheedy and the goons at the AFL.

As well as 'The Front Bar'. Loved having the big V plastered everywhere during their live from Adelaide Gather Round special 😂.

...and so little known 'fact': "Harmes was raised as a horse in Devon Meadows, Victoria" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harmes

Either or both options to read into are highly worthy IMHO. Love Harmesy in so many ways: * Loyal Red and Blue to the core and living the dream of any die hard MFC supporter (read this if you need any reminding https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/south-east/lifelong-melbourne-football-club-fan-james-harmes-fulfils-his-demon-dream-through-draft/news-story/687a68a12ad631327bea0b0842a4c69f ) * Might not be the most talented player on our list, but always has a red hot crack. I think this would put him in good regard with Goody and Max. * Plus I think his skills and athletic ability are better than many give him credit for. I think there's still plenty more to come in the James Harmes story, but amoung other things, I'll always remember him as the player that gathered cleanly at pace, burst clear and nailed the pass to Fritsch that turned the 2021 Grand Final into the first MFC premiership in my lifetime. I get the impression from afar, that he's also a pretty solid character that's elevated himself to achieve within his best abilities from the outer burbs in Melbourne. If he's been through something personal sufficient to keep him play for 2 weeks, then it must have been something pretty significant to hims, so I just think it the perfect time for the MFC faithful to get around him and show him some love. 34 touches for your first game back in a few weeks is a pretty decient effort and I'm personally backing him to show that kind of form and determination when he gets his chance again soon at AFL level.

Have definitely given them preference since being a MFC sponsor and a bloody nice drop at that.

Perhaps we have different taste in wines, but any wine that celebrates a MFC premiership is like the wine of the footy gods and one to be savored IMHO 😊.

Yes it is Vic school holidays and that's what I'm suggesting re a combined holiday. Even thoughs without kids often take advantage of the 4 days weekend to make it into a 10 day holiday though and present a travel target for the SA gov.

Along with Hawthorn supporters, Essendon have some of the most arrogant and I actually can't stand many supporters of these teams more so than Collingwood. The Kevin Sheedy is the GOAT of coaches you'd get from your average Essendon supporter back in the day, and probably even still now is both sickening and crindgewothy. Most Essendon supporters I know now are fairly sedated and resigned to the fact that thier current team are fairly average to below par, which puts me in a very happy place. Hopefully they'll eventually get to a position of despiration and despair that they will ever have a competitive team again, if they aren't actually already there.

Having heard/read a rumor that Lever may (pardon the pun) not be quite right, I'd be seriously looking at throwing Petty back and BBB as the third/second rotating key forward. A few reasons for this: T Mac is back to decient form and providing a the big mussel / contested marking forward up there again now and draws the more established KPB away from JVR. Lessens the need for Petty up there. I didn't think Petty made as bigger impact up forward as I'd expected. He looks a bit lost and out of position at times and if he misses the mark, I think guys like T Mac and BBB actually have a more established sense of how to stay involved and or kick opportunist goals once the ball hits the deck. Petty playing back is such a valuable asset to us. His ability to take big contested intercept marks down back and lock down an opponent is really important IMHO, particularly since we don't really have Gawn floating back down there at the moment. It's not that I think it was a huge mistake to throw Petty forward and give him a go down there, but for me it's run it's course for now and, so I think we should just park it unless the need really arises again. I actually think Petty would be better used up forward sporadically within games when we might be struggling to take grabs up forward, just to create a mismatch, throw the break things open a bit for the odd goal here or there if the game is in a bit of a stalemate or we badly need to get our selves back into a game. Using Steven May in this way would also be worthy of consideration here and there as well.

I'd suspect that's exactly why they've timed it as they have many people take the 4 days off this week as well and, so then it's about attracting some of those people to Adelaide for more than just the weekend, to stay longer and spend more tourist dollars.