Engorged Onion

Love following a competent club... also love facts. Wasn't Roos.. nor Tami.

here's something I prepared earlier... In our sessions, we will talk about the role of awareness as a first step to helping us make changes that will be beneficial to our performance. In particular, we focus on a particular type of awareness called mindfulness. The term mindfulness has its roots in eastern spiritual and religious traditions, however psychology has recognized its importance, and has removed the spiritual and religious context to help improve physical and emotional well-being. This approach can be useful no matter your religious or spiritual (or non) preference. Mindfulness is nonjudgemental (compassionate) present-moment awareness of what is going on inside of us and around us. We often live our lives focused on something other than what is happening in the moment (in sport, focus is having your eyes and your mind attuned to the exact same task)- worrying about the future, ruminating about the past, focusing on what is coming up next, rather than our present task. Importantly, it is useful that we can do things without paying attention to them. We can walk without thinking about walking, which allows us to talk to the person we are walking with, without having to think. However this ability to do things automatically without awareness, also allows us to lose touch with what is happening right in front of us. We can develop habits (such as avoiding embarrassment), that we are not even aware of and that may not be in line with our broader goals. Sometimes though, when we DO pay close attention to our thoughts and feelings, we become very critical of our thoughts and feelings and either try to change them or to distract ourselves because judgemental awareness can be very painful. For example, we might notice while we are about to compete that we feel sweaty or that our heart is racing and then think “ I’m an [censored], what is wrong with me!! If I don’t calm down, I won’t be able to perform to my peak!!” Being mindful falls between these two extremes. We pay attention to what is happening inside and around us, we acknowledge events and experiences as what they are, and we allow things we cannot control to be as they are, while we focus our attention on the task at hand. For example, when competing we may notice the same feelings of stress/anxiety that came up earlier, take a moment to reflect, “There go my thoughts again,” and gently bring our attention back to our task. This second part of mindfulness – letting go of the need to critically judge and change our inner experience- is particularly tricky. In fact, often being mindful involves practicing being nonjudgemental about our tendency to be judgemental! At x we believe that being mindful is a personal experience that can bring flexibility to your performances and life and will work collaboratively with you to find the best ways to apply this approach. A FEW KEY POINTS: Mindfulness is a process: We do not achieve a final and total state of mindfulness. It is a way of being in one moment that comes and goes. Mindfulness is losing our focus 100 times and returning to it 101 times. Mindfulness is a habit: Just like we learned to go on automatic pilot by practicing it over and over (like learning to ride a bike!), we can learn mindfulness through practice. The more we invest in time to practice it, the easier it becomes to have moments of mindfulness, especially in the crucial moments of your performance. Mindfulness activities come in many different forms: People engage in formal mindful practices like yoga, meditation or tai chi. Although these practices can take hours or days, we aim to make mindfulness easy to fit into your busy lifestyle. People can be mindful for a moment, attending to their breath at any point of the day and noticing their experiences. ALL FORMS of mindful practice in beneficial Mindfulness brings us more fully into our lives: Sometimes, especially early in treatment, we will practice mindfulness in ways that seem very relaxing and removed from the stressors of our daily lives, however the ultimate goal of mindfulness is to keep us more fully in our performance (and lives) and to improve our overall performance (and life satisfaction). Mindfulness can allow us to pause and ready ourselves for some event and bring us more fully into the task, so we perform at a higher and more consistent level, without being taken away by our thoughts and feelings.

Unlike all the others who put on the jumper and are just are not as genetically gifted or talented 😇

100% it was this. well actually 99% it was this - I think it was 63 points (as their average)...anyway, it wasn't the win, it was the defensive effort they celebrated.

Some of this would be great on the podcast 😍 If this post gets 50 likes, would you consider an appearance! 😇 (apologies, I'm being a little cheeky with the pressure!)

It's never nonsense. 100% it's about noticing what your attention is on, as if you're not aware, you have no control over you behaviours under stress and scrutiny.

Some pretty critical posts on here.... Anyway... I watched Goodwin on AFL 360 last nigh- spruiking how pleased he is where Tom is in his rehab, and have just read this from an article in The Age from Max Gawn... "Premiership key forward Tom McDonald is ready to return to the VFL from injury this week in the qualifying final as he makes a push to be fit and back in the team for the Demons’ finals campaign after the bye. “I have never seen someone who knows his injuries better. If he thinks he is OK to go, which is what he is telling me – I have seen him when he has said he is not OK as well – [then he is OK to go],” Gawn said." Feels as though they're telegraphing to the public he may get a guernsey against the Swans...

And if so... how's THAT for loving and supportive culture. 👌

said all perusers of Demonland.

Opinions on 'protocol' please. Should supporters boo a player at age 22 when he returns to play your team, after he has helped land 2 premierships and chooses to go and be employed elsewhere?

First week of that task was just signed off on...👌

I think there is an explanation over on the loading thread 😇

Of the 5 games I have seen live this year (Hawthorn, Fremantle, Geelong, Collingwood and Brisvegas), watching the first four matches, felt like most of our goals came from grinding and scrappy play. Not so Brisbane, was that your experience watching and if so, how do you make sense of that? (probably echos the question, Were we good, or were Brisbane not so good?)

Geelong straight sets @Nascent...delicious.

I know nothing about him @Jibroni, what about him and his philosophy works for the MFC?

I know you are a believer @Lord Nev, and the loading program for this year will be different from last year due to the 6 week later start vs the 2020. Further, our strong desire to keep kicking long down the line and to pockets irrespective of game state, game score, game scenario, over the last few months, bares out to me, that due to our loading program, the FD felt the best way to preserve the game as best they could was to provide few exit options for the opposing team to carve us through the middle(ie: hugged up against the boundary line) because we have been gassed due to where we sat within the training program. All of a sudden that shifted Friday night... The loading program influenced the last 2 months of scores, particularly the second halves - yep the FD were prepared to risk 8 games of the season, to get the team peaking for the season proper.

Neil, Loading is in reference to the last 2.5 months of form out on the field. And, loading had nothing to do with Friday night. Hope that's a bit clearer.

Read the loading thread 😬 🤣

I'd imagine if he wins the Brownlow, he'll actually start getting holding frees paid to him as of 2023.

My take, as I was at the game: I said it a few times in the third quarter to my friends in the members, It felt like watching the Dees essentially channel the Portland 3rds, doing 'circle work'. My Queensland companions had never heard the term before. There was nothing to be gained by going harder and harder, aside from potential injuries. Now... some may get caught up in the notion that Sydney could still claim 2nd. I'd argue that was a lower priority for the club (by what I could see at the game) than potentially injuring key personnel.

To your last point, absolutely. However, I believe there is another thread which covers the reasons why this has occurred. Pre Brisbane match presser by Goodwin discussed players feeling fresh. He hasn’t alluded to that for 3 months or so. So, I think it’s a good indicator @Lord Nevas to what was going on and one way to make sense of the numbers.

So what those numbers bare out is that in second halves comparative to last year, we score on average in 4 points better and concede 8 points more on average? I may be reading it wrong and I wouldn’t use language like ‘issues’ or ‘problem’. I concede I am an optimist.

2021: Points Scored Points Conceded 1888 = 85.81avg 1443 = 65.59avg 2022: Points Scored Points Conceded 1936.00 = 88avg 1483 =67.4avg

https://www.liveladders.com/AFL/ and hit the refresh button. 🤙

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