tiers

Not so sure. 57 years of suffering and ultimately negativity will take more than one flag and one year to dispel. But I will enjoy the dispelling..

A team with no weaknesses and no gaps. Each plays his role on any given day.

Gives them a false sense of their ability. Finals will be different.

Were these leadership traits apparent when he was recruited? At the time my impression from the media was that he was a bit undisciplined and wayward. Good coaching does make a difference. We are very fortunate to have such open and well spoken leaders and ambassadors in Gawn, Brayshaw, Petracca, McDonald, May and Lever who make us feel proud of our playing group and our club.

Re: attacks on Maxie. More often than not, Maxie is in a contest with other Melbourne team mates. It is as if the coach wants to make sure that the oppos don't get the ball so he crowds every contest. In a pack it is easy for Maxie to get hammered. Let Maxie lead on his own one out and keep the packs off him. Spread the tall timber to confuse and confound the oppos.

As Goody says, take no risks. Cramped up in a plane for 4 hours each way will not help.

Notice how BBB plays up and down the ground to provide options. No one sits at home in the goal square waiting for high kicks.

He was once one of us. Truly sad that there appears to be no end to his unhappiness. However, with Pert now at our club, there is nothing that we can do for a former player who would otherwise be supported.

At the moment we are the the team we are because we play a whole team system where there are no weaknesses or gaps and where all 22 players contribute to the system. If any one player is down or tagged then the others step up to compensate. Unlike some pretenders, we are not a one, two or even three man team, we are a 22 man team so that tagging alone cannot defeat us. Except for occasional days "off" when we lose the thread, the only way to beat us is to have a team of 22 players playing a better system. So far I have not seen this. GO GOODY GO DEES

There is just 22+ players of top value. We have no gaps. As for rankings, why bother? It's the team that matters not the individuals. Would Petracca be Petracca without Oliver? Would May be May without Lever? Not when it counts.

Oliver, Petracca, Viney, Langdon and Brayshaw, as a group, are as formidable as the lions fab four and have the enormous benefit of two ruckmen who can play as midfielders.

The only player who could not be replaced by Robbie is Maxie. I would pick Robbie first ahead of any current players who would all struggle to reproduce their current form as they would spend too much time watching Robbie perform magic.

As I attended the 1964 GF and have been a supporter since the 50s so I have no choice but to place Norm Smith first. Second is Simon Goodwin. A premiership gets you to the top of the list. Third John Northey who took a young, struggling group to five consecutive years of finals. Old style coach who got the best out his team. Fourth is Neale Daniher. Notwithstanding the mess we were in in 1997, in 1998 he inherited a team that recruited White, drafted Johnstone and recovered from injury Lyon, Tingay, G Lovett, Schwarz to play in the finals in his first year. A brain fade in the preliminary final possibly cost us a chance to beat Adelaide again in the GF. Consecutive years in the finals eluded us until 04, 05 and 06 so that we were not consistent. A wasted era. Fifth is Neil Balme. His tenure was blighted by injuries to key players to the extent that in one game (forgot year) our key forward position selections were Charles and Farmer. There was no-one else. His one good year was 1994 (notably due to Lyon and Schwarz who were missing thereafter) but he did discover Neitz's forward ability and had the courage to play his best player in the forward line and not at CHB where he had starred.

A two year extension is perfect. Makes a total of three seasons including 2022. I believe that a two year extension will encourage all parties to perform at their best.

Still the same old demons as always. GO DEES

Comes straight back to the backline. Salem's quality decision making and delivery from half back/midfield are attacking weapons that should be retained for the benefit of the team. He is also an excellent one on one defender and, increasingly, a solid contested mark. Hard to pick who is to make way. Rivers, Hunt and Bowey have all performed well from half back. I can see a backline comprising May, Lever, Petty and perhaps Smith as talls with Salem, Rivers, Bowey and Hunt as smalls (8). Eight places does not work unless any can be accommodated in the midfield which is already crowded with Gawn, Oliver, Petracca, Viney, Langdon, Brayshaw, ANB, Jordon and Sparrow (9). Together with a forward line with Fritsch, Brown, McDonald, Weideman, Spargo, Pickett and Jackson (7) there are 24 selections. Which 2 miss out? I am glad it is not me to have to make the decision. But how fortunate are we?

Don't want to remember. In 1965 we started with 8 straight victories then lost big to sainters on QB at the G. We never recovered until 2021. Sadly I was there. We were an old team playing on muscle memory and we had to fall. Will not happen again. We are a young robust and highly skillful team still on the rise. GO GOODY GO DEES

The second subbed player should also have to miss the next game? Too much potential for conflicts and gaming. Another alternative is to have a rotating floating sub where a different player sits out each quarter so that there are still only 22 active players. Better than sitting on the bench for a whole game. Same rules to apply for activation of sub.

Weed played as a ruck to relieve Maxie. Jackson's spot. TMac should stay as a forward. He does more at ground level than Weed and we have enough marking strength already. Sorry for Weed but it is time the coaches figured out how to use him to his maximum advantage.

Back when this started there was a suggestion on this site that any player subbed out was definitely not available for the following game (allows for byes) and the player subbed in must be selected in the 22 for the following game. Teams will think twice before they try to game the system. Otherwise the system makes sense to try and ensure a fair contest of 22 v 22. Although it should only apply to match day injuries, not injuries (mostly soft tissue) that have not healed or are aggravated. Similar to cricket.

+1. Certainly the most versatile and capable ruckman and the most impactful leader (r 23 2021 and PF) in my time watching the dees (60+ years). Watch him as he acknowledges and encourages the team after every goal and great effort. In one final last year he ran down the ground to high five the defenders whilst we were lining up for goal. That's a leader.

All of them. There is a bakers' dozen (13) so I declare that there is now a Demons Dozen (44).

On a discussion show they mentioned that Ed's tag was not so much a run with and spoil but rather a positioning between Ed and the boundary so that he had less space to work in. I have only watched the replays of the 2nd and 3rd quarters in detail and it seemed to me that, whilst Ed was quieter than usual, his supposed tagger was quieter still and was not so close when Ed did win the ball. Ed plays his best when close to the boundary. Surely he would be just as effective running through the middle. His speed and ability to offer as an out for his team mates would be just as good. Let's confuse the oppos.

I have posted about this issue before but it seems that nothing will ever change. A differential of 94 frees between the two outlier clubs is concerning, more so because their numbers are twice that of the nearest clubs. Seven extra frees per game for the doggies and 6 fewer frees for the toiges is disturbing. What if it was us on the losing end? There has been some statistical analysis of the numbers showing that they are not as outrageous as they look but our great game does not readily withstand such extreme variations that clearly fail the pub/BBQ test. The AFL should/must investigate or the credibility of the umpiring will be lost.

That comment is offensive and disrespectful. They were the best three in those positions that we had at the time and they deserve our support and respect as Demon players. That they were not as successful as the current three might be due to the combination of the structure of the club, coaching, administration and player development. Who knows how they might have progressed with today's club.