Deemania since 56

Magic.

Fank Duck for that.

Preuss, given more 'team time' is going to be the answer, if not at ffwd, then a commission around the chfwd *area* in-between ruck support. I will personally miss Hogan and do so, already - a very good footy head and capability - but Preuss can kick 'em from some distance whereas Hoges had to be inside 40m and find space to so do. Double-difficulty. With the Weed and TMac deep fwd with their skill sets, then I'd stab at our gapping problems having been overcome, supported by Gawn on the occasion, with Joel S readily thereabouts and our great fleet of run, carry, feed, space masters who are less subject to altitudinal illnesses.

Three strikes is like a horse on the horizon, disappearing into a neo-Gothic mist and strongly running free and confused now that it has bolted. It's going to take a helluva effort to get him back into the paddock.

The rub remains with the combination; Gawn is our 'best of all time' as a ruckman; Preuss is the other part of a combination with dangerous forward potential, a training agenda in the game plans as he has years ahead written on him, and what appears to be a killer instinct as a big bloke. Supports Gawn to a 'T' one would think. There are other elements emerging in the alleged best 22 that support this combination in the air, around the ground, in the heavy stuff, outside the heavy stuff, all acting in a game plan of organised chaos, two-way mobility and speed. We are stronger with this combination, more reliable and lethal, and well-supported by one another across the board. Go Dees; the scratch match just oiled some joints, the season will benefit from the massive increase in cylinder displacement.

Stretch does go in for the ball and often wins it, clearly. His disposal is suspect and he drops the ball high. Some coaching is needed and once this is ameliorated, he'd be a bona fide gun. He is also often left in the midline without support/protection/screens, and with incoming opponents or a player crush, he must dispose as a last resort, again often. His hands need to be operative with teammates nearby, more often. He would benefit from stitching up a play or two with the likes of Harmes, Oliver, Hunt or Spargo/Jones, for example, to concentrate on nearby feeds at this point.

It (the game) was going to be a slog, no matter who was included in which team. Our strengths, whilst rusty, sailed the game away and there looked to be a few set plays and decoys working already. D'arcy Moore played well for the Filth, and Beams was active. Scale that up a little, with Lever and May at the ready and we have the Filth covered - and our 2-ruck combo will talls like TMac, Weed, Vanders and JSmith seem to be rather formidable. Gawn is an absolute marvel - he has been doing it for three years now, leading from the front, getting to position, taking the grabs, feeding the ball forward. At a squeeze, OMac might be better utilised centre and fwd to play as another ruck/tall/offensive pressure agent. We'd need that aptitude if Viney might not get up as regularly as we would prefer. MIssed Clarrie - his ball movement and direct thoughts were not there - the linkage seemed to be missing. Many forward moves lacked his controlling influence and canny avenues. Great win, proud of the team efforts.

Thanks, Wise! I'd hoped that there would be some comment and depth, including a re-screening on the MFC site.

Is there to be a repeat screening, we missed it due to commitments - and I am sure that others will have missed the game, as well?

Spot on. In all of the confusion onfield, do our players now need to interpret redemptive signalling from Mummy and Daddy on the boundary? Wouldn't it be nice if we were the only club that did not complicate the purpose of the game, namely: beat your opponent to the ball and win the game.

The reality is in your statement, Fork 'em. It really became a disaster trail - up, winning, down, losing. Loss... We were not expected to win some games (and we didn't), so convention beat us, time and again. Umpiring represented this groundswell of negative expectation. Many a time we stunned the footballing public within games - generating an awesome silence in crowds made up in the main with opposition supporters and then, the tide turned; we ended up losing such matches as our fight was unconventional.

That was a big disappointment - one to never forget, actually - but even last season, there were a few losses that make one shudder. I was convinced that umpiring was second-rate and biased, amongst other negatives.

Does this mean the signs are only warning signs of The Filth players in the near vicinity?

Going over the AFL fans' tolerances, ain't it?

How perfectly said, it is a true realisation of the errant problems in this world. Congratulations on such a forthright stance - with deep and meaningful honesty. May I join you in this non-cryptic assessment because, as an afterthought on your post, I feel so very closely aligned to this point of view, as well. Well done!

That was a good season for him when having the opportunity. He did show some potential at the end of the training and adjusting rainbow. He hit hard, went in hard and ran well with the ball. His finishing skills were the suspect areas but, he was improving. He has deceptive pace and some height that I hope he has been able to develop. Thoroughly worth watching.

Hell, that will be brilliant! He can be such an asset to our team as a player and as The Beast.

Yep, good report.

As I have mentioned before, I prefer and consider my football attendances as superior to those of cricket, at the 'G. I let my MCC Membership go - completely - as the bar, dining room and stand were filled with Richmond, Collingwood, Carlton supporters and an assortment of other hangers-on in the past, with familiar faces and predictable behaviours recognised during the cricket attendances akin to a pleasant Sunday afternoon at Victoria Park or Punt Road Oval in the mud. Sacrosanct territory, hallowed ground and associative connections were meaningless, and the sense of 'belonging' rapidly waned amid cries of '...Go, Tigers ... Carna Woods ... Shove it up 'em, Blues...' Hundreds of dollars are saved each year in Membership fees these days and have done so for well over a decade, now. I now support my Club with MFC Membership, in the Southern Stand. The nexus between the MFC and the MCC has vanished and possibly, lost forever. a

Saw him (Jake) play a couple of times at Essendrug. Hardly got a feed from his teammates as he was a bypass player. In the doldrums, he decided to do something about it and very cleverly, at that. When recruited to the Dees, I was very happy; knew it was all in him and perhaps more. His physical attributes were noticeably very sound. His reading of the play had something akin to ball glue about it. He's now producing even more - and the Dees are very lucky to have him. Ditto, for Hibberd, whose attack on the ball and his great kicking really impressed.

He is the bloke to play on Cox, but there are many others in the whole comp on whom Preuss could be completely effective. His strength and physical presence are just two components that provide (other than that provided by Gawny, to the death so far) great options for our team as a swing ruck-forward-backman, depending on the team we are playing. This, at least, provides that relief we must have for a longitudinal Max Gawn and due to Braydon's age, he may well be the longitudinal heir apparent to Gawn. Whatever the case - and no-one will know until this season is underweigh - our acquired 2-ruck combination is highly formidable. Given the talls in TMac, Weideman, OMac, Joel Smith and even Bradtke (once matured), we really are poised for some positive action it would seem.

Golly, a tough call ... both are different players and indeed, in the final act of kicking the ball at the sticks, both are again different. If the Weed develops his attributes, he may well be a prolific forward but I would expect him to more naturally win more ball on the ground than in the air - as a marque of the present game. Hoges was phenomenal at times, yet had to endure the ball sailing over his head so often, or as a result of the said 'bombing', change direction and move into congestion - and yet he still took a few each week despite this handicap. It is correct to think that the 'team' approach can be improved, particularly in the final delivery of the ball to a moving forward. A few big monoliths in the deep forward areas would assist each of them to block, screen cleverly and rally each other into desirable 'receiving' positions thus offsetting/unsettling tall opposition defenders not fully knowing as a consequence 'where and whom' to counter and how. We have the smalls and runners down there already, highly capable 'on game' to crumb, create havoc and speed the ball if loose for a second or two in this chaos, some highly reliable to score rather simple and the miraculous goals in the opportunity. I guess I really mean to articulate that my preferences would lead to the presentation of more 'organised chaos' for other teams in our mid- to deep forward zones. It could be enigmatic......

We have a tendency to put a good deal of pressure on the Weed, don't we? He has taken a long time to produce what he did in the last breaths of the 2018 season, but it was most probably a sign of his readiness for greater things - improvements over time is a long-held tradition. He will have a better time across the whole season in 2019, and this is his 'well-earned privilege'. We need him to step up with confidence this year - with a concentration on presenting for the ball, getting the ball and putting his great kicking skills to work more regularly. Onyer, Weed - keep plugging.

Thank heavens that I hit an improved score off the back nine, this morning. It negated the tears and the incredibly hurtful overnight distress that I had read on DL yesterday - about poor old De Goey (from the Filth) and his significant injury. Interestingly, across the past 5 hours since arriving home, not one shred of disappointment returned.

Nicely balanced team for Rnd 1 - lots of possible yet effective swings within it, like the interchange, love Frosty at CHB, OMac is going to have to feed Frost, Salem and Harmes very well to hold a spot, fwd line looks tremendous.