Deemania since 56

Could be a great victory, for sure. Are we all sitting, at present, on the edge of the seat with nervous tremors? Sure does fully occupy the mind and the full, daily routine, often at the most inappropriate moments. Hate to harp, but I feel obliged to mention it: I would really like to see Pedo snuck into the fwd line from the bench across the game; I would like to see Spargo rested and Garlett come into the fwd pocket. I thought that the Clarrie fakes for a Brayshaw centre clearance and vice-versa were absolutely fantastic - and kept opponents guessing where to intercept on Gawn's taps at the centre bounces.

That whole season was terrific for the Dees with such a string of great players 'at the ready'. Saw most games and the finals ascent into the realms of possibilities.

How about this, dpositive: To the philosophical and wizened AFL enthusiast, Collingwood Football Club are trash.

His form and efforts in 2018 = inspirational excellence.

Tasteless, submitted to draw disdain to others. Onto the 'banned' list immediately.

LIving in Adelaide, I am surrounded by what you describe, both houses next door, the people over the back fence, the next street across and the four after it. Go to the supermarket and being greeted by: 'Go, Crows!' drives you mad. I wear my Demons cap everywhere, now. Let me tell you, there is a wall of silence from those who one might regard as 'normal people', well-mannered people and football enthusiasts who normally meet and greet in bucket-loads of conviviality. No more - particularly this week with the Crows match approaching. So, Dees and Dees fans, hellp me give 'em hellfire!

With Harmes' build and conditioning, it really is just a matter of developing improved pace and agility, he has the tank and the power. He need not be another Davey, by any means in terms of pace, just faster than he currently happens to be. Mind you, at his current speed status, he ain't too bad as it is, he just needs heightened running adjustments to increase absolute speed.

Ten minutes later, I have been musing on this possibility of downloading the Weed as part of gathering Lynch, potentially. Gaff would be my priority acquisition, just the same. I reckon that Lynch would not be needed by the MFC in his current onfield deployment (at the Crows); however, I do think that he is a player above a mere depth acquisition. To this end, I feel that he could be fairly easily adapted to be our Centre Half Back with some command of the footy field and, of course, better exploiting his footy-gathering skills, given his physical attributes. With OMac proving more skilled, adept and reliable at Full Back, and with the rest of our impressive backline in support, Lynch could well be the opportunity to release Lever from the CHB position, enabling him (Lever) to return to the utility/intercept role to the HBFlank where he plays his very best football. Imagine: Jetta OMac Hibberd Lever Lynch Hunt/Lewis ... as our back six to produce a fortress and ball-winning set to support and initiate our impressive midfield and forward drive. In many ways, it is a bluddy scary opportunity to put the wobblies up the Filth, Carlscum, Essendrug, Whoreform, the Weegals and the dreaded interstate menagerie. Yep, go for him, after Gaff.

Cannot contemplate guessing on financial and contract exactings and the more we speak of it, the more we inflate the circumstances before the deal is done. Look deeper, folks; look into Tom McD himself. Is he the kind of guy who would turn his back on his beloved Dees? No way. He is a player of great dignity, a team man. There is a quality player system in place to feed and augment his game styles and credibility - and an awesome short-term future for his loyalty well outside the lottery of financial windfall. Give the guy some credibility for who and what he is, not what you think he could be.

And I'd reckon that could be Harmes.

Big angst over here in Adelaide about the upcoming match against the Dees. Even the newspaper (the 'Advertiser') hints strongly this morning of '...several...' Crows players being keen on belting up Jake Lever. Apparently, the word is around that Gawn is going to be dealt with around the legs, knees and ankles as early as possible in the game. The Crows supporters are panicking about Walker not being available for 4-6 weeks, Sloane being in the longer-term 'rested/recovery period, and their alleged two jets returning to the side this weekend not '...being ready...' to return/still injured. Hey, my heart bleeds. Let's play Pedo as an expendable utility to sort out a few possible transgressors who will wilt on the vine before him.

He definitely had a leg trauma, the kind a player gets with a medium-thigh corky. If so, he may well be right for the game against the Crows - he is a fit bloke. The 'limp' was compounded by the amount of running (buggered) at that time as he moved to the interchange area for some much-needed rest.

Nah, we all enjoy the subtle depth of perception, the aplomb, the 'make the best of it' mentality, the faithful Demon commitment, and the fact that you seem to be a perfect replacement for the Marlboro man, based on your avatar. Steve was cool, baby. You are doing a very good imitation. ?

Grabbed the joke, instantly! It was a good one. Surely no-one was offended.

Yep, take Gawn off at that time was everyone's mantra ... TMac and Viney, as well. Phew!

TMac loves the Demons, the side that his brother plays for, the side that turned him into a champion, the side that allowed him to recuperate from injury for a very long time, the side that gave him focus and allows him to speak his mind publicly. It is also the side going places with him contributing to the max to achieve that end. Tom will get a very good offer. He has no love for other teams - he plays for the Dees. He will not be greedy; he is already a successful farmer, I believe. Tom ain't going to go anywhere on re-signing with HIS club. The sooner, the better for him and the Club. Win, Win situation of mutual interdependence.

I'd seen him try to break free in his games with Essendon. Several times there were 'Brad Green-like' bursts with kicking skills to match yet it was an alien play for the Essendon team and players. With all that was happening at Essendon, I hoped that our recruiters could notice him - they obviously did. He is going to get much better, you realise. With his head up, he is going to be a gun asset. When he brings into the game his hidden big marking skills, we will sit back in awe.

He is a driven, Melbourne player; tough as nails, works hard and is a solid improver. Terrific in a utility role and does not shirk the responsibilities of maiming opponents.

Rebound is the key to turning this talented backline into a fortress. This must be steered through the midline and then the flanks, possibly through run and carry by the fleet-footed smalls. With improving game form, I can see Harmes/Hunt combinations in my mind to achieve this with physically tough resolve, enabling roving smalls to move fwd into penetrating positions. TMac and Hogan would be key utility fwd targets with Petracca, ANB, Hannan and Garlett exploiting their pockets.

Could win us a few frees, as well.

Tex is now close to useless - injuries, etc are common - as it looks like his slowing body is catching up to his slow brain. He was a great player but his advertising ego over here in SA (sold himself for money, as he accused Lever of doing when transferring to the MFC) has got the better of him. I hope he plays in the Alice match as he is lucky to get a kick, and represents 1/2 a man missing on the football field, based on his recent 'form'. We should take this game seriously to boost percentage even further across 4 full quarters. I would be interested to see if Talia is pinged by the umpires for his man-handling and holding of marking forwards - so far this season he has got away with it time and again, as if it were a skill of the game. It could be tough for the MFC if we do not have an abundance of talls at our disposal against the Crows; however, I would expect us to exploit the dwindling present form of the Crows , and take the game by about 5 goals. The difference in form between the two sides is, at present, around 10 goals to the MFC. With those talls, we need pace, pace, pace from the smaller fellas, finding space and building team momentum. Enjoy the game, folks!

Well, if the Crows have a few coming back after injury, we can fix that with a bump or two from Pedo.

Agree with this in the first quarter - it wasn't working and a reliance on long bombs made us relatively pedestrian. The inside 50 and behind deep fwd pressure and penetration changed all of that - where the hard work of the rest of the team - particularly midfield - was rewarded with abundant scores. With space finders across the forward line, the kicking and passing improved to a target within range. Garlett knows how to play that game, it is what he did when he first joined us, albeit with limited success with our genetic 'bombing' that was so prevalent. He'd be our best 'crumber', too and has frustrated the Crows in the past.

More deliberate kicking across shorter distances, to a man finding space - the team triangulated a little, providing two flankers for every lead - and that was tremendously difficult for Carlton's youth to keep pace with - and it provided double the options we had to receive fwd set-ups. The backline pressed on, drew Carlton fwds out and also found space about the ground; their opponents also had difficulty keeping pace, manning up and winning the ball.

Interesting you say so ... he is adapting to this level really well. I'd like to see him given some protection, at times, otherwise he is likely to get hurt - but rebounds quickly, so far. His skills are elite.