Deemania since 56

At the beginning of the season and at the end of the day, wise words.

Yep, a real winner lies in waiting. It is a jungle out there, either side of the Amazon River, that mellows into a rainforest. However, beware of piranhas lurking in the muddied shallows. It is a great shame that gate receipts and club memberships are inadequate to sustain sport, these days.

You're correct, Saty, I find myself writing negatives far too often when I attempt to think of positives. I have not resolved this, internally, at this point but articles and discussion points like yours assist me in achieving a broader perspective and at times, cause a sense of regret about certain comments that I might have made hastily. It seems as though these considerations are part and parcel of being a long-term Demon supporter, the Club's history and the continuous struggle to see our players, year by year, rewarded with success. Go Dees!

Yep, the talls (and certainly minus the Weed) could well play together on the fwd line, at once, doing different things that make dominating half fwd and the goal mouth area a virtual booby trap for an opposition. With our runners and flankers in support of this, per man for example, it would be scary for an opposition to defend against - much like a basketball zone defence/attack and remember, our runners and flankers can nearly all kick accurately over at least 50 metres if so required to deliver goals. Sounds bloody effective as an alternative strategy to the now-infamous 'Demon bomb' up the ground. A mobile area strike team with fwd pressure from the rest of those brave men in red'n'blue. Less reliance on one person to out-muscle, out-juggle, out-position, then out-possess and/or out-mark opponents. However, I'd like Tom McD spending most of his time in the backline where he is a killer. Hogan, Pedo and perhaps, a resting Gawn/Melksham/Frosty/Smith.

Great to hear that Dean Kent is back to fitness and can resume training seriously.

One hellava team and playing style. Overt evidence of how the umpires controlled the outcomes of previous matches for this team.

No kidding? I thought that those two integers when squared by the polynomials of a pre-Raphaelite error continuity led to manic depression and an infinity of goals kicked against you - or missed - when factoring with other field progressions. Thanks for the clarification. I will watch out for these criteria.

There are doubts on both Oscar and Weideman. These are 'readiness'-related and exposed by attribute displays. I believe we have the 'grit' in some others of our 'young brigade' to better fill these gaps and lapses in performance and drive. Not many will agree with me but that is footy and supporter thoughts, of which we are all entitled. I know what Devil's... Detail means when mentioning '...that sick feeling in the stomach...' and its frequency as these two players are called upon to contribute to the team's success. Anyway, 'Carna Dees!

Has self-reflection replaced footy intent?

Perhaps.....

Do you reckon Pedo can kick 45 goals this coming season? He seems ultra-motivated across the past 12 months and this could be the year. Pedo is a game changer.

Great shots but of these, it really looks like Melscham has mad strides with his balance and poise over the past few weeks. Very handy bloke to have in the fwd line.

Great effort and execution - his capabilities are often amazing.

Hate to harp on Oscar but there is a young footballer who must lift a considerable amount - just not competitive either in skills and/or in what appears to be his on-field attitude and endeavour,

Bah-Wah! I wanna go to the pre-season, too.

'He'll slide to Casey & Petty'll take his spot'...' Not a bad consideration. Incestuous family ties (Tom, as brother) need not hinder such an awaited outcome.

He was accepted by the umpires as too good for the encouragement of votes, I guess. How could such a powerless team be given votes in the first place? I am sure these were contributing reasons. He was due at least 2 Brownlows and we know it.

Leoncelli became great. Very damaging and could not be let loose. It was a shame that level of performance took a few years to develop.

Absolutely!

Good alignment with Rigoni. Guy was very similar to ANB. ANB is very similar to Guy. Both made a significant improvement to their mobility to augment their existing attributes.

Interesting, I'd say that Port, for example and hopefully Collingwood, too - are in for a tougher than normal year. Scattergun approaches abound and taming the shrew will be tough for a consistent season ahead. These days, it is rare to see a 'young-ee' with talent star across a game, let alone put in four consistent quarters. It does happen, of course, but it is rare. However, the player who uses his skills and attributes for team purposes - which is also often rare - regardless of age, generally makes that big difference. It aligns itself to some modification of coaching skills and directions in order to be effective.

Great memory jog. It did seem that Robbie was the only player on the ground - not because he was 'hungry' (which he most certainly was not) but because he could see ahead and do something about it at that moment, continuously alert, ready and always able. The greatest, ever; there really are few challengers to this summation.

Nice one, 'Nuts. Seeya at da footie.

I'd regard his season of 2017 a little more than '...quietly impressive...', P-man. His season was one of terrific improvement and his running and attack on the ball have both lifted, considerably. A duplicate season is less likely - he is more likely to put in a better season, given his overall improvements over time and his excellent return to training and team activities. I cannot foresee his ceiling but he has become the midfield-fwd line Jetta and overall, it will be bright. He's a terrific asset with what appears to be a great mindset for competitiveness and execution. I am getting strong vibes that the running game is going to be an increased feature of the Dees this coming season and for Nibbler, that is 'just down his alley'.

One cannot ever forget just what a great footballer Robbie Flower was - all over the ground. No-one could move into space like him to make a pathway for the team, or take that critical mark, or find running space to take advantage of a possession, or kick for goal usually on the run from a long way out. In a team of limited strength, Robbie found a way almost every game. I still rate him the best player that I have seen, followed by 2. Malcolm Blight, 3. Leigh Matthews, 4. Wayne Carey/D. Schwartz, 5. Gary Ablett Snr.