Deemania since 56

No doubt about the longer-term effects of officialdom - we are moving to a position of late-adolescence towards adulthood in this regard - and it ain't pleasant for the fee-paying spectators, the players and the evenness of our competition. Righteous time wasters and showmen on the ego run.

There are similarities but I regard our depth as powerfully unique - and a real fortress of continued, pack-leading performances across the season - certainly to finish top two.

Isn't it reprehensible that our game - through the snot goblins - has been reduced to this?

Sure does add to their inconsistencies and so extremely negatively in anticipated, reliable umpiring.

Green came in an actually was rather quiet in form and contribution relative to his past efforts. What did surprise was the form - improving after the early first quarter start - and contribution of Preuss for the GWS team. Big bloke, big reach, big entrance to a melee or two, big reading of the play and the drop of the ball. Across the game, big Preuss earned an assessment as one of the best on the ground for GWS. Good on him, as it, too, has taken some time (of which most of us are familiar).

It seems as though the MFC is no longer wishing to be contacted by members - or return requests to call - but instead, have created virtual firewalls of non-communicative pathways and do not answer the phones within the stated working hours, any day of the week. This is quite intolerable for those who are living outside Melbourne itself. The new Mobile Ticketing for Members is a sham, as well. It fails across its pathways of engagement, meeting dead-ends constructed to avoid Member requests or queries. Has anyone else had this difficulty - I ask because this is the first time that I have been 'brick-walled' by any 'automated' digital platform - it would be interesting to see when (and if) the processes are ameliorated and refined as the benefits of Membership of the MFC are waning rapidly?

The umpires remind me of a junior, novice new employee sitting in an executive business meeting by default, attempting to establish an alleged opinion and identity, and constantly spruiking BS about all of the topics of the day. The new AFL umpiring rules and protocols replicate this niggling inaccuracy and represent a grossly annoying WAFTAM ( waste of F time and money) for their own credibility, not that of the game - the latter changing tack week to week.

It is rather obvious, he would have strengthened Casey somewhat, on a permanent basis. That is where he would have experienced gametime. He looked sensibly at our team and the influence of Yze and Chocko, compared himself to our players, and realised that he couldn't cut the mustard.

Some people have short memories and display limited gratitude. Hogan was and remains a Demon hero under such circumstances that few (these days) would understand.

His run and possessions as a result of continuing forward so hard, so far, parallel to the movement of the ball that he delivered was almost perfectly reminiscent of what Yze used to do in his playing days, on many occasions, for the Dees. It looks to me - alongside other gameplay examples - that Sparrow is under the right wing (of Yze).

That was the mistake of the century. Stevic is trigger happy. Must have been under instructions to adjudicate (and that is what they are supposed to be doing, not hampering a game or a contest) in favour, more often, in the direction of the MFC opposition so that a whitewash is not continued. The example was pure Krappe.

Yes, very well.

wry.

That is correct - long awaited.

Spargo was terrific tonight - all night.

Thanks for that, W_J, it was a memorable performance and the numbers meant something was being confirmed - albeit abstractly. It was a short career, he was a muscle-bound smaller bloke whose purple patch on that day remains = hazy but unforgettable. I am not sure where the 8 to 11 goals came from but it doesn't matter now, does it? Could have been points kick and if straight, goals that mey have been added to his daily tally. Your recall is a tremendous confirmation to me so thank you.

I recall Ray Carr at full forward (MFC) got a bag nearing 8 + but not sure if it was his debut. Can't even remember the decade but possibly 1970 - '85. Sorry about that; my memory fails, at times. If I said he kicked 11 goals, it makes me closer to the mark of comfort with recall, yet things are now grey. Interesting stat and a fantastic performance --- I was there, I know that, and it was a Home game at the 'G.

Most probably so ... if you were in the particular colours.

I'd reckon that 'those glimpses' would have educated JSmith in a variety of defensive strategies of an elite backline. Could this mean - in the days of the Weidemann redemption for all sins (and there have been a continuous series over several games, seasons and opportunities) - that the JSmith backline education system has better prepared him for a more permanent run in his role as a forward ball-getting, goal-kicking skills machine, replacing Weidemann for mere reliability alone? Maybe his time 'up-back' has been a deliberated final cut and polish for our forward line.

It was wonderful to wake up this morning to check the score: Brissy vs. Collingwood (The Filth). I attempted to watch the game but the umpiring again gave me the willies, so I retired bored and disinterested for a long sleep. What is interesting is at this point of the fixture, Brisbane (who in my mind were only moderately impressive) appear to be the major challenge for the Dees this season. It was good to evaluate the first half of the game, albeit interrupted by the snot goblins attempting to make the game '...genuinely evenly balanced and competitive...', and with an intended bias towards The Filth to facilitate this ...' in an attempt to keep the viewing public ' ... on the edge of their seats...' Had this not occurred, at least in the first half that I saw, Brizzy would have won the match by half time, showing more skills across the ground and in moving the ball quickly, and well, on most occasions. It is not time for the Dees to relax, however. It is time to enter into the rest of the season with confidence and a determination to commit manslaughter in each game from now on. A bright season awaits us, surely.

You betcha, Picket. You betcha. You and I seem to be the only posters who seem to appreciate his true attributes - and according to his father, he is more than a son-of-a-gun, as well. His pace, alone, would be an meaningful attribute up there.

The umpires failed to recognise the old amateur league 1, 2, 3, in other words.

I, too, support the concept of a F50 JSmith; in support of an ageing BBB and an 'unleapable' TMac if the case may be...

If hope had something to do with it all, as we have dedicated to Weid, a small shift to development and confidence of JVR in the best 22 over a short period of time might be something that turns the tables, up forward. It has been extended in a monotonous series of re-starts to several 'allegedly' developing players from whom we still await a reliable spurt of talent. Except for an earlier TMac, the signing of BBB and Jesse, it has just not materialised.

... after such a long apprenticeship, occupying contract time, effort, money; after being granted (when there were others) so much game time for limited performance in return; after renewed confidences in his form and potential contributions onfield; after incredible team support and widespread tolerance from the fans of the MFC. It is most disappointing that this will most probably be the end result. Still, like many others, one must donate more tolerance and patience to him, our support (as MFC members) and opportunity to develop more completely if he is to be what we all wish him to be as a key player in our team.