Deemania since 56

May enforced out; Jetta, not as quick; Jones, needs a week off to rest Sparrow in; Petty in, Hibberd in New Sub: Daw (can play fwdline, backlind, ruck - and will scare the sheet from the Hawks.

Taking the goal scoring pressure off Melksham may make him a better footballer. In other words, feeding BBB with his good kicking and running less deep into the fwdline.

Agree - if this proves to be the case. I am not sure just yet, but I have faith in both Yze and Chocko to bring in the biscuits.

Picket, amongst his others notable talents, is learning about 'mongrel' and doing it with aplomb. He's the sort of young bloke we need to win a flag again. The Dees of Old had it. The better Dees' teams since 64 had it. We're getting there, now.

A very nice prediction.

It's is questionable that the contact was accidental. a. As the body turns to the point of falling due to the force of gravity or an external source, the upper torso rolls and braces in the direction of the fall - an autonomic response; try it, if you do not believe it. b. The shoulder girdle autonomically braces on the falling side thus reducing the likelihood and severity of a dislocation of the landing gear (humerus and clavicle and shoulder joint socke of the scapula); c. importantly, the elbow straightens for a more rigid and straight arm force absorption on the 'falling' side to support/cushion the fall (under the influence of the autonomic muscular system); if you don't believe it, try it. The external force in this case was a fair bump by May on the opposite side of the fall direction and Hawkins' own awkward absorption of the not overly enforced bump stimulus. He met a brick wall, in other words and didn't like it Against the autonomic response of the whole body including the impact arm of Hawkins' overt rotation of the body and a bending of the impact arm (as opposed to the autonomic straightening of the arm - ie: a deliberate act at the desired rotation radius of May's head), in consequence a successful blow was enabled If some freakish, totally abnormal rotation from a static force (May) prevented the impact arm from straightening during the balance adjustment made to overcome the loss of stability, the effect of gravitational force and the autonomic falling sensation response, we have not seen it before in one who leaps and bounds and hits other bodies to dislodge their judgment at a professional standard of excellence. Of course, this act did far more than dislodge May's judgment at that moment. This raises the question: Was he successful in getting a head-high, bent elbow jab in for good, forceful measure - and faking 'accidental' to avoid disciplinary consequences? Most probably not but some of these matters could be reviewed.

At the back of our minds, we knew the umpires would attempt at various times to keep Geelong in the game. No 'ifs', no 'buts' just in plain view.

Ya forgot Hawkins. It's a perfect day for him to take the forward dive as if he was pushed.

An unforgetable moment in Selwood's career - tried to smart Rs and got treated simply as an aside.

He has received more compensatory tolerance than most across six years. The well-clued, just-clued, half-clued, no-clued and Collingwood supporters alike all realise those six years were more than adequate to elicit appropriate improvements so mysteriously seen in him for such a longer term by observers. Even One-legged-Larry could show more improvement over that timeframe than has our eternal hope for the Weed.

Thinking about the Sparrow rest period and the re-ignition of Melksham despite game evidence, it has been a tough call before the game against the Cats by those who oversee what might be possible. Perhaps, just perhaps, training and preparation for the game against Geelong has established some good links between Melksham's accurate - at times, deadly - foot passing into the forwards and the exploitation of Fritta, for example, leading straight through the midline - instead of the wider pockets. This may apply to other forwards, as well, of course. There might be something brewing ... there might not be something brewing. At any rate, it will be a distraction for the Cats working against their 'slow' game in the backline, chipping and wide-ranging in defence to give their midfield/forwards time to re-set. Some neat Demon passing by foot would greatly assist the interruption of Geelong's geriatric progression of the ball from defence.

I've given him six years, as well. What a waste.

I have travelled the bumpy road many times in the pursuit of enlightenment about the Weed and his long-awaited improvements and missing competencies. Even with weaker opponents and backlines he has notoriously failed my expectations as reflected in so many commentaries from fans, members and footy purists alike and these, one and all, have been over a timeframe that is now beyond 'intolerable'. The team should move on without him - he has had his chances - he has failed to deliver that glimmer of hope we seek. Looking at our structure as a team and its newly annointed ones, there is no place for the hype supporting failure.

The beauty of having footballer options, as you state, is that you can start at No. 1 and finish at number whatever. It is the order in which you rank the players that is important, in selection terms. For example, I would have Weideman number 8, TMac number 7, Melksham number 6, Jackson number 5 (utility in the main), Mitch Brown number 4, Majak Daw number 3, Fritta number 2 , Ben Brown number 1. You start somewhere else, it's your right, loges, not your cynicism cue. Then you pick the 'fillers' and 'smalls' to match the dynamics of your preferences and omissions. Just because we do not agree on these positions, it does not make your decisions or mine incorrect. The decisions are just different for varied reasons. Goodwin had a go with his team and at this point, I am not all that happy about the longitudinal, evidentiary outcomes.

Ode to Majak: He gets to them, he holds them, he can kick 'em, he can tap 'em, he can and does intercept 'em. The Weed ain't done none of that after four years of mind-bending patience, deficient in any sign of consistency and/or reliability. Majak is a massive presence and obstruction, another difficult match-up forward, backward and in a jostle when umpires throw up. Who's going to be the opposition's lucky bunny if the bank of footballing wisdom selects the Weed, not Majak?

Looking forward to your report, MaH. There was so much of interest in this 'practice match'.

hells bells - that was terrific of you to keep us informed all game - it would not have been an easy task. Thank you for your efforts.

He does and can impact games, surprisingly well. I'd have him on the bench as a spare tap ruck, as a backman, as a forward within range.

Deserves a run in the seniors, does Daw. Useful.

How sad, what bad luck.

Sounds like the Casey boys are coming home ....

Well, that's four mysteries now ... BB, Weed, Petty and VDB...

Great effort on your behalf, hells bells. Thank you for your efforts. Many of us are deeply concerned about this game and its performers.

Here's hoping that is the case - resting, running, limited risk.

Thanks for this footage. Great team of great Demon players - wish we had this team, now. Really good.