Mel Bourne

I guess when I say “kicking straight” I should have said “kicking to the intended area”. You’re right. It isn’t always shots on goal, however, it certainly was a problem in the Qualifying Final, and the reason why we ended up having to play last week.

A genuine question, which I’m keen to get people’s opinion on. The reasons elude me as to why players who have proven they have the necessary skill and technique to nail shots on goal, suddenly (and collectively) begin to flail at this most basic aspect of the game. Is it because it is a neglected area in training? Is it because bad habits creep in? Or is it purely a psychological phenomenon?

I only highlighted the first part because it’s something that’s accepted as a truth by many (your second part was more a personal take, which I happen to concur with) and indeed was by myself for a period. I think that period of blind-faith is over for me.

Have read plenty of condemnation for both Port and WB. The Cats get off the hook because they’re both a senior list, and have given the league a dynasty. The Demons were being touted by many in the press as flag favourites for a good chunk of the season, but our finals collapse has made the pundits who backed us look weak in their analysis. Cue their payback.

Why? Because we have no choice? It wasn’t even the Schache/Grundy selection that made me ask questions. The decision to field Tom MacDonald a second time (or even at all) was even more “faith-killing” for me. Bringing Hibberd into the team and replacing TMac with Smith would have given us an extra player. I guess the reasoning was that Tmac would “come good”. But based on what? He was ineffective all year.

If there isn’t more to the story, then it’s just basic stupidity. So you either make your reasoning clear, or let your supporters just assume the worst.

I reckon you made your point with the first comment. It’s just a comment on a supporter forum. Honestly, this whole “never question the club” attitude that some people here embrace is so sycophantic, bordering on idolisation. Goodwin and his selectors mystified a lot of people who support them financially. An explanation as to why it was an non-activated Schache on our bench, and not an All Australian ruckman, is not unwarranted.

Yes, he is.

Let’s not get carried away here. It’s not like we recruited Bertrand Russell.

A lot of people here talking down Grundy’s forward craft, and completely overlooking how little he was offering defensively too. My take is that this latter factor played a very large part in the abandonment of the “Gawndy Experiment”. But my main takeaway from this fairly embarrassing blunder was that Goodwin made a poor call in deciding to recruit him in the first place. A bizarre attempt to fill the Luke Jackson-sized hole with a player who was never going to provide the same qualities, and who would neither have been comfortable as a rucking understudy. The lack of vision is concerning. The final crescendo in this symphony of mistakes was placing him in the grandstand for a semi final where his presence could have made all the difference. Or at least a helluva lot more difference than the inactivated-sub that was Schache, another player who’s recruitment makes as much sense to many here as Chinese algebra. None of this exactly fills me with faith. The end of an error.

If this is the case, then it doesn’t exactly fill me with hope. I must confess I never fully understood the thinking behind drafting Grundy, and with the “luxury” of hindsight, my confusion was justified. And if it was a Goodwin-led move, then I’d suggest him getting deeper-involved with our drafting is bad idea.

His legacy will be enduring. Really could have used one of his famous sprays at three-quarter time last night.

Except in his first game back?!

Have never been overly-impressed by him, but he is only 23. Best possibly yet to come.

That’s quite the reductive misrepresentation of what I said.

Clearly you don’t believe in the “Forward Fairy”.

The risk vs reward in trading Salem is not at all worth it. Also the messaging is terrible - you can be a champion of the club, best mates with the two players on lifetime contracts and arguably the best field kick in the team, but if you get injured/unwell you’re out of here. Salem deserves a chance to regain his form at the club, much more than certain others do.

Every now and then you witness a professional AFL player miss a goal that you could have kicked in jeans and Blundstones, a couple of beers deep. Why is this? Well that’s an easy one to answer - because of a mental failure And the Demons are prolific in these kinds of failures. All points to one thing: for all of our physical talent, we are a mentally-weak team. And who is ultimately in charge of “mental fitness”? I’ve seen enough social-media clips, interviews and articles to draw the conclusion that Simon Goodwin’s oratory-skills are desperately lacking. I have never heard or read one quote from him that has made me feel sure of his talents in this department. Our last two losses were due to poor mental fitness. The lack of composure in the final quarter of the qualifying final, and the brain fades/yips from last night’s match have NOTHING to do with skill, injuries, selection or tactics. They are all to do with not having the mental fortitude to do what should otherwise come naturally. Sometimes the difference between failure and success are a few well-placed words. Our coach, and his lexicon of learnings, seems unable to deliver these words to his players. The proof is in the last two inedible puddings that have been dished up to us.

I don’t know if he is insane, but I’ve had the opinion for quite some time that the only thing Goodwin and “genius” have in common are three letters of the alphabet.

Damn you to [censored] hell Kayo!!!

Unless this mate is involved with the club I’m not sure it’s worth repeating.

“That is all part of it. You just have to embrace it. It is all going good now, and I just have to keep on the medication and keep it under control.” Hyperthyroidism requires constant vigilance and medication (usually radioactive iodine) to keep it from overwhelming the patient and sending them back to the couch. It’s pretty easy to draw the conclusion that Salo, while currently on top of it, is always going to have to work harder than others on team to keep his base fitness intact. I see this as different to fielding an “injured” player, as nothing suggests that playing him has a potentially adverse effect on his condition.

There’s no need to question when an answer has been placed right in front of you. Salem’s drop in form is entirely attributed to his thyroid issues, which are ongoing. Whether his current form is good enough to be named in our best 22 is a question I’m sure the selectors grapple with week after week, but clearly in their opinion, any would-be replacements still don’t match him.

I guess there was a reason why we posted about five billion comments last year about how we didn’t want him to leave.

Imagine. I just posted this article here, because it’s a fresh article about “Salem’s Thyroid Concern”, which is obviously an ongoing thing. And I continue to be a bit weirded-out by a couple of posters even now still saying “yeah but what’s this drop in form all about?” As other sensible voices have noted, Salem at “solid AFL level” is not what we’ve come to expect from an “elite” player, but he’s still got his place in the side because “Solid AFL” Salem is better than what else is on offer. We just have to be patient with him.