Swooper1987

Rivers played well but had 3 contested possessions, and one contested mark and one tackle and went at 79% Lever was great but no tackles and 15 of his 26 possessions were uncontested. 2 of his 10 marks were contested. Obviously the 15 intercepts were a highlight and I thought he was in the top 3 on the ground. By way of comparison, Gawn won the ball 23 times, 16 being contested. He took 10 marks, 4 being contested. He laid 3 tackles, 5 clearances and kicked an important goal. I think whoever decided the medal got it right.

Was at the game, haven't seen a replay yet. I know I shouldn't be surprised at some of the negative commentary on here, but here I am, surprised again. The first half was an arm wrestle and there were certainly some skill errors, but the Tigers were competitive and have a lot of quality players in that side not withstanding their wretched injury run. 11 premiership players took the field for the Tigers, and that's not counting guys like M. Rioli and Hopper who both played very well. We were off in the first half with our skills and sometimes decision making, and that can sometimes happen in AFL footy. We don't have a great record post bye and we were maybe a little fortunate that we played another team coming off an extended break. But we did have Gawn, and boy is he in some great form. Along with our defence, he really stood up when the game was there to be won. Some nice cameos from some of the younger, less experienced players, a rollicking performance from Ed Langdon and a real injection of speed and sure ball handling from Pickett made the second half a pleasure to watch. Petracca, Viney and Oliver once again not as influential as we'd like but that's also a silver lining. Our improvement is right there for all to see. The night itself was great as always. This has probably turned into my favourite footy night of the year and well done to both clubs for the way they put the show together. Appropriately solemn and respectful and the atmosphere before the game enables some serious reflection about what the evening and the following day means to us all.

6. Gawn was easily the best man on the ground. Ground down another quality opponent (and another not so good) 5. May played a great first quarter and a good game thereafter. 4. Lever padded his stats later on but was stoic when the pressure was on and intercepted beautifully. 3. Turner was a great find and very influential 2. Langdon back to his running machine mode of 2021 1. Pickett provided a really important spark to the midfield tonight.

Still my favourite footy day - Round 22 1987. That trip to the Kennel was just an amazing experience. The place was rocking. The next couple of weeks were like a dream - winning our first two finals by 118 and 76 points. The prelim against Hawthorn is still my greatest disappointment in sport. It was a game we had so many opportunities to put to bed but we just kept fluffing our lines. Yeats, Campbell and Eishold, then the free passage Hawthorn got to land the ball with Buckenara who at that time was probably the best shot for goal in the competition. Jim's 15m is in the history books and everyone knows how it finished. Carlton deserved to win the flag, but we made it easier for them. Hawthorn were badly beaten up in that prelim, as were we. Losing Wilson and Flower to injury would have made for a fairly limp GF performance from the Demons, especially in the heat of that day. 1987 was a triumphant year for the Demons, and Northey was a wonderful coach. I still feel we should have got at least one cup in that era. 1990 was the one that got away.

Geez, Gawn stiff in 2018. Wins the AFLCA Player of the Year but can't crack Demonland Player of the Year. Won the Bluey in a canter that year too.

Gawn now equal leader of the Age Player of the Year

Solid enough debut. He was the least of our issues on Thursday night. He's definitely got the right stuff.

Feeling a bit for Yze. Taranto and Ross on top of the litany of other injuries.

Minimal changes. Hore for Salem and Pickett replaces Tholstrup.

Hardly the end of the world. Brisbane are an excellent team, very unlucky not to be the reigning premiers. Their "poor" start to the season has been significantly overblown. They have won the inside 50 count in every game they've played. A couple of teams have kicked insanely accurately against them. They were never out of form as the media would have us believe. We got beaten where it matters most, and beaten easily. The limp performance of our mids was the reason we lost. Neale, Dunkley, Rayner and McCluggage (with Berry) absolutely smoked (to use a Steven May term) Petracca, Oliver, Viney and Sparrow. That is the game in a nutshell. The odds of our midfield being beaten that badly again, all on the same night, are slim indeed. For those criticizing anything at all about Gawn's game last night, have a good hard look at the replay and then yourselves. McInerney is a good AFL ruckman who is as honest as the day is long and Max tore him apart. Gawn's tap work is elite. We lost a lot of clearance from our mid's fumbles, overpossessing or simply actually losing contest. If Gawn didn't play last night, that's a 10 goal plus loss everyday of the week. 8 clearances to the big man was better than anything anyone else on our side could do. McDonald is looking like Tom of old (final year of his contract - he's done this before!) Kudos to him. Might have been worth a shift forward at half time, but in reality our defence held up well given the amount of ball they saw. Can understand why Goodwin didn't shift him. Pickett is a huge loss, as we all know. We can't afford for him to be missing games. We look completely different with him out there. Expecting a big bounce after the bye.

6.Gawn by a mile then 5. Rivers 4. Tom Mac 3. Lever 2. Langdon 1. May Our defence did a superb job given the non-existent performance of our midfield (Gawn aside).

One of my great non-Demon memories was the 1986 finals series. I went to all three of the Fitzroy finals, the last finals series they ever played. Knocking off the reigning premiers in week 1 in the wet at VFL Park; another close one against Edelsten's Swans in week 2 and the very last final they ever played, getting belted physically and on the scoreboard by Dipper and the Hawks, who went on to win the flag. Parkin even now thinks that season trumps any of his flags in terms of his own coaching performance. Their fans were such great, salt of the earth footy people. It was a sad day when we said goodbye to old Fitzroy.

or Trac 5 x 2 McVee and Soligo both 4/1 Lever 3 May 3 Gawn 2 and 2

He's a marvel, isn't he?

Derm was a great player - one of the greatest big game players of all time 35 years ago. He is largely irrelevant in 2024. I loved watching him play then, and hate hearing him speak now. He isn't always wrong, but the gap between fact and opinion is getting bigger with each passing year.

I don't think this is that hard. Don't choose to leave the ground and then hit the opposition player in the head under any circumstances and to any degree of force. Retrospectively, Cripps wouldn't be a Brownlow Medallist, Maynard wouldn't be a premiership player. This "new" rule addresses those things many were unhappy about. It has now been applied(rightly) to one of our players. I love Kozzy. His ability on field is matched by very few, but he and Van Rooyen both need to find a better way to channel their natural aggression. We have some naturally very aggressive players - May and Viney being two examples, Sparrow another - who manage to keep out of the way of the MRO. Pickett and JVR need to examine how they do it.

6. Petracca was outstanding all night. His decision making and ball use set him apart. 5. Gawn, like Petracca was imperious. O'Brien is a very good AFL ruck and at times he made him look like a schoolboy. 4. McVee is developing into our very own Corey Enright. Cat like reflexes, doesn't ever go to ground, sublime foot skills and as clean as a whistle. 3. May played like a guy who hasn't missed a beat. Understandably his first half was better than his second, but he helped withstand the Crows early charge and got us going the other way. 2. Sparrow is really proving his worth as a mid forward. Now a genuinely good AFL player who has become another problem for our opposition. 1. Fritsch played the best individual quarter of the night. Granted he did little in the other three, but his scoreboard impact ended up being the difference!

After opening round Gawn has certainly hit a strong patch of form. He'll be in for another big night on Thursday. O'Brien is one of those old school big bodied rucks who'll make it a physical encounter. I reckon he's likely running second to Heeney in the Brownlow at this stage.

Lucky for us we get them twice this year. It really is a massive advantage for those sides who have drawn them twice. They will jag one or two upset wins but they are definitely in the same category as the 12/13 Demons.

Interesting to note this morning that Gawn is in second place on the Footy Show Lou Richards Medal, behind Heeney who'd have 9 Brownlow votes already. After his performance in round 1, Max has certainly sent a strong message to the competition. No other Melbourne players on the leaderboard.

6. Gawn 5. ANB 4. Lever 3. Langdon 2.Petracca 1.Rivers

He was in the best players in both the Age and HS, as well as receiving 7 on the Footy Show. He clearly beat the Hawthorn ruck and fed the dominant midfield most of the day. Mitchell rates him very highly - part of his game plan against us is to avoid kicking it to Gawn - and I dare say Mitchell gave him his 2 votes.

I think Mitchell was referring to Oliver, not Petracca.

^6. Petracca 5. Fritsch 4. Gawn 3. Nibbler 2. Pickett 1. Langdon Coaches votes will be interesting this week. Could be a few getting them.

A million bucks for finishing 5th (AFLW) and 6th (AFL). Gotta sort out whatever that finals malaise is that we've got going on. Nice comeback by the women but too little too late.