Dee Boys

Yes he’s been best on ground playing as the number one ruck. A role he wouldn’t play in the senior team.

To learn his trade under Max and hopefully eventually take over from him.

So you’d be bringing in Heath to play forward, before Kentfield, Jefferson and Johnson? Can’t get behind that.

This is bizarre and nonsensical to me. One of our few big strengths this season is having Gawn in the ruck. Neither he nor Heath have ever shown much up forward. So you’d like to take our biggest strength of having Max as the clear number one ruck, around the ball most of the game, and REDUCE that by bringing in a promising but run of the mill backup ruck? Meaning Max then has far less time around the footy where he’s our biggest influence on games?! You’re actively removing our one big strength over opposition teams by doing that. I’d much rather give Petty those 5 minutes a quarter in the ruck, at least he can make a difference at either end when he’s not in the middle.

Tell you what @WERRIDEE - I’ll make you a bet. If Port accept only the compo pick I’ll donate $100 to your chosen charity and will post the evidence on here. If I win, you never post another “best 23” again.

Not being generous or not about anything. I just stated two unarguable facts.

I did read your whole post. I say again: Port will match any offer. Everyone is aware of this. They’ve said it many times publicly. Not in a million years are they going to let their best player go for just a compo pick. I completely agree that he’ll get where he wants to go. But it won’t be for free. That club will have to pay up. Nobody is getting Butters for free. Not us, not anybody else.

How do people still not understand free agency? Port can and will match any offer for Butters. If you want him you’ll be giving up at least 3 first rounders for him, nobody’s getting him “for free”.

Petracca’s played 3 games and is coming 2nd in the coaches votes

Matt Welsh is one of the most passionate Demon supporters you’ll ever meet in your life. Why would he be doing the bidding of an organisation that he left acrimoniously, to the detriment of the football club he loves? People have their heads in the sand.

The thought did cross my mind...

I certainly WAS NOT

Clarry was supposed to be a part of the Gawn party yesterday. He stayed in Melbourne after the GWS game and a few things had been smoothed out between Clarry and people in the footy department. The club were looking forward to welcoming him back albeit in an unofficial capacity. Sadly Clarry was a no show. Nobody at the game at the time knew why. Max found out later it was because Clarry had been out at Circus the night before til 6am. Didn’t even have the decency to let Max know. Sadly sums up the type of person Clarry has turned into, and why the club made the only responsible decision they could’ve in letting him go. Just a desperately sad situation, the bloke should’ve retired as the greatest MFC player in history.

I said this in the Freo post game thread and have said it several times in the last 12 months: It's because the defensive side of his game in the middle is completely substandard. Last year he had comfortably the worst missed tackle % of any player in the competition - with a big gap to the second worst. The coaches are desperately trying to drum some defensive intent into him and he’s just not taking it on board or improving sufficiently. This has been an issue for a long time. Clarry for those 5-6 years at his best was the perfect inside player - best ball winner in the comp but also a hunter when the opposition had it. Trac was damaging enough going forward that others covered for him. Rivers isn’t. He’s a nice player but realistically he’s never going to be an A-grader. Look at the other blokes in his draft - serong, anderson, young, rowell, green etc. He’s nowhere near that level. So if he wants to play inside he needs to be an all rounder cos we’ve already got Kozzy who’s the one bloke we can carry playing largely unaccountable footy…

This is now Bailey Laurie's SIXTH year on our list. If there was an AFL player there we'd have seen it by now at that level, even in glimpses. We haven't. People clinging on are deluded.

It's because the defensive side of his game in the middle is completely substandard. Last year he had comfortably the worst missed tackle % of any player in the competition - with a big gap to the second worst. The coaches are desperately trying to drum some defensive intent into him.

Huh?

Shocked that there hasn’t been a topic started for this significant milestone tomorrow. Since being drafted there haven’t been many more consistent contributors to the football club. Beautiful user and such a smart footballer whose toughness is often overlooked. Will always be remembered for setting the tone early in the 2021 GF. On the human side, he’s always one of the first to make an effort with kids at training with a wink and a chat. Doesn’t sound like a lot but always makes my son feel a million bucks. A great footballer, human being and servant of the MFC. Go well tomorrow Salo.

Haha dead ringer. Even the smile’s the same as the old man!

All good mate. Even as a teacher I can’t speak for ALL kids, of course. My point was more a general frustration really about kids constantly being infantilised than specifically about goal music. Personally I’m not a fan of it but I am but one man! Hope both your and my kids fall in love with the club and the game like their Dads have, however they get to that point 👍

Haha I did find it a slightly odd reply. I did say that as well as a dad I’m a teacher. So for better or worse I’m surrounded by lots of different kids all the time, have got to know thousands over the journey, and therefore feel I’m reasonably well qualified to talk about them. And then in my post I spoke about kids generally, without even mentioning my kids. So not sure how my view is “quite narrow”, but that’s the world we now live in where people are happy to confidently tell people who have spent their lives in a certain field that they don’t actually have any idea what they’re talking about!

As both a teacher and father of two young boys, I’m constantly amazed at how often people underestimate and infantilise children. Kids these days, exactly the same as when we were their age, don’t fall in love with the game because of gimmicks like music between goals or watching to see if some punter can outrun a virtual player at half time. They fall in love with the marks, the goals, the roar of the crowd, the taste of a pie and chips. Getting to spend the day with Dad or Mum or both. This constant Americanisation of our great game is nonsense. There is nothing better than the roar of the crowd after a goal, and the hum for the minute or so afterwards as the state of play is discussed. Nobody needs this interrupted by ear splitting music. Nobody needs all of their senses assaulted any time there’s a break in play. Let the game breathe. Let people take the opportunity to be able to actually converse with their family and/or friends next to them without needing to constantly shout to be heard. I promise you when kids discuss the game when they get home, or when they get to school the next day, the choice of post goal music is a hell of a long way down the list of their topics. Don’t talk on their behalf and presume they’re idiotic goldfish - they’re a lot smarter than that.

We play Carlton in round 3 and Essendon in round 5.

It was a practice match mate, wouldn’t let it ruin your weekend!

Fair comment. After a few years of being able to do little else apart from running I’d be sick to death of it too!