Singa

Past performance says he will doing nothing of the sort and we will take the picks and end up giving the Gold Coast the return picks they need so they can bolster their list even further with Academy Picks.

It means he's passively aggressively posting cryptic songs on Social Media.

If you would have told me this time 4 years ago that in 4 years I would be reading this thread and the Trac one I would have sent you to the loony bin.

I too am pessimistic that if he nominates that he will nominate us. I guess it will all depend on whether he is looking for money or success. If it's purely money (and a larger midfield role) then that will be our only chance to snare him. If he wants to come back to VIC but is desperate for immediate success then he will steer clear of this dumpster fire.

Why do people assume Humphrey wants to get to us? Barring the casual walk around the Tan there has been no indication that Humphrey wants to come home let alone come to the Demons. Is this wishful thinking? Even the media vultures aren't feeding this dream to us.

Massive first Test for the new Regime. We're 0 for 4 at the moment and the club needs a W. Unfortunately we have a history of bringing knives to gun fights and we really aren't very attractive at the moment.

Would love to get your thoughts on the Sacking of Simon Goodwin last week and any potential replacement. Thoughts on Nathan Buckley as the favourite to coach the Dees? Who else do you think will go or needs to go?

I like that we are experimenting with different setups in the middle. It was good to see Windsor attend centre bounces. Do you guys have any numbers as to the number of centre bounces he and other attended on the weekend. I think we should be using these last 3 games to experiment with different players in the middle particularly if we are likely to lose either Petracca or Oliver or both.

I thought JVR played his best game for the season yesterday. He still needs another big body helping him in the forward 50. On a side note we got a sad glimpse of how deficient we are in the ruck if Max goes down.

What are your thoughts on the way that we lined up Langdon for most of the match. He started every center bounce at Center Half Forward. You guys understand the game and the tactics better than I so can you explain what his role and what the game plan around that is? Is it the opposite to Windsor starting at Half Back and running forward to attack at center bounce.

Once again our goal kicking and efficiency going inside 50 let us down and ultimately cost us the game. How we lost that game but 35 points when we could have and should have been 35 points up going into the last quarter is everything that is wrong with this football team. We obviously have the ability to match it with the best teams we just cannot execute to the point where we are dangerous and punishing to opposition teams.

I have a bad feeling that we are in for a lot of pain this season. It has 2019 written all over it and I fear we'll only win a handful of game. Our delivery into the forward line is still horrendous. We do not play to the advantage of our key forwards and the only time we were able to put it down someone's throat was when they were able to hit Charlie Comben lace out.

As I entered the ground, I was hit with the daunting news that Steven May was a late withdrawal. Normally, losing one of our premier key defenders just before the first bounce would send a wave of panic through me. But instead of dread, I felt a quiet sense of reassurance knowing that Tommy McDonald—our very own rock of Gibraltar—was stepping in to fill the void. And didn’t he stand up? He was immense, reading the play well and holding his own against the Giants. Then there was the ever-reliable Jakey Lever, our defensive general, once again showcasing his ability to intercept, direct traffic, and take charge in the air. His leadership and composure were critical, as always. And, of course, the sight of Harry Petty back in his natural defensive role was a welcome relief. He took strong marks, made his presence felt, and showed why his best footy is played in the back half. So, our big men down back? They’re not the issue. Neither are our distributors coming out of defence; our ball movement from the back half from the likes of Windsor, Salem and Bowey was generally solid. The glaring problem, however, lies when the ball hits the deck. We struggle to contain the nimble, elusive small forwards who thrive on ground balls and chaos inside 50. Time and time again, we seemed a step behind in locking down those opportunistic goal-sneaks. If we don’t address this weakness, it will be our Achilles' heel all season. Whether it’s a personnel issue, a structural flaw, or a lack of defensive cohesion at ground level, it’s something we need to fix and fast. Thoughts?

Still gutted today. I think the weather conditions actually suited us but we just can't seem to win these close games and our ground ball game particularly in defences will be the death of us.

Granted, it was just a practice match, but I had some concerns about our defence. The slow and tentative "chipping it around" ball movement out of the backline lacked confidence at times. While there’s been a push to avoid blindly kicking long to Max on the flank, this alternative approach didn’t seem convincing. Windsor still looks a long way off from mastering the art of defending and distributing. I'm not sold on Howes as a defender. Adams showed some nice glimpses, but he’s nowhere near ready to replace May, Petty, or Lever. We really missed Petty, and I can only hope his absence wasn’t due to injury. Bowey had an absolute shocker. His disposal was arguably the worst in the team which is very concerning. Judd McVee’s absence was felt. I read somewhere that 7 of a backmen only laid 3 tackles. Yikes. On a positive note, Salem was back to his sublime best. That said, alarm bells are ringing. We simply cannot afford to bleed goals.