I'va Worn Smith

I work as a volunteer behind the bar at my local sports club. Tonight, as the Hawthorn story aired on the news, I heard certain patrons refer to 'niggers' and how they don't get charged if they beat their wives. I walked out, leaving someone else to close. No racism is Oz? Of course, the people concerned would say they were only jokin'. It is never a joke, when you insert race into your debate, as a slur.

The hunters of 2021, became the hunted in 2022. Trac and Clarrie ran around with targets on their backs and in the end were playing sore, week in week out. Others were also very sore. My mail is that the week before the final against the Lions, 11 of our players went in for scans of various kinds.

Can someone please tell Gerard Whately, who said on SEN this morning that he thought the Harme's incident deserved at least a week

Team seemed lethargic (Gastro?) Trac plying hurt. BBB- Create some space. Kozzie- Where was he? Team - find a target.

Running with the flight, eyes on the ball, would would have been easy to infringe his opponent. Not a bad effort at all really, but doubt it will win MOTY.

Mark Robinson has sunk to an all time low. How on earth is this bloke a journalist, let alone head football writer for the Hun?

I did include in my post the word "IF"

I was at the Carlton v Adelaide game on Mother's day, at Marvel. My other half is a Carlton supporter. Carlton supporters were chanting Taylor Walker is a racist. The motivation was obvious at the time, but if the vilification came from Carlton supporters last night, then not only is that totally unacceptable, but it's hypocritical.

God forbid, but if Ah Chee has lingering concussion symptoms as a result of this action, then the AFL better lawyer up some more. Seeking compensation for damages would seem to have merit if that is the case.

Ah Chee misses a week, under concussion protocols and Cripps has his ban overturned. Makes sense? Even if Carlton were playing someone else tomorrow night, I would still say this is an appalling decision and sets a terrible precedent. As a side note, I remember we played Carlton at the 'G years ago - it might have been Cripps first year. He received a love tap from, I think Hogan. Carlton claimed Cripps suffered a hairline fracture of the jaw. Hogan got a week and Cripps played the following week.

Won the West...... tonight. In the context of top 4, this was huge. 3 word analysis? Never, ever, forget. Tonight was huge. On their deck, in the West, against a top 4 contender. We are just warming up.

Kozzie a magician Really MIssing TMac Mid, forward disconnect

Sad news. I cannot remember the game at the 'G, but pre-game he and other legends of the club, were on the field. Noel was fist pumping, as he walked off the oval. I things were pretty low for us back then. I am glad he got to see and hold the cup. RIP mate. Condolences to family and friends.

At no stage did I say Selwood was trying to kick Clarrie's hand. My point is, if a player is trying to take possession of the ball, a kick in hope clearly has a potential to injure the opposing player. There is the duty of care right there.

I can only remember when Stephen King decided to have a leg swipe in a ruck contest against Jeff White. Result? Jeff White has metal plates put in his face. Tom Hawkins throws an errant elbow and breaks Maysie's eye socket. Last year, Hawkins again pushes Maysie in the back and his hammy goes. ......And now this with Clarrie. Where is the duty of care? ....

TMac so important. He may not kick goals always, but he bodies opponents, makes space and attracts one of their best backs. Last year, Fritta and BBB benefited from TMac's presence alone. When the opposition knows they have our current midfield relatively covered, they do not perceive our forward line, as a stand alone unit, to be much of a threat. We need to understand this and our leaders have to rise to the challenge.

It may be also worth remembering the return game last year, when we beat Adelaide by 41 points MELBOURNE 104 def ADELAIDE 63 3. P.Seedsman (ADE) 2. B.Keays (ADE) 1. B.Fritsch (MEL) Beggars belief really.

One of the most appalling displays of umpiring I have ever seen and I've been around for a while. The AFL have tried to make the umps some sort of footy celebrities for TV purposes, but their feel for the game and judgement is just so bad. In fact, it currently is a blight on the game. This win tonight is bigger for us than the score would suggest. We had to beat incredible odds, which were solely down to atrocious umpiring, on Adelaide's turf and we did it with grit and determination. That's the Demon spirit, which nobody can deny. Not even the umpires. Go you mighty Demons.

Now that is certainly true, but I'm also not going to be helter skelter.

I'm a lover, not a fighter.

I found out our problem

The only other burning question, which remains,is that we have lost 3 weeks in a row, after being in front at half time. We have then fallen away. I would hope that if things were reversed in that regard, we would have also had a crack and fight back in the 2nd half. But would we win????? Hopefully, we geared up for this year, knowing that as the reigning premiers, we would be hunted in 2022. Why have we not been able to rise to that challenge?

We had a fairly easy draw to start with. Given the long and arduous season, aspiring teams try to time their run. As a football club, we are experiencing this now. When the serious stuff happens, you need your team to step up another level. Right now, we don't seem capable of the required elevation. Geez, I hope I am wrong.

It worked for us last year, because we maintained out systems. When we lost, it was close. The Adelaide game, it could be argued, was stolen from us. Of course, as the reigning premier, we have become the hunted, but that is no excuse for not setting up, so our forwards get separation, making sure crumbers are at the feet of our talls in the forward line, and not letting our opposition get multiple, uncontested possessions, running the ball out of our forward line. Over 4 quarters of footy, I would have thought that is Footy 101.

BBB had a crack, with little help and no crumbing forward at his feet. Jackson, given his obvious natural call and talent, is more a worry for me. He needs now to influence a game, when his senior talls go down or are playing hurt. In my view, he did not do enough, when it mattered.