thirty-one

Uh, a bunch of pagans might say the same thing about Christmas....

I will try to be there both days, though if training starts at 8:45 I've not a hope of getting there at the start of it. If it is sunny, I'll also be wearing my dicky flower hat. I'd just feed everyone GF sausages. The Coles ones used to be GF, didn't look this time around to see, might not be the best bangers but still good for a feed.

Looking forward to it! Tie dye tee and probably my indigenous guernsey for me! I should be no longer jetlagged by then. Can't get to training on Wednesday (hafta go look at a shed!) but Friday should be good. Pity pre-Christmas training ends so soon. PS @Ghostwriter , are the bangers gluten and dairy free? I can bring some me-safe bread. Been ages since I had a sausage sizzle.

It seems to be an injury that takes a couple of years to get back to your best from.

Pretty sure Tassie ran the Toyworld in Ringwood. Mum used to take me there quite a lot. I think she was trying to set me up with his son. I have no idea how many Cabbage Patch dolls we bought from them but it was a heap of them, literally. Sounds like he was a very good footballer.

Woot, not going to lie, reading training reports is keeping me going through what is a horrendously difficult move. We've been settled in the US for some time - been here 14 years this round - and wow, accumulated stuff and made friends and now we are ripping ourselves up and relocating back to Melbourne (area). Gave away the cat today, totally gutted over that. Selling my car on Wednesday, flying out on Friday. Saying goodbye is amazingly hard, even when we have good reasons for the move. Training reports remind me of things to look forward to. Can't wait to rock up to Gosch's, see folks and all the team, including the new boys.

He's only a kid yet, lanky ones take a while to come into their own. I hope he gets some good folks around him here (team) to reinforce that. His dad was the same. He might never bulk up a lot - I don't think he's going to look like the Moose for example - but now without the need to wrestle for position if he rucks, it isn't as big an issue. Scrawn often beats brawn anyway. We've seen how some of the guys have gotten themselves over-muscled and slowed down as a result. And if he's a key position player, he can learn not to get muscled off the ball to some extent plus his reach will make up for a lot. At least he doesn't look like BBB when he runs - like a newborn giraffe, not quite sure where all its limbs are. 😂 Glob I loved seeing BBB running around on the G.

Thanks for the pics, @Six6Six The shot of Max with the ball is hilarious.

Hassa! The noobs will wonder who the old fossil is. That'll be one of our premiership heroes from back when we were a force to be reckoned with, the truly mighty Demons!

That's right, the socials showed him grabbing at his thigh/quads.

Ah, my glory days at training 30 uh 40 years ago. I swatted Gerard Healy (twice) because he pushed me off a pole I'd finally managed to balance on after weeks of trying. Glad it was at Junction Oval. Nice and soft landing. I left a helluva hole in the muck when I landed (on my feet). He thought it was hilarious.

Dang, I'm not back until the week after. Our farm is halfway to Bright from Melbourne. If we already had possession of it and I was there, I'd be all in for a little trip to Bright....

My gob is smacked. Peter Maynard didn't play many games but he played right in my most feral teenage Dees years. I didn't realise that that dude is one of his kids. Well well.

This is amazeballs! Nice work.

I'm off auto-renew but that's because I've had a low level membership for all the time I've been in Seattle and now that I'll be living two hours out of Melbourne, I'll actually be able to see the odd match or two. Just working out what membership to buy.... Anyway, my take home from the fixture is that we only play the Cats once and it's at the G!

Jeez, I can't wait to get down to training. Gotta pack up the house here in Seattle first and get flights back and yadda yadda. DH starts his new job on the 15th of December, so we'll be back just in time for the Christmas shut down.... I'm not sure if training is more exciting than games. You can still dream at training plus you can talk to some of the boys sometimes.

I was thinking about the circumstances of Claz leaving, and well... Compare with May. Did they get told basically the same thing? And one responded with a tantrum and storming out, and the other responded with dismay? (ahem) Was it a test?

That was my first thought, then I thought about it more. There could be a more boring time. There could be no women's comp happening.

I don't think I can wait that long. I'll be decrepit by then, assuming I'm still alive. LOL

Thanks for the advice. Looks like talking to the club is the best bet. I've no idea where I like to sit now, it's getting close to 20 years since I last saw a game live. Can't ask family either as they are all country members or MCC/MFC members.

Now that I'm moving back to Melbourne (area), I need to choose a local membership. I've been buying a three game membership for the last however many years along with a digital membership for overseas. That won't cut the mustard any more. I have no idea which seats are good or better or best. Way back when I was last going, reserved seats had only just become a Thing. I used to sit right at the fence if I could, rain, hail or shine, but that was when the ground didn't have such a big curve in it. So what is worthwhile? Money isn't a particular problem, though I baulk at the $170 a month option I do admit. I presume getting Kayo is necessary too. As is a membership that gives me access to a GF ticket should we get there again. Thanks for any advice.

You might want to check out Ghostwriter's posts then.....

I'll be farewelling Seattle soon and returning to Melbourne. The track watchers have been grand, it's almost like being there, so thank you all. A big round of applause 👏 (Okay, so during the 2025 pre-season I was actually there but having things confirmed and then during the season having folks reporting what was happening was great.) (Wonders if Pickett Fence will be around?)

Max speaks on Triple M I guess make of it what you will.

Max did an interview with Triple M and uh, he sounds fond of Clarrie still but he sounded less fond of Trac....