Skuit

All of it. Except at even moderate levels I was off my trolley for two days, and then the fever and shivers hit. Prior to that I was floating somewhere between MDMA and weed and revelling in the free drugs, with only the occasional alcohol top-up. I now understand that my reaction was somewhat rare, but not unprecedented.

With such a rich back catalogue, it's impossible to pick my favourite tracks from the three aforementioned deceased artists, but here's a sample of each that I cherish. Lee Scratch in imperial form: Not my favourite Gift of Gab track, but hard to go past as a demonstration of his uniquely dextrous linguistic prowess: On a personal note, the last one is a Cambodian bootleg with Doom and RZA over the top. I lived there for a while.

My game-plan is as follows. Come out hard in the first quarter (get drunk in the morning), consolidate for a period (have an afternoon nap), and then staunchly defend (deal with a day-time hangover) before launching another all-out offensive assault (tequila at kick-off). It may be a flawed approach, but seems pretty solid to me at this particular moment in time.

I might have knocked off work a little too early . . .

I've thought about your earlier reference to the Chemical Brothers, and while I love their first two albums (and sporadic tracks since then), I think the most appropriate track would be 'Galvanise'. A mantra for the team and our defensive brick-wall. Don't hold back, the time has come, to galvanise. Some sample lyrics: Be cool, man, look smarter, don't hold back! And you shouldn't even care about those losers in the air. Don't hold back! If you think about it too much you might stumble, trip up, fall on your face. Don't hold back! Don't you think it's time you get up, crunch time like a sit up, the monkey pace. Don't hold back!

With Gift of Gab in between. A [censored] year in music. Two of the finest ever hip hop lyricists followed by the greatest dubman to ever grace the planet (I feel fortunate enough to have seen Scratch live one; he was wearing a saucepan on his head). So now that I've established a bit of music street-cred I can segue into what I really listen to on gameday . . For a period during the mid-90s, SANFL matches at Footy Park led out with 'It's Raining Men', by the Weather Girls. I've never been able to disassociate that song from the excitement of seeing the team run out. And I really don't care about the homoerotic overtones, I still can't help but bust it out full-voiced in the build-up. Hallelujah!

WCW, you should hunt down a compilation from the British label 110 Below - Journeys in Dub. On there is a seriously brooding and rumbling remix of 'Open Up', Lydon's outing with Leftfield. I think the remix is by Sabres of Paradise (Andy Weatherall and co), from shaky memory. An absolutely perfect track to get you pumped before a prelim. Unfortunately there's two versions of the album, with different Leftfield remixes (not the 'Open dub' mix). I can't find the one I'm referring to anywhere online except for a brief snippet here, without the slow-burn intro and mad breakdown: https://www.muziekweb.nl/en/Link/JK72793/110-below-Journey-in-dub I'm guessing that you probably don't have a Dutch library card to listen to the full version? (I actually do happen to have one as it were, but borrowed a couple of books to take on holiday to Sri Lanka right before the world was plunged into chaos and international borders closed. I've probably racked up about €5,000 in overdue fees by now, lol).

it might also be because Melbourne haven't played in a grand final since almost the invention of mobile phones.

Instead o So in place off Smith out, it's Smiths in.

@Jadedwill probably appreciate this, but I nervous-ate 85 percent of my Cheezles already, some eighteen hours before the match. The whisky reserves have also taken a hit (not a recommended combination by the way).

It was only 125 grams of cheezleness in a massive 10 x 25 cm box, so there are serious environmental concerns attached to putting those dehydrated corn and maltodextrin treats on your fingers like they're premiership rings and then eating them off one by one. Toobs with their wider inner-circumference probably have a better carbon footprint.

Just went and bought all the requisite snacks and drinks for tomorrow night now, so no need to be out in public in the lead-up to the game. My local Woolies had boxes of Cheezles on special for $1, which I haven't eaten since 1988, so I took it as a redemptive omen. Should make any Gawn-yawn interesting though if I lose my nerve before kick-off.

The sub is always somewhat of a contingency gamble, striking the balance between flexible coverage in the event of an early injury and a player who can impact if an injury comes in the later stages during a tight contest. I don't trust him, but Melksham probably best fits the bill for both eventualities. Jones can provide flexible coverage but with probably limited impact, while Chandler could impact but without significant four-quarter coverage. Both can be liabilities though. And then there's Jordon. If a KPP goes down at either end, Gawn will most likely have to shoulder the extra load. So then it revolves around any midfield injuries and mostly supporting rotations. My heart says Jones, naturally, while my head says Melksham and my inner-accountant says Jordon. My cocky cowboy however wants Chandler. I see a lot in the kid, and can envisage him causing Geelong some problems if he came on late.

I've only been to maybe two dozen Demons matches. My first was a 1991 loss vs Adelaide at Footy Park as a kid. Darren Bennet was my favourite player - at least for the next two weeks, until Jackovich completely lit up the comp. The worst was probably the three-goal effort against Port in 1997 which finally cost Balme his job. The atmosphere was horrible. The Port fans seemed annoyed that we were so bad, and the few Melbourne fans basically started cheering for Port. Best game; same oval, 2001. Leoncelli kicks the running sealer from an amazing Schwartz tap with four seconds left on the clock (Simon Goodwin was almost the right guy). Some Crows kid might one day consider this year's match-up as one of their best.

We of course don't have to deal directly with Freo in futures dee-tox. Packaging this year's ~34 and next year's first-rounder (let's say 18) to a club for which such a deal makes sense, possibly gets us something in the range of 12-15. Freo might then accept that and one of our semi-fringe players as a list replacement. We are also likely to have an exit or two, and one which could net us something in the mid to late 20s. If we off-loaded ~34, I imagine we would then want to keep a pick in this range, but the extra picks also help us to split and move up the order, or as a further pick-swap incentive for Freo. I think we can get something done. Not advocating it one way or the other - but if our list management team view Cerra as a key ingredient, then I'm not at all worried about future salary cap issues. And who knows, Fremantle still need to fix their key forward mix, and with Rory Lobb possibly out the door we may well see Weideman head directly out west.

I'm taking it now that when posters deflect on the relevance of 2018, they're referring to the relevance of losing or even choking that prelim and how it relates to this one and our current team. I'm not around Melbourne media, so have no idea of the current narrative. I'm talking about about the invaluable experience gained from that loss and participating in general. That's an undeniable positive. Edit: I'm not remotely concerned about any scars from that match, just positive about the 'learnings'.

Not relevant to the entire team. Just half of it's members, and their influence on the other half.

Of course the 2018 prelim is relevant, in any number of ways - it would be silly to argue that it's not. Our core midfield leaders have all played in a previous prelim for starters. It seemed like last time that they had no idea what was coming. This is especially important coming up against a seasoned finals outfit in Geelong. Our approach and personnel has also likely evolved due to that day (despite many still believing that Goodwin never reviewed the tapes lol). We also have a prelim at Optus under our belt to draw from for strategy. Plus, the local Eagles fans will probably be more likely to sit in our corner.

On points differential, we also get the equivalent of about pick 70, or a bonus Ham (Brayden).

I spoke previously of my reluctance to attend the GF (for my own personal reasons, although I bought flight tickets for those dates). Going to the PF is a bit different, and does fulfil my sense of duty to an extent. Flights are cheap for this week also. I'll check my eligibility now to enter the state, but will put my hand up for a barcode if someone wants to sponsor me with a barcode to attend on their behalf. How much are the match tickets? Doesn't matter much, so long as they're not outrageous. Scrap that - I forgot again that I can't go based on current restrictions.

Can't imagine our younger Dangerwood equivalent in Oliver and Trac having almost zero impact and under 15 touches apiece to 3/4 time, despite any tagging efforts, and against what was pretty average opposition. Fully aware that they established a 44-point break on us only a couple weeks ago, but they seriously look like a spent force. Throw in Viney, and we already put those experienced blokes to the sword with pressure and run in a final a couple years ago, and we're developed a much better team since then while they've only got older. Sure, they have a threatening forward mix, but we'll hold our own if it's the same forward entry as tonight. Can't see it as anything but a cake-walk, unless Scott comes up with some serious means of disruption - but they haven't shown much inclination to adjust in the way they want to play, with their method feeding directly into our strengths.

Can't imagine what life is like for Miers on being introduced to people. My original given name is Ryan and that's hard enough. Hi, I'm Ryan. Hi Brian. No, Ry-an. Hi Warren Like Brian, but without the 'b' Hi Graeme. Stuff it - just split the difference then. I'm Gryan. Cryin' about what? The quality of this football match. Oh, I thought you were going to say your hairdresser.

Indeed.

Hopefully it will inspire an inkling of temporary loyalty for the grand final, should we make it. Any mention if WA residents are buying up other team's memberships in the same manner?

Would Holmes have gotten a run in our team this year? I highly doubt it.