Skuit

So I've always thought people switching AFL teams was an indicator of an especially weak character and have judged them accordingly. In your case though I would be fully supportive of you finding some other team to support and would give you a massive pat on the back. Might even pay for a membership for you if you find something you like. Go Hawks!

Dude. I think we only just spoke about this a couple weeks back.

That moment where Trac won a midfield HTB and then just flat-out sprinted forward. He has become a smart footy-player alongside Oliver. They both now do things that will hardly ever be noticed or respected. Oliver again with three or four breath-taking in-close moments tonight. This is the best mid-field pairing we've ever had in my life-time following the Dees.

Epic win. Epic season.

If Viney goes and we then manged to land Williams would our compensation be erased or diluted?

Talk about burying the lede. Ross Lyon remains an active target? The reason this doesn't appear until the tenth paragraph rather than in the headline is because this is a typical Caro article full of ambiguity, rhetoric and innuendo and she likely has nothing decent to back it up. "The prevailing view is that next year Goodwin must reach certain performance targets to move into his final season". Whose view? A contract isn't a matter of opinion. Goodwin either does or he doesn't need to meet targets.

Start with 6-6-6. What's the point? What has it achieved? Then ruck nominations can go.

Also - I live outside of the Melbourne football bubble so I'm not sure if it's this Browne who I'm meant to scoff at or some other Browne. ?

Heaps no in my opinion. McQueen above noted how we're all un-inclined toward change and so I've reflected from as an objective stand-point as possible and have come to the conclusion of heaps no. Give me back my game.

No motive Swizzle. I just liked the bit where you said you couldn't be objective where it related to your own team.

Just quoting and bolding for posterity sake's SWYL. Don't mind me.

I'm in.

I feel like this thread has legs akin to the $cully club. Make it happen.

I agree that physical fatigue outside of Port and Freo doesn't seem to be a problem in our losses - but the mental fatigue would be building. It's easy to see why Geelong would have handled this season better than most though and unfortunately it comes back to maturity and seasoned bodies. They have 12 blokes on their list with 150+ games (and six with 200+). Ditto West Coast. Port have 11 and five and Richmond have ten and five. We have six - including Jones (our only 200+ player), TMac, Jetta and Melksham. The Lions are outliers with six (and three) but have played eleven of their matches in QLD.

Much appreciate all the work you do in maintaining this forum @Demonland so definitely no complaints. But one tiny point. The notifications alerts now include reactions from other posters rather than just quotes. Understand that it's fairly standard practice but these alerts are designed to drive addictive behaviour. Haven't watched The Social Dilemma yet but reading up on the subject always makes me feel highly uneasy. Anyway, maybe it's something minor to consider from an ethical perspective if you have the ability to alter. I also respect that you have a business to run in a highly competitive advertising environment. (Please note - removing the reaction alert is just my personal navigational preference - other posters may love it).

Things are not always or even rarely ever one thing. We're not mature or good enough yet to be consistently at the top. Our travel burden and rotten luck this year has compounded those issues. For the AFL fixer brigade though - I agree that we've been poorly treated in some respects. But much of what has transpired is due to seriously bad fortune and scheduling on the fly. In an alternative universe we could have spent the majority of the season in Manly. We drew the Cairns straw because the AFL ran out of other options and had to please QLD.

Another point - and an ironic reversal of 2019: Is missing the finals last year detrimental to teams this year? It's been a bloody long season (and it seems we put in a massive pre-season too) and those teams which started their pre-seasons later are probably better placed to cope with mental fatigue right now. Small advantages make a difference in this competition.

Can someone do a table on the number of beds each teams' players have slept in during the course of the season and the average number of consecutive nights slept in each bed? It's maybe tongue-in-cheek but I do think this would provide the most indicative metric of our travel burden as opposed to simply the physical boarding of flights. A two hour flight in of itself shouldn't take too much of a toll. Pennant hit the key word earlier in 'routine'. It would be one of the most consistent points made by champions across all sports. All teams have been disrupted this year but our schedule has more closely resembled a band on tour (or travelling circus for the cynics). Consecutive games in Adelaide and Cairns sound great, but it feels like we've been on the road for the entirety of the season. Compare for instance the feeling of having stayed for just four weeks alone at a single base, even with a fly-in fly-out interstate trip or two? I hadn't heard it before but I'm staggered to learn we've also been over-nighting on the Gold Coast before our Metricon games. I get that this has all come about due in part to circumstance and our own requirements - but it's a valid lens by which to assess the season.

Writing degree. And I'm all for starting sentences with an 'And'. Go nuts. Fill your boots. Etc.

i'm going to start a thread. See you one day soon Old Dee.

Haha. I'm not sure if that is a public rejection of my overtures or not. ?

I agree with a lot of this post - except for the things that none of us will ever know. Who drove who to excel is an intricate play within a individual player themselves let alone understanding that through media and gossip. Yup. We need more success in our coaching group to become a force.

Hey Old Dee. I would like to share a whisky with you. What do you say? I'm a wing-clipped nomad and you're stuck in Victoria as far as I can tell. We can document the whisky-sharing struggles on Demonland. I promise I will bring good cheer (there are few people on here who can probably vouch for me as not being completely insane).

I appreciate this post. But saying that Trac just took it upon himself I think is a bit disingenuous. It's obviously a two-way street. We just found out yesterday that Steven May credits Goodwin and then Burgo as the two major influences as to turning his career and form around, due to some serious home-truths. We have no idea of the efforts that have been put into Trac finally waking up. Some of our other players aren't yet mature enough maybe? I do think we miss McCartney. Previously Goodwin got through to Gus and remember when big Max completely transformed himself in the pre-season of 2018? We keep hearing the same story - the truly elite didn't realise that their training standards were somewhat lacking (relatively) until they actually woke up and accepted that being elite required a full and total commitment. I think we have a few players on this precipice.

Will stand by my Clarry assessment every minute of the hour. You're welcome to forward some better examples. Of course games-for-games' sake is irrelevant - but your own examples are telling. It's the very top of what young players are capable of, and we're not far behind. The Cats had a mini-dynasty and keep on keeping on because of those players.