Skuit

While showing tap-ruck glimpses, Gawn was nothing until he gained the confidence to start marking the ball (Cats' breakout game 2016) - even earlier in this season (and most early season matches for some reason we should probably try to rectify). If Jackson gains that confidence then we will have a serious player on our books. Definitely gets to the right spots and willing to compete. Seems to have soft hands at present, which I think is probably better than the Dawes' bricks. Meanwhile, I worked out Weid's problem: he closes his eyes on contact. Watch the footage again. Smash him with the tackle-bags at training. He can still be something as well.

Melksham was marginally better this week but now that we seem to be making a concerted effort to lower the eyes I'd like to see Hunt come back in for Jake. Has breakaway speed and good leading patterns. Plus tackling pressure. I didn't catch as much superlative-wise as others re. Jackson but a shame Tomald showed a flicker of form before copping the eye-scratch. Otherwise would be a no-brainer. I'm afraid that will be the swap. Get games into Jackson now. Plus exuberance. This isn't a return to 2018. It's the results on a mini-rebuild based on list imbalance, and the off-season inclusions are all playing with confidence: our younger less mentally damaged midfield and forwards are now our core. Also - the structure now feels about right in both the front and back end. Tmac shouldn't come in for another medium. Fritsch, Pickett, Hunt, Bennel and Hannan in my mind are a difficult small-to-medium fleet to contain en masse. Angus needs a spell. It worked wonders last time around and seems to be working for those forced to fight for selection. Still immature and needs another giddy-up. Not sure who comes in but Jones has better delivery for starters. ANB is okay. Ins: Hunt, Jones Outs: Melksham, Brayshaw

If we win again this weekend we'll go from having no pot let alone a recipe to the lid off in the space of three weeks.

Just the cheapest one. There were e-readers twice the price but the salesperson failed to convince me of the justification - and didn't really even bother trying. I think they've evolved to the point where the bottom end model serves the purpose for most consumers.

I contributed to this one in a very minor way. @Supermercado - my mother still has a hefty copy sitting there unloved and unread in her tiny apartment in Cairns, which the poor lady has given up asking me about. Any suggestions where I can tell her to pass it on? Happy to return to sender if you send me a PM. Or if someone on here wants to wallow in misery - probably a silly question - I will forward.

Champion. Thanks Demonland!

Cheers George Sr.

Yes. Read between the lines and Goodwin has been promoting the rhythm method.

I also have Google but it's all Robbie Fowler and some botanist named Robbie.

What's the title?

Self-quote. From the SBS: "Welcome to the Tiwi Islands, two small islands about 80km north of Darwin, where AFL isn't just a passion but a way of life . . . The Tiwis have the highest participation rate in AFL of any other community in Australia: about 900 of the Islands' 2600 population play, a staggering 35 per cent."

To be honest, I just saw some fish and other non-periscope stuff.

Was in fact down there today, and didn't see a single unaccountable periscope.

I bought a Kindle today. Like a number of fellow Demonland denizens I got on board roughly around the time of the 88' grand final. Memories of that time are pretty fuzzy - and I missed the ****house but Robbie Flower era. For reasons I won't bother explaining, I also had almost no access to football between 2004 and 2008. Question is MFC-related book recommendations? For a better love of my club.

The bolded bit. We have smaller defensive forwards now to shut down the run off half-back, but why not a defensive KPP in the forward-line? At most, it creates a clear one-on-one instead of probably a dozen freebies per match.

On another note - how good would it be to see an AFL game for premiership points played on Tiwi ! Send Essendon and Hawthorn there and the place would explode.

I know which one I would choose between NT and Tas in July but your point is still valid Nasher. Why do you think the AFL is reluctant to follow that path, or do you think they've tried and been told they're not welcome? Definitely the NT was vocal about being open to it a couple months back. Are crowds allowed in in Tas? How well do you think the matches would be attended there? Complete speculation, but I think they would get at least 6000 paid into each and every match here, and then as I said can fill it up with targeted freebies. Would need promotion, but if the AFL and NT government embraced it - say like a carnival-style cricket world cup - then I think it would go gangbusters.

I consider myself a moderate rather than complete idiot - but there's something I don't get. So often in the AFL (not just Melbourne) we see long bombs into the forward line which land directly in the arms of a defender, even with even numbers. The forwards are off somewhere leading in different directions and the defender is left to read and play space. Why not coach a forward to play that same role? Like get Lever to fully pretend he's playing intercept defense in our forward line? It's a serious question.

I seriously don't get the AFL's aversion to Darwin/NT. It's not a stretch to imagine Covid will continue its march up the Eastern seaboard and catch up with the league in Queensland soon enough. Meanwhile, the Territory ticks every box. I've been stuck here since the international borders closed. Basically not a single case of community transmission the entire time. Low density tropical living with little pollution - three aspects that have been suggested as delimiting spread. Life goes on almost as if normal, compared to what I hear from friends interstate. Conditions for footy are currently perfect. It's not sticky at present. TIO is in good shape, and would probably attract more spectators than in QLD. Job losses here have been comparatively light and there's still disposable income. It's neutral territory with a good spread of fans. Plenty of accommodation, and the players can just get on with it. I would go to three games a week - and if they can't get a full paid audience in, it could still be a marketing/development bonanza. Free entry to anyone under 18. Get the indigenous kids in. Broadcast the matches and our culture around the world. I'm assuming the NT government would be inviting and willing to chip in for promotional benefits. For mine, if they set up here now with a commitment to play out the season, it would create a true carnival atmosphere and grant some actual legitimacy to the season, rather than all this week-to-week scrambling and revised fixtures.

If our fixture as has eventuated originally came out scheduled as such we're probably sitting right where expected, at 2-3, almost down to the margins. Loss to West Coast away, closer margin-call losses to Geelong and Richmond, and possibly narrow wins over the Blues and Gold Coast. I would have penciled in a win against Hawthorn whenever we were due to play them, but as litmus test.

My attempt at an unemotional dot-point response to tonight’s game: Was a surprisingly good game. Omac lol – was our defensive structural pin. I love when I don’t notice Omac. Points to collective Demonland. Lever and May enabled to play to their strengths. Shame about TMac at the opposite end. I liked him pushing up again. Weid still flakey but enough to persist with as a second-fiddle. Prefer Hannan and AVB cameos to Melksham’s. The latter has to go. Petracca fluffed his kicking lines but his extraction and handballing was supreme. Trac out-olivered Oliver but Oliver still goes alright in his determination to win contests. Bennell – collect the ball and compose. He stands out among the rest. Also Pickett. Uber-Spargo. A smart hungry footballer with natural skills. What a perfect ending – Pickett precise pass to Bennell for an after-siren goal. Liked watching Rankine. Liked also that he missed two crucial shots at the death. Viney was strong. Langdon gave a lot. Gawn took some marks. Some of the umpiring felt ‘uneven’ at times. My internet data held onto the narrow end.

I feel that it's reasonable to resort to cliches while trying to amp myself up for a game I've been pretending all week not to care about.

I'll preface this by saying yes, I know, all that stuff since 1964 and over the past 18 months. But even before the media pile-on I detected something different in the players as they walked from the field after our last match, heads hanging lower than usual, and then also in the post-match presser with Goody. They are frustrated with themselves. Relocating operations interstate is undoubtedly difficult, but I think this week is a character test. Line in the sand stuff. If they don't come out firing then I'm not sure what hope we have.

I absolutely certainly think is this is the case to some extent. As mentioned above I also think Goodwin inherited this mind-set from Roos. Devise a game-plan that you think can beat the competition, drill it into the players so that once it clicks they will be way ahead of the game, and don't look back. Equals stubborn. Where does an opposition strategist fit within this schema?

I dunno. They made a point that Bennell picked up 35 possessions in the last scratch. I was always excited by the notion of Bennell and Pickett in opposing pockets - but it seems like they're grooming Bennell for an on-ball running role. We need that. It could be our missing link. But it's a big ask.