smurf

It’s remarkable how much of a difference accurate goal kicking can make to your chances of winning. We kicked straight this week and surprise, surprise, we won. Beyond the scoreboard, missing gettable shots, which we still did for a brief patch, is just so deflating. It undoes all the hard work that leads up to those opportunities and can completely shift the momentum of a game. This has happened to us multiple times this season. In games where we have had a positive goal kicking to point differential we have won 5 and lost 1. In games where we have had a negative differential we are 1 and 9. We lost the game against Collingwood by 1 point where we had an even number of goals and behinds. Any one of those points converted to a goal would have won us the game.

How good was Trac!? He was explosive at times. That burst out of the middle when he dished off to Sharp was just magical. Congrats on 200 games at the Dees.

We've been blessed with some of the talent we have unearthed in the last couple of years and this years crop in particular have been fantastic editions to the team. Langford has had a super start to the season despite a couple of uncharacteristic howlers yesterday. Equally as impressive, particularly yesterday, was Xavier Lindsay. He is going to be an absolute beauty.

It's looking like the drafting and now selection of Jefferson is a bust. He does not present as a physical forward and seriously lacks any of second efforts. He looks devoid of confidence and his form at Casey has not warranted a recall. Petty and/or Melksham should return to replace him.

Can we take a moment to give some well-deserved kudos to Jake Bowey for the fantastic start he’s having to the 2025 season? After his brilliant entry into the AFL, including that incredible 17-game winning streak, it felt like his development plateaued a little, and at one point, he was even dropped to the twos. Last year, after getting injured in Round 1, I thought he struggled to recapture his best form. But fast forward to this season, and Bowey has been nothing short of outstanding. To put it in perspective: he averaged 17 disposals per game in 2021, 16.71 in 2022, 16.13 in 2023, and 16 in 2024. So far in 2025, he’s averaging a massive 24.43 disposals per game, including a 32-possession effort this week, the second-highest of his career. At this rate, he’d have to be right up there behind Max Gawn in the Best and Fairest standings. Well done, Bowser.

6. Gawn 5. Bowey 4. Petracca 3. Lindsay 2. Lever 1. Salem

In the final quarter, we were completely overrun by the Giants' swift and efficient transition game out of defence. Their last two goals were generated from deep within our forward 50, yet they managed to move the ball end to end with alarming ease, ultimately sealing the win. What was most concerning was the lack of pressure in our forward half the Giants found space, linked up cleanly, and exited without much resistance, exposing our defensive structures. Adding to the concern, it seemed like we simply ran out of gas in the final stages. Whether it was due to conditioning, the oppressive conditions, or the intensity of the contest catching up with us, we looked second-best when it mattered most. Was it a structural breakdown, a fitness issue, or simply the Giants executing their game plan to perfection? Keen to hear your thoughts.

Any inside info on the severity of Maysie's injury?

How good was it to see Clarry back to his blistering best for. Loved that he slotted through 3 goals. The last one was my favourite. Will be a weapon for us this year. Bring on the real stuff.

Of this I have no doubt. If Collingwood or Carlton had access to early picks I do not believe Christian would be a Demon next season. Now the hard work begins to get Trac the support he needs to rehab and get back to playing at his best. The club also needs to get to work and be a better run club top to bottom.

Can I ask you why you believe Trac was silent for 19 days while the MFC was trashed and roasted in the media for that entire time when the whole story could have been put to bed straight away?

Bloody great news. Now to work on supporting Kozzy and getting him to stay in the red and blue.

It's surprising how worked up people are getting over an email, as if they don't already receive hundreds of spam emails every day or week. Let's put things in perspective: it's just an email, not someone showing up at your house and digging through your personal belongings. You have options—delete the email if it's not your cup of tea, or take a moment to open it and read what a passionate Dees supporter has to say about the current state of our club. Are you genuinely satisfied with how our club is being managed at the moment? If your answer is "Yes," then I have to say—your indifference or lack of concern for the club's future is contributing to the very issues we're facing. But if you think everything is fine and we don't need an external review, then let me tell you, you might as well prepare to see your favorite players wearing a [censored] Collingwood jumper. That's the level of complacency you're endorsing.

The information was from 2 weeks ago. I didn't know this thread existed until today. Mate is OS now but will see what I can find out. Don't know anything about the crown land stuff. Mate doesn't work for the council. Works closely with them on various projects. At the time he claimed the info was solid. No idea how this news of a board spill effect anything.

Have a very good non-dees mate who works closely with the local government in the area who reckons this deal is all but done. He doesn't have any details on timelines or costings though. I have no more information and can't vouch for the veracity of the information only to say that I trust his word implicitly. Understand that I am just an anonymous person on the internet so use what ever amount of grains of salt that you need.

Always liked Tomo. If not for the ACL he might have been a Premiership Player. He has been stiff in that we have some solid key backs and always performed admirably when filling in and unfairly dropped even after solid games. Cannot begrudge the guy for seeking opportunities elsewhere and I wish him the best of luck. Thanks for your contributions Adam and good luck wherever your footy career takes you.

Who is the Pickle in the media that Garry is referring to?

Sparrow is our latest casualty in the midfield. Surely this means Judd McVee will get some more midfield minutes this week. Andy Moniz-Wakefield racked up 35 possies in the 2s. Will he get the call up this week? Any other changes for the Pies? Can’t see Benny Brown getting a swan song even after 6 goals in the e 2s considering the 10 goals from our key forwards against the Suns.

So our starting midfield next season is Sparrow, Rivers & Laurie.

I thought Kozzy bounced back really well this week after copping criticism from Kane Cornes during the week. I know Kane is a serial contrarian and a master click baiter but I reckon he is way off on his assessment of Kozzy particularly when you compare him to his contemporary small forwards. Granted he can be inconsistent but so too many small forwards in their formative years of their AFL careers. A poster on Twitter called Footy Degenerate posted some comparison goal stats of some of Kozzy's small forward competitors and their goal kicking stats in their first 5 years. Footy Degenerate writes "Kozzy PICKETT : 155 @ 1.50 Tom PAPLEY : 146 @ 1.47 Cyril RIOLI : 140 @ 1.32 Eddie BETTS : 123 @ 1.26 Izak RANKINE : 119 @ 1.47 Charlie CAMERON : 104 @ 1.23" Footy Degenerate continues "I reckon he’s goin alright He’s just turned 23 and plays the hardest position on the ground. Could he move up the ground more like a Cyril Rioli and get more ball? Sure. He could comfortably do that. Unfortunately he doesn’t have a Buddy Franklin / Roughead / Bruest Fwd line to give him that luxury. He has one of the worst Forward Lines around him so they need to keep him i50 and can only be thrown into the middle momentarily. The tall blokes don’t halve a contest often enough i50 to bring it to ground for him and we have the 5th lowest i50 rate in the AFL. Opportunities are scarce. Could he do better? Of course he could. But Like all 23 yr olds, their best footy is ahead of them. Let the kids grow Kane." What do you guys reckon of the criticism of Kozzy by Kane and Footy Degenerate's assessment and Kozzy's response this week?

Thank you boys for your efforts on the podcast during this disappointing season. It can't be easy fronting up each week after some of these loses particularly after the successful home and away seasons of the past 3 years. I'm really loving what I have seen from Andy Moniz-Wakefield. I think we have found a real gem here. I believe he is a category B rookie. What's his contract status? Does he need to be elevated to the list or does he can he remain a rookie?

I thought Tomlinson was excellent today in defence. Sometimes he gets he gets caught on the back foot one on one but for the most part he slotted right into the back 6/7. He'll obviously remain in the side while Lever is recovering from his knee injury but where to from there for Tomo?

What is happening with our midfield at the moment? They are consistently getting beaten all around the ground and none of them are having much impact at the moment. It's hard to be too critical of these guys because they've been the premier midfield group for the past few season but something is just off.

Slow start killed us. Commendable fight back but ultimately it was our first quarter and inaccuracy that killed us. I would love to blame it on the 5 day break but we had some run in us at the death.