Where Demons Dare

As Goodwin said a few years ago "it's all Fugazi" we need to block out this outside noise who continually try to bring us and Oliver down. We've won 3 in a row and are looking to take a big scalp with the Hawks. Let's focus our energy on what we can control.

Richmond had a 5 day break as well, and blew us away in the last quarter. I wanted to see a commanding Melbourne victory, but all we got was a mediocre one.

Hopefully the lads are over the illness that spread through the group last week and are fresh and raring to go. Gawn and Petracca especially with a point to prove. We may not win this one, but we'll definitely have a crack like we did with GWS. Dees by 3 points!

Welcome aboard Jai! I remember watching him play in match sim a few weeks back and he was dominating in some parts of the contest and I was thinking to myself 'why isn't this guy on our list? he can seriously play'. Thankfully, now he is.

I just watched the highlights reel and he reminded me straight away of Nibbler and his run down tackles and opportunistic goals. An important role to fill. All the best to Jack!

I don't see how Kozzi can txt his friends that he expect's to play for Freo next year. He's contracted for several more years with Melbourne and unless we get something extremely good in return, I just don't see us entertaining the idea. Sounds like a bit of 'fugazi' to me. Who leaked the message? what was their desired purpose? Will Kozzi feel awkward now returning to training with his team mates and coaches? very poor form from whoever spread these rumours.

It's not Brayshaw clearly. And I highly doubt he would go to the club that essentially ruined his career.

Sydney - (Best team of 2024, but failed at last hurdle, contender) Carlton - (A strong team with many elite players, contender) GWS - (Experienced team with good players on all lines, top 4) Fremantle - (Added good players, a very well rounded team, top 4) Melbourne - (Last chance saloon, still has many elite players, a good balance of young and old) Brisbane - (A drop off after the GF heroics, Daniher a big loss) Port Adelaide - (Ken’s last chance, has to make finals, and win a final) Gold Coast - (Surely their time to make finals with it’s strong list) Western Bulldogs - (Another side with a great list, should be in the mix for top 8) Adelaide - (Rising steadily, added good players, finals should be the goal this year) Hawthorn - (A good side, Barrass and Battle makes them a stronger team) Collingwood - (An ageing list but plays a good system, expect a drop off this year) Geelong - (Ageing list, a bit of an unknown, Smith a good addition) St. Kilda - (Some good players, but lacks talent across all lines) Essendon - (Worst list in the comp for many years now) North Melbourne - (Lot’s of young guns, but can’t see them rising) West Coast - (Rebuild mode, has some good players developing nicely) Richmond - (Starting from ground zero)

It's terrible news. But there's a tiny silver lining in that bad things can happen at any moment that you can't control. I'd rather he crack his ribs in training now, than in another game against Collingwood. Get the monkey off the back, own it, and be ready to 'knock em stiff' come game day.

As 'GW' already mentioned, we spoke with Petty and tried to get a bit more information out of him on where he will be positioned next year and asked if he'll be our swingman next year? with a wry smile he said he'll be "happy to play anywhere." So he's not giving anything away for now.

It seems to be his right Hammy/Glute. Every session the Physio is getting his elbow into those areas and working hard on it. I overheard him with one of the rehab trainers saying that they want him to focus on his running today at a higher pace, so hopefully he isn't far away from main training. Selection is looking very tight already so he'll have to push himself even more this year if he wants to play 5+ games. Good luck to him though, I think he'll be a good player for us in the future.

Nice meeting you too today 31. 👍

Quite a few players out there today on individual programs and training in and out of the main squad. In rehab we had the 5 regulars being McAdam, Lever, Spargo, XL and Sestan doing their thing. While May, Campbell, Melksham, K.Brown doing a lot of boundary running but also involved in lots of the main squad drills. Fritsch and Salem training fully with the main squad which was good to see. Today the group focused a lot more on ball movement and various kicking drills, working the ball from the back pocket diagonally across to the other side of the forward line. I think our players will start to get the hang of the new tactics soon as it looks as though we will be more attacking next season and understandably takes a bit of time to adjust. Last month I was there at training they were doing a lot more running drills, but now they are more focused on ball movement. Fullarton surprised me today, he was involved in quite a few things and outclassed his opponent. One to watch. Trac again continues to impress me and is in for a big year, showing great leadership and very vocal. Turner keeps getting better and better and will do nicely this year as the 2nd key forward to JVR. JVR was a no show today so hopefully he is okay. I was also surprised with Kentfield's speed. He raced Windsor over 80m from the centre square to the boundary line and they drew even going flat out. Gawny is really taking a step back this year and letting others lead the way. You can see he is much more relaxed and will ramp things up closer to next season. There's definitely a vibe in the air that everyone knows their role and is executing it to a good standard. Maybe a bit more maturity in the group. You can sense that whatever came out of the review a few months back is already in play.

We can still have 3 Tall's at either end of the ground and use Petty as a utility/swingman from the bench and interchange him with a tall coming off the ground at either end. This could give May a bit more time to rest and keep him fresh while protecting his troublesome hammies and even chop out with Gawn and JVR when they need a break. This could be a real weapon for us if used correctly, we could really stretch opposition defences with our height.

He was the one I wanted. I'm disappointed we didn't take him. But there's hope for us yet in the rookie draft but that would mean we miss out on Noah Yze I think? not sure how many rookie picks we have available?