Master Chief

How good was Kozzy Pickett on ANZAC Eve? What stands out just as much as the performance itself is the journey that’s led him here. He came into the league as a dangerous small forward, living off moments, pressure and scoreboard impact. Then we started to see those short bursts through the midfield, often at the start of quarters, where his pace and creativity could change the tone of the game in an instant. Last season that role expanded. He wasn’t just a cameo anymore, he was spending genuine time around the ball and learning how to influence stoppages, link up in transition and still hit the scoreboard. Now it feels like the progression is complete. He’s not a forward rotating through the midfield, he’s a full-time midfielder who can go forward and do serious damage. What’s changed is not just where he plays, but how consistently he impacts. He’s getting his hands dirty inside, he’s driving clearance work, and he still has that rare ability to turn a game in a matter of seconds. The flair is still there, but it’s now backed by volume and authority. AND HE FINALLY PULLED OFF A MARK OF THE YEAR CONTENDER. He has absolutely justified every cent and every year of that contract. Players with his combination of explosiveness and game-breaking ability are rare, and right now he is delivering week after week. So the question becomes, have we already seen the best of Kozzy, or is there still another level to come? And where does he now rank among the elite players in the competition, because on current form he’s pushing himself firmly into that conversation.

Lever turned back the clock today. I thought that he was excellent and almost back to some of his best footy. Lets hope this form continues.

Rivers in for CJ (injured)

Kozzy Gawn Lever Steele Sparrow Fritsch

Obligatory welcome back, boys. You have been missed. Looking ahead to next week, I reckon we may need to find Gawny a bit of support in the ruck to deal with the combination of Jackson’s athleticism and Darcy’s sheer size and strength. Does the Moose come into calculations for a debut? And on a somewhat related note, is our backline strong enough to handle Fremantle’s tall timber in Treacy, Amiss and Voss? Does TMac come back into the frame, with either he or Petty spending some time as the backup ruck to give Max a chop-out without leaving us undersized down back?

Fingers and toes crossed for Luker. Looked nasty. Terrible luck for the kid who looked a certainty for Rd 1.

I'm a little concerned about our preparation in terms of practice hitouts going into the season. We've played two very poor opposition teams and our match sims/intraclubs have been compromised with injured players missing and VFL standard fill ins. Our round 1 opponent have 2 games in between now and Round 1.

6 Windsor 5 Van Rooyen 4 Rivers 3 Gawn 2 Steele 1 Salem

Part of that operation would also have to be a big on field improvement and climb up the ladder in a relatively short amount of time. Familiarity only takes you so far.

Do not get me wrong. I too am on the wishful thinking train. I bloody hope this intel is solid and we are wining and dining Bailey Humphrey to get him to nominate us as nominating us (or even stating that he wants to come back home) is the only way a trade for him is forced.

Exactly this. If Tom Morris had a whiff of the Demons meeting with Bailey Humphrey and the supposed intel that has been posted here it would be splashed all over Trade Radio. Not a Tom fan but he is usually all over this kind of thing and at the moment I am not seeing that playing out.

I spoke about this last week but I am going to keep saying it. Max Gawn absolutely deserves his 8th All Australian jacket. He’s been one of our few constants this season, consistently delivering elite performances and dominating opponents across the ground. He racked up 23 disposals (14 contested), 5 marks (3 contested), 42 hitouts, 8 score involvements, and even slotted another beautiful snap goal. I just hope the selectors don’t fall into the trap of recency bias and let a short burst of form from Grundy outweigh Max’s sustained brilliance across the year.

After another stellar performance surely Max Gawn is now a lock for his 8th All Australian jacket?

Really love the Podcast guys. Thank you for continuing to front up each week. It really does help me make sense of where the team is at and what we need to do to improve. Do you genuinely believe that Jefferson is up to AFL standard and will make it. I know the key position players take a little longer to develop but I just can't see any upside to his game. Admittedly I have not watched him play at Casey but from the little I have seen of him in the seniors he lacks upper body strength and 2nd efforts. He was barely in a job when chasing opponents. I think we may have made the wrong call in drafting him.

The umpiring in this match was nothing short of horrendous. I was genuinely gobsmacked to see the free kick count even on the final stat sheet. However it is always the free kicks that you don't get that kill you. That blatant non-call on the trip to Kozzy in the goal square was inexcusable. Wasn’t tripping once considered a reportable offence? Melbourne should be demanding a “please explain” from AFL House. Once again… FREE KICK HAWTHORN

Jack Viney answered all his critics for the past few weeks. He was back to his bullocking best and proved he can still be valuable as a midfielder. I guess we just want to see consistency from our stars. We know they have the ability.

Genuine question—because I’m out of answers. Do you think we can turn this form around without sacking the coach, overhauling the playing group or staff, or heading into a full rebuild? Can we steady the ship this season? I’m not after a detailed plan—just wondering if the panel believes it’s realistically possible.

Is it worrisome that we only kicked one goal from a set shot or do we just chalk it up to the conditions?

Good to you have you guys back. Excellent show last week. Would love to get your thoughts on Langdon's new role through the middle. Do you think we will persist with this or will he return to the wing?

So sad we won't get to hear the obscure nicknames.

So happy to hear reports that Jeffo is filing out. Expecting a big year from him. Assume he will start at Casey but you'd be expecting him to push for senior selection later in the season. Thanks to all the trackside reporters for your observations.

Dodoro doesn't get enough credit for bringing the whole AFL world the joy of 7000 plus days of no Essendon success in September. Here's to another 500.

Our defence was once again rock solid and at this point we don't expect anything less. Tommy MAC's resurrection in defence has been a revelation. In particular his intercept/contested marking down the line is exactly what we need to allow Petty to swing forward. Always been a big fan of TMAC from his early career as a defender to his swing forward where he was instrumental during our entire premiership season. Not gonna lie I thought this last foot injury would be the end of him and I absolutely wrote him off after last years finals series. He has risen.

Traffic lights 🤣

Unnecessary lifting of the elbow by Kozzy is going to cost the team. He needs to pull his head in with these kinds of acts. Missed too many games for silly, avoidable incidents.