The Taciturn Demon

I'm noticing that rapid and seemingly unexpected improvement in players is a feature of the AFLW. I suspect it's just the nature of a competition in its infancy. Denby Taylor springs to mind.

If you see someone being a [censored] and you call them a [censored], aren't you exercising your freedom of speech? Being told to "pull you head in, [censored]" is hardly being sent to the gulag.

Yeah. Fair call. It's why I'm a little bit nervous two or three of the best non-Academy players in this draft are from outside Victoria. I've been following the women from the start and have to admit I don't remember Ash Woodland. Did she show something in her four games for us?

Fitzy is a gem. I reckon she's a player who can get better again.

Maddi Gay is a big loss. I think Sherriff was more important than she's given credit for. But I reckon the one that really got away - and I know it was a while ago now - is Brenna Tarrant.

Me too. I'm always surprised by at least one part of a B&F count, but this one was a real eye-opener. I love Hore, Hanks and Chaplin, but I thought McNamara had them all covered this season.

Very good post. They covered their big injuries incredibly well. We covered ours inadequately or just forced badly injured players to keep grinding. Will we do it better this year? I hope so, but every single best 22 I see for Melbourne has Melksham in it. If you put the widespread love for him aside, the fact is, if a 33-year-old 8-touches-a-game C-grader is a lock in your Round 1 team, your list depth may not be as good as you think it is. I think we should all be genuinely excited about Langford. Probably Lindsay as well. (Windsor looks an absolute ripper.) But every club's supporters are swooning over their players chosen inside pick 20 or 30 of this year's draft. And most supporters of every club who missed the eight have excuses and theories on why they're going to make a huge jump this year. Fremantle is the best and most laughable example. Missing from 12-6-1 is a spectacular failure. I like the way we're rebuilding the list without dipping into wooden spoon territory. As others have said, I think we've been a touch too cautious so far, and I think the people in charge believe the list is in better shape than it might be. Even knowing some big names will be gone or very close to the end by then, I have more hope about '26 and '27 than I do about next year. Mainly because I can see us relying far too heavily on very young talls - mostly forwards - and that's a recipe for disappointment, even if our ball movement makes life easier for them. I also have no idea what to expect from Oliver who, until recently, has really been the player we've relied on for consistent brilliance for more than half a decade. I'd be surprised if we made the finals and quite shocked if we finished in the first six. I hope I'm completely wrong, but I suspect an almost impossible number of things would have to go right - Oliver back to A-grade, Petracca untroubled by his injury, May and Max holding steady, Neal-Bullen comfortably replaced, someone like McAdam or Fullarton coming good, two or three Casey regulars putting intense pressure on AFL spots - for us to have a top 4 year.

Never a truer word spoken. St Kilda on the Indian Ocean.

Her courage is easily mistaken for strength. I'm amazed she's lasted this long, because she never fails to go and, as you say, is repeatedly thrown around by much larger footballers. In the early years of AFLW her guts and desire to do the team-oriented thing meant she held her own. I reckon she's improved her disposal - or at least got better at playing within her limitations. But she's never been a great kick. As the competition has improved, sadly for her, but probably happily for the competition, lots have gone past her now. I'll be sad to see her go, because I think she's the sort of person who others love to play with and be around. And she's just fun to listen to. Taking out sentimentality, though, you're right: she's not in the best 20 anymore.

Good call. Incredible year from McDonald, but unwise to think he'll just do it again (or, as you say, to pretend it was week after week of complete defensive dominance). I remember when Petty wanted to leave I came across a Kane Cornes tirade about him being absurdly overvalued and regularly losing one-on-one contests as a defender. I remember thinking, I know he likes to be inflammatory, but doesn't there need to be a kernel of truth even in the most click-baity take? Petty has always struck me as a very strong one-on-one defender.

I agree. The most embarrassing case for many years has been Tom Hawkins' "brilliant strength" inside forward 50 ball ups and throw ins. Absolutely blatant, stiff-arm pushes in the back ignored and often resulting in a goal to Geelong. I also think getting to the ball second and pushing the ball player away, often lauded as "smart" or "being stronger", is actually nothing to do with strength, and everything to do with exploiting a player who's almost always off balance just by the nature of the position they're in. I might be on my own with this, but I think in the same way front on contact frees were brought in to acknowledge that pushing someone in the chest as they open themselves up to mark wasn't fair, a second-to-the-ball push, especially in a one-on-one, should be looked at way more closely.

Well, that was enormously fun to watch.

Poor effort in not organising a jogging partner who is also a lip reader and body language expert.

This would be very close to mine.

The club just posted this B&F preview. Who's your top five?

Didn't realise you occasionally worked blue.

I agree. I'd love to see her spend more time in the ruck this year. For the draft, I skilled mid would be wonderful. I'd also love us to get a defender with strong hands who reads the play well - through draft or trade.

Dominance of private school prospects in AFL draft expected to continue in 2024 - ABC News As a funny coincidence, I have a feeling the author happens to be a Melbourne supporter.

Getting 25 and kicking three for the Stingrays on a weekend. Sweltering in a portable for the rest of the week. What a ledge.

And Shelley Heath. And Maeve Chaplin. And Eliza McNamara.

Well put. When you show people being themselves and reacting genuinely, rather than saying what they think they need to say, you're halfway to something interesting and worth watching.

He's going to be a lot of fun to watch - from March onwards, I suspect.

Languid and reluctant in the background waving eagerly, almost desperately.

Interesting. I had the impression any link to Reid might have dried up.

Goodness, I hope so. We need this so badly.