The Taciturn Demon

You couldn't really get a better team to watch than Melbourne's over the last ten years. Brave, honest, often punching well above their weight in a competition that has given huge advantages to non-Melbourne teams. Kate Hore is one of the most sublimely skilled footballers I've ever seen. Our crowds are poor. Casey absolutely doesn't help, but it doesn't explain a few thousand at games ten minutes from the CBD.

I wonder what they have in mind for Molly O'Hehir. I can't help but feel a few times this year we got beaten in the middle when it mattered most, and we have very few players over 170cm who can go into centre bounces and make a difference. Purcell, Hanks and Heath will give everything, but we seem to struggle when taller midfielders start to dominate (Garner is 175cm). Beasley is 170cm and is robust. But I wonder if they might think about putting O'Hehir (180cm) into the middle every now and then next year.

Yep. Looks like he kicks sacks to me. But the movement is sublime. Interesting to see how he progresses.

Taylor Gillard McNamara Chaplin Harris Pearce

Good on you for just saying it. She's an awful person and a laughably overrated footballer.

Bizarre feeling today. Almost no disappointment despite how close we got. I just think we were brilliant all game and could not possibly asked for anything more. We're so young and we made them absolutely [censored] themselves. Wonderful game and wonderful season. They should all be incredibly proud. EDIT: I mean, I am disappointed. But only that Libby Birch and Emma Kearney will be playing in another Grand Final. That hurts my soul. The Demons' performance didn't disappoint me at all.

Yep. Only three players at the Combine have done it in a time below 2.80. (Jack Watts ran a 2.82.) Just from those videos, he looks extraordinarily quick for a person of his size and body shape.

Movement, especially through traffic, looks stunningly good. The kicking... not so much.

Petty, Turner and Taylor is such a good mix of non-small defenders.

I think it's OK to pearl clutch when your club has just traded their best midfielder of the last 20 or 30 years for nothing due to 'cultural' reasons.

Oh [censored] yes! From memory, Harvey Langford said a similar thing.

Esoteric. Love it.

Who do we hope is there at our pick tomorrow?

Is the thinking Robey is too similar to Smillie?

Will the jumpers have a Hawk on them? No? Too soon?

Good to hear. Just sign the document with the MFC letterhead, Eden.

Oh. Me too. How embarrassing.

I think that's fair, although some of the marking looks well above average to me. Just depends if he can do it consistently at the top level.

Wonderful insight. I've been thinking a bit about Stinnear recently, and that after 10 years some coaches can begin to seem like they're overstaying their welcome. Stinnear is not one. It's very obvious he's loved and greatly admired, and I'm almost certain one of the main reasons we've retained so many players where other Seaon 1 teams have been raided over and over again, is the coach. I found out the other day that the Bulldogs' number 1 pick from two years ago is likely to seek a trade after the season. That would be three number 1 (overall) draft picks that the Dogs will have lost since they began. They've also lost multiple other very good players - Toogood, Conti, Brennan, Lochland and more. Same with Collingwood. We've lost a couple of good players against our will (and it sounds like we'll lose Zanker at the end of this season), but have never seen these kind of exoduses and it shows in our results. We don't have the benefit of numerous two-team state drafts behind us, but keep competing against the very best. Hope he sticks around.

Hello.

This is new.

AHG vibes.

Ha ha. Fair. Gosh, Matt Whitlock would want to be good.

What would Richmond want for (what becomes) Pick 7?

Will they play Maeve with a hole in her hamstring a la Steven May in the GF?