The Taciturn Demon

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?

You're a ledge. If I was more technically minded I'd do the John Williams Jaws theme over the top of both Gillard tackles.

Someone recently - maybe even a Melbourne player after the Gabba win - described Neale as having the fastest feet in the game. He may not be quick, but he's no plodder.

Could it also be that if you're slow and can't kick, and then something goes wrong - you start to get injuries or just get passed by other midfielders - there's no fallback for you? If you can kick you can go to half back. If you're quick you can go to a wing or maybe play on dangerous small forwards. I think if the last few years have shown us anything, it's the importance of versatility, even in the very very best midfielders. Like you said, Clayton Oliver is a good comparison. Also, I don't think it's any coincidence that Tom Mitchell, Luke Ball, Brock McLean, all high picks or touted as exceptional players at some point in their careers, all limped to 150 or 200-odd games, even at a time when those type of players were in vogue.

Me too. He must be confident that no matter what happens above us, we'll get two he really likes.

That's what I'm hoping. Purely in the marking area, more Logue than Hannan.

Good comparison. I'd be a bit disappointed if Nairn was only as good as Hannan above his head at AFL level.

Genuine question: how many players get drafted having played most of their best footy the previous year in the SANFL (or WAFL) reserves?

I wish I knew how to get and embed short videos, because the chain of handballs on the northern wing that leads to the Wotherspoon goal that put us two goals ahead is absolute poetry. The Georgia Campbell pick up and little give to Fitzpatrick is delightful. (We have to keep Campbell - got to be our number one ruck next year.) Then Fitz pops one up to Heath and she looks like she's clear, but Keeley Kustermann, a former 800 metre runner, turns on the jets and looks like she'll mow her down. Heath seems to be going flat out, but managed to find another gear, arches the back, gets some space and... the handball to Mahony. Just. Hook. It. To. My. Veins.