Dee in a Kilt

Don’t underestimate how big a loss Purcell is. The Dees run & carry was magnificent with the Purcell and Hanks combo initiating it. But we’ve struggled since Purcell’s season was ended. The reality is you can’t replace someone of Purcell’s class. Since the injury, we certainly don’t cope with pressure as well. Imagine Gold Coast without Rowell… I feel for Stinear. The team trained all preseason and early season with a game style taking advantage of our strengths, then we lose one of the pillars. Stinear will earn his coaching credentials now.

That male commentator was dreadful. Surely Fox can do better than that. It was distasteful referring to “Big head” for Harris’s cardboard cut out in the crowd. He thought it was so funny he kept on saying it. Who is he?

Thanks so much @Meggs. I really enjoy your posts, writing style, positivity and all you do for the Demon women. Bet you were tempted to write about the 5 straight frees against the Dees in the last 90 seconds 😂. Very noble not to

Thanks @KC from Casey and thanks all you do with Casey reporting. Can you please provide an image of who plays who going through to the granny? Thanks again.

The public boardroom battles since 2021 have been embarrassing and cost us on-field success when we have a team in the premiership window. While Board and executive leadership fought, dragging the coach into their mess, our club suffered. Goody and Max did the heavy lifting publicly when winning games should have been their only focus. This is clearly unacceptable. MFC leadership must learn from this and put in place processes to ensure it never happens again. The good news is we're getting a fresh start with a new President, CEO and head coach. This communication is constructive feedback to inform this renewal. We're actually in a strong position to fix this. Assets of $44 million, no debt, strong profitability, thriving AFLW and VFL programs, and what some experts call a compelling AFL playing list. Importantly, a loyal member and fan base that I suspect runs deeper into the community than we know. We're not broken. But we must have strong governance, professionally executed, as a foundation to delivering sustainable success and properly representing MFC members and fans. Why this matters nowSteven Smith and Paul Guerra represent a fresh start, a renewal. Professional sport generates huge emotions, but this is a billion-dollar industry where emotional decision-making destroys clubs. We’ve experienced that. Some of you might think 'they won't listen anyway, why bother.' I get it – I once wrote to the CEO and had a nuff nuff response. But here's the difference: if Andy approves, we're speaking as Demonland - a unified voice representing the largest collective MFC supporter base. That's much harder to dismiss. Besides, staying silent guarantees nothing changes. Instead of staying frustrated, we can be a constructive voice for change. For the love of the club. What needs fixing· Coterie groups getting privileged information while regular members are kept in the dark · Crisis management that protects egos instead of the club · No independent oversight when things go wrong · No audit to ensure accountability for delivering review recommendations · Board elections that feel like insider deals Governance & accountability recommendationsHere are some of thoughts: · Information equity: If coterie members have been shared information that has not been made public, governance principles require immediate disclosure to all members. The MCC and coterie are important stakeholders deserving respect, but they are not above MFC members and fans in terms of accountability and disclosure. · Independent reviews: Use independent experts for major reviews, with follow-up independent audits ensuring accountability. Within commercial realities and protecting competitive interests, there needs to be transparency of both the reviews and audits back to MFC members. While we recognise and respect any review is a Board decision, we'd love to see Peter Jackson involved - everyone respects his track record with our club · Modern Board elections: The current process to elect Board members is outdated, lacks member respect and has not kept up to date with advances in corporate governance, sports professionalism, technology and social media. Inform us what skills you need on the Board, why those skills are needed, how current directors deliver those skills, and let candidates engage with members through social media (Demonland) Q&A before elections · Process over emotion: Immediately establish clear protocols overriding individual emotions when major issues arise Your thoughts? Demonlanders, our voices matter – and the more voices, the more credibility. What do you think and what governance changes would restore your faith in MFC leadership?

I've heard more context making the sanction and AFL's stance clearer. Adelaide Crows played North last Saturday. There was an invite-only Friday lunch in which the Crows CEO, Footy Manager and a couple of other Crows leaders spoke. There was blunt discussion on the Rankine episode. It was said Rankine made a homophobic slur earlier in the season. The AFL found out, was angered and gave Rankine a firm first and last warning. Thus the intolerance with the latest episode. One of the Collingwood backs, who spent much of the game on Rankine, had recently done an Insta post showing off nail polish on one of his hands. Rankine made a deal about this with the homophobic slur. Given this and the impact on this vulnerable community mentioned in this thread, Rankine is lucky to have only 4 weeks. The discussion also made mention of the extraordinary impact Nibbler has made at the Crows. His leadership has been exceptional - and there were no Dees supporters in the audience...

Both Melk & Tommy have very good post footy options. I don’t believe the club had full control as you suggest.

The MFC Board has a full plate. They will not be providing running commentary on journo reports. Also, there are times a Board will not correct an incorrect public perception if it means negatively impacting someone's reputation. The Board takes this "on the chin" for integrity and moral reasons. Since becoming President, Brad Green's every action has been to do the right thing for the MFC. Brad's Presidency has been like his captaincy - without ego. Given this, it's just not believable Brad and the Board took the Goody action without Steven Smith's blessing. It is common for a Board to approve a future action. For example, as a pure theoretical with no basis in fact, the Board might pre-approve an action to sack a coach based on, after the meeting, an independent report revealing a coach's leadership is no longer effective. Further, if a Board has a critical action, such as sacking and hiring of a professional team's coach, the responsible Board member would remain responsible even if there is a change in President or Chairman. It would be poor governance otherwise. Despite Steven Smith taking the Presidency reigns, It is good governance for Brad Green to remain responsible for the hiring of a new coach under terms and guidelines set by the Board. The Board has final approval after due consideration. If this means Brad stays as President a little longer, there is no drama. But somehow, this clickbait age creates a story.

😂😂 Yep, love Binman's work. He's important to Demonland. Both Roos and Goody discussed the veil of negativity that hangs over the Melbourne Footy Club. That in the last week angst has crept (hijacked) into every thread is evidence. Positivity is a force multiplier. My word the MFC and Demonland needs that.

@binman, awesome work on "Communications" feedback to Steven Smith and Paul Guerra. Your gifted at seeing the big picture, setting up processes, fact-based decision-making... Be interesting to know what your day job is... I'd like to suggest the next topic be: Constructive ideas to improve MFC's Governance, Transparency and AccountabilityI'd love George (what's his hashtag - The Pearl??), as he covers this topic so strongly on the Demonland Podie. But I'm not sure George is available right now. Here's why I think Governance, Transparency and Accountability is the right next topic: For the longest time, podcaster George has identified governance, transparency and accountability as a significant issue. @PaulRB specifically called for "active and engaged transparency" with embargos only on competitive issues - this was one of the most thoughtful, well-received responses @BKKBooga (40-year member) highlighted governance issues, particularly how "coterie groups run the place and are treated on a different level to everybody else" @beelzebub noted the coterie groups "guard their activities, influences and power very carefully and craftfully" @The Trunk proposed an independent review with "terms of reference shared with members" - directly addressing transparency @Previously known as LITD. mentioned Brad Green's letter as a "veiled reprimand" rather than genuine transparency about performance Why was there no transparency on last year's football department review? Why wasn't this review independent? What were the terms of that review? What were the accountabilities to ensure the review was implemented? The AFL is now a $1 billion industryIn 2024, MFC had $57 million revenue and assets of $44 million. Twenty years ago, MFC was essentially insolvent.Just 30 years ago, the AFL and most clubs were still run like today's country footy clubs, with emotion and passion trumping professionalism. The AFL and most clubs, MFC included, still suffer from amateurism trumping professionalism. Peter Jackson showed us the path. Governance, transparency and accountability becomes a foundation to professionalism, stability and strength. What do you think? Worthy of feedback to the new leadership using @binman's Communications template??

Hey @binman, in line with your suggested process, do you want to do your AI thing to arrive at a draft feedback to Steven Smith and Paul Guerra focused on Communications? As a next step, I will propose to our Demonland brothers and sisters the next topic to tackle.

On MMM, Maxy said he told Goody on Monday that he (Max) should play on Darcy this weekend. Didn't Max play a first quarter on Geelong's Tom Hawkins at one time?? I recall it confused the Geelong offence.

With Maysie back next week, I'm wondering if the Dogs game may be TMac's last as a player... Sincerely hope not. I'll go to the game just in case...

I'm surprised there's not discussion about Troy Chaplin. Troy has been an MFC assistant coach for 8 years and has a very good relationship with the players. He was the architect of our flag winning defence, successfully introducing and implementing the total team defence concept. He transitioned to the offensive coach for the 2025 season. Our offence has improved significantly as the season has progressed. Despite having Alan Richardson's guidance, the AFL Coaches Association CEO, Alistair Nicholson, will ensure Troy will have one or two mentors to help him with the transition. Richardson is accountable to the Board. The mentor(s) will be focused on supporting Troy as a coach and a person. One mentor will be an ex-coach and Alistair is likely to give Troy a few options. The other mentor may be someone in the system who has experienced being thrown in the deep end as an interim coach. It's my understanding Troy has aspirations to be a head coach. So these three weeks become very important. Also, the next three games become a test of player leadership - Gawny, Viney, Trac, Melk, TMac and off-field Lever and Maysie. All those saying the Dogs will whoop us are implying we lack player leadership. Frankly, our on-field leadership was lacking in the 4th quarter against St Kilda and at other times this season. Elite sport is so much between the ears. I'm quietly confident Chaplin and the player leadership will deliver. This Dogs game is intriguing.

@binman, excellent work identifying the video content gap and the Monash partnership opportunity. Agree 100% Ben Gibson's departure highlighted how much we were punching above our weight in this area, and you're right that we've fallen way behind. Your Monash University idea is particularly smart. Leveraging our geographic proximity and their expertise while giving students real-world experience. Building on your framework: Strategic suggestions: MFC should identify 2-3 signature content series. Real Madrid's "Behind the Dream" generated huge engagement. It was compelling and memorable. MFC's road to the flag series was excellent - but sadly one-off. Also, the health of any club is determined by an ability to continually attract the kids. There needs to be strategic focus on kids content without diminishing content for the broad member base. Additionally, members must hear announcements and breaking news through MFC social media as a trusted source, not through journalists - even when it's an uncomfortable story. Brand identity clarity: @BW511's post on the "Anger to Action" thread was brilliant, highlighting something crucial - we've allowed external caricatures (wine, cheese, snow) to become our identity by default rather than defining ourselves boldly. Our membership is so much than MCC members. An image of adult men and women MFC supporters in the general admission seats crying after the 2018 Mitch Hannan goal in the first final against Geelong needs to adorn the Board room wall. The solution is to own our heritage proudly, making it aspirational for ALL supporters. We're Australia's oldest professional sporting organisation - some have said the oldest in the world. That's extraordinary. Own that boldly. The Monash partnership could deliver this beautifully - high production values that match our standards, authentic storytelling that reflects our real supporter base.