Dee in a Kilt

Let's talk about Selwyn Griffith, MFC's high performance Manager and Strength and Conditioning Coach. Recall Selwyn replaced Darren Burgess after the 2021 Premiership season. In 2021, Dees fans were brimming with confidence going into 4th quarters because we knew no one was as mentally and physically tough as the Dees. Burgess taught physical toughness delivers mental toughness. The last third of that grand final was breath taking. For a while now, it's been the opposite. At the end of last season, George repeatedly mentioned fitness and our inability to run out 4th quarters was an issue. With hindsight, George was bang on. Despite the club's "thorough" post-season review, we start the first 4 games as we ended last season - seemingly unable to run out quarters and games. Additionally, at the end of 2022 and 2023 seasons, I recall those wonderful Demonland reports on team practices stated repeatedly many players could barely run by season's end. In 2023, we lost both finals by less than a goal. Just imagine if we freshened players up like Geelong has done for years... The Dees should have won that '23 flag. Now Selwyn is a wonderful, genuine person you'd want as a mate. A good human being. However, in the 2024 financial year, MFC had $57m revenue and $44m assets, demanding Peter Jackson-type professionalism. At the end of the day, the smelling salts of reality is we have to be assessed on our results. Is Selwyn Goody's Achilles heel?

In 1854, Henry David Thoreau wrote "Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth." Goody, Max and others have liberally used the word "love" of late. I can somewhat understand it. When he was at his lowest ebb, Max brought Clarry into his home for a number of days despite Jess having recently come home from hospital having given birth to their second. Others in the club have gone above and beyond. That's love. None of us can truly understand what Trac, his wife and family went through following the horrific spleen injury. Following such raw emotion, love from the club, coach and team mates was needed to get Trac back on track. It seems Kozzy dearly wants to return home but he loves the club and its people. But love is such where if the actions do not follow the words, credibility can cut irreparably. Trust is lost. Goody called for a team response following North. The lack of response was evident on the first minutes of Gold Coast. The response was better against the Cats. But with all this talk about 'love' from our leaders, shouldn't we see a truly powerful response? What is the truth? Has Goody lost the trust of the team? BTW, LOVE what you do Andy, Binman & George!

I’m asking your thoughts on Demons leadership, like @Demons1858. I’d really like to see a transition to the next gen. Maxy is loved by everyone, arguably one of the best rucks of all time and he’s awesome with the media. History says Max was the right leader in 2021. I listened to Michael Voss on a poddie called “In the Arena”. He was ruthless leading the Lions on their 3-peat. A huge feat. Voss talked about the critical importance of really high standards. He was brutal game day once he crossed the white line. This is not about his coaching. Captain & coaching are different. Do you remember last season they mic’d up Max on game day when he was injured. What struck me was how super nice Max was to all the players. Too nice. This, and Trac in his “robust” discussions saying the club let standards slide, had me questioning if Max is the right leader now. From things I’ve heard, Vines is inspirational in his actions more than his words. Trac, Roo and Chandler seem to have an “edge” about them. Love to hear your thoughts.

Tonight I’m bringing my two 5 year old (almost 6) grandsons to their 2nd game of footy. One parent of each is also coming (my kids). We would love to sit with the cheer squad. Is there room and can we do this with general admission tickets? Both boys love Tommy McDonald. We fear there is a chance it’s his last game.