Dee in a Kilt

Nice post. You're right about her and Daisy being Melbourne. You know, I liked that the club nursed Jonesy to 300. He deserved it. That was classy by the club. Quid pro quo, perhaps we nurse Paxy to 100. It feels like there's something missing without 100 games next to Paxy's name.

Do you think we saw Paxy’s last game as a Dee?? Based on the regular season, it had all the appearances the dramatic increase in player skill levels over 10 years had finally passed Paxy. But today she was brilliant and showed leadership. Thoughts?

Overachieving for the year = Great coaching and player leadership.

The girls are playing with great belief. They believe. Roos are playing with weight of expectations. If Roos coach can’t remove that weight at 3/4 time, the Dees have this. If Roos coach brings their minds back, a ripping 4th quarter

under severe pressure by Dees

So Chaplin is warming up and looking comfortable? She'll start??

Thanks so much @Brownie. Wotherspoon has serious football intelligence. She has shades of Gretsky's "going to where the puck will be". She's fast. Confident. Her tackles stick. Kicks beautifully to advantage. Seriously good judgement of the ball coming in - Strong hands taking the ball at the highest point. And she looks a brilliant team mate. Gall was obviously crucial to Spoony being the Dees #12 draft selection. Consider ourselves very fortunate. As is typical of this team, Spoony considers herself lucky to be with the Dees.

I read somewhere Kate McCarthy is interested to coach the Dees. I was thinking, well we have Mick, why on earth would she even be thinking that?? ...then your post. Geelong men's team is currently a leader in modern footy strategy and, from what Kingy has said, in the structuring of coaches and the football department for maximum effectiveness on the footy field. Mick has been with the Dees 10 years. He likely needs a refresh for his own development. If it is so, I wish we could bring Daisy back to her spiritual home.

Listen up Dees faithful. In 148 years of VFL/AFL history, only 5 teams have gone undefeated through a regular season. Four of them lost in the finals. That's an 80% failure rate when it counted most. The same pattern I witnessed across over 20 years coaching junior basketball. Underdogs playing with free spirit and no weight of expectations. Underdog coaches throwing bold tactics not seen by the undefeated team all season. An defeated season potentially leading to a mental attitude of superiority that is the beginning of their downfall. It's a human phenomenon. North Melbourne carries 25 straight wins into Saturday. History, psychology, and the brutal reality of finals football all whisper the same truth: that streak is their burden now, not their armour. Finals are a brand new season. The slate wipes clean. And our girls just discovered who they are at exactly the right moment. Tomorrow, we end the streak at 25. Go Dees! (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_season)

If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then to me

Our indigenous brothers bring magic, genius and gobsmacking athleticism to our indigenous game. X factor to the max. Just imagine how inspiring Latrelle’s selection is for Kozzi, AMW, McAdams, Mentha and Matthew Whelan. The romance and poetry of that selection will bring excitement to the entire team - club. In the recent finals series and the season just gone, Brisbane and Geelong showed how critical small forwards have become. At the same time, Jason Taylor stated Koz is expected to spend more time in the midfield and less time as a forward. Consequently, the trade and draft period had to address the Dees lack of X-factor, goal scoring, defensive pressure forward. Kingy becoming coach emphasises MFC’s dynamic small forward prioritisation. Geelong read the game’s evolution and prioritised dynamic small forwards after our 2021 flag. JT also mentioned Kozzi specifically wants mentor responsibilities. The best organisations inspire their people by ensuring they continue to grow professionally and as human beings. Having a generational talent like Koz - who makes us all catch our breath when he's near the footy - guide Latrelle's development? It’s a win for Koz and Latrelle which we all hope will lead to a huge win for the MFC. Let me add our other X-factor – Kolt. Missing a chunk of pre-season negatively impacted his 2025 game. I like to believe a full pre-season will see Kolt back to his best. Latrelle gives us what we desperately need. Given this bigger picture and the environment Steven King is building, in selecting Latrelle over Dovaston the strategic thinking is sound and the cultural significance is profound.

It s truly extraordinary the Dees finished the regular season second with a percentage of 209, yet North is $1.05 favourites versus $9.50 for the Dees. Unbelievable. So the market is overwhelming confident about a Roos win. The thing is, so much of sport is between the ears. As a hobby, for over 20 years I coached girls and boys junior basketball, from U18's to U9's, at club and representative basketball level. It was incredible how often an undefeated team lost in the finals. Without exaggeration, I'd say teams undefeated in the regular season lost over 80% of the time in the finals. If being undefeated in the regular season, then in the first final smashing the Hawks who limped into finals, leads to a smidge too much confidence or comfort or feeling of invincibility - then watch out. Finals are truly a new season. Anything can happen. Mick Stinear, in his presser, stated in the 2nd half of the semi-final, that the entire season's strategies and tactics, player roles, players' self-belief and belief in each other finally came together. It is so rare for a coach to see this, resulting... in a thing of beauty the Dees put together in the second half. They were brutal footballers yet played with such joy and fun. Kate McCarthy commented it was by far the best Adelaide had played all year. Yet, it was like we beat them in cruise control in that 4th quarter. Such rarefied air would bring tears to any coach emotionally invested in their team and the season. North has earned every accolade—25 straight wins is an AFL/VFL record that speaks for itself. But Saturday isn't about regular season records or historic streaks, it's about which team seizes their moment when everything is on the line. Our girls found something in that second half that transcends form guides and betting odds. They found each other, and they found themselves. If they bring that same brutal joy to Ikon Park, the streak ends at 25.

For many years, Brisbane and the Adelaide Crows had the benefit of taking all the best talent from their respective states. Meanwhile, the Dees had to fight for talent in the crowded Victorian club market. Essentially, it was the Dees v All-State Queensland and South Australian teams. The advent of Port Adelaide and Gold Coast is bringing more equality to the competition. Adelaide has come back to the field as Port boasts a proud 155 year history with 36 SANFL championships. This attracted significant talent, diluting the Crows power. However, Gold Coast has no history or special place in the hearts of Queenslanders, enabling the lions to keep much of their talent. That the Dees have been highly competitive despite the dilution of Victorian state talent reflects strongly on Stinear, Daisy, Kate and the women’s team leadership. This qualifying final should be a beauty.

I believe Gus is studying at Oxford University ATM

@Meggs report on Geelong game mentioned some of players being below their best. The athletes, the runners - McNamara, Bannan and Paxy - were not at their best. I don't think we can underestimate the impact of last week playing in the energy-sapping heat and bruising encounter with Brisbane - especially the running athletes. Lions coach Starcevich said it was one of the best games the Lions have played over the 10 years. He was impressed with his team's performance. It sounds to me we took the Lions' best shot. And because of this, Coach Stinear and the Dees coaching team maximised their learnings from the game. For some reason, being the underdog provides a better competitive edge when the rivalry is close. We have the home ground, we're not in the heat, we have the feeling of being underdogs, we have an 8-day break to the first final - I like the feel of all that. It would be brilliant to get the win if only to have the week off to freshen up. That would make a big difference to some of our key players.