Dee in a Kilt

@Ghostwriter another little task if I may. When you speak with any of the women's team, could you please encourage them to bring more sass to the end-of game team song? The arm around should deal is very blokey. The women have produced a wee swagger. Time for boldness has come. It's time for our pioneering women to bring female sass to the team song. I was a basketball coach for all 3 of my kids - 2 girls 1 boy. I enjoyed it so much I continued coaching b/ball after they stopped playing. I coached many boys and girls teams, loving the difference in coaching between boys and girls. As a hobby, I even coached representative junior basketball for 3 years I enjoyed it so much. I suggested to each girls' team to come up with a little chant they'd do pre-game and coming out of timeouts. Many of the girls' teams developed fabulous chants with hand claps, twists, turns, etc. The boys had no interest. Vive la difference I say - long live the difference between men and women. Girls and young women have many instances of synchronised activity - team gymnastics, cheerleading competitions, synchronised swimming. When I lived in Shanghai I'd go for a run each morning. Early every morning, in every park, in many different areas of each park, there would have large groups of women doing a synchronised dance routine. Often there would be a strange dude or two copying the women's routine behind a tree some distance away. No, one of them wasn't me. Anyway, I'd love to see the women's team move away from the blokey team song routine and bring some sass. Dees girl fans would simply love it. Vive la difference!

@Ghostwriter do you have any insight into why the Dees arrived late to the game?

So much of sport is between the ears. Freo were clearly desperate to win that game. More desperate than the Dees. Freo's season was on the line. Also, Freo had 10 days to prepare for the Dees. Freo's first few centre bounces and their match-ups around the ground showed 10-days of prep, leading to four 1st quarter goals. Stinear made a number of changes at quarter time that brought us back into the game. At the same time, there was some sort of stuff up and our team arrived quite late to the ground and missed over half their prep time. In elite sport where all players and coaching staff have their routines, this has an impact on start of game performance. Freo had a clear mindset advantage resulting in a first quarter that won them the game.

Always love your player insights Ghosty. There's a saying that a man marries a woman thinking she will never change, and she does. A woman marries a man thinking he will change, and he doesn't 😂. We were all incredibly excited when Trac was drafted, followed by his many accolades. We hoped he would never change. But as can happen with some millennials, he put his personal brand above the organisation that employed him. This was strongly encouraged by people he brought into his life who themselves were inexperienced in life. My understanding is this situation became eye-rolling for the playing group. It is the antithesis of the selfless attitude that brought success in 2021. It became a high maintenance distraction off field and sometimes on. It sounds like King is intent on building a champion team in which a champion player putting himself above the team does not fit. Having said that, it seems King has the self-belief to build a champion team even if a Trac trade does not work out. Ghosty is right. In this scenario, Trac is a pro and will give his all. From here, we just need to trust King, Guerra, Lamb, JT and the football department to make the call on what is best for the Melbourne footy club. Personally, I'd hate a pick swap for Trac. It feels unders. But if King and all believe it can deliver us a champion team and remove eye-rolling distractions, then so be it.

This game was a poor reflection on the AFLW brand. Our pioneering and top ranking women's team deserve better. The TV commentary was dreadful. A netballer providing sideline commentary delivered pure fluff as did the amateur-hour commentators. The TV coverage was very poor, produced for the Freo fan base. Pre-game, half time and game focus was all Freo. The umpiring was abysmal for both sides. So many of these umps have simply no feel for the game. I wish there was transparency on each umps frees count by team. The AFL MUST develop a program to incentivise high quality players, who don't make the elite level, to become elite level umps. The holding the ball rule is a blight on AFLW and just makes poor quality umpiring even more difficult. As the umps have no feel for the game, the calls and non-calls make the players second-guess, players don't want to take possession and it can lead to a "chicken scratch" with a group of players patting the ball around, unwilling to take possession. It's as if the AFL is giving the women's game the budget associated with grave-yard shift TV. It's doing no favours to the AFLW brand. It's a shame as AFLW is having a wonderful impact on society. Girl participation in Auskick is beyond expectations in all states. Young girls are inspired - a new generation believing nothing is impossible. More girls and young women exposed to the important life lessons delivered by team sport - leadership, resilience, team work, handling winning and losing, handling life isn't always fair, coping with one's strengths and weaknesses... Investing behind women and girls is simply the right thing to do, regardless of current crowd and audience levels.

This will be a finals game for Freo. If Freo win, they'll sit just one game out of the 8. With just 4 games to finish the regular season, every game is precious for the Dockers. So the Dockers will have advantages with 'must win' mindset, home turf and likely favourable umps (last year the Dockers beat us thanks to a free kick in front of goal just before the siren sounded). If we are a team of destiny, we will have the maturity and strength to cast all those Freo advantages aside and take the 4 points.

Oh Ghosty, you have such a beautiful heart. I wish Demonlanders had the opportunity to get to know you personally, as I. It's little wonder the players open up to you, giving Demonland constant pearls and insights. Fabulous to hear the women have pulled up well.

Does anyone else wish the AFLW Dees had a distinctive name? If we refer to the 'Dees', is it the men's or women's team? It's cumbersome. I read an inspiring article about Matilda Kyra Cooney-Cross. It had me thinking each of the national sporting teams has a distinctive name so we immediately know the sporting code and gender. I asked my buddy Claude.io for some suggestions, following: Banshees - - These supernatural female spirits are known for their powerful presence and haunting calls. It keeps the supernatural theme and has great potential for chants and supporter culture Furies - Drawing from Greek mythology, the Furies were fierce female spirits of vengeance. It maintains the mythological/demonic theme while being distinctly feminine and intimidating Valkyries - Norse mythology's choosers of the slain - fierce female warriors. Maintains mythological roots while being unmistakably strong and independent Demonesses - A direct, powerful feminine form that maintains the club's demon heritage while asserting their own identity Pioneers - Direct and powerful, celebrating their groundbreaking role in both competitions Trailblazers - Dynamic and forward-looking, emphasizing they're carving the path for others to follow Amazons - Perhaps the strongest option. Wonder Woman's warrior race represents strength, skill, and sisterhood. The term has mythological roots but strong superhero associations, and "Amazon" is synonymous with fierce female warriors Thoughts?

It's interesting Essendon got smashed by the Dogs last night. Last week, the tackling and physicality of Mick Stinear's team against the Bombers was the toughest I've seen from our women's team, ever. And this progression needed to happen as last season the tackling and physicality of the Roos and Lions was at a much higher level than our Dees. So after last week's game, I wondered what the impact would be on Essendon this week. Well, that was answered last night. The Bombers were beaten by almost 10 goals. Equally, it will be interesting to see how our Dees turn up tomorrow after last week's physical encounter.

This Essendon game was the best tackling performance I've seen from the Dees. We had an amazing 24 tackles inside 50 to the Bombers 5. Unfortunately, this tacking effort was not rewarded by the umps as the Bombers had many dropped balls and throws. Last year, tackling effectiveness was one of the big differentiators between the Dees and grand finalists Roos and Lions. Our tackling effectiveness against the Bombers shows we are building very, very nicely.

I understand McVee is hot to trot for one of the Dees women players. Who is it and, as a result, will there need to be a trade with AFLW Eagles or Dockers?? You seem to have all that goss @Ghostwriter

Dees were a class above Essendon. The final score didn’t properly reflect this. Very good hit out. Dees are handling opposition pressure significantly better now post Purcell’s season ending injury.

On grand final eve, Essendon had their best game of the season against the unbeaten Roos. The match report said Essendon applied immense pressure, forcing the Roos into uncharacteristic errors with the dons up 20-0 at quarter time. If Essendon can replicate that pressure, it will be great hit out for the Dees. We showed vulnerability against high pressure when we played Collingwood and Port. In those games, we were still trying to work out how to replace Liv Purcell. Since, Wotherspoon, Fitzsimon and Chaplin have stepped up. At only 21, Wotherspoon has already played at representative level in soccer, cricket and softball and it shows. Really smart, tough athlete. Fitzsimon had an amazing 15 tackles against the Suns. When she rotates into the midfield, Chaplin makes impact and gets the ball outside. It will be interesting to see how the post-Purcell midfield progresses.

Thanks so much @Dees_In_October. Much appreciated. Mithen versus McNamara was an interesting tussle. In my view, McNamara was the clear winner despite Eliza only having a 9 point better fantasy score. Mithen had her hands full with McNamara so she wasn’t able to impact elsewhere. There was one point in the 4th when McN did five consecutive high pressure acts that ended in a Dees goal. She’s certainly fit. In McN, Hore, Hanks and Wotherspoon there’s considerable football smarts. O’Hehir & Mahony are great trades for Lily. O’Hehir has considerable upside which I guess is stating the obvious being #3 in the draft.

Thanks as always @Meggs . Love your work. Why did Lily Mithen leave the Dees? From memory, we were given a round 1 draft pick in return. Who did we draft?

Really good signs with this team. Stinear in his presser said they're applying the learnings from the Port Adelaide loss and the 4th quarter against the Eagles when mentally they played the fourth quarter poorly. It is critical to have these learnings in season and not just before finals. Today's performance reflects excellent coaching and a mature team performance in applying the learnings with intent. That we won by 14 goals with Kate Hore and Eden Zanker below their best and a spread of 10 goal kickers speaks volumes to this team performance. That Kate Hore won the toss and decided to play against a very strong breeze in the 1st quarter (to Stinear's surprise), then we scored in the first minute, would have deflated the Suns' confidence. Then the Dees kept applying intense pressure. I note Stinear took a page from Chris Scott's book and conservatively left some key players out of today's game. Boy I hope Steven King employs that strategy. I used to think a tough schedule was critical to finals success, but the Cats have proved that theory wrong the last two seasons. I'm pleased to see AFLW umpiring has improved substantially, the Cats women's team win last week aside.

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.