Dee in a Kilt

100% @Brownie. So glad you’re recognising Stinear. I love the way he will quickly move the magnets if things aren’t clicking or the opposition coach is nullifying our strengths. His pressers are always positive and he never makes excuses. The way Daisy speaks of Mick is especially endearing. Given Daisy’s marrow deep character, that says much. TV commentators will often provide each coach’s message after breaks between quarters. The Dees players respond accordingly revealing great respect to their coach. It is interesting this team’s chemistry and performance is so strong when under the same issues with the Board & CEO as the men’s team. That speaks volumes for Stinear. It does appear Stinear has put much more focus on player character than the men’s side. The players he has moved out in previous years has raised eyebrows at times. But there’s no denying the chemistry of this team, cruelled by the loss of pivotal cog Purcell. Despite a bruising encounter in the energy-draining heat last week, if I’m judging the character of this team correctly, they will have finals intensity from the get-go. This should prove too much for the Cats who get off to a fast start when they win. That’s the watch out.

I believe

Jack Steele just the sort of person/player King wants me reckons

@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.