Dee in a Kilt

Tom Wilson does sound like Mick Stinear 2.0. I do like the school teacher background, especially seeing we are still at the early stage of AFLW maturity. I's love to see what Kingy is doing with the men's program become a club-wide philosophy - adopted in AFLW, VFLW and VFL. We certainly have athletes to execute the Kingy approach in our women's team. I expect Paul Guerra to make statements about the process and appointment. He gave valuable insights into Kingy's appointment that told us about the man and what he wanted to bring to the Dees. The Dees social media has been pretty awesome - so much so you want to see more of it. I'd love to see social media all over the new coach and head of MFC's AFLW program.

Loved the TV replay cutaways post goal to Melksham, Mihocek & Roo in heavy discussion, seemingly based on forward structure and movement given their hand movements. There's genuine, passionate discussion between Melksham & Mihocek with Roo taking it all in, nodding in acknowledgement. Can't remember when we had this level of leadership in our forward line. This is so good for Roo's development. As a forward, playing with Kingy's game style must be so much fun.

@WheeloRatings, so appreciate you going to the effort to analyse and publish this each week. Awesome stuff. Some interesting stats and thoughts from such: Player ratings show elite 4 quarter effort by Steele, Maxy, Kozzi and just under elite Tommy Sparrow. This is our senior players showing the way for our young talent. Koz and Sparrow are only 24 & 25, but they'e surely playing like they've won a flag. So many stats pointing to the dominance of Max and the midfield. Stats show why Hardwick said Max was easily best on ground Centre bounce attendances show Petty played an important role. Max had his lowest CBAs in the short season to date, giving Max important load relief. Petty also took some important, strong up-field marks for our super-fast transition. Yet his player rating was really poor. @WheeloRatings, why is this so? Perhaps Petty's CBAs provide insight to Kingy's coaching philosophy to focus on speed, athleticism and endurance. Could it be Petty, Kentfield & Heath are playing for the same position? The very low hand ball metres gained surprised me. Perhaps there were a lot of backward passes in this game? How good is it to see Dees 190 pressure rating in the 4th quarter - highest of the 4 quarters in the game. We didn't see that in 2023 or '24, just fade outs. Isn't it strange we have the same head of high performance yet the team has 2021-like confidence - cockiness even - to run over top of teams in the second half.

You can use a VPN with Kayo but you can't channel it through Melbourne or Sydney. I've had success using Adelaide.

There is so much emotion in footy, in life. There are always two sides to a story. I recall one of my cousins getting divorced. My entire family immediately vilified her husband with wrath. But I got on well with him. So I called to say how sorry I was, as I did separately with my cousin. I just listened as he was in pain. I heard his side. I had empathy for him as I did my cousin. Emotive issues are never black and white. Two other things: One, there is never one truth. How each of us sees a situation is influenced by the life we have led, our current circumstances, our relationship to the situation and whether that morning we merrily skipped out of the house or kicked the cat. Two, there are wives and girlfriends who are salt of the earth people, making their husbands/partners better footballers, better people and raising beautiful families. Then there are others who, given the fame of their partner, believe they're in a permanent reality TV show. The latter seek drama. None of us is perfect. We all make mistakes. So far, Smith, Guerra, Richo and Kingy have produced an environment Cornes describes as a "lightness at the club, they're playing with freedom, they're having fun, they're changing their game style, social media. It's now cool to support Melbourne." Overall, they're doing a great job to date. Just look at the number of kids turning up to games these days - how good is that! So I cut the leadership some slack knowing there is no perfection. I see this as an emotional domestic situation where there are no winners, just life lessons for all involved, including the club. I have a moment sadness for Maysie who gave us his heart and soul to claim that '21 flag. Then turn my mind to the possibilities against the Suns.

Thanks so much Dazzle. The JVR interview is a great insight into the players and life under Kingy. Sounds like the culture Kingy is building is pretty awesome. Roo is interviewed in the first 30 minutes. Highly recommended to Demonlanders, especially during this Easter weekend. They're giving away a gather round Dees jersey signed by all the players. This would be great for the rapidly growing number of young Dees supporters. Happy Easter everyone!

@WheeloRatings I am shocked the team pressure stats showed the Dees clearly won the pressure ratings in the 1st quarter +16 points. Visually, it certainly didn't appear to the case and the quarter time score suggests otherwise. Are you able to explain this? BTW, love the stats you provide every week and I'm enjoying your new equity ratings. Intelligent, meaningful stuff, though it's (and AFL stats are) a bit harsh on the back 6. Thanks so much Wheelo!

The silence about the women's coach process makes no sense... Unless they are targeting Daisy and keeping it really quiet. How huge would that be. Just imagine...

Thanks so much @Dees_In_October and for all your great Dees women's program communication. It would be respectful to the Dees women players, program staff and MFCW members to provide communication during the process for a new coach. For the men's program, we were informed by the club who the final five in consideration and the expectation of when the final head coach decision would be made. As far as I'm aware, we've heard crickets 🦗🦗🦗 We have a brilliant team and player leadership. MFC administration, let's give them and members the respect they deserve.

With where western culture is at this point in time, servant leadership has evidence of driving superior team performance. Servant leadership is a philosophy where the leader's main goal is to serve their team, putting the needs of individuals within the team first to help them grow and perform at their best. This philosophy says individuals within the team don’t need a formal title to be a leader. Koz is a great example. He’s developing very nicely as a leader of our indigenous players. He takes leadership during games to make things happen on behalf of the team. His unspoken leadership within Australia’s indigenous community is clear. Just look at the adoration of indigenous kids when around Koz – and his returned humbleness and lack of ego. Koz is exhibit A for Matthew Wheelin’s leadership. Poster comments about leadership exhibited by Chandler, Disco, Roo, Lever – all speak to servant leadership expectation that those without the formal title to step up and voice accountability. Viney’s character is such he will always exhibit leadership through actions without needing the formal title. In Max we are truly blessed – unprecedented player accolades, accomplished media communicator, high integrity, all round beautiful human being. That the Dees men’s program seriously under-performed in 2024 and 2025 necessitates questioning of leadership. President, Board and CEO leadership have been properly addressed. The reality is the Dee’s women’s program had a brilliant 2025 program when there was the same tumult with MFC President, Board and CEO. Max showed extraordinary servant leadership with coach Goodwin, delivering a flag in 2021. The players didn’t see daylight between the views of coach and captain, even on a personal player friendship basis. That’s integrity. However, it could be argued it appeared Max’s servant leadership prioritised serving the coach over the players. This coach-captain prioritisation was tested when some player on-field standards dropped on occasion in 2024/25 – as seen by we fans and publicly voiced by Trac. When Brad Green reported a key reason for Goodwin’s departure was that his voice no longer had the ears of the players, could this statement flow to Max as well? Leadership is never perfected. It is a life-long learning journey. No doubt Max’s leadership journey will grow under new coach, CEO and President. But it could also be time for a new voice. Ordered transition is good governance, good practice. None of us enjoyed the uncertainty, anxiety and public embarrassment of MFC’s recent changes of President Roffey and CEO Pert. Stability and good governance appear to have returned to the Melbourne Footy Club. I’m confident good governance and considered captain transition will prevail.

Let him go. Let him go... The most important role in Mick Stinear's life is to be a loving husband and, with his wife, raise their two very young boys to be loving, moral, productive members of society. In my mind, here's little doubt the opportunity to coach in Geelong delivering a more fulfilling husband and father role was a major factor in Mick's decision. That the Geelong club can help Mick continue to grow personally and professionally is a big cherry on top. We've been blessed to have Mick as our inaugural women's coach and that he set a beautiful 10-year foundation. He's left the MFC in a better place. That he did this while living on the Surf Coast is quite extraordinary. He never once complained about the travel to Casey, paying great respect to the people of Casey. Daisy Pearce has stated Mick has always been generous with his time. For Mick's replacement, the Club's governance procedures will and must kick in. This is not a time for raw footy emotion. Even if Shae Sloane is a standout candidate, proper governance must be followed. The members deserve such and, especially, our incredible women's team deserve that. Regarding the risk of losing players, have faith in our leaders. Not just Steven Smith and Guerra, but more importantly Kate Hore, Liza McNamara, Hanksy, Paxy and others. Daisy and Mick have left our W team in an exceptionally good place and both left with tears. That says a lot. Godspeed good Mick.

@M_9, Gus moved to Oxford a good while ago to complete an MBA. Oxford and Cambridge are a beautiful part of England, rich in history yet so close to London. Oxford, Cambridge and London are called "The Golden Triangle" because the incredible wealth within this region. Now there are two sides to every story and I'm hearing this from a player perspective, not Zurich's. So please keep that perspective with the following. Zurich is facing a multi-million payout and, typical for an insurance company which has investors and shareholders, is dotting every "i" and crossing every "t". Zurich believe the speech Gus gave at 2024 Brownlow was so powerful and given so well, it is clear evidence a large payout is not required. It is perceived undercover personnel, hired by Zurich, had been following Gus relentlessly, constantly filming and taking pictures whenever he was out of the house. Gus found this intense scrutiny suffocating and mentally unhealthy. Regarding the scrutiny, he's not receiving assistance from the AFL or MFC which have completed their required payouts. Thus, the move to Oxford. As far as I'm aware, Zurich has still not paid out.

I have a family member who heads up NSW AFL development. He says girls AFL footy has exploded in NSW and Queensland, far exceeding expectations. He didn't have an answer for why this is. Having grown up in Sydney playing rugby, here's my thoughts. Don't forget the two rugby codes dominate in NSW and Queensland. IMO, girls would be far more attracted to AFL than rugby league or union. All those scrums and rucks and lying over each other Greco-Roman Wrestling-esque after a tackle are all pretty blockey. As an aside, he says he frequently asks AFL players to come and talk at community events. He's had to stop Toby Greene from attending as Toby is such an abysmal public speaking, it has been embarrassing.

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?