Deeoldfart

First gameday for 2018 when I haven't felt 'edgy' first thing in the morning, so I'll treat it as a positive omen. Demons by 7 goals.

There were some promising glimpses against Essendon that bits of our game might be starting to fall into place, and if we can build on those our superior class should give us a solid (maybe 6 goal) win against the Saints. But 'ruthlessness' and 'percentage builders' are another dimension altogether. If it is going to happen at all, it will have to wait until Jack Viney returns and our midfield can settle with our best players in and around the ball, to take full advantage of Maxy's ruck dominance.

I'm no doctor, and like many around here I suffer from more than the occasional bout of MFCSS, but a break at the base of the thumb that required surgery seems like more than a single week lay-off to me.

I'm with you FireIn. Nev was back to his courageous and reliable best today.

6. Gawn 5. Jones 4. Jetta 3. Salem 2. Melksham 1. Fritsch

Nah. Let's get Maxy to do it!

Well our Max has already said that he is aiming to return to his rightful place as the AA ruckman, after injury cruelled his 2017 season. Seems that he has lots of ground to make up (lol). Maybe this article will spur him on to even greater heights!

Gus for Dom is logical. The only question for me is do we retain Fritta's coolness and superior strength overhead, or opt for Mitch Hannan as an additional mid rotation?

...... as are most of us here!

Very interesting: Secret session for Dees avoids 'prying eyes'

Last season Wags provided reasonable 'depth'. On evidence so far this season, he is developing into a reliable 'foot soldier' in our best 22.(a valuable commodity in any team). He's earned his spot for the time being, and it's his to lose. Well done Wags.

A 'litmus test' for the 2018 prospects of both teams, I reckon. If everything clicks for us (and we are getting closer to that point, I reckon) I think we can win a close one, but if it doesn't turn out that way, the hawks might win by 4 or 5 goals. I'll back our increasing confidence and talent to get us over the line by 9 points.

Flexibility and unpredictability are key planks of our forward half strategy, but right now we don't have all the pieces of the puzzle to make it work to our advantage as often as it should, especially given our high number of forward half entries. I reckon we are still trying to find the best mix of players, and that will change anyway, depending on availability, form and to some extent, the opposition. An important missing ingredient at the moment is a contested marking power forward, and most of us expect TMac to fill that void in the medium term. When he is back fit and firing the 'long bomb' will become a more viable scoring option, but that does not discount its value right now, if there are no alternative available options to goal.

....... but not fuchsias!

Only if the MRC reads the umps Melbourne vs North coaching manual.

Delicious, but cask red would probably have tasted ok tonight.

6. Gawn - No superlative is good enough! 5. Hogan - Outstanding. Confirmed that he is more than a KPF. 4. Jones - Back to his best and still cuts it as an inside mid. 3. Petracca - So strong and finding more of the ball every week 2. Wagner - Composure is improving with game time and getting better all the time. 1. Bugg - Great work ethic and kicked 4 critical goals.

Gee life's good right now. 2010 St Henri. Those who know their wine will know what I mean.

The 'hoodoo' is dead, despite that mob having 26 on the park. Proud Demon tonight!!

Obviously the umps have spent the last week studying their Melbourne vs NM handbook!

Sadly Grange is out of my league Jacko.

Several years ago I put a nice bottle of Barossa shiraz to one side to cellarbrate ( sic ) ‘crushing the hoodoo’. Thanks to our abysmal record against NM, it’s now perfectly aged, and should be drinking beautifully. I’m very confident that I’ll be enjoying it this evening, but not so confident that I'll be pulling the cork to let it breathe before around 5:00pm. Dees by 30 points.

Boo!!

Intriguing selections to my mind, and I'd love to know the thinking behind them. The best I can do is hope they are masterstrokes on the part of our Match Committee.

Of course we will break it!