CHF

I believe that the word 'larconic' was coined by the the Athenians around 500BC in reference to the Spartans who did not say much and were from the region of Larconia. #uselessfactoftheday

Firstly, let me say how much I appreciate the fearless reporters that post to all of the training threads during the pre-season. Resident where I am in N-W Europe it is really a critical off-season lifeline so that I can get a real feel for what the team is up to. A really big personal thank-you to all of you. Now, without putting too much pressure on all of you, the next 5 months leading into the ’26 season will be the most critical pre-season reporting period that we have had for many a year. So, no shirkers! A big turnover of senior players, new senior players coming to the club, a new coach and new assistant coaches, a couple of first round picks to run the eye over…… a new style of play… a different approach to training? So much we will all need feedback on Again, a big thanks to all the track watchers. I am looking forward to whatever reports land and I am very optimistic about next season the following ones. Go Dees in ’26!

Post BBQ cleanser?

Petracca to the Suns only to get done at this stage if The Hump is part of the deal. No Hump, No deal and Petracca plays in Red and Blue next season. Is what I am hearing.

I think it will end up getting done. Early next week if only picks are involved and it could drag out to last minuet if Hump is part of the deal.

Jared and Trent …Riv and Trib?

Whisper that I got from a friend of mine that usually has good information is that the Hump/Petracca deal is 80% certain of getting done. Details of additional bits and pieces and addons to be decided. No idea if it is dependent on the outcome of a possible Oliver trade. Targeting early next week to allow time for other things to be settled after the deal. I value his information but nothing is certain in this life.

With regard to the situation with both Petracca and Oliver I think we should take what the club says regards retaining both of these players during this trade period at face value. I believe that we are more than prepared to keep both of them if the right deal cannot be done. A lot on here are looking at the situation through eyes that reflect the values of 20/30 years ago when a player's loyalty to a club was a thing that was highly valued. That is not the case anymore. A lot more dollars involved. Player loyalty is a thing of the past. Players and clubs are a hell of a lot more professional and footy clubs are business first. I see the position MFC are taking as the next step in professionalism. In reality the club is saying that any player, no matter what the contractual situation is, is free to explore the market, but unless the club gets value for money, it will not facilitate a trade. To my mind the club has to be prepared to back their words and accept either/both back into the playing ranks if a deal cannot be struck. They have been up front about where they stand, now they need to back it up.

I thought about putting this in a few of the threads. Not sure if this is the right one but .... it might be. Just a thought on what might be the broader picture in the situation with Petracca and Oliver. Let me see….. May under contract and told he is free to look for another club… Petracca under contract, had his situation discussed with him and told about the role he could expect to play in the team. Was also told that he could explore his options if he wanted to. Oliver under contract, same as Petracca… told what was expected of him and his role within the team as from next season. Told he could look around if he wanted to. These three are, of course, senior, very experienced players that have some decisions to make with regard to their immediate futures. Serious business. However, I applaud the club for the positions they have taken with these players. That is not to say that I consider any of the players at fault. The process that the club has in place strikes me as a mature response and a very professional one at that. Over the last 10/15 years more power and control has evolved to the players with respect to where they play and how they honour their contract conditions. In a lot of respects, they have demanded that clubs become more professional. With the replacement of the coach, CEO and, in the near future, the President, MFC is looking to throw some of the professional responsibility back on the players and their agents. “You want to move with 5 years on your contract, well, feel free to have a look around to see if you can satisfy our requirements. However, be assured that if we are not satisfied and a trade cannot be made, we will hold you to your contract and expect a proper, professional playing approach from you. The club will not be actively seeking a trade for you this off-season” I see nothing wrong with this approach at all. While it is squarely putting a lot of the responsibility back in the Player and their agents it is also taking back a good degree of control for the club. The player and his team might arrive at a preferred club but, rather than make the statement and throw it over to the club to work out with an expectation that they will negotiate and sort it out, in this situation it is the responsibility of the player and his nominated club to present a deal to MFC. This leaves a lot of power in the hands of MFC. In fact, the MFC do not have to state what deal will satisfy them. All they need to do is to say…. “Sorry, that is not good enough. If that is your last word, he plays out his contract.” I can see the whole of the playing group working through the implications of this attitude by the club. May situation is a little different. He is that bit older than Petracca and Oliver is losing a pace or two, not as flexible as he once was and is being looked at as a possible disrupter on the list. He has been great for us, but this is a new era for the club. I hope that the coaches and the club administration continue with this direction. it will make a refreshing change with the coaches, in particular supervising, directing and controlling the playing list within the constrains of a clear vision and approach. All, the players, coaches and club need to know where they stand.

I am hearing from a couple of people that both Petracca and the club learnt a lot from what happened last year. Both are a bit 50/50 over what might happen this year. Petracca would be fine with staying with the club and the club would be happy with him staying. If Petracca decides to look elsewhere then the club's position is that they will want a proper return. I think that there are some outlines on what they see as proper value. No idea what they are. If the club cannot see the value in the trade then Petracca sticks to his contract and plays with Melbourne in '26. King, his approach to the game style and Petracca's role in that plan is critical in the decisions that are taken. If he stays I could see him being on the ball a little more than he has in the past two seasons. I believe that if he moves then there will be every attempt to negotiate the deal very quietly and then roll out the deal into the public domain quickly and with a little fore warning a possible. In my opinion, Petracca will be a lot more comfortable playing next season after having '25 as a 'recovery' season from the serious injury he had in '24. The injury he sustained, upon reflection, was most likely the first time Christian realized that he was not bulletproof. I do not have a problem with players moving clubs. AFL is a professional sport where the players have a limited amount of time to earn their dollars. They need to maximise their income. However, as with all jobs that people do, your income is only one part of it and has to be balanced with enjoyment of you work environment, the people you work with an understanding of the structure in which you work. I have no idea how this will unfold over the next few weeks. My preference is for Petracca to stay and play out his contract.

I am encouraged by the performance against the Bulldogs. I enjoyed watching the game as it was an entertaining match with a lot of free flowing footy where the Dees showed a lot of heart in the way they played after a tough week in the office. We were running with a patchwork defence and a midfield that was down on it's usual levels of performance and yet scored 15 goals. I think that the big thing that came out of the game for me was the high level of professionalism by the whole team. They were playing against a team fighting for their finals birth and very nearly rolled them. I could see the style of footy they are trying to put in place but at times their execution let them down. I differentiate between skill and execution as I believe that a majority of our list have the skills but need to get stronger in the 6" between the ears to improve their execution. On this thread I read a few comments regarding Windsor's kicking and that he missed a few targets however, there are not a lot of comments regarding Pickett's missed kicks and resulting turnovers. Two or three of Pickett's first few kicks were no very good (putting it nicely) and yet it is the young bloke that get picked out for his misses. I am looking for a couple more similar performances over the last two rounds. A few observations: Max is getting it done and is looking good for his 8th AA. He is looking a tired to me and that is understandable given his workload. There were some good performances by our younger brigade and I enjoyed seeing Windsor in particular running with the ball and working inside a bit. Langford is looking the goods and while he was second to Baker I liked that the coaches moved him forward to change his role and bring him into the game. I liked Chaplin's presser. Answered the questions in a clear straight forward way and did not utter any cliches that I noticed. TMac and Melky look to have one more year of run in their legs. Adams deserves another game next week and maybe get an easier opponent than the form forward of the comp. Hawks next.... love to beat them.

It will be interesting to see who is in the stands running an eye over our cattle and how they are grazing. If I was calling the shots on the broadcast I would have a couple of extra cameras scanning the crowd for coaching faces taking notes.

Oh goody! A pre-breakfast start time for me this week. It will all be over prior to the first coffee. Dees down by 47 at the last break… and…. You know it… win by one. Head questions my sanity but the heart will wake me to watch it all.

That last quarter is as bad as it gets! Where does the responsibility lie when a team turns in a performance like that? The buck stops with Simon Goodwin. If it is fitness, then the buck stops with Goodwin. If the fitness team have allowed the players to present with sub par fitness then the buck stops with Goodwin. If it is not fitness then it must be player motivation. To play like world beaters for 3 quarters and then switch off to the extent that they did has to be down to lack of motivation. What ever was said during the last break by the coaching team had the opposite to the desired effect. That is down to Goodwin. I have been a supporter of Goodwin to continue but this is the big boulder that crushed the camels back. The sooner he goes the better. I would also ring changes to the player leadership. Max, as great as he has been as player and captain, could not have any effect on player attitude in the last quarter. New coaching team and new on field leadership for 26.

Another damn breakfast game for me and I am on breakfast duty with visitors staying overnight. Will kick them out as soon as they finish their coffee. No seconds. Demons all over the Saints by 32 points. Go Dees!

It would seem from the small sample above that I am not alone in my dislike of Carlton. Lunchtime game for me. Starts around 11.30am. So, a half time aperitif watch the second half with lunch in the oven and then crack a good red to celebrate a 3 goal win. I really hope for a 10 goal thrashing and as a result Voss gets the chop. Go Dees!

I hope this kid makes it however, personally, I have not seen a lot in the few games he has so far played that he has to build on. He seems to me to be more concerned with promoting his image of being a league footballer than working hard and producing the skills required. I concede that he is still young and may require a few more preseasons to fully develop but to my mind he is in danger of becoming a hologram….. all image and no substance.

Been away working and travelling for 4 or so weeks. A lot of travelling through N-W Europe a lot of places to visit and a lot of reports to write. I get back and our season is done and dusted. Nothing really left to,play for. Damn it. Still my heart rules my head still… Dees by 30.

Could we please have a couple more meaningless shots of the Crows coach in the box doing sweet FA? worst shot selection on a telecast ever during that game.

The definition of madness, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different out come. I have supported the coaching team through the last few years but the time has come to really question what value they are adding week to week. We have the bye next week and I hope the players sit do together and the coaches sit down separately and both groups have very clear, no holds barred discussions on the problems we face. If we come out after the bye with the same attitude and instructions for the second half of the season then draw a line under Goodwin and his team. Midfield today was a pace too slow to the ball and, when they had the ball, could not find time or space. Forward line a mess. A question: Do we backchat the umpires too much? We won the free kick count 21/13 but we could not win a free in a position to threaten the goals. We always seem to be on the end of the bad ump decisions. Spend the rest of the season looking through the cupboard to see what some of the rest of the list can bring to the starting 23.

Monday lunchtime game for me and I am in Denmark. Don’t ask me why. More talking to people and a bit of listening. Will have to watch the game on replay when I can. I like the selections except for Tholstrup. Would have kept Laurie for a proper run. Looks like Tholstrup or Howes as sub for me. The rest of the selections give us a truck load of flexibility. I just hope that the coaching team use that. I do not hold my breath. Dees by 2 goals or 12 points.

Another interesting week for selection. AJ can do his heavy loading for a couple of weeks without having to worry about his performance. That opens up a space forward. Viney is a week to week proposition it seems. If he is fit enough to play do we bring him straight back in or run him a half at Casey first? What of Lever? his performance over the last couple of weeks has been less than impressive, a lot less. What to do? My team: B: TMac, May, McVee HB: Salem, Petty, Bowey C: Windsor, Oliver, Lindsay HF: Langdon, Turner, Sparrow F: Fristch, JVR, Pickett Fol: Gawn, Petracca, Viney/Rivers IC: Langford, Chandler, Laurie/Rivers, Jefferson Sub: Sharp/Sestan For me TMac back in for Lever to find some form at Casey. Petty moved back into defence with Turner to start as a forward. Turner to swing back for either TMac or Petty if required. Turner has been excellent in defence but he is a better forward than Petty and Petty can be a very effective back man. Windsor back on a wing with rotation cover from Langford and Langdon. Forward I would have both JVR and Jefferson back in the 23 as I do not think Melksham will get up. If Viney is not good to go then I would like to see Laurie given a start. If Viney is good to go then the decision has to be made if he runs with Casey first up or against the Pies. Selection history say straight back in. I would reward Sestan for good form at Casey and drop Sharp back to Casey for a run. Midfield is as it was with Petracca, Oliver, Rivers/Viney main attendees with Pickett/Langford/Sparrow on rotation. I will most likely not even be close with this.

Well, that game was hard to watch without breaking the monitor. A few observations: That was one of the strangest games I have seen us play. No pressure particularly in the midfield. Loose Defence. Bad goal kicking...... And a lot of the metrics pointed to a win for us. It would have been brutal for the Saints if we had stolen it. Where did our pressure game from the last two weeks go? The midfield, that has been our main driver recently, was nowhere to be seen. Nothing out of the center, lead footed, no pressure and no connection. If it is down to loading then I would suggest that we are not doing it properly if it has such a detrimental effect on the quality of our performance. Our inept display of kicking for goal was masterful. Our forward 50 has been a problem for a number of seasons as ha our accuracy. The frustrating part about this is that there has not been any improvement or any, from the outside, attempt to remedy this critical problem. Williams was hailed as an answer but he has had no effect what so ever. Thanks and good-bye. Our coaching team had as bad a game as the players. Not pro-active and not re-active. Did not look to have any idea of what strings to pull. No plan A, B or C. We need to play players where they are most effective. On Sunday's game I would play Windsor on a wing, Petty back and Turner forward as a starting point for the KB game. We need to use Casey properly. I know it is a badly structured competition but it is what we have. Players returning from injury come back through Casey until they show fitness and form. Casey form needs to be rewarded. Senior players to use Casey to find form. We have undone a lot of what we had rebuilt in the last 6 weeks but the damage is repairable if we can notch a win this next round. Onward and (I hope) Upward.

Good morning world. Looking forward to this with a bit of optimism. Want to see pressure, pressure, pressure and fast reaction to turnovers, no matter which way the ball goes. Go Dees!

Ok, so the first version of this disappeared. Sunday breakfast bounce for the third week in a row and I am breakfast chef again. Should be just enough time between the halves for me to put together smashed avo and boiled eggs on toast and coffee. Never liked the Saints and never rated them. Dees by 40.