Ron Burgundy

An appalling read - even though procedural fairness doesn’t appear to have been afforded to Clarkson and Fagan, it’s not pretty. Not remotely. Tell me things have actually progressed since April 1861. I had hoped they had.

Sums it up perfectly for me. I just didn’t enjoy this year, even when we were winning. It generally just didn’t look and feel right. It felt like a Diesel engine was powering things, not the 6.2 litre V8 high octane petrol engine of last year. I think we really miss Darren Burgess. And as to the initial post which touches on the “I didn’t get value for money for my $500 spend this season”, I’m not really sure that’s why the very best supporters support footy clubs. It’s not a ‘value for money’ proposition, it’s a commitment to the cause thing. It’s about getting behind the community of a club. There are a lot of intangibles to this, which are really important. Some of us here are Debt Demolition members. We effectively donated a lot of money to this club when its future was very much in doubt, and its results were simply pathetic. We did this to (hopefully) ensure its future. It wasn’t about ‘value for money’ - the return was just in the club’s survival. As we sit here today, despite an absolutely ordinary second half in a home final against the Lions (with the season on the line), I’m not complaining about where the club sits now relative to where it was 10-12 years ago. We have a secure future now. And a good one at that. I’m now just hoping Dan Ricciardo gets a new F1 contract next year somewhere on the grid.

Darren. Burgess. We desperately need him back. It’s simple stuff.

Can you remember the timeline on that? It was essentially a week or so before he then said he was off to GWS. Or is my prejudice against him distorting the underlying facts here? I suspect it may be - but I don’t reckon there was a lot of runway between his b.s. statements and then hitting the GWS ejector seat. That said, Jackson strikes me as a wholly different character to Scully - for a start, he seems very good natured and he’s definitely not a robotic sociopath. Hope Maxy’s right here. I reckon Jackson has a big future, particularly with us.

Thanks for this DeeSpencer - I’d never really understood why we picked Weid instead of Curnow in that draft. Most of the informed posters seemed to think it’d be Oliver or Parish with our first pick and then Curnow with our second pick. This could explain why we overlooked Curnow and instead selected Weideman. I hope the Weid makes it, but it’s hard to watch Curnow playing so well.

This re-signing is a real shot in the arm. I don’t know about others here, but the club’s recent performances, and the vibe and persona more generally has felt very flat and uninspiring to me over the past few months. The media surrounding the contract negotiations in relation to Jackson and Brayshaw hasn’t greatly assisted either. It’s all been a bit depressing despite our ladder position. This changes everything. I don’t know why exactly - but it just does. It’s a big contract extension, it’s a commitment to the club, it’s an absolute show of faith - in the list, in the coaches, in the future, in the club. Nice work Angus - watch Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, The Mule and Cry Macho this weekend. Character is what it’s all about - and, along with Trac, Clayton, Maxy and now you, we have the requisite character. I feel this has just arrested the momentum against us, and we’re back. Let’s not lose another game this season. God bless us all, eh.

As an aside, I think it’s the right decision for him too - he would’ve been crazy to leave this club at this stage of the club’s journey and at this point in his own career. He’ll become a club legend now. I don’t really understand what he said in the media a couple of days ago though - pretty bizarre given today’s fantastic announcement.

This is unreal. I’ve always thought he had good character. Sincere apologies for starting to doubt it. This is a super important signature for the club, particularly from a cultural perspective. I’m absolutely stoked. Now, let’s bring this (premier)ship into port.

Nice reply von - super classy. For many people, footy gives colour to our lives. And these dudes are the lead actors in that. Hence the emotion - and these players are very well aware of the significance and importance of that. They grew up supporting clubs too. It’s not an entirely mutual or fair contract. But there’s heaps of upside to them too in this footy arrangement, not necessarily all financial. Let’s hope Brayshaw and Jackson commit to the cause, and for the right reasons. If they don’t, in Jason Taylor I trust. I reckon we’ll be okay. As an aside, I just watched the documentary on Sir Alex Ferguson - I used to hate the guy, that is - until I watched this movie. His son interviewed him. Sport is important - it’s not just a job. It’s a religion. God bless the Dees.

Thanks for the feedback von. I wish I could listen to more of your musings - I expect there’s a lot of rich and fascinating content to unlock there. As I said, everyone has their own list of priorities. Brayshaw, and you, are entitled to your own priorities. But it doesn’t mean I have to respect them. And, in my gentlemanly world, given that I expect Brayshaw would continue to be handsomely paid by the MFC if he elected to stay, $100k over 5 years is stuff all. In my view, all you ultimately carry in life are relationships, stories and your own integrity - the rest is just noise. But many people are distracted by the noise, and unfortunately for many they just don’t get it until it’s too late. The narrative’s already written. It can’t be undone. I hope Gus doesn’t undo his legacy here because of cash and his ego. He never struck me as this dude until recent months. I don’t know him, so I could be wrong, very wrong - perhaps he’s also being poorly advised. But I know enough to know that there’s more important things in life than money alone. I’m curious to know why he seems unable, or unwilling, to commit to a club which apparently really wants him to stay - a club in which he should hopefully have some serious affection for, and a relationship, with. Anyway - in the meantime, stay classy von.

Thus far, not really. Coming off Everest, I couldn’t really compute us being so dominant again in the first half-ish of the season - I’d become so conditioned to supporting a hopeless club that I didn’t really know what to feel or how to react. I’d always been the super passionate supporter of a hopeless club, and now we’d become elite, I felt a little uncertain about the world and my relationship with it. I look back to seasons 2000, 2002, 2004-6 with genuine fondness. Then the fight between May, Melksham and Smith. And a few unhelpful injuries. Some horrible losses. And Brayshaw and Jackson not expressing any particular enthusiasm for re-signing with the club. It all feels a little tres ordinaire. I just wish Ricciardo was driving better. I was hoping he’d be my positive distraction on the season, but that hasn’t really eventuated either.

What I’ve come to realise as the most bizarre element in these whole Brayshaw and Jackson re-signing or leaving threads for me is this - why do I actually give a stuff about what these two kids/young adults do? I’ve got triple the life experience and education of both of them put together (yep, I’m a but older - bit I’m also classier, just ask anyone). I just can’t quite believe myself at the moment. I listen to podcasts daily with astrophysicists, Nobel prize winners, leading scientists, talented artists, acclaimed writers - the list goes on. I’m a professional with extensive life experience traversing many different aspects of life’s great journey. And yet I regularly log in to Demonland hoping to read the latest rumour as to whether Brayshaw and Jackson, two kids relative to the age of most interesting adults, have signed a contract extension with the MFC. I work with junior professionals daily who are much more accomplished than these dudes - and yet no one notices them. I feel bloody pathetic. In myself. These guys are both required players at a footy club with a very long and enviable history. A club which (presently) loves each of them. A club which is super grateful for their contribution and their efforts. And yet they now seem to be stringing the club on. Surely they loved the euphoria of what happened less than a year ago. Surely that bonded them to this joint forever. Yet no one appears to know what they will do going forward - assuming this is actually the case, I reckon that’s pathetic and it shows a lack of class and respect. If they don’t respect this - well, that’s fine. Every human has different priorities - but, for me at least, I like Clint Eastwood movies. I like solid character. I respect individuals who embrace the intangibles in life, who embrace hardship, who embrace loyalty, who don’t sell out. Individuals who can’t be bought. Individuals who commit. Those who don’t follow the cash. These are virtues to me. Brayshaw and Jackson have a tough decision in their minds. So they say. It’s not tough to me. But I’m not them. Godspeed to them if they decide to leave. I really hope they stay. But I’m no longer going to lose any sleep if they leave. If they do, they’re not dudes I want my 9 year old boy to look up to and have posters of them hanging on his bedroom wall. I hope I’m wrong on this and I can whole-heartedly apologise to everyone for mis-reading the situation in due course, but right now the vibe doesn’t feel that great. Onya Maxy, Trac and Clayton. You’re the future. I’m happy for my boy to look up to each of you.

I really hope Jackson and Bradshaw re-sign - this whole thing leaves a bit of a bad taste after the fairy-tale that was last year. That said, I have every confidence that JT will turn whatever compensation we get into (at least) two very good replacements for them.

Wow. I don’t understand why Bradshaw and Jackson are even entertaining leaving the club - it’s all very bizarre to me.

I just don’t get this ‘go home’ factor. I’d be absolutely stoked to get out of Perth.