Ron Burgundy

Absolutely devastating. Give him a contract extension tomorrow - he absolutely deserves it.

Ricciardo,  then this.

There’s been a bit of bad news this weekend.

Watched the game with my wife and our 3 day old daughter, Remi, in a private room in the mat ward.

It’s fair to say I will never ever forget this game.

We had absolutely lost that game, until we won it.

Melk’s mark and goal was immense.

Signing up Remi as soon as I finish reading some of the threads here - she’ll be a Demon for life.

The issue is this - Darren Burgess is now employed by the Crows.

I’d be surprised if Kozzie left the MFC.

But, as against this, I don’t know WTF I’m talking about. I’ve never even met the guy.

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.

On 9/10/2022 at 9:47 AM, Tough Kent said:

For me, this is not about being bitter or angry. I love this team. They will forever be my sporting heroes. This is just my own honest assessments and views on our 2022 season.

 

I started to worry after the trade and draft period. We brought in a one player, a fringe player from St. Kilda who could potentially crack our 22. “Don’t worry. The improvement will come from within!” we were told. Teams don’t stand still. That Geelong side we beat in the prelim are an 8 goal better side this year due to changes in personnel and a tweak in their game plan. I believe that we just thought incremental improvement would happen.

 

Into the season. We were winning, but there were worrying trends. Failure to bury teams. Drop offs in games. Lack of cohesion going inside 50. Scoring was labour intensive. “That’s okay. We’ll click when it matters” we all thought.

 

Then we started to play the good teams. Teams that were ravenously hungry. Teams that had studied us intensively for 2 years and had worked us out. Teams that out-hunted us, and ran across the top of the ground a lot better than us. Teams that knew that if they stayed in games against us, they could run over the top of us. Did we have a Plan B for such occasions? I’m not sure.

 

The football world could see the issues. Lack of skill execution under pressure. Lack of cohesion going forward. Lack of reliable focal points in attack. Drop off in our pressure game. What was done about it in the second half of the year to buck these trends? Nothing. Goodwin was stubborn. He backed in his game plan. He backed in his core group of players. And by the time it got to last night, we were forced to play banged up players and players in questionable form because it was too late to bring in options from Casey.

 

I am glad the season is over. Truth be told, I didn’t enjoy the year at all. My heart was telling me we could win the thing, but my eyes and brain were telling me something different. The players said all the right things about being hungry, but Sydney showed us last week what it means to be truly hungry for 4 quarters. It is so hard to go back to back.

 

Am I excited for next year? Bloody oath! We finished 5^th in a year where our forward line was broken. We led in 7 of our 8 losses by 20 plus points. When it mattered, our important players were banged up and not at their best. I believe that with a few changes to 22 after an aggressive trade period and some adjustments to the game plan, we can challenge again in 2023.  

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.

4 hours ago, DemonWA said:

I think Max's comments were brilliant but are as much about putting an arm around Luke and showing that he supports him either way, as they are about trying to sway his decision. Great leadership,  but I don't know whether it changes my view on the situation all that much. Last time the media were so sure about a player leaving us Tom Scully had just held a press conference telling us he wanted to be a one club player. 

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.

8 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

To be fair to JT and the crew Weid used to really fly at the ball. And we’ll forever have the Geelong final which included big marks and huge tackles. Weid is now a mess but it’s lack of confidence and lack of athleticism that impact as much as mongrel. Fritsch has no mongrel, but he reads the play and has the speed to get the ball.

Harry McKay was in that draft and he was fairly soft as a junior. All skill and athletic potential. Curnow was the easy pick IMO, but he had off field misdemeanours and I think they thought he was a bit similar to Hogan.

When it came to Luke Jackson the recruiters saw a tall with incredible athleticism and the right physicality and had to grab him.

I don’t think we’ve drafted enough talls in general. They’re lottery tickets and it’s best to just keep buying them.

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.

2 hours ago, von said:

I’m just not sure why footballers owe us, the irrational and emotional supporters anything. The club and the league don’t show players loyalty, why do we expect it back. They are their own business/brand acting in a way that fits that description. In the world of modern sport the loyal athlete is the exception and the surprise. Him leaving doesn’t knock his integrity, it may create more and or better stories and relationships for himself, only he can figure that out. The future is unwritten. My values lie much closer to yours than what I am suggesting a modern athletes does but I am not an athlete with a short shelf life. It’s also easier to hold those values higher when you’ve lived a longer life, accumulated more wealth and had those experiences that get you to the well rounded place you find yourself. He is in his mid 20s with a brain that only just matured and took a hell of a beating along the way and is on his way to those experiences. We are irrational, emotional football supporters freaking out that we may not go back to back. I think he stays but if he doesn’t we will fall in love with the next guy.

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.

2 hours ago, von said:

What an amazing resume you must have. Such a well listened gentleman. Along the journey of your Stirling academic and professional career did you come across the idea of  rational self interest? Gus has roughly 10 years to make as much as he can. If he can get an extra 100 grand a year for the next 5 years that does a lot for him in the next phase of his life. There is always a balance between loyalty and getting what you’re worth. Clarry and trac got what they are worth because they have to. They are top 5 league talent. It becomes a more complicated negotiation when you are the next tier down. We don’t know the details of any negotiations. All we are doing is implying things based on hopes and fears. Gus played the game of his life to help win us a flag. He can do what he wants after that. 

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.

1 hour ago, 3183 Dee said:

And, by the way, we're surely not bagging out Jason Taylor now, are we?

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.

25 minutes ago, Vineytime said:

 Bernie Vince said on triple M this morning he thinks Brayshaw will leave 🤦‍♂️

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.

27 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

I also find it weird that he’s seriously thinking about leaving but his socials are always covered in Melbourne news, he’s playing his heart out, celebrating with passion and seems really engaged in the club. 
 

I am sure if he does leave it will be with a very heavy heart. There is nothing to suggest he will love Freo or West Coast the way he loves Melbourne. Leaving a fantastic work place is a big big risk, because they are far and few between. 

Player agents.

They love to muck stuff up.

4 minutes ago, Sydee said:

Perhaps you were a Collingwood supporter in a previous life ? 

I’ve never supported Collingwood.

But perhaps I was a feral pig or a desert rat, or something similar.

Not a particularly intellectual comment but this completely sums it up:

F*#k yeah!
 

I agree.

As a middle aged man, what I’m about to say is completely pathetic, but I watch how enthusiastically these kids sing the club song each week - in particular Luke Jackson (and also Clayton Oliver) - and, in my observation, Luke seems to be right into the club and his teammates.

Unless he’s a complete sociopath (which I don’t believe he is) and the money’s commensurate (which I expect it will be), I just can’t see him leaving.

As an aside, now that Clarry has signed a 7 year extension, I won’t ever watch his enthusiasm when singing the club song ever again. Certainly not for another 6 years at least. I now have other targets.

There’s a lot of speculation on this thread.

I strongly suspect that no one really presently knows what the ultimate decision will be, including the MFC, the media, Jackson himself, his agent, his family and friends, his dog, his cat or his gopher (if he has one).

Interesting to see that we have 76 pages of analysis though. Thus far.

While I’m nervous, this was always going to happen. We’re just not used to it.

I really hope Jackson re-signs. For the next 15 years.