Ron Burgundy

I am so ridiculously pumped. My phone has been in meltdown since the final siren. Despite copping stacks of carp over the years for supporting the Demons, most of my mates (non-MFC supporters) actually seem to be very happy that we made it. Now let’s do some damage in the next 6 weeks.

With a percentage of about 130% ...

I suspect for him to play alongside Angus Brayshaw, he’d have to convince Angus (and the rest of the Brayshaw family) that he absolutely did not intend to injure Andrew in the way he did and that he is not otherwise a sniper/poor character. Bugg and Angus Brayshaw appear to get on very well - perhaps Angus already has some insight into the effect that this can have on the perpetrator, especially if the harm was genuinely not intended.

He should get 8 weeks - it was a terrible incident, much worse than Bugg’s IMO both as an incident and in respect of the injury it caused. I’d still like to see Gaff in the red and the blue next year. I otherwise hope Brayshaw recovers quickly and it has no impact on his confidence going forward.

Lewis was, and remains, a fantastic pick up for this club. I love seeing him in the red and the blue. I hate reading some of the carp about him here. We were super lucky to land the bloke. Especially given we traded a pack of stale Cheezels to get him.

I thought last year's final round loss to the Pies was the loss we had to have. Since then, we've managed to lose to the Cats (twice), the Saints and Port in games that we absolutely should've won. When does all this wonderful 'learning' finally translate into winning the close games that: 1. we deserved to win; and 2. arguably we did not deserve to win. For all of these frustrating losses that can be put to good 'learning' experiences, I've not seen any good evidence yet that we are closer to winning the close games (which seems to be what the really good teams consistently do). Our percentage is the second in the comp, we have the most inside 50s, and yet we're holding onto the 8 by a knife's edge. That article was more relevant to the Demons of 2017. IMO there's absolutely no good learning in these honourable losses if we miss the finals this year - just more fury and frustration.

Both absolutely fantastic additions to this club. Super shrewd recruiting. I hope to see both of them lift the Cup sometime soon in the red and the blue.

That loss to the Saints really hurt us - geez I hope Goodwin roasted the players. That loss to Port also really hurt us - I hope Goodwin roasted himself for not selecting any crumbing forwards. Need 13 wins.

Geez I hate the expression ‘cooked’ when it’s applied to footballers. There’s something not quite right about it. Whilst I’d like to see Gaff in the red and the blue, I don’t see why doesn’t Goodwin throw Jayden Hunt on a wing if he’s not liking him in defence. He definitely has outside run. In spades.

Garlett (or Spargo) must come in. Had either of them been selected against Port, the list of players who many are now saying should be playing for Casey would not be so long.

Bruce Springsteen would love Pedo.

Let’s bring this ship into port.

It’s without doubt a devastating blow. The club and ‘the boys’ will get around him though. He strikes me as a long term Demon and he is already absolutely part of the fabric of this list now - he’s achieved this in a remarkably short period of time. You don’t win a flag without some adversity. This is just one of the challenges we will face this year, albeit a big and hugely unfortunate one. It’s undeniably a hiccup but IMO we have the depth, the systems and structure, and now the belief and overall hardness to overcome it. I reckon we will. I just hope he has the speediest recovery possible in the circumstances, and that he gets the opportunity to work on his leadership skills in other areas, such as spending time in the box on match day etc. Good luck to the young man.

Yep, I agree. Bring back John Elliott!

Yep - he still adds a lot of value to the club. He might be spending a bit more time at Casey than he may like though.

I quite like him. I do get absolutely sick of his horse commentary though.

Hunt?

ESP.

I reckon Brayshaw would be one of the least likely ‘required’ players to entertain leaving this club. He’ll be a Demon forever. Do I know anyone who’s said this? Nope. No one. But I’ve followed this club for far too long, and I have a fair bit of life experience - so yep, I reckon he’ll stick around. I want to see T Mac’s signature first though. He’s beyond important.

They complement each other. Much like Selwood and Dangerfield. And Cotchin and Martin. In the years to come, that is.

Rest assured Jumbo, those brave guys who self assuredly sit in their dimly lit home offices, all safe and secure and anonymous, and who draw inspiration from their favourite characters from Full Metal Jacket, would not even say ‘boo’ to Jack Watts in person. Most of us know this to be the case, and I expect most of the players know this as well.

Nope - I reckon we’ve got them.

Carlton. And the Bye.

He’ll be my favourite player one day.

I wish he was still on the list. I like the narrative around these things, even though I can see why he was traded and those with Aspergers here don’t get the human bits to this stuff. That said, I love Bailey Fritsch.