george_on_the_outer

.....and back. And when you lose two finals matches by a total of 9 points, that could well have been the difference, more so when it is spread across the pre-season and season proper. It adds up to dozens of hours not spent in the gym, physio or on the track that other sides are able to use to prepare their players for the best opportunity.

The AFL have left a huge out for exactly the same incident to be dismissed: "Under the new regulation sent to clubs in a memo on Thursday, a player who leaves the ground in an attempt to smother will be expected to take “all reasonable steps to avoid making contact with their opponent’s head and/or minimise the force of any high contact”. So all Maynard ( and his lawyers) would have to say was he took "all reasonable steps". After all he drew in his arms to avoid hitting Angus with his fists and forearm. And there was little else he could do when airborne that was reasonable........ The next similar case that comes up will have the same outcome. And the AFL will wring their hands, yet do nothing about it yet again. All they had to do was "legislate" that any contact with the head as a result of tackle, bump or smother will result in a penalty.

I don't know why a feasibility study is necessary......Is Caulfield feasible? The answer is yes. If no then we are back to stone motherless nothing again. Just get on with it. Caulfield was mooted for development years ago now. Why hasn't such feasibility been carried out already, and long ago. It has been claimed that the Board examined every spare/open space in 30 council areas? That is feasibility and if true has been done. From 2 years ago: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/caulfield-racecourse-unveils-570m-sports-entertainment-precinct-plan-20210413-p57iu8.html Or is this just another ruse in the lead up to elections?

NO snakes....but maybe you like them deep down?

Just spoke with one of the trading staff….Lorne

The problem we had was Birch was forced to play FB in the absence of Colvin and Chaplin as the big bodies. AND she had a calf injury in the first games, then had to play after that because the others weren't available. Small wonder she was running up and down on the spot in the second half of the season. The danger is we have now lost a FB with Gay probably gone as well. Who are the defenders we will have left? While we have 2 days to go in trade period, we have lost or will lose a series of strong bodies in West, Sherriff and Gay and haven't replaced them. We cannot expect a draftee to play midfield or key defender.

Thebarton and Dingley will be. We haven't even got to the West Lakes and Waverley stage.

Have a look at the size and shape of the mids for both sides playing this weekend in the GF. They are all strong, muscular and solid. We cannot afford to lose a player like West, since she can withstand the rigours of the mid-field that is required today to be successful. Lose her and we finish up putting Heath and Mithen inside, and was proven in the finals series...that doesn't work any more in 2023 and beyond.

No. It just gets lumped into either "other revenue" or "general fundraising". But it is just revenue. The "R & B Foundation" is just the means to get a tax benefit and has to be registered with the Australian Sports Foundation. The pity is that in previous years there were a number of sub-programmes, like AFLW, Santa Theresa oval..etc where you could direct your donation. Those options disappeared this year.

There is no war chest. The R&B foundation is simply a means to make a tax deductible donation, which goes into general revenue.

Listen to the Jason Taylor interview.

On the All Australian team: https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1067682/all-aus-team How was Adelaide's Ann Hatchard not included? The top scorer in the B&F for Adelaide yet 4 others are picked ahead of her? She is easily the best player in the Adelaide side, and if it were not for the huge amount of talent in their team pinching votes from her, would have taken out the B&F. Probably because if they included her and Chelsea Randall ( who also deserved a jacket), they would have had 6 players from Adelaide in the side. It would expose the huge leg-up that the AFL gave them, and now we still have as S.A. representative side playing in the Crows colours. Same story with Brisbane. Good to see they were beaten by North this week. But the competition will remain lopsided until Port and the Suns can poach some of the players.

True. And regardless of which government is in power, there is no funding unless you have a proposal which will justify the injection of funds. Our Boards have been asleep at the wheel for the past 40 years, and the current crop have done nothing to further that position. Other clubs have gone to the government with all sorts of slim community benefits which justify the government putting in as well. If we want something to happen we have to do it ourselves, then go with a proposition to the powers that be. Jim Stynes was able to muster supporter enthusiasm to clear debts. What has been asked of supporters in that past 40 years toward getting a home base? Nothing. Imagine what we would have available if we had been asked to make just a small contribution each year over that period of time. All that has been sought has been handouts. All we have heard in the past 4 years has been " we can't say anything because negotiations with government are in confidence" . I wonder what sort of hollow promises will be sprouted at this years AGM?

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/1469680/dees-welcome-back-marty-hore

Contest, contest, contest. Kick the ball to get territory. Handball and outside running game looks good when playing lower level sides, but to play at PF leve and abovel it is all about what Simon Goodwin calls a game style to win finals. Hoping Adelaide lose more players this trade period. They are still the S.A. State side. Good to see them lose.

The standards have been appalling since we lost Ben Gibson. The current crop running the show never inspired me from the start when they turned up to pre-season training with a camera, but spent the whole session on their social media on their phones instead of watching what was going on in front of them. It never got better than that, as all we got for the whole season was happy snaps with no commentary, observations or interesting snippets ( you come to Demonland to find out how that is done). The interviews have been similar. Cringeworthy questioning, or just plain boring..."tell us what it is like to be drafted?...." A month after James Harmes, Jordan and Grundy were traded, they still feature on our home page. Next years fixture....not there yet....it's is just sloppy laziness. Bring back Ben, his talents are wasted at Essendon.

When do you get holidays? At what age bracket do you and the team start looking for future talent? Does the draft camp and testing really provide anything else that you don't already know? And would anything from it dissuade you from a particular player? How many do you have on your team these days? Do you seek or get direct intel from the U18 competition coaches/teams?

Serious problem we have.... We all saw Max go down against Brisbane and fortunately we had Grundy to cover. If something similar happens we do not have backup that can play a whole game as ruck. Fullerton....zero games in 2023. Look at his highlights reel on the club website...no rucking shown! He is a forward. Schache....not selected when we needed either a forward or ruck. Tells you where he is at. That just leaves TMac or JVR. We need both of them to be up forward not getting beaten up around the ball. We fell into this trap last year, by robbing the forward line to fill gaps in the ruck. Verrall played 9 games at Casey after injury. He showed promise.....and you can't want more from a kid in his first year. But it was his first year, and naturally he is a LONG way from AFL rucking duties. Unfortunately, he is also only 199cm which is not in his favour for rucking at the top level as well. Houston...we have a problem!

6. Goldrick 5. West 4. Hanks 3. B.Mackin 2. Gay 1. Zanker

Coach hasn’t realised finals is about contest and territory. Still trying handball to clear space but Brisbane and North and now Geelong have closed the space. Get ball, kick ball. Next contest.

Goldrick Hanks Blaithin Makin Purcell Hore Fitzsimons

Three games in a row now where we have been beaten by physical pressure around the ball. Mick has not learnt that Shelley, while great at tackling, cannot actually get the ball or dispose of it. Likewise Lily. So why put these players in the middle? Last week no Paxy, this week no West. We miss the grunt needed in the engine room. This is finals football, not the free running open game which we love. And it is the same around the ground. Finals is physical and we lacked the willingness to play that way. Small wonder we had zero contributions from our forwards, especially when we had to move Kate Hore into the mid to cover the holes there. Kudos to the Irish contingent, Blaithin, Aimee and Sinead, and Hanks, who tried the whole game to show the side what was needed.

Any chance Bannan, Zanker or Harris can play in front, instead of waiting out the back?

Very easy answer. The umpire who blows their whistle to indicate an infringement. Too many have learnt that to keep getting paid, by doing nothing, by calling "play on" then you cannot get it wrong. The pity is they never get it right when needed. Stevic is the leader of decisive umpiring by the length of the straight. And he is consistent with his calls. That way both players and spectators know where they stand. Pity is, that he is surrounded by non officiating imcompetents.

We were stuffed in this game before it started. Adelaide and North have both shown that to beat Melbourne you need to be physical, and bring a lot of players to the ball. That stops us getting the ball out in space where we do damage. As soon as Paxy was withdrawn, it threw everything out. Putting Lily in there as a replacement rotation, is not the answer as she does not have the physical strength to combat opposition mids, and cannot kick or handball the ball sufficiently clear. Starting Purcell on the bench was a big mistake for the start. We just lost further grunt and skill when needed most. Don't blame the rucks, we were missing players beneath who could get the ball. Then losing Rhi Watt meant we were back to the old robbing Peter to pay Paul from there on. Zanker and Tayla dragged into the middle meant the forward line was lacking. Still, Eden has looked a long way off it in the past 2 weeks. 4 disposals to 3/4 time was way below par again. And without the ball getting to the outside, Bannan was starved of opportunity and we needed Tayla to provide a spar, but she was doing it all on her own. Georgia Gall won't be playing again this week. What was the free kick count? All one way, and is a good example of home town bias, which we will now face against Adelaide in coming weeks. That Brisbane kept getting frees for tackles and actions while their players get taken to the MRP for others not noticed gives a fairly good indication of the one way traffic.