george_on_the_outer

The Title says it all.....Useless AFL stats. I assume the home game attendance is the average over the season. That of course is influenced by who you play. A home game against Collingwood for example boosts the average considerably. A home game against GC does the opposite. Geelong stadium being redeveloped with only 20K that can get in, so that drops them down considerably. North & Hawthorn play games in Tassie at a ground with 20K capacity. Memberships? We all know these numbers are fudged. Saints $1 membership last year was the classic. Does anyone really believe North have 50K members when only 9K for both sides turn up for a home game against Melbourne? As for the supporters statistics. Every year the same survey comes out with the same fundamental error. If you ask a regular Joe Blow in NSW which AFL side he supports, the answer will be in all probability Sydney. Then that survey response is translated Australia wide, even if they get zero in all other states. Result, Sydney supposedly have the highest number of supporters. The same scenario would occur if you asked Victorians which Rugby League side they supported. Storm would lead the tally, except no-one in Victoria, SA & WA gives a rats about RL.

Zero tackles for the game.

One of the best things about this session was before it happened. Out on the ground were a whole stack of young kids kicking the ball amonst themselves.....and all wearing Demon jumpers. That hasn't been seen for a number of years. We lost a generation, but we might have snagged the next!

Exactly, and the sooner they introduce this to the Mens game the better. Stops all that Umpire interpretation rubbish.

I now know why the umpires see things differently!

We don't have "world class" facilities. We share facilities with Storm, Rebels and Victory at AAMI. We have to book gym, rehab, pools, ice baths with them. We have 44 players on the list, how many are there among those 3 other clubs? And our Womens team now trains at Gosch's/AAMI. We don't have a centralised admin and we don't have that housed with the football department. We are spread among multiple offices throughout the MCG. The admin isn't even centralised there. The Casey extended facility was built for the AFLW/VFLW teams courtesy of contributions from AFL and Casey council. It is being used by our mens team when there. And no rehab/pool facility included. It ain't world class. One only has to see what Essendon currently have, and what Adelaide are plannning, to see world class.

Prior to 1959 there were no cups produced. Only Flags. In 2004 the AFL allowed clubs to purchase newly minted cups won before 1959. They now receive a cup and a flag when the Premiership is won.

What I want to know is under what moniker does he post in Demonland?

I have been hearing the same story for 30 years at the AGM. From Ridley to Bartlett through the years, the same story. And now we are hearing the same again. Two years ago Pert and Bartlett said we would have an answer in 12 months. 1 year later we are told they can't say anything under government instructions. Something coming, something being negotiated. Caulfield, Elsternwick Park, Junction oval, even digging up Yarra Park. All have come to nothing. Dogs another $30M to redevelop. Richmond $65M to redevelop, Hawthorn $120M to build, Adelaide similar: https://www.afc.com.au/news/1206857/new-facility-update ..and these are clubs with existing training and admin facilities.

Purcell and West 47 touches between them playing in the middle. Only in their 2nd seasons with us. With KP chipping in with 24 of her own, the mids just look awsome. BOG would have to be Libby Birch, who held everything together against the top line forward line in the competition. Hope Goldy gets back soon, because Libby can't do it all on her own. Gillard looks fantastic and can kick long as well. Very quiet games from Bannan and Zanker, so plenty of upside to be found there.

OK @WalkingCivilWar and others from the Demon Army: the players are doing this after a win: Can the Army start it it the crowd so that it becomes our mark

I am sure that Andy appreciates all the kind thoughts offered by everyone. The fact that he keeps this site going to all of our collective benefit is simply very generous. But it is not just the time ( which is extensive) but it costs $'s to run and maintain. Money that otherwise comes from his pocket. Software, upgrades, hosting fees, equipment for podcasts...all costs. So if you can help with these, take out an annual or lifetime membership, or just donate a little to keep the ship afloat. Any extra left over is directed toward player sponsorhip, so the club benefits as well. https://demonland.com/clients/donations/ Thanks again to everyone, you make this site what it is.......

Once again Ticketek has proven to be useless. 1. They allocate tickets by bay. So the best seats in one bay are not available until the worst in the bay next door are sold. 2. How many times do they have to stuff up to learn you cannot sell all the finals games on the one day at the same time? Small wonder people cannot get on. The first game is 8 days away. 3. They have insufficient staff, so don't try to call them to fix up their mistakes. 4. Any barcodes get a ticket, even if for opposing sides....wait until the Collingwood crowd find out and buy out all the tickets for their next game. 4. The problem is the MCC, not the MFC control who sells tickets. They have contracted Ticketek. Marvel stadium owned by the AFL uses Ticketmaster, and buying tickets through them is a breeze.

Enough said on this matter Thread locked.

I think there are 2 different things here @spirit of norm smith. We are currently not scoring because of a lack of a second tall forward. With only BBB to aim for ( Max and Jackson haven't been marking and scoring) we are dependent upon Kossie, Melksham and Fritsch to score multiple goals to win. It is easy for defenders to nullify any forward entries to stop marking, no matter where the ball is targeted to...pocket or goal square. The second thing is that EVERY team kicks to the pocket. 1. It makes it easier to target, as a leading forward is running at an angle to the ball. Easier to kick to and easier to adjust to be able to mark. 2. If the opposition mark the ball, the corridor is exposed and the risk is the ball then goes end to end. Coaches will have got all the statistics on success or failure of kicking to the pocket v kicking to the top. 3. You are correct. If the ball is not marked by either team, an OOB or a ball up is a likely result. If you are confident you have a side with more likelihood of winning a stoppage then this is again statistically a better option since you are more likely to win the ball which is now close to goal. 4. Players kick from the pockets just as well as in front these days. Who would you back...BBB in the pocket or Max King from direct in front?

The other frightening statistic for the AFL from that table is North Melbourne. Average attendance at Home games 14, 385. We know GC and GWS are basketcases, but even the Saints have managed another 10K average at their Home games.

Double Yep. Not only were Carlton set up, they positioned players in front of the pack ( around the 50m line), with strict instructions to the pack talls to punch the ball forward. It is the same old tactic which stopped FB's kicking up the middle of the ground. The result: the ball lands in the hands of those waiting, who now have a relatively free 50m zone to operate in.

As a practice match this was more of a statement from the girls. No Daisy, Tayla injured before half time, and they just kept on belting the Blues into next week. West and Purcell were brutal and clean in the middle, and the attacking moves all seemed to result in multiple options up forward. Great to see Blaithin Makin score her first goal in this game. As a first hit out, she seems to have the power necessary to play AFL well. The other thing that stood out was our depth of talls. All around the ground we have players standing head and shoulders above their opponents, from Harris to Bannon, Pearce, Gillard, Campbell and Zanker, they must really worry the opponents when they run onto the field. 70 point win to open the account in a game where teams struggle to kick that type of score in 2 weeks of playing, makes the season look promising. P.S. Tayla went down in a tackle just before half time. Physio was working with her during the break, but she didn't come back on. They seemed to be working through ankle, knee, achilles type stretches and exercises, but she was doing all of them, including kicking. Didn't come back on after that.

Fairly good assessment there WSW. It was probably a good move by Ratten to bring in a lot of experience, since the Aints were so bad, and had little talent available. It keeps the fans happy and gives them hope, and keeps him in a job....in the short term! But as you say, Crouch, Jones, Hannebury and Hill are all past their best, and probably the same for Ryder. Plus these players are costing a bucketload. Then when you have Howard, Higgins and Wood in the side, 1/3 of their match day side is "blow ins". Big contrast to what Melbourne did by bringing in only a few older outsiders like Lewis, Cross, Vince, to be able to provide stability while the younger talent develops. Then you bring in one or two ready made players with 5 years plus careers in them, but over a couple of years, and to fill specific roles. May, Lever, Hibberd, Melksham. At the moment those younger Saints players can't get in the side, or St.Kilda don't have the draft picks left to be able to access and develop talent long term. Now they face another cliff as these older players drop off even further. When that happens, I'm with @dazzledavey36...Ratten won't last, and the cycle will be repeated at St.Kilda.

Kozzie heavy strapping, and limping. Laurie running with forwards. BBB not doing much at all, not running in drills.

Thing is he kept doing it in subsequent ruck contests....and the umpires did nothing.

It has happened in a number of games this week: Umpires calling incorrect disposal, when the player has had NO prior opportunity and the ball is merely dislodged. 18.6.2 Holding the ball: Prior Opportunity – Where a Player in Possession of the Football has had Prior Opportunity, a field Umpire shall award a Free Kick if that Player does not Correctly Dispose of the football immediately when they are Legally Tackled. 18.6.3 Holding the ball: Incorrect Disposal – Where a Player in Possession of the Football has not had Prior Opportunity, a field Umpire shall award a Free Kick if that Player elects to Incorrectly Dispose of the football when Legally Tackled. For the avoidance of doubt, a Player does not elect to Incorrectly Dispose of the football when: (a) the Player genuinely attempts to Correctly Dispose of the football (b) the Legal Tackle causes the football to be dislodged from the Player’s possession. It was certainly the case in our game.

An update from the Club today. It seems that have taken on board what many concerned members have been telling them. In the middle of the season is not the time, and the Consitution needs to reflect modern thinking, and is at least consistent with what other AFL clubs have as theirs.

We had all best hope North keep losing, if LJ wants to go back to WA. Freo don't have the picks, and probably won't provide players of any value to trade. Eagles offer a bucketload to LJ to come to them, and can pick him up in the pre-season draft, if they finish last. He gets what he wants. They get what they want. We get nothing.

It looks like they are installing the practice cricket pitches a bit early?