george_on_the_outer

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.

Wrong. He had already put up a couple of Million dollars to stop the club going broke. The club had no money and it was too much to expect him to stump up more. Without him the club would have folded.

Absolutely correct. Imagine if we had put $10 a year on top of Membership to be directed toward a facility that @old dee and I have been hearing promised for the past 30 years! At least we would be part of the way there, instead of walking around with a begging bowl. Hawthorns new facility is projected to be $120M, and the government has committed to a percentage, but the rest is coming from their own coffers, that they built. Our coffers amount to the sale of 2 facilities that Joe bought for us all those years ago. And at the last AGM we were told those funds would not be used for facilities....!!

So is Ryan a ranga beneath the blonde bleach?

I'm no expert on this so we have to bow to @Lucifers Hero and the list and contract status thread: My reading is that potentially we could use pick 42 now (3 in total), but have one less Rookie pick ( now 1.) The big advantage of rookie over primary list is that $80K of Melkshams salary is removed from the cap. That can be used to front load someone elses salary for next year. But using 42 means longer contract and salary obligations AFAIK. If we were to use 42, there would have to be a good reason, since the individual will in all likelihood be available ( and cheaper) in the rookie draft.

And that is why we now need to win next week. Cannot afford the ridiculous home ground advantage that Adelaide gets from the umpires. North should have been paid a chopping, around the neck free in the final 30sec, but nothing.

Go North. win this and we have home finals guaranteed.

The men's side should donate their side of the Trophy monies to the girls. They are already well remunerated ( 10X on average now) and they would only be handing more $'s to the tax man than any of the girls would be.

All ours now! Thanks Saints.

Go Sainters. They could give us $1M if they keep going. 20 points up!

What a fantastic result in this match. Playing the then 4th side in a match where the winner would go to top of the ladder, with only a couple of games remaining. Really, really telling for me was that this win was after coming back from a 6 day break, after travelling across the country and having played in 30+ degrees. In one sense it was not surprising that we only managed 2 goals in the second half, but our defenders were magnificent to keep North goalless after the mid point of the 1st quarter. ...a team challenging for top spot! Most of all I love our mids. Liv Purcell, who nobody seems to notice racks up 28 touches, and just monsters the opposition. Tyla, of course everyone notices and she is just sheer talent. But also a shout out to Eliza West who provides so much grunt in there and doesn't stand back at any point. Then the tackling and tagging provided by Lily and Heater against a player like Jasmine Garner who only managed 2 clearances for the game, neither from the centre, when she is the one of the league leaders in this area, was exemplorary. The best part of watching the mids, was if one didn't do damage, the next would step in, then the next, then the next. They were relentless, which is exactly what Adelaide did to us, and what we need to bring the next inevitable game we will play against them. I thought we would struggle with rucks this season, with LP having knee issues in the past, but Georgia Campbell has really blossomed, and held out Rhi Watt this week from selection. The other one who has shone unexpectedly has been Tahlia Gillard, who had a blinder in this match, and is developing into a real problem for oppositions as she has gained confidence, and certainly knows when to punch and when to mark. Can North do us another favour next week against Adelaide as we finish the season against Brisbane, and those results will once again shape the top 4, but more importantly, where the finals especially the GF will be played.

We will keep 42 because it is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the Universe and Everything! As @Slartibartfast can attest.

No doubt to cover for the stupidity of awarding the Gather round to an AFL state( in S.A.) for the next 3 years, where AFL doesn't need promoting.

This weeks game against North is the most important match of the season. Beat them and we lock in 2nd. And this week Adelaide play Brisbane in Brisbane. Then the following week Adelaide play North. We could be top of the ladder even this week and so avoiding having to face Adelaide in Adelaide for finals. The dodgy draw and limited season that the AFL concocted looks just awful now. Essendon 5th best side? Give me a break. They were simply appalling against Richmond, but still won. Take away Prespakis and Toogood, and they would be the same as WCE.

2 Ovals, Our own gym not shared with 3 other sporting teams, meeting rooms of our own, indoor training facility at the same location, not 40km away in Cranbourne, ice baths that can fit more than 2 people, pools that again we don’t share or have to book with others, physiotherapist rooms bigger than a broom cupboard…and meeting rooms and offices for more than 1 coach.……and administration in the same building. ,

And we still haven't got the equivalent of Cooparoo or Waverley, and we have only won 1 Premiership in 57 years! State of the art training facilities do make all the difference, especially when you lose finals games by 7 points and 2 points.