pitmaster

Well, no, they weren't that bad. No coward punches behind play to unsuspecting victims. But there was plenty of deliberate physical targeting which the umpires ignored. The one which annoyed me most was one of the brown and yellows cannoning into Max after he had marked in the last quarter. It was clearly late and the Hawk was clearly in it to hurt. This sort of stuff will continue until the umpires impose a 50 metre penalty. Max clearly expected to be given the 50 which would have put him within scoring distance but the ump was too naive, or stupid, or uncaring to impose it. The same goes with the regular in game targeting of Max. Notably Max was given a 50 metre penalty last week against the Dog which resulted in a goal. Until they umpire smarter this sniping will continue. Meanwhile, beating the Hawks never gets old but I was impressed by how much noise their supporters made considering they were never in it. Welcome back Petty - such a smooth operator both ends - and welcome back Fritters' radar.

There was something on Fox about access to all Tasmanian father son prospects. Luckily we're not counting on too many of those.

Maybe they thought his kicking was on the fritz.

The impression I had from being at the G and not yet having seen the replay is that the team is still adapting to a faster, more direct style. Numerous possession chains that looked promising ultimately broke down due to inability to execute at pace. I would expect this to improve as the season progresses. In other words, exciting times ahead! What are the panels's thoughts on this? As as aside, who was the last Demon who could regularly deliver the sort of pass Billings used on the northern wing to set up Trac for a shot at goal in the third term? My nomination is Trapper. And let's hear what you think of Howes two games. He seems to have fitted in seamlessly to the defensive group who were collectively very strong.

This is so true. (Listen to the wise, kiddies. We're not all senile.)

And not one commentator remarked on it. A clear free to the Saints that resulted in a crucial Geelong goal. Just dreadful umpiring.

In 1901 you can add in bubonic plague which first appeared in (I know you guessed it) the suburb of Collingwood.

Don't know if this warrants a new thread but McAdam has had a set back and won't be sighted this week or for quite a few more. Better news for Petty. https://www.afl.com.au/news/1085531/hamstring-issue-to-further-delay-melbourne-demons-shane-mcadam-season-start

And a football action.

The good: Lions lost at the Gabba. The bad: Carlton won.

Most closely I'll be watching to see if the Blues suffer the same sort of fade out as our blokes tonight. The Gabba this time of year could be ugly.

You're right but look at contested ball stats from midway through the third and that's where it started. Heeney said they trained in the humidity all summer. He seemed to acknowledge it worked in their favour. I'm backing us to bounce back hard. The small ground also allows for difficult entires unless you win the centre bounce contest cleanly.

Another AFL genius balls up. Send us up to play in sub-tropical conditions in the height of summer heat. This is no time to panic. The fixture set us up. We were spent from midway through the third quarter. Let's see next round. If we mishandle the ball the same way then I'll panic.

Exactly. But heaven forbid anything be put in the way of a Collingwood flag.

Very sad news but he has much to be proud of. Having seen the reasoning - microscopic changes to the brain post-Maynard's hit - he has of course made the right decision. He will be greatly missed as he was coming into his prime. All the best for the future, Gus!

This bloke amazes me. For a Hawthorn supporter his knowledge of our mob is extraordinary. Anyways, no great insights here but I thought demonlanders would be interested in some of his observations from the match sim. Kynan Brown – Well, what do we have here? Kicked a couple of goals, was busy around the packs and had a couple of really good front-and-centre gathers to keep the footy moving. The Dees have Pickett, but when he moves into the guts, that second smaller forward role is one that has let them down. They’ve had Charlie Spargo, or Kade Chandler… but they really haven’t done it for me. Thumbs up. Brown kind of did it for me in this game. Caleb Windsor – A mixed bag from him. Has an elite tank, and was still running the wings deep into the fourth quarter, which was great, but some of his disposals were… well, they were ****ty. I think that’ll be ironed out as he becomes more accustomed to the speed of the game, but he threw his body in, won the ball, and just let himself down with disposal, at times. It can be fixed, but you cannot teach someone to win the footy the way he was winning it. Thumbs up from me. And on Kozzie - Geez, he looked dangerous in this one. Kysaiah… not Marlion, although Marlion had a few good moments, as well. Whether forward or in the middle, Kysaiah looked dangerous every time he was near the footy. Whether it was his tackling pressure early in the game, his efforts to win back-to-back-to-back clearances in the third quarter, or leaping into the stratosphere to almost drag in the preseason mark of the year, Pickett gave the 3-4K at Casey Fields plenty to ooh and ahh about. Did the Dees get the mix right with him running through the midfield? It felt about right. He was effective while in there and pushed forward hard without hitting the scoreboard. I reckon a 50/50 split is the ideal for him. He adds so much irrespective of where he plays… I reckon Simon Goodwin wishes he had a couple of him. And JvR - Really liked the early attack on the footy from Jacob Van Rooyen. He was hard at it and both presented on the lead and crashed packs several times in the first half. Looked like he ran out of puff a little in the second half, but seems to be the best marking target the Dees have inside fifty at the moment, and attacks the ball like he knows it. May V Balta - And I touched on the work of Noah Balta above, but I need to give credit to Steven May for the way he worked back into the game after the main break. His tussle with Balta was a brilliant watch, with both guys matching up very well throughout the contest. May took the third quarter points after Balta got the first two. Balta hit the bench to start the fourth and didn’t return – a well earned rest. And finally... As for the Dees, there is enough to work with that Simon Goodwin won’t be pressing the panic button just yet. He’s got Clayton Oliver to come back in, and he started the fifth period by grabbing two touches, including a clearance in the first 40 seconds. They’ll be fine. My two bob's worth is that the match sim was disappointing because the old forward issues were still evident, but I did enjoy Brown's game and Verrall's leap was something to behold. He may offer us something special in a year or two. Viney was brilliant, Kozzie dynamic and Max has lost nothing, but our pressure was not there and it looked like it was just a hit out from our perspective. With a few on this site tearing their hair out over a game for which no points were on offer I thought mongrel punt's closing three word sentence might offer some comfort.

is on the far right of the image

As Tears Go By...perfect selection for the Neeld era.

No expert here but some several decades younger tell me she is a prolific and evocative song writer whose lyrics speak to her generation. Can't ask more than that. But the show from what I have seen looks like ridiculous overkill. But hey, I was delirious to see The Boss at the Palais when it was just him and an acoustic guitar.

Too right, but I reckon they only had maybe two seasons in the same side before Stan went off to win his flag with the Kangas who did very well out of rule changes around that time. It's funny how well served we were for wingers but not so much in key positions.

Hugely under-rated is Stan. He probably is under recognised by Demon fans because of the bitter manner of his departure but he was absolutely outstanding. The sight of his dashes along the northern wing was all that kept me going to the G during the early 70s.

I still hold to the opinion I expressed earlier but KT is a very good prospect to replicate the achievements of JMcV. And if he doesn't, that's no knock on him either.

They don't come around every year necessarily. That's what makes Judd McVee Judd McVee.

Thanks for the correction. Clearly I don't know Brighton as well as I thought.

It was hard NOT to know in 2021. All through the finals series - and way beyond - the joint was decked out in red and blue. One of Christian's brothers also has a cafe in Church Street Brighton towards the Nepean Highway end. The premiership cup turned up there one time. The family resemblance is unmistakeable.