beelzebub

Afternoon.... Bub here...you know that Devilish one.... I'll assume an advocational posit as it were. The suggestion is.... some early wins might ( and that's only might, as that's actually literally what it suggests ) take the wind out of the sails of media pundits who I sense you're saying are overly negative, irresponsibly negative ? So what if we don't...i.e what if we don't come outof the blocks all guns blazing chalking up better than evens ? Which games do you think we'll account better than our adversaries prior to the bye.. They being in order , Swans...away Dogs...home Hawks....home Port followed by Crows...both in Ade Back home v Lions I can see many might tick 3 straight away... I'm not ticking any just yet. I see 2 rather hard games and 4 that could be anything. 4 and 2 ...we might get somewhere this year 2 and 4... hmmmm.... we'd be camping in struggle street before we knew it. At the risk of ridicule games are simply won by kicking a higher score than your opponent. For mine...unless i witness something approaching an effective fwd game against Carlton... and that requires the team jelling much better than current.... requires a better approach than our prevailing religious routine... then i harbour serious doubts regarding season 24. But your idea is not without curry. Not often a season is defined in round 1... ours might be. Go Dees

Keeping in mind this thread prohibits B$ .. I'm detecting the 'aroma' of the Elephant variety these days.. more and more.

I wonder if people realise the ads they see...if they see them are tailored to them. They are a result of algorithms based upon the individuals search and pages read. I'll leave it at that....

Gus, thankyou for the dedication and efforts and well deserved rewards. You deserved far more than this and I can't imagine how gut wrenching that decision must have been. You leave the field with aplomb. Wish you all the very best for wherever your path takes you. But....bugger bugger bugger

This is why im interested/intrigued/concerned. We supposedly play ok in Churchville...but... Our seasons early fixture will hammer us if we aren't up and about.....and then it's catch up footy at best. Our resilience has waned. If we are faring poorly after 6.....it aint getting any better imho. I can only hope the hinted at new plan A into the 50 might work with correct and fit personnel. If not...plan b hail Mary's....we're stuffed :(

Im genuinely interested to see where any and all of this situation sits after round 6. Atm i have us finishing out of the 8. I may reassess at that point. Thats not being pessimistic...in fact quite the opposite. If a wheel falls off it wont be alone. Ive never seen us coached to success when the better cards of the deck aren't available. As to some of the virtuous posturing of some here... true comedy. The problen with footy is it's invariably fluid. Many teams will improve this season. It was fairly even last.... if we are same same... well...just wave as others go past. Footy 24... bring it...be at it. Fwiw... thought Lloydy was pretty fair in assessing us.

Certainly some validity to this..... essentially it forms the "salt" with which to take it all by...... but having said that our skill level was abysmal for the most.... were they told to 'ham' it up also ?? The score isnt what concerns me . The tenet of play does. Am interested in what we look like against Carlton.... and I'm betting they're not wanting play to cute. This is after all a proper hit out prior to the season proper... no 4 points granted ....and they wont give away everything ( I'm sure ) but they're going to have to play without 'blinkers'

No one's crying... and no one particularly cares for snotty glib sarcy rubbish as that either. Not everyone needs to have a Mack truck 4 feet from them to understand where they are may not be the best place. Some things can be seen a mile away... and that allows you to do something. Without doubt there were many and varied 'experiments' and trials played out yesterday. I would suggest almost all failed. That in and of itself can be a positive if the yeah-nahh rule is applied. That was Richmond.... a team without ( on paper) the same prospects as us. They had at least half a dozen of their top dozen players missing.. they're still getting used to a new coach, new ways.... and they made us look very ordinary.. On a day when much is tried I struggled to see or identify anything...ANYTHING...that made me think... yeah...that's working....needs work, but has promise. It was a 2023 dogs breakfast , chucked up and dished out. I firmly hope the game against Carlton is better, and more representative of our true intents this year. Go Dees

Probably the best description of his footy I've read. Nails it. All froth and bubble. If he were a beer he'd need a straw and cherry on top. Just as you assert he needs to focus on the football first, flamboyance second. He's a rare talent. He's squandering it presently. It's actually quite annoying

Excellent analysis. Doesn't bode well imho. Ol' Simon does like persisting with things long past the point many would have changed course. Roll on 24... First half dozen rounds will mark our card yay or nay

Interesting isnt it. If they're looking to rejiggle some of last years into new roles/positions have they placed too much reliance on what others might be able to do...as opposed what some can ? Might be some auditioning this week perhaps 🤔

🤔 whos our 3rd up defender.... might be an opening.....just sayin'

It seemed obvious to this befuddled old curmudgeon that the team today was incapable of properly implementing any ( or much ) of any new game ( derived from...'learnings') . The skills were lacking for many and the team lineup was short of any duscernable cohesion. That might well change with a better selection. But by how much ? The problem with days like today is if you are indeed trying new tricks...and undermanned in that endeavour there's every chance you will look even worse for the effort because strangely enough the other team will be hell bent on stopping you.. Richmond seemed to ooze more poise . We really had very little. They were a rough diamond perhaps to our bit of ballast. Carlton will tell us more.

Time for Clarry to come home

Is the Blues game...a proper game ?.... or another hybrid hash like today ? Cheers

'Intriguing' is way too kind. Suffice we didn't give away any "secrets" today but certainly camouflaged any improvements. We're about to see a lot of teams fly past us if we dont bring to bear all the "lessons" from today. All the effort of flash 'reels" and colourful media is moot....... if you can't kick or mark. Not thinking those Lygon St Louts will be much worried. Crossed fingers and toes we are much better than today or it will be a long long season.....without worrying about a straight sets exit. There's trackwork......and there's reality. Need to sharpen up some. Go Dees

The difference ??.. well as you ponder that you might scratch your head .... and there ya go ;)

The fascinating ( and for mine annoying ) dilemma that is Harrison Petty. I've nearly always taken an impersonal view when regarding players. I've even suggested , to the disgust if not chagrin of some that in terms of a team compliment they all essentially widgets of one form or another.....just as chess pieces are. They are paid servants of the club. They're there of their own volition and a bonus if there's an added passion beyond the desire to simply play the game and at its highest level. ....and do so for Melbourne. I precurse my view of Petty with the above caveat. He's just one bloke. Yes, he CAN play.....yet seldom does....( able to ) You would need to be a special kind of blinkered [censored] to want form your forward planning ( both inventions there ;) ) around Petty. That would be a very poor bet. Imho we were mugs not to have taken the Adelaide deal. Clever clubs know when to hold...know when to..... etc etc. Why am I reminded of the meme with Carey wincing " so there's still a chance?" I wish Petty well...as I would wish anyone. But im not about all the luvvy duvvyness of football...and players. We don't need him. We need to build an offence that works to a system and becomes embellished by the adhoc talents of those out there rather than the other way around. Sorry to be petty but Petty does not offer good value. An unreliable asset. That's just reality. Go Dees Those with knives and barbs form an orderly line >>>>>>>>

FB is essentially a quasi Utopian development canvas. Lots of U beaut ideas...at the cost of the public purse...maybe not directly but bet London to a brick all the "constraints" will require subsudies. I can only imagine certain Architectural wankers are salivating at the idea. F.B. is and always wil be about 'new social building guidelines'. Anyone thinking a 'Elite Sporting Entity' should hold sway....sorry...

Of course...and you just validated theirs.. Cheers

WCW ..we truly value your participation and commitment, connection with the lads. But guess what... they're there collecting huge coin to do a job . Now that often doesn't sit well with those close to the boundary...sts. I personally dont care in that regard. Yes we're all human but if you take on the role of AFL player you WILL be under scrutiny...especially of basic skills... kicking being one. It's a hard gig...player.... they sign on the line.... that incurs expectations. Happy families is about participation... AFL is about WINNING . Professional Sports...is only ever about winning. That is after all the nature of competition. No one questions Bullens efforts... but kicking....meh A lot of good work on grounds/ courts can be laid waste by sloppiness. I for one agree with George....be good if he kicked it to our lot , not theres 😉 Go well ...cheers

TAKING them would excite me more ;)

Thanks George.. Informative and quite sobering. Brave man venturing down the road....was certainly a s@#! morning. Still, got me out of cutting the grass.... I can't help but feel we'll need more than our share of luck starting off this season. Not likely to have the best 22 to hand.. so patching cracks from the get go. One has to hope these opportunities lead to one or two stepping up....and not necessarily anyone we'll expect. Footy can be funny that way. Chocco needs to "whisper" kicking improvements ANBs way... I think TMac will play magoos mainly and provide insurance. @george_on_the_outer arguably hard to discern much as you allay but did it look like we were trying to do anything different going into the front arc ?? thanks again

Ahhhhhhhhhh ;)

We've always known we're the more informed/advance of our people ;)