Demonised

I get to the ground early and watch as they warm up on the ground. They often have shots for goal and, good lord, there are lots and lots of misses. Just before a game starts, under no pressure, I want to see metronomic goal kicking, 9 out of 10 or better! The pregame goal kicking never fills me with confidence.

Stop spinning the ball in hands as part of your set shop run up. Shorten your run up.

Should be, but will probably continue to be underrated by non-MFC supporting folk.

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, Zanda Funerea, Latin name for their dark plumage and mournful cry, as if going to a funeral. Appropriate seeing as Sydney was slowly dying out there.

P. Cripps, 3 votes.

Strange highlights on the AFL site. If I didn't know better, watching them I would have thought that Brisbane won.

I'd be interested in our 'fast playing on' stats this week. So far this year we've been one of the fastest teams at playing on, yes? This week we seemed much less so, less rapid, more deliberate, less confident.

It's not just that The Trip - as it shall henceforth be known - was an egregious howler, it was the timing. We had some momentum at the time, just a little, but we needed reward for effort. A goal then, and would have been onwards and upwards.

We're not out of it.

Winning last week with fast, exciting football. Winning this week with dour grinding footy. Winning two different ways is useful.

I got the feeling that opposition just a little better than Richmond would have found us out tonight.

The six day turnaround is a test for players and fitness staff, but does the AFL understand how hard it can be washing and drying a pair of lucky Demons socks with such a short break between games?

As much as I love him, we really need to have a set play for when Max has a set shot for goal. The old run past/handball receive by Riv, Salo, ANYONE would be a good idea.

Too early to talk about back to back flags?

Cutting us up with transition through the middle.

Attempted fend off is prior opportunity.

12.2. It's hard to believe. Good kicking is good football.

Silly Salem

And the worst thing - one of the worst things, anyway - is the smugness of the so-called experts sitting back, grinning and saying 'We tipped this, the Dees' plunge down the ladder!'

100 x this post.

It's almost like we have a bunch of players who aren't playing well and a bunch of players who may not be quite up to it.

Hmm, not sure about that. In my mind, the X factor belongs to very special players, and there are only a few of them. There is room for good, solid team players, the ones who notch up 200 games and opposition supporters have no idea who they are. In fact, I'd love to have a few of that type right now.

Is Blake Howes being played in the right position? Maybe he's not a backman, but better suited elsewhere?

I might have dreamt it, but didn't we used to be good? Once upon a time?