Dappa Dan

Yeah people say that. I don't buy it. I reckon had we waited for another round, or waited for rookies he'd still be ours. He was completely out of nowhere. Noone saw him coming. Incidental where the pick was.

I'd be a bit annoyed. I mean we have Salem and Tyson. But the fact we could have had him for just one first rounder, and will have to give up way more to get him now is a bit embarrassing.

Was just about best on for us. Not just for shut down job and disposals... but the fact that every time he was called upon he smashed a player or got the ball and made a positive effect. He's Hibberd like right now. Not to bring it back to negativity, as he's done more than enough to be absolutely best 22 this year and next... but I still worry about his role going forward.

12 clearances from our single season clearance record currently held by Beamer. Not sure if clearances in finals count, or if it's for just the 22 weeks. Highest possession average for a season is held by Jones in 2016, and stands at 28.05 for 22 games. That's 617 touches. Clarry has 629 and broke Nathan's record in the third quarter on Sunday. If he gets 31 touches against pies, he'll crack 30 for the home and away season. And he hasn't even started planning his 21st.

I thought footy forums didn't do this anymore? Offering our NQRs for other teams' stars. Lever's worth a couple of first rounders. They'll negotiate assuming we're a top 4 side next year and the year after, which means we'll have almost second round picks to deal with in the near future. I can't believe people are even discussing trading Salem. Wow.

Hey welcome to the club JV. Now that you're a fan, do you see things the NFL does well that the AFL can institute? The gap between them and us is really what guys like Hutchy are at the forefront of.

Yeah. This will be my last season on it. It's pretty absurd. My whole fantasy league is over it. Speaking of fantasy league... Anyone?

Spoke to a mate a few years ago who's pushing 50 and is a demons tragic and asked him who the best midfielder of his life he can remember in red and blue. He's looking back to probably the mid-late eighties possibly... and he said Viney. But not Jack... Since then he reckons Jack, Christian and Clarry are all likely to be the best in his time. It's exciting, yes... obviously... but it also sort of says a lot about our midfields over the last 30 years.

Same old story on Demonland. Whining about our KP defenders gets going even though our most senior one is currently playing the whole game up forward. We get less than 80 points kicked on us and people start wasting to throw out the baby with the bathwater. And the oddest thing is OMac has put together probably his best month of the season. We're still a year away. Everyone needs to calm down. They're a work in progress. That said, Lever would be nice. Not because we have a massive pressing need, but because he's going to be one of the best in the league his whole career. I have a feeling he's been signed sealed and delivered for a while now. So everyone will be happy.

After Oliver's amazing season, you'd think it would be him. But apparently Tracca is the one they all want.

I know, right? To his credit he did claim only what he saw as a junior. Not as an adult. Said that he could improve in that area easily. Drunken, certainly. You can blame me for that. But no idiot. Why the cheapshot? Seems accurate given each players' draft positions.

lol

Still good fun though. Hard as the job is, we don't have to get it right. I like the speculation. And I daresay you're not as far off as you think.

I think for sure we have to go up and kick the tires. Problem is what do we have to trade with... and also how much room. I really am comfortable with the list. Mess with it too much and you can break up a good mix.

What we think is happening vs what is ACTUALLY happening behind the scenes. I really do suspect it's way more game of thrones than any of us ever learn. As such, I have a strong feeling Lever has kept one eye on the demons all along, and has had his manager keeping him in our thoughts since he was a teenager at Romsey. In the last 12 months he's been watching how we play. It's all basically coming together. As another side note, a guy I used to work with lives in Romsey and knows his family. Says the reports about him are true. You can't find more stand up citizens and strong character than Lever and his family. Appears those reports are true as well. I was really [censored] we didn't get Prestia as I had him rated really high. Look at all this stuff now.

Stop it. STOP IT. Actually. A few months ago I spoke to his juniors coach at Rovers. A bloke named Tim. Bit of a character, so take it for what it's worth... but the more beer me and my old man plied him with the more gossip he threw our way about the demons. He spoke about Hunt (fast but sprays it), Salem (skilled and good player but lacks ticker for the contest), and Brayshaw (lost count of the amount of times he carried him off the ground with concussions)... At this point I put it to him he likes finding the negative about players. He agreed, and said he does go straight to what can go wrong with them. Old habit of a coach. Then he threw in that they have another kid in the group he said he can't find anything wrong with at all. Kelly. How crazy is it that all 4 grew up together and now all four are some of the most sought after talent in the AFL.

I was thinking about that... Speaking pure game theory... The rest of the league will be paying a hefty HEFTY price for a first rounder in 2018... But look at our list. We are so stacked. Whatever player we get will find it hard to squeeze in. And to make matters worse a 198cm+ King twin will need 5 years (they always do)... I reckon if you're smart, you get market value for a first rounder next year. Personally, I absolutely do think we need to give two first rounders for two reasons. 1, our picks will be very late first rounders and 2, you need to pay overs to get a kid like Lever. The key phrase there is market value. I'm all for trading 2018 picks... if we get our due in return. I have Lever that high. What's more, from what I hear, Taylor was all over him like a rash on draft day and has been ever since.

Ooooh. Don't... DON'T

I feel like that will be our starting offer. I've been saying 1st 2017 and 1st 2018 for a while and I still think it'll end up that, possibly with some swaps of later picks thrown in. Part of the reason for that is that in years gone by, those picks might be in the 1-7 range. Now they'll be pick 10-14ish for the first one, and pick 15-18 for the next. Hardly high on points value. I feel like we might do some dinky thing like take both our first rounders, and we get their 2018 second rounder back. Apparently 2018 runs pretty deep, so to end up with two picks around the 30-36 mark... we might be able to get that kid we've targeted. Or even flip both to move into the early twenties. Keep in mind our list profile now. We have heaps of good players who are in the sweet age spot. We don't have heaps of room. If you mean because you think we got shafted out of the Kelly deal... no glasses here. Tyson and Salem for Kelly. Loved it. Would do again.

Zing. I reckon he wasn't right. In the last few minutes following a contest on the boundary he only jog/walked back to his mark and was very ginger despite not taking contact. Bit of a decoy role I feel. So do we know Oliver wasn't hurt? If that's cramp then it must have been a helluva cramp.

Yeah it's ridiculous. And it doesn't even work that well.

I reckon it's pretty dodgy. If you try to get out of it, it takes a big effort. I'm flush with cash this year, so will go again... but I'm only a few small paydays away from getting rid of it.

Praha, for the win.

So much positivity around the club, no-one wants to talk about poor old Gus. Too much of a downer.

Yeah that's not bad. I reckon Tomahawk was carved out of stone from when he was drafted. But yeah, both have the proverbial turning circle of the QE2. Speaking of Hawkins... so many people rate him. I really, really don't. And not because of parochialism.