Little Goffy

At which point North starts looking more like the next Fitzroy. Wouldn't ever wish it on them, but there's a little hint of background anxiety about it. They are currently on the worst 6-season form run of any club in the AFL era. O'Sullivan their only rising star nomination in 25, and since/including 2020 there's been Wardlaw, McKercher, Archer, Ford (since delisted), Sheezel, Jason Horne-Francis (traded), and Curtis Taylor (delisted). Just 4 rising star nominees on their list from the six years they have been on the bottom of the ladder. A lot hangs on Wardlaw coming back and the midfield reaching critical mass. If it gets moving, that young midfield could be absolutely game-breaking. But West Coast, honestly, they are welcome to sit right where they are. I don't get enough to look closer!

Ned Guy is being recruited as a big-picture level strategist, and has a track record of making tough decisions and being hated for it. Part of him must be thrilled that the Demon's have already made the toughest of tough decisions. Early in his time as list manager he was under huge pressure to keep the list topped up by retaining and regaining 'beloved' Collingwood players, such as the ultimately disastrous trade for Beams (for pick 17 and the next year's 18) and the excessive long-term contract for Grundy - both of which we're resoundingly popular decisions made under board pressure at the time. Later, he was deeply hated for making the salary-cap-management decisions to move on Treloar, Stephenson and Tom Phillips. I think hindsight favours him there. From an article at the time of his departure from the Pies; Highly regarded and well-liked internally, especially by those with an understanding of the dire mess Collingwood was in with its salary cap, externally Guy has worn blame for the ugly post season. Quoting Graham Wright - "Recalibrating our player payments structure was a tough and necessary job. Our future payments profile is healthier in large part to him. In years to come his achievements will become clearer."

Sounds a lot like the tasks my baby Sam is working on. The 'integrating interfacing functions' part is great fun, but I could do with a little less backwards overflow, synergised or not.

An AI hallucination of this appointment briefly appeared at the European Marine Energy Centre website. Basically, AI assembled; 'Melbourne decision' 'Former boss' 'ending time at AFL HQ' And concluded Melbourne was ending Ned Guy's time as the boss of AFL HQ. It is hilarious in its way, but if there are any C-level executives on here, please remember to expunge AI from your organisation before it gets someone killed.

If you watched those highlights you might be tricked into thinking that all we had as a tall, strong marking and accurate set shot forward with the situational awareness to also create opportunities in general play and who can quickly and accurately snap goals from anywhere up to 55m out. Which is selling him a bit short, really. He's so smart in general play between the arcs - has potential for Brayshaw level game sense. Probably his best single attribute is being able to reliably send a very long kick forward with purpose instead of just banging it mindlessly.

Just watched an ecological sciences video about a 'dead' forest which had been abandoned as a forestry zone but never actually given any work to restore a functioning ecosystem, so it was just a mass of the monoculture harvest trees left to go feral, blocking all light to the understory and stifling new growth. There was no birdlife, no small animals or even bugs, no mushrooms, and it was consuming groundwater to the extent of diminishing streams and agricultural water lower in the catchment. A key part of the restoration strategy was to cut down some of the most established trees which were dominating the ecosystem without contributing to it, so that a more complex and resilient network could take hold. The transformation happened surprisingly quickly. So, cheer up, Ox, our situation has solid metaphors.

I really like that Cameron Pedersen has earned such enduring respect. It is as if some instinct is telling us all that 'Everything this person has, he earned.' A feeling that he took nothing away from anyone else, either.

'Cost more in postage than the actual product', sounds more like the Oliver trade.

I've never heard his name before. Quintessential COO on that count!

Well golly gosh darn it. And also [censored] [censored] [censored]. I arrive in Melbourne Friday morning and was kind of hoping. Are you sure they can't throw in an extra session for me?

Seems a good kid. We should try to get him.

Just like the gypsy woman said. Good timing for Bowey at a personal level too - he'll want to renegotiate his next contract given that he'll be a reigning premiership vice-captain going into 2029.

I guess we never had a chance against the might and poise of Mason Cox. Presumably that's why you started the thread about how we should get him?

In one of the more bizarre moments in my Demonland journey, I just noticed that the claim of McVee's political activism has a 'reference' which points back to Demonland's 'Welcome to Judd McVee' thread, which contains no such inferences. Everyone go donate to wikipedia. Cleaning the cobwebs out takes time and we need to keep their staff in place or we'll end up with wikAIpedia and we're all stuffed then.

Wut? Here's the replay. https://www.afl.com.au/video/1026065/match-replay-collingwood-v-melbourne?videoId=1026065&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1694131800001 The game starts at 0.00 time with Max Cox jumping early and driving his hip into Max Gawn's head. Hill gets a quick pair of goals early, then thanks to Brayshaw's effort, Collingwood's lead is back to 1 goal after just 50 seconds after Hill's second. After the incident - 12.08 on Brayshaw, "Such an important player for Melbourne, as well. His flexibility - he can go inside, he can play half back, half forward.." Another commentator; "So with Brayshaw missing so little football, this team doesn't know much footy without him, so its going to be really interesting for Melbourne losing such an important player for their team." Bailey Laurie is the sub trying to fill those shoes. Melbourne gradually regain composure, in particular our midfield which clawed back from their worst quarter for the season in the first, to win the contested possession count by 24 after quarter time. Collingwood do not kick a goal in the last 40 minutes. The final margin is seven points.

Ten second in and the Jordyn Allen highlights reel has me satisfied. Running across the 50 and nailing a goal is premium gear in the women's game because the opportunities to try will be there for so long as there are the reduced numbers. Looks like she has good awareness, can think fast and understands position in terms of momentum rather than just location. afl.com.au/aflwJordyn Allen V2: Draft hopeful keen to make her own nameShe shares a name and game style with Magpies defender and could soon be sharing the field"I fractured it in four spots at the start of the third quarter, but Josie (Bamford), one of my good friends, I showed her. I was like 'I think I just broke my hand' and she looked at it just like 'Nah, I think you're fine'. So, I kept playing," I like her so much I'd be awkward around her at parties.

I'll take "Things GWS thinks they can laugh off" for $1000, thanks. What is having nil community support. And for the bonus round; What is chronic failure in the face of every advantage.

Oddly enough, you could still have included quite a few Demon players. Latrelle Pickett, Bailey Laurie, Angus Brayshaw, Jack Trengove. And, in a mind-bending way, Jordan Gysberts, who was taken one after Jake Melksham, and just to mirror that, Ed Langdon who was taken one after Oscar McDonald.

That horrifying moment when you look at one of these and think the answer has instantly clicked. Either I'm brilliant or that wrong answer is going to stick with me and I won't be able to think of anything else. Yeah, I've done some checking. Not even going to PM Demonstone with it. Not worth the inbox clutter. Doooooomed.

Hey now, Zak Butters kicked a goal in 2025, and I bet it was a really good one, too. But seriously, just adding some noise to your point - there's a completely even spread of goalkicking from the collection of the top midfielders. It point to a role and a style, not to quality. 0.3 to 0.4 - Bailey Smith, Andrew Brayshaw, Finn Callaghan, Zach Merrett, 0.5 to 0.6 - Noah Anderson, Tom Green, Patrick Cripps, 0.7 - Nick Daicos, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Hugh McLuggage Above that it is who? Chad Warner, Marcus Bontempelli, Isaac Heeney and Kysaiah Pickett? For all that, Clary only just scraped into the top 100 for score involvements, and that does point to a problem when it is a prime mover in your midfield.

By the end of 2022 he had two Coaches Awards, three All-Australian nods, four Melbourne B&Fs and at 150 games was on target to hold the all time records for contested possessions, clearances, handballs and a few other sundry stats. He had 110 Brownlow votes before his 150th game. In his 150th game he clocked 3 brownlow votes. In his 151st another 2 votes. Since then, in total for two and a half seasons, just six more. Not sure there has even been a more dramatic 'two halves' of a career than what seems to be forming for Oliver. But he will have fun and be well used at GWS, given they had a key list need for clearance support for Green, particularly with both Coniglio and Kelly out with injury again.

Our 21st century has been marked by a great many players who were very good for a long time but only touched real greatness for relatively short periods. Picking some out from the Daniher era is easy - Robertson, Johnstone, Yze, White, Green, Bruce, McDonald, Woewodin and Davey might even have played a game together as a group except for those last two not quite overlapping. All of them could be in All-Australian contention in their better seasons, but none of them were in that range consistently. Now of course we have had two really dominant players move on from the club and we'll be left to wonder if they will really be 'Demons' of the 21st century. Do people still think of Callan Ward as a Bulldog? Gawn is the best ruck of the modern era, and Pickett is now at a level where he will be in the conversation as best 'small forward plus midfielder' every season. Then it is up to the kids. Will 2028 be the dynasty-starting premiership?

Clearly he saw this thread and was inspired.

2026 will be a huge year for a number of our young-but-not-junior players. New coach to impress and big shoes begging to be filled after some prominent but leadership-deficit departures. Pickett, Rivers, Chandler, Sparrow, Turner and Petty all have a chance to make it a career defining year. Bowey also if he can make best use of his recovery time and then come back strong. You could contrast it with McDonald and Green, both of whom rose to the occasion as captains but both of whom could have benefited from not being thrown in the deep end so late in their career. At the very least as a club we have a short window now to identify and prepare leaders to avoid the Grimes and Trengove scenario, both of whom had the character to be leaders but could have benefited from not being thrown in the sewerage end so early in their career. Who will be our 2028 premiership captain?

At the very least that is top shelf trolling. But on the other hand, if he joined the Pies he'd start next season as their best player under 23. (His birthday is just after the start of the season so he scrapes in, while Daicos is a January baby.) If he can survive on their list for a couple of seasons he will become a core midfielder even if he doesn't really improve much.