Little Goffy

This final quarter has been really annoying.

I'm going to speculate that it is a case of the rest of the team being forced to take collective responsibility. Lever's value especially was always built on being able to pay the reward for the whole team's defensive pressure forcing loose kicks that he could swallow and rebound from. Allowed to play that role he was gold, but exposed 1-1 on the like of Hawkins or Walker is not a happy memory. If the team plays well then Lever is a multiplier, which should not be confused with a cherry on top, a downhill skier or a passenger. However, that factor does make me doubt whether he can be an effective captain when so much of his own value depends on the team effort. That and the occasional brain fart, of course.

Viney getting a sniff of tackle count records now.

I swear Fritsch cradled the opponent's neck to ensure the head was supported as he brought him to ground. Good dad vibes. And on today's form if you had to drop a baby out of a burning window, you'd want him to be the one waiting below.

Running Bounce. He might actually be able to do them but it is on record he swore an oath not to. Maybe for the memes in his final game in 2031.

Disappointed that Gawn's hitout rate slowed a little. Halfwayt hrough that quarter he was on target for 100+ Still on the pace for a personal best, which would also be a top-10 all-time hitouts in a game. With all due respect to Marshall, he is out there more or less on his own and Gawn is already clunking contest marks in defense, and equal lead for clearances after the first, as well as racking hitouts all over. Could be a big'un for Gawn.

Viney really energetic early. Nice for him to grab a goal. Oooeee isn't Langford looking good early, too!

I suspect still several more than the VFL fixturing team can count to.

It has been about 15 years since a club accumulated so much early-draft midfield talent and got such little result for it. Currently Clarkson hasn't got close to Bailey and is barely ahead of Neeld. (expansion team caveat noted) The fact they've popped up for the occasional win when they seem to feel like it must make it all the more frustrating for North's remaining supporters and, dare I say it, any young players with serious ambitions.

Good to see West Coast staying in the game against Freo until the 25 minute mark of the first quarter. Rivalry round is AWESUM

Remember when it was all fair and reasonable that we never got good time slots because we weren't very good and/or we didn't draw crowds and/or our play style wasn't exciting? (depending on who you ask) The only really interesting thing about tonight's game is the old '186 watch'. Dogs can score frantically on their day and Essendon are perfectly capable of throwing in the towel.

Ahh, I knew I smelled a rat. A premium Versailles-inspired rat, to be sure. A rat Louis the XIVth would be proud to have crawling up his drain.

Must've scraped the mucus off a lot of horny dolphins to make those. If you sign up to their email marketing you get a free 'scented miniature'. I now have an ambition to get every member of Demonland to sign up and stockpile them.

Surely You mean "AnE".

Genuine concern for your mental health, but also blocked because nobody needs that [censored]

I recall thinking that one of Jack Watts' key weaknesses was that his butt was too high off the ground.

Somewhere between Coldplay lyrics and word salad. But I think I'm good with the general sentiment.

Good job Freo. Glancing at the other game, the chances of the Suns somehow missing the finals after ANOTHER pathetic late-season fade is looking very strong. Is there something weird going on over in Adelaide? Did lightning strike their pre-game huddle? How can a team that stacked for talent not even kick a goal in a half of football? I'm just glad we don't have Gold Coast's junk coach, whoever it is.

I have a ten day old who calms down faster than some people on here! Disappointing result, but a bit of a fun game, really. On to next week and back to the task of making each part function well on the same day.

Interesting that there's now a clear top 9 within which even a current top 4 team could miss finals the end if the season. On the other hand, the 'also-ran' premiership at 10th place is wide open. If the kangaroos get over Sydney today even they are a mathematical shot. It isn't the greatest achievement in footbal but climbing past Port, Carlton and the Swans in the late season to finish in the much more respectable sounding tenth would be a worthy pursuit. Plus, every draft slot it costs Essendon is a bonus.

IF ...Jake Melksham has booted 14 goals from the past three matches and is on track for a career-best season-goal tally ... THEN ...it's fact he's in career best form. Will be 34 by the time the 2025 season is finished. Will definitely be playing in 2026. Wonder if it will be with Melbourne. Aaaaand that completes the letter C.

Given his time at Casey, maybe Max himself was McInerney's kicking coach. Be a bit like like living next door to Federer and getting chess lessons.

Crowd: 20,347 at Marvel Stadium It isn't as if their supporter numbers suddenly disappeared. They just don't care about regular games any more. It is a small step to them just not bothering at all. There's a lovely old expression which gets applied to many things, but especially the collapse of systems and states, like the Roman Empire, the Stock Market or personal bankruptcy. "It occurred very slowly and then all at once" Their balance sheet looks strong but their main assets are basically pokies clubs, and of course owning their own training base. Essendon has been in the 'very slowly' phase for a long time, but could very suddenly become a minor club where the only recent history of interest is also of pure shame.

His first 150 games had him tracking to break every inside midfield stats record that exists. Clearance, contested possessions, tackles, handballs, even Brownlow Votes. Prior to the slump he was also shaping as a near-unique mid capable of stealing midfield intercepts on a regular basis. It has been almost exactly 50 games since the injury and form slump that has him being just a very good midfield, to the frustration of all, not least himself. Celebrate Oliver for what he's done. Don't lose the sniff of what another 100 games could be in the event he has his mind and body in good order.

The 'article' offers so little basis that I just snorted and moved on. Then the conversation here got a little more interesting about what we actually want to do as far as turning over the list and looking to fit new structures, so I began to look at our list on footywire and realised something. They're cycling through our list in alphabetical order of junior club. Obviously excuding no-brand players or 'too much of a reach' stories. Once Pickett (Woodville West Torrens) was done, they had to come back to the start to Lever (Calder) and Fritsch (Casey). That would make the next junk articles about Demon's moving or being disgruntled; Jacob Van Rooyen (Claremont) Harvey Langford (Dandenong) McVee, Rivers and Woewodin as a job lot (East Fremantle) And then we're back to the cycle of Petracca -> Oliver -> Petty -> Viney -> Salem -> Sparrow.