Little Goffy

I only know the result of last night's game because my brother texted me with the observation that by the final round game against us Collingwood could be playing to retain their spot in the 8. All it would take is for - The Giants to win their three games against Kangaroos, Suns and Saints. The Bulldogs to beat us, West Coast, and Fremantle both at Docklands. The Suns only need to win two of their remaining four and hold onto their percentage. That's Carlton, Essendon, Port and GWS. Hawthorn play us and the Lions. A win and 4%, or two wins, obviously, would get them over the Pies. Fremantle is the trickiest one. They play Port, Brisbane (in Perth) and the Bulldogs. Since Bulldogs must win all theirs, Freo would have to get the other two wins done. Five paths need to meet, but they each range from 'very likely' to 'realistically possible'. Then it is just up to Adelaide and ourselves to complete the set for a truly historic Colliwobble.

I have a soft spot for Spargo. You can see him thinking through the play and looking for good options, and he often succeeds in identifying them. He's held back a lot by the physical side; there's not one aspect where he is even above average. I'd be sad to lose him but this is not a Nibbler 'underrated stalwart' situation.

My 29-day-old has been upset all day ever since I told him. I'm accepting of the events that have transpired, but as anyone who reads my rants will know, my deepest fear is a club turgid with factional bile, where every new decision is instantly contested as much for the 'side' which made it as for the merits of the decision. I am also conscious of my own urge to 'get involved' somehow... which is exactly the honorable intent that has driven so many perfectly earnest supporters into conflict. In the end, whoever the new coach is, I'll be doing my best to stay humble and patient and give them time to make their mark. After all, one must remember that I have been granted a personal prophecy of a Demon 2028 premiership. Third year of new coach with a nicely mixed list to work with seems about right.

Essendon supporter saying it's about time? Just thank them for the gift. https://www.tickcounter.com/countup/312748/days-since-essendon-won-a-final

I would like to give some respect to the Demon's most successful coach of almost a lifetime. 111 wins, 1 draw, 90 losses. 202 games behind only Smith, Hughes and Daniher. 55% overall win rate which puts him just ahead of Northey and Ivor Warne-Smith, and behind only fellow premiership coaches Hughes, Chadwick and Norm Smith. His tenure will be remembered for an extraordinary list of near misses in so many different ways. The tragic 2023 finals where we lost two games by a total of 9 points between them, and also lost one of our most esteemed leaders in a moment for which the injustice tainted many supporter's love of the game. The extraordinary one-straight-kick percentage gap which coast the Demons a finals spot in 2017. And so many of the little 'moments' that just didn't drop our way. But for all that, the legacy will always be late season surge of 2021, where for a magic long moment the plan all came together. Journeyman tall forwards under injury clouds came good and played their role. Star midfielders with inconsistent disposal found their groove at the same time. The defensive efforts worked like a terrifying hive-mind, giving away just 56 points per game in finals and for four rounds leading to them. And finally, the most dominant 45 minutes of grand final football in the history of the game, when destiny was seized and the chapter was turned on a half-century of perennial disappointment. Many called for change, and we all will be feeling a nervous optimism for a refreshed club, but let's not mix the enthusiasm for a new start with any bitterness in reflection. Let's do it right and speak of Goodwin as the drought-breaking premiership coach who will be a loved part of the club for many years to come. Best wishes, coach.

Who is the best collaborator, and can bring in the best full panel of coaches? Even on a rough sketch we're looking at ten positions I would want to see filled with top quality people. Senior. Footy Dept Manager. Veteran coaching mentor. Development. Conditioning. Forward, back, clearance, transition. Casey.

Is this the thread where I launched my theory about AFL Media doing Demon trade rumours in alphabetical order of club of origin? Because we're up to 'E' and it has been McVee and Petracca.

He seems a well-built reasonably mobile tall who attacks the ball. At the very least he has already added a little layer of the all-important 'selection integrity' to our list. I enjoyed his game.

Very interesting situation for the Doggies at the moment. Need to pick up two wins to make the 8 (assuming Suns win their game-in-hand against Essendon) BUT Their percentage and the traffic jam in the 8 means they only need to do make that gain on any ONE team out of the Cats, Hawks, Suns, Giants, and Dockers. Geelong have a standard Geelong soft run into finals. Giants and Suns play each other, so one of them must drop 1. Freo has a challenging game against Brisbane, and also play the Dogs directly. Possible. But Hawthorn play Collingwood at the 'G, Crows in Adelaide, and Brisbane at the Gabba. That is the clear vulnerability. Also, I would consider tipping Hawthorn out of the 8 in round 23 a marginal silver lining for our tragic season.

A Daniel Cross type of recruitment. Career built on attitude and intelligence. If he plays 20 games in two seasons it would still be worth it. Could also be fun seeing Mihocek and Melksham find a telepathic link in a season together. I have the obvious hesitations but we definitely need strong characters around the club.

Lol. "I'm an executive and made a list therefore my anger is called action."

Love that this thread is being bumped from pre-premiership. Should I suddenly be feeling optimistic?

The element of panic was summarised by that very last play. Everyone bolted to get 'back' without actually moving to defend - to not be aware of their opponents, nevermind one of the in-form players of the game, is unmistakably a sign of feeling all eyes on themselves. Focusing on the task at hand should be a comfort to anyone in a stressful moment - that's what thousands of hours of training is supposed to ensure. Tell you what, my wife can't accelerate from a standing start much, but she sure as [censored] wouldn't go completely to water in a crisis like these million dollar ponies did. Edit: I suppose my point is that for whatever amount of time and for multiple reasons we've had a psychological detachment between happiness or contentment and actions of substance. Like the alienated worker doing enough to hold their job, but no longer motivated by the satisfaction of doing their job well.

I remember the assessment of Scott Morrisson as 'wanting the title of the job but not the actual job'. I suspect there's a whirlwind of personal rivalries and oneupmanship motivating a lot of what goes on at the 'leadership' levels of the club, which goes in a circle, or perhaps a see-saw, or perhaps a see-saw on a merry-go-round. Time for a wild analogy; During the constantly on again off again strife and civil wars of Greece, every time there was a change of government there would be a purge of the armed forces officers, and naturally those no unemployed and insulted officers would ally themselves with whichever they considered the most likely opposition to seize power back or next. The end result was that by the early-mid 20th century there were typically three available officers for every actual position. One holding the position and two straining to get back into it by first overthrowing the regime and secondly competing with the other displaced officers. Looks like Melbourne has something like that, and every person currently sating their vanity with the glory of being a VIP around the club is mirrored by others craving a return. As they say in the classics; "A position soundly reasoned must be held against opposition, but opinion held onto motivated by a feeling of opposition itself is the path to disaster." Vehement factional opposition to Goodwin has been visible since before the premiership. This awful moment will probably give that faction the final surge of influence to cause a spill. But short of another messianic Roos-Jackson style combination, I fear that no matter who comes into the club they will immediately face resentment and undermining from the 'purged officers', the wannabe VIPs who actually contribute so little, and thus the slow-burning civil war will continue.

To quote the great master; "There's only one way out of this, and it's together. Whole club hurting; every component. That's what we talked about. Head Down. Work hard. ... There you go."

The trouble is, when you start these things there is no controlling which way the wrecking ball swings. You can lose Dean Bailey and keep Cameron Schwab, for example.

Good opportunity for a new coach to start with a win.

Like drinking four cups of cold coffee with slightly overdue milk. I feel extremely agitated and not well at all. That game has added outright embarrassment and shame to the tone at the end of an already thoroughly disappointing season.

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!