Little Goffy

Uh oh, we've been talked up, it's a big high profile game being broadcast everywhere, and there's a lot to gain. I must not panic. I must not panic. I must not panic. By the way, if all the right results happen this round, we can actually be two games and 15% points ahead of 9th (Geelong), with obviously only two rounds to go. For once we'd be on the good side of the 'only really a mathematical possibility' saying. In fact, in a show of how mad this season is, all but the Richmond - Gold Coast and the Carlton - Fremantle games matter to our final position. Best Case - The right results in seven games, and we are not just in the 8 at the end of the season, but secure in at least 7th with any chasers needing to win all remaining possible games and gain at least 15 percentage points, just to catch us even if we lose both remaining games. We would also only need one more win, specifically against GWS in the final round, to guarante a top-4 finish. Worst Case - We finish the round as one of four teams on 12 wins, two inside the 8 and two outside, with another two teams on 11 wins. And we'd have by far the toughest draw of the four teams on 12. Of course, we'd also still only be one win out of the top 4. I've been annoying people for weeks saying over and over each week that 'this is the most important game for the Demons in almost 12 years', but, well, this is the most important game for the Demons in almost 12 years.

Really impressive to be using the 'power' of the 'G in this way. Even going on after a game for a bit of silly kick-to-kick makes you feel like the proverbial whole world could be watching, so I must really be something special to actually be out there for a good reason. From the outside, it seems like it has become almost a pilgrimage for many, to share a moment of solidariy and visibility over what I'm told can be a very isolating and lonely experience. Respect to the club, but most of all, thoughts with everyone experiencing cancer, both medically and socially.

Unhappy North. Build a 'war chest' and then the only 'war' they get invited to is just for a quality, but definitely not star, player. And paying him excessively will add inflation pressure to the salary expectations of everyone else on the team or potentially coming in future. Grabbing Polec with an over-market bid after making multiple highly publicised bids for genuine 'big fish' is almost emblematic of North's overall situation. Not quite failing, but you'd hardly call it triumphant.

Some individual statscourtesy of afltables.com Clayton Oliver is on target to top our 'most in a season' for posessions and contested posessions and may also sneak to top for most tackles... surpassing... Clayton Oliver! Also needs 24 more clearances in 3 games to scratch Brent Moloney off the top. Max Gawn also on target to pass himself for most hitouts in a season. Oscar McDonald needs 31 more 1%ers to make top 5, and in the process make our entire top-5 either himself or Tom. Four players this season are in our top-20 all-time for goal assists in a season; Neal-Bullen, Petracca, Oliver, and Melksham, who is averaging a staggering 1.5 a game. And if you want to know about consistency, well, he hasn't had more than 2 in a game.

Awkward timing to say that when we are about to play Gold Coast in a must-win game late in the season! Having said that, I think you're quite right, and while I've never hated Watts it became obvious the moment I started thinking about our forward line without him. He just doesn't quite... do... anything in particular.

I wonder what the lowest ever average margin for a round of VFL/AFL football is? Just a curiousity, I mean, I can't see this round reaching for the record after we crush the Suns by 150+ St Kilda - Bulldogs and Collingwood - Sydney both have potential to be close too. All the apparent mismatches have been left for sunday.

Gee, football is in terible condition. Starting to think the bruhaha about 'spectacle of the game' and 'need to change what is happening on the ground' was just a smokescreen to cover the fact that all the real problems in the game at the moment have their source either at HQ or the Broadcasters. Meanwhile, that's three games in a row with see-saw surges of scoring and decided by less than a goal. I would guess that the actual fans are feeling pretty 'engaged with the content' at this point.

Over time, I've just gone completely off Bugg. Used to enjoy his peskiness and ability to pop up unexpectedly, but he has been passed by others in every role he might play. Now if I think of Bugg I think of a basically adequate player who will make some stupid mistake that costs us a final one day.

On current form, AFL HQ will come up with a 'compromise' where the women's season is a full 9 rounds, but they play the finals at the start when there is TV space available Actually kind of along those lines in a way, perhaps every AFL club to field a properly resourced women's team which plays through a normal season, absorbing the existing VFL/SANFL women's teams, and the 'pre-season' competition becomes a kind of champions league with, for example, the best six teams of the previous season playing five rounds and then a final. Given that success in AFLW is at the moment hugely driven by the amount of resources put in, expecting clubs to really commit through a full normal season, in order to get their place in the spotlight for the women's champion's league, makes sense. It would also ensure that the high profile games are always of the highest available standard.

I know it is common for people to react to posts without reading the full link, but it seems this time the actual original poster starting the thread didn't read the article either. New record?

Not many big (15 goal-ish) margins this season - Rnd 4 - Richmond over Brisbane by 93 and North over Carlton by 86. Rn 9 - Melbourne over Carlton by 109 points Rnd 10 - Melbourne over Adelaide by 91 points It would be good to clock up a third win on that scale, and really reinforce the idea that we can score rapidly and ruthlessly. I think it would freshen our players a bit, and also make a few opponents a bit more nervous, maybe a bit more reactive, which would work in our favour. Other than a win though, I think the best single thing that could come out of this is Hogan playing himself back into form. Given their depleted set of defenders, a quick back of 12 (11 from clean marks and one from a dropped mark that he crumbs himself late in the final quarter) would really help his confidence.

My rationale for being happy about the North win is that, given percentage difference, any team on 10 wins at the end of this round would need to win all 4 of their remaining games, while we only win 2, in order for them to pass us. And I'm confident we will manage at least 2. North are respectable and the win over West Coast adds some credibility to their claim to play finals, for sure, but I don't think they'll win all 4 remaining games. None are against top teams, but also, even the Lions and Saints have shown they have a bit of fight in them. West Coast, on the other hand, are beginning to look just a little shaky and I'd love for that to continue. Ok, they are on 13 wins. But that is 10-1 for the first half of the season, and since then they are 3-4. Funnily enough, the maths for us passing them are the same as the maths for North passing us. Considering all possibilities, it would just fit the OFFICIALLY EPIC finish to the season if our rnd 22 game agaisnt them carried the prospect of jumping them on the ladder. Overall, I just want to enjoy the ride of every single game for the rest of the season having both the threat of dropping out of the 8, and the opportunity of climbing into the top 4. Madness? Definitely, but at least I'm having fun!

One more time, just because I need to blurt it; "Come on Roo-Dog-Dockers!"

A whole string of thrillers for the Demons, followed by the ultimate final-round match of the round to finish the season. If the AFL HQ wants to fix the look of the game, clearly they just need to put the Demons on TV more.

Ahhhhhhhh, I have a single odd habit that seems to only come out at the end of excruciating close games of football. One, single, clap. I did it once at a bar years ago and the bar went quiet for a moment. I'm not a big or noisy person in general, but give me 20 minutes of tension and somehow it all comes out in one single gesture. The other big occasion I recall doing it to the surprise of everyone around me was the win at the end of the season, against Essendon, in 2005. There's a distinct resemblence. Anyway, the Demons march on, winning a game against a respectable opponent that had studied us closely and played the right way to stifle us, and we had a couple of players out of sorts a bit. But we still won.

Cheeky from the AFL website.

Nine goals to one since halfway through the second quarter. Strangely, it doesn't quite feel like it. Maybe it was the mood of all the people writing off our season earlier. Important final quarter. I'd be perfectly happy with a dogged, mean, scrap from here, as long as we prove we can do it right to the siren.

Ahhh football, Milera killing us all night and then slaughters a kick to gift us a goal.

So, quick refresher - anyone out there still want to claim Marc Murphy is overrated? If he was on our list right now we'd have the big piece we're missing and would be legitimately anticipating a grand final.

I have very mixed feeling every time I hear the expression 'this is better stuff from the Dees'. It is always a relief, but also always a reminder that we've just had ten minutes of shambles!

Game very much not the way we like it, congestion and chaos which we aren't dealing with too well. We'll be wanting that '15 minutes in heaven' again, to break the slog.

Well, Collingwood's loss keeps the door open for us to charge into a top 4 spot...

It is a long time ago now, but I still recall his surge of form in the final half-dozen rounds of 2014. I've always had more patience with him than most, for no really good reason. But here's hoping his 100th game is the marker where he rediscovers that form, because half a dozen or so really good games would be much appreciated right now!

Maybe we can all take a breath and reflect instead upon what a genius Neale Daniher is, and what an incredible achievement it was to have the Demons be contenders through a series of wild swings and chaos in the club's administration and a general failure to provide resources. Think of Neale Daniher. Feel a little better. Then maybe tip some coin to fight MND while you're at it.

I think in order to be serious about finals, we do need to have more wins against top-4 teams. So, with that in mind, if North win and Hawthorn lose by big margins, that'll add a win-vs-top-8 for us. Really, all it takes is for North and Essendon to win a couple more, while Port and Hawthorn fade out, and our credibility for finals will climb right up without us even having to win any more games!