Little Goffy

I hate myself right now. I mean really.

Before we get underway, just a note that the inclusion of Hannan and JKH for their first games means we are now back in outright lead for 'players used' this season, with 36. Yay!

I think Picket is arguing for ratings based on total body mass, which certainly favours Preuss because he is both large and, according to rumour, a bit dense too!

Well, I'm going to keepy up the positivity and say, at least we get a look a several young players who might be terrific contributors in future when they have a chance to be the support instead of the core. And maybe we have also exposed a couple of players to the delisting knife, which helps with list turnaround.

When he comes back in, it'll be as a forward. Apparently he is great at crumbing.

No relation.

THE FINAL ROUND Some may say that round 11 is the halfway point of the AFL Home and Away season. But if we lose on saturday evening, it is officially season over for the Demons. Anyone familiar with my posts will know I am the last person to write off a season, but, here it is, win now or bake cookies for the rest of winter. Currently, bizarrely, Melbourne sits 'only' two games and a bucket of percentage (accumulated deficit of approximately 200 points) outside the 8. In a mad world, in a strange season, and with an incredible surge back to form, this is not impossible, starting with a solid win over the Crows. However, lose to Adelaide and the maths changes dramatically and decisively. St Kilda (5/5) plays Port Adelaide, ensuring that one of these teams will go 3 wins ahead of us. With the Crows win also putting them to 6/5, a loss for us this round puts us a plainly insurmountable 3 wins and large percentage behind the top 8, while also needing to out-perform 3 further teams that will finish this round on at least 5 wins. On the other hand, beat the Crows and they stay vulnerable on 5 wins, and with Hawthorn facing a rejuvenated Brisbane in Brisbane, while Fremantle face Collingwood at the 'G, there is a genuine chance that the final spot in the 8 remains in the hands of a team on just 5 wins after 11 rounds. There has never been a more '8 point game' this early in a season - if we take that slot, it will be because Adelaide lost it, at our hands, in round 11. With their coming games being against the Giants, Tigers and Cats, a loss to the Demons now will likely be the start of a downward spiral. It is precisely what happend to Adelaide last year, so why now have it be the same this year?

According to the latest public service announcements, if you eat this pizza, you don't love your kids.

Yikes, people are nasty on the internet, hey.

Allegedly, inside mid who can play forward line, giving pressure and tackles. Sounds good to me. Hmm, descriptions include being not so reliable at short kicks but much better with the longer kicks, including shots at goal. You'd have to think he'd be a shot to play this season (isn't that half the point of the midseason draft?), so the dream of having a full 44 players actually play in one season is still alive. Now that we've got him we can stop tanking and surge up the ladder, yes?

I thought it was hilarious when the calls came in for a 'comprehensive review into Essendon injury crisis'. Daniher, Smith, Fantasia and a couple of minor players with minor injuries. Boo freak'n hoo. At last count we are missing 11 players who would reasonably hope to be in our best 22 when fit. Plus a few more who might normally be those player's replacements. As for age, start with bonus points for Garlett (29) and Smith (28) only being out there because younger, preffered options aren't available. But that is perhaps splitting hairs. The fact of the matter is, we recruited a number of mature players (Hibberd, Melksham, May, and Lewis) to provide some experience and consistency to support a super-powered young group both to achieve now and to develop positively for the future. Right now none of them are available to play their role. Put that together with a wider injury malais that means we can't switch young players in and out on form, or even simplify or tinker with their roles, and it does explain a lot of the mess we are in. A lot, not all. Anyway, I am trying to take solace in the opportunity to see what we can make of the likes of Lockhart, Hore, the Wagners and so forth.

Ha ha, the question nobody gets around to. I think the answer you're looking for is 'will be better for the run'!

Clearly Spargo is in to pinch-hit against Mumford. Or possibly, somewhat more realistically, to hang over the shoulders of Heath Shaw all game to slow him down. In the end, we all know it isn't going to be team selections that win or lose the game. Not with a dozen players out and everything on the line.

He took a slowly sinking ship and made it adequate for a lot longer than anyone expected. It'll never quite be possible to judge how he performed as a coach. To many mixed factors; aged champions on the list, depth issues, successfulish use of free agency (Waite, Higgins, Dal Santo), a whole bunch of 'just ok' draft selections and so on. North and Scott have done the right thing by eachother, to allow both to have long conversations with people about what they do next. In general principle I think Scott could play a valuable at the Demons, but it would have to be after a whole lot of those conversations, because there's no doubt he's a 'big' personality. Could be an interesting partnering with McCartney, like some kind of misfit buddy movie from the 80s. Where would North be now if instead of Scott they had taken a coach who failed? What if it was Scott at Carlton and Malthouse at North, would we still be debating whether North deserved to exist?

Collingwood can't rely on winning this way every round... I have this strange strange feeling that in just a few weeks time they are going to be hit by a serious upset.

Commentators on radio just described the grass as slick, too. Maybe there's been a general vaseline spill att he SCG?

What is Woiwurrung for 'Do something about your ball-drop' and 'follow through properly'? Get a few of our players to memorise it in a second language, it might just stick, mindfulness style. For that matter, to celebrate indigenous culture we could definitely embrace a bit more of the traditional mentor-based teaching instead of the modernist classroom-as-factory approach, that's for sure.

Damien Barrett is often annoying but to his credit has always been solid on the need for consistency in umpiring and tribunal and that the first focus should be protecting the players. Even so, it was a mild surprise to see this on the afl website, part of his (often annoying) "If... Then" weekly article. Conveniently the clubs were in alphabetical order for this point...

It's alright, you haven't quite boiled away completely yet!

Is it greater than, or more like that concentrated chemical dust left over in the bottom of a beaker when a science experiment is allowed to boil away completely? 5mg of concentrated MFCSS, enough to destroy worlds.

I got some inside mail from the club: apparently it was a selection headache.

Officially the longest injury list, at 15, with only a couple of rivals at 13. We've also already used 34 different players, which is a number typical for the end of a season, not slightly before halfway. Start by adding Vandenberg, Lever, Smith and Hannan, who are likely inclusions when fit and haven't yet played a senior game this season, and we're up to 38. Let's imagine that Kennedy-Harris and Maynard get at least a dip at the last-chance saloon. That takes us to 40. Nietschke and Walker (what does 'indefinite' really mean?) are injured for the season, leaving only teenagers Chandler, Bradtke, Bedford and Jordan available for a season-debut. So, Casey-watchers, of those 4, how many might get an AFL level game? Throw in the possibility of a mid-season draftee who, if drafted, would be likely to play given the selection would lean towards immediate need. 41 + the four teenager possibilities. If there's any comfort, Richmond made it to 42 players used in 2016 on their way to just 8 wins and rubbish percentage, before winning the 2017 premiership. So perhaps 'testing the depth' and a chance to examine what you've got is a secret advantage. Hee hee ho ha ugh.

A while back I noticed that one of our players bears a striking resemblance to Sebastion d' Avis, the last great king of the Avis dynasty of Portugal, who legend has it will one day rise again on a foggy morning, to restore the glory of Portugal. I present to you, his royal highness Clayton d' Oliver! (c1570)

Viney has been having a poor season by his standards and definitely has limitations which prevent him from being a superstar. But I seem to be going through a phase where I am just getting fed up with hyperbole and egofarts. A player with 32 Brownlow votes in his first 98 games, can we at least accept that there might be a range of valid opinions about his past, current and potential future contribution, and that it is not necessary for one particular perspective to be declared THE ONLY TRUE FACT THAT EVER THERE WAS HEAR ME FOR I AM YOUR LORD. Seriously, try a little humility.

I've not let go of 2019 yet, but the thought of a mental reset, the right reviewing of our coaching/conditioning, and (touch wood) a clearing of the injury load, yep, that has me strongly anticipating 2020. But nevermind, I still think there's a six-game winning streak on the cards going into and after the bye, to reset the whole scene this year.