Little Goffy

Link for anyone who hasn't got it handy. Live coverage - Melbourne v Footscray Loving it. While the game is on I see Red and Blue and my brain just goes 'ours' and the rest is details.

Honestly, this has all become so distasteful that I want to say something just to make people feel bad. What if WE were the bullet? Melbourne Demons. 2012. Few emerged to ever play well again.

Ahhhhh shiiiiiiiiiiit. I couldn't bring myself to get through either of them all the way.

It is really, really weird to be discussing potential trade targets and we're asking 'are we sure we need that type of player'? Five years, I say, five years of "get any good player we can, dammit!". I'm calling this moment, where we are discussing if Hartlett is needed, an 'increment' mark on our way to being a serious club.

Definitely, Hogan is still working hard, even if sometimes he looks a bit sad. Your point about the stupid comparison to Hawkins is quite true. But we should be fair on young MAN-CHILD TOMAHAWK, you have to consider the circumstances. Hawkins spent his early career in a team that really struggled to get the ball forward effectively. And being a team's lone key target up forward was a huge burden on the underdeveloped kid, especially when their game plan relied so much on having a key target. Those 13 goals in 2008 (out of a home-away season total of 390 at Geelong) may seem like a bit-part player who is just holding a role barely adequately while the rest of a superstar team carries him, but I'm sure they were really, really important goals. This is all making me think a little bit more seriously - I wonder what Cameron Mooney is up to these days? As far as learning a role, learning to be team-oriented, developing discipline and maturity over time, and even the difference between 'good' and 'premiership' sides, Mooney could be a real asset given his experience both sides of the transformation of Geelong, he could be a very interesting mentor. Certainly Hogan's role in the team at present resembles (late career peak) Mooney's more than Hawkins'.

Frankly, I've been deeply concerned about Russel Robertson's body language for a long time and am worried he might leave the club soon. Said someone around 2003, I'm sure. Slightly seriously - has anyone noticed that there is sometimes a genuinely uncanny resemblence in the "I'm disappointed in myself and in everyone else too" sulk face and dropped/drawn-in shoulders? Hogan needs to clear off the stubble and change the haircut, or I'll be having flashbacks.

Wait... people were actually talking about bringing him over as a player? I thought it was just one of those sentimental 'get them back to the club as a coach' things. Shane Woewodin is still ahead of him on that count, anyway.

Back to the topic - I personally am pretty comfortable with us recruiting more established players ready to go from the start. Fact is, most of the players available will not have had the benefit of much high-level development investment and the potential for really rapid improvement is strong. Get leaders, commit to development, get results very quickly. I think it might be an astute recognition of the different talent scenario in Women's AFL.

PF's lists of 'definitely no good' attribute obsessions. Too skinny. Too slow. Too many ovaries.

Lin Jong, the creditable midfielder/forward from the Western Bulldogs, you muppet.

So, at the very least it seems that the Giants have a standing policy of players spending the night at the house of the 'welfare manager' when they are waiting to [censored] out their illicit drugs. I'm guessing the whole case will be blown open by an investigation of the house which finds 30 beanbags in a large, softly-lit room, and a whole lot of pizza boxes.

Actually, beyond a core level needed for efficiency, the main purpose of detailed grammar is to establish in-group/out-group boundaries. Much of my career has been about writing 'unwieldy' scientific and data-driven reports and turning them into something coherent for anyone, while retaining formal language and precise meaning. Grammar matters to me, but the grammar tyrants who wander the world looking for people to tell off and look down on are frankly odious.

Interesting. "Brisbane Lions Football Club sack Justin Leppitch" "Damien Hardwick sacks Richmond Tigers Football Club"

I'd like to step forward to be counted as one of the people who like to talk him down. I'd expect in our 2017 midfield he'd be about middle of the range. I'm not interested in KFC at Alinea prices.

For a moment I was a little disappointed that Nev didn't get a mention even in the extended squad, but then I looked closer and realised that there are no 'true' small defenders in the entire list. Just the sweeping rebounding types like Simpson and Shaw. Not taking anything from those players, but it interesting that according to the 'wisest selectors in the game' (herp) there is no longer a place for small defenders.

I think this should be put away in the 'emphatic meh' basket. "Let's cherry-pick which veterans and speculative picks worked out well and declare we made a terrible mistake missing that opportunity"

Always liked him, happy for him to have a big moment to tell the grandkids. No hard feelings and don't feel like the club make the wrong decision, either.

This is how BBO greets people at club functions. It's not about how many friends you make, it's about making the right friends.

It's a shame Sydney don't quite have as many deadly predators as Geelong, or this wouldn't just pass 186, it would blitz it. Ah well, we'll just have to settle for the knowledge that this final round will be largely written off as farce now. And that Richmond will spend another off-season in crisis. Imagine if Prestia changes his mind!

hee hee hee haa haa haw haw haw Will there be anyone left in Gold Coast's midfield? I heard a rumour the AFL were planning to launch an AFL team up there sometime. Something tells me he's not on our radar.

Finally Pittle Feck says something I can get excited about. Mods, is there a way to set this to reappear in a sticky 12 months from now? Disappointing that we have to wait so long. 12 months more and the global supply of exclamation marks will have run out. Anyway - to the test. By this time next year; For Picket Fence to be right, then Jack Trengove's contract extensions needs to be shown to be such a bad decision it can be used as an example of the failed decision-making that cost us the last 50 years without premierships. For Paul Roos, Simon Goodwin, Todd Viney and so forth to be proven right, Jack Trengove needs to play more games/make a greater contribution than the average of fourth-round draft picks.

Want to reflect on how far we've come? Go back into the early days of Titus O'reilly, before he became a bit of a footy media mainstream 'personality'. Match reviews aplenty, and whole articles with titles like "Why it is awful to be a Demon supporter" and "2012. Worst. Season. Ever". We've come a long way, even if we can still see the shadow lurking.

Excellent. No doubt he'll make the most of whatever luck he has earned, and be at worst a useful support across the midfield. Chance of this becoming a bug success, too.

Yep, whatever happens this weekend, it is time to glow with the satisfaction of not being a basket-case club any more. And we achieved that at a time when the proportion of basket-case clubs is actually increasing! On the bright side to him finishing his coaching career, we'll be able to invite him to club functions for the next few decades at least. The extra tickets sold will probably pay back his coaching salary. Good investment.