Little Goffy

Lots of heavy bodies on both sides in the midfield. I think Davey could be a key factor in that environment - they don't have anyone to go with him any more than we have someone to go with Goodes when he is in the middle. I think the Swans weakened defence will encourage us to keep the numbers in our forward line low, with Green and Petterd and the like contributing extra run around the ground. We will come out ahead on fatigue by the end as the Swans will have to chase back hard to help, or stash an extra player back. Our defence isn't 100% but it also isn't facing too much power against it. Adam Goodes and Ryan O'keefe we can't match up on well. How Garland goes at CHB and Rivers as 'smart-arse tall' could be a major factor. The pre-season emphasis on trusting the natural play-readers like Grimes and Rivers to use their judgement and pick off attacks was high-risk and is a 'developmental' set-up, but it is priceless if it can work as it will make the defence immensely more resilient in the long-term, for other times when we don't have the game's best young key defender available. I think this will be a tussle in the middle but when it pops out the Demon's way we'll make it count a little more than Sydney can, and there will be a little bonus blow-out at the end. Demons by 40 points, with half of that margin coming after the game was 'already over'.

Reads like a self-feeding troll, but I guess it is just a burst of that emotional disquiet resurfacing as the reality of taking the field whle a long-time player is in another team's colours. Standing firm on Bruce's contract was the right call. How long would it be before he was either behind, or taking development away from, Morton and Gysberts for instance? It's a shame we didn't get to upgrade a pick for him but that was the only failure in what, in the end, was just the 'cost of doing football'. On the bright side, anyone remember back when the club 'failed' to trade Brad Green for Lance Whitnall all those years ago. (That has nothing to do with anything, jut feels good to remember)

The thing that fascinates me is the scattering of 'media experts' having a tip each way - 'Melbourne as most improved' at the same time as 'Melbourne won't make the finals'. The other one that amuses me is that Melbourne features strongly in both 'most improved' and 'biggest disappointment' tips. The only consistent thing out there is the love for Liam Jurrah

This kind of thread goes into dangerous 'overthinking results' territory. I'm convinced that one of the curses of the Daniher era was the club starting to think too much about 'if we win these games we can be top 4' kind of things. Hence, long winning streaks and long losing streaks driven by roller-coaster morale. Anyway, the chance is there to be 6 wins, 0 losses. None of those games are beyond a reasonable shot of winning. (unless you're on the "Franklin, Rioli and Hodge are my man crushes so obviously Hawthorn will be great even though they have no depth, versatility or defence" bandwagon.) If we are 6-0, great shot at the 40,000 members, and you can bank on the consecutive friday nights v Carlton then Essendon, followed by thr Queens Birthday game, having one hell of an atmosphere!

Must've been something in the air that day - I missed the game for a girl too. All I've got to refer to is the youtube video with the 'behind the scenes' footage of Mcaveny and Commetti...

They also miss the point that the influence of GWS and GC having a huge space in their salary cap right now is hugely inflationary. Players leave because their existing clubs can't carry the salary burden within their cap. In fact, GWS could increase pressure on other club's salary caps by an even greater amount than GWS own cap. If GWS approaches three players at one club, that pushes each one's salary expectation up, even if NONE of the players eventually leave the club. If I were a crackpot ex-coach with delusions of grandeur and no respect for the integrity of the game, I'd be taking every chance I could to talk up the idea that GWS is targeting this player, that player and the other one at every club, just to mess with the rest of the league and cause instability... oh... hey... how 'bout that?...

Uhh... guys, they may be in the stink at the moment but Brisbane are still an AFL side. lol, nah. Then again, who cares, play the kids and anyone who needs a bit of conditioning. If we lose, well, that just proves pre-season isn't worth a sneeze, and we'll see them again in, when is it, round three? That's when I'd be looking for the killing.

Mediocre call? I mean, there's obviously an issue there, but neither are bad players. Moloney's better days are very very good, but he can look slow and can lack perception at times. I think Moloney might have suffered a little from 'hey, I'm a leader now' syndrome - not so much being selfish as feeling like he has to 'show the way' in a heroic sense, rather than as the cog in the mighty machine we are building. In their roles, they are both quality contributors and will get to contest after contest. It was an old theme of mine in the 'Brock+Jones+Moloney' debates - you need the hard bodies that will continue competing all day in finals.

1. Good signs from some, bad signs from others. I liked Bartram, Maric and Trengove, and Dunn seems to be carrying on from where he finished last year. Jones is more agile and more willing to try agility rather than bullocking only. Bad signs from others, Bennell was patchy, MacDonald did well for a while but lost concentration and discipline as the game went on. 2. We are experimenting with the defence while Frawley is out - a LOT of zoning and reading the play for intercepting marks, rather than manning up. Particularly from Grimes and Rivers. Working this way let through a lot of goals and marks in forward 50. 3. The forward line is hugely promising but not there yet as a 'unit'. Worries on Bate - I love the guy and his efforts, but things just don't seem to quite go right around him!

My quiet ambition is for the Demons to one day be pokie free. But it has to be quiet one for now since we rely on them as one of our revenue streams at the moment. I feel like it would also be a huge statement of financial security and confidence. A moment I'm looking forward to.

BWA HA HA HA HA HAAAA! Can I just say, I really hope Bailey makes the same promise. But seriously... Essendon have some decent kids coming through, but I can't see any given player in any given position I'd rather have than our equivalent. I know it is debatable on the finer points, but damn we're in good shape!

DAMMIT! Will this story finally get its S51T together and come up with an explicit villian? I was sure we had it when perennial arrogant [censored] Ricky Nixon got involved, but noooo this damn girl has to keep on being angry and visible and take pleasure in seeing the pain of people she hates. Geez, girl who must not be named, would you get about being a proper victim already. This is clearly doing everyone's head in. The whole thing hinges on key facts which are unlikely to ever be proven in public. In fact, even if every detail was somehow meticulously recorded, the facts would never cut through the vast fog of speculation and opinion built up on this. It is possible that the girl is bordering on completely evil and the whole thing is some kind of vendetta against an ex-boyfriend. It is possible that St Kilda, Ricky Nixon and various others have engaged in a vile campaign to silence and then discredit by defamation a victim of quite heinous treatment. It is possible that SHUT THE HELL UP and let the people involved work on it, while the rest of us, the other clubs, the fans, and the players, try to focus on not creating environments where this kind of miserable saga gets a start.

I've completely lost track of the point of this thread. Something about Tom Scully riding a mysterious clydsedale to Ron Barassi's penthouse? Anyway, speaking of Ron Barassi; great man, but I noticed he put his foot in his mouth a bit the other day. Poured a bit of fuel on a fire that nobody wanted burning, least of all Tom Scully, I'd guess. If his opinion on the matter is ambivalent, one would suggest that's a case for not giving the club your associated with the right irrits. Somewhere in a pethouse out there, there is a tiny horse riding around frantically trying to get out of a great big teacup, because the weather in there is terrible. If the Demons have a bit of money in their 'additional services agreements' package, they could do worse than to throw it at Tom as a sweetener with an 'I signed on, now it's your turn' membership drive. Or maybe something a little more emotive, like a big picture of Tom looking serious yet confident, with the slogan 'I believe'.

it's all very well that some Sydneysiders find it amusing to have Sheedy 'sticking it up' the Melbourne clubs, but the trouble with that is, what they are enjoying is hating AFL, more than developing any parochial attachment to GWS. As the original poster said, I'd be right behind the West Sydney push if it was being done right, in any way at any level. There is such a great haphazard lack of strategy to the AFL's efforts that it just beggars belief. If they want to spend $100m on this project, $10m of grassroots development should already have been investing in strengthening the second-tier competion (remembering the Swans play their reserves in the ACT to find a better standard of competetion!) and supporting facilities (GWS training at Rooty Hill RSL Gymnasium?!) But the critical part is, the success of GWS will be on the back of one of the all-time great word-of-mouth marketing efforts - most potential GWS fans will be brought through the gates for the first time because an existing AFL fan brought them along. Burn that goodwill, burn GWS. Meanwhile, anyone else noticing that the AFL website has taken editorialising to a whole new level? Every second article (except maybe Dream Team) is loaded with Today-Tonight style lead-ins "Well, no surprises that this person thinks this, after all they [insert implication of compromsied opinion here]..." I really want GWS to succeed, I really want AFL to span every corner of this country, and I would even have been a 'pre-member' last year, but I simply don't believe the AFL or Sheedy have the slightest clue what they are doing, and have got themselves into a 'everything is fine, don't you worry about that' tangle.

Joel MacDonald is delivering exactly what he was recruited for and doing so at great value in picks or dollars spent. One of the '1000 little wins' that make up an era, as far as I see it. But I'm not gonna declare him the king of the castle or anything. But he has been a part of a win-win story for everyone but Brisbane, so good on him!

Ahhh... there's nothing like the spontaneous burst of joy that just has to be shared!

Hmm.. some differences... Firstly, the old saying "We would have been ruined if we hadn't been so close to ruin". The Debt Demolition was rightly declared a necessary step to survival. Simple, brutal, survival. Richmond aren't putting that forward - for a club with 2-3 times as many supporters as Melbourne to be mumbling about doom would just be hideously embarrasing. The supporters would have to have an element of 'well, what can we do if you're just not going to run the place right?'. Which leads onto the second part... Debt Demolition came in the midst of an outright revolution, not just a coup or changing of the guard, but a dramatic shift in the leadership at every level and department of the club. It came with the promise of a new era, pushing past the survival crisis and onto a bold future. It was vouched for by every Demon you could imagine, and the new board personally piled in many hundreds of thousands of dollars (names I'm aware of are the Spargo and Szental families which both tipped 6-figures). Richmond are the same hack administration basically asking the supporters to fill their bad management hole with dollars. Finally, the pushing of the message of unity and positivity was relentless and ubiquitous. You couldn't read a story about the Demons without some mention of 'we're all in this together' and 'we are doing the hard work now to set us up for real change'. Plus there was a huge information and inclusion effort, from Whiteboard Wednesday and the 'Demon Summit' for the hardcore supporters, all manner of events, and the regular statements of 'here is what we are doing - these facilities, this deal, and this recruiting team, and this focus on player development'. Even where things weren't perfect and others might disagree, it was always clear that it was part of a sound and reasonable general plan. It's the difference between a guy sitting on the street corner with his hat out and a little cardboard sign saying 'give'. And someone with a brochure explaining the key steps they are going to take to use any money they get to turn their life around; "I'm going to get a haircut, it will cost this much, I will buy a pack of razors and some interview clothes, I will get a Diploma of Employability..." In short, Richmond are still led by the same people, the same way, as Richmond has been led for a quarter of a certury. Should that be inspiring? For the record, I don't wish closure upon them and find that kind of talk frankly distasteful. Wish all misery you like on the management, but Richmond supporters are a bizarrely loyal mob and shouldn't have to deal with the unpleasant lurking fear that comes from a club in survival mode.

The tragedy that we might end of up having to trade some of these more experienced guys who stood through the tough times but don't get a regular gig in the 'super-team' is balanced by the fact that they are definitely handy players, would earn a reasonable draft pick compensation for the club, and would still be able to assemble a good second half of their career. The Prismall story, hopefully without the injuries. And hopefully everyone gets to snag a Demons premiership or two before it is time to move on.

Yep, GWS are there so Gold Coast can get a win, likely a high scoring thrashing, and be a better shot at making it through to the next round. The AFL is handling GWS so badly it simply boggles the mind. Minimal grass-roots investment, minimal school-based investment. All bells and whistles, no product. The Western Sydney Football Club could have been a real success, even a point of shared feeling amongst the astonishing polyglot community that is Western Sydeny. But they simply haven't invested in any substantial community connections either. "If you broadcast it, they will come" seems to be Demetriou's plan. Where really they need to be up to their elbows in community events, dragging in supporters a dozen at a time, visit after visit, function after function, sausage after sausage, and yes even felafel after felafel.

The thing that most stood out for me with Lucas Cook was a lack of panic. The first time I spotted him (being certain it was him, anyway), he fumbled a little, suddenly was in a bit of trouble with a man on him, but kept his head and got the ball out to a teammate. Little things like that make me like a player. Meanwhile, Bate did the Bate thing - he hustled, he bustled, he made a lot of good efforts. He didn't always have things go his way and didn't always deliver brilliant moments, but he is a hard worker with a few handy weapons and I'm hoping he gets to play out another 100+ games in our forward line. He's the kind of player who delivers top value for salary cap space taken - he isn't the flashy matchwinner or star attraction type that sees salaries fly up, but his contribution is solid and he won't often 'fail'. It's funny, there's a little cluster of that type all in a row, sorted by age. Bate, Dunn, Jones and Bartram. All 23 years old at the start of the season, all closing in on 100 games. All would have to be a little nervous about where they'll be in another 100 games, but have shown enough that it will be in their hands to shape it.

GWS is a circus, don't mistake it for anything else. It is to a real football club what the NAB Cup is to actual football. And will get the same kind of attendences. GWS won't mean anything much even by the time a current teenage player retires. The AFL itself expects to be subsidising it to a substantial tune for 20 years! $100m set aside to make that club run, above and beyond usual club payments. That's their plan. Eddie the mouth isn't the first person to contemplate the possibility of snatching players back from GWS in the near future. Shame Dion Prestia was that little bit older and went to Gold Coast, that club actually has something to offer.

Couldn't help but notice the resemblence to the under-18s highlights videos from way back when the debate was about whether he'd be number 1 pick. It's almost as if, as he has put on strength and stamina to compete at AFL level, he has built up confidence to play his natural game again...

What a great press conference it'll be when Scully announces his decision to stay. Just visualise the characters around him, beaming and patting him on the back. The relieved, slightly embarassed smile on his face. Keep that in your head, how good it would be. Would you go into a final thinking about how sad it would be if we lost it? Only if you hated yourself!

Jurrah doesn't so much stand head and shoulders above others, as he occassionally stands on the head and shoulders of others. Stars are rare things - if they weren't, they wouldn't be stars! I just had a lot of fun doing a quick exercise, looking at premiership teams from the last decade and picking out non-star players to imagine our kids becoming. For instance I've got Jordie McKenzie earmarked as Jared Crouch. Would you complain? But, for out and out stars, I've got three candidates; Colin Sylvia has a combination of strength and acceleration that is rarely seen, as well as excellent skills all over, a fierce tackle, physical courage, remarkable leap, and a huge kick whether around the ground or at goal. Anyone who can keep up with his acceleration will be monstered by his strength. Could prove to be untaggable on the offensive, and his burst speed allows him to put defensive pressure on a wide radius in a pack. Bizarrely, he also has one of the AFL's highest hit-out-to-advantage rates, thanks to a cameo role in certain HF set plays. Liam Jurrah defies neat description... gifted with incredible agility and leap, he also has a level of alertness and perception that puts him a half-step ahead of not just his direct opponent but the whole game around him. These attributes, combined with his constant awareness of teammate's positions, and skills in getting it to them consistently even amongst a zone or flood, could make him one of the most valuable players in the modern game. Jack Watts could do for key position agility what Nick Reiwoldt did for stamina and Lance Franklin did for running power. A generally sound package as a 196cm forward, his short-distance speed and lateral movement is elite at any size. His current weaknesses in physical power and tendency to get caught will both be subsumed by his fundamental strengths - a balanced frame that will fill out without penalising his agility, and a sharp mind that will gain the full value of experience to shape smart leads, positioning, and playmaking vision. By 50 games he'll be a serious half-forward and key forward option, by 100 he could be a true matchwinner.

If you're gonna bulk up one piece at a time, then extra power in the legs is surely the best place to start. The opposite of Brock Mclean! And as far as references to Travis Johnstone go, let's just be clear that while Cale Morton might also have a psychological barrier to overcome, it is very different to Johnstone's. Trapper was... well, his problem wasn't a shortage of confidence, which I think Cale shows at times. People should stop telling him he's too skinny to play - you don't wanting that thought in his head, especially since it will feel like something he doesn't have control over. A player who thinks they can't 'make it' because of something they don't have control over is in a bad situation.