Little Goffy

I've left it to the last minute... I'm edgy saying it but I think we've got their measure and will win every quarter on the way to a comfortable win. That is quite the outrageous position but hey, I'm going for the speccy.

I heard that Matthew Knights was in the running to be Essendon's coach next year.

[post to correct thread this time] I've always been a scarf-wearer, and like to bring extras so friends can be Demons for a day (I'm subliminally wearing them down) but couldn't really afford a guernsey until recently. At least, not at the same time as forking out for Debt Demolition! But I've got one now, and it'll be on pre-game, game, post-game, and any other game I get to. See if you can spot it at the Carlton-Essendon game, I'll be in the bluest of the Blue seats, should stand out nicely.

In a team that just Ooozes Yzes, Robbo is right on target to kick the ton for the Shepparton Swans in the coming round or two. Currently sitting on 93 goals from 15 rounds (yep, 6 goals a game). He and Adem Yze have played every game for the season, injury free. Damien Yze also has 56 goals for the season, Adem Yze has 23 and Ramadan Yze rounds it out with his own 13 from the midfield. Might be mistaken but there's a Nathan Brown on the team list that I think is our own Doggy Brown - last I heard those three were all doing the grassroots proud. http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?c=1-6165-80586-100292-11384846&a=STATS

In his day, Cameron Bruce was damn good. He's still pretty good now. I've wavered back and forward this year because he has those gut-wrenching clangers... as mentioned, the handballing to teammates without thinking about their (terrible) situation, and the kicks going alle-oop. So I made a commitment to watch closely for a while and yeah, he works damn hard, he does a good job for the team, he has a great defensive work ethic and still manages bursts of attack. I think we are all harsh on him because there was a time, culminating in the string of BOGs right before the shoulder injury, back in 2005, where we thought he was gonna break through and be a serious, serious star. The missing player to shift our midfield up a notch and make us serious contenders instead of 'finals meat' from 2004-06. But he is a stalwart and deserves the same respect we have for guys like Doggy Brown or Rigoni.

Get up close, in fact, walk right up to Chris Connolly and say 'I'm doing a school project to make an ad, I want to do it on the Demons, is there anything you can offer that might help me?' And he will say "Yes" And possibly "Hang around, I'll introduce you to some of our marketing people, wanna do some work experience?" He's a crazy man, in a good way.

Well, if he doesn't get it this week there is always next week... His consistency has been great, in fair contention for the nod every week for most of the season now. He hasn't shown any sign of weakening and his game has only been improving.

If he wants another year, he gets another year. Seriously, dropping James McDonald from our list for the privilege of getting, say, pick 50? I think not. We'll see how he reasserts himself in the last four rounds, coming back from the multiple weeks off. Also, I choose not to imagine him farewelled in round 22 for other reasons, not yet...

The 'laughing at the pain' experience peaked for me in the 150th 'celebration' match against rampant Geelong back in 2008. Biting wind, steady fine rain, cold, and losing by what, 100 points and more? Geelong get a break from half back and they are running in a pack of three with a clear leading option streaming out to the 50 and another player starting to make a bolt forward from the centre square, unchecked unchecked and ready to complete an end-to-end uncontested chain. For all of the ten seconds it took for the obvious impending play to unfold, all I could do was laugh and holler "Noooooooo... make it stop, make it stop". Two years later, almost to the day at the start of August, I'll be making yet another trip down to Melbourne for our game against Richmond, and maybe feeling like the pain is finally easing. Fingers crossed, always.

I think we might just have enough small forwards and mifielders on our list... Be 'bad business' to have our host of kids feeling like they aren't being given a decent shake at playing AFL level. More than that, we're gonna be riding the wave on the salary cap for ten years - really important that we don't do anything that would inflate our payments and player's expectations early. For mine, no trades in at all for a few years. The Demons are built, not bought.

Wow. Some of this thread reminds me of the 'dark days' circa 2008, when people were taking every chance they could get to say 'Well I never really loved him anyway' about players they were frightened would leave., or Judd, or R. Warnock, or more recently Ball. Take a deep breath, touch the little scar near your heart that we all have from that time. Right now all this talk is just bashing on the doors of a moving train.

Sam Blease at pick 17. Tom Scully at pick 1. Grand total of our priority picks for 5 wins, 3 wins and 4 wins over three seasons. Times gone by (I.e. exactly the year before we hit our slump) that run would have been worth... let's see... pick 1, pick 1, and... pick 1. I must confess, I would actually be embarrassed if our club had, say, Kruezer and Gibbs running around out there as well. But maybe I'd just recall the hundred times I've heard this joke, and not worry anymore - "Did you here the AFL are thinking of intoducing a relegation system? Melbourne gets dropped to a lower level. That's it."

Shame that by the sounds of it a few of the tin-rattlers weren't as alert as they might be - but they were a bulk group of pure volunteers so can't expect too much, I guess.

We're unlikely to delist more than the minimum (maybe an extra here an there for retirements) for a couple of years now. We have a LOT of kids who deserve their time to show something, and then we've got these mid age or young-ish players who refuse to give up on pushing into the 22. Seeing a few 'not quite there' players stepping up is a huge lift, and makes a big difference to our depth. It also must be a great confidence boost for guys like Maric, Cheney, Spencer and Martin who have all shown they have 'something' at times, but are not quite there or are in the doldrums for the moment.

I've been annoying the hell out of people just yelling a good long JOOOORRRDDDIEEEEE!!! anytime he's had a good burst running through the middle. Considering his top strength is the in and under and pressure work, he's getting it as a link right in the middle of the ground a good pile. Love him. I'll never get tired of the story about him voluntarily staying on the rookie list for 2010 so we could use an extra primary draft pick. Got us Jack Fitzpatrick.

Poor Jack, one minute he's being compared to the number 2 pick who filled into his body really early and just looks really, really cool hurling himself into the air and then slipping around panther-like in packs. The next minute he's being compared to a player who routinely comes into the debate as the most valuable player in the game. What if he's not as good as Reiwolt?! What if he's only as good as Richardson, or Neitz, or Tredrea? Or the horror if he's only as good as someone really no-name like (gasp) Sav Rocca. I'd really hate every one of the six or seven hundred goals he'd dissapoint us with then. I'm reasonably confident we haven't picked up Kent Kingsley, at least.

I reckon we've got this one. Tails are up after a couple of good performances, despite each having a very bad quarter. I don't think Sydney has the firepower to 'put us away' if we have an in-game slump, and while their grinding relentless defensive ethic is respectable and effective, I don't think it can stop the kind of burst we've proven capable of as well. Also, Goodes is overrated Demons by... oh... call it 17 points.

It is of course too early to judge either Natanui or Watts as individual players, though neither look like duds. BUT Remembering that many of us were calling for the extra KP forward even in the 09 draft, imagine how rough we'd be looking for our 'forward future' without Watts? We also recruited Watts before there was any Yuendumu magic at our club, and when Ricky Petterd was still a highly unknown factor (though most of us already loved him). Selecting Watts in 08 has proven to be a drafting masterstroke given that we managed to pick up both Gawn and Fitzpatrick in 09, giving us highly promising ruck stocks for the long term. To do the reverse would have been impossible - we might have been able to pick up Ben Griffiths or Jake Carlisle at pick 18, but not both, and the cupboard was very bare by pick 30.

Not a bad idea, the tribute game. And Demons-Freo games have been an interesting run ever since he kicked the after-the-siren winner in his first game against us. And y'know what, is head is on pretty straight, for a small forward!

Can anyone tell me why Jordie McKenzie can't even get a nomination? Played some great individual games and has racked up a solid run all season. Ah well, I'm just glad they don't decide premierships by committee.

Damn it, Le Cras just screwed up all my numbers

Right, I'm sure we all know Brad Green is equal seventh on the goal tally for 2010 right now, with 36, but I thought I'd rattle off a quick comparison between our GUN and the other leading goal-kickers for the season. I'm sure you'll agree it looks pretty good, with the obvious caveat that this is totals so put an * next to guys like Jonathan Brown. 'Wins' Tackles - 42. Only Jack Riewolt is ahead of Green on both tackles and goals, with 55 and 58. Eddie Betts is the only other player with more than 30 goals (33) who has laid more tackles than green, with 51. Matthew Pavlich and Josh Kennedy are neck-and-neck with Green for tackles. Everyone else with 30+ goals is at least ten tackles below. Goal Assists - 9 Equal or greater than everyone above him for goals, but just below him on that list there's Steve Johnson and Eddie Betts with 16 and 15 respectively. Kennedy, Roughead and Podsiadly have 11 and 10. Goodes has 15, but sits just under my arbitrary 30-goal line. Inside 50s - 57 The most of any player with 30+ goals, with Steve Johnson second on 52, Pavlich, Kennedy and Milne on 48, and then fresh air to the pack. Rebound 50s - 17 Matthew Pavlich has 12. Johnson and Milne have 8 each Le Cras has 7 and it's duck-eggs for the rest of the top ten goalscorers. Obviously Green has been around the ground much more than any other goalkicker this season. Bounces - 9The St Kilda Tip Rat has 20, Franklin has 13, and everyone else has sweet F.A. Not much run and carry up the pointy end I guess - another note on Green's activity away from goals. Kicks - 213 It's Brad Green then the Pacific Ocean, followed by Pavlich and Johnson on 166. Handballs - 102 Pavlich on 100 is the only rival. Milne has 78. Disposal - 315 The only player with more than 300 disposal as well as 30 goals. Next is Pavlich on 266. Milne, Johnson and Betts are the only others to even crack 200. Marks - 110 There are only four players of any position or role who have more marks this season, including Adam Goodes with 112. Brian Lake we all know about. Sam Gilbert and Jason Blake at St Kilda just kick it back and forward while they wait for their opponents to fall asleep. Break-evens Marks inside 50 - 35 Contested Marks - 19 Goal Accuracy - 58% Disposal efficiency - 66% Clangers - 31 These are all in the 'good/average' range for major goalkickers, obviously well short of particular standouts such as Riewolt's astonishing 44 contested marks. Or (I have to share) Stephen Milne's !64! clangers, which is only even approached by Goodes' superstar-quality 54 clangers. And now for the weaknesses... 1 percenters - 8 Significantly below most other major goalkickers. Interesting. Any comments? Actually, that's it for weak points. So there it is. Pretty solid evidence, for anyone who hadn't already noticed, that Brad Green is freakin' awesome. My opinion, he'd be a lock, an absolute lock, for a Half-Forward All-Australian position. There's simply nobody else delivering quite such a complete package.

I've got no quality words at hand so I'll simply note my respect for him and condolences to all his loved ones.

Anyone else noticed than when we win, it tends to be a spanking big score all 'round? In fact, the nonsense against Adelaide (good ol' Crowbots) is the only time we've won a game without kicking 100 points. That ought to be entertaining, provided the win column keeps filling over the years to come, of course.

Subiaco. Run run run run run run Rohan. For similar reasons, Bartram to stay. I'm with the mob on this one - Cheney and MacDonald are in the most danger, though neither are in the 'fail' category.