Little Goffy

Well, by the stats the last two games, without White, have been Jamars best and second best. What impresses (and surprises - you'd think you notice a 200cm guy laying a tackle) is that Jamar has actually been laying a steady flow of tackles all year. His last two games are a good stretch up on his previous fifty or so, he has the remainder of the year to consolidate that and if he does then he's a handy ruckman, especially if he can get back to adding a few contested marks up forward again.

'Dementrio' works for me. Snivelling sycophant AFL.com has thrown it's two cents in, suggesting that because Celtic is good in Boston (America's most Irish city) and Glasgow (which might see itself as just a little Celtic itself, round there) it will be a great option in West Sydney, possibly Australia's least-Irish urban area. 'Stu' Also helpfully suggests that a team with an ethnic ring to it won't be a problem, since it wasn't in Boston or Glasgow... I assume he's never seen a demographic/ancestry map of Sydney? Meanwhile, there's a sinister air around the involvement of Ricky Nixon - it would seem obvious that this is a blatant attempt by 'the Nixer' to boost the market value of his interest in the Irish recruitment camp he runs. The fact that this has been raised so quickly upon him contacting the AFL, apparently within weeks, suggests that the AFL is operating on the fly and is also more than a little susceptible to the persuasions of parties which clearly present a conflict of interest. The Sydney Celtics idea isn't just stupid, it's a basis for questioning the integrity of the AFL administration.

AFL article Desperate, or just stoopid? Pathetic either way. One of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. Ever. Seriously - start a club in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, the most ethnically divided and parochial area of Australia, and land a squad of international players with no local roots to the country, let alone the area, and ask them to build a committed following. Asking for disaster. I don't mean failure, I mean disaster - permanent damage to the AFL's reputation in Western Sydney and in general.

Kind of like a demon swear jar? Everyone on here could donate a dollar every time they slag off on a player who then steps up. Colin Garland would be our biggest marketing player! But seriously, building it up over the year and bringing it all in at the end would be a great feeling. Especially knowing that others were doing it too. Lets say it worked out to just $30 bucks over a season each... Lets say just one in ten supporters did it... $300,000. Adds up fast.

Well, I'll just add it to monday through thursday. Actually, I give it a rest once or twice a week, just so people at work know that I'm making a choice to wear the scarf, not just tossing it on every bloody morning. Anything that boosts our visibility and makes it easier for us to spot and celebrate eachother's commitment to the club is good.

Green B&F. Garland obivously most improved. Finish 15th with 4 wins, ahead of WC on %. Morton to earn a rising star nomination soon after returning. Grimes to get one too (just 'cos that is how the story goes) Wonaeamirri to be a podium finish in Rising Star Award, but not win it. Will trade a third round pick for Warnock. Wonaeamirri promoted, Valenti retained as Rookie. Neitz, Yze, Holland, White retired. Carroll, Bode delisted. Picks 2, 18, 20, (36 traded for Wanrock), 52, 68. No idea on who we'll pick. Operating loss of 'just' $500,000 as opposed to the $1-1.5mil feared. $2mil to be cleared off debt by the 'Debt Demonilition' Event.

Well, Jack Grimes has only played in the reserves so far. That might be the closest we get to a no-Sandy player, and that'll be over as soon as next week.

Joined in 2003. Yes, THAT miserable 2003. First contact with AFL in any form was early 2000. A late bloomer but have kept growing into it every year.

Incredibly, I think I have to agree with Yze Magic just about word for word. Garland. P.J Miller Dunn Warnock And since Yze Magic has held his tongue, I think it only fair that Sylvia get an honorable mention from me - he has certainly been having a greater impact and been making steady progress this year. We may yet see some competition from C. Johnson over the remaining weeks, fingers crossed. Mark Jamar had his best ever stats, for both disposals and hit-outs, against Brisbane last game. I'll be watching him closely because there's a good chance he's either stepping up or stepping off.

I'm surprisingly comfortable with this story. We have a player who was in a difficult situation, who, while behaving unprofessionally in football terms does not appear to have behaved innapropriately in general social terms. As he was not properly prepared for the match he won't be playing this week. No further sanction will be applied as there would appear to be nothing more too it. Given his history of soft-tissue problems, it's probably just common sense that he spend a week playing in a less intense environment anyway. Basically, he's "pulled up sore" from the week off.

Stefan Martin. High level baskeballer, switches to footy, never misses BOG for the local amateurs team. Get's drafted in the PSD, puts the work in and makes an honest and promising debut at AFL level later that season, and picked up a 97.5 TER somewhere along the way. Nice.

Well, anyone on "Strudwick Watch" will be happy to see this, from the NSW/ACT AFL Website. Excellent news. Strudwick Nominated for NSW/ACT Rising Star Award 02/07/2008 The Round 11 NAB Rising Star nominee is North Shore’s Teddy Strudwick. Following a strong pre-season which saw Teddy selected in the NSW/ACT Under 18 Rams squad, Teddy has cemented his spot in the North Shore senior side since his senior debut in Round One.Teddy was a member of the NSW/ACT Rams Under 16 state team in 2007 and was also a member of the undefeated North Shore Wildcats Under 18 Premier Cup team from last year. The youngest player in the North Shore side, Teddy has played consistent football on the wing using his pace and long kicking to deliver the North Shore forwards many scoring opportunities.He is a NSW Scholarship holder with the Melbourne Football Club and no doubt the Demons would be happy with his progress from under age footballer to senior footballer.With Teddy still eligible for Under 18 football in 2009, there is no doubt he will have his sites on securing a spot in the 2009 NSW/ACT Rams Under 18 team, and his form this season has given him the best platform to put his case forward next year. Teddy’s dedication and hard work make him a worthwhile nomination for the Round 11 NAB Rising Star

Unbelievable. Last on the ladder soundly beating first on the ladder for memberships. We're ahead of them on attendences too. We rock, us Demon supporters.

Sylvia's been doing that for a while. Especially inside forward 50 there is a set play where he runs in across the front/side and whacks it to the danger zone towards goal. Works well too.

The China strategy was just slightly misplaced - Tianjin?! Better targeting would be the Straits Chinese who have significant family and community connectins with Australian Chinese already, especially Hong Kong. Of Singapore's 4 million people, about 200,000 visit Australia each year - that's a massive one in twenty people and a good indication of just how many connections there are. Hong Kong is a similar story. The smaller base population and the higher proportion of visitors to Australia would allow a lot more presence and impact for our investment. Particularly with the 'second base' at Casey on the cards, actively reaching out to migrant communities is a very good option - Casey is the top area in Melbourne for new migrants (persons born overseas and/or who speak a language other than English at home). This demographic is also new to football and not attached to other clubs, so the AFL HQ would be delighted if we made it our goal to involve them. It would also be a very positive bit of community building.

One idea that has played around in my mind is that some supporters can get themsleves organised and form a sporting club. ?!?! This club would be you're typical active, go and do stuff sporting group, and would field teams in very small, local but also disproportionately visible activities such as - Dragon Boat racing (yes, you can get your boat decked out in Demon colours) Sailing (a bold red and blue mainsail in the inner harbour would be visible from orbit) Fun runs and team cycling (a team running or riding together, again in bold Red & Blue, would stick right out from your usual pack of runners in old tshirts, that's for sure) Pause for a moment and imagine if twenty or thirty runners were in one of those fun run crowds in full red and blue guernseys, maybe spread across a few smaller teams competing at different levels. Every one of these is practical, cheap, highly visible and fun for participants. It would probably be pretty easy to get a couple of club greats involved, too, which would add both publicty and a bit more fun/glory for participants, too. It can be done. But I'm stuck up here in Canberra so who is gonna get some leadership going down in the homeland? Edit: bizarrely I forgot to mention just having a kick in the park. So that too.

Good point. It still gets counted on the attendence figure even if someone is only there 'in spirit'. I love it.

From the game vs Fremantle - A crowd of 20,000 is the break even point. From an article the other day - The Queen's Birthday game netted us approximately $400,000 for a crowd of approximately 60,000. and... A crowd of 16,000 for the game against West Coast would see us pay a check to the MCC of almost $80,000 So... The generalisation that each attendence at a home game is worth about $10 to the club is fair. BUT For a smaller crowd, particularly one under the 20,000 break even line, the value of each attendence is much greater, as much as $20 per attendence. So, the hard core of supporters who turn up to every game regardless of anticipated crowds, game profile, current performance and so forth do actually make an greater contibution the the clubs financial health PER GAME as well as over the course of all the games they attend. Be proud, all of us who get to all the games we can. And get along to the Brisbane game and the West Coast game, that's when it makes the most difference. The other thing I learned - the club has been a lot more upfront about it's finances since MacNamee came in to replace Harris. I appreciate that.

I hope he gets into a coaching career, at any level.

Greeny for me. His radar may not be as superb as when he was primarily a young forward, but I think he'd still come through on the big occassion. Wonaeamirri has a very calm and thorough set shot style from what I've seen. Surprise one would be Jeff White - totally unflappable and a decent kick at goal.

The crowd sizes in Melbourne aren't a problem for Canberra - Manuka oval, even when it sets up the extra 'stands' (basically banks of portable chairs on the gravel behind the 'hill') it's maximum capacity is about 15,000. Most people who go to a Manuka game are just AFL fans desperate to see a game for it's own sake. Then there will be some West Coast (for example) fans who make the trip as part of a holiday visit to the capital, plus a contingent of Melbourne visitors, and then the local supporters of Melbourne and West Coast. Canberra games against teams other than Sydney will struggle to get 10,000, sure, but not to the point of worrying the ACT government - the important thing for them is that people make a trip, stay in a hotel, and buy stuff. WC supporters and Melbourne supporters are much more likely to stay overnight or for a weekend than Sydney supporters who will be back home for dinner after the game.

Davey did a few good things. Not among worst, for sure. But not a big game. I feel he did enough to not deserve any criticism, but not so much that he'd get a lot of praise.

Chris Johnson did well in Canberra. Looks like those reports of a more mature approach and style of play for Sandringham were true. Now he's had a good game on top of an OK game at AFL level, let's see what a little more confidence can do for him.

At my school, up here in Canberra, AFL was invisible (I didn't know squat about AFL til I was 20) and we ended up playing soccer at recess and lunch (once we progressed from tips) with a tennis ball, on a wire-fence enlosed concrete tennis court which had another metal wire fence installed as the net. Classic stuff. Once a few more people joined (and we were kicked off the tennis courts "in case someone wanted to use them"??) we shifted to the basketball court (which was awkward because it was mostly used as an eating area), until finally a real soccer ball got introduced and we started playing on the hockey field. 'Physical Education' was a joke. The only thing anyone remembers PE for was just how damn stupid and useless the supposed teachers were. That and a series of broken legs, arms and ribs from people being tripped, stomped on, that sort of garbage. Top quality discipline, there. Still mystifies me where all the PE budget went, too. We had to supply our own fricking tennis ball for soccer. Not that I'm bitter. On the plus side. Any club that gets properly involved in informal and semi-formal junior sports is gonna make big progress, in Canberra or anywhere. A massively neglected area precisely because of bureaucracy-driven strategy - i.e. AFL HQ is only interested in what it can count in Key Performance Indicators, so if you aren't registered, you don't exist.

Well, I got to the game, and enjoyed it, despite the result. Umpiring was just plain old weak and did work against us, but meh, as the saying goes. 6 -Green - A few more courageous pack mark efforts, a few more quality inside 50s, that'd be Greeny. 5 -Bate - Noice. Roight. 4 -PJ - Got right into it. Good game. 3 -Miller - Very hard work all day, sometimes effective, always there. 2 -CJ - I repeatedly saw him do those good-decisions with quality execution that the rumours had suggested way back... nice. 1 -Garland - Still a trooper. Also was quite badly winded for a while, was taken down to the rooms for a check for anything more serious, then came back a little later. Our midfield did get beaten a lot. It doesn't make sense to me that players like Mclean, Jones, Syvlia, Bruce, McDonald and (in other games) Moloney can't put together an effective midfield operation. Personally, I blame Paul Williams, who I've never quite liked, because he's never been Todd Viney (who I hope will be the next of the 'Melbourne's Mates' crowd to come home, as midfield assitant coach. I'm SURE Connolly is working on that one. Wheatley was solid again, and Whelan had a pretty good, Whelan-like return. Dunn did the job he was given effectively. Shame that glorious 80m run through the midfield didn't end in a goal. Also, anyone know why Holland was up there? He wasn't named as an emergency, could it be that he just made a point of travelling with the team anyway? I'd believe it - huge respect for the guy.