Little Goffy

7 minutes ago, Fanatique Demon said:

I can’t see Laurie keeping his spot.

Yeah, without putting too much stock on statistics, sometimes they do tell you something; no score involvements, no 1%ers, no intercept possessions.

No impact offensively or defensively.

Unfortunately we didn't win the first quarter against Gold Coast, but my little one's record is still;

8 wins from 9 quarters watched, and a 100% win rate for all games watched even for a short period.

What a gun.

Next week's game won't be broadcast free-to-air up here, so I'm already getting a little nervous about the result.

Okay, but on a serious statistical note, we have lost only 5 quarters so far this season, of which three were 1st quarters. That's a thing.

I've got this game on mute so I can't hear the screaming and whimpering.

Auto-subtitles are great.

"You won't get dirty touches, but you can have an impact on the balls"

7 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

The journo went online & apologised. He meant to say jake melksham.

I can only assume it was a query about the late knock Melksham got?

4 goals, and next week would be his 250th game, played against his old club, at the traditional home ground of, um, Adelaide oval. Or, wait, is it Norwood?

Y'd think he'd play, eh.

I regret to inform everyone that Jack Pickett is not any relation to our current Picketts. You can kind of tell if you look closely because he doesn't have that little Pickett family moustache. Very promising tall forward who if I recall correctly has been absolutely cruelled by an early major injury?

But it also looks likely (touch wood) that somewhere along the way in '26 we will be able to figure out which of our multiple currently reserve forwards are capable of stepping up, so maybe another Pickett isn't the answer.

I do think we should send our pair of Picketts to visit him for a quick fun photo op.

Personally my big interest of those touted as early in the 2026 is

Xavier Ladbrook. 200cm utility. I heart 200cm utilities. I'll get a t-shirt made. A long one with lots of useful pockets. Obviously we'd be looking at him primarily as a defender, but to have a versatile and genuinely good tall is always a good thing. Will be great when we lure Dan Curtin back to Victoria.

Anyway, it seems like there's a great stock of talls, dominated by forward-rucks but also a few 'game smart' key defenders who surely are top of our shopping list.

Two picks in the teens in the 2026 draft feel like just what Dr Taylor ordered.

As always, I like to reward players who beat the expectations

6 Gawn. Greatness does greatness.

5 Steele. Sometimes you can tell who has been a longstanding captain of a struggling club.

4 Pickett. Opposition is always on the back foot.

3 Sparrow. Workhorse. Effective workhorse. Beginning to believe?

2 Melksham. Opposition is often on the back foot.

1 Chandler. Becoming a consistent high-pressure menace. Loved the bear-crawl moment.

Really want to give extra nods to the likes of Sharp, who is turning a career around, Tholstrup who is getting his career started, and the multiple players who stuggled a bit at times but kept at it to be overall winners on the day (Salem, Petty, Turner, LPickett)

Ahhh, the traditional Melbourne v Essendon game in Adelaide.

Because someone has to play Gold Coast at the 'G, don't they.

I'll be keeping a half-eye on tonight's Dogs-Bummers game and wondering what suits us best;

Option 1 - A completely soul-crushed Essendon hanging onto their coach for no reason except it is unseemly to sack a coach this early in the season, and if the dam cracks they might have to sack everyone.

Option 2 - A progressively wilting Essendon that just knows every week is going to be another substantial loss so all that matters is avoiding personal humiliations.

Option 3 - A wildly delusional Essendon that thinks because they offered a bit of fight when the Dogs were having a nap after half time that means they are actually on the right track.

Okay, @WheeloRatings and any other stats people or someone who follows SirSwampThing, what is the longest streak for having 20+ disposals and 20+ hitouts.

'Who is the greatest ruckman ever' is going to replace 'what city are you in' and 'what year is it' in the paramedic head injury checklist questions.

Not only did we give ourselves a little draft value gift today, but the on-field bickering and cranky-pants is EXCATLY the kind of flat-track bully implosion we want to see from Gold Coast.

All it takes now is a little spiral of Hardwick overdoing the hardness at his collection of top picks who would already have a subtle but pervasive imposter syndrome going on, knowing that everyone really does think they are nepo babies.

Fun fact - in the 1812 overture there is a seemingly overly long cycle of strings progressing all the way down the scales just before the final triumphal turn. That is the French army retreating, retreating, retreating, retreating, and diminishing all the way from Borodino to Paris.

Not quite as dramatic would be the "pick 18 becoming pick 12" overture.

I too appreciate Blake Howes.

Looks like we have a few players who without going fully into the frantic attack style are capable of staying calm and steady and acting decisively within all that noise and chaos. Priceless.

10 minutes ago, joeboy said:

Thanks buddy

I bet you were getting anxious there would be consensus.

I particularly liked Petty 'in right places' - he didn't have many decisive wins but he was turning up and making things hard work for Gold Coast in a way no other team has managed to do this season.

Pickett probably the only one I disagree with, in so much as explicitly saying 'without dominating' implies some measure of failure. Pickett was getting himself involved everywhere and making things very difficult while also setting the example of willingness to take risks and not blink when it didn't work out each time.

6 minutes ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

Who does Maxy take to the cleaners next week?

According to Essendon's team sheet it is a Mr Withdrawal, Late Withdrawal. Will be assisted by 15-game defender-turned-ruck Lachie Blakiston.

Max's dominance in the hitouts-clearances today, against a ruck whose game is all about the hitouts, was beyond words. Was that his biggest personal game since he mauled Geelong in the final?

So many players to make a comment about but I definitely am not the one to condense it to three words!

Who is this 'Tom Sparrow' and is he related in some way to the one I recall from the first two rounds and previous five years?

I still don't know exactly what the statistic is claiming to measure, but at this point I'm willing to believe it.

7 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Anyone missing Oliver and Petracca in the middle?

Maybe Gold Coast?

But seriously, our kids are doing great things against an absolutely star midfield, with Windsor particularly catching my attention.

Steele was clearly a legitimate captain and St Kilda are bonkers for first not letting him play his best game and second letting him go play his best game somewhere else. Thanks Ross, always a pleasure doing business with you.

Max Gawn is simply bagging and binning another notional rival for the All-Australian selection. Witts has nothing on the stat sheet but hitouts and yet Gawn has even been smashing him there when it comes to effect. Some of it has been sublime.

And my baby son can still say he's never 'watched' a losing half of football. Might be due for a nap shortly so the pressure will be on the Demons to carry on without their secret weapon.

Just now, Redleg said:

Not certain, but think Adams' opponents have 7 goals to half time.

That's a rough, rough 60 minutes for a young tall trying to prove they belong and a question mark growing every week.

Test of character coming out for the second half.

3 minutes ago, Nascent said:

Matthews to Jefferson to Kentfield -> goal

Oooooooooooh niiiiiiiice.

Optimists getting goosebumps.

13 minutes ago, WildDogDee said:

Just about to leave home now to head to G with my son on his 15th birthday. Hoping for a good showing. Just want to see energy and effort. Today will show us where we are against a good side. Hopefully the car ride home tonight to Leongatha is a happy one.🤞🏼

Wait, sons have 15th birthdays? Not on my watch.

Glad it isn't something I have to worry about until 2040ish. 2040s... that's sci fi time.

I wonder will he be allowed candles on the Great Ark escape spaceship?

I hope WildPupDee gets a thrilling game, plenty of up and down and surges so no matter the result there's something worth talking about.

2 hours ago, sisso said:

Where is the nearest defib machine in the Southern Stand?

Just attach Latrelle at one nodes and Kysiash at the other. Zzzzzzap that'll get your heart started.

I'm alarmingly positive. Looking at this game as nothing more complicated or high stakes than 9th playing first early in the season and both teams roughly in the right ladder spot on form.

Things I already knew but really have 'learned' today;

Some daycare-spread viruses are pretty mild for the babies themselves but can be an itchy horror show for adults, resembling layers of mosquito bites, sunburn and pins-and-needles.

Getting no sleep on the daylight saving swtich-back and still having to get up early is a garbage experience.

Late starts to games, on the daylight saving switch-back, when you haven't had any sleep, and there's in-laws obliging you to stay home while they mob your still slightly unwell baby, is a retrieving-a-lost-item-from-a-wheelie-bin-left-open-in-the-rain-overnight grade experience.

It would be really helpful for my day if we could just crush these franchise crab-munchers.

Omitted by Gold Coast, again, for our game against them today. Has never quite been able to claim a stable place in their best 22 and that will only be less likely with the additional academy players pushing through and of course Petracca coming up.

I'm not pretending he's brilliant, but an out of contract inside mid at 191cm (some sources 193cm) getting limited opportunities might be an appropriate addition. Not many of our young group are full-time inside types, and we'll need a succession plan for Viney and Steele.

There is no escaping that he has 'not great' kicking, but as a defensive mid/tagger role player, I think he has value.

Dot pointing it -

Tall, defensively minded, inside mid, good movement, poor kicking, 24yrs, out of contract, limited opportunity, low salary and draft cost.

I'm really torn. Do I let my little one 'watch' (play in the same room as) this game or do I try to contrive to keep his winning streak of quarters alive?

Or do I try to pick out which quarters I think we'll win, and put him on agistment with the visiting in-laws for the other ones?

It is going to be a very very tough game but with Trac and Bumphry both out we might at least be able to put enough focus on King's favourite zone to nudge him a bit wider and turn a couple of goals into behinds.

Definitely another game we want the ball to get away from stoppages as much as possible.

I'd even be content to see us running the clock down at random times, just to restore composure and reset our younger legs for the next charge. Once upon a time a 'super coach' facing this kind of match up instructed his defenders to walk the ball in for a behind any time they were under pressure - can't do that any more but similar principle.

22 hours ago, Ollie fan said:

(For those who don't realise it, the above is IRONY)

22 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

That's probably the truest statement ever posted on Demonland 👏👏👏

Turns out also the below!

But seriously, I genuinely wish I could be involved in the club, even if my entire job was the official 'Yeah, nah, don't do that mate' clearing house.

The Australian Film Finance Corporation is proud to announce the release of their new film "186ish", a historical dramatised documentary, featuring an ensemble cast headlined by Isaac Heeney as Stevie Johnson and Charlie Curnow as Cameron Mooney.

Unfortunately, early reviews have been mixed, with pre-release screenings saying 'lacks the full impact of the original' and 'the supporting cast didn't add much to the spectacle'.

"Honestly, while it was impressive as a piece of choreographed violence, I don't think I'd want to sit through that again," said one punter.

"I'm just not sure there is much left in this franchise. How many John Wick movies is this, now?"

If you have to make changes for injury, Turner in for Jiath and Melksham for Cross is a pretty good deal.

I'm not going to pretend I'm confident, but I'm certainly going into this game on the hunt. The expectations basically make this a free swing.

Adelaide with the comeback now seven goals to two in the second half against Freo, halfway through the last.

Would you believe...

Carlton's opponent next week.

19 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

There is nothing about this project which actually IS an insurmountable impediment.

There's only agenda.

That much I'll absolutely concur with!

It is possible that, 9 months into a 6 week remedial works at my building, I may have a rather pessimistic outlook on construction.

Recently they added the first layer of balcony waterproofing in 95% humidity on the saturday morning of a weekend forecast to have Sydney's biggest storms in months. The engineer had literally called them to say 'Don't do that, numbnuts', but they still did it.

Their solution was to nail black tarpaulin directly into the gutters, but then they didn't tie it down properly so for four days it flung around like a set for Pirates of the Caribbean. "Arr, me sand layer be causing deep rooted bubbl'n, and ye balcony now be pumice."

A horse would have done a better job and I certainly wouldn't let one on the balcony.

Frankly, @beelzebub I'm slightly uplifted to have interacted with someone who seems a proper construction professional able to articulate a project plan. It's like having a night parrot land on your balcony - if one were to have a functioning balcony, that is.