Little Goffy

I'll say it every time something remotely close to the topic comes up. We need a massive renewal of investment in the second-tier competitions. Revitalising the entire country's second leagues would cost about as much as adding one more AFL club and it would transform the playing, coaching and umpiring talent depth, reconnect Australian football to communities and be much more effective at infiltrating the northern 'markets' than the two styrofoam clubs set up at a $200m dead loss.

"After almost 22 years, Pickett has spent less than 1% of his life sure that he will re-sign with the Demons." "After almost 9 months pre-natal, Pickett has begun being born in only the last 24 hours." Meanwhile, if the relief of the decision being made produced a 3 goal & 3 goal assist game, we need to consider the possible AA competition for relaxed and comfortable Pickett in the 'actual small forward' role; Papley, Green, C Cameron, Rankine, Higgins, and... Chandler!

Is this officially Demonland's longest ever thread with a happy ending?

I'm not sure, but where have I heard about a trade like that in the recent past? 🛎️

Yep, I think we can take a week off the death ride and wish Freo all the best. I hope Jackson has a Weideman-level day out. Hawthorn are tanking so hard they are attracting Ukrainian farmers.

Well, I'd be getting it for the lovely person sitting next to me, and she is convinced that Bailey Fritsch is her brother (he looks Vietnamese, for sure!) so it would have to be 31. Somewhere in a box at my mum's place (a casualty of multiple moves back in more adventurous times) I have a guernsey signed by Max Gawn before he had even played a game (pre-season, 2010-11). I feel like I should back that up with 11.

Melbourne v Collingwood is the Grand Final that the Australian Football League, and Australia, needs.

What the squelch just happened at half time of Pies-Crows? Noble obviously slipped down to deliberately draw a high contact, but Dawson then clearly caught him 'actually' high, Rankine decides he needs to prove to the world he's a git by running over to shove Noble while he's lying flat, and then Maynard comes in and has some kind of epileptic fit while holding Rankine's collar. Bizarro juvenile times all round.

Cheer up, two more teams are outside the 8 because we played them.

For all the Cameron hype, it is starting to look like Tom Hawkins really is Geelong's beating heart.

Live ladder; Essendon now out of the 8. Good times.

B: Logue HB: C: Acres Langdon HF: Tucker Hogan Hill F: Lobb FOLL: Meek Neale Cerra That's all just in Bell's time, so Weller and Crozier don't make it in. They weren't always screwed on the trade value, but then somehow managed to ruin it for themselves each time (Epic example Lachie Neale for 6 and 19 which became Hogan and Lobb) while also playing such pigheaded 'hardball' on the trades that they've ruined their relationship with several other clubs. They tried to trade in a rising star winner and premiership-winning ruckman-midfielder-forward unicorn projected to be one of the most potent players in the league, for, they believed, two picks in the mid teens and one in the 30s. Instead they now have a pretty handy young ruck, for whom they traded picks 5, 13, and 23. So we hate them for trying to screw us over and we mock them for falling on their faces doing it. DEATH RIDE!

I have concerns that Angus Brayshaw's April is starting to look a bit like DeadMeat from Hotshots.

I really wanted to reply a 'smug satisfaction' emojj but we don't have one. I wonder what it would look like? Also, more seriously, I think it is time for Spargo to be given a run for Casey with an emphasis on getting him more actively involved and seeing how that excellent brain of his adjusts to tighter traffic in the middle or even as a small defender. He needs to add proverbial strings to his proverbial bow. Angus Brayshaw's provided some very, very easy lip-reading as that siren goal sailed through, and it would definitely not make it through the Demonland censorship. The defenders all looking annoying and having a cranky chat right after was possibly the most exciting part of the game - it had the same tone as if they'd just let an easy one get through right at the start of an anticipated close game.

More accurate to say we have at least 12 who will be considered unlucky to miss out on All-Australian selection. AND maybe four or five who do get selected. Remembered fondly as the 'Robertson, Yze, White, Green, Davey, McDonald, Brown, Johnstone, Bruce' quality range. Except now we have a bundle of absolute guns to top it off, instead of that group trying to overcome an overall lack of depth.

Say it again! Say it again!

A) Wrong thread maybe? b) Genius in the football equivalent of 'There are 248 matches in the box.'

So with our footy dept we'd probably do it even if we didn't really want the pair of top-10 selections! But seriously, yep, fully agreed we'll likely try for two in the top 10. There will be hilarious shenanigans with future picks for sure.

I like tonight's game. Either Port lose and we become that little bit more secure in the top 4, or St Kilda lose and our pursuit of top-2 becomes a little easier. Football is a very different experience when you have faith in your own team continuing to be competent! Hmm, it would appear that my MFCSS is in remission.

3 more years of post-goals hugs for the rest of the Demons.

Luke Davies-Uniacke out is pretty big. Leads the Kangaroos for Clearances, score involvements, contested possessions AND effective disposals (quite the pairing!) and is second for goal assists. In fact, North are yet to win a game this season without LDU getting 30+ disposals, 10+ clearances, 5+ tackles and a goal. He's their guy for both getting it and using it. We really have to seize this game as our opportunity to get our clearance work sorted out against an inside mid group so depleted that our second-choice group would expect to match them.

Fair point; Hibberd's 2017 season was a masterclass of the mid-sized defender. Mind you, even that was only an incremental step up from his time at Essendon where he was an extremely promising young player. 4th in Essendon B&F in 2013 and 2014, and 8th in the 2015 team slump (Year 'off' in 2016, of course). Remarkably only 6th in our B&F in his All-Australian season. I should refine my point to say that even when the numbers and the fanfare dropped away dramatically after that first spectacular season with us, he continued to be an immense contributor by doing a difficult job extremely well. I mean, the poor guy has spent years being the go-to match up for Charlie Cameron and I'd argue has done as well as anyone at that. Actually, I looked through some figures and the interesting stat that caught my attention is that CC averages just one mark inside 50 per game against us, and I think that would be substantially the Hibbo effect and the culture of defenders working for each other which Hibberd has so greatly contributed to.