Little Goffy

I'm just keeping a mental log. Think of each tedious repetition of the company lines as another tick on the countdown to bloody revolution. Honestly, Sydney this last week has been significantly different weather every 6 hours. Not whimsically so like Melbourne weather, but in deep mood swings that settle and then swing around all over. I think you're missing a 'was', unfortunately.

I was going to ask if you were taking the... but then, clearly you would be avoiding such things at present.

What happened to the thread about media hypocrisy and all that? Because ol' mate Barrett has excelled himself by proceeding directly from giving Hawthorn a [censored] for how much they 'don't care what anyone thinks' and how every club should follow their example - "The attitude is stunningly compelling and powerfully effective." to Melbourne; "seems a tad fake and even forced. Seems to be a lot of recreation of history, too. Oh well, it’s been a well-coordinated media strategy" Am I the only one who looks at Hawthorn's obsessive social media attention seeking and sees... obsessive social media attention seeking? Anyway, I was always going to watch tonight for the sake of getting a little warm-up dose of football, but I really think for the first time in my life I'm actually going to be wishing injuries upon a team. It's not like hating Collingwood or even Essendon, where the fault lies with the some mix of the club leaders, the coteries, the fan culture, and some particularly annoying individuals. At Hawthorn the players really have bought in to the whole 'precocious little [censored]' fantasy with a terrible case of main character syndrome. Hmm, let's not say injuries, even now I can't do it. Let's just hope that seven of their players get pinged for recreational pee-in-a-cup results on the same weekend and all have to sit out the next two years while they wait for AFL lawyers to bother submitting paperwork.

I did enjoy the beaming look on his face as he began talking about Clayton Oliver. I think a good idea for in-house videos like this would be to make it rapid-fire - 'ten words or fewer challenge'. It would structurally guide Goodwin or any other coach or player answering the questions to abandon their media training and just fire off their thoughts. In a safe and selectively editable context like a club video they can let loose a bit.

Are you the front end or the back end?

I'm thinking the first ten or seconds of 'killing in the name of'. Hmm, it's not the opening of the song but the beat drop for 'Ecstasy of Gold' from The Good the Bad and the Ugly gets up there. In fact, that'd do for a run out song with the cresendo of bells rolling to the siren... Oh, wait, you want an over-the-top opening to a piece of music, you need to head to central Europe. Hrdza - Stephan would absolutely ruin all warm up routines. But seriously - in the end there is no contest in the high-energy enthusiasm start of a song; Personally I think the club should drop a line to Bear McCreary for a custom job.

Annual low-key game. For just one game each season, they don't set off fireworks, play junk noise in every pause in play, flick the lights on and off light a neurotic five year old, or have idiotic yelling about 'make some noiiiiiiiise' at any time during the day.

I really want to believe that the 'AFL commissioner' line was a different captain using the anonymity to take the [censored] out of Patrick Dangerfield. Personally I reckon Gawn would have to be the 'stay-at-home Dad'. I think the 'favourite footy commentator' responses are telling - and I'm saying that from a pyschology of survey responses perspective. Pretty clear that the way people answered was not so much by identifying a favourite as by putting down the name of the first commentator they could think of who didn't irritate them.

Now that would be some 5-D multi-timeline Diplomacy. Certainly makes sense to build a resume and connections.

I have a bad feeling Jackson has already been invited to house-sit for Bailey Smith. And I know he'll sign on the moment I mention this, but how about a clean sweep of trading for Jackson and grabbing Brayshaw in Free Agency. Next step is surely to start pumping out the gossip about Freo's culture. Possibly a falling out over the length of Shai Bolton's Wikipedia page. Seriously, there's more on Shai Bolton than Alexander Humboldt. I can definitely see that clashing with humble achiever Brayshaw.

Lol, I can see the Jackson for Pickett swap, and then in about four years when Pickett's kids are a bit older and things more stable and Freo are plunging off the face of the earth, we bring him back as well, in exchange for another homesick young Westralian, and the cycle continues. So long as Freo are paying the lumpy parts of the contracts and we get the father-son selections, it is hilarious. Who am I thinking of, Trent Croad, was it? Never change, Freo, never change.

Lol, a part of me is keeping an eye out for Austin Wonaeamirri. Holy [censored] I think I got the spelling right! Relax, we got this.

It appears to be raining behinds.

Club can't get anything right. That is clearly Jack's front and Billings' back.

The year was 2006, after a disappointing three losses to start the season, the Demons had won five in a row to put themselves in the top 4 in a season without a true standout, and with Melbourne now the leading contender of all Victorian clubs. Round 9 the Demons face top-of-the-ladder eventual premiers West Cost, who to that stage had won every game except the derby against Freo. I was in Canberra, and convinced a thugby supporting friend to watch my AFL game on condition that I also watched their game, which was immediately afterwards. Judd, Kerr, Cousins and Cox are at their absolute peak, with White and the capable but comparatively unsung Demon midfield scrambling to limit the damage. For much of the first half it seems West Coast should be dominating, but sheer refusal to submit by the Demons and wayward kicking for goal keeps the game close. The game ramps up a notch in the third quarter. For the first time the Demons look like they could really overcome the Eagle's class. Robertson produces some magic on his way to four goals. Clint Bartram scores a second goal against all rights given his match-ups on the games absolute premier midfielders. Five goals to four in the 3rd puts the margin at just a couple of points at three quarter time. In the final quarter, the West coast midfield gradually reasserts itself. Sheer weight of talent and brilliant moments get the better of the Demon's and the game finally breathes out, with a final margin of 22 points. Then the Rugby League starts. Two rows of chonky thick-necked cattle walk into eachother for an hour. Nobody remembers the score. I vaguely recall the game was close but only because the scoring was minimal. There are few sports more dull than Rugby League when both sides are defensively strong but have no individually gifted playmakers. It is like Gridiron without quarterbacks. Recalling that afternoon is how I remind myself that the game itself is often magnificent, and that Australian Football's main problems are to be found in offices. Oh, and credit to Dennis Cometti for a fine call.

Mensa is a social and networking club for people who are smart enough to complete standardised puzzle tests to a high standard, but also dumb enough to think puzzle tests are a valid measure of intelligence. It's like having a really, really, really good LinkedIn profile. What I'm struggling with is the way it was used as a slur related to someone posting outside regular hours. Mensa is all for the '174 habits of highly effective people' types so you wouldn't catch them up after midnight.

I thought Picket Fence was paid specifically as a slithera early warning system, and it was tax deductible as a public health expenditure? Petty will be missing the game because on the flight over he parachuted out of the plane to visit home, thinking he'd just get an Uber in the morning because Perth is basically 'the next town over'. I did something similar once, thinking Jan Juc / Torquay was a viable morning train trip away from Richmond.

Hawkins was a massive physical unit from day one. The old creep Sam Newman got him on the footy show to do muscle-model poses before he was even officially drafted. After 5 seasons he had just 100 goals from 80 games. To his credit, though, that period was the making of him in the sense that he kept working at the team things (his score involvements, goal assists and that kind of thing) to make himself useful, and when he finally clicked as a power forward in his own right it was those things which made him an outstanding match-winner rather than just a good target forward. Another one would be Josh Kennedy, whose 4th year was about on par with Van Rooyen's second year and only after that become the metronome of reliable goal-kicking and contested marking at the heart of a club. Come to think of it, even the incredibly talented Charlie Curnow, due to injury and development progress,, only managed 80 goals from 60 games in his first 5 seasons. So even amongst the very pinnacle of forwards who came with AFL-ready bodies there are solid examples of needing time. My expectations for Jefferson aren't to be a world-beater, just that he become a competitive, relatively lightly-built tall forward. I don't expect him to ever become the major target but if he can be the Gunston to Van Rooyen's Roughhead we're in good territory.

Bontempelli and also Butters to be out for up to 6 weeks. At this rate Oliver Dempsey will win the Brownlow.

That's actually a party sparkler they inserted into Marty's thumb, which also explains why he is in a good mood. I'm really surprised to hear McVee could be back so soon, as I was under the impression his injury was a bit on the horrible side. I'm more interested than clear reason call for to know how the mature/SSP selections are going. Could we be seeing Henderson dashing around causing trouble for a few weeks before Pickett is available?

Mixed feelings about this, but I feel like it will work out reasonably in the media circus. 'Melbourne not anxious about possible Pickett trade' takes a lot of heat out of it. Especially if Pickett in turn continues his tone of 'I'm a mature adult who respects contracts and I'm not willing to [censored] the Demons'. I guess the main thing about the statement is that it projects confidence about all possible outcomes. What's the point of grubby speculation if the answer is 'Yeah, we're okay with that' to every scenario!?

I'm light. Just flushing the toilet.

I wish there was some way my eyes could just not see stupid.

We seem to have a pretty good record in final games at venues. Of course, I can only recall Princes Park (Robertson kicked 6 or 7) and Subiaco (Tom's day out). But how many stadiums have been cut from the AFL recently anyway?

My theory; in the absence of an assistant coach with a talent for tactical overview of a game (e.g. Yze, McQualter), but with a really strong set of line coaches with great rapport with players, Goodwin's time is most valuable in the box and he needs to clock that time to improve his ability to see and make tactical changes. That said, he'll be coming down to the boundary for emphasis when necessary, no doubt. And to check how people are reacting and replying to his instructions.