Little Goffy

I didn't get to see this game but it looks to me like Freo's defence was just playing kick-to-kick on their own while Ross Lyon had St Kilda doing the the Ross Lyon thing clogging up the options further up the ground. Those four players shared 2000 meters gained at 90% disposal efficiency. I'm not much of a fan of Ross Lyon as a character but he is a master at knowing what opposition activity to not care about. Alas, Saints might have to be taken pretty seriously once they have a few players back, particularly King for the second half of the season.

Interesting opening this thread and seeing his draft weight was just 68kg and his current listed weight is still only 70kg for his 185cm. Watching him play in the practice games and on saturday he looked like just a naturally lean body rather than the skinny implied by those numbers. Wouldn't think he was 15-20kg lighter than, say, Salem and Hibberd at the same height. Giving this to the Demonland trackwatchers as a mission - what is McVee's current playing weight compared to his pre-preseason weight?

Liked McVee - played well but most importantly played his role in a system that was under pressure. Laurie I'm happy to wait and see. Baker I have no particular feelings about except that we clearly haven't made any big error letting him go. Similar note - I'm sure everyone is happy for Sam Weideman. I don't think there was ever any doubt about his 'sincerity' as a demon and footballer, it just didn't come together for him and sometimes you just have to change the scene. Happy to see him kick 40 for the season and still wouldn't feel hard done by. But I just can't bring myself to feel stressed about our depth when we've got Jefferson, Adams, Turner, Woewodin, and Van Rooyen and a few others all brewing from just the last two drafts.

Simple. Jack Viney is an excellent midfielder. Angus Brayshaw is an excellent anything.

That spin happened so fast there have been dizziness-related concussions. I mean, that is Prigozhin level spin there.

That story ran so hard I was slightly surprised to see her at the MCG on saturday night!

Yes, but Jackson could still be contributing that for another ten years. 🦄

Bombers have Suns Saints and Giants to come. If round 5 Demons - Dons is a top of the table clash and we completely derail their season in the space of a couple of hours, it'll be worth it. Temple of Doom scene where the guy has his heart pulled out and shown to him before he is lowered screaming into the lava.

I'm in transit so can only take a quick glance at stats. Q1 is Jackson playing for or ruck because he has no stats for either position. Q2 is Fyfe okay?

https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/harley-reid/ Just in case.

Saw this about five seconds after I saw that Daniel Rich had eighteen (18!) rebound 50s, about 40% of the Lion's total. I'd say Harmes has a definite job to do. I'd also argue that 'negating half-forward' has always been his destiny and we shouldn't be worrying about making him a midfielder. And now I'm going to mention his long kick to Fritsch at the pivotal moment of the 21 grand final. Why? Why not - do I need a reason? 😄

It'll be interesting to see how Gawn's great contribution around the ground and away from stoppages affects the perception of this core unit, especially with Grundy in the mix. The way Oliver and Petracca complement each other's game could become legendary. But let's not forget that for about 8 weeks last season it was actually Viney who was just quietly our most in-form and relentlessly effective midfielder. For a player who has embraced unselfish play so thoroughly, his numbers were astonishing.

Straight kicking or not, if that game doesn't boost his confidence only medication would. Not often a player doubles their total career stats in their 11th game!

Unfortunately even though Pickett's bump action didn't 'elevate' off the ground (his shoulder was actually lower than if he had been standing) the fact both feet left the ground and there was a really good cinematic camera angle will count against him. Still, late bump that hits the head, you cop your suspension and hopefully take the point to heart.

...and then you have to hang out with Anna Kendrick. (Maximum obscure reference)

Yep. Just got a little gut twist now. I'm all clear of other duties and activities for the day and two more hours of undistracted anticipation is just a little bit too much.

Not looking for anything big, just getting the four points and working our way into the season. It'll be a few rounds of just heads down hard work to start the season while we get everyone back on the park. (Quietly hoping Essendon are already falling in a heap by round 5 and that will be the game we first decide to really go nuts. You know, because, hate.

Jash Shache; Greg the Garlic farmer.

Yep, I also got a junk email for the North Melbourne tipping comp. Strange. I would guess a legacy of past tipping comp participation and the way data is held. There is a company out there now which you can authorise and pay a modest amount to systematically identify everywhere that your data has been retained, and go through the process of formally requesting removal. I'm too broke to do it but will right on it as soon as I have any identity worth protecting.

With the latest phones it is just so easy to apply the filter '1960s ammunition box labels' to an image. Not helped by the 'I'm checking if my texta still works' scribble and the random arrows. There are times to be neat and professional and there are times to cut loose with your graphic design, but this is just a digital mullet.

I was at tonight's game at it was frankly a bit bizarre. Not many players can come out of that very happy with their game. Maybe Weitering and Cripps for Carlton and Rioli for Richmond. Several players who did a lot of good things also really [...] the bed at critical moments. That said, Cerra was barely visible to me, and Carlton really needed some spread of clearance work.

Damn, there's some true mental scarring about run-ons and Fritsch there.

1. Melboure 2. Brisbane 3. Geelong 4. Sydney 5. Carlton 6. Collingwood 7. Gold Coast 8. Port Adelaide Richmond Fremantle Footscray GWS Adelaide Saints Essendon Hawthorn West Coast North Melbourne Premiers: Melbourne Demons (And how good does it feel to make that prediction realistically?) Runner up: Brisbane Brownlow: Oliver (made possible by an overall fairly even Brownlow count total in the low 20s) Rising star: That Ashcroft kid. Spoon: North Melbourne because Clarko is a tanker anyway. Fun fringe things: 1st and 2nd in the Coleman are both from the same club 1st and 2nd in the Brownlow are both from the same club. Alistair Clarkson joins the Pagan/Malthouse legacy of Premiership coaches who [poop] the bed at a new developing club. Melbourne wins the premiership, keeps Pickett then gains Ben McKay as a restricted free agent, and recruits tall defender/swingman Daniel Curtin with its top ten draft pick courtesy of Freo, completing a defensive succession plan and made particularly sweet by knowing that he is exactly the player Freo would have taken. In response to speculation about Melbourne's salary cap, three top players all reveal that they are only on about 80% of their 'market' value and that there are also others who prefer to remain private about it.

1. The walk to and from the MCG, with the pinnacle being a sunset walk along the river back towards the CBD in full dramatic silhouette. 2. That, at least in Victoria, football has given everyone a little additional thing to comment on for just a moment past 'How are we today?' which actually gives us all an open-ended, expandable small talk that can lead to many other interesting conversations. 3. Subtle variations in crowd noise, being alert to the mood changes even in the quieter moments - the difference between the settling-in noises common early in the third quarter, to the tense anticipation murmurs during a stop in play late in a close game (which are these days too often overwhelmed by musak) - and then the satisfaction of having a shared the experience with people who I know well enough to understand how they are feeling about it. I guess for me all these things are about the shared moment.

Sounds like that has been very well thought out.