Little Goffy

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.

Fun fact; unless something unexpected happens with the bottom teams this season, Freo will compile three years of playing almost exclusively non-finals teams in the first five rounds of the season. 14/15 games, with the only exception being against us in round 1 of 2021 (after we had finished 2020 outside the 8).

On the other hand, if the Saints get up we might as well start planning for our top-6 draft pick now. Even injury free I wouldn't expect much from St Kilda in 2023, but, I mean, yikes; St Kilda injury list updated Mar 13 Name Injury Estimated Return Matthew Allison Foot TBC Jack Billings Leg 6-9 weeks Nick Coffield Calf 4-6 weeks Jack Hayes Foot 10-12 weeks Max Heath Ankle Round 1-3 Olli Hotton Back TBC Zak Jones Achilles TBC Max King Shoulder 6-9 weeks Tim Membrey Knee Round 2-3 Daniel McKenzie Calf TBC Angus McLennan Back TBC Seb Ross Calf Round 1-3 Marcus Windhager Wrist Round 1-2

Fortunately, that will never happen again.

The commentators remind me of the character Stephanie (an egg) from the Estonian surrealist film Night of the Carrots (Porgandite Öö) by Priit Pärn. I want to live in a world where that is relatable.

For me it is going to be a full week-long trip down to Melbourne for what will be my first Demons game in person since the couple of bizarre games we played in Sydney, mid 2021 The trip will also will be the first time even my immediate family has been in one place together since pre-Covid - the first time I've been in the same room as both of my mother and brother in more than two years.

If you just go by the center bounce starting four, you could reasonably argue that... Gawn, Oliver, Viney, Harmes and Grundy, Petracca, Brayshaw, Pickett ...would both be in the top 10. Neither would be first, but both sets would compete with any other team at a bounce.

Are you sure there aren't any women here today?

Still better than Essendon's strategy of "Hubris and Denial".