Dr. Gonzo

Apparently McLuggage and Stengle are very gettable too - oh, wait...

I agree 100% but the reason the NGAs exist in the first place is because the big clubs kicked up a stink about the northern academies (rightfully so IMO). My kids would qualify for the NGAs under current rules because my wife was born in Asia but they were born here and grew up with footy around them since birth, same for me. The whole thing is just another rort compromising the integrity of the competition. One of the key pillars of equalisation is the draft and it is severely undermined by academies and also father/son picks.

So did guys like Nick Blakey whose dad played 300+ games for North and Fitzroy. The Academies are an absolute rort.

And it further compromises the fixture and integrity of the competition. You're not allowed to criticise it though or you'll be sternly berated by Gerard Whateley.

Since the rule has come in they've been consistent that if the player taking possession is within 9m of the goal line (ie in the goal square) and there are opposition players in the vicinity then you are allowed to rush it. For some reason they've decided, without consultation or communication, to change their interpretation and now pay that as a free kick. Was that a one off? Or will they pay it consistently like that now? Or will it be ad-hoc depending on which umpire you get and which team is infringing which seems to be how most of the rules are officiated these days.

How many times does the umpire dissent rule get paid? It's a rule on the books, it happens all the time but the umpa only pull it out once in a blue moon and when they do it is at a critical moment/costs a team a goal. The administration and officiating of this sport is an absolute farce.

Part a makes b, c and d redundant. He was within 9 metres of the goal line when taking possession so not a free kick.

There was a fairly similar one at the end of Swans/Freo (I think it was) yesterday. Result? Throw in.

I've been a member since 1989 when I was 7yo, signed my kids up at birth, used to never miss a game on tv etc etc I'm seriously considering whether I bother renewing my AFL memberships next year, $1500 a year for the family for something I just don't really enjoy anymore. I still love the Demons but the league has lost me.

Maynard's was way worse https://x.com/outbreezyWC/status/1806953258788983173

You can be happy with the effort and disappointed with the result. I've felt the reverse often enough as well.

Was it negative and uninspiring in the 2nd quarter? When we were also winning contest and playing a high press zone defence?

What's up with our fitness? It seems to have deteriorated each year since 2021 to the point where now we struggle to run out games. In 2021 we used it as a weapon to run over teams in the 2nd half now we're lucky to hang on to 5-6 goal leads. It can't all be down to changed personnel.

Some of the umpiring though, sheesh! Rivers run too far? Free against for blocking when May marked on the wing (and didn't May let the ump know about it too), May mark not paid, just a few of many BS decisions. I'm not a basher of Fritsch but nate, you've gotta at least look like you're chasing your opponent, especially when the ball is on the wing! You can get away with it when you're hitting the scoreboard but when you've been quiet for a few weeks these "efforts" stick out like dogs balls l.

Can't really complain though, Lions were far worse and coughed up two dead set sitters in the final quarter as well.

Well we gave it a decent crack, ran out of legs again though. Something is seriously wrong with our fitness program we have looked gassed in final quarters all season. Cannot fault the endeavour though, happy with the way they attacked and pressured. I really like the look of Kolt and AMW was good in his debut. Viney back to his bullocking best and Kozzie was electric. I do not u derstand why Brown wasn't brought in for some fresh legs especially when we looked so cooked. Did we forget we had a sub? What's the bet he gets dropped next week.

Plenty of credits in the bank and a key part of our drought breaking flag. Committed to the club long term when he could've looked elsewhere. Having a poor year by his lofty standards but I have confidence this is related more to his lack of preseason than any personal issues. Get a full preseason in and he will come back fit and firing in 2025 as the player we know he can be.

Usually it's a result of poor performance, leads to self preservation etc Is it a symptom or a cause?

The best way to counter negative posts is to write positive posts. Posting more negative posts about other posters negative posts just exacerbates the issue and leads to threads spiralling in [censored] for tat. Edit - there's also the ignore feature which works wonders 😉

We are officially in bizarro world! 🤣 😉

We did drop an extra defender back (Petty) but they manned him up making it 7 on 7.

Those who are deriding posters for being overly negative, I get it. We won, and winning is always better than losing. But looking long-term at our recent performance and moving forward, the win against the Kangas did nothing to allay the concerns many have about our form and the trajectory of this team. It's the same as the win against the Saints - yeah great to get the win but the proof will be in the following games and in the following games we got spanked by Freo and dominated by Collingwood. If we lose by 10 goals plus to the Lions what does the win against North mean? So yeah, great to get the win and my kids certainly appreciated it but I'll temper my joy until I see a more prolonged period of good form.

No preseason and mentally shot

I disagree but that is probably down to our individual expectations. When I look at team sports and the other sports I follow closely (NFL and NBA) not making Championship games (ie Prelim finals) for teams who should realistically be expecting to compete for the title is a failure. You need to make those games to give yourself a chance and then that's where luck can come into play to an extent. Failing to make the final four one season can happen without being emblematic of performance concerns, failing to make the final four in 5 of the last 6 seasons is a clear sign you have underperformed and is more than disappointing, it is a failure. This year has been a trainwreck but it is not in isolation. After the 2022 finals you could say, well we were pretty cooked and limped into finals so straight sets while frustrating is understandable if they back it up next year. Next year comes and we go out in straight sets again turning up unprepared and what seemed a bit she'll shocked by Collingwood (even before the Gus incident) a team who has our number. We played better against Carlton but still couldn't capitalise and out in straight sets again. Ok 2 strikes isn't great but let's see how they rebound next year. Now in 2024 things are falling apart at the seams. So it's not one year of poor performance in isolation, the club needs to be assessed on results this year in the context of the previous two years and the failure to make a Prelim in that time.

I don't listen to the media, I don't watch anything footy related other than the games anymore. I form my opinions based on what I see on the field and what I see coming out of the club. Watching a team who should still be challenging for top 4 get shown up on multiple occasions this season including by an underperforming Lions on our home deck, a bottom 4 WCE team and a severely undermanned Collingwood and just rolling over to lose to a flakey Freo by almost 100 points is more than enough evidence to base on opinion on, I don't need media charlatans forming an opinion for me. We have a fundamental difference of opinion around what a high performing culture is and whether we have one. In professional sport, the only thing that matters is winning. Success will be measured differently based on where a club is at but when teams are matured and settled and have a group of players who can be considered AA worthy then the goal must be competing in Prelims each year for the duration of the teams window. You can come up with all the excuses you want, the fact is we have made a Prelim once since 2018 and have not been a challenger in those years we missed. It is clear to me our club has deficiencies which are preventing them from taking that next step to become perennial challengers. A part of that is personnel but the larger more important part is mindset. Until we get the mindset right we will just be making up the numbers.