John Crow Batty

In 2015 Geelong were planning a big celebratory game for Corey Enright’s 300th game at the cattery against us. We were huge underdogs but beat them to spoil the party. Anything can happen but North are really bad.

We have a chance to be top two and 2 games clear of fourth. We must take this opportunity bu the scruff for the neck and really hammer the hawks.

I don’t think that’s a very convincing example. Everyone watching the game knew their injuries would likely keep them for at least a game. I doubt their injuries would have been fully diagnosed whilst the match was still on. On the other hand a champion midfielder can wake up on match day with a tummy bug. Does the dirty deal with a bookie before he rings the coach to say he can’t play. For every door shut on insider trading there are always many left open. The phone ban for sure shuts some doors but is mainly for show to pretend something effective is being done. Insider trading is a hidden truth that lurks and is ubiquitous everywhere where money can be made on information. Only the stupid get caught.

Never mind the questionable COVID shots. They know how to get the good stuff.

I thought players got their mates, girlfriends and family to gamble on their behalf these days. I still reckon they will only receive token punishment. De Goey can claim amnesia due to concussion. Howe can say he was booking a taxi so he didn’t have to drive home.

Weren’t they injured and out of the match? Nothing much will happen other than a warning or a token fine.

Started with James Frawley added to their list. Underwhelming first season but lucky to get a cameo in their last premiership win. Since then he did nothing much and epitomised Hawthorn’s recruiting strategy failures and steady decline.

The evolution of boot studs sounds riveting.

One can never trust the colours on an old photo perhaps several or more generations removed from the original. I do agree that maybe the red has changed over the years. Was more of a vivid fire engine red as I recall. Old dyes were warmer in tone. Modern dyes tend to be colder.

You mean like this?

Royal blue makes our players look weak, skinny and callow. Navy blue makes them look like footballers.

The original looked cool. Here is a link to an original jumper in colour. https://www.smh.com.au/money/vintage-demons-jumper-with-10000-hopes-pulled-from-sale-20140513-zrb74.html

It was Stewart Spencer when he became club president in 1986. The first thing he did was to get rid of the ghastly royal blue. Northey just happened to arrive at the same time. I recall at the time the vast majority of supporters were very happy with the change back to navy blue.

The fact that we have conceded only 25 behinds which averages out to just over 6 a game kind of waters down the value of this statistic. In contrast the Swans and Geelong have conceded 50 each. We don’t have enough opportunities on the board for a meaningful comparison. We also have only conceded 39 goals for a total of only 64 scoring shots against us at an average of 16 a game. The opposition only score 4 times a quarter. Very impressive. The Bulldogs have conceded 68 scoring shots.

Him and Mummy have a lot in common.

Absolutely thrilled by our win. Big raps on Charlie Spargo’s efforts. Great pressure, harassing, tackling and smart ball use. Was a key contributor to our outstanding forward work.

The ball will be on the ground often today and conditions perfect for duckers. We have to be careful, Selwood planning a master class no doubt.

Gary Ablett kicks 11 goals against Dees but cats still lose. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/from-the-archives-1993-not-even-ablett-can-save-the-cats-from-the-dees-20210407-p57had.html

In the Brisbane/Bulldogs game an umpire refused to give a free for deliberate OOB because a Bulldogs player let the ball run out when he had a chance to pick it up. The umpire told him so. That’s the way it should be policed.

Geelong have a habit of humbling us in the worst possible way. Despite their possession game they play well in the wet. Though not playing at Kardinia Park today they well and truly smash visitors in the wet over there. We don’t handle wet conditions well. Too many recent wild results makes this impossible for me predict anything. We could win or lose by 40 points. I’m nervous.

Better to have both on 2-2. Win tomorrow and we will be 2 games clear of both.

Football media always had its resident clowns, Lou Richards, Jack Dyer, Sam Newman, Dipper, Eddie, Rex, Hunt to name a few. If they weren’t effective in their roles they would have played it straight or never had a career. The media wants fans to love or better still hate them. Ignoring them is death.

I disagree with posters who believe Essendon’s loss is no good for us and that the Swans are 4-0. The more distance we can put on to the middle of the road sides the better. We want to be a top side but there is always is a top four. We hopefully will be 4-0 on Sunday evening.

The bookies don’t think so. Geelong clear favourites to beat us despite barely surviving against the lowly hawks.