binman

Mmm, they said on the call of the game that that region is Australia's fastest growing are for population. I think it is smart to keep investing in the region and looking to cement that area as demon territory. it has been a long term strategy, and in my opinion after being a doubter, i think very smart one, The only way to remain competitive over a long period is to have big number of paid up members and a strong fan base. And the only way to achieve both is to bring in new supporters and build the base. The Casey connection is helping us achieve both and the popularity women's team is no doubt a big factor.

More good news for the club. Any journos perusing Demonland for a good news story, please note, winning the McClelland trophy for best men's and women's football program can be added to an impressive list of positives from the last 3 years, a period where we: have won three flags are even money favorite to win our fourth flag in a few weeks finished top 4 in the men's and women comp every season made finals in every VFL season (In spite of this success) go into the upcoming draft with a brilliant draft hand for any team, let alone a top 4 team have a united board a CEO (who had his critics when he came to the dees) doing a top job have stabilized financially thankfully no longer have to rely on income from pokies got to 70k plus members (an all time record) continued to strengthen the women's program have been able to keep the women's team together (very much unlike other top teams) are on the way to creating the best, most successful program in AFLW history did a thorough review of our 2022 season and made changes as a result resigned our men's and women's coach made a series of long term, contract extensions to key players resigned Koz, a terrific message that our club is considered culturally safe by Aboriginal players (reinforced by McAdam nominating the dees) been leaders in the Aboriginal cultural space - for example the Indigenous jumpers and Narrm initiative that other clubs are now getting on board with (eg renaming their team for Indigenous round) not unrelated to the above two points, bedded down our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan managed the departure of Jackson in a way that has given us a great draft hand managed the transition of Burgess to Griffith super well managed the situation with Jonsey not getting a game in the GF super well resigned Melk when we we could have easily said see ya have done a great job connecting with past players and bringing them back into the fold had an assistant coach win one of the most coveted jobs in footy - the senior coach of the tigers Yes, like every other club we have had our share of isolated incidents but by any measure that is a super impressive list of achievements, albeit missing one key thing - a home base. We are in better shape now then at any other point in the 45 plus years i have ardently followed the mighty dees. Go redlegs.

Appropriate posting name.

None to Demonland?

Great crowd. Very windy up there too but the ground has stands and is an amphitheater so it is somewhat protected. And the game is better for it. I've said it before and i'll say it again the AFL should only play AFLW games on AFL standard grounds with stands that provide protection from the wind. I understand the logic of playing our home games at Casey in terms of continuing to grow our connection and fan base in the south east. And there is no question that area has really embraced the women's team. So perhaps always have a 4-5 games there in a full 17 game season (ie each team plays each other once, which is the ideal system i reckon), but the rest of our home games - and as many games against other vic based teams as possible (eg as part of what i have suggested as a weekly Friday night game there) - should be at Princess Park.

Reads like a declaration not injury news.

Shelleyyyy Heathyyyy! @Dees_In_October - the club has lent into adding the y to Heath rather than going with Heater. Controversy in the nickname space!

Nup. Here is a photo a friend took of me as the ball sailed through the goal from the sublime right foot of Jacky boy:

That's awesome for omac. Great reward for super hard work. By all accounts his back injury was pretty bad, which makes getting back on an AFL list all the more meritorious given the rehab he would have had to push through - made tougher by not being in the AFL system with all the resources and support at club land. A super smart fella who works hard and is the very definition of a solid citizen. Great pick up for freo. Good on freo for offering him a two year contract. Uprooting your life and moving to the other side of the country is no small thing. 14 more games and he gets to 100 games and AFL life membership. Good onya Omac.

I was there too. Top of the Ponsford. I. Went. Bannas.

Tayla can go missing, and this season we're well covered for rucks so there's less opportunity for her to ruck and get into the game. But surely has the most X factor in the AFLW. Can impact the game in a half a quarter and is s match winner when on. The other thing she brings is her field kicking. Tayla is a terrific kick - clears 50 no problems, and the ball gets in there quick. It's a weapon. Gillard has a similarly long kick, (though not as fluent) and the direction seems to be to go long when she gets the chance. Deep entries are gold for the dees. Hore and Zanker are clunking them, Harris when she's up and about and Bannon not far off a break out game as a marking forward. The other factor is any boundary line throw in lands almost in the corridor after the umpire comes in from the boundary line. Our rucks and smalls can go to work.

I resemble that comment!

Ta. Am i right to think that Dursma would address the need for a outside distributor type (i watched him live when Casey played Coburg but he didn't really get much of it but seemed a neat kick)? On May i think a big factor in how long he can play for is his back. For much of the season he really struggled to get down to gather ground balls, i assume because of the lower back, glute issues he had preseason. He really improved in that regard by te end of the season and regained his pace over the ground. On the impact of Petty leaving (if that a happens, we'll see), i think a factor is whether Disco can go to another level. Similar skill set, including being a good interceptor and versatile (there was talk of him coming in to play as a forward against the Blues), though no quite as big or strong (but young still so could bulk up a bit).

Apologies if i missed it gator, but what type of player (as opposed to a specific player) do you think we should be focusing on drafting in with our first pick and then our later picks?

On the coverage they did their best to make it look like a good crowd, but there were only 2,704 people there which won't help the cause. That said last night's game was a great example of why they should play as many matches at Princess park as possible. It looked great on TV under lights and the surface is brilliant (as is casey's too i guess). I thought the skills were brilliant considering the squally, swirling wind but if that game was played at Casey it would have devolved into a messy, even more low scoring game. By the by i thought the pre match welcome to country ceremony was fantastic. The fella who did it spoke brilliantly.

Nile was great, but i have to say Chaka Kahn was a little underwhelming. The sound is not great at the bowl i have to say - the rig they have is not big enough and when it is windy the bass drop away randomly How was Sir Paul McCartney?

Hanks Gillard Heath Purcell Paxman Mitten Zanker

Watched the game 'as live' when I got home from being out. Tough performance. Defensive work was incredible. Good lord, how good is hanks? I bang on about kicking skills, but her game reminded me or the importance of decision making in terms of nor turning the ball over. Hanksy consistently makes such good decisions, including knowing when not to release the ball or delaying a kick to avoid coughing it up - a skill more of the men need to develop. And how about that goal? Class. I am a frequent critic of how men's games are called. On the whole I much prefer the coverage of the AFLW. And credit where it is due. The commentary in last night's match was just about the best I think I've ever heard for any match, men's or women's. Alistair Nicholson combined a great calling voice (remarkable how many callers sound terrible) and first class calling skills. And Kate McCarthy who did special comments was brilliant. Added exactly what that role should - genuine insight, smart use of ststs to help make her points and a deep understanding of the game including game plans and strategies. Fantastic. And best of all she was fantastic at communicating complex ideas without dumbing it down or using footy jargon. Fantastic, and a rare skill (Chloe malloy is simarly good at this) And a bonus was how well they worked together. Really good synergy. It was a reminder that they should only use two callers - caller and special comments. And one boundary rider, who last night was Sarah Ollie who was also excellent. I'd love Nicholson, McCarthy and Ollie to do every AFLW and AFL game the dees played.

An absolute gun. Def didn't get te credit he deserved here in Vic. Would be right up there in my all time list of best players I've watched play

I didn't mean on DL. I meant in the real world

True dat.

By the by, dazzler, i wanted to clarify that leaving aside the issue of the impact of drugs on disadvantaged communities i wanted to make 1000% clear i think that as a society we should be doing everything in our power to reduce the likelihood all children (ie young people up to age of 18 and even a bit older) use drugs and alcohol whilst still children and their brain is still developing. The research on brain development has come a very long way since i started in community services and it is now clear that use of any toxic substances, including alcohol, hugely negatively impacts the developing brain - which research suggests continues to develop up to aprox 25 (and beyond but much more incrementally). And i'd like to add that the work you are doing is so, so important. There is no more important work. I often wondered when i was doing resi work, by far the hardest and most demanding work i have ever done, if i was making a difference. Quite a few years later i was in homelessness and a kid from one of the units became a client of service. Great kid. Hadn't seen in him since working with him. And when he saw me he beamed and talked at length about stuff we had done together stuff and things i had said to him (that i could barely recall saying). He told me that i had indeed made a difference and he very much took on board some of my advice (i wish my own kids would!). Said that he always loved that he could tell i liked and respected him - despite the bat**** crazy stuff he often got up to (and it was crazy). Said that had been really important to him. From that day on, when supervising staff doing direct service who were worried they weren't making a difference i used that example and reinforced that we may never see it, but it's there. Big and small. Thank you for the difference you are making in the life of the young people you care, support and advocate for. We need more dazzlers.

Well dazzler, I for one think yelling racist abuse is way, way worse than taking recreational drugs. Incomparably worse. For one thing yelling racist abuse is, at least in my opinion, morally and ethically unacceptable. In my opinion recreational drug use is neither. Of course drug misuse is damaging to communities, particularly the most disadvantaged. And the most disadvantaged of all are Aboriginal communities because of endemic systemic racism, which is underpinned by the sort of casual racism they are forced to endure (as bad as it is, the issue isn't really Walker yelling racist abuse at a local footy match - it's that he thought it was socially acceptable to do so). Drug misuse is a symptom. And for many a form of logical self medication. Recreational drug use harms the individual choosing to use them. Yelling racist epithets harms the person being subjected to the abuse, anyone who hears it and the society as a whole. And Aboriginal people. Made 100 times worse when it is someone people admire and put on a pedastool like Walker. You seem to be conflating drug use and drug misuse. Of course if drug use becomes misuse it can cause untold harm on communities, particularly as you say disadvantaged communities. And you are 100% correct there are many communities ravaged by drug misuse. I assume you have the same views on alcohol? That recreational alcohol use is worse than yelling racist abuse? I have worked in the community services sector for over 30 years. For many years I worked in residential care with the kids you work with now. Damaged, traumatised kids removed from their families for their own protection. I have worked in child protection, the youth drug space (rehab units), needle exchanges, harm reduction, youth refuges, family services, family violence, public housing and homelessness (family, rough sleeping, crisis). On a personal level I was a young fella in Melbourne during the heroin epidemic in the 80s and early 90s. The Herald Sun had a daily overdose count such was the devastation and the music scene I was part of as a punter was devastated by the dragon, as were close friends. I know the damage drugs can do. But i can categorically say that in my experience NOTHING comes close to the damage alcohol does. Nothing. It's alcohol and then daylight on the scale of harm its misuse causes to kids, families and communities. Particularly the most disadvantaged ones.

Fair enough. But leaving aside my belief the media interview was orchestrated or the fact that because he is from a small country town doesn’t mean he is a clueless country bumpkin (who by the way left said back blocks when he was 14 and went to boarding school in Adelaide- not to mention having lived in Australia's second biggest city for the last 4 years) I'd ask a simple question. If, as you suggest, he is not media savy (which I didn't suggest by the way - I said he is not interested - Harry is a smart bloke who has, in my opinion, just used the media for his own ends ie media savy) why did he stop for not one, but two media interviews? He could have chosen to do what he had no doubt done a million times - walked on by the gaggle, wavede his hands, and simply said not today fellas. I don't recall koz, who definitely isn't media savvy, getting sucked into doing a door stop interview when he was considering his future Again, Harry can do what he wants. And in the scheme of things it isn't a big deal. He'll play for us next year and perhaps beyond. And I'm not meaning to tar and feather Harry. But by the same token it is completely reasonable for fans who are passionate and for whom their support isnt a business decision to be upset. Or annoyed. Or frustrated. And by the by I reckon vitriol is a bit strong. I haven't read any posts going super hard at petty. As my dear departed mum said to me more than once - I'm not angry, I'm disappointed.

Reasonable points. I agree petty has every right to play where he wants to play - and for whatever reason he likes. It's a business and clubs will cut players - or not play them - when it suits them. Just look at the Billings situation. Forced out because the saints weren't gonna play him. Or ask Deakyn Smith about loyalty. But personally I dislike he chose to use the media to make his case and put undue pressure on the club. And choosing to play a round of golf with players from a club you are agitating to get to, regardless if they are old mates or not, BEFORE the trade period ended was very poor form. I mean c'mon if he was gagging for a game of golf with fogerty et al he could have waited 'till this morning. And making sure the SA media know ahead of time and are there to report on it and do a door stop interview? Please. If anyone thinks he and his manager didn't orchestrate that circus they are kidding themselves. It was particularly galling given petty does stuff all media or promotional work for the dees. Again, his call and he can do what he wants. As i said Its a business for players, clubs and managers. But it's not a business for fans, its a passion. And when a player jerks around the club they should understand it will upset and hurt fans. I would understand if he had an axe to grind and felt he was being treated unfairly. But by his own admission he doesn't and hasn't been. Have your conversations about wanting to be traded internally and show some respect to your current employer who has given you your shot at AFL footy - not to mention strongly supported you through the zorko drama and helped you be a premiership player. And show some respect to dees fans who at the end of the day are the reason he is able to be paid handsomely to live out his dream. I'd be more forgiving if he was a kid. For that reason I cut Horne Francis plenty of slack. But petty is a grown [censored] adult for petts sake.