binman

1 minute ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

For those going, don't expect to see Kozzie or Max in action.

Why?

53 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Ah the VFL fixture.

So we take extra players to Perth who won't get a run and then have a VFL bye the following week.

Such a useful competition.

Not as though it's a new occurrence

At least the games aren't on at the same time!

1 hour ago, Demonland said:

Full fixtures for the 2026 Smithy’s VFL season and 2026 VFLW season will be released in coming weeks.

Love it - Saturday 21 March wil be a banner footy day for me.

Catch the dees v dog at Whitten Oval (when not windy an awesome ground to watch footy at i reckon), a 20 minute drive from my place.

A saturday arvo game at Whitten Oval starting at 2:10pm is just perfect - real old school vibes

Home by 5:30.

Rustle up a quick BBQ dinner and then settle in to watch us knock off Freo in Perth, triggering a discussion about where the dockers are at.

Life doesn't get much better.

On 25/01/2026 at 21:21, deanox said:

@binman the GP line up this year is phenomenal. I am very much looking forward to see what Djrum brings, his releases are phenomenal. And Frost Children are emo kids playing electronica. Plus Ty Segall a latest album is an absolute cracker.

Might see you there!

Yep, awesome, awesome lineup.

It's been a bit hit and miss for the last few years, but they've got it spot on this year.

Djrum won't be everyone's cup of tea, too experimental, but right up my aural alley and is one of the acts I'm most looking forward to seeing.

Assuming we get our normal spot, we'll be on couches under a gum tree on the slope to the left of the mixing desk (not far from the right corner of Eric's bar).

Here's a recent picture of me:

On 27/01/2026 at 12:12, lorn said:

Are people ever going to get Sumner-Pickett's name right?

I can promise you i won't - despite my very best efforts

I will stick with Latrelle

2 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Does Kayo have VFL games? They used to have them but I haven't noticed them in recent years

I thought so, but perhaps I'm imagining it

3 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Math SIM is not a traditional SIM.

1 hour ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Ch 7 have reportedly dropped their VFL coverage.

Hopefully the AFL will permit streaming on the TV from the AFL site.

Why it's not available now I'll never understand. Same with the WatchAFL website. (Dark Ages)

I think its part of the agreement with fox and 7 to protect their investment.

Not that VFL games would be a deal breaker for somone umming and aahimg about getting a Kayo subscription, but if for example you could cast the coverage of vfl games (or the preseason games) you don't need Kayo to watch it on a TV.

Just now, binman said:

See below (crazy to think this song, one of my favourite who tracks) was released 61 years ago in December 1964.

On 24/01/2026 at 18:37, whatwhat say what said:

just making recommendations and comments and about how excited i am for new, and old, music, all the time

big sound is generally held early september

That's weird. Two of my comments were combined - first para was supposed to be against in response to your comment that 2 of your posts had disappeared.

Wasn't funny so didn't post.

Second was a reply to Brownie.

But on new music ive been loving cali band upchuck (think combo of the minutemen, early chilli peppers, circle jerks and black flag - would not look out of place in the film repo man).

And also loving Chicag/new york ban Water from your eyes. Not sure of a comparison but they remind me, more sensibility wise than sound, of erudite late 70s new wave bands like Talking Heads.

The Gnomes are a young Frankston band playing early sixties, Beatles style power pop. Great fun.

All three are playing at Golden Plains on Labor day weekend so probably playing gigs in Melbourne.

40 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

i have two posts that have failed to appear in this thread

odd

Sorry, did you say something?

On 21/01/2026 at 13:40, Brownie said:

Yeah, it was hard to beat the 80s and 90s. It just seemed easier to run a venue and for bands to tour.

Harder to get the punters in and the kids just don't drink much anymore if they do turn up. Can't blame them at the prices.

Same with festivals I suppose. Used to work at a few. The cost of insurance and compliance these days.

I'd never ever say that music isn't as good these days though.

There's some incredible artists around.

Four corners did a piece on Live nation and how they're contributing to the wrecking of live music venues.

Bad Dreems were interviewed. They've just dropped another fantastic song.

Radium Dolls are also dropping a new album next week I think. Fantastic band and great live.

Full flower moon band are also great.

Saw all 3 of them at Bangalow bowlo in the last year or so. Some great people doing mini festivals in that venue over the last couple of years.

However, the bowlo was taken over by a bigger conglomerate a few years ago and they've just shut the bowlo down.

Last Quokka put out a raging cracker of a punk album last year.

They came over from Perth and played in the dining area of the hotel metropole in Lismore last year. The roof leaked during the gig and we were on the bottom floor! There were probably only 40 people there and they were just bloody fantastic.

One of my favourite bands at the moment. I just kept thanking them all for making a stop in Lismore

If you want to see great new talent. I can't recommend coming to big sound in Brisbane enough. Usually 150 bands or so playing over 3 nights. 4 nights really.

Tickets cheap as chips (unless you do the conference as well) and you get to sleep in a proper bed.

My favourite festival of all time.

When is Big sound?

"I think most of us are pretty confident that Harvey Langford will turn out to be a Fairstar."

That's harsh - his turning circle will surely improve.

15 minutes ago, bing181 said:

Suns the dark horse. Mids to die for, younger players a year older (Humphries!), the addition of one of the best players in the AFL (Trac) and if JUH gets back to anything like what he's capable of they're going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Yep, tend to agree. And as much as i hate to say it i think tracc is a perfect fir for them and won't surprise me if he get back to his AA best. And they looked super fit last year.

A really interesting thing about the Suns, at least to me, is their game plan.

Hardwick has them playing a style not a million miles from that of the Tigers under him - contest, defence, and most notably bucking the trend of short and medium kicks to transition the ball and instead doing what the Tigers did under Hardwick - kicking long and focus on winning the subsequent ground ball or aerial contest.

As evidence of that, in 2025 the Suns were number one in the AFL for metres gained per kick - diametrically opposite to the Lions who were 17th for metres gained per kick.

Does anyone know if we are at Gosh's tomorrow?

(i did look on our website, no doubt it's there somewhere but i couldn't see it and i dont have an hour to look!)

2 hours ago, MaccaR said:

Honestly, the pre-season predictions are generally a massive waste of time. The best anyone can do is roughly predict clubs will finish approx the same place they did the previous year plus or minus 1 or 2 ladder positions up or down.

Almost no one ever predicts the big falls or climbs. I think most MFC supporters rightly see this year as a reset with low expectations, I will wait to assess our current coach and list at the end of the season.

Of interest, here is the AFL 2021 expert ladder predictions:

afl.com.au

Agree (pre-season predictions are generally of little value), and that's particularly true of the dee's 2026 season.

And i'd argue that it's even more difficult these days to predict how teams will go because the collective fitness of a team has become one of the most significant determinants of success - i'd argue only behind injury and the strength of the list in significance.

It of course all but impossible to gauge a team's collective fitness during the preseason, particularly of teams you don't support and to a lesser extent in the first third of the season (the phase where teams are still getting the full benefit of the preseason).

The analogy i think of is baking a cake - all the ingredients are mixed up; it goes into the oven and looks great as it cooks and comes out looking delicious. But you don't know how it tastes until you try a piece.

That said, I'm pretty confident the Lions will once again be a premiership contender as their list is so strong, they list is settled and they clearly have one of, if not the best, high performance programs in the AFL that has mastered the art of being in optimal condition on Grand Final day (look at vision of their players in the last 2 grand finals - they all look incredibly cut, and clearly more so than even a few weeks prior. And they have run over both their opponents, the Swans and the Cats and clearly look fitter and stronger).

As for Melbourne, I think it's great that the consensus seems to be that 12th is our ceiling as it means the team can go out about its business without the weight of expectation and fans will enjoy the wins more and be less likely to jump on the club after losses.

As I've noted before, there are too many variables this season (eg new senior coach, tweaked game plan, impact of Claz and Trac going, new players, new CEO, new Prez etc etc) to make an informed prediction of how we might go.

That said i'd be very surprised if the club did not think the finals were a realistic goal - and i will not be surprised in the least if we do make finals,

I think we have a very underrated list, even among dees fans, with some serious talent under 25 years old.

In Koz, Bowser, Roo, The Duke, The Bison, XF, XT, Latrelle, Jeffo and the Kolt we have ten players under the age of 25 who were first round draft selections.

And I'd argue that Riv (24 - and taken at pick 32) and Disco (23 - mid-season rookie draftee) both would've been worthy first round draft picks.

The jury is still well and truly out on Jeffo and the Kolt, and of course two of those players are yet to debut, but still, that is some serious young talent spread between 19 and 24 years old.

We have obviously lost some top end talent with the loss of Claz and Tracc, and it's not unreasonable to argue we are a bit thin for talent in the 25 years and older bracket.

But we have the best ruck in the competition, in Fritter one of the most consistently productive forward in the AFL and if Lever, who is still only 29, can stay injury free he is a top line defender (i'd love to say ditto for Steve May, but I'm not convinced he'll get back to his best).

We didn't have great first half of the preseason in terms of the number of players in rehab. But against that most players in rehab have had relatively minor injuries and have been able to continue build their aerobic base.

Bowser's injury is no good, but he is the only long-term injury we've had thus far.

If we have decent Jan and Feb i think we will be in pretty good shape, pardon the pun, come the season in terms of our collective fitness.

The other factor is, as i have argued previously, i just don't think the competition is particularly strong outside the Lions and perhaps the Crows.

There isn't much separating 10-12 teams IMO, and i think there's a chance we will beat some teams that at this stage pundits have us well ahead of us (eg the Dogs, Freo, Pies and Hawks)

5 hours ago, Tolstoys Nudge said:

Spoke to Richo who said next week or so he will be in some contact drills.

Side note: Matthews is looking better literally by the touch — agreed slow as you’d expect but is already showing flashes of being bake to do the one-touch things so many players just can’t do!

That's great as one of my big frustrations with the team over the last couple of seasons is how many times we fumble - sometimes it felt like Koz and Bowser were out only one touch players.

7 minutes ago, Brownie said:

Yeah it's that sweet spot if you can jump on a big wave before the band gets too big to experience them properly up close.

They knocked festival Hall down in Brissie and built the entertainment centre in Boondall which has all the character of a shopping centre theatre. I think I've only been there twice.

Off to see Nick Cave next week at the show grounds. Saw him at the Tivoli in 2007 when he also was supported by..... Himself in grinderman.

It was like a double Nick Cave and the bad seeds gig for the price of one in a venue with about 600 people.

First time I'd got to see him. He made me cry ( watching probably 20 feet away playing into your arms)

I jam with a couple of mates who worked out last week they were both at the Manly Vale the same night the cure played there in the 80s. They reckoned that was amazing.

Nirvana would have been something else man. How bloody fantastic.

We're going to see Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings at HOTA on the Gold coast in a few weeks. Man that guy is an amazing guitarist.

I discovered their music a week after they played at the Bangalow hall up the road from us 7 or 8 years ago. That was a bummer!

Every era has great live bands, and nostalgia can colour assessment, but geez it's hard to go past the 80s for live rock music in oz, particularly Melbourne with its symbiotic relationship with the Seattle grunge scene.

As an example of how brilliant the 80s were for great live pub rock, the first three bands I saw live (all before i was legally allowed in the venue) were:

The Hoodoo Gurus in 1983 at the Lizard Lounge in Perth (pre Stoneage Romeos - they all had huge, Leningrad cowboy style quiffs, tight jeans and pointy boots)

Hunters and Collectors in 1983 at a pub in Kew that is closed now, can't remember its name - the pinnacle? (crazy gig as hunters were still in their industrial noise stage - lots of banging and clanging steel pipes with big chains, discordant horns and Mark Seymour in ultra testosterone mode)

Paul Kelly (I can't recall if it was Paul Kelly and the Dots or not - I don't think so as i think they had broken up by that time, but it def wasn't the Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls) in 1983 at a pub on Church Street in Richmond that has also since closed (can't recall its name).

Three great gigs.

Three legends of Oz rock.

1 minute ago, Brownie said:

I got to see them just as they started to get airplay at the Roxy in fortitude valley as 10 to 1 came out. They played with the warrumpi band.

The club was owned by the Bellino brothers, Brisbanes mafia days. It was February and absolutley steaming hot.

The bouncers just kept letting people in. You couldn't move anywhere.

By the time the oils hit the stage, we had white [censored] on our shoulders and worked out the paint was coming off the ceiling.

Peter Garret had the roadies bringing bucket after bucket of water on to the stage and he was just hurling it over us in the mosh pit. And was like an out of control moshpit on a skating rink.

2 absolutely incredible bands. Forces of nature. Both of them part of Australian music folklore.

Unforgettable night as a 17 year old kid.

Blimey, what a gig!

Two of Australia's Best ever rock bands, both legendary live acts, at a pub.

And in the Oil's case right before they went next level huge. Wow.

The closest I've got to that us seeing Nivrana at the palace in St kilda a few weeks after Nevermind was released. That gig was off the charts amazing.

4 minutes ago, binman said:

I just read that Rob Hirst passed away at 70 from pancreatic cancer.

Devastating.

Vale Rob Hirst. A phenomenal drummer and force of nature.

I loved Midnight Oil, but never saw them live (I started regularly seeing live gigs in about 1983 - by that stage they were huge and ive never liked going to stadium gigs).

But i saw Rob Hirst play with The Backsliders (who i love) and The Break.

Amazing drummer.

I just read that Rob Hirst passed away at 70 from pancreatic cancer.

Devastating.

Vale Rob Hirst. A phenomenal drummer and force of nature.

5 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

I don't disagree with any of that but didn't Max miss 6 weeks of pre season last year and then went onto have one of his best seasons ever? I'd be surprised if this injury impacts his performance at all.

Melksham also had a bunch of time on the sidelines and proceeded to play some of his best ever games last year.

Meanwhile blokes like McVee and Kolt had interrupted pre seasons last year and went onto have poor seasons.

The best teams no doubt have the best pre seasons but some players can seemingly get away with a poor pre season.

Melk and Max last season make my point - which when a player has to rehab during the preseason alot depends on the nature of the injury in terms of how much of an impact the injury had.

IIRC both Max and Melk were able to keep running and cycling- ie weren't off legs. So coukd maintain their aerobic conditioning.

Whereas kolt and mcvee I think had injuries that impacted their ability to run. And never got close to optimal fitness, particularly kolt (who by the by I think needs to pull his finger out if he wants to make it as AFL player- from what I glean from track reports he seems to have a good preseason thus far. I hope he doubles down I'm the next 2 months).

On 16/01/2026 at 18:52, old dee said:

I think we can be confident he will once again be the best ruckman in the comp. I seriously doubt there is much he could learn in the pre season.

It's not about Maxy not being able to work on ruck craft, it's the extent to which his injury impacts his physical preparation and conditioning during the preseason and therefore his season.

Players get one opportunity to build their aerobic and strength base - their preseason.

Each player has a bespoke, granulat conditioning program with specific kpis that is planned to the minute. Any injury disrupts that program.

So whilst Max's broken finger isn't a massive deal in the scheme of things as he can still run and maintain/build his tank his program has been disrupted - eg he likely missed a session for surgery, can't do things like swimming and his weights/strength program will have been disrupted (ie can't do any weights or strength work requiring both hands).

The Premiers set up their flag in the preseason.

35 minutes ago, Mel Bourne said:

I’ll be playing guit/keys with Marlon at GP, Bin. If you jump up on stage I’ll vouch for you.

Awesome.

At some point over the weekend I always wear my dees guernsey

I'll make sure I'm wearing it during Marlon William's set.

I can almost guarantee that if you look out at at the crowd and see some wacka in a short sleeves dees guernsey it will be me!

2 hours ago, Garbo said:

Lots of injured but only 1 longer term, whether this is bad or not will be decided by if these niggles keep happening or if they clear up over the next month

Yep.

Another factor is how many of the players who have had short term injuries have still been able to do cardio work.

For example, it's not great Max broke a finger, but at least he can maintain his aerobic fitness, eg on the bike or running laps.