Pates

Early chance to test the “system” with a little bit of different personnel. That said Hunt played it most of the season last year, Smith was pretty damn close to a GF spot. Perhaps the only eyebrow raising part is Harmes at HB. I thought we’d moved on from this experiment, that said I do know there are times that the coaches play funny nuggets with the line ups.

Couldn’t agree more on this, our players were pumped but didn’t celebrate like it was over. Rather the whole club made it abundantly clear that job was far from over. (I vaguely remember there was some chatter about that as well from some commentators saying our club didn’t let them enjoy it enough! 🙄)

Seriously I can’t believe the Dogs are still going on about that song. Are they going to be annoyed about every bloody team singing it? It’s common for teams all around the world to sing it in celebration, that they feel like it’s been “stolen” by us just to rub it in their faces is pathetic and childish. If I was a dogs fan I’d be totally miffed by it thinking, “is the fact that we got destroyed after half time in the grand final not motivation enough?” We don’t need to do a thing to get in their heads, we’re already there. I’m getting super pumped for this Wednesday now, this will be my first live H&A match since 2018.

Watching it now, some emotional moments in there early as they build the story. Also just noticed something about the Max Gawn kick after the siren. Tom Hawkins is VERY CLEARLY moving around on the mark and not adhering to the stand rule. Obviously Max kicked it so the [censored] can suck eggs but only just noticed then, can you imagine if the umpire actually noticed and paid the 50!

🤣 I think I would actually respect him more if he said this!!!

If anyone here is a South Park fan I challenge them to read his comments in Cartman’s trademark sobbing and complaining. 😂 But honestly that’s how it reads, the sort of thing you’d hear primary school kids say about each other when the teacher then gets them to shake hands and play nice. All for trying to reduce umpire abuse and this could well be them going too far the other way in order to get to the right point but jeez it means we’re going to have to put up with some pretty hard to watch matches in the meantime. How about instead of immediately paying (super costly) 50m penalties they give warnings, saying “this is your only warning, next time we feel disrespected we’ll pay a 50”? Treat the players with a little understanding and humanity rather than expecting them to be happy they’ve had a free kick paid against them when they got their head taken off (as an example). The umpires have communication between them so they can very easily say to each other “number 13 for Melbourne on an umpire warning”.

Tomlinson getting a 50m penalty against for laughing? Did I actually hear that correct?

If not us then I think then Port will win. If not us I would like to see the Saints win. I know there are plenty that laugh at them having only the one premiership and now the longest drought, but we showed that they're made to be broken and I'd like to see them win it before the likes of GWS, Freo, and (lol) GC win their first.

I’d like a Deputy VC (May or Lever would be my pick) to have a clear chain of leadership positions should both Jack and Max be unavailable but I imagine such a thing does exist internally; it’s just the official roles presented by the club is Max captain, Jack vice captain. Hard to argue with the pair bring the premiership home!

I’m not sure about your argument of demand vs earn. As far as I’m concerned by putting themselves in there as umpires of the game they have earned the right to respect immediately. What does need to be considered is heat of battle and the fact that they do make mistakes and the players can be frustrated. Case in point, Kozzie getting his head taken off in the Grand Final and Trac going ballistic at the umpire. Now is that dissent? Maybe. But Trac has every right to stick up for his teammate.

I did a doco on footy fans for a uni project back in 2008 (doesn’t feel that long ago); p**f, f****t, c**t, and just about every other name (though thankfully never witnessed any racial slurs) was common place. I’m all for passion and creating an atmosphere but I’m definitely glad the language has tidied up (mostly, not all the time). Maggot worked when they were all in white, doesn’t make any sense now.

Don't worry people, it's the loss we had to have 😉. Haven't seen any of the game so I can't comment on anything tactically, I'd say this is a massive win for the Blues while for us it might achieve a few things. Firstly it's a reminder that the competition will forever get stronger, we are the hunted now so every game teams will be wanting to put up nothing but their best. Secondly it provides a sobering reminder to those that don't perform that your position isn't set in stone. It also might've given a bit of glimpse into how other teams may try to counter our system. Great to see Fritta picking up where he left off. Did Bowser play? His first taste of defeat as a Demon?!

Rotate between TMac and Weid. I believe (could well be wrong) there’s an extended bench for this game. Possibly Brown as well, a chance to experiment a little. We know our best 22 line up stacks up, maybe have a look at what the second string has to offer.

I’d be up for this, we need to look at Weid in combo with Brown. He wasn’t given proper game time last week.

Yep we could call Petracca “world class” but of course we’re the only place in the world that plays AFL!

She’s got great options on the table, channel Seven adores her (and with good reason, she’s a legend!), she could walk into most clubs as senior AFLW coach, and it comes as no surprise that a club would approach her for a role for the mens team. I’ve got zero doubt that her focus is on winning that elusive premiership, but she’s also been in the professional footy system longer than any female player. Wouldn’t surprise me if she takes a role that allows her best opportunity to spend time with her beautiful kids. Wherever she ends up, she is red and blue to the core.

I get what you’re saying but they aren’t as far apart as you say. It wasn’t only the AFL announcing this upgrade, the Vic Sports minister was also there pumping it up, which means $$$ and collaboration from the state government, also almost every single recent development regarding other clubs facilities has had significant contribution and assistance by the AFL. Basically the two stakeholders that were at this event are also likely to be involved in the plans and funding for our new facilities. I get there are others involved but it’s a little frustrating seeing other projects get launched while ours stays in a holding pattern.

Can’t help but feel, if there’s money for this project then where’s our bloody new training base that has been in the works for ages?

One thing that is very easily noticed about Casey is a clear lack of shade for spectators. Thankfully Thursday wasn’t too bad but is the scorching heat there really isn’t much for the fans to get out of the heat. I hope there’s plans in the background for giving Casey a bit more on the “non broadcast” wing for fans to escape the sun and heat. I had a great time going out, it was my birthday and had the day off so it just worked out beautifully! I’m not really able to add anything extra to some of the reports. Oliver looks like he could go another level this year, which is insane because he’s already a gun. Was so pleased to see Benny Brown looking fit and firing. He’s a sneaky chance at the Coleman this season if he gets that sort of consistency.

Well done to the man, helping someone in need is sign of good character on his part. Happy to bag him for being a part of Dad's Army, and for being a bit of a sook/diver on the footy field, but it sounds like this girl and her family were in strife and he helped to prevent a tragedy. Well done Paddy 👏.

I swear I remember hearing a number of years ago that a refurb of the GSS was on the cards planning wise, they were just trying to work out the feasibility and funding. It could well be that the result of that feasibility study was that to upgrade the stand it would cost roughly the same as a complete rebuild (which could be viable for 30+ years as opposed to a refurb being viable for 20+ years). As for upgrading, it's not just about food stalls, toilet facilities etc. It would be infrastructure, wiring, internet, event facilities, entertainment systems, broadcast facilities and much more. These are massive in the world of major sports events and not having them in place means the MCG will immediately get discounted from participation or hosting of the major of the big matches/events. I love the Great Southern Stand, would probably prefer they look at refurbishment over knocking it down if it is viable.

Harris is on another level to the competition. Her used of her body in marking contests, her hands, her kicking; there isn't anyone I can think of that matches her in AFLW. She could be the difference at the pointy end of the season. Massive win for them, genuine contenders.

It’s a fair question, I think he was the back up plan to Isaac Smith. I don’t think it was a case of we tried every other option for him, I think it was a recognition that we needed a player with footy smarts on the other wing and gave Gus the challenge. My thoughts are that Gus still would’ve been placed into that role to create positional competition with Smith. History will show now that Gus made the position his own when thrown the challenge. I actually don’t think there are many others at the club that could’ve done what he did this year, his contribution through our wins have been massively underrated. With Jones and Jetta gone, Gus is one of our true heart and soul players.

Not ideal but also not a huge surprise. There were always going to be contracts like this as we start to feel the pinch of keeping the team together. As much as I hate the cats I admire their ability to hold onto much of their premiership(s) squad for quite a while, same can be said about the Hawks. As success builds the decision will come to those who know they may be able to get an additional $250k+ or an extra 1-2 years at other clubs, but also have a desire to keep the band together. Gus will definitely be able to get a better contract elsewhere, so it will be up to him and the club to see if they can find the middle ground that suits both worlds. I love Gus to bits, but I’d be prioritising Jacko first as a player to sign up.

Will this be something that you have to buy (probably free) tickets in advance? I’ve got the day off so I might get down there.