Pates

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.

Further proof that statistics can lie, I mean how can a team that has seven “elite” players get absolutely destroyed by a team with only three. One answer is the the statistics themselves are simply flawed, as they only give a data representation of the players impact. But you look at Max’s game vs Geelong and tell me he’s not elite. The other answer is that the system we have is elite, even if the players are only average.

The footage of Jackson burning off Max, wow he looks even better! Oh and c’mon Jack, leave the laying opponents out to the real stuff!

I burn a candle for Jesse, really hope he gets a solid run for the back end of his career. Trade time last season when there were a few forward options out there I was all for the idea of him coming back to the club over Brown as I felt a homecoming would’ve been a great romantic idea, but extremely glad we got Brown instead. As for him leaving, I can’t see how we would’ve been able to get the picks to nab Maysie without letting go of Jesse. Him leaving ultimately helped us become premiers. If we had him, Brown, TMac, and Weid (insane depth of forwards!) I’d see it being Brown and Hogan, with Jesse playing the connector role. Tom had a great start to last season but towards the end tapered off (hopefully it was injury related). Once he’s finish with GWS I hope he’s welcomed back to the Dees with open arms as a former player.

Massive blow for the the Suns, can’t really take a trick. I hope King makes a full recovery, looks to be a genuine star in the making.

Not meaning to turn this thread into a state of the game thread but another point I’d make is that crowds are certainly dwindling. There was naturally a huge peak of interest when it first came in and they made tickets free, not to mention there were only a handful of teams so there was this vision of it being an elite version of the game. Now that the standard of play is really scrappy and almost every club has a female team getting fans to the grounds is getting more and more challenging. The A-league had a similar peak of interest and has gone quiet now both in interest in the media and crowds at games. There has to be an acceptance that the AFLW is going to have to go through some times of genuine struggle, and the question has to be asked of where it it’s going to be in 5/10/15/20 years time. I haven’t got kids but when I do, if I have a girl I’ll be trying my hardest to encourage her into footy!

I work on the broadcast for the AFLW and I can tell you that there are things that are improving but also things that have got worse and I do think the general standard of skills isn’t great. I have even quietly wondered if it might be worth them using a softer version of the footy and whether that would improve things a little. Handballs and kicks often seem to fall short, and even though they haven’t written it in their rules of the game they are certainly allowing 10m kicks to be paid as marks (I don’t have an issue with that). I haven’t been a fan of the expansion of teams, better to have a small group of teams to build the standard and give an elite look about the game than to have it overflowing with teams and having to top it up with players who are athletic but have been kicking the ball for 6 months. I reckon in 5 years time we will see a big lift in standard when girls that are currently playing in the junior divisions and learning (and mastering) the skills enter into the competition. The frustrations that come from the skills often reach the highest point when they string together a great piece of play but then butcher the final part. Toughness, pressure, and athleticism wise the standard has got better, which may in turn be having an impact of skills.

Am I the only one the think the creation of the A-league may have actually hurt our ability to produce top line players? Days gone by players would identified as having something special and go overseas in their early-mid teens to train under the best academies. Now there’s a pathway through the system here but let’s be honest the competition isn’t as hot and certainly not as brutal. Perhaps that’s unfair to the A-league but the standard of Oz football has been on the steady decline since it’s inception. Is it possible for each academy that is connected to the A-league clubs to have a system that sends two of their best to one of the major academies overseas for a brief stint/trial? Either way something needs to change otherwise we will be left behind as the other Asian nations continue to improve. I mean we have no players in the premier league, that’s incredibly disappointing.

Lol happily retract my comment then! Their team out on the park might not be great but looks like management is doing pretty well.

It’s definitely before my time but it seemed like a lot, if not most clubs, we really struggling between the 80s-90s (90s I remember as a kid with Fitzroy, the early years of Sydney, and of course the Dees/Hawks merger proposal). Also probably worth pointing out that the “successful clubs” were doing a lot of things on the sly. Much as I vomit at the idea, a merger between Melbourne and the Roos (becoming the Melbourne Roos or North Melbourne Demons) seemed like a logical idea to put forward when both clubs were struggling. That time has now well and truly passed as we have managed to crawl mostly out of the hole we created for ourselves, I feel like the final piece of the puzzle to all but ensure our future is to get our home base over the line. As for North, they’re still in their own hole which I can’t see them getting out of any time soon. Don’t really see a merger being possible but I don’t see how they get out of being where they are.

This isn’t a record that needs breaking but something I’d love to see us set is largest winning margins on QB vs Pies. Also what’s the record for largest losing margin for the Cats at KP, would love for us to take hold of that one.