Maldonboy38

Yeah, fair enough. Our backline is showing its limitations due to personnel and May is being well beaten most of the time. Although Tomlinson is doing ok, he is being found out in the air.

Difficult to watch. A few having a real crack, but almost the entire 22 very fumbly. And those kick around the corner to 3 Suns players is just so frustrating; we haven't seen that ina fair while and it is horrible to see again. Jackson, Trac, Bowey, Tomlinson, Brayshaw. Rivers should not be playing. His kicking which is usually so penetrating has been horrendous. Langdon running but not getting. Fritsch not going for balls with his name on it. And Suns players waltzing free through the middle time and time again. If they had King, we would be well behind.

Not a walk-up win at all. Gold Coast have a good system, and players are finally learning to play to it. Midfield battle will be very, very good. Our forwards will be the difference. Brown is looking like he will challenge for the Coleman medal. Fritsch the freak is difficult to manage. Spargo and ANB work so hard and run their opponents into the ground. Kozzie is primed to tear a game apart. On top of this, it is impossible to counter both Trac and Bang-Bang Oliver running forward at stoppages. Dees by 28 points in a wet grind.

Epic fail by the security. No way could they stop the crowd from running onto the field, but not one got to Buddy before the crowd. Really dangerous. Well done Buddy for handling that so well. I would have panicked in that press from that crowd. And well done Buddy - unique, unstoppable super star.

I am well over 50 and my kids tell me I keep banging on about certain BS, repeating myself over certain things. Well I'm going to do it again and hopefully not annoy all my fellow Demonlanders. Heeney is a gun. I reckon he is the cleanest player in AFL bar none.

Paddy McCartin is finally able to show his abilities without the Draft pick 1, or concussion dialogue swirling round him. He looks composed, a great decision maker, a precise kick, and a very good contested mark. I have loved his footy over these first 2 rounds.

Wasn't McGovern standing still? How can the fault be his?

No way making a call about Carlton yet. Dust doesn't settle until about round 8. Their midfield is very, very good but Cripps will probably not be able to sustain his current rate of work, and their defence can be easily exposed as shaky and vulnerable. And the Doggies are a proud bunch with a brilliant skipper, I doubt they will roll over.

Carlton look good, but it feels like they won't sustain it. (I said this last week and they got up though!). I still hate them with a passion and would love to see them lose by a dodgy free kick on the siren, or something similar. But the Dogs defensive spread and concentration is atrocious. Something not right at the Doggies.

I watched some of the Eagles v Suns game yesterday. They are quick, but probably no more than us which surprised me. It seemed (haven't seen stats) that there were very few contested marks, and considering it could be humid it will mean a lot of ground ball play. So: I am a fan of Weid and hope to see him soon, but no way does he play this weekend We will definitely miss Salem. With him out, Kozzie, Spargo, Bowey, Hunt will be vital at ground level. We can't go in too tall. Midfield battle will be a beauty Fritsch might tear this lot apart. I can't see who they have to cover his leading.

I don't say too much externally, but my friends and family are getting sick of the smug look on my face that seems to express the following: "I-don't-care-about-too-much-at-all- cos-Dees-are-premiers-and-the-rest-of-you-are-absolute-sh**". And might I suggest it is a very, very satisfying smugness.

Longmire is an outstanding coach right up there with Clarkson, Hardwick and Goody. Also, they probably have the best Football Dept personnel in the competition. The Swans changed 1/2 the list over a 3 year period and already these young boys playing top 4 footy. We hear so little Sydney news here in VIc (which is probably fine by Longmire) that it feels sudden, but it is just another indication of Sydney doing Sydney things really well.

Great game Swans v Giants. Feels like a final and it's round 1. Brutal tackling, uncompromising, top shelf skills. If I cold steal 2 players it would be Heeney and Tom Green. Love watching them play.

Huge fan of Sparrow, and great to see him re-signing. If he can get more development time in the midfield, he could be anything. Strength, confidence, booming kick.

Saints have a long injury list and so I expect them to improve their skills massively over the next 6 weeks. But they need more goal kicking options than long bombs to King, or Jo-the-goose over the back running into an open goal. If opposition lock down on these 2 options, the Saints will rarely win. The Pies look like they have 20 midfielders and then Cox and Moore. This lack of variety will kill them when they come up against teams that have fully functional backs, mids and forwards.

You don't remember the Dees handballing to stationary team mates for 15 years straight? And missing that target.

Pies v Saints = poor spectacle. Pies playing 18 men as defenders who run madly forward and hope someone runs faster than St Kida. No way can they sustain this for 4 quarters. Strange gameplan, a bit like early Gerard Neesham at the Dockers, or Matty Knights when he coached the Bombers. Maybe if they leave Degoey forward it might work, but it isn't pretty. Saints are doing a lot right but missing so many targets by hand around the stoppages. Turnovers at half forward are piling up. I reckon they will run over the top of the silly Pies gameplan. But the crossword book is looking good right now.

There were kids there, but nowhere near as many as usual. So yes, quite serious.

Really difficult to see ho comes and who goes. I reckon they won't take the chance on Lever and Rivers, only 1 week into a long season. Take the long term view. No way Hunt gets dropped against the speed of the Gold Coast. Not sure how it will look when all the backmen are fit, but it will be an interesting tussle between Hunt, Hibberd, Smith, Rivers, Petty, Tomlinson, and Smith for the 3 positions available. Salem. May and Lever are a lock. Kozzie is interesting. Is his pressure enough to hold his spot? I am starting to think no. But again, his closing speed against Gold Coast is essential. TMac returns to the forward line. We have so many options down back. Bowey looked really sore but has 10 days to recover. I don't understand the lack of love for Jordon. Like Harmes, ANB and Sparrow, he takes a role, holds his spot and stops his opponents from dominating. Goody loves these sort of players and seems to be able to coach them really well to produce their best. He is neither slow nor quick, but attacks a contest like a beast. OUT: Salem (inj), IN: Hibberd

Round 1 signifies very little except renewed hope. Tiges looked lethargic, except when Prestia and Reiwoldt were up and about. I picked them for top 4, and still believe they will make it. Hardwick is a VERY good coach. Cotchin does look gone, Martin will take 4-6 to be back to his best, Grimes playing under pain and duress, Vlaustin out etc... Carlton looked good in terms of pressure and fightback, winning lots of clearances and contested possession, but their backline is going to be hammered by strong scoring sides like Dees, Lions, Dogs, Port, Geelong. They played well, but no way am I gushing over them.

Great to see a closer game, crowd involved, umpiring actually improving. Carlton are playing much differently under Voss. Please don't celebrate yet, Carlton, play the game out. Like Neitz, Jones' voice always sounded a bit thin, unsuited for commentary. But he has been really good tonight.

What is it with so many poor free kicks being awarded for minimal/normal physical contact? Are the umpires being directed to take the physical risk out of the game? If you even touch a person with a free kick or mark = 50m. A couple last night, and more tonight Williams manning up on Martin = freekick. What!?!?! A player trips over an opposition player who is almost stationary on the ground and is awarded a tripping free. Did I miss the memo or can I no longer guess the rules? By the way, a good contest Tiges v Blues, but nothing more. No killer blow for any team so far.

6 Petracca 5 Oliver 4 Langdon 3 Brayshaw 2 Brown 1 Viney apologies to Jackson, just couldn't squeeze him in.

Last night should have been 2pm-ish on a Saturday. Imagine the membership signups at the ground and all the kids buying merchandise!! Huge misread by the AFL. Our next home game is Friday night so when do the kids get to see the Dees at the MCG? Could affect our membership tally.

I was at the game last night, so couldn't tap into my Demonland addiction until now. A few thoughts: Wednesday 7.10pm is a killer. I live in the country so got home at 1.10am! I have no hassles with Richmond v Carlton starting each season, but our GF replay and flag unfurl should have been Saturday 2pm-ish so ALL could get to the ground. Gawn, Trac, Clarry, Viney. Wow, just wow. I have waited my whole life to see a Dees midfield be this good. Viney is so often not mentioned but he is so good and so important. But Trac - all round power game and unstoppable. Umpiring was annoying but the only one that got under my skin was the free to Weightman. Utterly ridiculous and the umpire leader should come out publicly and say so. You are allowed to interfere without making contact. For our 2nd string backline to do so well, I am astounded. Perhaps this shows a glaring weakness in the Doggies? Bedford shocked me. A scratchy start but got right into the game in the 2nd half. Another soldier ready to play his role. Get Jackson in your fantasy teams now. He is going to cause havoc this year. Ready to rip the game apart. I am not a gambling man, but I am very tempted to lay down some hard earned on Brown for the Coleman. His first full preseason in years is showing his true capabilities. Oh, and thank North. The Doggies are great when on a roll, but have major issues in attack and in the midfield. Naughton is a superstar and I love the way he plays, and Hannan at least gets stuck in and has a go, but the other 5 or 6 seem to all be outside players waiting for something to happen. Or was this just our defence system making them appear like this? But their midfield (apart from the Bont) seems to lack power, grunt, and physical arrogance. They missed so many tackles. Trac continually gets through 2 or 3 of them, Viney brushed them aside with contempt at times. This is a great time to be a Dees supporter. Bask in it, revel in it. Feels good.