Maldonboy38

6. Viney

5. Salem

4. May

3. Fritsch

2. Tomlinson

1. McVee

My wife had the computer all night, this is my first opportunity for input. Glad, to be honest. I may have chucked the laptop through the new smart tv. So:

• few positional winners
• annihilated around the stoppages and ball drop
• our small forwards were as poor as they have ever been
• horrendous field kicking
• and a whole lot of poor, poor football.
• Some of our great players were less than average.
• Our brilliant back 6 were soundly beaten by their own errors, decision making & field kicking
• Laurie, Schache & Billings looked sub par. Billings not the answer.

I know it was greasy & slippery, but our ball handling looked like Tallygaroopna v Manangatang reserves in mid winter.

System & personnel looking good.

Salem and Sparrow as mids is very, very pleasing.

Bring on Caleb Windsor.

Fritsch very rusty.

And THAT is why we want Salem kicking inside 50. 

Due to it being a preseason/practice match, the lack of full-on pressure and risk taking measn you can't really measure a lot of things.

 However, our low kicking inside F50 is a massive change up, as is the variety of people being run through the midfield. Kozzie, Rivers, Sparrow, Bowey all had stints last year but have spent longer there in this game. And Salem in the middle is a huge win. 

Just now, In Harmes Way said:

Any chance of a score update?

Carlton 4 0 24

Dees    8  3 51

Some rusty skills and goal kicking aside, our system and personnel looking ok. Get May, Gawn, Trac, and Salem off and give the young boys a run. 

1 minute ago, Gunna’s said:

Has fritta done something with his hair? 

Not sure, but I think he dipped his left foot in grease prior to the game. His kicking!!!

I want Windsor on the wing round 1. We have a lot of in-and-under players, and he offers a lot more than Hunter out wide.

It feels like we are murdering them, and the only chances they get are from our mistakes. 

The intensity from both teams not strong so hard to determine how hard they are all cracking in. Some rusty disposal but it is improving as the game grows. 

Salem, Chandler and Billings are bringing some good F50 delivery.

Windsor and Howes getting to the right position but not delivering well.

The construction of our transition from defence to forward is looking OK. 

1 hour ago, He de mon said:

Your Dad named you Barrassi? Sweet!!

Yeah, it didn't stick as a nickname, but the story does hold a special place in family folklore. For some reason it was Barrass (without the letter "i"). 

I was born 6 months after the 64 flag. When I was born, and Dad got to see me for the first time, he said "G'day Barrass!" He wan't a Dees fan, but loved the way Barrassi played. I think my fate was sealed at that point.

Mum came from a long line of Dees supporters. Strangely enough it is the women of my family who are the mental Dees supporters: my Nan, my mum and now my 2nd daughter. My mum's grandfather was the secretary of the MCC bowling club in the 1920's, and both he and his son won cricket trophies playing for the Redlegs in Norwood in SA. So very strong red and blue in the bloodlines. 

Dad was born in South Melbourne and was a die-hard Swans fan. We went to go the Lakeside oval a few times to watch the Swans play (Dad got into a few blues unfortunately!) and got to meet some of the players. I went to Bob Skilton's home once, met his sons, and was gob-smacked that his house had a swimming pool! He was born in 1935 - two years afgter the great Swans era. He waited 70 years to see his team win a flag.

I went to a lot of games as a kid, and remember the 70's as an era of constant losses, with me going home both sad and disappointed. The only other Dees supporting brother cracked the sads and switched to Collingwood. I went to the MFC open day at the MCG in 1973 and got all the players' signatures, including that of a very young Robbie Flower. If I was a fan before, I was totally hooked after that. Flower, Biffen, Fowler, Hardeman, Callery. I remember crying when Hardeman got pipped at the post for the Brownlow by Keith Greig. 

Never tempted to jump ship, never attracted by the successes of other teams. I hated the long periods of being really poor as both a club and as a team but I am a Dee through and through. 

Our list management team have a great track record so I have a general sense of calm about Windsor and Tholstrup. Neither of them light my fire, but the pace and kicking of Windsor do stand out. I can't see either of them getting a senior game in 2024, but Windsor would make a perfect wingman if he can get some size on him.

For many of the tall forward options, it is so hard to tell, but in the highlights shown many of them were not single grab marks. A fair bit of two-touches going on. As for the general pool of draftees, apart from Reid, McKercher is the one who stands out with his pace, power and kicking. 

From here it is down to the club's development program (ours is up with the best now, and wow is that a change!) and the individual player taking on the hard work and sacrifice required for elite sport. 

We really do have a bundle of talent at Casey now - pressure is on for almost every spot.

Definite skill upgrade on Harmes and Jordon, but he doesn't have the work rate of either of them. Horrible yips in front of goal, and he will have to do a power of work in the pre-season to convince me he has the 2-way running demanded by Goodwin. My hope is that one of Woewodin, Moniz-Wakefield or other will take the Hunter wing, and Billings might be fighting them or Spargo/Chandler for a spot.

Happy to be proven wrong.

Sad to see him go. Some players are so internally loved, they are heart-and-soul and are part of shaping the internal unity. I get this vibe from Harmes.

I'm also still a little unsure if losing all of Dunstan, Harmes and JJ equates to probable list improvement.  

THAT kick to Fritsch in the 2021 GF - the tide turned.

All the best, Chompers.

Great game of footy - both teams with some great skills. Lots of pressure, moment by moment plays won by both teams. Not sure about the Norm Smith medal because no player dominated the game, but if N Daicos gets it I will know their is a "city hall" conspiracy. Probably Bobbie Hill.

I hate it that the Pies won - makes me ill. I am actually quite happy for most teams to take their moment in the sun and win when they have been dominant, but all the dripping shmooze about the Pies is nauseating. 

That advantage call will go down in infamy. 100% wrong call by an experienced umpire. 

The AFL rules committee and umpires have to look at high tackles awarded to players dropping their knees. I counted 6 today that were awarded when the umps had clear vision of the contact. Not good enough. And I am counting players like Kozzie and Spargo, not just Collingwood players because I hate the club and the jumper. All contact above the shoulders should be a free kick, even the slightest contact, but NOT if a player causes it. 

6 Hore

5 Paxy

4 Zanker

3 Mithen 

2 Hanks

1 Pearce

How great to watch are these women!?!? Brilliant. Their end to end handball chains for goals are the standout. And the last quarters - wow.

But who was that commentator? Lots of ex-footballers and commentators show bias, but she was grumpy, ungracious and unable to even commentate about the Dees. She often just went silent when someone gave us a compliment. 

Very disappointed to see him go. He is better than Hunter on the wing (I have been very disappointed in Hunter's effectiveness, lack of clean ball, stupid free kicks, and half his kicks are high/blind around the corner), is still very young, and doesn't make the consistent errors others around him seem to make. I saw him as a 150 - 200 player. I know he has not starred, nor has he taken some moments offered to him, but with Harmes probably out the door, now JJ, our midfield depth is facing a serious challenge.

I wish him all the best, except when he plays against the Dees.

I see the Roos have delisted Jacob Edwards, a 202cm Rookie. Never played a game, but the Roos development has been as bad as our used to be. Does anyone know anything about him, and is worth a look? Speculative, I know, but we have to look at all options.

Neale is an outstanding footballer and any team would love him, but 2023 was not a Brownlow-worthy year. He is now a dual Brownlow winner, which puts him in the category of Ablett jnr, Fyffe, and Robert Harvey. Sorry, he is just not in the same class as those three. 

I cannot understand how Cripps got 22 votes (and I am not a Cripps hater), he just did not have that good a year.

Gulden not getting 3 votes in the Dees v Sydney game is a farce. 

I am really glad that Gulden and Noah Anderson piled on the votes late in the vote count, nearly embarrassing the AFL and the gushing commentary of channel 7. They were given little air play, and no dramatic pausing by Gil until the producers realised "sh*t, we'd better do something to show some respect to these two, they might win it!".

Interesting that some backmen finally got some vote recognition, but still not enough. 

Gawn - 7 votes. Is he too tall for the umps to notice?

I actually feel sorry for Nick Daicos. All that media hype and brown-nosing, they wouldn't leave the poor kid alone. And he had to sit there with the camera up his nose knowing that someone would likely overtake him. Channel 7 ought to be flogged and burnt for the way they over exposed him. 

And lastly, I feel very sorry for Bont and Trac. Great footballers, great people, who don't catch the umpires eyes sometimes when they are matchwinners. Not sure how this works. Bont should have romped in this year over Daicos, with the others a step behind.

I love GF day - a semi religious experience which is planned, and follows the same routine each year.

Sleep in (rare these days), slow coffee and toast, then wonder whether I can be bothered watching any of the AFL breakfasts (I can't be bothered. I never watch them any more, because the new professional feel of them robs them of a great earthy quality the old North Melbourne ones used to have.)

At 11am, gather my massive amount of snacks, drinks (usually Harcourt cider, the best cider in the world)  and laptop, and begin watching all the unnecessary and repetitive rubbish. I have pies and chips for lunch.

The rest of my household are disinterested so I get to watch in in isolation, which I like. In 2021, all the family watched it together.

Will be barracking VERY strongly for the Lions. The filth winning is not an option.

On the Prelim finals showing, the Pies have to go in as strong favourites. I thought the Lions were underwhelming, and had too many passengers. But boy I hope they win.

Come on Lions, grind these Blues into the grass. All of the Blues weaknesses are now on show, which is great to see.