Dees_In_October

Maybe Round 10!

2019 took the cake in terms of us being stitched up. 4th in our conference, so no finals, but more wins (and better % from memory) than 1st in the other conference, who went on to get pummeled in the GF. Ridiculous. But we've had our chances other years and lost crucial games when one loss meant season over. Not so cut-throat now with the longer season, which means more time for momentum to be lost and gained, and an actual finals structure. Still, we've been there abouts every year, which isn't something to be sneezed at, and hopefully sets a good tone for the long term. Other clubs (externally at least) seem to have a much shakier foundation.

Worth a watch, Gawn and Trac.

Yep, heard the same at the Good for Footy event. They divided up who would thank who in speeches. Max got the sponsors (because, according to Max "Goody had no idea") and Goody had Jonesy. Really wish it had been the other way around!

I reckon we should all start a slow clap when Bont kicks his goal midway through the third. Just build the mood a bit. All good from there!

Another little thing, I'm sure mentioned elsewhere, but at the end of van Rooyen's draft reaction video with all his family, at the end someone says, "Off to the premiers!" That's us!

Anyone left wanting, don't give up. Call the club! Or even email, I've always found them super helpful in sorting stuff out, including some EXTREME last-minute GF barcode stuff this year, right down to the wire. They want to help, especially members, especially ones dealing with tech glitches and ticketek malarkey. Plus, guaranteed some people will have spares in the lead-up due to sickness etc., which I'm sure people will be willing to transfer. Like me, I bet plenty of people got tickets for friends who say they'll "maybe" attend but might change their minds. Certainly, I'll pass spares on to anyone here if people drop out from my 10.

As a wise Demonlander pointed out to me, if you say the score that Brayshaw's goal brought us to quickly (9.10.64) you get "1964" as well.

Yep agree re: KPDs. A lot of games late last season the backline wasn't really challenged due to weather or midfield dominance on our part. And then when it was, it didn't turn out so well. Hopefully that's something that can be remedied with another preseason.

Well said. I was one of those 84,000, plus I watched the Dees women smash West Coast the same day. Was great to have a comfortable lead because I didn't feel so bad about leaving early to make it to the MCG in time for the first ball. Interestingly, saw a bunch of other people doing the same - like me, switching from red & blue to green & gold in the Casey Fields car park! Including Meg Hutchins who I think was commentating, so not sure how that worked out. Then the Aussies smashed it too. One of my favourite days watching sport ever.

Have you got this one?

List debut year (for the Demons): 6 players remain from the inaugural 2017 list: Lampard, Mithen, Paxman, D.Pearce, L.Pearce, Scott 2 from the 2018 list: Hore, Zanker 3 from 2019: Gay, Hanks, Heath 7 from 2020: Birch, Colvin, Goldrick, Parry, Petrevski, Sherriff, Tarrant 6 from 2021: Bannan, Caris (YTD), Fitzsimon, Magee, McNamara, Simmons (YTD) 6 new to the Demons in 2022: Brown (St Kilda, Carlton), Campbell (Pick #41; YTD), Gillard (Pick #42; YTD), Harris (Carlton, Brisbane), Purcell (Geelong), West (Rookie; YTD) [YTD = yet to debut in AFLW] Age breakdown: 18-21 = 12 22-25 = 11 26-29 = 2 30-33 = 5 Games leaders and upcoming milestones: All going to plan, the 2022 season will see some players in the league reaching the 50-game milestone for the first time. To reach 50 games in AFLW in 2022, a player will almost have had to play every possible game and a good number of finals. So, these seemingly small milestones are worth celebrating in the next few years. Birch is the most experienced player on the list with 40 games (18 with the Demons), aged 24 for the 2022 season. That’s the 8th most games played in the league. Paxman is the leader for games played just for the Demons, with 39. In reach of 40- or 50-game milestones in 2022 H&A season: Birch – 40 (18 Demons) Paxman – 39 Scott – 38 Harris – 37 (Brisbane, Carlton) Mithen – 35 L.Pearce – 33 Hore – 31 Lampard – 30 D.Pearce – 30 Our new players and their new numbers: Brown (#28): De-listed by both Carlton and St Kilda but brings experience with 18 games and still just 23. Played defence for Casey in 2021, so will provide some much-needed depth with the retirement of Downie. Campbell (#1): Our first father-daughter pick! 182cm ruck. Averaged 20.9 hit-outs and 8.4 disposals for the Eastern Ranges in the NAB League. Gillard (#17): One of the tallest in the 2021 draft pool at 190cm. Will turn 18 in December 2021. Definitely a prospect for the future and another protégé for L.Pearce. Harris (#7): Needs no introduction, although misunderstood by many outside of AFLW circles. Played 37 games with Brisbane and Geelong after bursting onto the scene as a 17-year-old in the Exhibition Series. Now 24, she’s 8th on the AFLW all-time goalkicker list and one of the best contested marks in the league—a prized trait in AFLW. All-Australian 2017, 2018. After a poor 2021 season with the Blues, a new environment will hopefully spur a return to form. Purcell (#2): Played 19 games for the Cats in 2019-2021. All-Australian and Geelong B&F in 2020. ACL injury in late Feb 2021 means her Demon debut may not be until late in the 2022 season. West (#11) : A basketball convert who was rookied from the Casey Demons after an impressive 2021 season. Won Casey’s B&F and the VFLW Rising Star in her debut year. Some handy midfield depth, and from what I saw of Casey, a bit of an X-factor.

Good spot. She was definitely in the training photos for one of last week's sessions, so all good then at least. I think there's training tonight as well so hopefully she's there, fit and firing!

So nice! For sure, the circumstances and the efforts everyone (the club, fans east to west and everywhere else) put in to be connected gave the whole thing a very different flavour. I've said a few times that I've never given all that much thought before to Dees fans in WA and what it's like to follow from afar, but I'll always have a special respect for our WA fans now and will do what I can to make sure that connection stays strong, as it always should be. Certainly if I'm ever lucky enough to attend a Grand Final, I'll be thinking about the people unable to attend due to distance/cost/not getting a ticket and how to ease that for others because I so appreciated what WA fans did to help us feel like we were there.

The goal kicking heroics were a sight to behold, but I think most of all I loved that run-down tackle on the boundary. That's captain stuff, especially from a ruck.

Great, had a feeling Ben would work with the Dees AFLW sooner or later, especially after watching this interview below. He's probably one of the most prominent current male players in his support of women's footy and he speaks very eloquently about it. Good for everyone involved. Interesting to hear a bit more about his family background and journey to footy as well: https://www.womens.afl/video/66833/cutting-oranges-ep7-ben-brown

One thing I've enjoyed noticing more of on re-watching the GF are the signs, photos, etc., in the crowd, thanking people for tickets or showing the name of the person/family they're representing. Love it!

Yes! I notice this every time too. The timing is perfect!

I like it how, even though we're all in awe of the fact he's a premiership player after only seven games, there's no way anyone could argue that he didn't deserve it. With the opportunity he was given, he barely put a foot wrong and in fact played an important role for the team - in no way just a stopgap or filler player, as you might expect from a player who sort of falls into a premiership team like this. The novelty of it isn't how few games he played, it's how well he played in those games.

Aside from her obvious acumen in football strategy, I think she's also got the other key (or perhaps even more important) ingredient of the people/relationships aspect of coaching. The number of players on our AFLW list and, in fact, in the AFLW at large who are there in some part because of Daisy is impressive - not just in the general inspiration sense but because she actively recruited them. She's obviously very capable of sharing a vision and getting people on board to fulfill a mission, surely a major part of coaching. In a way, because of how women's footy has developed, she's been a coach since her days at Darebin. Also is very astute in dealing with the politics involved in being a figurehead, being the first, etc.

But...has he found that lost keep cup yet?

Made this back in 2017 when I was pretty in awe of Clarry's quick hands. He's so much more than that now.

Also, it's hard for them to give our opposition freebies in front of goal when it never goes down there.

Then and now: Jackson's rise to stardom - MFC YouTube Premiership Tales series - MFC YouTube Every Player's Grand Final Highlights - The Mighty Demons YouTube