Demon Dynasty

Who knows deeves. Stocks were definitely low at Casey in terms of quality in-form options coming in to finals once the likes of Melk & Petty went down. Watching Melk do his knee against the Swans i couldn't help but think at the time, there goes any chance of a GF appearance. Was hoping for a Prelim minimum but alas. Here we are looking ahead to the draft / Grundy & JJ trade outcomes etc.

I would guess he made his decision to move on after he was brought back in after number of weeks at Casey, then dropped the next week. He probably did the right thing by himself and the club as he'd effectively checked out. And probably said so when finals arose. No way Goody (or any sensible experienced senior coach) would risk another LJ performance in a final. Would be like taking a very compromisef injured player in. But then there's the Schache mystery 🤷‍♂️

Would hazard a guess it's mostly the technique / method. He doesn't get his upper body over the pill at any stage. Sits back on it and kicks up & unders instead of through the ball. His present method hasn't changed since i've been watching, which means he's always struggled with any distance beyond about 35 meters. Hard to believe this aspect (set shots > more distance with accuracy) of his game hasn't been improved by now. Apparently though, if we just keep winning the contested, defend to the death and keep up with our repeat & record entries into 50, the rest will just take care of itself.

Yes that seems about right but Paxman & Mithen ahead of West. West in the Paxman spot.

Nice to see you keeping a bit of a lid on things PD

Yes i thought this as well. Her work rate and pressure on the oppo was incredible. She gets to so many contests when the oppo seemingly look to be in the van and neutralises or taps to advantage. Pretty quick and athletic for her height. VG football brain. Always showed signs early but has imrproved a fair wack in the last 18 months. I'd say she has to be right up there with Taylor now.

Yes sadly the masters are quite content with the lay of the land OD The show will go on regardless of any such inequities and the circus performers are happy to play their part and receive their substantial coin. Including the media throng. Even those who will probably never have any chance of donning a Chas, regarldess of how well they perform in the circus ring.

Maybe disinfect the paper prior Jane

HUN = Unofficial Pies PR agent / mouth piece (for decades). Even when they've gone poorly the HUN still finds a way to get them on the front or back page with the most trivial story or even a non-story. You know what you're going to get every time. Only good for wrapping fish n chips etc.

I'm not so sure. Bit of leaked footage from our mad monday...

Nah gruelling season that's already about 4 weeks too long (that's coming directly from a few players i've spoken to). A traditional bonding 'let-your-hair-down' bit of fun. The old way is probably more risky (end of season trip). If you don't let them have the mad monday they'll just find other ways of letting their hair down. Some of which may end up in worse outcomes. Boys will be boys. Let them be boys.

Oh behave!!

Always a nice accompaniment

Ok fair enough

Pls double check your sauces (dijon mustard my fav!) in future guys, not helping me old ticker here!

Not a big fan of the over-the-top hoo ha of the rest of the evening but i really enjoy seeing who gets Jimmy's award. Growing into a substantial honour now.

Yep. Needs to be three awards imv. > Forwards > Followers (ruck included of course) > Defenders The old Chas is just that. Very old and dated now. Need to bring it into the 21st century.

Thanks W Just a few points i would like to add pls... While he is probably best 22 we don't know how long Melk will be out, nor if he'll decide to continue by the time he does return. Most likely he will but 11 months is a long time in footy. Especially at this point in his career. So i would think McAdam replaces Melk there at least until he returns. There is no McAdam regardless. Is that not a done deal? Deakyn Smith delisted assuming that's the Smith you're referring for Casey in the BP. Hibberd & Dunstan retired. Moose has moved on. Grundy a maybe but highly unilkely i would have thought given the smoke. Jordon and Harmes need an asterisk also yes?

With the likes of the Pies & Blues they have an approx 30% advantage/head start here (membership > crowd numbers). On KB i actually thought we matched the Pies vocally or even just pipped them. Was as good as i've witnessed in 50+ years of following but yes more of that level is needed. We do drop away at times. Having said that we've made great progress since the Premiership but playing catch up. Will need at least one more flag to capitalise on this membership momentum in the next 3 to 5 years imv to keep up and close the gap. Also on a big stage final i reckon the boys will need to really focus and harden up little more mentally in order to cope with what's coming at them. We appeared to do this in the 21 bubble. I wonder if we did, across the board, in the last two series? Any review needs to ask the question imo... ..."Why was there a big drop off for so many players between their usual H&A form vs what they brought to the table in the heat & pressure of finals, where performance of output is tested at the ultimate level?" Some matched their H&A form. Some actually significantly outperformed. However, the gap with many of those who did under-perform vs their H&A, was stark. Why was that? Was there a common theme or just individual players not coping with the pressure, potential oppo coolers, quality / intensity the oppo brought etc. Maybe it's something to do with training methods / routines. Were they too intense, too stacked or not intense enough to replicate the pressure of a final? The next part is of course the poor mid - forward cohesion, connection, craft and lastly, conversion. This probably the major aspect of our weaknesses and has been covered infinitum on here so no need to extend this. Bottom line is we need some fresh voices/minds at the coaching level and on the park. McAdam a handy start but still need to land a dangerous KPF this off season if we're to fire in 24. Not an easy task of course. Not alot about so we'll need to get creative.

Personally don't see him as an inside bull. Yes on occasions but mostly an outside receive role for mine with a portion of inside work when needed. Not saying he couldn't / shouldn't but a bit too much potential class and outside run wasted if we were to push him towards a mostly inside role imho. Also does he have the physicality / bulk to handle a mostly inside bull role? Even in the future. Again if we pushed him into it yes he might build up but i reckon you then potentially lose a bit of speed / class on the . Outside more critical i would have thought. And/or on a wing. Very early days though so anything's possible.

If you're suggesting the AFL has integrity and may also be held accountable No.10 ... hmm maybe think again. Aspects of business culture considered de rigueur for many don't apply here and haven't for decades...

Speak for yourself...i love a juicy rumour or two in the off (or more!) Common under cover agents .... spill !!

Using the 2024 first rounders?

My player ratings in those two..... Vs Norf... 1. Hunter > 6.05 2. Tracc > 5.90 3. Gus > 4.90 Vs Swans... 1. Clarry > 4.57 2. Viney > 4.50 3. Tracc > 3.85 (Fritsch ranked 6th > 3.55) Not sure how Fritsch got votes ahead of Tracc, who had a huge influence on the outcome of the game in the second half.

That about sums up the entire AFL & season Fork. Might even get my old nunchackus out from under the bed and knock myself out...