Queanbeyan Demon

I watch Norf pretty much every week with my mad Norf mate. Like us, they shot themselves in the foot last week and should have won. Their back line leaks under pressure and they have six players across the ground that are coach (their own) killers. Having said that - they have six blokes, that if let off the leash, will carve us up. We should win, but this is no walk in the (VFL) park.

There is an undeniable collective statistical decline of the core group that delivered the 2021 premiership and still plays in 2024. This drop in output—particularly among key midfielders and defenders—has not been offset by the emergence of new talent. While a few players have shown modest improvement, no incoming player has matched the impact or consistency of the premiership players still on the list creating a widening performance gap that has contributed to the club’s overall stagnation and regression across key indicators. We'll see in the next few months if this trend is reversing.

In the words of Jack Dyer - I'm not commenting in case I say something.

Haven't the AFL made him change his name yet? Worse than Whiskers.

@Demonland and @Nasher should be bought in to implement an upgrade.

The canary in the coal mine for Melbourne is the collective statistical decline of the core group that delivered the 2021 premiership and still plays in 2024. This drop in output—particularly among key midfielders and defenders—has not been offset by the emergence of new talent. While a few players have shown modest improvement, no incoming player has matched the impact or consistency of the premiership players still on the list creating a widening performance gap that has contributed to the club’s overall stagnation and regression across key indicators.

Bit harsh on the VFL. Send them to Ashburton to umpire the tow truck drivers vs. the Medellin game and see how they go.

And that was just the reserves game.

And we're still only 50/50 to win it.

Who's currently acting as CEO?

Send Peter Bell a grand piano - see if he can play that.

Multiple choice time: a. he was wearing navy blue and red b. he has a shaved head, looks mean, plays for keeps c. him name is not Cripps, Green or Maynard/Moore d. all of the above

Stephen May may be back from injury, and if May plays, forwards may find it tough to score, as May may just shut them down before they may even get a sniff.

But has he been training the house down?

In first reading, I saw "I think the wind and the nickers are more to blame than JVR". And immediately thought "no wonder he was in knot yesterday".

We did not loose the game because of fitness, one less game that GW$, the kids, the umpires, yadda, yadda, yadda . . . We lost because: there was ZERO on-field leadership during the last 100 seconds of the game, and the off-field catastrophy of 2024 most definitely, probably, cost us Houston. So utterly *&%#ing Melbourne.

Greatest hollywood movie of all time?

Maybe if we weren't such a dumb club . . .

That Kossi bloke is not too bad.

Vines 3 votes today.

Can we get rid of all other umps and have Matt umpire ever game every round - including goal, boundary and ARC?

So the data over the last three years is interesting @binman and @M_9. In 2024, 25 percent of games were won by sides with fewer i50s that their opposition. Here's the spooky bit, in 2023 it was 5 percent and in 2022 it was statistically insignificant ~0 percent.

Meanwhile - on the Essendrugs thread over at Big Footy . . .Well, at least we made Carlton supporters feel a bit better tonight.

Horethorn have just beaten Essendrugs with fewer inside 50s. It would be interesting to get the trend over the last 2-3 season - agreed.

Completely agree with your point Binman. But the data is the data. Unless a team can slingshot with precision off half back on a regular basis, ones chances of grabbing a flag are significantly reduced.