Macca

So if we include Brayshaw we've got 11 bona-fide AFL standard backmen on the list ... T-Mac being reserve to the tall back-ups (as Mitch Brown is to the KPF's) Langdon is another who regularly picks up possessions on 1 half back flank May, Lever, Salem, Rivers, Petty, Smith, Tomlinson, Bowey, Hunt, Hibberd & Brayshaw make up the 11 4 years ago we didn't even have 4 defenders who were AFL standard (and ongoing) What a remarkable turnaround!

The eye test says we are happy to close down attacking play in the final quarters (after building up a decent lead by 3/4 time) ... we tend to not use the corridor and are happy to progress around the boundary line. Not always of course but there is a trend that way The opposition team then needs to switch play away from that congested wing (and flanks) ... but unless those teams can switch quickly (with clean possession) they then end up facing the same wall on the other side of the ground. A bit like how Clarkson's Cluster used to work If the opposition want to use the corridor they run the risk of turning the ball over. So we play risk-free footy and leave it up to the other teams to take the risks And if teams want to progress through the congestion they are playing into our hands. Another boundary line stoppage often results while time is eaten up In the end, we are saving our legs as well (playing along the boundary late in the games) All year our 4th quarters have been quite identical

In other words, we may not have that many fair-weather supporters who could jump on board anyway! Fair point and good on us if true It could also be that many who frequented Demon games previously (who weren't members) are now members and are still frequenting games in the same way But I do believe the other side of the argument has made good points As is often the case, the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle

Blue and deep red (traditionally) Surprised you don't know that with all that Spanish history attached to your home country And if you are very vocal at the footy how is that you feel lonely? Try standing in the outer in the mid to late 70's following the Demons ... the only company I had was Henry Coles' old man. Still, the beers were enjoyable at least!!

Depends on what one's definition of a Demon family is. Me, I have different red & blue teams Redsox, Barcelona ... even West Ham (kinda,sorta) Canadiens? Not sure on the Clippers haha And if you're feeling lonely at the footy perhaps you could get involved in the game, chat away to your missus or even logon to the barrel-of-laughs game-day thread on 'land Or hit the grog, have a few bets or bop along to the mindless high decibel music that we are subjected to these days (at the games)

You've certainly latched on to the lingo quick, gringo You sound more like a dinky-di How are those Red Devils travelling back in Mexico?

Once upon a time attendances were everything and broadcast rights were token Over time, the broadcast rights has become the biggie with attendances seemingly a lot less important (in comparison) The other biggie these days (and a big money spinner) are memberships. We now have through-the-roof membership numbers across the League but attendances are falling in relation to those membership numbers The at-the-game day experience is still big but more so for the participating team's supporters ... the neutrals have dropped right off in my view So let's not beat each other up over this as there are many varied reasons why the attendances are down. Across the whole League

Dr Who always shows the same tell-tale signs ... an off-tap entrance but ultimately, the motive is to denigrate Demon supporters Latches on to those who might be saying the same sort of thing (but with more sinister intentions) Needs to get a new schtick as he's easily spotted. Not Dr.D either As for the attendance debate, both sides of the argument are making good points Not sure it's related to membership alone though. I reckon many now buy a membership knowing that they are only going to attend a few games. A type of donation (and a worthy one)

Looks like Dr Who has re-entered the building! haha Actually, there might even be 2 guises of the incarnation here

Could this be the year where an absolute dominant ruckman wins the Brownlow?! At 50-1, Max is way overs if he maintains the form that he is in Max winning the Brownlow with the Demons winning the flag is showing 170-1 (with a boost) That's got to be worth the price of a coffee outlay (or 10 coffees!!!!) I'm on!!

And I've had 2 very prosperous weekends so I'm all in!! Be good if it was like this all the time! Even got a roughie up at Hawkesbury (Exotic Ruby) and that is rare. I generally don't ever back roughies! So next weekend we've got the Sangster & the Hollindale. Both races are sure to attract very good fields and both could end up being good betting races

Off-season Group racing always keeps up the interest 2 races tomorrow that standout ... I like Daisies (and Mamounia for a bit of value) in the Aust Oaks as well as Count de Rupee in the Victory Stakes (Niccanova for the exotics)

Even with the 4 outs (as well as Salem & Hibberd) it's still a very good team, chock full of talent. Run your eyes across the team looking for the good/top players and they are everywhere. And our system will stand up as well And there are about 6 players who will be desperate to hang on to their spot in the side Someone mentioned to me that if LJ, Kozzie & Sparrow aren't effected too badly by covid, they'll get the chance to get away from footy for a week (another bye?) ... all 3 are still very young and their replacements will be going at it anyway. But covid can also be quite debilitating ... even for young & fit athletes. Fingers crossed the players affected make a speedy recovery Petty being out is different as he has just got back in the side but we're well off for tall depth with Tomlinson still being an emergency. Adam hasn't done a lot wrong 5 goal victory and we'll shut down the last quarter again!

So what is it going to take for more people to take up the stance that you, mauresy, myself and a few others have taken up? Or are we pushing the proverbial uphill?

As a general rule those who play in front have a much better chance of winning a free kick ... anyone who has ever played the sport will know that to be true. It's very difficult to win a free kick playing from behind An example of that is the Weideman free kick on Sunday ... questionable but he was playing in front. He doesn't get that free if he is caught playing from behind. Did the team thing and got rewarded But as for the winning & the losing, there are numerous other factors including the biggie ... talent levels across the team (and good coaching) An example of that is Melbourne vs Essendon in 2013 ... we could have won the free kick count by 20 or more that day and we still would have been smashed So a free kick is a factor but it's often a small factor ... for instance, the Tigers were happy to give away professional-like free kicks in their 3 premiership years.

We can only hope that the the AFL finally start to realise that this issue (playing for free kicks) is unique to the Bulldogs (as well as a fair smattering of individual players across the league, including Weightman) But will they (the AFL) address this issue wholly? They might, but I wouldn't bank on it

New Season of 'Better Call Saul' released 2 episodes available with episode 3 out shortly

Still only 1 point in it and both teams (City & Liverpool) could both win their 5 remaining games ... so 10 wins combined without a hiccup? It's possible but some other result is likely in 1 of the 10 games Maybe my Hammers can help your blokes out when we are at home (May 16th) to Man City? haha

As for our 4th quarters, the game plan might be ... 'You (the opposition) will find it hard to score against our pepped-up zones and defensive structures and if you play into our hands, we will be able to score' Done with a decent lead of course and that breakaway lead often happens in the 3rd quarters (or earlier) So the days of running up the score (for percentage) could be looked at as less important than saving the legs

We were clearly the superior team on the night but just didn't kick straight - which would be an issue if that sort of thing happened all the time And I don't believe it's happened for quite a while either (where it has been costly) The last time that springs to mind where it did cost us a win was late in the season in 2018 against Sydney You'd hate for it to happen in a final but again, unless the problem is a frequent one, we should be able to reset the next week Just checked and we kicked 10.18 in that loss against Sydney in round 21, 2018 then followed up with 16.12 at the Eagles (Win) and then 15.12 vs GWS (Win) And as we all know, we then played finals where we kicked 10.15 (hmmmm) to 6.10 against the Cats then 16.8 to 10.11 against the Hawks There may well have been other instances since but none stand out like the Sydney game (which could have, but didn't cost us a finals spot that year) And that's 3 and a half years ago anyway Footnote: I know a few Tiger mates who were at the ground and they never thought they were a chance after quarter time .... very impressed with our relentless style and our all-over defence (not just the backline) Fitness and running ability was commented on as well as 2nd & 3rd efforts

Plenty of Mexicans in Victoria but if NSW wants to build a wall, we won't be paying for it!

I recall thinking that the Richmond win was a real turning point ... we held them to 6.12 for the match and that might have been why so many were so enamoured with our performance Not sure they were ever in the game after we held them goalless in the 2nd quarter So scoring freely is one thing but stifling scoring appeals more to those who regard that as being really important (or more important) And the Tigers were sitting 5th on the ladder going into that round 6 game against us ... they were also the reigning Premiers

T-Mac might only be out of the team for a week or 2 if Weideman doesn't fire ... remembering that this is Sam's 4th game in a row tonight Played very well against Essendon, was quiet against Port (on a night, not ideal for key forwards) and only reasonable last week Is reasonable again enough? Maybe, but the expectations are higher Of course, T-Mac needs to fire in the 2nds anyway in order to put pressure on Sam so it's an interesting scenario. Playing today on a small ground like Punt Rd oval is a test for any key forward. Not a lot of space to run into (or available space) The MC would be happy with the duel though. Much like they'd be happy with Smith & Tomlinson putting pressure on as well as Dunstan, Chandler & Bedford being thereabouts as well for midfield/small forward roles And that's with Salem, Hibberd, Lever, Viney all being unavailable! The MC have got their ideal set-up with regards to selection. Injuries are annoying to our better players but that is offset somewhat by the ability of the players replacing those injured players And ordinarily, a team is nearly always going to get a few injuries (as well as factoring in covid protocols)

I don't know about the technicalities but having a stationary arm was what was taught in juniors (in my day) It didn't have to be completely rigid but that arm certainly couldn't be moving about Now, the momentum of the ball is often governed by the hand holding the ball ... I'm baffled as to why these rules are always 'stretched' For instance, for decades a player was required to kick the ball over the mark ... that's no longer the case either. There are numerous other examples of how the game has been redesigned The coaches try it on and the league lets them do what they like (in a general sense) I suspect those overseeing proceedings prefer to see the umpires continuing to cop the wrath Because that's what happens. They (the umpires) are at the coalface and it's just easier to blame them In a way it's an ideal solution for those who are supposedly running the sport because it's just more of the same for the umps anyway. They are so used to all the criticism's that it's probably just water off a duck's back But that has never made it right in my eyes because we rarely get satisfactory solutions Every year is like groundhog day

Clarkson complained about the Bulldogs 'method' of disposal by hand back after the 2016 semi final ... mentioned that his own team would need to learn how it's done, hinting that they would do the same That's 6 years ago now So all the clubs do it and try to disguise it but again, the Bulldogs do it better than the rest (probably in all facets of a free kick, if we're being honest) For instance, as you and most others know, the handpass used to require a clenched fist punching the ball from another hand/arm that was reasonably stationary (certainly not moving about at a great rate of knots) Now, the hand holding the ball can be moving at a great rate of knots and the slightest of 'taps' on the ball is allowed ... so that new interpretation can be exploited and is exploited. And the Bulldogs are the best at it. Again, in close with a mass of bodies around the ball, the release of the ball after immediately being tackled is difficult to see clearly. Especially into what has actually happened My eyes see a throw only being paid when it's absolutely obvious. The rest of the time it's play on And it's gone way past blaming the umps ... this is a rules of the game issue which is an AFL issue