The heart beats true

I was one of the 13,000 at the ground. It was genuinely such a weird vibe for the first quarter. It had all the feeling of a preseason game. I also think that stadium plays very differently to any other ground. North tried to work through our zone with precision short kicking that in all seriousness they couldn’t execute on at any other ground. The surface is like carpet. It’s like the difference between indoor soccer and soccer. The basic skills are the same, but the games play entirely differently. I thought we just had a better quality of player, and that was the difference. Both teams tried hard.

If that bloke doesn’t get weeks for that then the AFL has learnt nothing. Those are the kind of things parents see and think ‘I don’t want my kids playing that sport’.

Gees the North supporters at the ground are having a huge whinge.

The whole experience at the ground feels like B grade Basketball. Weird vibes.

At the train station. Plenty of people heading in early to Dreamtime at the G. I just said to an Essendon supporter I thought they’d renamed it ‘Screentime at the G’ - because Essendon are so rubbish most supporters should just watch on their phones. He didn’t laugh. I make friends everywhere I go.

I don’t imagine Carlton’s inability to play 4 quarters is giving them a lot of faith. They’d never feel like they’ve done enough.

It’s hard to read this as anything but a genuine concern at headquarters that we might be too good. Keep us off Broadway in case the masses figure it out.

I saw this morning they’ve added Narrm caps as well (which I quickly added to my cart). I’m really hoping in the next AFLW season they make the Pride round jumpers available for purchase. I’d like nothing more to show up to the footy in my pride jumper with my Narrm scarf and hat on. My social justice outfit would really annoy some people - which would just make the footy so much more enjoyable for me.

So will this make it 199 for Melksham?

Nobody saw that coming.

Anyone want a free ticket to the footy on Saturday? I have a spare reserved seat on the 3rd level wing that I got for myself before anyone else told me they wanted to come, and I needed to buy more. As an added bonus you’re not sitting anywhere near me now, so you don’t have to worry about small talk. PM me if you’re keen.

If he wants to get out of the Melbourne fish bowl he should go to North. Nobody in Victoria ever talks about them.

I really like Charlie. He’s the epitome of a footballer understanding, and then playing to their capabilities - and ultimately that becoming their strength. Every time he gets the ball our forwards run at him. He’s not going to bomb it, he’s going to pass it 15-35 metres with precision. I really appreciate him, and the effort and consistency he brings.

The devil snake on the new merch is off the charts cool. I really hope the club jump on that longer term and make different versions of it as part of our indigenous brand. So pumped for my new devil snake scarf to arrive - which will be in rotation with my regular scarf, and my premiers scarf. What a time to be a Demon supporters neck!

I don’t like it, but I saw it coming. No name player + concussion = AFL scapegoat

The Eagles situation is very, very interesting. They sold their future for Tim Kelly, and now their list profile is horribly out of whack. Luke is a gun, but they’d have to give up at least 2 potential guns to get him. And then that leaves them further out of whack. Whose he going to be playing with in Perth in 4 years? All their best will be well gone. Meanwhile every list manager is trying to mimic us and get ‘waves’ of players coming through together. They’d be better off trying to turn pick 1 and 19 into say 4, 7 and something early 20’s.

Did anyone else see the boys stitched him up brilliantly last night and make him lead us off the ground after he did his ‘lap of honour’? I think he’s a Demon for at least the next 3 years. Seems very happy. What’s he going to learn from Nik Nat? How to be under prepared, over eat, and get on the park for 9 games a year?

You forgot Dwayne.

I don’t disagree with you, but every time I think it’s a football act involving a player without a name they get suspended.

Chandler is a certainty to get suspended. Player was concussed - check, Player who gets suspended isn’t a name player - check. That’s the AFL criteria I believe. Maybe he could change his name to Paddy Franklin before the review?

Id be very interested to have a look at the centre bounce and stoppage attendances that quarter. To my eye we tried a lot of different things.

Nibbler and Koz started very well. Need to be smart going forward. Barrass and McGovern are both very smart players.

JVR must be raging on a day like this. You kick 6 goals but if you take them off the teams tally we still win by 80 points. Takes the shine off it a little.

One of the things I think is difficult about junior umpiring is that in a lot of the leagues the system is designed as a ‘pathway’ - like it is for players. In reality what this means is you often have a 16 year old umpiring under 15’s by themselves. In a lot of the footy I’ve seen the umpires are heavily influenced by the crowds (of mostly parents) - mainly because they want to get out alive. This perceived, and often literal, bias detracts from the respect the players and clubs have for umpiring. To manage this the umpires are given no support, which honestly is a disgrace. Anyone under 18 should be supported by an adult umpire who can guide, and if needed step in and help. What 16 year old wants to be abused by everyone around? I think the industry needs to completely rethink umpire pathways, and ways to effectively support umpires with boots on the ground. It’s very different to player pathways, and it’s not helping anyone treating it similarly.

How the hell are Brisbane getting such an arm chair ride from the umps in Adelaide?