The heart beats true

His attitude reminds me of Terry Wallace’s Bulldogs of the late 90’s. It’s always ‘backs against the wall. Everyone hates us’. You can’t keep that up forever, as it’s mentally exhausting. He got upset at Damien Barrett last year too. It’s like he needs to feel the world is out to get him. It’s an old, outdated world view that’s really bad for your mental health.

It’s going to be on the front bar in 3 minutes if you’re interested

That was the proof the world needed that we are the hardest working team without the ball. Our system, and ability to stick to it, is elite.

The AFL can’t seriously expect players not to complain when they’ve made the game so confusing to interpret, and then on top of that start the season being so consistently reactive to ‘new interpretations’. Ive watched footy for almost 40 years and I’m so confused.

ANB, Langdon and Brown very good. Smith looked good attacking the ball.

If that was holding the ball against Petracca then there will be 140 free kicks a game.

Leave cheese alone.

I’m sure the clubs have final say on what can and can’t be shown, and I’d be very surprised if the dogs coaches weren’t unbelievably critical of their midfield group at the end of the 3rd. They refused to structure correctly.

Wow. In that 3rd quarter Goodwin was so calm. We slowly wrestled the momentum back and got things going our way, and then played the best 5 minutes of attacking football that’s ever been played. Still makes me pump my fist in delight. It’s magical.

McGowan delayed the inevitable, but was always going to miraculously open up ‘just in time’ for the Eagles and Dockers. The irony is that he’s stuffed their list up - as all the other states had players away in January, and the Eagles are now just beginning to deal with it. WA is the gift that keeps on giving.

I still feel like they are a long way off being a real club. It must be so difficult to watch strong Victorian teams with lifelong passionate supporters for the young players at GCS and GWS. You are in the AFL system, but not in the AFL culture. It’s a minimum 30 year build, more likely 40 if the first 10 years are anything to go by for the Suns. It’s a huge commitment from the AFL, and it must take a lot of work behind the scenes to maintain. I applaud Ben’s loyalty. Be interesting to hear the terms.

I just want to say to those people saying negative and mean spirited things about Essendon… I completely agree.

My biggest learning is that hysterics are back! Oh the real Demonland. How I’ve missed you.

To be fair to you Mach5 I’d say it’s blatantly obvious.

To be honest both options (media vs coaching) seem like a hard road. Coaching opportunities are often about being in the right place at the right time under the right people, and while there’s a knack to that, success usually comes from stability - so you’re guessing a long way out about how things could pan out. I always think about Dean Solomon who was touted as the next big thing in coaching for years but ultimately never got a shot and is out of the system now. And then there’s the media. The less said about that industry the better. Conniving, back stabbing, smug, self centred egomaniacs - and that’s before you even get on air. If it was me I’d be looking at setting up a junior female academy. Using her name and reputation she could make a real difference, and it’s clear we need better, more diverse pathways to the AFLW.

I agree with the sentiment of this thread. Not enough ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ being shown. Where’s Ricky Nixon when ya need him?

I blame the parents.

This is my favourite thing about going to the footy with my family. I can’t hear them.

The reality is that nothing gets the kids on board like being born into it. The only logical conclusion is that the club should offer incentives for current members to have more children. Surprised they haven’t thought of it yet. Get to work the lot of you!

Melbourne being the Premiers skews the list a fair bit. (Sorry, I just wanted to type ‘Melbourne being the Premiers’. 🥳)

I think Daisy does her job. The reason it stands out says more about the calibre of her peers than it does about her. I’m very hopeful that the next few years will see a real shift in the way the game is communicated.

It’s based on the WA governments modelling released yesterday…

I see today that WA is predicting half a million cases in the next few months, with its peak in late March. I’d suggest the Eagles and Dockers are in for a world of pain within the first 6 weeks of their season.

Is Tomlinson aiming to be ready for round 1?

I just watched the trailer on Stan for said documentary series. I’ve never been so glad to not be a professional footballer in my life. Bunch of self-aggrandising salesman pretending to have an interest in the lives of young men for huge financial gain. Honestly this is not what our sport needs. I’d rather see a documentary about regional footy teams doing everything to survive rather than some bell end in a Bentley - telling us how hard he has to work just to make 600k a year.