Lucifers Hero

This is where we differ. I think Mr and Mrs Brayshaw would be equally magnanimous if it was a player from a team that had no connection to any of their sons. Or heaven forbid, if anything happened to their eldest son, Will who is currently on active duty in Afghanistan representing our country. I truly don't think diplomacy has anything to do with thow they have conducted themselves in recent days (or ever). Just my thoughts.

The important people in this (the Brayshaw family) have forgiven. I found the conversation between Mark Brayshaw and Gaff's dad (who rang to apologise) quite moving. Both fathers and families have shown great understanding and are role models for others who find themselves in very difficult circumstances with their children. If the Brayshaws can move on surely the rest of us can be equally forgiving - even if some with elephant like memories never forget.

I too feel for Gaff for a number of reasons: He is genuinely heartbroken for the incident. He knows what it is like to be the victim. 2 years ago he was on the receiving end of a Jonas elbow to his head. It was in a marking contest but Gaff had no idea it was coming. Jonas got 6 weeks. Some argued it should have been 8. He now has 8 months to sweat it out before taking the field again and have a chance to redeem his reputation. Players play to participate in finals and hopefully win a premiership. Missing 2 to 4 finals is a bigger penalty than 8 home and away games. On DL we are especially emotional over this incdent because Andy is Gus' little bro and most are keenly interested in getting Gaff to our club. Any other two players from other clubs and I doubt it would have anywhere near as much attention. Gaff at the Dees? I think he fits the Goodwin type player of tough, competitive and humble. The way he has conducted himself in the aftermath of a very sad episode says a lot about his character. Edit: Thanks @MSFebeyfor adding the video of the Jonas/Gaff incident in post below. Gaff was out cold before he hit the ground and stayed there for a very long time. A player does not easily forget the damage a hit to the head can do. Gaff's remorse is especially compelling in the circumstances.

It was Ross Lyon that gave Gaff the 4 coaches votes!! http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-08-07/theres-no-winners-here-lyon-on-gaff-ban Lyon was clearly emotional in his press conf but didn't let that affect his judgement. Second best on the ground, he said so he got the 4 votes. Simpson on the other hand didn't give him a single vote - didn't rate Gaff's game/performance.

Again, that is true. I was referring to Gaff's reaction (none too happy with Simmo) and how it might affect his decision to stay or go.

Gaff's lawyers 'Great Gaffe' - Grace just said: "My submission is you should impose a penalty at the lower end of the range, which commences at three years... I mean three weeks." OOps, that is a serious freudian slip!!

That may be true but it probably won't endear Simmo to Gaff. So I was using it as an example to add to Mach5's hint that the way WCE have handled this would make Gaff more likely to leave.

Funny you should say that - At the hearing Gaff said "I felt sick ... i was shattered. I never intended for this to happen. It was a time on the bench where you gather your thoughts and I was heartbroken. The coach talked to me and tried to keep me focussed on the rest of the game. I was rattled. I said to him 'mate I'm rattled'. No compassion from Simmo for Brayshaw or Gaff which proabably wouldn't sit well with the Gaff camp either. Eagles had the game won, there was no need for Simmo to 're-focus' him.

I didn't have the same take of Gus' comments, tbh. But Gus was very strong on the penalty. Gus said: "I will be very upset if he gets less than 7 weeks, very upset." @ about the 10.00 minute mark of the podcast. Gus is clearly and rightly not happy. Edit: Gus also said that his brother, Andrew did not play golf with Gaff last week...

My reading is that 'High' means where a player is hit ie above the shoulders. Whereas Low/Medium/Severe refers to extent of damage. So Bugg was Intentional/High/Medium. Gaff is charged with Intentional/High/Severe; a more serious offence. We know there are two rules when it comes to suspensions, one for the 'stars and one for everyone else. I agree less than 8 weeks is wrong on so many levels. Edit: you are correct No 10. The severity rating is Low/Medium/High/Severe. Bugg was rated as 'High'. My bad. We are on the same page thinking Gaff offence was worse than Bugg's so should get a higher penalty.

Given that Bugg got 6 weeks (reduced from 7 for pleading guilty) for "intentional, medium impact" and Gaff is charged with the more serious "intentional, severe impact" Gaff must get more than 6/7 weeks or it makes a mockery of the whole system. As WCE are set to challenge and if Gaff is found guilty as charged he should not be given any penalty discount. The Bugg discount was for pleading guilty not for showing remorse (which he did in spades), nor for a good MRP record. The AFL is carrying on about the 'Look of the Game'. It doesn't look too good when a kid goes off the field with his face punched in. If they really care about the 'look' and the impact of the Gaff incident on junior football then they cannot allow a reduced penalty. If the penalty is less than 8 weeks the AFL should appeal.

Wouldn't it be ironic (or poetic justice) if Andy's older brother Hamish debuts for Eagles to replace Gaff!

After the horrid picture of the aftermath it is good to see a smile on the young fella (taken while he was in the ambulance). Courage runs deep in the Brayshaw family.

Following on @MSFebeypoint on injuries. The scary team is Hawthorn. Grant Birchall Knee 2-4 weeks Harry Jones Shoulder Indefinite Ben McEvoy Cheekbone 3 weeks James Sicily Wrist 4 weeks They will have Birchall, McEvoy and Sicily back for finals. Virtually a full list and certainly all their top 30 to choose from. Hawks are the real wild card in the finals. They will have everything going for them: Master coach, healthy list, hardened finals campaigners. Beware the Hawks come September!!

Bugg actually got a lot more than 6 weeks - he has played only 3 games since and it seems he is unlikely to play for us again. Maybe the Mills incident dented his confidence. Maybe the club's NDH policy has sidelined him. Gaff is a much better player than Bugg so not sure if mfc would apply the same NDH policy. I would like to think we are consistent. Given last year's delist/trade decisions and this year's (non) selection decisions there is every indication mfc still values the NDH policy. Notwithstanding how distressing this is for everyone involved, I doubt if it would affect the club's decision on Gaff. It seems more of an aberration than a character flaw.

Very true. For what is facing us: Sydney are playing with a lot of their players injured and are inconsistent. WCE are not playing well and without Kennedy, Nic Nat and Gaff will struggle. GWS have big outs in Greene and Dawson. Not sure when HWSNBN retruns. We should get Hibberd and Melksham back in coming weeks and I think we have good replacements for Smith. We certainly miss Viney and Lever but we have learnt to play and importantly learnt to win without them. So on the injury front we are doing ok vs our last 3 opponents. Probably, better than most other teams in the finals race. The bye after rnd 23 should give everyone a chance to freshen up so the injury landscape will look quite different for the finals. Fingers crossed for no more major injuries for us.

Five bob each way, L36??

State of Play: Of the top 8 teams only Tigers don't have an 8 pt game Among 2-8 who are all on 12 or 12.5 wins, 15 of their 21 games are 8-point games!!! A bonanza for the AFL and broadcasters. Outside the 8 are Cats and Roos who have the easiest run home. Cats will make it?. Not so sure about the Roos as Bulldogs and Adel will challenge them. Due to their low % they only need to drop one game to miss the finals. Ess and Crows are out of the running for finals but expect them, Lions and Bulldogs to have a big say in who makes the 8. They are all playing well but inconsistent. Get them on an 'on' day and it could mean dropping out of contention. Who will drop out of the 8? Anyone's guess! The most vulnerable are Power and Sydney (difficult run and lower %). Its amazing to say this but a team on 14 wins might still not make it. How even can it get! Spots 2 to 10 on the ladder will go right down to the wire! Top 4 up for grabs! Nail biting stuff. Hopefully, we get one of those top 4. Failing that spots 5 or 6 as would love to have a final in Melbourne. That would draw out a lot of closet Demon supporters. A home final would be fabulous for the club. Yes, I know. One week at a time but gee its hard not to get really excited!!

And 2 years after McCartney left they became a rabble again in 2017. Still are. Not necessarily the coaches - Club culture, I reckon. Coaches come and go. Culture just hangs around. Along the way there was a two year hiatus when they managed to fluke a premiership.

Updated for Harley Balic's retirement. His retirement gives us our first 2018 List vacancy. While I always find it sad to see a Demon player depart it seems the best for him and will make the Club's list management that tad easier. That leaves 10 listed players and 3 'A' rookies, OOC. OMac is in discussions with the club so just a matter of time. Based on recent selections I would expect AVdB, JKH to be given contracts. On my reckoning that will be 7 listed players OOC. Not sure if we can keep the 3 'A' rookies another year without offering them a contract. Anyone know? Some of the OOC's will have their papers stamped and some will have to wait until the end of the trade/draft period to see who we get. Anxious wait for some.

44,227 today. Memberships close today so could be close to the final tally. Just on 2,000 over last year's figure 42,233 ie 4.8% increase. Pretty good given the dramas at the end of last season/year. Importantly we have increased memberships by 25% since the Jackson/Roos era began. Light years from the Tigers 100,000+ but also light years from where me might have been without Jackson/Roos. A long way to go but we have come a very long way. Some finals and wins should get us to 50,000 next year!

This week's summary for the last four rounds (and I've shown the number of 8 point games for each team). Comments: Tigers entrenched at the top. WCE have probably done enough to keep 2nd spot. Port (not playing well and a really tough draw) and Pies (lots of injuries) can certainly slide out of the top 4 with GWS best placed to replace them. Melb have a tough set of games but should make the 8. If Hawks roll Ess this week they will make it. Thanks to us the Cats will make it. Sydney will struggle to get back in the 8. Roos look to have an easy draw but they go to the Gabba (Lions) and AO (Adelaide) so I reckon they will miss the 8. Ess: Need to win all 4 to overcome low %. We are one of the inform sides so I think we can win all the games. But will be happy with two good wins and two small losses to keep our % up. It would be very funny if the Roos get in the 8 and push Scott's twin brother's Cats out!! My dearest footy wish is for Ess to miss the finals!!

That is the crux of it. Our structure relies on 2 talls up forward. We are down to one tall when Tom relieves in the ruck. Given that Weideman and T Smith haven't done to well when given a chance I think Jesse plays. Its a similar situation to Buddy. He plays each week because without him their forward structure falls over. Buddy has trained for 20 minutes all season. We may need to do similar to help Jessie. Light duties till his ankle, knee, back improve. And stop him playing up the ground to minimise aggravating his injuries. Even if he just stands in the square and takes a key defender he will be an asset up forward.

It will be a real shame if he puts in two years of hard work and doesn't get an AFL game. How good would it be for him to run out on the G, eh? Hope he gets another year. And, I hope that whatever happens you keep posting on here. Your measured and insightful posts are often a steadying presence amongst many emotional Demonland supporters.

Update for Jetta and Brayshaw contract extensions. Both critical extensions. Where would we be this year without these two. Jetta has held up the backline and Gus shouldering the load (with Oliver) in the middle when the more experienced haven't. Couldn't be happier with both of them sticking with the Dees. Especially pleased for Jetta because he has been through all the tough times and done it the hard way. Both have shown tremendous class and resilience. Their reward will come (and I don't mean $). It is generally said that a player needs 5 preseasons (ie about 100 games) to a have an AFL match hardened body and experience. With the likes of Oscar, Hogan, Salem, Oliver, Brayshaw and Lever barely half way there, it is scary how good we can become. Especially with the 'more experienced' Gawn, Viney, Tom McD, Hibberd, Melksham (and with the less than 50 game players yet to make their mark). If not this year, the Day of the Demons is coming!