Lucifers Hero

A sensible voice among the pack of hyenas: Boxer Danny Green, the face of the 'One Punch' Campaign says: “there’s not much in that incident whatsoever”. https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-media-watch-danny-green-says-not-much-in-tom-buggs-punch-to-callum-mills/news-story/2e646e3e2e3aeb072727f91b25f9c2b1 Green goes on to say: “It was very bad luck on Tom’s behalf that he actually landed the shot. He got bumped and all he sort of did was lash out with an arm. It wasn’t like he was trying to hit him or trying to hurt him. He was just lashing out,” Green told SEN’s The Run Home. “He was going for a punch to the guts or to the chest, a bit of a push-punch. There was nothing in it. (Mills) has sort of lowered his head unfortunately and it clipped him on the chin. “Obviously he doesn’t have a strong chin, he’s got knocked out and got concussed pretty badly. It looks far worse than what the intent of what Tom Bugg was doing. Bugg was turning around at the time he lifted his arm that hit Mills on the chin. That gave him extra momentum. It doesn't exonerate him. It was stupid. But commentators calling for 6-8 weeks are just ridiculous. Green's comments put a bit of a reality check on the whole saga.

Why? Friends in high places! Take a look at the pic in this article http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-diversity-chief-ali-fahour-redcarded-for-punching-opponent-on-saturday-20170703-gx3fro.html For those who can't see it, its a beaming Fahour with a beaming John Howard. Looks remarkably similar to last weeks pic of Houli with Turnbull!! And the other friends that, Jake Niall notes: "Fahour’s brother Ahmed is well connected in AFL circles, having held a senior position at the NAB and been a heavily remunerated chief executive of Australia Post. Ahmed is a friend of Demetriou" . https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/ali-fahour-must-be-given-the-red-card-and-cannot-remain-in-his-role-after-kinghit-incident-writes-jake-niall/news- Interesting you mention Rendell, jnrmac. Jake Niall says: " Fahour should be judged according to what I would call the Rendell standard". who was forced to walk the plank. If Fahour had any real remorse or dignity he would walk the plank. And the fake tears in his press conference yesterday were demeaning and insulting. Playing the 'pity' card doesn't wash. Had the amateur video not surfaced the AFL would have done nothing. The media should demand that he goes. Niall is a lone wolf on this at the moment. The AFL cannot be allowed to bunker down, weather the storm until it goes away. Friends in high places cannot be allowed to interfere with what is right. I hope, the real victim, Saddington, sues for assault - Fahour ran a long way, throwing other players out of the way to land the premeditated 'coward punch'. That is serious assault even if it was on the footy field.

Does all this media attention mean we are now 'relevant'!

The MRP graded Houli as Intentional, High (Head), High Impact. A worse classification is Intentional, High (Head) and Severe Impact. The known facts are Lamb was concussed, immediately left the field and missed at least a week. Mills was concussed, immediately left the field and might miss a week (but we don't know). So logically they should be graded the same ie High Impact, not Severe Impact and Tribunal penalties made accordingly (and not on media frenzy, 'the look', 'gut feel' or 'the ALF making a statement'). Please note I'm not advocating Bugg should get 4 weeks, simply presenting a logical approach. Unfortunately, for Bugg he is seen as smart alec and if the AFL and the Tribunal want to make a sacrificial lamb of him he will get 6+ weeks and the club cannot (in light of the hue and cry), appeal it. Be ready for an MRP classification of Severe Impact to get a maximum penalty 6+ weeks and no-one will come back and apply logic to it.

My thoughts on the 2017 OOC players: Out: Kennedy - no reason to keep Spencer (UFA) - TMc's outstanding ruck/forward performance makes Spencer superflous Trengove (UFA) - it pains me to say there isn't a spot for him with Goodwin's play on game Keep: Frost - has put off talks but will likely sign a new contract Hullett - contract for another year or two to assess further development/potential King - contract for another year or two to assess further development/potential Neal-Bullen - done enough for a new contract Vandenberg - should get another year to get back after injury Maybe: Stretch - probably done enough for a new contract Vince - still needed if we can find a list spot for him Pedersen - deserves another year but depends on how the club plays the back-up ruckman. It may be TMc's ruck/forward outstanding performance that forces Pedersen out. Personally, hope Pedobear stays. The most recent bad boys (Kent, Bugg and JKH) are contracted till 2018. I doubt the club would delist them and pay out contracts. Doubt there is much trade value there. They may play out their contracts at Casey as Smith, Maynard etc improve and new players come in.

The obvious statement is if we win enough games we will make the 8! But, how quickly our injured players get back will determine that. So we may need some luck from the teams in the pack also trying to make the 8. The 'pack' is teams in spots 4 to 11. (Rich, Port, Demons, WCE, StK. Syd. WB, Ess.) 5 spots up for grabs! The results of their 8-point games will be critical. They look like this: Rich: StK, StK. (will make the 8). Port: WCE, Demons, StK, WB. (will make the 8 because their % is so good). Demons: Port, StK. (We need to beat all the bottom teams but our extra win and % on the 'pack' should get us there.) WCE: Port, StK. (will make probably make the 8 as have 4 games vs bottom of the ladder sides) StK: Rich, Ess, Syd, Port, WCE, Demons, Rich (will not make it as inferior % and too many 8-pt games). Syd: StK. (will win enough to make the 8) WB: Ess, Port. (Need to win extra games to offset poor %) Ess: StK, WB (a long shot - won't make the 8) My 'definites' are Rich, Port, Sydney. My 'outs' are Ess and Stk. That leaves Demons, WB, WCE fighting for the last 2 spots. WB are a game and % behind Demons and WCE so I reckon they will miss. So with a bit of luck I am still optimistic of Demons making the 8! Now back to thinking one week at a time!

It seems so. The media point to 'discipline issues' like: a player charged for being over the legal drinking limit, 5 players suspended for striking this year, a suspended player smoking at a festival, playful twitter banter, 4 players suspended for not following club rules re drinking. Some of those are trivial and some are very serious. But for years 'Melbourne bashing' has been a favourite football media pastime. We have no credits in the media bank. So, we can't afford any 'boys will be boys' stuff ups, no matter how small. What distresses me is that while our whole club has worked so damn hard to get this club back on the rails and earn back respect, lack of discipline is bringing that hard work undone. Bad PR is bad for the club, bad for memberships and bad in our quest for more sponsors. I applaud the club for enforcing rules with suspensions and equally for supporting players when their 'misdemeanor' has been overplayed in the media. Nonetheless, the brain fades on and off the field need to stop!

How on earth does Brad Scott and North keep flying under the radar! They have now lost 20 of their last 24 games and are wallowing at 17th on the ladder. It could be said that there are a lot of other 'newsworthy' stories making headlines but there are few worse football performance stories than North. Surely some media heat needs to go there way.

Well, for a real 'dog act' have a look at the video in this: https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/fremantle-forward-hayden-ballantyne-shoved-while-injured-by-st-kilda-defender-jake-carlisle/news-story/ee3a91876738de28afc38a66eb6bbe23 Carlisle attacks Ballantyne while he is on the ground injured. Just hope the media go after Carlisle in the same way they have Bugg. Both are bad and Bugg deserves his penalty. But going after a defenceless injured play is right up there in the 'dog act' stakes. Now lets see if the media goes to town on Carlisle. He hardly is a model of good behaviour so deserves a media whack or two. Somehow I doubt it as the media seem to maniacally obsessed with lynching Bugg.

Game debriefs usually happen on a Monday and it isn't Goodwin's style to give that sort of demoralising feedback straight after a tough game. From what we now know of the 3 not-so-special K's recalcitrant behaviour Wagner would have known he got a game because Kent, Kennedy and Kennedy-Harris were suspended. Afterall we needed midfielders and forwards on Friday night. So it is not a surprise to see Wagner out and Hunt replace him down back next week. So, more likely Goodwin told Wagner before the game that this was a one week selection and he didn't expect him to be a world beater, just go out do his best - which he did. Not sure that is the same thing as 'being dropped' for being really bad.

To me that is the issue - that rotations are locked into set plays and the rules are self imposed and inflexible. You would think when a key player is stuck on the bench the runner would go out to get at least a player over to the bench side of the ground to make the change. There's a chance of a numbers mismatch for a minute but that seems a small risk if it means getting a key player on the ground. Some flexibility is needed, I feel.

Thanks, fixed my post. That is even better for us - makes me even more optimistic!

Despite all the injuries I'm quietly optimistic about the next month. Our games are: Carlton who play a scrappy lock down game - an inferior version of the Swan's game Adelaide who got sucked into the Carlton scrappy game style and looked bog ordinary today. Port...that might be a bridge too far, alto it is at the G. North who are being thrashed by GCS (its only half time tho) If we can get a couple of players back each week (and critically not lose any more) we can take it right up to Carlton, Adelaide and North. We have already beaten the first 2 and North won because they got away with some really rough stuff. Now that umpires are calling them out for the rough stuff and giving free kicks and 50m North have struggled. The last 4 games are GWS, Stk, Brisbane and Collingwood. Again we have already beaten 3 of the 4 and the last 3 are at the G. We should rest the whole team for the GWS game and prepare for the run home (...that is tongue in cheek, folks). So, fellow Dee supporters, lets not loose heart. Plenty of the season to play out still and we have a very good chance in most of the games.

Another good results for us would be Freo to beat StK - They would both be a game and % behind us. And, WCE (8th) leading Bulldogs (10th) @ half time. Eagles bad kicking is keeping Bulldogs in the game. If Bulldogs lose they will probably drop to 11th making it really difficult to make the 8. Now, where is this magic wand to make Brisbane beat Essendon...

Last night for the first time I felt the coaches box didn't have their act together. 1. Your note above that Goodwin didn't re-focus Bugg is a simple mistake for a first year coach. But the more experienced could have suggested it or done it themselves. They may not have seen the incident but they couldn't possibly have missed the melee and the fallout. 2. Last night, Goodwin said he didn't know why Oliver was on the bench for the first 13 minutes. He said something like: we will need to look at how the rotations work and the coaches don't get too involved. I know its the sports science people that manage rotations etc but I'm surprised the coach(es) aren't across it. I know a lot of the play was on the other side of the ground but there were lulls in play where they could have made a switch. The first quarter and therefore the game could well have been different if Oliver had been in the middle to help get the ball into our fwd50. Not wishing this to be critical as am a huge fan of Goodwin et al. Just noting that we had an ordinary night off the field as well as on. To use a Goodwin's mantra 'they will learn from it'. Not our night, I guess. But we are still in the hunt for September.

If the 3 not-so-special K's were left out last night for disciplinary reasons, they owe their teammates and supporters big time. One or all could have made a difference last night. Being fresh they could have helped us stay in touch and added some spark and energy in the middle and up forward. Top game expected from all three today. Don't want to see any of them getting undeserved senior games because we have no one else to choose from. Kennedy, Kent and Kennedy-Harris - its time to stand up!

If we make finals I would like to see who is brave enough to stand between him and the gate at the end of the race

The good news is we are still 6th on the ladder with a good %age and it is most likely to be that way at the end of this round. If we can get enough talent back each week we can stay there and hopefully have a fit list for a tilt at September.

And it will get worse before it gets better - 3 of next 5 games are interstate! 9 day break till Carlton game at the G. then 6 days before Crows in Darwin. after that 2 of the next 3 are also interstate (Tassie, NSW). then the last 3 are at the G. We had a bye after our other NT game and the club wanted a lot of games in Victoria in the first half of the season. So we can't have everything going our way. And to be honest, I think our fast and furious style of play is taxing on players. And the more players that are out the more pressure it puts on players that are on the field. eg Losing ruckmen probably exacerbated Watts' early injuries to the point where he finally broke down. Not suggesting we should change our game style, just saying the fixture isn't the only reason we have a lot of injuries. Nonetheless, I wouldn't be surprised if the club goes to the AFL with revised fixture requests next year.

Max's right knee was very heavily strapped from the start. (He usually has a thin/small bandage). Not making excuses for him but he looked really handicapped with it: Couldn't jump (only 29 Hitouts, usually over 50); looked like slow motion when he tried to chase and most of his kicks barely connected and dribbled off the boot. So he didn't have his usual impact and we desperately missed that. I had hoped a fresh Max with the Eagles game under his belt, would give us first use and we get mid field dominance which would help cover Jones' absence. A quiet Max meant everyone else had to work that much harder for us to get possessions and it was a reach to far. That said to win 3 of 4 games in 18 days is a herculean effort by our team of mainly 'baby demons'. I tips my hat to them one and all. And, I desperately hope Max isn't carrying another injury.

Can anyone find video of Jones' high hit on Hannan. Deliberate elbow to the head which knocked him off his feet. Carey tried to say Jones was 'just bracing' while going for the ball. Didn't look like it to me - bracing means tucking arms in and taking the hit on the upper arm/shoulder. And it didn't look like 'negligible impact' either. To Hannan's credit he bounced back up again but that doesn't mitigate the severity of the hit to the head. Wouldn't mind seeing it again if anyone can find it.

We shouldn't underestimate Sydney's scoring ability - they have had the yips lately. Last 3 weeks they have kicked: 12.16. 88, 10.11.71, and 11.20.86. We are the opposite and have nailed the goals for last 3 games: 15.14.104, 17.11.113, and 15.9.96 They certainly get a lot of chances at goal and had a number of scoring shots more than us. If Buddy and a few others find their compass we are in trouble. As much as I love Tom Mc's five goal haul last week it would be a big ask for him to do it again. The key for us will be Petracca. If the Swans don't stop him he is our best chance of kicking a winning score.

Taylor gets heaps of 'Likes'! He is the mastermind of our current list! Not sure about the author of the article as it looks like a cut and paste of past Taylor interviews and he may well have got the idea and most of the data from our own @Stevienic23 who listed our most recent team and where they were taken in the drafts in this post:

Who you ask? What is 'The Cage'? http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/melbourne/strength-and-conditioning-coach-rob-jackson-has-helped-transform-the-demons/news-story/f5baa806b3494026410636dd56033611 For those that can't get past the pay wall, Jackson is Misson's 2IC and 'The Cage' is his private gym "... an off-site sanctuary for the Dees and part of his house." Terrific insight into building an AFL footballer. Player specifics: Viney - King of the gym (no surprise there). "At stages the Demons had to pull Viney out of the gym, teaching him he also had to be able to run". Tyson and Jackson made a pact two years ago to train every Christmas before any festive hams are carved. Hunt - tips the scales at 85kg after dropping his puppy fat Billy Stretch - told to bulk up Oliver - finished his TAC Cup season a porky midfielder clueless when it came to nutrition. Jordan Lewis, at 30, replaced 1.5kg of fat with 4kg of muscle in his first red and blue summer. (now that was a surprise and credit to him for accepting the clubs regime after coming from one of the best) Nathan Jones weighs less now than when I got to the club, but is lifting heaps more.” The most athletic Demon? Recruit Joel Smith. Merge Smith’s athleticism with Viney’s strength and you get Christian Petracca, the explosive monster Defender Sam Frost could live in a buffet restaurant and you wouldn’t know it. Tyson, Tom McDonald, Mitch King and Daisy Pearce are among the regulars at The Cage, where they can blow off extra steam. Its no wonder our development was so bad and we couldn't run out games - when Misson arrived he was the only person, now there are seven in the department. Another of PJ's achievements in correctly resourcing the footy department.

41,431 100+ overnight! Win tonight and good chance of getting to 42,000. Maybe all the talk of the Dees making finals has prompted people to buy memberships to get finals tickets.