Big Col

6 Petracca 5 Melksham 4 Fritsch 3 Langford 2 Oliver 1 Gawn

Let's not drop Jeffo. We have to give him a run of games together to see if he shows anything and it's only now when the season is shot that we have that chance. And if we get the chance to give Adams and Sestan a game or two before before season's end then we should. Fritta's best game this year was when he came on as a sub. That's where I'd put him. If Tommy Mac is not going to get another contract then keep him at Casey until the Magpies game so he can have a farewell. We need to get games into other defenders.

When will this madness end? Petracca - 2 misses from 35m and 45m directly in front Langdon - misses 35m out directly in front Melksham - misses 40m out directly in front Pickett - misses from 15m on a 45degree angle Jefferson - misses from 3m out on the line (don't forwards practice opposite kicking around the body? This would have an easy shot if on the other side).

How excited should we be about an 18yo holding his own in the ruck? KW's last quarter was everything we could have hoped for. shhhhh

He looks like a keeper.

Woewodin kicks it, White takes the mark and goals. Late 90's vibes overload

Excited about that.

6 May 5 Gawn 4 Oliver 3 Pickett 2 Langdon 1 Petracca

In the second quarter, Chin (I think it was him, it was the other side of the ground to me) was spun in a tackle and his release handball ended up goijg out of bounds. Decision: Insufficient Intent and free to Collingwood About 10 minutes later, N Daicos was spun in a tackle and handballed it directly out of bounds. Decision: Throw in. IMHO they should both be throw-ins, but the inconsistency was glaring.

It's such a pity (for him) that he lost form in 2021 and missed playing in a GF. Then he hit a real purple patch in 2023 only to be injured on the eve of the finals. He's been an important part of our revival over the last 6 weeks and I hope he can stay injury-free and in good form.

Cox knows that if Max grabs an AFLCA gong this year, then it's going to be hard not to call Max the greatest ruck of the 21st century and relegating Cox to #2.

Bench looks a bit tall, but this is my guess: Interchange: Lever, Turner, Rivers, Johnson Sub: Fritta EMER: Culley, Laurie, Sharp

This is very good!

As a qualified teacher whose unable to tutor my own son without it turning into a fight, I'd suggest that that may not be the best option!

They might be picking two rucks in the AA this year.

Bowser reads the play brilliantly and makes good clean disposals. 200 gamer IMHO.

6 Melksham - we'll excuse his brain fade 50m penalty because the rest of the game was elite. You are a champion. 5 Rivers - definitely a midfielder 4 Bowey - best season ever, can rely on him when he wins the ball 3 Picket - an absolute game winner that we have to keep at all costs. 2 Trac - leading possession getter for the game but appears so low in the votes? Maybe we expect too much of Trac, but he was great again. 1 Langdon - back to his best Special mention to Fritta whose time as a sub felt like the message had finally hit. His 1 and 1/2 quarters were what we'd like to see every week!

My kids asked " how are the demons going?". It was so hard to keep my compusure and not let them see a grown man cry. We just beat the reining Premiers away from home. We're back in town, baby.

I'll didn't think I'd ever forgive Walls for having an open goal and missing in the dying seconds of the Rd22 1976 game Carlton vs Footscray where a Carlton victory would provide Demons with their first finals experience since 1964. The game was a draw. I was in tears as an 8 year old and vowed I would spend the rest of my life hoping Robert Walls would suffer immense pain for ever after. True story. By the time we'd made finals in 1987 I had forgiven him. My fondest memory of him is when he was coaching the Bears and they had to rely on the result of another game to know whether they'd made it. It was Rd 22 1995, the same game that Sean Smith took his mark of the century. The Bears won but needed other results to fall their way. The whole thing was so unlikely but the Bears got up and you could see the way Walls was so thrilled for his players - hugging them and back slaps and all. (He was retiring ). Rest easy Wallsy. I've forgiven you.

Possibly. It's certainly unsportsmanlike. Kos was running into an open goal and that was not a genuine attempt at a tackle.

How big will Thursday night's game be now?

Bringing JVR and Fritta back after their VFL performances and after our AFL performance would seem counter productive. Recognise and reward form. Only May (if fit) and then Mcvee (was solid on return) should come in to replace Turner.

I cried.

we need the crowd. Those extra 2 should help us crack an attendance of 1000.

There is an image of Trac from 2021 GF after he kicked his amazing goal where I saw a determination that I've never seen before in anyone. The camera focuses on him for an instance, there's sweat coming off him and instead of wild celebrations (as us fans were doing) we get to see him as he prepares for the next centre bounce. Truly f ..ng focused and committed. It was passionate, determined and powerful. It's hard to describe how I felt then when I first saw his face then and now compared to when I look back on it. Trac is elite. He would make a great captain.