spirit of norm smith

Positive karma!! ❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

Dees supporters everywhere !!!

SENSATIONAL NEWS. YES YES YES WE LOVE TRAC 💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️👏👏

Thanks DD36. Maybe we can develop Ricky Mentha and ANW as two small defenders in the next few years. With Salem ageing and Riv earmarked for more time in the midfield, there will be a role there in the near future.

The Go Home Factor. That little piece of the recruitment decision that surely must be considered when making a choice on draft picks. There is no denying it is demonstrated how risky it can be to recruit players from interstate. There was previously some discussion that it was riskier for interstate (non Victorian clubs) teams. I actually think it is now shown as more difficult for Victorian clubs trying to retain their interstate recruits especially from WA and SA. Or is it simply the lure of $$$s. Not necessarily in my view. For the Demons, we look back. Early days … Once the Crows came in, Todd Viney and Steven Stretch were on their radar. Both were loyal Demons and committed the club resisting offers. Earl Spalding left in strange circumstances He wanted to go home to the Eagles. The club said ok go. His manager then shopped interest and the Tigers and Blues were making offers. He went to the Blues and won a premiership. Andrew Obst went back to Port Adelaide after they came in. Scott Thompson. Went back to Adelaide after 4 years at MFC (40 games). Traded to the Crows as he wanted to go back for family reasons. Played 269 games over 13 years at the crows, including two time B&F winner. We know the others Jeff Farmer 😭 Jesse Hogan 😭 Luke Jackson 😭 Now … Alex Neal-Bullen 😭 Yes it does work both ways. We got Lever, Langdon & Jeff White as come back to Victoria players. Though Melbourne probably has had the least players brought back for this reason (famously missing out on Chris Judd due to $$ and brown paper bag ambassador roles). So we worry about Kozzzy, Riv, JVR, Petty, Sparrow, McVee, Tholstrup. Will they decide the lure of family or the surf will call them back home. Do we look ahead and look to prefer Victorian youngsters. This year most of the top 25 draft picks are Victorian. Probably 21 of the 25. So no shortage of talent. Is it a factor? The discussion continues…

Goodwin … early sign of his madness? The Age. October 2019. Adam Tomlinson is looking forward to some consistency in his playing role after being earmarked for a spot on the wing at Melbourne. The Demons recruit was unveiled at AAMI Park on Tuesday after joining the club as a free agent on a five-year deal on Monday. Melbourne have identified Tomlinson primarily as a wingman. Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin spoke about him playing a consistent role, and once games start, being cemented in that spot.

Continued… Monetising his considerable social media following has become another professional priority for Petracca, as is his right. Pasta bakes, stir fries and salads may not be worth as much as kicks, marks and handballs to Petracca – yet – but he’ll be hanging up the boots long before he hangs up the frying pan. Using back-of-the-envelope calculations from numbers given by experts in the influencing industry, it’s not a stretch that Petracca could earn about $500,000 a year from his culinary pursuits – well short of his $1 million-plus-a-year playing contract but not bad for a side earn. Petracca’s 473,000 followers on Instagram are a fraction of that of cricketers David Warner (10.8 million and Steve Smith (4 million), basketballer Simmons (7 million) and F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo (9 million), but an overwhelming majority of that audience is based in Australia, and more than likely in the southern states where football thrives. A skim through his @on.trac5 Instagram account shows 31 companies have had their brands in a paid partnership to appear on Petracca’s well-watched videos. Natalie Giddings – the chief executive of influencer agency Hoozu, who help brands run their influencer programs – has worked with Petracca and his fiancee Bella Beischer, a lawyer who manages some of the Demons star’s non-football commercial deals.

Continued… Petracca’s representatives say his personal brand is not a factor in his decision-making. Leaving a club to grow one’s individual brand does not sit well among football fans, who expect their players to put the jumper first. St Kilda star turned pundit Leigh Montagna gave his assessment of the public’s change towards Petracca this week. “It isn’t coming out well for Christian at the moment, I don’t think,” Montagna said on Triple M. “I think there’s starting to be a turn in regards to what the perception is of Christian Petracca.”

The frustration among Demons fans and the club could best be summed up by an exasperated supporter replying to one of Petracca’s cooking videos on Instagram: “All this turmoil going on with the Dees, but thank f--- we’ve got a Crispy Rice Paper Pork & Veggie Dumplings recipe!” The longer Petracca does not speak publicly, the more room there is for rumour and innuendo to fill the vacuum. The theory Petracca wants out of Melbourne for Carlton or Collingwood so he can grow his personal brand has grown legs. Fans can begrudgingly cop their stars leaving for more money or on-field opportunities – it’s common – but doing so for more social media followers? There is a belief held by some at the Demons, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, that the club’s issues are being used by Petracca as a way to break out of the remaining five years of his contract and head to a big Victorian club, thereby increasing his public profile.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/inside-brand-petracca-how-demons-star-s-20240828-p5k63o.html Very interesting reading.

Andy Moniz -Wakefield played 12 of the 18 VFL games. In my opinion, he was our best player alongside White in 5 or 6 of those games as well as one of the best players in most other games. Very strange that he wasn’t in the top 10. Definitely one player who deserved promotion on his strong Casey performances.

VFL Top Ten Vote Count 1. Mitch White - 130 Votes 2. Roan Steele - 100 Votes 3. Matt Jefferson - 97 Votes 4. Oliver Sestan - 92 Votes 4. Bailey Laurie - 92 Votes 6. Kynan Brown - 86 Votes 6. Tom Fullarton - 86 Votes 8. Tyler Edwards - 85 Votes 9. Will Verrall - 75 Votes 10. Max Gregory - 74 Votes

Parfitt’s name is in the jar. Wait and see who and what’s available … then we may open the jar

No.

Caleb Windsor, Mckercher and Wardlaw will be the 3 best players from this group. Strange that Dempsey was so clear as the number 1. I think he’s okay but not exceptional.

I prefer Langford over Smillie, no doubt. However some foreboding that Langford may be on the Eagles radar. If so and he’s gone, it’s then a choice of Smillie or Lalor, which I am more 50/50 on the choice. Smillie has excellent foot skills and can kick 50metres easily. He wins the contested footy. He can distribute. All of these are demonstrated. The challenge is his defensive skills. He has been so good at winning the footy through his junior years, the AFL challenge is how you manage against other stars and “defend the footy”. Will he work hard without the ball. That’s his unknown for me.

More due diligence required in my view. We must be super super diligent in adding anyone. I like his goal sense and pace but there must be a reason that the Suns terminated his contract with a year still to run. Why are they letting him go ???? Rosas, originally from Darwin, was the first player to be signed by the Suns through their Darwin talent zone. He made his AFL debut in 2021 and quickly became known for his speed and goal-scoring ability. Over the years, Rosas became an integral part of the Suns’ forward line, playing 33 games and scoring 33 goals during his time with the club. The decision to release Rosas is surprising given his recent contract extension and the significant contributions he made to the team. His departure leaves a noticeable gap in the Suns’ forward line as they look towards the future. Rosas’ release raises questions about the Suns’ strategy moving forward and how they plan to fill the void left by his departure. The reasons behind the decision have not been publicly disclosed, but it marks a significant change for both Rosas and the Gold Coast Suns.

https://tinyurl.com/yt2senjb I’ve had some hard, honest conversations [with Christian] on where we both sit with the Melbourne Football Club." Max Gawn

Love you Max. Our skipper. Our champion. ❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

@leave it to deever I agree there’s a few more that would not be part of the future. But we have to keep them to honour contracts (Laurie, Billings, McAdam, Fullarton) or just to keep some sense of stability (which is crumbling quickly). It shows how quickly our depth has been eroded. We were tight for list spots and perhaps didn’t give JJ or Bedford the sense of security. Deakyn Smith also unlucky to go but we were limited for spots. Now as you mentioned, we could find plenty to delist !!!

Full stop. Good.

One kid out of Queensland that has improved this year is Ty Gallop. Plays key forward at local club Maroochydore in QAFL as a 17 year old. He’s not Jed Walter but can take pack marks, loves a goal and has physical presence even as a youngster. He can kick 45/50 metres easily. Records this year shows kicked 8 goals in 3 Coates league games for the Brisbane Lions academy, 4 goals in 2 Under18 championships games for Allies and Kicked 30 goals in 9 QAFL games for Maroochydore (including 16 in last three games of the year). Dominated the last game of the year versus morningside. He is unfortunately tied to the Lions academy but sure to bolt up recruitment lists. Not sure the Lions have ability to match as they will have invested heavily in Ashcroft and Marshall. Aggressive young key forwards are hard to find. Might not be top 50 but Dees have to find some gems with skill and some real toughness in their style. Reminds me of Logan Morris in style.

Gone. Farris-White, Schache Retired. Brayshaw (medical), BBB (both knees) —————————————————- Free agent Going? Tomlinson (UFA) Going? Hunter ( out of contract ) Suspended?? Going? JS29 Trade request to Crows… ANB Doubtful…? Sestan That’s 9 off the list add ANW onto the list ———————————————— one more year … Kentfield ———————————————— Unknown/TBC - Petracca (still 5 years on contract) Retire… or probably just go one more year??. Tmcd, Melksham One more year??? Adams, Verrall, Billings, Fullarton, Spargo, Laurie, Hore, McAdam*, Woey jnr

Max Gawn. 👏👏❤️💙❤️❤️ One of the true Demon greats. Best ruckman of all time. 👏👏👏👏

Casey B&F 1st 👏👏👏Mitch White - inspirational captain Defender turned inside mid. Clearly best for Casey in 2024 2nd 👏👏Roan Steele vice captain 3rd year at Casey. Mid sized half back /half forward. 3rd 👏Matt Jefferson - 2nd year AFL listed key forward. Inconsistent year but showed he had capability to be key forward. Preseason in the gym and some guidance from Choco still needed. Rising star. 👍🏻Kai Windsor (20yo, Caleb’s older brother). Recovered from year out with injury. Played some reasonable footy but often limited minutes and looks just ok at VFL level. Not AFL standard at this time. Values Award.👍🏻 Roan Steele / definitely