spirit of norm smith

@Demonland @binman Shall we send Terrence back to Brussels? Poor soul. Has seen a victory, Then an insipid spineless effort against Carlton and now viewed one of the greatest white flag implosions of a club in 32 minutes v the Saints Seriously questions … so many but WHY WAS KOZZZY ON THE BENCH FOR THE LAST PART OF THE QUARTER AND INDEED FOR SUCH CRUCIAL MINUTES? WHAT WAS SAID AT 3/4 TIME? It must have been to relax and not compete ? HOW DO WE SOLVE THE CLARRY CONFIDENCE CRISIS? He showed again his heart and soul effort, unquestioned, but he panics with the footy and (in the big moment) with 2 minutes to play, his run into goal and to miss everything from 20 metres out was destroying to everyone? HOW CAN THE CLUB RESPOND? WE ARE A LAUGHING STOCK? WE CANNOT GO BACK TO BEING IRRELEVANT? WE WANTED A GRAND FINAL VICTORY AT THE MCG, TO EXPERIENCE THE THRILL ... BUT WE FEEL AS FAR AWAY AGAIN AS EVER !! This week we need therapy … can the pod provide solace and unity and compassion for the true believers in the red and the blue ???

Why was Spargo back? Did barely anything !!! Why was Sparrow back?? He was knocked out!!! Why was Petty back in ?? He did little at Casey. I thought they’d at least give Johnson a game.

Dees have had some of the most heartbreaking and embarrassing losses The 1987 loss in the preliminary final v Hawks … buckenara after the siren The 186 points flogging by the Cats in 2011 The 190 points flogging by the FITZROY Lions in 1979 The 96 point flogging by the Hawks in the 1988 GF The Bombers comeback from 47 points, after 4 minutes of the last quarter (1992) Now… THE SAINTS COMEBACK FROM 46 POINTS DOWN AT 3/4 TIME TO BEAT THE DEES INCLUDING TWO GOALS IN THE LAST 40 SECONDS, INCLUDING A 6-6-6 BREACH WITH 8 SECONDS TO GO AND NO ONE NEAR THE SAINTS BEST PLAYER STANDING 25 METRES AWAY FROM GOAL (2025) I can say that I have been at all of these games … all except for the Cats ANNILIATION at Kardinia Park

@Demonland To all those that live and breathe and love and support and rise and fall each week with the club … to us rusted on Demons fanatics… salvation lies within!!!!

@Demonland Let’s go though our leadership search for the new CEO Pert leaves the club Global search conducted No news No news Month after month Then suddenly Caro has the news… it’s PAUL GUERRA … but wait , we have to wait another 4+ months for him to arrive in September 2025 … after the season is over !! Well. What a mess !! Was he last man standing ?!?!?! Now in crisis , we have no CEO to truly make the footy department accountable!! Who’s sacking Goodwin?? No one !!!

@Demonland Binman - No stats this week Andy - Please give us the biggest RANT ever !!! That last quarter killed me inside. For three quarters, all was good. Liked the game. Viney was tackling everyone in sight. Fritta kicking goals. Maxy clearly has ALL AUSTRALIAN honours again. I was looking forward to a nice 8 goal win and a relaxing Sunday night!! NO TEAM LOSES FROM 46 POINTS UP But wait … then … WHAT THE We gave them momentum Our players panicked Oliver runs into goal from 20 metres out and misses EVERYTHING 6-6-6 kindergarten mistake Embarrassing Heartbreaking Soul destroying We are the laughing stock of the AFL We are an irrelevant club That’s the truth WE ARE ALL IN HELL BURN IT DOWN

Unsubscribe I will not be giving votes - first time ever

Melksham 👏👏👏

But he kicked them. We need players that kick goals and not afraid to kick goals

Sharp - 5 snags 👏👏

Let’s see how many of the 7 get done !!

Duursma will go top 3 in the draft outside of the pre zoned picks. He is what we need. 188cms tall mid with run and skill

Chip chip turnover chip chip turnover Ffs. Run and run. Poor last few minutes

Jeffo. Kick the goal !!! Ffs

Agree. Zebras are bottom club and the alignment is ending. Little oppo today!! Need players like Kolt and Laurie and Jeffo to really stand up when we play Lions and the Hawks in the final VFL games.

Best players are Tom Campbell. Mitch Hardie. Jack Billings. Riley Bonner. Jeffo. Kolt. Need to win by 100+ today

Luker Kentfield. He’s a player. Put it down. 👏👏👏

It’s all so tired and repetitive It’s about the 5th or 6th journo over the past 6 weeks. It’s the same regurgitation!! No play out in a proposed outcome. It’s another “get Oliver to Geelong” and “get Trac to Collingwood” story Will the Dees pay for 1/2 their contracts to play at other clubs ?? wtf In a weaker draft and compromised draft over the next two years and ahead, what value are these proven star players worth?? who wants Trac to be jettisoned for the pies 1st round pick !! At pick 27??? Trac has recovered this year and with another preseason will get back to his very best That’s why a Trac at 29yo is a sought after commodity by the Pies They can F/off And adding Bailey Laurie as a key part of our base, Galah Gullan has no idea about the footy club Get the development right Get the skills right Get the important moments right That’s the go And some accurate goalkicking will be a huge lift in 2026! BTW Here’s the run of the article… sound familiar Is Clayton Oliver at 28 still capable of being the 25-year-old version of Clayton Oliver? Moving Oliver because of his mega contract, which is believed to be somewhere between $1.2 million and $1.5 million per season, is almost impossible so if he wants out again, like he did last year, then it would be up to him to re-do his deal for less which would enable the Demons to get him somewhere else. Can Christian Petracca at 29 after a horrible 12 months regain his spark? Petracca and Collingwood is a rumour that just won’t go away but the big issue is how the Magpies make it happen. Future draft picks is probably the answer, although it’s very complicated, but despite the denials the issues from last year are fixed, they still linger for both parties. Jack Viney won the best and fairest last year and got a four-year contract to supposedly keep him from going to North Melbourne yet at 31 he’s served up a year where his place in the midfield is being questioned. Steven May is 33 and trouble continues to follow him. Off field there is a yearly issue and on field he keeps finding them as well. Would a club like the Western Bulldogs, who are in the premiership window, look at him for a year? They do have an underbelly of talented youngsters to play with. Harvey Langford is a star, Xavier Lindsay has talent while Kade Chandler, Bailey Laurie, Judd McVee, Trent Rivers, Jacob van Rooyen, Caleb Windsor and Bowey provide a good base. There is one template they would do well to follow. When Hawthorn traded Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell and high-priced midfield star Jaeger O’Meara at the end of 2022 the outrage was in overdrive. It was at the end of Sam Mitchell’s first year as coach and the critics were calling the move madness. Two years later Hawthorn finished sixth and this year they are again considered a premiership contender

Free agency was designed to help the lower clubs. 90% of free agents go to teams in the top 6 who are competing for the premiership. It’s a farce !!

What did he do wrong? The facts He thinks at all times he is going to win the ball. His eyes are on the ball. He keeps his line. The BOUNCING ball pops up (the bounce is not consistent but it’s reasonable to assume it runs on) It was a nano second. 0.025/second reaction time. HE KEEPS HIS FEET (not off the ground) His arms are outstretched to take the footy. There was no bump. It was contact. His body is lowered not raised to head level It was not careless. Clear minds must recognise of this The reasonable player goes to win the footy and nothing here suggests May ever thought or could have thought differently He comes off his player to win the footy It’s a decision making in 0.05/second MELBOURNE MUST APPEAL. MELBOURNE MUST WIN THE APPEAL

Agree we are a soft target. But it’s almost weekly that it’s a pile in on the Dees. Even more than the Blues at times. Any good news to say … no just burn the joint down is the constant theme from the media. There’s more issues than just change the players. We are in a real red zone if the media inspired purge is a [censored] up and we go back to 2009 !!!

Saints on a losing streak. Like the Blues last week. Memo to Goodwin … it’s last chance saloon Dees MUST win this or it’s getting more than disappointing , it’s EMBARRASSING as a club !! Here’s some basic tips from the other side of the fence Wanganeen Milera … you let him run around for 37 possessions last time. Little pressure. wtf. At least make sure he’s under pressure Dees don’t let guys like Sharman or Wood or Higgins or Owens kick 4 or more goals. Amazing how many average “no namers” like Moir and Menzie have a day out against us DONT KICK TO WILKIE. Last time the strategy was to kick it so he could intercept. Ffs. It was dumb. Dumb footy. Protect Kozzzzzy. Windhager will go to a hard tag. Other clubs like cats and pies protect their players getting tags. Blocks. Bumps. Etc. Stand up for your teammates Centre clearances. Need to get this sorted as we have been weak each week. We were pathetic Development. Like to see Langford used for 5 or 6 CBAs this week. That’s where his future lies. Not on a wing. Start the game like you’re prepared. Our slow starts are becoming systemic. Turn it on from minute 1 to the siren. Relax time is AFTER the game.

add Peter Ryan to the list of haters https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/steven-may-s-suspension-was-justified-and-won-t-change-footy-as-we-know-it-20250723-p5mhb8.html He should understand. It’s clear. The AFL wants players to show such a duty of care to their opponent that they assess a range of decisions they make – whether to bump, whether to change direction, whether to accelerate or decelerate, whether to brace or not – on more than the single criteria of winning the ball. Players are also expected to factor in the likelihood of injuring their opponent or putting their opponent at serious risk of injury when making those decisions. He could have been less certain he was going to reach the unpredictable ball first. He could have altered his approach as a result. He could have positioned his body differently, something Evans managed to do, in the final instant. May knew what was at stake as he made each decision in a series of decisions, albeit each determined in a split second, with a goal at risk. Putting a player at risk was prioritised above the risk of conceding a goal.

Add @scottgullan to the list of Dees haters For all those in 2021 who said the Pies and Cats were too old … they turned it around Nothing like aiming at a soft target like the Dees http://bit.ly/40Ba33I

Gleeson wants May to foresee where and how the ball will bounce. It’s always been hard to predict. NO BUMP. Not careless. EYES ON THE BALL. No jump. KEEPS HIS LINE. May did everything like he thought he’d win the ball. Everything!