Earl Hood

On 12/6/2021 at 3:40 PM, Demonland said:

 

Rode past Gosch’s this morning as part of my new year’s resolution to get back in the saddle and lose some kilos. The good news is the works are due to be completed in May this year. Hopefully training gets relocated there from its current interstate location out at Casey! 
 

I rode over to the tennis centre and heard someone hitting balls on the practice courts on Swan Street so stopped to have a peek through the fence. A young Chinese woman was hitting up with a not so young male coach and she had very powerful ground stokes. But my eye was drawn to the male coach and the way he was so effortlessly hitting the ball, just a joy to watch and strong on both sides, hardly mis hitting a ball. The more I looked the more familiar he became, it was Pat Cash. He is 56 but from a distance he looks just as fit as when he was at his peak. His student’s name escapes me but she is ranked number 34 in the world. 

9 minutes ago, Demonland said:

I used to always stress that a team would score a goal against us in the final minute particularly in close games but often attempted to take solace in the fact that it's virtually impossible to kick two in a minute despite my MFCSS (which is currently in remission) telling me that only the Dees (of old) could cough up two in a minute.

Now that I've seen that 3 in a minute is a very real possibility I don't think I can ever be truly comfortable at a football match ever again. 🤪

That effort put an end to Leigh Matthews’ old maxim about goals behind > minutes remaining equals sure defeat. That is if your 3 goals down with less than 3 min to go you are stuffed. Not anymore it seems. 

4 hours ago, Cassiew said:

No two teams have played each other in more grand finals.

Personally I’d like to beat hawks in a grand final. I’m still bitter about 1988

And 87! And Mathew’s decking Smith behind play and Giles and……I am just still bitter! 

6 minutes ago, Graeme Yeats' Mullet said:

How good has this club become 

The Club has certainly taken a few big steps forward in embracing it's people

Thay was highlight of the day for me seeing a lot of names I grew up watching still bleeding ❤💙 

 

It would be great for the club to issue that photo with everyone named. I can’t pick a number of them. No Brian Dixon that I can see. Anyone know how Brian is travelling these days? 

Great picture here but I can’t put a name to all of them. The guys to the right of Holland/Leoncelli I can’t place.

We need some confirmation of the date pronto. I will have to decline a Christmas function for a club event this week on the assumption the 5 December Demon Celebration is happening. I will be [censored] if it doesn’t happen on that day! 

Chris Johnson comes to mind. Bailey wasn’t happy when he walked out. I hope his dad Alan is happy! Jeremy Howe? 

Has there been any updates on talks with his management about extending his contract? There was some talk then it’s gone quiet. I want this kid locked in long term. 

6 hours ago, faultydet said:

Lever was the first name i thought of. 

Second was McDonald.

I was thinking N Jones. 

18 hours ago, Garbo said:

Just saw this appear on my feed good explanation of what went on at the centre bounce, this kind of stuff I find impossible to pickup in real time.

 

Looked through that video, very forensic analysis of the centre square battle. My takes were Gawn just smashed the opposition rucks to set up our take aways in the 4th Q to put the game beyond doubt. In the 3rd Jackson managed to break even in the ruck contests but was able to follow up on the ground to great effect. And Viney was too strong inside for Treloar or Libba and was able to get the ball out to our receivers to devastating effect. And then we had 2 other bull, ball magnets in Tracc and Oliver. No team could stop that combo I believe.

The analyst showed how the dogs tried to counter the onslaught over the last 2 quarters but it was all futile. 

2 hours ago, Hellish Inferno said:

I should add, Viney 2nd career high clearances with 12. Two short of career best 14

Watched that succession of clean centre clearances from mid third term and in the 4th again and Viney was pivotal I thought, a toe poke forward here, a pickup and handball to a receiver on the move there. Oliver, Petracca and Jackson are the obvious ones running full speed out of the centre square to bury the Dogs in an amazing blitzkrieg but Viney was vital contesting the ball and getting it moving our way, he out did Libba there.
 

That frenetic contest at the ball in the centre given we had a dominant ruckman and several inside bulls and ball magnets, was what I was hoping we would get from the start with Yze coming in this season. But I don’t remember seeing centre clearance dominance that much during the year, in fact we at times outplayed in that area by lowly sides and covered that with intercepts at half back and attacked from there. But it did all came together in the finals series. Would love it if it becomes the norm next year which would see us hitting the scoreboard big time. 

6 Petracca

5 Gawn

4 Brayshaw

3 Oliver

2 Fritsch

1 Salem

Centre clearances win finals! 

Who runs with Bont when he drifts forward? 

1 minute ago, Wadda We Sing said:

Need some Kozzie magic

 

Got to get it up forward this quarter by hook or by crook then he can get going. First quarter were mainly clean entries, second quarter it hardly got up there. Midfield must lift. 

It really is up to Oliver, Viney and Tracc they must get back control of the stoppages. Hopefully May settles down, really struggling tonight. 

We are up on the free kicks 7 to 3 amazing! 

Where is Demonfrog when we need him? 

11 minutes ago, defuture15 said:

Just had a look back as well.

Thinking that we were not quite out of our loading phase. Not a Melbourne performance at all. How important was Viney!

Brown not there yet. Completely different form line now. The player we need to quell is Bailey Smith. Viney for Norm Smith.

 

Go Dees

And I would assign Spargo to CDaniel to chase, tackle and harass at every opportunity to stop his drive out of their backline. 

2 hours ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

I can't separate any of these below. 

Paul Gascoigne's third of the day against Aberdeen to sew up our 8th consecutive title. 

The Ally McCoist overhead bicycle kick in extra time against Hibs to win the League Cup. I was there that day. 

Davie Cooper mesmerising the Celtic defence at Hampden Park in 1979. 

That Jorg Albertz piledriver free kick against Celtic in 1997. 

Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist's goals against Leeds Utd at Elland Road in the European Cup in 1992. 

Kemar Roofe's goal from his own half against Standard Liege in the Europa League last year. 

And who could forget Archie Gemmill taking on half the Dutch defence to score for Scotland in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. A goal immortalised in the movie Trainspotting. 

 

Oops, I nearly forgot Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal to knock the English out of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. 

 

 

Eric Cantona 1996 FA Cup Final? 

3 minutes ago, willmoy said:

We tag and the best wingers in the comp will  orchestrate as many, if not more  free kicks than usual

Good wing players or whingers? It took me 5 autocorrect attempts to actually write whingers! I hope we get the same umpires who officiated our Preliminary Final, they were very good and if they keep to their minimalist approach we can break even on frees I hope. Although Weightman is working at a different level, ducking at the first hint of contact. I wonder if a Sheedy type coach would be discussing it at every opportunity in the next fortnight, you know waxing hypothetically that they hope the umpires aren’t drawn into the same errors we saw vs the Bombers. You know no accusations just putting it out there. Hoping the umpires actually start to think twice before they see some blonde hair vibrate and assume an illegal tackle. 

6 Gawn

5 Viney

4 Petracca

3 Salem

2 Oliver

1 Kossie

Thought the umpiring was exceptional tonight, hardly noticed them which usually they did a great job.

CH7 News saying someone is injured from today’s training session, more detail to come in their sports report😡???

False alarm, 7 with a long range camera lens picked up ANB with a strapped calf walking to or from the training session today! This will go on all week I suppose. 

1 minute ago, Chook said:

Both clear frees (clearly handball toward the boundary, and clearly dived on the footy).

I assume you are taking the pizz! Handball was to the vicinity of a team member near the boundary not deep in defence but around the wing, appalling decision. And McCluggage was it fell back on top of the ball he did not drag it back in.