17 OCTOBER

TRADE PERIOD AND DRAFT SUCCESS

A great outcome for future excellence.

Picks 1, 6, 10, 11, 18, 20, 23, & 24.

Here is what Josh Barnes from the Herald Sun said today. He rated the Tiges 8.5/10, the highest trade / draft pick score together with Carlton.

"Richmond's draft hand reads like a phone number and it can. now dial up a whole new era. No team outside of the expansion sides has dominated a draft lime Richmond will. A heap of players are gone, but they wanted out (good). The foundation is now set for an all-time bounce back. The can't afford to miss in the draft, but the Tigers have so many darts they will surely hit a few bullseyes."

Yes, it will take a while to rebuild, however with that kind of scope you just never know who will turn into a Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt, and Trent Cotchin, all drafted around the same time. Time to the head down and study the draft form guide real hard and reap some seeds to harvest.

We also would like to give and our club's condolences to the family of Richmond recruiting manager Chris Toce who passed away.

9 OCTOBER 2024

The President

Here is our comment made in relation to John O'Rourke's speech at the Richmond B&F where he praised Nathan Broad and had a swipe at the four retiring deadshits who, as players, couldn't care less about the Richmond Football Club and haven't for a couple of years. Yes, our view in relation to Bolton, Rioli, Graham, and Baker is:

"It's great to see the President coming out swinging. The fact of the matter is that Bolton, Rioli, Graham, and to a lesser extent, Baker have dropped off the last two years in effort. It is clear that after three Flags, they've had it with the club. As opposed to Nathan Broad. There is such a thing as loyalty. It does exist and it's an important aspect of a person's and a player's character. Rioli was mediocre all season except in the last couple of games when he really had a crack again because he knew he was being scrutinised by Gold Coast. That was a joke but quite funny. So, we are as a club much better off now trading all these has beens off. They couldn't care less about the Richmond Football Club any more and what these four players can do please is to fuck off back to where you came from or to somewhere else. We do not want you. What we want and what we need is 1. high draft picks, as many as possible, and 2. good quality fresh new talent. Trade in the has beens who couldn't give a shit and move on. That's just football. The question remains, given his first season's embarrassing bullshit regarding "I was really pleased with their effort" after every single game, after continually being thrashed raises the question whether Adem Yze could motivate a snail to go slow. We'll see. At least we have a President who is prepared to tell the truth and tell it as it is. "

Therefore, the great 4 can all fuck off from our great club please.

We want great new talent through the draft and you 4 deadshits are going to provide us with that. Argo fuck yourselves. Yze has one more year to show he is not happy with shithouse and pathetic player effort or he can also fuck off somewhere else. We doubt this man could motivate Hamas or Hezbollah to murder a Western hostage. We shall see.

Get your fucken act together Richmond FC and start by doing it at the trade table and the draft.

Well done John O'Rourke. Continue to stick it to them and make them accountable for their shithouse efforts. Time to move on.

11 AUGUST

ROUND 22 v ST. KILDA

Another loss. At least a whole lot of young kids are getting a go.

From here on, it’s really all about making sure we get as many great draft picks as possible.

We were informed by BT during the game that the Richmond Football Club has never lost more than 18 games in a season in its proud history. Ever.

That was loss number 19. Oh dear. We have just witnessed the worst Richmond season in its history.

We will stop commenting now and just let the season run its course.

We wish a very fond farewell to Brendon Gale in his pursuits in Tasmania. The last of the Old Guard to depart Tigerland.

Daniel Rioli, you were superb on Sunday and if you go north, we thank you so much for what you have done for this club.

It’s a hard ride coming down off the top of the rollercoaster that is present in both football and life.

Well, you just have to keep your head down and press on. That is life. That is what is not being taught to youth any more. They are a whole range of lies instead.

We really hope that Adem Yze has a lot more players and hence talent to pick from next year when he picks the team.

We truly hope that all those five with ACL’s recover very well. I mean, you would not believe that Tom Brown starts making an impact and then he goes down injured. Just like Lefau, Naismith, and the rest. It’s been a catastrophic year but that leaves plenty of room for the improvement required after the lessons of catastrophe have been taught. That having been said, Adem Yze needs to raise his standards in the pressure department.

Adem, you have been branded with the hot iron straight out of the fire in your first season.

Let’s get some fresh young talent in that hopefully has skill. The thing is, you don’t know whether draft picks will ever be any good and whether they can cut the mustard at the top level. You just do not know. You have to wait and see. Fresh players don’t hit their straps for a few years is usually the case. That’s why Premierships are rare and it’s all so hard.

AFL

On the topic of the deliberate out of bounds in the Collingwood game, we just cannot believe or understand how harsh the umpires are being on the players. It is outrageous. But as we keep saying, the AFL is simply a microcosm of the authoritarianism that has replaced democracy to a large extent in society at large and we are now living in what is called an “illiberal democracy”. That authoritarian regime mentality may still disappear or reduce once the current wave of true democratic populism changes the pendulum back a few notches. People are sick to death of being told what to do and of being shafted in the extreme by authoritarian governments and the AFL is no different.

It’s a cruel and strange irony that when real men ran things, there was a hell of a lot more freedom in our Western societies. “Toxic masculinity” actually fought very hard for our democratic freedoms. The rise of women has resulted in the idea that any kind of fighting is bad. Hence, freedom has been lost. Our old democratic society has become authoritarian under Nesting Syndrome. That is hugely ironic, isn’t it. It is actually men who provide and fight for freedom in our Western societies.

Back in the old days, pre 1970s, the out of bounds rule was similar to soccer. If you touched the ball last and the ball went over the boundary line, then the kick went to the other side automatically. There was no throw in. You could revert to something like that. But that would be unfair on defenders when they are punching the ball in a contest, as the current interpretation of the out of bounds rule is both unfair and unjust. As is the way too harsh 50m penalty.

But what more would you expect from the new breed of filthy eunuch administrators who have all been castrated and who, to real men, are simply just so revolting and, as such, so cowardly and such poor excuses for men. Dillon deadshit and co. In the name of God and Jesus Christ, we piss all over you and shove a two litre Coke bottle up your arse. Perhaps not the 2 litre bottle since you would enjoy that so much.

Ooh, it feels so good…

6 AUGUST

DUSTIN MARTIN RETIRES

We have nothing to say because Dusty doesn't want any fuss.

All we wish to say is thank you.

We all know the multiple accolades.

Thanks Dusty.

Naturally, we are all a bit sad.

Also, to Tom Hawkins, a real great. Well done, champ.

28 JULY

ROUND 20 v COLLINGWOOD

Same story. Different day.

Young fellas went well again. Older dudes still trying. Very little connection into the forward line. Very little cohesion there. Not many targets on offer.

However, there is something we like about Adem Yze’s coaching this year and that is that he is willing to do different things and mix it up, as good coaches do.

So, once again we look for the positives and this week it was the appearance of Tom Brown in the forward line proper, who looked right at home there. That’s not something you can say about many people. For example, when Noah Balta was transferred from all the great work he did in the backs to the forwards, you can tell he looked like a forward. Anyway, Tom Brown certainly had a look about him. He looked like a genuine forward with his body movement and where he placed himself and that last mark against Maynard was actually superlative. Maynard is no slouch and Tom’s body work on him was not just perfect.

The important point here is that his body work looked natural. he looked like he’d been doing it for ages. Sort of like when you might that right girl and you instantly feel like you’ve known her your whole life. The shoulder strapping also helps to make him look like a genuine forward!

In that respect, without getting carried away, since forward craft takes such a long time to master, it sent a pleasant shiver up our spine.

Could this be another Tassie forward in the making? There’s plenty of em at the Tiges. Hart. Richo. Jack. Great coaching trying different things.

We would simply say that if Shai had kicked that last goal at the end, there would have only been four goals in it.

Can we also say that you’re doing okay Samson Ryan in a tough role at the moment. You’re doing really well because you’re filling a key position both in the ruck and up forward with tenacity. Keep it up, man. And hold onto those marks around the ground up forward.

Congrats to all of you young kids kicking your first AFL goals. The list is getting longer. And keep up the fight.

You know it’s true that during the Dimma years and Flags, and we especially remember in season 2019 when we had a lot of players out injured, that every new player that comes in is given that opportunity to learn. And so that is the case now. It is making a difference.

That was a pretty decent effort, Tiges. However, it’s really vital to have a really good physical crack against a rising North Melbourne where pressure is brought in spades. Come on, there’s only a month to go. Let’s ramp up the pressure and the tackling and the forward pressure and finish the season well.

We did not go this week due to staying up late watching the Olympics. Also we had to mow the lawn today while it wasn’t raining.

Friday night and Sunday games are much better for us to attend, so we will see about Marvel but we will be with youse either way.

27 JULY

THE BREAK-AWAY AFA COMPETITION

Replacing AFL Pigsty

Last night we enjoyed the pleasures of a VAFL amateur game between the old team we played for once Beaumaris v we think it was Old Brighton. We spent quite a few years when we returned in 2004 goal umpiring for the Old Mentonians Football Club and we're now seriously considering doing that again. It's a great way to spend your time on the weekend with the VAFA. We also got to listen to and watch the last half of the Port v Carlton game, which was a great Port win who were down by 25 points at one stage. Bear in mind that with today’s low scoring, that is a significant come-back.

It is something of a great relief watching a VAFA game where there is so much less outrageous over-regulation by umpires who are constantly holding up the game, compared to the beautiful free-flowing game at the lower levels of the VAFA.

We need to be aware, thanks to Steve Hocking and the AFL, how, thanks to too many rules, the stand rule, the inside 5 rule, and the free running from the full back kicking in after a behind, the constant interference and regulation and barking of orders by umpires, that there is barely one game now where the score is over 100. That's how the free-flowing game has been crushed and destroyed by the AFL. These rules have caused abysmal and quite pathetic low scoring games.

We also believe it’s time for the clubs to really go tell the AFL to go fuck themselves and start standing up for their rights and their players when it comes to “Please explain” letters sent by the AFL. You tell them that we are not going to explain anything. Make sure you have a great big legal team at the clubs to fight these filthy elitist scumbags at the AFL who believe they are above the law.

We also believe that it is not out of the ordinary to say that if the AFL keep on going down their elititst, left wing, over-regulatory track, it would be time to actually start a break away competition. We began thinking about this last night while watching the free-flowing reasonably high scoring game at VAFA level. This happened when the VFA became the VFL way back in the late 1800s / early 1900s. A breakaway comp can certainly be done again.

We will tell you why.

The AFL is a prime and beautiful example of an out of touch elitist organisation who rules for themselves only rather than ruling for the people, like all current governments and bureaucracies. Here, the people are not the fans but the clubs and the players. The world is definitely starting to turn, finally, against this kind of outrageous narcissistic over-regulation which destroys and kills everything it comes into contact with. It is a fomr of ideology that has nothing to do with reality. Hence the low scoring games where the game is being crushed into a bizarre kind of negativity never before witnessed, when you compare it 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s footy. But this is not the case at the amateur level.

We listened to an interview with Jacob Weitering from Carlton during the week on SEN. And, as a young man, and an incredibly fine young man, a Vice Captain and role model, we could not believe the absolute pissweak shite that was spewing out his mouth, ably assisted by Gerard Whatley. Oh, recovery is so hard. Oh, I got a knock to the throat. Oh, he got a hit to the head. Oh, we need to conversations about the players’ head. Listening to the really sickening pissweak shit that spewed out of Jacob Weitering’s gob from Peninsula Grammar made us sick as a man. You would swear these non-men not only spent their lives wrapped up in cotton wool but wrapped up in posturepedic mattresses.

Harden up cunt. Stop concentrating on how hard it is. Stop crapping on about your injuries and just get on with it. It’s sickening. If you don’t want head contact, then go and play netball, son. Your entire generation is sickening to all real men who are Generation X where we all played hard hard full-on contact football and never complained once about it. We all got smashed about and smashed in the head and we are all fine. Yet again, a perfect sign of the times how obscene female mothering and mollycoddling is destroying young men while the entire education system is about destroying young men. You have done a great job there, haven’t you, educators.

So, the time may well come where, like the rest of the world, who is now realising the folly of handing over all of their rights and freedoms to elitist administrative bureaucracies in the form of governents, corporations, and sporting bodies, who are cumulatively crushing us and destroying western society, we will need to form a new breakaway competition that does not involve the AFL.

We will call it the Australian Football Association, in honour of the old VFA.

This is entirely possible since elitist, left wing governments continue to fall around the world for good and as the crushing weight of Green lies are realised. If we cannot get rid of the LaborGreen Party, who are crushing and destroying us with their unbridled and unique brand of negativity, then we can certainly get rid of the AFL.

As was the case with Kerry Packer and the ABC, all we need is one person to fund it.

We can easily provide a structural template.

21 JULY

TIGERLAND

 ROUND 19 v PORT ADELAIDE

 It’s been a great round of close games and upsets. We have just watched Brisbane clinch a thriller over Sydney.

 Last night, we watched the game but had the radio on via SEN in the second half since it’s a great way to get a different perspective on games and there is often much more info going around on the radio.

 We will tell you what these very nice Adelaide chaps on AFL Nation from SA said. They said that you were very brave. They said the young kids had a really good crack. They said they expected Port to roll us but that the Tigers just won’t give up and kept fighting. They also kept mentioning that Richmond has about 12 on the injured list and were decimated by injuries, which is true and we suppose something that can be easily forgotten.

 We agree with all of that. Although you cannot rely on missing personnel in making any argument regarding effort. It’s irrelevant, as we keep saying.

 We wonder what the hell is going on when it comes to strength and conditioning at Richmond.  

 From our perspective, what we very much enjoyed was Samson Ryan’s one grab, clean mark in the first half, first or second quarter, can’t remember. He went into the ruck late in the game. We need him because we are real short on height at the moment and Balta is restricted to the back line. Also, we think the young kids simply just have to keep getting games under their belt.

 There is nothing more to be said.

 It’s not about personnel. It’s not about tactics, except for the lack of manning up in the backs. You can completely forget about zoning off in the backs because that has never worked in football and if you do that then you deserve to be thrashed. It can work in basketball due to the tiny court but in footy there is simply too much space which forwards can play with and lead into. The SA fellas mentioned that all the Richmond backs play in front. This is something you may need to rethink. You should be standing next to them, not in front where you cannot see what the forward is up to. If you’re behind, they can obviously lead out easily. This may sound very basic. Yes, it is, since there is nothing complicated about football. We need to do the basics well. The backs are under enough pressure as it is. It’s really only about sustained pressure. And keeping the ball moving forward like in the good ol days.

 Port hit their straps eventually, which we expected. If you had kept at them for the whole four quarters, it could have been interesting.

 We will probably see youse at the game next week, all things considered.

19 JULY
THE AFL DICTATORSHIP AND ITS KANGAROO COURT

"Dangerous Tackles"

The time has come for all coaches, administrators, and players to rise up against this outrageous dictatorship that is the AFL, the organisation that is both a law unto itself (or thinks it is) and the organisation which is brutally destroying the fabric of our great game. When it comes to this game, it's a case of death by a thousand cuts.

There are three points to be made here, which the dodos and deadheads at the insipid AFL may like to take not of.

1. The Law

We believe the relevant rule of the game here is Rule 18.7. As is the case with most situations regarding the law, due to equity and fairness when it comes to offenders who are accused of wrongdoing under the law, there are two factors when it comes to applying the law.

The first is called "actus reus". This is the act itself. The act itself, here is the dangerous tackle. That is, as an act itself, it has be dangerous. Putting aside that the rule itself is harsh, unfair and wrong (as most AFL rules now are), the definition of a "dangerous tackle" being thoroughly ridiculous, there has to be a dangerous act. This would be constituted usually by ramming the head into the ground or driving the player into the ground, maybe pinning his arms or not, which, under the rule, the dictators at the AFL deem "dangerous".

In the case of Cameron and the other player, this first factor was deemed to be satisfied under the rule. But it's only ONE factor.

However, in order for it be deemed a dangerous tackle, there is the second element of the offence, known in law as "mens rea". What this encapsulates, as prisoners and offenders understand who have been through the courts, is the concept of INTENTION.

This hugely important factor of intention, important in football and in relation to all criminal offences in wider society, was completely ignored by the AFL Tribunal, which we all know is an incompetent Kangaroo Court, as all Tribunals of dictatorships are.

Under rule 18.7, there has to be an intention by the player to indeed "cause harm" or "hurt" or to "do some harm" to the tackled player. This is the mens rea which constitutes intention which exists in natural law in western democracies regarding the state of mind of the perpetrator.

It is an essential element of justice, of equity, of fairness.

We need to repeat that "intention" was totally ignored by the Kangaroo Court that is the AFL Tribunal, as if this element did not exist. This kangaroo court did not address this issue AT ALL. They simply ignored it and said the tackles were dangerous.

This is exactly how governments, both state and federal, acted during Covid. And it's how councils all around the country behave. They just make shit up to suit themselves.

As such, as is always the case when it comes to AFL decisions in all walks of life, the AFL believe as an elite organisation that they are so special and important that they are actually above the law. We are here to remind you bunch of filthy elitist pigs and sluts at the AFL that, even though, like all bureaucrats currently in the Western world who think they are above the law, YOU ARE NOT ABOVE THE LAW. This particularly applies to the stupid female sluts who believe they are in fact men when they are not, who know absolute nothing about football, know nothing about competing, do not possess testosterone, and who go on their merry way destroying our game. Just as that slimy pig Steve Hocking has done, Dillon is doing, and these other female moronic bureaucrats are doing not only in the AFL but everywhere else in society at large.

Well, we've had enough.

2. Freedom of Speech

As we all know, freedom of speech has been dramatically eroded in the Western world and there is a superb example of this cancer right here in the AFL.

Coachers, administrators, CEOs, Presidents of Clubs MUST start to grow some balls and come out and say what needs to said about the destruction of our game. Luke Beveridge has done so and said that the AFL position is confusing or wrong and the AFL must stop at once being obsessed with the head. We agree. But it's up to everyone to stop being oppressed by the pigheaded elitist organisation which is the AFL and start to put into practice your rights regarding freedom of speech. Luke Beveridge is probably now on his way to Siberia.

Adam Yze at the Tigers has said that it's confusing. It sure is. He has said that we are being forced into dropping habits when it comes to tackling that we have all put into practice since we were kids. Yze has suggested getting advice from the NRL (Melbourne Storm) re tackling. In rugby union and rugby league, it is imperative to get your head out of the way when you are tackling. Head to the right or left of the tackled player.

Unfortunately, on this subject, their game (NRL) is also suffering from this safety cancer and is slowly being turned into touch football.

The point is that tackling is part of the game. To take out the bump and then to destroy this part of the game, which the AFL is doing, together with its elitist attitude that it is above the law (see below), is to turn our game into touch football, a game of no contact, a non-contact sport. This is something that we need to stop and stop right now. Get up off your collective arses and start to make some noise.

3. The Law and Consent

The final and most important point regarding the law is this. When it comes to the law and assault (including rape), this is where the most important subject of consent is relevant. When you take to the field to play football, there is absolutely no escaping the fact that when you cross that line, you consent to being assaulted. That is what a tackle is. It's an assault. Every single tackle constitutes an assault at law. However, the reason why it is not an assault in law every time is due to consent. The player has consented to being assaulted. Naturally, when it comes to being assaulted, there is the concept in law of to what extent you agree to be assaulted.

This is where the issue of the head comes in, now obsessed over exponentially due to concussion. If you don't want to be concussed, then go and do something else with your life outside of sport. It's that simple. It's your choice and your responsibility and in this respect, concussion is NOT the responsibility of the AFL. If you don't like head contact then fuck off somewhere else, preferably to the Eunuch Farm.

We believe that, as a man, it is imperative that you consent to the whole lot. And that there should be very small limits to what is excessive when it comes to the assault or the tackle. You do not consent to being punched in the face (Leigh Matthews!). But you consent to being tackled in any way. The point being that if you do not want to consent to this, THEN GO AND PLAY A DIFFERENT SPORT. Go and play tennis or netball. If you are not prepared to consent to being tackled then do not play football.

It's as simple as that. That is what we need to get back to. And since men and women are so different, there should be different rules regarding tackling for the men's and women's games. As much as you bitches would like to believe, you are not men. Really sorry about that.

Ralph in the Herald Sun, you are wrong and you are sacked, to be sent off to the Eunuch Farm.

We must start to reclaim our game for what it is. It's a contact sport. We must say FUCK YOU to the AFL. They are just another example of out of touch filthy elitist pigs and sluts in bureaucracy who have absolutely no relevance to our lives apart from the act of putting on games for our enjoyment and keeping prices down. All the rest should be in our hands, as is the case in a functioning democracy and under the all-important concept in democracies of natural law. This, as demonstrated, includes the act itself (the offence) AND an intention in relation to the offence (mens rea).

Here is what the elitist deadshits at the all-important AFL said this afternoon in relation to their sheer ignorance of:

* the important elements of an offence
* the importance of the concept of intention as part of an offence
* what constitutes natural law
* as is always the case, their sheer outrageous ignorance of what is fair, equitable, and just

That, in itself, makes this incompetent organisation a dictatorship which we must all stand up to.

"In the AFL’s view (shared by the independent AFL Tribunal on Tuesday) the tackles by Cameron and Bedford were dangerous tackles, principally because both of the tackled players had their arms pinned (resulting in vulnerability) and were additionally brought to ground with excessive force," the League said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

But we accept the Appeal Board’s decisions, albeit that they were made on a legal technicality involving a perceived technical deficiency in the Tribunal’s reasons.

The AFL will reflect on those reasons and will address the deficiency in the conduct of further Tribunal hearings this season.

The AFL will also review the system at the end of the season, as we do every year.

The League also sent around examples of both dangerous and safe tackles to its 18 clubs."

15 JULY

ROUND 18 v GWS

So we are back at the games due to finally some better health and have been enjoying the feel of viewing the games from the fence where you can almost touch the players and where you truly do see everything, including the many unpaid free kicks due to very cleaver positioning by players. Well, in that respect, some things never change, no matter how many umpires you have out there.

As Yze would say, it wasn't a real bad effort. The key is the stats we were reading on the MCG boards. The key to the door is the number of clearances and inside 50s, which way exceeded GWS's.

The positives were twofold.

Firstly, you managed to get some clearances going. And you had about a dozen or so more inside 50s. But the problem is that the forward line is not functioning too well. It's a big problem when blokes who are playing cannot hold onto a mark. Cannot take a clean mark without fumbling and fucking it up. We are talking about Koschitzke and Samson Ryan. These blokes need to do some hard drills on contested marks against opposition players under pressure on the training track.

It is a matter of biology and genetics whether you can hold onto a mark without always spilling it. But, a bit like the art of leadership, marking cleanly can be learned to a certain extent, although real leadership cannot ever be learned.

So, as Adem Yze might say, your effort was not too bad, but up in the forward line there was little execution or finishing off.

The other golden moment, a true positive, was Steely Greene. Being so close to him in the forward line up the Punt Road end, we could plainly see that he has an intrinsic ability to read the play and read where the ball is going to be, which is what makes the truly great players. For example, KB and Dusty. Well done, Steely.

Like all Happy Tigers, we are still having a great day at the footy.

We will continue to attend MCG games and perhaps even Marvel games, to Damien Hardwick's horror.

Taranto went off injured and was it Sonsie?

The last thing is we reckon you can tackle harder.

It was the case that sometimes in the GWS forward line they were too easily allowed to be create space. We have never believed in the rubbish that is "zones" of zoning off. You have to keep a closer contact with the opposition forwards who just cannot be allowed to creat that much space. Toby Green is hard to stop in that regard.

We enjoyed the game.

Keep on trying to improve every week, keep up the much needed clearances as though your life depended on it. We hope Dion pulled up okay. He is always a such a vital contributor in the middle and around the ground. You really need to work on your forward craft, forward pressure though, and we know it will be better when Lynch, M. Rioli and Lefau come back in, but in the meantime, that is what you have to work on. It's all about making the most of your opportunities inside 50. All you new blokes up in the forward line really need to keep the concept of Tiger forward pressure in the forefront of your minds.

Bolton and Rioli had rippers and great goals, boys.

We look forward to the next game at the G, our Holy Grail, especially in the old Bay 13 under the "Shane Warne Stand" sign. What a bloody ripper that is.

Do you think you could organise for us to bring in an esky full of 24 cans of beer like the old days? Oh, I forgot, that was for the cricket.

7 JULY
ROUND 17 v FREMANTLE

We know which approach we agree with. “Grow the fuck up” versus “our execution wasn’t at level”.

Young men are not girls, even though everyone wants them to be, as society also want girls to be young men, which they are not and never will be. You see, it's biological. All the rest is just lies. Young men need to be motivated. They rely on great motivation in. order to be successful.

Young men often need a really good fucken kick up the arse. They need a rocket up their arse. That is how men get the best out of young men, despite the new breed of eunuch men we see these days who look like Keir Starmer, AFL Dillon, and the new headmaster of our old school. These revolting eunuch men who treat young men as girls and who look like they spend every night doing facials, need to be disposed of as soon as possible.

Our take on being last on the ladder goes like this. Yes, we have tons of injuries. So does everyone else. Yes, we have a huge gap between old Premiership players and really new kids. Premiership players are tired both mentally and physically. And yes, we need to go fishing and haul in a huge Draft catch.

In this respect, we are the same as everyone else. Finishing bottom is probably the best thing.

However, to listen to this crap about "we didn't execute well enough" every week is just not good enough. It is total fucken bullshit.

We are not here to write a manual on how to "execute well". That is what ballerinas do. No, we are here to win contests, to grind oppositions into the dust. That is what great footballers do.

There is only one thing that wins games of football and that is known as effort. Effort for four quarters. Punishing the opposition and grinding them into the fucken ground. And to be successful at that and in winning games, you have to actually win the contests. These days, they quaintly call it "contested possessions" but in reality it involves belting the fucken shit out of your opponent until they are on the canvas, then spitting on them. No matter how old or new you are to the club, THAT is what you've gotta do.

Let us not forget that at Tigerland.

We'll probably see youse jokers at the game next week.

It doesn't matter who the fuck you are. Stop coasting and start acting like real men instead of the very sick fuck impression you're giving.

I'm afraid that is the way we see it and the way we'll always see it.

16 JUNE
DUSTY'S 300TH v HAWTHORN

Great day at the G with 92,000 peops.

We were sitting on the fence, but we are not in the middle.

Great to see Lynchy back. Extremely poor delivery into the forward line. Despite that, no forward pressure. Too many turnovers. Defence therefore put under way too much pressure.

6 JUNE

ROUND 13 v ADELAIDE

We wanted to say a few words about what Nathan Broad, three-time Premiership player, said after the game last night after our first win in 67 days.

There is no doubt it’s been tough times at Tigerland. We all know, including Broady, that that’s okay. In the longer perspective of football, which is decades long, we’re going okay. Things are currently different since we have a whole new coaching staff and half a new side. We also have had a monster time of madness with injury, including, as Broady said, 5 ACLs. We are nursing a dog with an ACL back to life. It’s a very long, difficult process and a huge amount of patience is required. It’s the same for human beings. However, we have stated and will keep stating that we have done it before under Dimma with sides full of shocking injuries and replacements and we will do it again. The point back then and the point now is that it is attitude is paramount and what matters.

We will never forget what Dylan Grimes did at the Adelaide Oval against Port Adelaide in season 2019 when most of that Flag backline was out injured. It was a great demonstration of utter willpower over depletion and we went on to win the Flag that year.

Nathan Broad said a few interesting things last night.

First. It needs to be said at the outset that there is a bloke who is a natural born leader. Despite current thought and current MBA garbage, true leaders are born and can never be made. Nathan Broad leads by example all the time, every week, let’s his actions do the talking. But when he does talk, like Hopper, he comes across as so well spoken, so intelligent and thoughtful. We are certain that there are so many men like that who are in the multiple Premiership fold, including Big Nank and guys like Dylan Grimes, Dion Prestia, Vlastuin to name just a few. They are humble champions who are worth listening to. So, it was a pleasure listening to Nathan.

Second. He was talking about Adem Yze and how he’s very calm. He sure has got that right. We love Adem’s calmness under fire and under recent pressure. He said that Yze is a “glass half full” bloke and that Richmond is a “glass half full” club. And he said one of Adem’s great attributes is that he asks the team leaders what do they think after a bad loss. Well, that’s been true about the glass half full Tiges in recent years. And you can see that Yze has developed a great relationship with the players. However, it’s important to keep in mind that it also very much part of a coaches’ job to study the empty part of the glass. Why is that part of the glass so damned empty? A coach doesn’t do his job by studying the full part of the glass after a shocking belting like those we suffered against Brisbane and the Doggies. It’s really important for a coach to study intensely the empty part of the glass and start to ask questions about it. So, it’s rather shocking to hear a coach say “I was happy with their commitment” after a major loss. However, in the circumstances, we understand what Adem is saying in relation to the development of the “young kids”.

All sides who are performing badly, despite this era’s desperate efforts to protect and mollycoddle everyone, need a good kick up the arse from time to time. A coach is a mentor not a friend.

Third. Nathan was discussing his and the older leaders’ role at the moment. He said that he was actually enjoying being a mentor to the “young kids”. That is just so important and so great. We are in a situation where, whatever our ladder position right now, we have a bunch of great leaders who can mentor those who have just arrived at the club, those young fellas who are just starting out on their football journeys and careers. To that extent, our younger boys are actually in a very privileged position in that regard and we truly hope that our greats will continue to pass on all their Premiership knowledge, their knowledge about resilience, glory, disappointment, and patience during recovery to the younger brigade. Our “young kids” are so privileged to be playing with you old gents.

 Fourth. It is remarkable the turnaround that Broady and Bakes were discussing last night. To go from West Coast to two major beltings and to turn it around with sheer hard work, willpower, and attitude against the Bombers and then the first half down at the Cattery is not to be sneezed at. It’s a testament to how you boys and Adem Yze and the new coaches in Teague, Newie, and Rutten have stuck to your guns. We are very happy for the “young kids” and also for the new sub-coaches, as well as Adem Yze.

Fifth. Nathan stated something to the effect that “you can’t really expect the new kids to maintain pressure for four quarters”. That may be true. He is in a position, together with the other leaders at the club, to say that. However, the point is that they just did! The young kids have risen to the occasion and actually done that. They maintained the rage for four quarters. So, that will put youse young kids in an invidious position considering what we just witnessed! But to be honest, as Baker said, we all understand that we’re “building” slowly and that it is definitely a question of getting the young kids being able to do that mentally on a regular basis.

So, that, in itself, is something we can work on as a major goal at the club. Mental toughness and continuity. You old codgers have already achieved that but you are now role models.

We want to say that during the Dimma years, we used to get frustrated that Noah Cumberland kept getting dropped. We have always been a big fan and we think what he needs is regular hit outs so that he can shine. Same applies to Maurice when he’s well. Mansell, Brown, Campbell, Dow, Sonsie (we are friends with his uncle from Kilmore), McKauliffe and co all need as many games into them as they can get while other big guns re-enter the team. Koshitzke needs to work on staying on his feet, and after going down in a contest, getting up quickly and back in the contest.

Our thoughts are with our new Kiwi buddy Mr. Lefau and the other four blokes with ACLs. Keep your chin up boys and remember that it’s during those awfully hard times of frustration and intense disappointment that you learn more about yourself than at any other time.

Well done Tiges in turning it around.

We recommend “Masters of the Air” on Apple + TV.

Now, we have a rather major event happening next weekend.

Dustin Martin is playing his 300th game. There is nothing more to be said about it except possibly GOAT.

We are trying to organise seats off a fellow member.

Keep it going Tiges. It’s a new beginning. But let’s keep our heads on straight as we continue to build.

As we often say, we say thanks to Western Australia for these incredible players they have given us.  

Go Dusty!

2 JUNE 2024

ROUND NON-INDIGENOUS V GEELONG

 Well, we keep on saying that it’s not about personnel. It’s all about attitude.

 As is life.

 We read the union movement under Sheila McManus are embracing and pushing for a policy that goes like this. Less hours worked for more pay. That’s a truly great attitude, isn’t it? It will really take you a hell of a long way in life, won’t it? That is of course why the union movement exists in the first place. So they can get paid as much as possible, steal as much as possible, and get paid more for less work. They are couching this old policy of theirs in terms of the role of AI in the workplace. They believe that due to the advent of artificial intelligence in the workplace, it will mean higher productivity for the employer and hence for society as a whole. However, the onions believe that, even if AI does all the work instead of them, they are still entitled to the money produced, which they have not earned. They believe they are OWED a share of the profits made even if it is computers doing the work, rather than them.

 Isn’t that just so typical. It is of course Labor policy under all Labor governments that the government truly believes that your money is theirs. Whatever you earn, the Labor governments will always be of the mind that they are OWED a slice of what you earn. Hence, under Labor governments, they will ALWAYS be high taxing, high spending governments. Since they do not know how to create a thriving economy based on economic incentives and investment, they ALWAYS simply tax high. We have seen this as this federal government changes the tax brackets so that more of the middle of the nation pays a lot more tax. The corollary of this is that this is where Labor gets their money in order to give their infamous HANDOUTS.

 Remember Rudd’s infamous GFC handout? Well, naturally Treasurer Chalmers was working for Rudd at the time. The handout mentality is obsene. It replaces the necessary work required, in this case, in the energy sector, to provide abundant cheap energy rather than just giving zillions of dollars in subsidies (handouts) to green renewable companies who are all on a gravy train to hell and bringing us all with them down into the abyss of nothingness. Which is exactly what happened in Europe in relation to the completely unworkable, human being shafting “net zero”. Naturally, we are about five years behind Europe, yet in this case ten years behind. Green subsidy gravy trains (handouts) will achieve exactly NOTHING in the long run.

 Lot of tax funds lots of handouts. We read that Miles in QLD has promised handouts of $1000 for energy relief. That is what you call buying votes. No policies of substance. Just flash the cash.  Instead of providing the necessary infrastructure to actually produce our energy requirements. It’s the same at the federal level. Shut it all down, tax the shit out of everyone, and then give you handouts without going anywhere near fixing the actual problem. It’s like putting a bucket under a leaking roof without actually fixing the structure of the roof. The budget was described as “putting a band-aid over a bullet hole”. That is a perfect description.

 What a fucked up attitude it is.

 So, let’s talk about attitude, not personnel.

 Lefau has injured his knee. Marlion’s done a calf. Well, it just goes on and on, doesn’t it.

 Last night, unfortunately for you jokers, you, as a team, particularly the young guns, showed us that you can actually create pressure. Yes, you can tackle, you can fuck oppositions over with a bit of or a lot of aggression in your mentality, and you can therefore shut opposition sides like Geelong down. You can do it. You looked really good in that first half. You looked like you were actually gelling. Like the beginnings of a new system.

 You did it for one half of football.

 In the third quarter, we are going to quote Tony Shaw on 3AW, who sees things, like we do. He sees the game like we do, but he also sees how unfair, inequitable, and outrageous this stand rule is, together with the 50 metre penalty. If you put both these things together, in addition to the outrageous “Inside 5” rule, it is more than obvious how badly these rules affect the outcome of a game. Since the 50 metre penalty often results in a goal, it is way too harsh a rule. It is indeed Stalinist in nature, just like the deadshits at the AFL, who have now made yet another rule change re holding the ball because they have nothing better to do as the elitist cunts they are.

 Tony, with the benefit of knowledge of history, history of football on this occasion, which always provides perspective on life, rightly stated that if we were to keep this outrageous rule, then we need to revert to a 15 metre penalty. That is fair. 50 metres in really unfair. And as so many commentators say, including Richo, players are not robots. If a player moves a centimetre off the mark, it’s simply human nature. We cannot emphasise enough how these rules are so unfair and so outside of human nature and common sense. And the upshot of it all is that these rules were designed by S. Hocking and co to speed the game up. Unfortunately they actually do the exact opposite due to the inordinate amount of time spent on adjudicating these unfair rules. That’s what happens when you have retards at the AFL allowed to run riot and run roughshod over humanity.

 Anyway, Tony Shaw hit the nail on the head in the third quarter when he identified the fact that Richmond were no longer putting pressure on Geelong. No, the Tigers had resorted in their minds to holidaying in the Whitsundays again. The mental switch went off. As a result, as Tony so rightly pointed out early in the third quarter, what is going to happen here, he said, is that Geelong have more talent and will be able to exploit that talent as the game all of a sudden opens up. And in the whole of the second half, that is exactly what transpired. The Richmond foot went off the pressure pedal, the game opened up, and Geelong were all of a sudden allowed back in. We would not say that Geelong has more “talent”. No, we would say more “experience” compared to our new young brigade who did so well in the first half.

 In the first half, the young fellas did real well. Mansell, Dow, McKauliffe, Campbell, Cumberland, Lefau, and co, all the young guys really stood up and showed us what they are in fact capable of. Unfortunately, that’s to you guys’ detriment since now we have seen what you can actually achieve if and when you put your minds to it. But then, all of a sudden, in the second half, you stopped doing that. You stopped tackling and you stopped the instituting of pressure.

 Why? Because of your attitude. Your attitude changed for the worse. It’s all about attitude.

 So, we have witnessed last night that it’s largely in your heads. If your attitude is right, and we are talking about you young fellas not the Premiership players, if you actually want to do the required work, that work which is required to exact pressure on the opposition, whoever that is, then you can do it. It’s all a matter of whether you choose to do it.

11 MAY

ROUND WESTERN BULLDOGS

That was not too good. Perhaps we should start concentrating on things that matter since no one is listening.

Our dog has done her ACL during the week, so we will concentrate on getting her better since she is in for a two month rehab.

We are also in the process of rehabilitating our back after yet another setback.

So, we will concentrate on those important matters while Richmond figures itself out for the moment.

And we are working hard on a novel.

You have to go through darkness before you can experience great light. That is a certainty.

We have experienced much light in recent years. Perhaps it is time for the Arctic Circle winter night to set in again.

We refuse to criticise our senior players, who owe us nothing. Only you men know when your time is up. How much longer do you think you can keep going?

Our thoughts are with Sam Banks, Maurice, and Jack.

We say again that it is during the hard times that you really learn.

It ain’t no great barrel of fun. But that’s life.

You keep on trying to turn things around as hard as you can. That ain’t football. That is life.

In the end, we hurt with you.

Again, in football and in life, you continue to turn it all around with all your might. You keep fighting on. That is character.

6 MAY

ROUND 8 OR IS IT 9? v FREMANTLE

Politics Replaces Football

We stated last week that the result isn't really that important at the moment but we obviously had that very wrong.

Richmond were in a position after they fought back from a ridiculously shit, lacklustre start to really take the game on. But they didn't. It does seem like they couldn't really care less.

Our approach, after a softer approach last week, has always been that it's not about the personnel on the field. Yes, there are injuries to important players, including gun forwards, but we may be getting to the stage where Lynch may have to be written off altogether due to not playing last year or this year. Foot, hamstring, who knows what else to come.

No, it's definitely about attitude, whoever is playing on the day. We will always get back to the contest. It's all that matters, whoever is playing on the day. You actually have the players to create enough sustained pressure to win games, we believe. However, guys like Bolton and Pickett, though hugely talented often are just not engaged, would maybe rather be somewhere else, can't deliver the ball with any accuracy, and run very hot and cold. When hot, they are very hot. The same goes for many, without naming names.

There is only one question to be answered and that is do you want the fucken ball or not. Whether in the middle or around the ground. That translates these days to a thing termed pressure. It's all there is. Are you going to belt the opposition out of their football boots in order to get possession or not. That's all there is, apart from one important factor.

There are many men in this team who have won multiple Premierships. And you cannot say that they have not done their job for this club. When we look at the back line and see Broad, Vlastuin, Grimes, D. Rioli, Short, Graham, and Baker when he's back there, you have to say and think that they can only contribute so much now physically and mentally. For Godsake, they must be worn out. They must be tired. And there is just no way we can ever criticise them in any way. Broady seems to just keep on going like the Energiser bunny. He is so amazing. These men do not owe this side, Richmond, bloody anything. Same with all other multiple Premiership champs.

So, it's our view that it's the young guns, whoever you are from week to week in the team, who now have to really step up and help these legends out with all your heart and soul. Because they're tired and they need your help.

That's the way we see it.

There is a young / old dichotomy going on here. But you have to all work together as a team. So, you have to go back and you have to pay great attention to what your ROLE is in the team. What is your role and what is your job, given your youth or your experience. And so we all have to start working together again in that way.

Whatever your role is, whatever your position on the ground, there is absolutely nothing that can replace the basics of guts. Guts of winning the ball and the contest. Despite everything else, that is what football is all about and that is what Richmond must be about.

We see Richmond’s posts in relation to Domestic Violence. Alana Madeleine and all that. All of this DV stuff by the AFL is just another case of hollow, meaningless politically correct virtue signalling. Once again they suck up whatever latest fad cause is going around and, being the bunch of social sycophants (sucks) they are, they ram the latest social fad down everyone's throats. All of this is based on emotion rather than reason, rationality, logic, or evidence.

It's yet another AFL political diversion whereby the AFL consider themselves to be politicians. Their problem is that they are not politicians. They are so bloody stupid that they actually cannot run a competition without resorting to drug cheating and all the other shit they ram up our arses and down our gobs every single week. The truth is that they are a bunch of deadshit eunuchs and liars on every single subject.

So, Richmond, get your fucken heads together, forget all about this other hollow, meaningless, virtue signalling garbage, and get your heads and your brains and your balls and your guts back concentrating on FOOTBALL, you fucken soft cocks.

25 APRIL

ROUND 7: MELBOURNE

It’s definitely the case that we cannot judge ourselves on results at the moment.

Right now, with injuries and new blood in the team trying to gain as much experience as possible, it’s a bit like putting a jigsaw together piece by piece and week by week.

We thought youse did alright in the first half and then slowly found yourselves succumbing to a lack of pressure again and succumbing to a team with greater forward experience and a team in Melbourne who were finally able to break the shackles and transition the ball through Petraca and Oliver and co. It is definitely the case that, as Adem Yze puts the pieces together and you keep working on your processes, that we need to apply increased pressure for longer periods of time.

So, as a goal, let’s try to keep our concentration for three quarters next week.

We have to treat our situation at the moment as being without Lynch and Balta. They are out and we have to work with what we have. We need to concentrate on Lefau and others who are placed up front getting the job done. Lefau appears to have rugby union / rugby league bred strength in his body. We reckon that Naismith is a strong body, a classic footballer, who may be part of the forward set up right now. You could see these two blokes Lefau and Naismith working well together. Apart from having targets up forward, we need to work on our forward pressure when it comes to the smaller mosquito fleet. Maurice did very well. So too Brown. There are guys like Dow and Mansell who are showing glimpses. Bolton and Dusty will always be dangerous up forward but everyone needs to work together. Part of the equation is when we are putting Shai and Dusty in the middle as required. There is a lot of new patchwork quilt strategic placement going on. It took a while for Shai to get into the game. Marlion Pickett was solid, despite the “incident”.

Adem Yze is currently having to put together a new patchwork quilt made out of largely unknown components and, as such, he is doing alright. He does not have an easy job at the moment trying to fit the different pieces together. We are looking to find that synchronicity again as we try to weld all the pieces, old and new, together into one.

Bakes always tries his heart out.

We thought that in the first half, and then at other small windows, there were glimpses of very good play where the fibres of the new patchwork quilt were knitting together okay and the Richmond “wave” in moving the ball forward quickly was evident. There were moments there where there was some definite “flow” going on. However, we are turning the ball over too easily and way too often.

The way we see things at the moment is that you should continue on with what you are trying to achieve with hopefully more experienced players coming back in gradually from injury. There were definitely “glimpses” of the future there.

So, let’s not worry about the result right now but the process. That is just the way it is at the moment.

And the process doesn’t change. Pressure gauge up. Forward pressure up. Contested ball and ground ball up. We are lucky to have Grimes, Broad, Vlastuin, and Daniel Rioli in our back line still. Tylar Young did better.

We are hoping to slowly mould all the pieces together into flow, trying to achieve that kind of contest we witnessed in the first half against a very good opponent, and trying to do that for longer.

Let’s attempt to improve on these things every week.

Damn shame about Hopper.

16 APRIL

THE FOOTY UNCLASSIFIED

Tonight, for the first time this year, we thought we would give the Monday night edition of Footy Classified a go. We don't watch it due to Shrek's (Craig Hutchison's) uninformed cross's which he bears. We do tend to watch Eddie on a Wednesday night but in the knowledge that both these guys are continually sucking AFL cock, which is not our position.

We have a gripe about the Richmond segment on Dustin Martin. The "story" was all about Dusty rather than any informed commentary on where Richmond find themselves in the scheme of things now. Shrek, (aka Hutch) stated in conclusion "why would Dusty want to play with them anyway?" He is referring to the other Richmond players. The other members of the team. Just how unprofessional this comment is on national television is beyond belief.

As opposed to the "woes" of the Western Bulldogs and Bevvo, the Sun's "new era", and all the other claptrap, and after Shrek stating how Richmond had had a "shocker", there was no context in relation to how the Tigers currently have 15 injured players out, key personnel, and have only 28 fit players to choose from. Nor was there any attempt to address the reality that "why would Dusty want to play with those blokes anyway" incorporates the fact that when our injured players do return, Dusty will not actually be playing with "them" / "those blokes" at all. Since we will have our usual contingent back in place.

Well, it just goes to show why we don't watch Monday night where you have Shrek who needs to get on a treadmill with urgency, Kane Corne's usual South Australian bias, and the great Lady of Football always wandering down the gender track.

Matthew Lloyd is the exception. And we would like to say that tonight we listened to the whole Wide World of Sports on 3AW (Football) with Lloydy and Sam and thought it was spot on. We normally get to listen to snippets of that WWS radio show on 3AW when we are out walking the dog, a daily "chore" that is not a chore at all since we love spending time with her always and we have a lot of fun.

Nothing personal Hutch but really.

15 APRIL

ROUND 5: WEST COAST

What can you do and what can you say under these circumstances of injury? We heard Richo (Matthew Richardson) say yesterday on radio that Richmond has 15 players on their list out now due to injury. You have to ask the question, we suppose… what is going on in the strength and conditioning department? Whatever the cause, it is the case that no matter how many injuries are on the table to key players, we must attempt to keep the basics going.

We were listening to Adam Simpson yesterday who was talking about currently getting the basics right. He explained how they had to “change their brand” around 2018 after the Richmond brand of the tsunami wave of football began. That is, West Coast changing from a kick and mark - defensive - possession based side to a more free-flowing game. It is the case now that Richmond have to stick to their brand and, no matter who the personnel are, keep working on contest - ground balls - and keeping the ball moving. Richmond have to keep working the contest and, naturally, work on pressure as much as possible. We saw it against Sydney. We can do it.

We learned in the last few days that Taranto has a wrist injury and will be out for at least two months. Jack Ross has done his foot and will be out for a while also. During the game, Shorty did his calf. This comes on top of the long list of injuries to key players.

However, as we said, you have to make the most of what you’ve got and you have to play the cards you’re dealt in both football and in life.

What this means is perhaps a bit of tinkering. We do not think Tyler Young is going well in the back line. Maybe he can be moved up forward. Ben Miller is struggling also. Maybe he can do some rucking. Who would fill these gaps in the backs? This may sound really off, but even though he kicked three, it may be the case that Lefau should be tried up back because we need speed and agility back there. With Short possibly gone, we definitely need speed and agility in the backs.

Adem Yze is going to have his hands full simply filling the paddock with half good players. But he is going to have to make some strategic moves because the back line is not functioning.

Apart from all of that, keep in mind always that it is during the hard times, the tough times that you learn a lot. This is when you really learn about yourself and how deep you can keep digging and this is what forms character. This is something that is anathema to current society under the mollycoddling Western female buffoons and eunuchs who know absolutely nothing about building character. So, right now what we are about as a club is the building of a team through persistence, through giving young fellas the games they need to get the experience they need, and also building character during these hard times. It may also be a good idea to go get one of the Premiership boys like Jack or Trent to come and have a chat about how it was during the awful 2016 season and how they turned it around. We know that Trent Cotchin is big on this theme but he’s now advising Brisbane.

So, the Tigers have a lot of time and space now to work on attitude. Work on the contest and the pressure. Getting the basics right, as Adam Simpson was talking about in relation to his journey towards the 2018 Premiership and then having to rebuild at West Coast after that. It’s more difficult to do that after you’ve snagged three Flags though. We are going through a process right now that has to be gone through. There is no shirking that. It’s just the way it is. It’s part and parcel of the ebb an flow of life and death and then life again.

So, we’ve got a bye now. Let’s concentrate, as Trent Cotchin has always said, on concentrating on getting those things that we can control right. The basics of the contest. Perhaps a bit of structural tinkering. And pushing away all distractions. Concentrate on what you can do right. And we keep the Fatih in our Club, in our administration, and in our coach.

And what we will never do is give up.

Have a rest and then saddle up with a whip in your hands.

7 APRIL

ROUND 4: ST.KILDA

We read that Dusty Martin and Shai Bolton put on a “masterclass”. Yes, they sure did.

It all looked very pleasant and appealing out at Norwood, though the shape of the ground is very odd. It looks more like a running track shape. We hear that the Drug Cheats at the AFL, that is those high level executives who knowingly allowed doctors to manipulate players in order to avoid WADA, are going to expand the gather round to the Barossa Valley next year. Yes, of course they are. Though some people and those who can afford it, including an incipient media, seem to enjoy this round, the AFL will continue to move further and further away from ordinary people as the elitist organisation they are. Our proposal is that the time has definitely come for the AFL Drug Cheats to replace beer and pies at the MCG with strawberries and cream. At the Barossa Valley, which we have attended and enjoyed ourselves, the AFL can stock up on cases of Grange Hermitage, and perhaps run their favourite red from the boundary line, so it will be a great venture for sure for those elitist corporate chaps at the AFL.

We have to say what else would you expect from the Head Drug Cheat who is pussy whipped by four daughters and a wife. They say it’s a great experience at gather round in SA, but we still have to ask the question why the docile, Valium scoffing media have ignored the extent of the criminal activity of the AFL when it comes to hiding drug taking in football by actively concealing it. Since what emerged is probably way more serious than what occurred at Essendon when the AFL itself destroyed people’s lives at that club. A moronic and pathetic and spineless media continues to exist in this country and it’s just a repeat of Covid all over again when it comes to this issue.

That being said, we don’t give a fuck about the elitist organisation that is the AFL. Our only concern is the Richmond Football Club.

The Tigers did okay. There are two ways of viewing that game. The Tiges played one half of football, then went to sleep. The pressure in the first half was truly excellent and right up there and then they got on the bong.

The other way of viewing it is more realistic. In the second half, our lack of experienced big guns up forward became evident. You cannot say that the lack of Lynch and Balta has no effect. Lefau and Koschitzke tried their best, however they were outclassed in the second half and found it hard to have any effect whatsoever to the extent that they did look like they had absolutely no idea what they were doing in the second half. It is the case that the art of forward craft takes a lot of time to develop. Our view is that it is important that they continue to get as many games under their belt as possible since they are both talented prospects and we really like Lefau’s speed and agility. Maurice Rioli is a class act. He does things off the ball that have a huge effect. His speed, his tackling and chasing, and his commitment will mean he will ultimately have a huge impact over time.

Generally speaking, Adem Yze did really well in putting out a well balanced side considering the extent of our injuries and the holes he had to fill.

The back line did reasonably well, although it’s hard to find someone to put on Maxy King given his height. Well done to McAulliffe, hope he’s okay.

Campbell, Sonsie, and Brown seem to be going okay and need plenty of game time. We are wondering how Bauer is?

You have to say that it’s worth going to a Richmond game just to watch Dusty and Shai do their stuff. That was a truly magnificent display.

However, getting the pressure to the required level all around the ground and winning ground ball is not about two blokes. The Premiership crew did it for years and it’s time for the new fellas to really step up in this regard now.

We have heard that Ross Lyon at his press conference was asked “what did you say to the players at half time?”

His reply: a UFO arrived and a bunch of aliens put on St.Kilda footy jumpers and took the field.

St. Kilda’s Ross Lyon is a unique classic. No wonder his old crew from 2010 Vintage love him.

We trust everyone who went to Adelaide had a great time and from all reports they did. Our main concern, as always, is that the AFL remains grounded with a view to treating its base well, and looking after its base, which is not the current flavour of the day when it comes to both governments and the corporate world who are totally lost in their own ideology.

It is the case that we at Richmond, during this time of change and replenishment, must keep our eye on the ball and avoid all distractions.

If Bakes wants to go back to W.A. then no worries. He doesn't owe us anything. We love you and good luck.

31 MARCH

ROUND 3: SYDNEY

Or is it Round 4? We're sure the AFL wouldn't have a clue what Round it is. Is there another round coming up soon where only 6 sides play?

Well, finally, a game built around pressure, tackling, physicality, and treating your opposition like the deadshits they are, whoever they are, and whoever is playing for us.

One word. “Attitude”.

Is there anyone at the Club who talks to you that takes these things into account? That is, the real aspects of football and competition. Or is it all about tactics on a whiteboard? We doubt Newman and Gale would have any fucken clue about pressure, tackling, physicality, and treating your opposition like the deadshits they are.

Or is it all about making sure your hair is right, not offending anyone, and making sure everything you do is politically correct?

We have nothing more to say.

For Godsake, get a grip on the concept of “competition” and of being “competitive” and hitting hard, something we got a tiny glimpse of today.

Let’s see if you can do that again against St. Kilda in the ridiculous “Gather Round”.

This is where the AFL and the club presidents gather round the table to discuss the climate change “emergency” and how many players want to “transition”.

Get your dicks out of your hands and have another real crack next week and then we’ll see where you really are.

And then we will discuss what is important.

25 MARCH

ROUND 2: PORT ADELAIDE

 It is necessary to bear in mind that whatever we say comes always from a place of love. We do not care about your actions, we do not love your actions, we love you. This is called loving someone for who they are. People in relationships generally, especially romantic relationships, should know or learn this lesson. It is not appropriate to try to change someone. You have to love them for who they are. This situation often happens in families where the “black sheep” of the family is simply the person who is not prepared to be manipulated by other members in a toxic family system. We have been in this situation ourselves and continue to be in relation to one toxic side of our adoptive family, who have never loved us for who we are. Well, I’m afraid that is delving into the dark waters of the hideous adoptions that occurred thanks to the Church back then (1960s) and an apology by deadshit state or federal governments is never enough since tears shed by politicians are meaningless.

Let’s get on with the state of the Richmond Football Club, who we love for who they are, whatever they do.

We have read a lot of the comments on the Facebook page and it appears that most of our supporters are on the same page. That is, we have had a massive dose of success and we are now prepared to be patient and to stand right behind Adem Yze.

However, we will throw our few cents in, anyway.

Success on the field is not about success for success’s sake. No, it’s all about feeling good about yourself, if you’re a player or supporter. You feel better when you’re winning. So, we suppose that’s what it’s all about. People put a whole lot of time and effort into the footy in order to decorate their otherwise tough or drab lives. Footy gives us something big to live for. That’s human nature and of course flies in the face of the feminist garbage that ALL competition by males is horrid and toxic. Yes, they call it “toxic masculinity”. Well, as we keep on saying, you sluts can keep shoving dildos up your arse and get fucked. And that’s the only fuck you’ll ever get.

1Pressure. Has anyone heard of the basketball “press”. Constant pressure on the opposition. Do not allow them to move. It’s lacking. Do not stop moving. Don’t remain static. Even in defence, when you are standing there watching the game from afar, do not stop moving. Keep moving. This is an important mind set.

2The little things. The one percenters, as they’re called. They’re not being done. You are either not doing them or you are not doing them well enough. It might be a cliché but it’s the truth. Concentrate on getting the small things right. You really have to concentrate on this hard. Once again, doing this has to be a part of your mind set. Executing the small things all add up to game-changing results. It’s the small things like moving that bit quicker to a contest or creating extra space or concentrating really hard on hitting that target that create pressure that changes the game.

3Bolton and Pickett are capable of exploding more. When you boys explode, you are like an earthquake. You should play your natural game but be conscious that you boys can do more. And keep working on your kicking.

4You are all going to have to practice delivering the ball into the forward line better so you are hitting targets. Specifically, you are going to have to stop kicking the ball over Lynch’s and Balta’s heads. Put the ball out in front of them on their lead or direct it to them but whatever you do, do not kick it over their heads.

5Both Lynch and Balta are going to need to work on their leading and move around more and work on not being static because that is not happening to the required extent. Movement in the forward line.

6Generally, it’s time to get out of your slumber and really get back into their faces and start tackling hard again. Do you remember that? You need to remember that your opponent is not your friend. He’s your staunch enemy and you need to treat him as such and really get in his face and fuck him over, whoever the opposition is. We do not want to see you chatting with your opponent. We want to see you belting the fucken shit out of him, within the rules.

7It does not matter who is on the field, who is injured. It is your collective mind set that matters, whoever the personnel on the day. Who plays is irrelevant. It’s your attitude only that counts and which will change things going forward. And you need to start getting back to punishing other sides and fucking them over to the maximum extent.

8If youse can do all of that, we can get back to creating the Richmond wave or tsunami. That will be a start.

9Don’t worry. It’s a long season. It’s time to get back to the basics of process.   

22 MARCH

AFL

Last night, the Saints never looked like losing that game of footy. Collingwood are lethargic, slow, and most definitely hungover.

However, being neutral, we have to say that we have not seen a worse exhibition of umpiring for a very long time. So many incorrect decisions were made, including this travesty of justice whereby anyone watching on tele could see easily that Higgins? was out of bounds by a country mile before he kicked this goal. We were under the impression that, apart from goal line stuff, there was someone upstairs doing video reviews of every aspect of the game. Apparently not or they were out having a slash or they were pissed on the shithouse and expensive craft beer shit they sell at the MCG for what must be now about $20 per beer.

We certainly have no faith in the AFL at all being the arrogant pricks they are. We repeat the stand rule and all the other over-regulation, which is designed to "free the game up" and create "flow" has done the opposite.

Naturally, no one could care less since we are dealing with an asleep at the wheel public who don't mind being locked up in their houses by a Marxist government.

But we care. We care about the game being in the best shape possible, which it is not.

We will probably be watching a lot of rugby league this year. We have got rid of Stan so there will be less rugby union viewing, and we have regained Kayo so we can watch the Tigers games. Last year, 2023, was the first year we did not attend the football probably ever in our life since the age of 5. It was the first year we have not attended the MCG since we returned to Melbourne 19 years ago (apart from 2005).

16 MARCH

ROUND 1: CARLTON

That was a heartbreaking loss. It was heartbreaking for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, even with the severe injuries, we should have won that game. In this respect, we are getting more and more worried every year with Shai Bolton’s and Marlion Pickett’s disposal. All they seem to do, often, is turn the ball over. This is despite their often game-winning wizardry in getting the ball. There were way too many turnovers from us in that game. We MUST stop turning the ball over so damn easily. It’s outrageous. Anyway, we should have locked down and won that game, though it’s hard when two of your main backmen have been carted off the ground, never to be seen again.

So, we are 0-2, which always makes it hard.

Secondly, the result of that game was the huge hole it’s going to put in the team and, more importantly, the balance of the team. Since, for a few years, we, personally, have always believed that Noah Balta has the potential to be a Wayne Carey at centre half forward. It’s always been the case but he’s been stuck in the backline filling holes, last year due to Gibcus’s absence. And just when you think that problem is gone, that problem is back. With Tyler Young out, it’s even worse. So, what does the coach do? Put Noah back there again due to a severe lack of backmen or let Noah go on to become the great forward he can be or, actually, is, or, always has been. Noah displayed this capability straight away in that game, booting goals.

Dion Prestia is a worry also since he spends so much time out. And we do actually rely on him not only in the middle but it’s his ability to win the ball all around the ground. We have plenty of guys who can play in the middle. Bolton, Pickett (who both need to work on their kicking), Short can do it, Bakes can do it. Dusty of course, though he’s up forward now.

Without Jack Riewoldt, we do need Noah up there at the front. God help us if Tom Lynch gets injured again. We do like the look of Sam Naismith. He’s got a good body for footy and can play in the ruck but surely he could bring plenty of presence around centre half forward.

We cannot forget the basics. We still have solid defence in so many Premiership players still there in the back line, despite injuries. The basics include rock solid defence, stoppage clearances from pressure, and forward pressure. That is in our DNA now. It’s what we do. If we could get clearances to work out of the middle, which we have never been known for, it would help enormously.

We would personally like to see Maurice Rioli get a lot of games under his belt. He needs the game time. We need to help train Maurice to be the huge dynamo that he can be.

Richmond played some truly excellent footy against Carlton, who are a great opposition.

The huge positive going forward is that we nearly got over the line against that up and coming side in the Blues.

As far as Adem Yze is concerned, we have been really impressed with his calmness and his demeanour generally. You would not think that he would put his fist through a wall like Chris Scott or Damien Hardwick at times. However, sometimes, you need that kind of emotion from a coach. It’s what we had in the “good ol’ days” personally playing footy and with blokes like Ron Barrassi and the rest of them. So, it will be very interesting to see how Adem Yze’s calm demeanour melds with what we call “much needed rev-ups”.

10 MARCH 2024

ROUND ZERO: GOLD COAST

There is only one thing that mattered in this game and it was that the Tigers fought back hard after a rusty first half and kicked 6 unanswered goals in the third quarter.

The Tiges finally got going. We saw this with Carlton the night before up at the Gabba where sides are a bit rusty and slow to get going after a long break.

Our view is that there are half a dozen new faces going around but two thirds of the team are still Premiership players. Naismith looked good and did well. We like the look of him.

We do wonder how, after winning, one, two, or three Flags, these blokes can still have the motivation to win big time.

We need to keep to pumping through the new blood and get games into new players and find the right balance of new and old.

It’s going to be an interesting season.

8 MARCH 2024

AFL

Tigerland

Firstly, it's great to have the footy back. It's always a relief to have the dormant religion of Victoria back in swing.

However, we have to say we don't understand the logic behind "Opening Round".

It doesn't make any sense to have 8 sides playing the first round with absolutely no meaning than four of those sides being based in the North, that is NSW and QLD. You have to ask the question is the AFL that insecure that they would do this at the expense of the four other clubs participating in this fiasco? Since we are a truly national comp and we have been successfully peddling interstate clubs since South Melbourne moved to Sydney at the end of 1980.

We can say that since we personally were moving north at the end of that year, we attended South Melbourne's last game at the Albert Park Oval against Richmond.

As a Richmond supporter, all this "opening" round does is it does Richmond a disservice in the form of worries about injuries and also making an unnecessary trip up North in an already extremely long and demanding season. The fact we are playing against Hardwick is irrelevant.

We also have to say how absolutely spineless the reaction of Channel 7 and the media is in not blinking an eye at this total rubbish. As usual, and as was the case during Covid, the news media do not appear to have any spine when it comes to denigrating the opposite of rationality. Read staying absolutely silent while we were all locked up for the longest time in the world and while the Victorian Police were out there bashing us all. It's just so typical but we remain in the situation that after Covid we willl NEVER trust the spineless media in this country ever again.

What is great is that Richmond have left out Dusty Martin and Tom Lynch. If we were coach, we would also leave out anyone this weekend who has the ability to change a game, given that we do not want them injured in any way or have their progress put into question IN ANY WAY. So, that would include Baker, Prestia, Balta, Graham, and anyone who has any niggles whatsoever.

Because this season is too important.

Can you imagine if tonight, let's just say, Brodie Grundy, Max Gawn, Petracha, or Bailey Fritz suffered a season-ending injury. It would change the whole season for those two clubs. And for what?

For nothing, apart from AFL hubris. Fucken typical, isn't it.

To us, it's yet another example of ridiculous grandstanding by an unthinking AFL who do not have the interests of players or clubs at heart. The fact that why have not dumped the onerous, unjust, and we would argue unethical "stand" rule, which is also there for no reason, is a disgrace. We will continue to listen to games other than Richmond games with the sound turned down so we do not have to listen to an umpire yelling out "stand" every few seconds.

The season has not even started and it doesn't for another week and we already find ourselves critical of the AFL and, as usual, always with good reason. Reason being something they do not seem to have in their corporate armoury.

So, make sure you protect yourselves and each other on Saturday, Tiges. It's a long season. Well done Adem Yze. Protect our boys.

Let us be clear that, and let the AFL get deep into their heads that neither popularity nor money have anything at all to do with the concept of justice.