A footy text put our friendship on the brink. She should know there are rules
I'll work through a mental checklist. Has their team played yet? Did they win? Did they get thrashed? Where are they on the ladder? Are they out of finals' contention? Does it fit with pre-season predictions?
Whether they're Carlton supporters with the blues, Saints mates having a hellish season or Bomber besties nosediving, footy fandom comes with great highs and the lowest of lows.
If they're hardcore card carrying, scarf waving, form-following fans their moods are delicately connected to the win/loss ratio of their teams.
If there's a game coming up, I'll usually put off my text for another day. If their team has been thrashed, I will give it a miss. Don't poke the bear. If they've had a win I might text a congratulatory message.
My sporting fix is AFL, but it could apply to any other code. The season starts with great promise, and before long teams and the hopes and dreams of their supporters are cruelled by injuries, long-awaited premiership windows vanish and suddenly September is looking free. Anyone for a weekend away?
Others are on tenterhooks, madly calculating if their team can make the cut, and praying for unlikely upsets in hope that other teams will make way for them.
A friend and I bristled after a Collingwood-barracking friend texted us to gloat as we stood, stunned and disappointed in the MCG stands after the siren, as Richmond's 2018 campaign for back-to-back premierships came to a sudden end.
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Demons star to learn rough conduct fate in AFL appeal
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Courier-Mail
2 hours ago
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AFL 2025: Melbourne Demons cop huge whack after St Kilda melt down in record-breaking loss
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Melbourne's leaders have been called out for their dying seconds 'panic' in the historic six-point loss to the Saints on Sunday. When Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera kicked a goal to level scores with just eight seconds to play, the Demons coughed up a 6-6-6 infringement free kick in the middle of the ground. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. And what followed was pure chaos as Melbourne's players took off, only to be called back, before that man Wanganeen-Milera bobbed up again to kick the winning goal in a stunning 15.6 (96) to 13.12 (90) victory. 'There was a rush of blood to defend long and deep,' AFL great Dermott Brereton said. 'It was panic stations.' In all the confusion, Max Gawn, Jack Viney and Kysaiah Pickett all returned to the middle of the ground in a move that ultimately proved costly as Wanganeen-Milera streaked forward, marked inside 50 and nailed the matchwinner. It created history for the Saints, with the biggest three-quarter time comeback ever, from 46 points down. The Demons' confusion was clear in the dying seconds of St Kilda's historic win. Umpire Nick Brown asked for the field to be reset before paying a free kick to Rowan Marshall. Picture: Michael Klein Two-time premiership Roo David King labelled the Dees' dying seconds brain fade as a 'cardinal sin'. 'Name me the leaders at Melbourne. They're all there. They've got (Christian) Petracca, Gawn, you've got (Christian) Salem behind the footy, (Tom) McDonald. They're everywhere there. They should have understood this situation,' King said on Fox Footy's First Crack. 'They should have understood the 6-6-6. Instead of getting confused here … why is Max back in the middle? 'I just spoke with (ex-AFL umpire) Ray Chamberlain, he said there is no rule that says Max has to go back in and reset. He should be the loose man. 'What the hell is Viney doing in the middle of the wing when his opponent has gone to the left edge to charge forward? 'So, as the fourth midfielder comes in no one is communicating. No one knows who's got who. 'Viney is thinking, 'I've got to get back to Wanganeen-Milera'. I'm assuming that's what he's thinking because he's not going with (Saint Anthony) Caminiti, who charges to the left. 'He clearly doesn't get there, he doesn't surge, now he doesn't know what he's doing and the rest of the Melbourne backs are all here. 'Why is Bowey out there? If he's all the way out there that's fine. Stay there. Coach Simon Goodwin on the sidelines. Arms were out all over the centre square ahead of the final play of St Kilda's historic win. 'He turns to correct and he's not organising Viney. He should be saying to Viney, 'Come back' … Bowey turns and he's not even facing the play. 'I don't understand how they've capitulated so poorly in the space of 30 seconds. 'They haven't assessed the situation. 'They haven't assessed the likely danger zones and they've allowed Wanganeen-Milera to charge unopposed into that dangerous area through a lack of understanding of what's going to happen and a lack of communication. 'This is on them and the details matter. This comes back to coaching, I don't care what anyone says. 'It comes back to learnt habits, learnt skills at training … They should have known these things. This is their profession. 'I'm disappointed with Melbourne because this is a game they played really well for three quarters and have just lost their minds. 'It's the dumbest thing I've seen this year. 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'Jack Viney, his vice-captain, would have been 40 metres away from him.' Speaking after the one-goal loss, Goodwin described the defeat as 'unacceptable'. 'We won't shy away from it at all. We won't sugar-coat it,' he said. 'We'll just own it and do something about it and make sure it never happens again. 'Today is unacceptable. For all the good that was in the day, that last quarter was so far off.' Originally published as 'Dumbest thing seen': Dees' huge whack after St Kilda melt down
Sydney Morning Herald
4 hours ago
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Anatomy of a heist: How the Saints snatched an unlikely victory – and the Demons crumbled
In the early seconds of the final quarter, St Kilda's Jack Higgins got on the end of a pass from Max Hall. The small forward marked easily with no opponent really close to him; he shouldn't have been given so much space. He went back and from an angle of about 35 degrees slotted a nice goal from the right forward pocket. That cut the margin to 40 points with plenty of time left. But no one would have predicted what was to come. 'Higgins has been a bit of a ray of sunshine on a dark day for the Saints,' reflected commentator Alister Nicholson on Channel Seven. CLASSIC COOPER 6:16 elapsed (16.05 minutes left) A very good goal from a quality and rapid-fire centre clearance. Less than a minute after Bradley Hill snatched a goal from a tight angle, the Saints got another one. Hall took possession from the bounce, gave a sharp handball to Wanganeen-Milera who, in turn, offloaded to Zak Jones. Jones booted into the forward line where Cooper Sharman showed great ground-level ability to spin onto his left boot and kick it through. The margin was cut to 28 points with more than 16 minutes of game time to come; the Saints were well and truly in the hunt. A CONTENTIOUS PENALTY 22:57 elapsed (4.16 minutes left) Wanganeen-Milera stormed out of the centre and pinpointed a pass to Higgins. But was the kick touched by Harvey Langford before landing in Higgins' arms? The umpire didn't think so, paying the mark, and Higgins got a 50-metre penalty after being slung to the ground by Judd McVee. The Melbourne players desperately pleaded with the umpires, allowing Higgins to play on and run into an open goal. The Saints again had scored two goals in about a minute of play, this time cutting the margin to five points. 'I reckon the ball was touched, guys,' Nick Riewoldt said in commentary on Seven. 'I reckon it was touched coming in.' In any case, the umpires didn't pay it. Game on. DEES MISS A CHANCE TO SEAL IT (1.58 minutes left) Melbourne led by six points with little more than two minutes to play. All they needed was another score to virtually secure the win, and Clayton Oliver had the opportunity. A goal would force St Kilda to score twice to even level the scores; even a point would require two goals from the Saints to win. But the Demons midfielder couldn't deliver and his dodgy kick went out on the full. It was a horrible miss. To his credit, after Oliver handballed to Charlie Spargo (who dropped the ball), the Demon did do well to reclaim it, but he squandered his scoring chance. Where was his left foot? A free kick to St Kilda from deep in defence was the result. The moment symbolised a lack of composure for the dispirited Demons. EPIC MARK AND GOAL 29:50 elapsed (0:55 minutes left) It will be a mark that's replayed for years to come. An excellent left-foot kick from Mason Wood running down the wing (after a handball from Marcus Windhager) set up the moment for Wanganeen-Milera, who took his chance like few others would have done. The hottest talent in the game, who's expected to find a home away from Moorabbin next season, Wanganeen-Milera climbed over Bayley Fritsch (who crashed to the turf) and in front of McVee. The Saint took the mark with one grab, sending the crowd into raptures. How about Ross Lyon's reaction in the box! The veteran coach could barely contain his joy. But the Saint still had to kick the goal. And he did. The out-and-out AFL star went back and showed brilliant composure to split the big sticks. Scores level. The clock ticked down as he approached his shot at goal, leaving eight seconds before the final siren – and with a final centre bounce to come. THE DEMON NUMBER: A 6-6-6 HORROR SHOW (0:08 minutes left) At the resumption, a nightmare for the Demons. With only Max Gawn, Christian Petracca and Kysaiah Pickett in the centre square, they had made the mistake of having seven forwards. Free kick St Kilda, for the 6-6-6 infringement. 'We had seven forwards, and two wingers,' coach Simon Goodwin confirmed later. 'It's a pretty simple process to get right. We'll have a look at why it happened, how it happened and make sure that never happens again.' Amid the confusion, wise heads and flustered minds could be seen. Having called the 6-6-6 breach, the field umpire asked for players to get to their positions before the Saints could be given the free kick. In this time St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall and Wanganeen-Milera hatched a perfect plan to find a score. Gawn could be seen signalling to Jack Viney on the wing to come into the centre. But the damage had already been done. In complete contrast, the St Kilda unit showed composure as big man Marshall prepared to take the free kick. Once the umpire signalled time on again, Wanganeen-Milera ran strongly out of the centre into space on the forward flank. Marshall found him with a beautifully weighted kick. The Saint had too much time as Viney desperately tried to get to him. Wanganeen-Milera marked the ball comfortably with five seconds left, and took his set shot from about 40m out and after the siren. All he needed was a point to complete the heist; he kicked a goal anyway. Delirium. Pandemonium. Saints win by six points. Petracca looks stoney-faced. The Demons are left to ponder: what the hell just happened? Melbourne coach Goodwin was left gobsmacked. 'Late in the game we didn't handle the pressure, we didn't handle the moment, and we didn't handle the tight game scenarios like we should have, and that's on all of us,' he said. 'We'll own that together.' Lyon was delighted that his players prospered rather than panicked. 'That's why senior on-field leadership has never been more paramount,' he said later. ''Nas' [Wanganeen-Milera] was instrumental – him and 'Row' [Marshall], they said 'get the forwards to one side [for the free kick], I'm going to dart here'. That's what they did. 'It was really, really pleasing. It was exciting.'
