They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well, that’s what I’m running with anyways.
The Sounding Board podcast does a weekly scorecard where the producer poses various, random statements, and the two hosts proceed to rate them out of 10 (1 being a harsh disagreement, 10 being in great support), and discuss their reasonings for each rating.
Now, before you accuse me of doing a Kane Cornes and voicing my outlandish opinions to reel in the clicks, these statements are aimed at showcasing the differing opinions of the Mongrel fraternity, and not necessarily the opinion of the original author.
So without further ado, I present to you…
The Mongrel Scorecard
The AFL Trade Period is becoming farcical – a strung-out, media-driven waste of time, with deals not being completed until the dying minutes for little benefit other than to garner clicks, views, readers and listeners for AFL media.
HB: 10 – My feelings have been made cler. Posturing, one-up-manship, and a whole lot of smoke and mirrors for eight and a half days, before they finally get down to business. This could all be done over one weekend, but teh AFL now loves the news cycle it creates, and if we’re being fair, so too do the journos who live and breathe this stuff. I tuned out after two days and came back for the last two hours. If a footy-head like me throws his hands up and walks away, you know you’re getting things wrong
JD: 9 – I guarantee the AFL enforced a mandate on clubs to not do deals until deadline day. It was needlessly drawn out, even if I do like the speculation – especially given how good of a job Sam McClure does 😉 seriously though, the AFL prolong the suffering of fans and players for exposure, to outdo the NRL season culminating and to try and monopolise the media clicks. Perhaps it’s worth making it Monday-Friday to ensure it doesn’t drag. We shouldn’t be going into a second week for it.
Matt P: 9. I didn’t even bother following it this year. “Trade Radio” is just an opportunity for advertisers to occasionally be interrupted by ex-footballers talking absolute drivel while players are awarded randomly assigned ‘values’ which are in reality pretty meaningless, and then all the interesting trades happen in the last hour or 2 (which can’t be a coincidence and is surely a directive from the AFL). The AFL is very good at overshadowing other sports but it’s surely killed the goose this time.
Timbo Higgins: 10 – I get it, I do. It keeps the AFL relevant for a few more weeks after the season has officially ended as we endure the long summer of nothing to watch or talk about with our mates down at the pub. But every trade period is the same. A player says he wants to go from club A to club B. Club A and club B spend the better part of a week and a half telling the media the deal is a difficult one, and then on the last day the player moves from club A to club B, for basically the same deal that was discussed early in the trade period. If you still want to make 10 days next year, then atleast get David Zita to live tweet it and make it interesting/funny.
Max: 10: Yes
Slugger 10: Yes. I was defender of the trade period until this year, but it lost me in the last few weeks. If clubs aren’t going to do deals until the final 15 minutes (and get the exact same value as was expected 10 days earlier), and we have multiple days with no trades, then it’s not needed. The onus is on them to make it worth it. If no deals are getting done, then you don’t need that amount of days. Shorten it again.
Melbourne will experience a significant drop off in season 2025, as external chatter around the club’s culture and state of affairs behind closed doors comes to fruition, seeing the club once again miss the top eight, with more high-profile players looking to exit at season’s end.
HB: 7 – I ebb and flow on this. Their list is still of a high quality, if we take key forwards out of the equation. A fit Clayton Oliver adds so much to this team, as it frees up those around him and makes the midfield much more difficult to match up on, but I have not liked their recruiting over the last two years. They’ve addressed the lack of backup ruck by bringing in Tom Campbell… yep, that’s certainly a move. And as for the key forward dilemma that has now stretched into a third year, they’d be hoping Jacob van Rooyen can do for them what Josh Treacy did for Freo, or – regardless of what is happening off-field – we could be seeing players looking elsewhere based solely on wanting success.
Also, I bet you can’t pick the Geelong supporters below. LOL.
JD: 10 – If it helps get Clayton Oliver to Geelong, then I say whatever the polar opposite of Viva Le Melbourne is! (As you can tell, I flunked high school French … sort of. Could speak it, just couldn’t write it). Honestly, Melbourne is being plagued by their own mascot (Demons) and those are difficult to exorcise – but can be done, with a little help from Geelong and Connors Sports Management. We will help their disenfranchised players recapture their form and success. Could we get a replay of their 2011 capitulation at Cat Park in 2025?
Matt P: 8. I Dislike the word ‘culture’ because it’s too easy to throw around without requiring any kind of substance or even definition, but Melbourne are definitely at the start of their decline cycle. Their team is beatable, good players have left and will continue to do so as they continue to lose games.
Timbo Higgins: 10 Hard agree! From memory I predicted them to slide down the table this year after a tumultuous off-season in 22/23, and they missed out on finals by a fair bit. The way the club is portrayed publicly by key staff (whether that be players, coaches or administrators) has made them a laughing stock already. The speculation around Oliver is unlikely to go away overnight, and while they managed to hold on to Petracca I suspect he will be looking for a trade again at the end of next season. Couple that with some ageing senior players in Gawn, May and Viney and a dysfunctional forward line they still don’t seem to have addressed, and I suspect it will be a long season next year for Demon’s fans.
Max: 7: You’d think so, but there’s something a bit perverse about these sorts of situations, where teams/players are expected to decline or improve to a significant degree over a season. Often the team in question will surprise with performances more akin to their recent past record. A lot will come down to how well the resilient core pillars like Max Gawn, Jack Viney, Steven May, Jake Lever etc. keep it together, football-wise and personal relationship-wise. There’s obviously a lot of rot at the club but geez, they’ve just about kept it together on-field for this long, so who’s to say they won’t continue doing so?
Slugger 10!: See you in 2025 in the Hoops Clarry. But seriously the Demons issues are only going to get worse. The bottom has dropped out and they now lack depth. Their stars want out. They may have stuck around but without those big contracts 100% Opver and Petracca would be elsewhere right now. Accept it Demons fans, you snagged 1 flag. Be happy trade them and get good value like the Tigers and start your rebuild before Tassie cripple the draft.
Jono M: 9 – The trade period is painstakingly long. Even more so when your team misses out on finals. Unfortunately, I was in that exact predicament this year. You sit there enviously for most of September wishing your team was out there, especially on that last Saturday. Once that’s done, you just want to hurry into the trade and draft period to see where your team can improve. This year in particular, it felt excruciatingly dragged out with every deal seeming to only take place in the last 48 hours of the whole 10 days it runs for.
Hawthorn will make a Preliminary Final in 2025.
HB: 4 – No, and I actually expect them to slide a little. I love the way they rallied in the second half of the season, but this will level out in 2025. The forward line is still suspect and even if they throw Sicily into the mix, they’re still reliant on Mitch Lewis getting fit and fulfilling his potential – given his run with injury to date, that is a long bow to draw. Barrass and Battle make them a team to watch, and I expect them to sneak into finals and be shown the door again. I kind of feel as though 2024 was a window of opportunity they had to get through, and whilst there will be a lot of hype about the team, the opposition will go to work on them in the off-season and they’ll be found out a bit. I like them for 2026…
JD: 8 – That’s the assumption that people have of me given my support of the Cats. However, I did find Hokball entertaining. Albeit, I was disappointed in the Wizard and Ginni abandoning kids at a clinic in the post-season. Just a reminder that Hawthorn is the fake family club. Anyways, with their trade period acquisitions, Hokball will at least reach a Prelim in 2025. Hopefully to be removed from the season by the Cats.
Matt P– 6. It’s not outside the realm of possibility, but young teams who rise suddenly within a single season are rarely able to follow it up the next year. Momentum can only take them so far and their oppositions will adapt to the new game style. I wouldn’t be totally surprised if they make one, but I’d be much less surprised if they just scrape into the 8 or even miss it completely.
Timbo Higgins: 5 I’m going smack bang in the middle on this one. They’ve added a couple of quality tall defenders, which I think was their biggest weakness this season (particularly when Sicily was out injured). These additions will also give them the flexibility to throw Hardwick and/or Sicily forward when they need to. I worry a little about their forward line with Mitch Lewis just unable to get his body right and Chol, who was great during the regular season, unable to really impact in finals. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did make finals again next season, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they slide further down the table.
Max: 6: I don’t know. Additions of Barrass and Lewis probably help, but sometimes apparent blessings/personnel boosts don’t have the desired effect. One thing’s for sure, and that’s that Sam Mitchell’s brain will be ticking over big time in its search for shortcomings and issues within his team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their play becomes even slicker next year. Finals are a firm yes, but the possibility of a prelim might come down to how many bullshit high frees they can jag inside their forward 50 during the first couple of finals weeks.
Slugger -5: Won’t make finals. Will get worked out and cop a harder draw. Prime time Hawks going to get found out with everyone watching. Should be fun. What are they going to do, play a team of about 10 key defenders and have Mabior Chol up forward? Please..
Jono: 5 – I’m cooling my jets on the Hawks. On paper their acquisitions are as sound as ever, Battle and Barrass make them strong defensively. I think that teams will look at their finals loss and study the way to beat them, they’ll cop a tougher draw having made it so far in 2024, and the weight of expectations might just be too big for the young team. While they’ve got a talented list, I feel like some of their players can go missing in games if it’s not all on their terms and I just feel that their midfield doesn’t bat deep enough.
The public outcry of affection and adoration for Neale Daniher when his inevitable passing occurs will forever be marred by the State and Federal Government’s lack of praise and recognition for his dedication to charity, whilst still alive.
HB: 5 – As always, the government will come to the party once it’s all over. The people know, though… the people love and respect what he’s done. It may reflect poorly on the government for their lack of support, but the perception of Daniher amongst the AFL fraternity, and supporters will be one that is pretty difficult to tarnish, irrespective of the ineptitude of those who run the country/state.
JD: 100 – never has a truer statement been penned. Neale has been deserving of recognition for services to society, to football, and to humanity in general. If not Australian of the Year, he should have at least received some level of recognition from the State Government of Victoria … they’re too busy building a statue of the bloke who made Melbourne the most locked-down city in the world. At the very least, the AFL need to make the Best on Ground in the King’s Birthday clash, the Neale Daniher medal … and give all Collingwood v Melbourne clashes the Neale Daniher Cup (to become Memorial Trophy down the track).
Matt P: 5 Maybe it’s because I don’t live in Victoria but I haven’t noticed a lack of recognition for what he’s done for footy and for MND awareness. He’ll likely be given a state funeral, but if I’m completely honest, most of his contributions are football related or it is thanks to his football that he’s been able to contribute in the way he has, it’s up to the AFL to honour him which I think they have done and will do.
Timbo Higgins: 2 I don’t think anything that the government does or doesn’t do could possibly change the public’s reaction to Daniher’s inevitable passing. A great bloke, who has contributed massively to the game prior to his illness, and arguably contributed even more since his diagnosis.
Max: 3: Don’t think so, to be honest. Neale Daniher’s efforts have been one of the few things over the last decade that have united the country. Everyone who has access to footy media loves the man, and I daresay even our enemies in rugby territory have at least a passing awareness of what he’s done. I can’t say I’ve seen any discourse at all about the government’s lack of recognition for him, and I think that’s entirely appropriate, as his charity is so pure in intention and massive in scope that it transcends the usual quibbles that people would usually raise.
Slugger 10: Such an own goal by the governments of the day. It’s the biggest lay-up but they are inept when it comes to doing the right thing.
Jono: 5 – Living outside of Victoria, I’m unaware of Neale’s standing amongst the respective governments. What I will say is that I think Neale is an Australian legend. Everything he’s done with FightMND has really opened the eyes of a lot of people around Australia. It’s always good seeing FreezeMND beanies throned amongst hundreds of thousands that support the cause.
Every Premiership side has a hard luck story somewhere. Whilst our hearts go out to blokes like Bob Murphy, Taylor Adams and Oscar McInerney, adding extra “Premiership Medals” for players that don’t play in the Grand Final will only dilute the sentimentality of the award for those that did play.
HB: 10 – I am a crusty old bastard. The blokes who play get medals on the day. That’s it. If clubs want to create their own medals to hand out to the entire playing group and support staff, they have the ability to do that. No one is stopping them.
JD: 5 – I am literally going to stand in the middle on this. I see the arguments of both sides. I love that the AFL doesn’t conform to the American sports and other global sports. However, I do empathise with some of the hard luck stories. If it were to happen that all listed players get recognised, I would have a level of differentiation. The 23 who play in and win the Grand Final get their Premiership medals post-game on the dais. For the rest of the squad, they get something after the fact. They are not denoted as Premiership Players but as Premiership Squad Members. It’s a recognition for their contribution to their teams’ season … perhaps it is a club-done thing funded by the AFL. Fans may not think it works, but given current players continue to express a desire for it, we need to listen to that.
Matt P – 8 I can see both sides to this, and have always thought the easiest solution was to allow the clubs to hand out 3 honorary medals to anyone at the club whom they deem worthy of premiership recognition. This could be done during the team’s BnF night and would be a fitting way to an injured player, assistant coach, or even a special contribution from someone at the club without taking away anything from the match day players.
Timbo Higgins: 10 Oscar McInerney handled his omission due to injury brilliantly, but surely there was a part of him that was disappointed to miss out on the game. Just looking at this case in particular, he was a hugely important part of Brisbane’s season, who played every game for the season bar the Grand Final. He deserved to have his name called out and be on the dais holding the cup after the siren. I think if a player plays say 18+ full games in the regular season and only misses out due to injury, then they should be rewarded.
Max: 10: Yes. I’m going to shamelessly rip off Matt P’s idea, having just read his response. Even despite Oscar’s obvious delight, it felt wrong to see such a titan of Brisbane’s season go unrewarded in any material sense. Grant clubs a bit of leeway with their medal distributions and then those unfortunate loose ends will be able to be neatly tied up.
Slugger 2: Maybe? But I actually think it’s more likely to increase the pleasure and joy of the club involved. The players who play during the year, and train every session and drive the group to the ultimate glory deserve recognition. It’s fitting. Any griping will pass in a few years and people will accept it as the norm.
Jono: 2 – As some of the all time great premiership coaches have said, it takes a squad to win a premiership. Having extra medals to give out to those that didn’t participate in the grand final will not take away from what already is a special occasion and a great week for everyone involved.
Zach Merrett will become the next in an ever-growing list of celebrated players to finish their career at Essendon without a Finals win.
HB: 5 – He shouldn’t, but he might. The Bombers are absolutely good enough to win a final, and have been for a couple of seasons. That said, Merrett has just turned 29 – his peak years are coming to an end over the next two seasons. Is he going to be hanging on like Travis Boak at Port, trying desperately to find success in September, or will he be forced to head elsewhere to taste glory? I should hate Essendon – I am a Hawthorn supporter. But I don’t. I want them to win a final (singular, not plural) just to shut people up. And I want Merrett leading them to that win.
JD: 8 – Realistically, this should be a 10, but I’m not going to unequivocally rule out Merrett abandoning the sinking ship that is the Bombers in the search for at least a solitary finals win so that he can experience that feeling.
Matt P- 8 it’s likely, and good on him. I admire the loyalty and his desire to take the club forward. I think it likely because Essendon have a bad habit of assuming they’ll play finals every year and forgetting they need to make it happen, but if they do then it’ll be a good reward for his loyalty.
Timbo Higgins: 10 I’m going 10. He is unlikely to finish his career at Essendon, and if he does he is unlikely to win a final.
Max: 5: There’s a part of me that steadfastly feels that Brad Scott will be the coach when they break their drought. If that part of me is correct, it’ll probably be quite soon, and you’d expect Merrett to be playing. But it’s Essendon, so I’ll play it safe and sit on the fence.
Slugger 8: It’s happening.
Jono: 7 – There’s a possibility that this comes to fruition but a player as determined as Merrett will do whatever it takes for his club to eventually win a final. This is factoring age, career trajectory, Essendon’s list demographic and what stage of development they’re in. It will almost be a blight if a player like Merrett doesn’t end up winning big finals.
The Mongrel Punt needs to officially veto Cat Chat for the 2025 season. Getting Bailey Smith for a steal is now officially the straw that broke the Mongrels’ back.
HB: 9 – We have too many Geelong-supporting writers. Please remove one. PS – I am not a crackpot.
JD: HAHAHAHA – that’s what I think of this assessment. I must say though, I’m disappointed that this is being brought into the public sphere. What happens in the Mongrel Writers Chat should stay there. It’s like fight club, for hobby footy writers. It’s a sacred bond of confidentiality that is being besmirched here.
For the uninformed, Cat Chat is the resident Cats fans on the Writers Team talking about all things related to the Geelong Football Club aka The Greatest Team of All. It’s always a sickening experience for the non-Cats fans.
Cat Chat will never disappear. It is like Thanos – inevitable. Welcome to the Cats, and Cat Chat, Bazlenka!
Matt P- Cat chat is annoying, but I’m probably worse.
Timbo Higgins: 100,000! Geelong is just so annoying. Every year we assumed they were too old, but they just kept winning and making finals. They have an annoying habit of getting the most wanted players to their club (think Dangerfield, Cameron and of course Smith) while also extracting maximum value from lesser-name recruits (Tuohy, Stanley, Stengle) and finding gold in the draft or from the state leagues (Tom Stewart, Lawson Humhpries to name a couple). Cat chat was at an all-time high during trade period with talks of Smith AND Clarry ending up at the Cattery! Watch them turn Jack Martin into an AA half-back or something ridiculous in the coming season so we never hear the end of it.
Max: 4: From my point of view, which lacks any scientific backing whatsoever, Geelong fans are the most stuck-up in the league, and it’s no different in the Mongrel chat. But the infuriating thing is, they’ve earned the right to that cockiness. What is it, 13 prelims (including 4 flags, of course) in the last 18 seasons? There’s literally no comeback to that. So, from my view, it’s play on, lads.
Slugger -100!!!: Without Cat Chat, how will the Mongrel keep abreast of the most important football club to exist? From HB himself to the loyal readers, Cat Chat has been the heartbeat of the Mongrel Punt writers room for years. Bazlenka is just the latest in a glorious run of accomplishments for the club. 10 home games is 2025. Clayton Oliver and Harley Reid in 2026. It’s all happening down at Sleepy Hollow.
Plus, how can the Mongrel turn down the opportunity to savour the devastation of another Preliminary Final or Grand Final loss in 2025, maybe even to Hawthorn?
You have to keep us around.
Jono: 5 – Cat Chat has a time and a place. Most of the time I just tune it all out and it doesn’t bother me at all. What really frustrates me though is how they manage to get said player to their club for virtually peanuts and how they pick diamonds in the rough via the draft. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to them!
Delaying development and progression of the game under the guise of not “American-ising” the sport is nonsensical – it was only 40 years ago that the installation of the light towers at the MCG was forecast to bring about the “death of Australian Football”, as was broadcasting football on a Friday night.
HB: 8 – There is definitely scope for improving the game by adding elements of US-sports to the mix, but we should be picking and choosing carefully. We seem to go halfway with things – free agency is a good thing, but we add things like compensation picks that really reduce the impact of it.
If I were to choose one thing to add to the sport, it would be expanded trading, but that would be accompanied by a sharp pay rise for players. In the US, and we’ll take the NBA for example, players receive 49% of the total cash pool. Here, it is 28%. If you add in a 21% pay rise, but the trade off is that players can be traded without their consent, I wonder if the AFLPA would be in favour, or not? Think about it – it would take a a lot of players into $1M+ bracket per season. Is that enough? But then again, I am aware many would be against something like this, as well, so again, we go back to picking and choosing wisely. I have a feeling I just ranted…
JD: 9 – The AFL want to Americanise the game on odd-numbered days and they don’t want to on even-numbered days. They listen to bureaucrats in suits rather than the average Joe who comes to support his team. If they weren’t so stubborn, woke, and single-minded in AFL House, we’d see some changes in a positive sense for the game. Stay tuned for an article over the Summer where I detail my list of ideas to transform the game.
Timbo Higgins: 5 – Stop changing the game! If the AFL actually listened to what the fans want they stop talking about night time Grand Finals and half time entertainment! Just give me a reasonably priced beer and let me watch my team! No matter how you try and jazz up a game with non-football entertainment, it is unlikely to become a popular sport worldwide.
Matt P- 6 The Americans have had fully professional sport a lot longer than we have and are very good at it, we just need to stop copying their ideas that don’t work and think about incorporating the ideas that do. Take the draft for instance: It’s now over 2 nights so that they can make the first round more interesting, but none of us watch enough of the players picked to take that much of an interest – it’s mostly speculation. Something like that works in America with the college system meaning players drafted are already pretty well known. But there might be merit in having divisions or zones and then a super-bowl type finish, especially as we push up to 20 teams. What I think is holding the game back more is too many pundits (and people in power) trying to create the feel the game had in the 80s/90s. Hey guys, it’s not that anymore – it’s the AFL, not the VFL. It’s not just the professionalism, the players are fitter, faster and stronger and the game is a lot more strategic and complex than it ever has been, and contains more teams than ever. The game needs to adapt and grow and people need to adapt and grow with it.
Max: 4: Are they trying to stunt the development of the game? All I’m seeing is propositions that would make the game more artificial, and as far as I’m concerned, artificial is synonymous with American sporting culture. Wildcard rounds, paying for draft picks, a non-day grand final (thus allowing fireworks), extending the season (only one player had ever played 27 games in a year before Brisbane’s flag win; they had about five alone). Many of the potential changes suggested inside AFL House (including the ones that are approved) seem like glitzy garbage to me. Generally, I think people will adapt to change if it has merit. In fact, I’d argue that the gold standard measurement of a change’s merit is the number of people that like the change. The AFL brought in Friday night footy and the dinosaurs were proven wrong. I’m not sure, given where the game is at right now, that the dinosaurs would be wrong about many changes going forward.
Slugger 1: As an avid consumer of US Sports, I support this.
Jono: 5 – It’s a very fine line between change for the sake of change, and change to improve the game isn’t it? I can see the argument for both sides. One of the controversial decisions is potentially bringing in a Wildcard Round to shake up the finals system. If it brings in more fan engagement, gives teams extra motivation to finish higher on the ladder, and helps iron out the evenness of the comp then why not?
Like this free content? You could buy Jimmy a beer, or a coffee, or something to trim his nasal hair as a way to say thanks. He’ll be a happy camper.
