Now I know its only rd 1 and of late there has been a trend to bash players on this site however I've created this thread to discuss what should be done with Davey when things aren't going his way in the midfield. It staggers me that given a day like yesterday when he is clearly struggling with a tag through the middle of the ground why we wouldn't just let him sit underneath Brad Miller's feet deep in the forward 50. Obviously we struggle for pace throughout the guts however when a player of his calibre only manages 11 possesions for the day surely a change is needed?

Btw I think Davey is our most important player and by the time he is 28 and weere seriously challenging in September there will be no other man I will forward to watching more.

He really has gone backwards since his first couple of seasons.

He was better as a rookie than he is now.

that's why he was assigned the number 1 tagger yesterday........

a good post neita...

was thinking the same thing yesterday watching him run around with a human glove on him.....

He really has gone backwards since his first couple of seasons.

He was better as a rookie than he is now.

I'm not sure whether he's gone backwards as such but you're right his output has certainly gone down.

I hope its got more to do with the fact that a couple of years ago he had Neitz and Robertson bringing the ball to ground on every occasion the ball was delivered inside our forward 50 whereas now on most occasions he gets the #1 tag.

Although Davey was tagged yesterday he actually played most of the game forward but drifted too far up ground. Being tagged should not stop you applying forward pressure and he rarely did this after the first 15 minutes. He needs to play deep forward where even if he is under tight tag his 10 touches should have greater impact.

He really has gone backwards since his first couple of seasons.

He was better as a rookie than he is now.

Play has progressively become more congested through the midfield over the last 2 - 3 years, I think Davey runs predominantly straight lines & so suits open spaces of which there are few.

Early last year I saw him run duck & weave for one of the first times, i think he scored goal of the match. That occaision raised my eyes & my hopes for him.

He needs to think more laterally with his running.

he should play under brad miller, at least he knows there will always be a crumb for him

he should play under brad miller, at least he knows there will always be a crumb for him

That will just make him a one dimensional player, he's got to learn to adapt or he's no use to us, the other small kids will soon pass him by.

That will just make him a one dimensional player, he's got to learn to adapt or he's no use to us, the other small kids will soon pass him by.

fair enough, but he is a good player down in the forward pocket, type in melbourne fc in youtube and take a look at what he can do around the flanks...

fair enough, but he is a good player down in the forward pocket, type in melbourne fc in youtube and take a look at what he can do around the flanks...

exactly...davey should never have been moved in the first place. why the hell would a player who has the best goal sense in the team be moved? its idiotic. Same thing happened to Dunn yet people wonder why he hasn't made the next step.

exactly...davey should never have been moved in the first place. why the hell would a player who has the best goal sense in the team be moved? its idiotic. Same thing happened to Dunn yet people wonder why he hasn't made the next step.

That style of role is exactly why Maric hasn't played more games last year. You just can't have one dimensional players anymore. They have got to be able to play numerous different roles.

that's why he was assigned the number 1 tagger yesterday........

a good post neita...

was thinking the same thing yesterday watching him run around with a human glove on him.....

Thank god someone else can recognise this, i have to question which game people have just watched sometimes, such is some of the obervations people have been making.

He's our best player and when i saw Brady Rawlings take him at the first bounce i dropped an F- bomb. Thats the sort of attention he commands these days and in a young team where he is arguably the only player who has the ability to really hurt the opposition, he gets the number 1 stopper everytime.

He's gone from a player who plays deep forward at the feet of the talls, to now playing higher up the ground. These days given the importance of being able to kick the ball Bailey has player him behind the ball and the players give him the ball whenever they can as he is one of the best passers in the game. This is impossible to do when uve got a tagger up ur arse. All players (Judd, selwood excepted) go through periods in their career where taggers get the better of them and they almost accept defeat when greeted by a tagger at the first bounce. Daniel Kerr is going through this at the moment after the exodus of Judd and cousins.

Unfortunately i dont think flash has the tank to out run a tagger, and its tough to find space through the middle of the ground to burst away, nor is he a good stoppage player where he can lose his man. There are certain players who are brilliant in a good side and have their influence stifled in an losing side. I think flash is one of these, although when we are back up the top i think so will his form.

What should Bailey do when he has a tagger? id try him at Half-back, where he can use his kicking ability to set us up and then push forward and get dangerous when we have the ball. He isnt a great overhead mark, but he does have pretty long arms so i dont see why he couldnt spoil well.

That style of role is exactly why Maric hasn't played more games last year. You just can't have one dimensional players anymore. They have got to be able to play numerous different roles.

Dee-luded - Maric did not play many games last year as he was still very young and doing VCE. He is working very hard on his defensive and midfield game.

From all reports he is playing very well for Casey and finding more fitness. Potentially two weeks away from rejoining the senior team

I think we will all be very pleased with Maric as many of our other kids in years to come.

Back to Aaron: I think Davey is best suited to the forward line but he does nice things in traffic in the middle as well.

You have forgotten that he was injured out of Bulldogs game a few weeks ago. Davey will come back even sharper soon.

If his output has gone backwards it would be marginal. He was tagged because he does have line breaking ability and we don't have many/any that do. There's not a lot of Dees players that put fear into the opposition.

That said, he's been grossly overrated as a player by Dees fans for years. I remember starting a thread a number of years ago lamenting his third placing in the B&F as being a joke at the time for reasons I won't dredge up now.

Put Davey in a better side with a much better midfield and he'd create havoc - I hope that doesn't sound too contradictory. He's a victim of a midfield lacking any elite players within its rotation. And whilst I fear that many Dees fans are over the top regading his worth I recognise his value in an elite team in modern footy.

Maybe someone should start a thread on McLean and modern footy.

As the side Improves "Flash" will return to his former self. Don't Forget Aaron Started when Ratten was coaching our mid field. We had some guns in in there. At present the delivery in the forward line is a little Hap hazard so to speak but it will return i am certain. Davey is still our Trump card.

exactly...davey should never have been moved in the first place. why the hell would a player who has the best goal sense in the team be moved? its idiotic. Same thing happened to Dunn yet people wonder why he hasn't made the next step.

Dunn has not even taken the first step. No wonder you rate him

Dee-luded - Maric did not play many games last year as he was still very young and doing VCE. He is working very hard on his defensive and midfield game.

From all reports he is playing very well for Casey and finding more fitness. Potentially two weeks away from rejoining the senior team

I think we will all be very pleased with Maric as many of our other kids in years to come.

Back to Aaron: I think Davey is best suited to the forward line but he does nice things in traffic in the middle as well.

You have forgotten that he was injured out of Bulldogs game a few weeks ago. Davey will come back even sharper soon.

Yes I know all that, what I said, mean is that he could have got more games in, not all the season. I watched most of his games at sandy & at the Dees & heard all the instructions from coaches box to Maric. He needed to work harder defensively & learn to push into the mid area more, rather than just the forward work.

Ps: Yes I am looking forward to seeing him play.

That said, he's been grossly overrated as a player by Dees fans for years. I remember starting a thread a number of years ago lamenting his third placing in the B&F as being a joke at the time for reasons I won't dredge up now.

Put Davey in a better side with a much better midfield and he'd create havoc - I hope that doesn't sound too contradictory. He's a victim of a midfield lacking any elite players within its rotation. And whilst I fear that many Dees fans are over the top regading his worth I recognise his value in an elite team in modern footy.

Maybe someone should start a thread on McLean and modern footy.

Spot on.

You cant touch Brock McLean now. B)

Spot on.

You cant touch Brock McLean now. B)

Damn straight you can't.

He might be a slow midfielder but he's our slow midfielder and we love him. Bagging Brocky is sacreligious!

As for Davey, he seems to have peaked and has now gone back into his shell. Needs to find the goals again by playing near the square. His basic skills are so good, but it all gets too complicated in the midfield.

Put Davey in a better side with a much better midfield and he'd create havoc - I hope that doesn't sound too contradictory. He's a victim of a midfield lacking any elite players within its rotation.

Agreed.

I would also hazard a guess that, when he was first moved up into a midfield role, he put on weight so that he wasn't pushed around as much. I wouldn't be surprised if that has impeded on his speed, which was the reason he was moved up the ground in the first place. For mine, Davey's best work is as a forward, applying defensive pressure when the opposition has the ball.

play him in the pocket, in saying that hes no jeff farmer, those were the days, farmer made you want to go and watch the demons play, daveys badly lost his way.

He's probably the best kick in the team right now, which explains why he gets a hard tag every game. We need a couple of others to stand up to take the heat off him, would love to see Grimes, Blease & Strauss breaking the lines.

Can we please stop trying to change the team SOOO much after one round of football???????????????????????????

As the side Improves "Flash" will return to his former self. Don't Forget Aaron Started when Ratten was coaching our mid field. We had some guns in in there. At present the delivery in the forward line is a little Hap hazard so to speak but it will return i am certain. Davey is still our Trump card.

One of the best pieces of play sunday was when I believe it was Davey from the members wing, kicked the ball long switching play across to outer wing where we had space for the reciever to kick long inside 50 (city end) to which we goaled. This is what we need more of.

Can anyone remember the last time he ran someone down from behind?