Does anyone know much about west's involvement and if he is doing much? He was an inside midfielder himself do we really need that?

Fulltime?

I think it's officially a part time role.

In the meantime can they please sack Josh Mahoney? Either Bailey or Mahoney must pay for going goaless for 2 and a half qtrs and I can't see Bailey going.

I think it's officially a part time role.

In the meantime can they please sack Josh Mahoney? Either Bailey or Mahoney must pay for going goaless for 2 and a half qtrs and I can't see Bailey going.

I'm not a Mahoney fan myself but you could have Lockett, Hudson and Pratt coaching the forward line and it would make no difference. We just don't have the cattle yet.

the demons are winning clearances - we lost on the weekend i think but led the clearances for a majority of the game....

our midfield looks far more potent but that is because of the players at our disposal and being able to run 7 or 8 guys through there!!!

the demons are winning clearances - we lost on the weekend i think but led the clearances for a majority of the game....

our midfield looks far more potent but that is because of the players at our disposal and being able to run 7 or 8 guys through there!!!

Yeah, our midfield is a vastly improved lot from the output of the preceding couple of seasons where we seemed to be purely defensive

Scott West? What is he up to I wonder?

Our midfield hasn't improved that much, we have got Moloney and Mclean back which will add a bit but our Midfield ball movement is still as bad as it was last year. We still look slow and the clearances we get aren't that effective. How many clearances ave we burst away from the contest and set up a real goal scoring chance compare to the clearances we have that are ineffective that result in a turn over or a secondary ball up not to far away.

IMO our midfield is still our weakest part of our team.

IMO our midfield is still our weakest part of our team.

Its not a strength and definitely work in progress but it has definitely improved this year in the contested ball and clearances. Last year we were being blown away from the centre bounce. The intensity, the endeavour and effort are greater this year, the skills are still flaky.

The forward line is another case. Definite WIP material.

We seem to be getting first hands on the ball but we don't seem to be able break away with many clean clearances, this has more to do with our players hitting good options or having any good options as soon as they get the footy.

Unfortunately Rhino if you move the ball with our current skill level and at the speed we currently move the ball your forwards no mater how good they are will struggle. Saying that kicking the goal when you do have the chance is something our forwards must do.

Its not a strength and definitely work in progress but it has definitely improved this year in the contested ball and clearances. Last year we were being blown away from the centre bounce. The intensity, the endeavour and effort are greater this year, the skills are still flaky.

The forward line is another case. Definite WIP material.

This 'work in progress' is being hindered by the fact that we have no forward line.

They've got no one to kick it to!

How can the skill and confidence set of the players get better if there is no one to kick it to?

It may not be realized but the return of Robertson and the eventual introduction of Watts playing out of the goal square is paramount to the development of the team. We are almost going backwards at the moment.

I would say West is having a positive influence on our midfield. This year we are certainly more competitive at the stoppages and we seem to be doing well in hard ball gets and contested possessions. What we need to improve on is what we do with it once we've got the ball out of those stoppages.

I keep reading that we are improving, to be perfectly honest besides our backline I haven't seen any big improvement at all. Take the Richmond game out and we have been beaten and beaten badly, Sunday was a terrible game, the Pies and Port thumped us and so did North. If we are improving how come we are still getting beaten by large margins.

We still over use the ball, get held up in our back half, have no forward options, don't go inside 50 enough and when we do a large percentage of time we miss the target. Our skills across the board are still well below average and OK we are getting our hands on the ball at stoppages but we can't get effective clearances.

The teams that have beaten us aren't the top teams of the comp, over the next 4 weeks lets see if we have improved. We play three teams that realy touched us up last year.

Don't get me wrong I have seen a lot of positives that show that we are on the right track but the positives are coming from the players that we have introduced into our team over the past 12 mths more than the overall performance of the team.

I think it is the improvement of the backline that is should be the focus. With the possible exception of WC, all premiers have a superb defence. Not just defence in the backline, but "frontal" defence too. It is clear to me that our players are far more defensive and accountable over the ground.

We have also been competitive in more games for longer this year than last, and we are doing it with the youngest side in the AFL.

I agree that there is a way to go in the forward line and we need some genuine class and pace through the middle, but we are showing in my view a lot of positive signs.

We need a bit more pace and skill in our midfield. This seems to be what we drafted for this season so hopefully when they come through we'll have a nice blend of hard ball winners and classy ball users. I think the main reason Daniher never won a premiership was that, for various reasons, we weren't able to get any of the former. In addition to this nice blend, we probably need one of our young blokes to develop into an absolute rolls royce top of the line champion midfielder. Someone who is as good as Judd or Ablett. This could be either one of the blokes we drafted this year or maybe one of the guys we get in the draft at the end of this season. We've never had a midfielder that good in my time as a dees fan (age 24).

We seem to have improved our handballing, I don't know if this is the doing of West but he was one of the best handballers and clearance players of his time.

We seem to be getting first hands on the ball but we don't seem to be able break away with many clean clearances, this has more to do with our players hitting good options or having any good options as soon as they get the footy.

Unfortunately Rhino if you move the ball with our current skill level and at the speed we currently move the ball your forwards no mater how good they are will struggle. Saying that kicking the goal when you do have the chance is something our forwards must do.

I think you find that both the North and Richmond game we came out in front of the opposition in clearances. Certainly after the North game, one of the North coaches who I know commented on that but said we butchered the possession of it. He is right.

Last year we soft custard in the midfield contest and did not show any endeavour after half time in some games.

Disposal is a problem but it should not be used to mask what have been clear areas of improvement.

But there is a long way to go. I cant wait to Blease, Strauss, Grimes, Maric get going. Scully would be nice too

Wellman is our backs coach right?