I have renewed hope for our club. With a favorable draw I have a feeling we can crack the 8.

A breath of fresh air has swept through the club. We have a new coach, new supporting staff, and that much needed big bodied forward we have lacked since Neitz retired.

My hope was a little diminished after the debacle that was 2011, I was expecting a finish of around 13-10 for season 2012. But after landing Clark we now have more freedom in the way we attack- we are now free to;

• Keep our ruckmen fresh - no need to "rest" in the forward line anymore
  
• Give our midfielders a definitive target - allows us to "bomb it in long" more often without having to pinpoint a lead every time
  
• Take the number 1 defender off Watts, the number 2 off Jurrah and so on- end result- someone will have a weak opponent.
  
• Allows us to keep Martin down back if we are under siege.
  

We also now have some forward presence which is huge. Also should any unfortunate injury take place in the ruck we can now cover it with someone who will at least break even with the best.

It's amazing how the inclusion of a good needs type player can help the structure of a football club, and none can change the structure as much as a big body forward. Especially when you have been lacking one for so long..

Fingers crossed Demonblood!

Lets just get rid of the blow out defeats and be a side that is hard to beat every week.

Continued improvement in the kids

A structure in place along with Plans A, B & C

Platform for 2013 not to just fall into the 8 but make Top 6 to win 1 final

and then genuine contenders after that for several years

I like Al davis's quote. He was the long time owner of the Oakland Raiders who just recently passed away. JUST WIN BABY!

Don't reckon we need a "Favourable Draw" .

If Neeld can get the best out of our llist and lose the "Bruise Free" part of our game then the sky's the limit !

He's nailed Clark in the last day or so and I'm suitably impressed .

In fact , a reasonably tough first 6 - 8 games would give us all a better indication of whether Mark has "Got it" or not .

Soft early season wins can cloud your thinking .

I reckon we play finals next year regardless of our draw .

Sydney first up and then the Hawks ( just like this year ) is what I'd like to see . We need to be tested under our new Coach .

I like Al davis's quote. He was the long time owner of the Oakland Raiders who just recently passed away. JUST WIN BABY!

Sadly for Al he had one good year and because of poor drafting has occupied the cellar for the previous 5 or 6 years. Sound familiar?!

Only kidding, I also like the quote a Just winning would be something that I could seriously get excited for.

Sadly for Al he had one good year and because of poor drafting has occupied the cellar for the previous 5 or 6 years. Sound familiar?!

Only kidding, I also like the quote a Just winning would be something that I could seriously get excited for.

Poor Al I know it must have gutted him each year the raiders bombed out. They look pretty good this year that win against Houston after Al passed on was awesome and i'm no raiders fan I'm a vikings man (unfortunately). Sorry, to get back on track GO DEE'S!

Don't reckon we need a "Favourable Draw" .

If Neeld can get the best out of our llist and lose the "Bruise Free" part of our game then the sky's the limit !

He's nailed Clark in the last day or so and I'm suitably impressed .

In fact , a reasonably tough first 6 - 8 games would give us all a better indication of whether Mark has "Got it" or not .

Soft early season wins can cloud your thinking .

I reckon we play finals next year regardless of our draw .

Sydney first up and then the Hawks ( just like this year ) is what I'd like to see . We need to be tested under our new Coach .

Now Nuggets he is one player.

And while I am happy we have him lets not get too carried away.

Ten wins and only a couple of big losses will be a hell of an improvement over 2011.

Don't forget how bad we were this year.

We are coming from a long way back.

Despite the massive fillip of the Clark signing, I think we'd do well to keep a lid on the expectation heading in to '012. We've simply been sucked into the spruiking for far too long to get too overexcited this time.

Despite the new, dynamic looking forward line and ruck set-up, Neeld's vision will take time to gel and he'll need a bit of time to weed out those who don't have the stomach for the bumps and bruises of the new 'Demons footy'. Making the eight will be a bonus next season but we should definitely expect improvement and a far more spirited approach to each and every game.

It's bodies on the line time!

Edited October 16, 201113 yr by Yoda

Now Nuggets he is one player.

And while I am happy we have him lets not get too carried away.

Ten wins and only a couple of big losses will be a hell of an improvement over 2011.

Don't forget how bad we were this year.

We are coming from a long way back.

Yep , we were terrible this year and the biggest underachieving team of the year .

So , the upside is that we can play a whole lot better .

I'm also in the camp that NEVER rated Bailey as a Coach .

My gut feel is that Neeld will be so good that even the most ardent Bailey fans will see the light .

There has been zero emphasis on the fundamentals of the game in the last 4 years

Play in front of your man , First in for the ball , Don't panic when you get hold of the pill , Beat your opponent , Old school stuff I know , but the things that all good teams do FIRST ............................Game plans , Zones , Forward line pressure etc are flow on effects from the fundamentals of the game (as you well know).

I'm an old( ish ) Dee myself so I know that we probably think alike anyway "old dee" !

Anyway , Isn't it better to spend the next 5 - 6 months believing that we're gonna get somewhere next year - we've got loads of untapped talent haven't we ?

Well..theres a number of ways of looking at all of this but this season amazingly were effectively only 3 games out of the 8.

There were games in which we were insipid....and then there was the Geelong game !!! A correction of ability if only attributed to a more hardened and 'winning" approach as apposed to the 'loss containment " approach ought not be that far a journey.

I would have thought simply making the 8 was a minimal aim. But this ought to be taken care of as we'll be the hardest team to play.... so they say B)