A"smokey"??

I think Jack Fitzpatrick possibly could see some AFL action this year. He is big, a strong mark and for his size very quick.i would not be surprised if he saw some success this year.

Presuming that Clark's out of the side for the first few rounds, I wouldn't be surprised if Fitzy was given some game time. He looks promising and 3 goals from 3 games is a good start

I have a feeling Kent would perform much better in wet weather rather then on a dry day however.

I don't know whether I would agree with this statement since Dean Kent comes from the West where wet grounds are rare. He would have played 90% of his football on dry, firm surfaces.

I reckon Blease was good too as was Strauss which was a good viewing, Grimes will be better this year.....backs and forwards will be ok, midfield will be very average again this year which is why we are some years off being a good side. Got to remember the injections into the midfield (jones, toumpas, viney etc) are first year players at our club and by no means stars

Was pretty average and if someone thought it was great or good then id recommend them to get to a top 4 teams training. Improvement is there but some forget how far back we are coming from that we have to pick up discards rodan, byrnes etc just to have decent role models in the club

Got to keep it real i guess. I do credit neeld and craig for making it more professional at our club though, very thorough so congrats to the footy department

How do you rate (M) Jones, Toumpas and Viney as 'are by no means stars' when they have not yet played AFL? You clearly omitted to use the word "YET"!

I don't know whether I would agree with this statement since Dean Kent comes from the West where wet grounds are rare. He would have played 90% of his football on dry, firm surfaces.

Hmm. Not sure if you were following the line, or perhaps I should say thrust, of the discussion re Kent.

Or I'm a bit slow ... dry, firm surfaces anybody?

I like what Rodan brings off the field. At one stage he and Dom Barry were on the side lines. Whatever Rodan was saying he was most emphatic pointing up the ground etc. For that reason alone he is a great get. He will assist the younger boys in their development and is what we needed years ago. To me he looks comfortable in that role.

Still don't understand why he isn't in the leadership group..

Hmm. Not sure if you were following the line, or perhaps I should say thrust, of the discussion re Kent.

Or I'm a bit slow ... dry, firm surfaces anybody?

It just seemed a bit strange that people agreed that Kent played well on a dry, warm day and yet one poster claimed that he would be a better wet weather footballer. Hard to grasp the logic here. Help me out here bing181.

Anyone have the list of goal kickers and leading disposals for the intra-club?

I know Byrnes kicked 5 and Davey kicked at least one.

Anyone have the list of goal kickers and leading disposals for the intra-club?

I know Byrnes kicked 5 and Davey kicked at least one.

They didn't keep stats.

I do like the sound of Kent. I mean who doesn't love Kent.

I have a feeling Kent would perform much better in wet weather rather then on a dry day however.

I think he was recruited to address our lack of spread...

Lets just hope that when he plays that it doesn't get too hairy

Lol. All of this Kent word play is beginning to be a mouthful.

Wow, all of the above remain in this thread, yet my comment about something fishy gets deleted.

Consistency is alive and well on here at the moment.

It just seemed a bit strange that people agreed that Kent played well on a dry, warm day and yet one poster claimed that he would be a better wet weather footballer. Hard to grasp the logic here. Help me out here bing181.

"Kent" is an oft-employed euphemism for a slightly different word...

They didn't keep stats.

Sure they didn't, I think you mean they didn't release stats.

Sorry that was a smart#$%* comment.

What I was getting at is that everything I've seen in our new coaching program is measured and analysed, the intra game would be no different.

I think this is also about not giving away to much. It's like the supporter who criticises the club for the Deetv clip put up on the web site; gee, it didn't show anything about the game plan, how we will setup this year at stoppages etc, etc.

Edited February 18, 201312 yr by dworship

"Kent" is an oft-employed euphemism for a slightly different word...

Many thanks autocol, I have lived a sheltered life! I'm afraid I took the original comment at face value.

I can't agree with much of that.

Interestingly I heard Inside Football's Brett Anderson discuss the game on my journey back and he thought there had been considerable improvement when compared to last year. I concur.

Out of interest, have you been to any training sessions this preseason ?

I can't agree with much of that.

Interestingly I heard Inside Football's Brett Anderson discuss the game on my journey back and he thought there had been considerable improvement when compared to last year. I concur.

Out of interest, have you been to any training sessions this preseason ?

Yes, three, and I went to about 7 or 8 last season.

Let me clarify my comments.

I have little problem with what we are trying to do to enhance our list . The decisions around Hogan, Viney, Toumpas and our other recruits this year I think have been better quality than in the immediate past.

My doubt is I have not seen any evidence that Neeld and his team have the leadership qualities to get the maximum out of middle ranking players. Apart from Jones, can you name one player with more than 40 games to his name when Neeld arrived who has improved in performance terms under the present regime. I can't. In fact, most of them have gone backwards. I think that was the biggest reason for our abysmal performance last year. Say what you like about Neal Danihar but he did manage to extract maximum performance out of a mediocre list. I think the jury is out on this current regime.

In corporate terms it is called Leadership. Producing a champion team rather than team of champions, the Swans being the most obvious example. What I am saying is that unless there is substantial improvement this year in this direction we will not improve overall.

I very much hope I am wrong, but I fear I am not, and rusted on long term Demon fanatics like me, if they are honest with themselves deep down they would agree.

Edited February 18, 201312 yr by Dees2014

Yes, three, and I went to about 7 or 8 last season.

Let me clarify my comments.

I have little problem with what we are trying to do to enhance our list . The decisions around Hogan, Viney, Toumpas and our other recruits this year I think have been better quality than in the immediate past.

My doubt is I have not seen any evidence that Neeld and his team have the leadership qualities to get the maximum out of middle ranking players. Apart from Jones, can you name one player with more than 40 games to his name when Neeld arrived who has improved in performance terms under the present regime. I can't. In fact, most of them have gone backwards. I think that was the biggest reason for our abysmal performance last year. Say what you like about Neal Danihar but he did manage to extract maximum performance out of a mediocre list. I think the jury is out on this current regime.

In corporate terms it is called Leadership. Producing a champion team rather than team of champions, the Swans being the most obvious example. What I am saying is that unless there is substantial improvement this year in this direction we will not improve overall.

I very much hope I am wrong, but I fear I am not, and rusted on long term Demon fanatics like me, if they are honest with themselves deep down they would agree.

Actually, I don't agree. Daniher was good in the early days of his coaching regime but he was a spent force after five or six seasons and should have been replaced at that time. In his last few years at the club we went backwards in every facet and then, under Bailey we nosedived completely. There was not much player development in his time. One or two improved, the rest remained static or went backward. Last year was a weeding out process and Neeld cleaned house.

I can see improvement coming - not necessarily radical or substantial improvement but gradual. That's a reasonable expectation given our young list.

My doubt is I have not seen any evidence that Neeld and his team have the leadership qualities to get the maximum out of middle ranking players.

You're in luck, because you'll soon be able to test that out.

Byrnes, Rodan, Pederson (amongst others) couldn't get a consistent game at their old clubs. If they now come out this year as solid contributors and regular first-22, that will be entirely down to Neeld, Craig, Misson and co., who will have been able to do what their previous coaching regimes couldn't.

Yes, three, and I went to about 7 or 8 last season.

Let me clarify my comments.

I have little problem with what we are trying to do to enhance our list . The decisions around Hogan, Viney, Toumpas and our other recruits this year I think have been better quality than in the immediate past.

My doubt is I have not seen any evidence that Neeld and his team have the leadership qualities to get the maximum out of middle ranking players. Apart from Jones, can you name one player with more than 40 games to his name when Neeld arrived who has improved in performance terms under the present regime. I can't. In fact, most of them have gone backwards. I think that was the biggest reason for our abysmal performance last year. Say what you like about Neal Danihar but he did manage to extract maximum performance out of a mediocre list. I think the jury is out on this current regime.

In corporate terms it is called Leadership. Producing a champion team rather than team of champions, the Swans being the most obvious example. What I am saying is that unless there is substantial improvement this year in this direction we will not improve overall.

I very much hope I am wrong, but I fear I am not, and rusted on long term Demon fanatics like me, if they are honest with themselves deep down they would agree.

I agree. It's the one thing I'll be looking to this year.

Yes, three, and I went to about 7 or 8 last season.

Let me clarify my comments.

I have little problem with what we are trying to do to enhance our list . The decisions around Hogan, Viney, Toumpas and our other recruits this year I think have been better quality than in the immediate past.

My doubt is I have not seen any evidence that Neeld and his team have the leadership qualities to get the maximum out of middle ranking players. Apart from Jones, can you name one player with more than 40 games to his name when Neeld arrived who has improved in performance terms under the present regime. I can't. In fact, most of them have gone backwards. I think that was the biggest reason for our abysmal performance last year. Say what you like about Neal Danihar but he did manage to extract maximum performance out of a mediocre list. I think the jury is out on this current regime.

In corporate terms it is called Leadership. Producing a champion team rather than team of champions, the Swans being the most obvious example. What I am saying is that unless there is substantial improvement this year in this direction we will not improve overall.

I very much hope I am wrong, but I fear I am not, and rusted on long term Demon fanatics like me, if they are honest with themselves deep down they would agree.

Lets start with Mitch Clark and Jack Grimes and a few yet to get to the 40 in Howe, McDonald and Blease. These players plus Jones and I could probably add Watts who had his best year along with Silvia who started to add team player to potential.

Some that went backwards were really never going forward in the first place. These were the type of players that many rusted on fanatics supported, they were taking the club nowhere.

Others had interrupted seasons with injury, the perennial excuse I know but it needs to be taken into account.

Actually, I don't agree. Daniher was good in the early days of his coaching regime but he was a spent force after five or six seasons and should have been replaced at that time. In his last few years at the club we went backwards in every facet and then, under Bailey we nosedived completely. There was not much player development in his time. One or two improved, the rest remained static or went backward. Last year was a weeding out process and Neeld cleaned house.

I can see improvement coming - not necessarily radical or substantial improvement but gradual. That's a reasonable expectation given our young list.

I think you are agreeing with me. The only fair comparison with Danihar is how he was tracking in the first three years of his tenure. I seem to remember he made a grand final in his third year did he not? Do we really expect this current regime to do the same in 2014?

You're in luck, because you'll soon be able to test that out.

Byrnes, Rodan, Pederson (amongst others) couldn't get a consistent game at their old clubs. If they now come out this year as solid contributors and regular first-22, that will be entirely down to Neeld, Craig, Misson and co., who will have been able to do what their previous coaching regimes couldn't.

I am not talking about them. I am talking about what remains of the list he inherited: Frawley, jamar, Trengove, grimes, sylvia, Bleese, Gawn, Watts, jones, macdonald, McDonald, Fitzpatrick, Davey, tapscott, garland, etc etc. these are the backbone of the club and all I am saying is that without considerable improvement here we will not improve. So far, as a group, they have gone backwards under Neeld.

I am not talking about them. I am talking about what remains of the list he inherited: Frawley, jamar, Trengove, grimes, sylvia, Bleese, Gawn, Watts, jones, macdonald, McDonald, Fitzpatrick, Davey, tapscott, garland, etc etc. these are the backbone of the club and all I am saying is that without considerable improvement here we will not improve. So far, as a group, they have gone backwards under Neeld.

Gawn gone backwards? He was out all year injured, so how can you say which way he's gone. He didn't play a match.

Edited February 18, 201312 yr by bing181

I am not talking about them.

I am. You're saying Neeld can't coach or get the best out of players. Well, let's see.

I think you are agreeing with me. The only fair comparison with Danihar is how he was tracking in the first three years of his tenure. I seem to remember he made a grand final in his third year did he not? Do we really expect this current regime to do the same in 2014?

Daniher's playing list during that period was far different in terms of maturity and experience than the one Neeld inherited and the game is substantially different.

Neeld will get improvement out of the team but you won't get a grand final appearance by 2014.

I am not talking about them. I am talking about what remains of the list he inherited: Frawley, jamar, Trengove, grimes, sylvia, Bleese, Gawn, Watts, jones, macdonald, McDonald, Fitzpatrick, Davey, tapscott, garland, etc etc. these are the backbone of the club and all I am saying is that without considerable improvement here we will not improve. So far, as a group, they have gone backwards under Neeld.

No they haven't, I would say that Grimes, Sylvia, Blease, Watts, Jones, MacDonald, McDonald, Howe and Clark have gone forward. Frawley and Garland have stalled, I think Fitzpatrick has improved in his attitude and approach to the game, Trengove was carrying something last year, Tappy is at the crossroads and Davey is nearing the end.

I am not talking about them. I am talking about what remains of the list he inherited: Frawley, jamar, Trengove, grimes, sylvia, Bleese, Gawn, Watts, jones, macdonald, McDonald, Fitzpatrick, Davey, tapscott, garland, etc etc. these are the backbone of the club and all I am saying is that without considerable improvement here we will not improve. So far, as a group, they have gone backwards under Neeld.

????????????????????????????

No they haven't, I would say that Grimes, Sylvia, Blease, Watts, Jones, MacDonald, McDonald, Howe and Clark have gone forward. Frawley and Garland have stalled, I think Fitzpatrick has improved in his attitude and approach to the game, Trengove was carrying something last year, Tappy is at the crossroads and Davey is nearing the end.

And not forgetting that Garland was played out of position for a goodly portion of last year, and Tappy missed most (all?) of the pre-season.