Mid season review - by Sassy

While the hope around the Dees rose with the arrival of Roosy I don't think anyone expected the improvement to come so obviously so quickly. The dees are now playing with a ruthless defensive attitude that looks capable of restricting even the very best sides with the dees biggest enemy still the lapses that seem to come hand in hand with having a young list. Taking out the west coast game which I put down to a rather bad blip on the radar our defence is currently ranked 3rd in the comp and ranked as better than the ladder leader Port Adelaide, an amazing improvement when you consider we entered the season ranked 17th for defence.

Another massive positive is we suddenly have a midfield, the emergence of Dom Tyson and the form of Bernie Vince have been a bit of a surprise to me personally, I viewed Tyson in the same light as a lot of our young players that he would take time to develop, but he hasn't needed it, he has walked in and had an instant impact, probably sitting second in our best and fairest at the moment and showing some signs of being a future super star of the comp. Bernie Vince I knew was a good but inconsistent player, which I think in a lot of ways he has lived up to at the Dees but I wasn't aware of just how good his hot patches are, great disposal, the ability to impact the score board, win contested ball, kick long goals, when Bernie is at his absolute best he is running back to help the defence and he is also running forward and creating shots at goal, fair to say his inclusion has been a good part of our improved performances.

The emergence of some of the lesser likes in my opinion has been the catalyst of the improvement, when you consider Cam Pederson, Mark Jamar, Max Gawn, Lynden Dunn from questionable positions on the list to consistent best 22 AFL level performers has been quite shocking, Cam Pederson in particular has shown far more than I ever thought he was capable of. Jack Watts and Jeremy Howe moving positions has been another huge move, Howe's marking looks a great asset in the backline and Watts finally seems to have found his role.

currently sitting on 3 wins but could be better having been in front in the 4th quarter of games against, Gold Coast, GWS, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs and knocking off last years finalists Richmond and Carlton as well as beating Adelaide in Adelaide almost seems unbelievable when you consider 2013's 2 wins and %54

at this stage i would say the best and fairest would be sitting at

1. Nathan Jones

2. Dom Tyson

3. Lynden Dunn

4. Daniel Cross

5. Tom Mcdonald

not far behind, Cam Pederson, Chris Dawes, Jack Viney

while our next 3 games look tough on paper with the Power, Magpies and Bombers i will watch those games with the belief that not only can we compete but we can win.

Good effort but you missed Bail who for mine has been the standout improver under Roos.

Pre-season I really thought Bail was just marking time until his contract ran out at which point he would find himself in the ejector seat, never to reappear on an AFL list.

While his kicking still needs improvement, it is better, and he has shown a willingness to put his body in and break packs. He has given us some drive around the ground and It's been a terrific effort from him.

Dunn and Howe in defence, I agree have been very good, but I don't agree that Dunn did not deserve his spot previously. People on this site are distracted by his phoney hard guy behaviour but he has always been a contributor.

I think Terlich is another you failed to mention who has lifted too. He has his detractors on this site for his occasional poor disposal but he reads it well and is strong in contests and another solid improver. Football has always been a game that allows players to make good their mistakes - unlike cricket - and Terlich usually makes up for his blues.

Thanks for the read.

I wonder how high Dawes will finish.

He is the sort of player coaches love for their pure devotion to the contest.

Reminiscent of Laurie Fowler taking B&F's off Robert Flower. Flower was pure genius - Fowler was not polished but suicidal crazy at the contest for the full game.

I wonder how high Dawes will finish.

He is the sort of player coaches love for their pure devotion to the contest.

Reminiscent of Laurie Fowler taking B&F's off Robert Flower. Flower was pure genius - Fowler was not polished but suicidal crazy at the contest for the full game.

i consider him our most important player right now.

I wonder how high Dawes will finish.

He is the sort of player coaches love for their pure devotion to the contest.

Reminiscent of Laurie Fowler taking B&F's off Robert Flower. Flower was pure genius - Fowler was not polished but suicidal crazy at the contest for the full game.

I just assumed the vote givers couldn't spell properly. There's no other logical conclusion.

I think Robbie missed a lot of games thru injury and that caused him to miss a few Best and Fairests

The team have certainly performed beyond expectations, and are indeed unlucky not to have won at least a couple more games, especially with the early injuries vs Saints.

The word "competitive" has been used far too often, and inappropriately, over the past five years or more, but now it has true meaning.

With a bit more experience playing together, another pre-season and trading period, I seriously (and I know I say it every year) feel that 2014 will be a very successful season.

GO DEES.