Looks like Fitzy is definitely being groomed as a backman. Question is, who is he going to replace. I wonder if they will just groom him to only play games against teams who have 20cm+ forwards. Noticed we had no one tall enough to compete against Daniher in the NAB when we played the bummers. M Clark, Boyd and several other teams have forwards this tall now. Some other teams have 200cm+ backs. Eg Keefe at Pies.

I guess they are also accepting he isn't going to make it as a forward. I would have thought we are in much more need of a 200cm forward than a back.

Or trying to develop his versatility as a swing man. Handy to have someone on the bench who can ruck and play forward and back.

Looks like Fitzy is definitely being groomed as a backman. Question is, who is he going to replace. I wonder if they will just groom him to only play games against teams who have 20cm+ forwards. Noticed we had no one tall enough to compete against Daniher in the NAB when we played the bummers. M Clark, Boyd and several other teams have forwards this tall now. Some other teams have 200cm+ backs. Eg Keefe at Pies.

I guess they are also accepting he isn't going to make it as a forward. I would have thought we are in much more need of a 200cm forward than a back.

Every team in both the AFL and VFL hasa 20cm+ forward!

Or trying to develop his versatility as a swing man. Handy to have someone on the bench who can ruck and play forward and back.

or just trying to get him into the action more, & under pressure, for him to gain experience & confidence under that pressure, & therefore to develop him & his game to a higher level, than it was.

I'm happy for him to play back, but I don't think for one minute that this pigeon holes him to anything.

Every team in both the AFL and VFL has a 20cm+ forward!

yes true,,, but they're 20cm- smalls are hard to get hold of

I find this sudden appreciation of Fitzy rather bemusing. He plays one good game as a backman against a pretty poor side and we are quick to sing his praises and some sort of swing man who will bring all these positives to the senior side.

How quickly we forget that he was tried as a second ruckman... and failed. He was then tried as a key forward... and failed. I'm hopeful that this trial down back brings something good to his game but let's not get carried away here. Gawn, Spencer and Pedersen will all get a gig before he does.

I find this sudden appreciation of Fitzy rather bemusing. He plays one good game as a backman against a pretty poor side and we are quick to sing his praises and some sort of swing man who will bring all these positives to the senior side.

How quickly we forget that he was tried as a second ruckman... and failed. He was then tried as a key forward... and failed. I'm hopeful that this trial down back brings something good to his game but let's not get carried away here. Gawn, Spencer and Pedersen will all get a gig before he does.

You really hate this bloke don't you?

I'm rapt he's showing something in defense and hope that he becomes a weapon against the Danihers and Tippets of the AFL world.

You really hate this bloke don't you?

I'm rapt he's showing something in defense and hope that he becomes a weapon against the Danihers and Tippets of the AFL world.

Hate is a strong word angrydee - I don't hate any player on our list. Not even close. It's more a comment on how easily our views on various players can fluctuate so quickly. If someone plays a half decent game in the magoos they can be talked up as someone who can come in make a large difference to the side - some players will have that capacity but there are others, like Fitzy, that in my opinion won't make that impact. McKenzie, M. Jones and to a lesser extent Bail, are others in this group.

I find this sudden appreciation of Fitzy rather bemusing. He plays one good game as a backman against a pretty poor side and we are quick to sing his praises and some sort of swing man who will bring all these positives to the senior side.

How quickly we forget that he was tried as a second ruckman... and failed. He was then tried as a key forward... and failed. I'm hopeful that this trial down back brings something good to his game but let's not get carried away here. Gawn, Spencer and Pedersen will all get a gig before he does.

he hasn't failed at all, his train hasn't arrived, or stopped just yet.

he isn't 24 as yet. but he sounds & looks like he is starting to mature, is now on the Paleo diet I presume, with the rest, & I think this may well help him with his health issues.

He's got the raw talent sets that we need, & hopefully will do enough this season to get more time to further his game.

He's got the raw talent sets that we need, & hopefully will do enough this season to get more time to further his game.

I hope all of our players make it mate, but Fitz is one of those that, to me, won't. It's not a knock on him personally, I just don't see him cutting it at AFL level based on what I've seen.

I hope all of our players make it mate, but Fitz is one of those that, to me, won't. It's not a knock on him personally, I just don't see him cutting it at AFL level based on what I've seen.

Look at the 'glass half full'! We are lucky to have a 200cm player on our list that our coaches can groom into a KPP at either end. He is too young to discard this early and we have already seen players like Martin and Pike go off and achieve success at the Lions.

He plays one good game as a backman against a pretty poor side and we are quick to sing his praises and some sort of swing man who will bring all these positives to the senior side.

It's a bit more than one good game. He's been working into it over the last month or so, with increasingly positive reports across that time.

I find this sudden appreciation of Fitzy rather bemusing. He plays one good game as a backman against a pretty poor side and we are quick to sing his praises and some sort of swing man who will bring all these positives to the senior side.

How quickly we forget that he was tried as a second ruckman... and failed. He was then tried as a key forward... and failed. I'm hopeful that this trial down back brings something good to his game but let's not get carried away here. Gawn, Spencer and Pedersen will all get a gig before he does.

This. We are crying out for a 2nd ruckman who can pinch hit as a forward/back, and Fitzpatrick is not even training with the rucks. We are also crying out for someone who can offer more than Dawes as a key forward, and Fitzpatrick is being played as a backman.

I watched the 1st quarter against Frankston where Fitzpatrick was heavily involved due to the wind going Frankston's way. Some are lauding him with praise, and whilst he did 1 or 2 good things, he committed 3 errors that won't see him being considered for senior selection in the near future. And that's against opposition that is sub VFL standard.

This. We are crying out for a 2nd ruckman who can pinch hit as a forward/back, and Fitzpatrick is not even training with the rucks. We are also crying out for someone who can offer more than Dawes as a key forward, and Fitzpatrick is being played as a backman.

I watched the 1st quarter against Frankston where Fitzpatrick was heavily involved due to the wind going Frankston's way. Some are lauding him with praise, and whilst he did 1 or 2 good things, he committed 3 errors that won't see him being considered for senior selection in the near future. And that's against opposition that is sub VFL standard.

So what errors were they?

So what errors were they?

1. After taking a mark, he tries a 25 metre pass over the man on the mark, to a stationary teammate. The ball was easily intercepted because Fitzpatrick's kick was like a lob wedge into the wind, and took an eternity to get to his teammate. It was a stupid option rather than a poor kick.

2. Twice he badly misread the flight of the ball, once allowing his opponent to mark, and the other time he should have taken an uncontested mark.

Saty, we know that like training, you only watch games with rose coloured glasses, so give it a rest.

1. After taking a mark, he tries a 25 metre pass over the man on the mark, to a stationary teammate. The ball was easily intercepted because Fitzpatrick's kick was like a lob wedge into the wind, and took an eternity to get to his teammate. It was a stupid option rather than a poor kick.

2. Twice he badly misread the flight of the ball, once allowing his opponent to mark, and the other time he should have taken an uncontested mark.

Some of the micro-analysis on here is just getting ridiculous.

Some of the micro-analysis on here is just getting ridiculous.

Wrong in this case bing - mo64 just said he made errors. Saty was the one who prompted him with the question of what they were, so he answered. Not his fault.

Some of the micro-analysis on here is just getting ridiculous.

Hang on. So you're saying that the coaching/selection panel take a Saty view on games, and only care about the positive acts?

A players' performance should be based on the sum total of their postive acts less mistakes. If that's too deep for you then your opinions on players are pointless.

Hang on. So you're saying that the coaching/selection panel take a Saty view on games, and only care about the positive acts?

I'm sure the panel takes into account a global view, including a large amount of information that none of us are privy to. I'm equally sure that the panel makes their decisions from the point of view of experienced professionals, and will weight the value of a kick not reaching its intended target accordingly and in context.

A players' performance should be based on the sum total of their postive acts less mistakes. If that's too deep for you ...

That's deep?

I would have seen it as a superficial analysis myself. Each to their own I guess.

The official Match Report from Casey - Scorpions secure first up win

The coach's assessment of the Demons players from the first round - VFL Player review - Round 1

1. After taking a mark, he tries a 25 metre pass over the man on the mark, to a stationary teammate. The ball was easily intercepted because Fitzpatrick's kick was like a lob wedge into the wind, and took an eternity to get to his teammate. It was a stupid option rather than a poor kick.

2. Twice he badly misread the flight of the ball, once allowing his opponent to mark, and the other time he should have taken an uncontested mark.

Saty, we know that like training, you only watch games with rose coloured glasses, so give it a rest.

And the third error was?

Melbourne website has the first 2 quarters up (not sure if mentioned yet). After watching those quarters i feel a lot better about keeping Dawes and Watts in the team (will never get dropped). We really have our best 22 playing AFL. Looking forward to Friday night Go DEES!

The coach's assessment of the Demons players from the first round - VFL Player review - Round 1

Wow! Judging from Plapp's effusive praise for the Melbourne players performance at Casey, maybe we should let them play Richmond this Friday and give our first 22 the weekend off?