Getting excited about talent is all part of the fun I thought. Stuff tempering expectations - I go all in. I know I might end up bitterly disappointed again, but one of these days I'm bound to be right and it'll be worth it, surely?

A big difference about this preseason to many prior is that when ever the noobs arrive they are well and truly just apprentices. No ones got any expectations of their mercurial ability to suddenly be "THAT" player...the one to finally lift us.

 

We are past that. Looking forward to my first session of the year whenever I get there. I expect to see a real team training in real footy ideals. Not a kindergarten for dreams !!

 

go Dees  and thakks all for the reports...superlative efforts all round

The difference these days, if you want to be better, we have coaches and programs that will help you

Forgot this bit from training

Me "Macca what do you think of Jack's hair"

Macca "I don't care what colour they have their hair, as long as the head it's on is over the ball"

Emma Quayle has done her rundown of every team's list and what they need to draft.  She says of the Dees that they have put themselves in a position where there are no holes or weaknesses that need to be filled, allowing them to simply take the best available player at each pick. 

Quote

The Demons have got themselves into a position where they have no pressing needs and could afford to trade (largely) out of the draft...  The club could do with bringing in another tall defender to start developing...  Melbourne see Mitch King progressing as a ruck prospect, but could look at bringing another in given how long they can take to play...  Really though, they have drafted well for a few years in a row, and have improved their list through Hibberd. They're well placed to simply call out the first names on their list when it is their turn to choose. 

Nice to not be seen as a basket-case anymore, isn't it? 

 

Edit:  I have no idea why I thought this should be included in the training thread.  I'm pretty sure I had a reason, but it's now escaped me.  Ah well. 

Can't pick a best 22. I like that. 5 years ago I couldn't count past a best 10.

Dunno where this train ride ends, but it's nice to know it's not going to be at the bottom of the table.

And thanks all for the reports.

17 hours ago, Vogon Poetry said:

I think half the fun of footy is being optimistic but again if you're a little jaded I can understand your approach even if it is a little defeatist.

I've been chatting to ProDee who pointed out some really interesting things.  He said Jayden Hunt in 2015 played 7 games for the Casey seniors and his highest stats were 11 (twice).  Smith got 11 disposals or more in 10 of his 13 games.  He also observed that Smith got 20 possessions three time last year (one was the PF) so by comparison he's well ahead of Hunt's 2015 and the PF was not an aberration but a continuation of his development.

He went on to point out that Dreamteam stats are a silly way to judge a defender.  They ignore a players ability to stop his forward and even excellent defenders like Tom McDonald only average 68 points a game.  Anyway I'm excited about him and think he will be a very good player. I suggest you get on board.

The comparison between Jayden Hunt (2014) and Joel Smith (2015) at Casey isn't really valid. Hunt was used very sparingly because he was coming off a long term back injury and was played on a HFF. Nevertheless, he did achieve the honour of being his club's equal top goalkicker. By way of contrast the other equal top goalkicker was Max King who by the end of this year was playing in the development league and has now been delisted. There you had two players who you could have been excited about 12 months ago but one took the step up and the other went the other way. 

Although dream team points might not be the best way to judge a defender, you missed the fact that Joel Smith hardly got in the published best player votes while the example you gave of Tom McDonald as a defender who only averages 68 points a game, is regularly quoted in our best players at seniors level.

The point is we shouldn't put too much pressure on a kid trying to make it in the game. He isn't even on our senior list yet.

I'm also upbeat about Smith, especially as he has obviously built up so much from last year.  Last year he didn't seem to have the bulk to compete inside and maybe that's one of the reasons his possession count was down. No-one has answered the question yet regarding Smith's tank.  How does he compare with others in endurance at training this year?

 

On 19 November 2016 at 11:58 PM, Whispering_Jack said:

I know the club has a high regard of Smith but the figures don't bear out your argument. 

Smith's preliminary final game was his best for the year statistically. He scored 79 dream team points that day and this was matched by him only once after he recovered from his groin injury and that was against Coburg when the team won by 14 goals. His next best was in the 60's in his first game back from injury against Sandringham. He was well behind the team average and wasn't getting named in the best players or polling votes from the umpires. I didn't go back to check his stats pre injury - I saw enough to say he was patchy. 

He's a good prospect and has come back in good nick but let's not get too carried away just yet.

Thanks for posting this WJ.  I have seen little of Smith, so have no idea how he is progressing, but did rely a little on this forum to keep me updated.

There seemed to be a little bit of ramping going on toward the end of the year, so much so that some posters were calling for him to be elevated to the primary list.  Needless to say, I was very sceptical about that, and while you aren't our list manager, your above post has confirmed that I should hold off a little longer before I sell the farm for the boy.

4 hours ago, billy2803 said:

Thanks for posting this WJ.  I have seen little of Smith, so have no idea how he is progressing, but did rely a little on this forum to keep me updated.

There seemed to be a little bit of ramping going on toward the end of the year, so much so that some posters were calling for him to be elevated to the primary list.  Needless to say, I was very sceptical about that, and while you aren't our list manager, your above post has confirmed that I should hold off a little longer before I sell the farm for the boy.

You're not selling you're buying.  Some getting on at bargain price, you'll end paying top dollar later.

On 11/20/2016 at 0:54 PM, Vogon Poetry said:

I think half the fun of footy is being optimistic but again if you're a little jaded I can understand your approach even if it is a little defeatist.

I've been chatting to ProDee who pointed out some really interesting things.  He said Jayden Hunt in 2015 played 7 games for the Casey seniors and his highest stats were 11 (twice).  Smith got 11 disposals or more in 10 of his 13 games.  He also observed that Smith got 20 possessions three time last year (one was the PF) so by comparison he's well ahead of Hunt's 2015 and the PF was not an aberration but a continuation of his development.

He went on to point out that Dreamteam stats are a silly way to judge a defender.  They ignore a players ability to stop his forward and even excellent defenders like Tom McDonald only average 68 points a game.  Anyway I'm excited about him and think he will be a very good player. I suggest you get on board.

I'm visualising Whispering Jack as a mini-me version of our poster Jaded. Which is hard, because I don't know what Jaded actually looks like.