So many positives from yesterday. We have reliable and X factor players on every line now.

Spencer has provided the biggest question so far. He brings so many advantages if he's in the side with Max. If we can find a way to not make him a liability when not rucking, we're on a winner.

23 minutes ago, Vogon Poetry said:

And Weideman and AVB.  Can't see Weideman playing on that form and still think he has a lot of development to go.  He just wasn't in the game other than one contested mark and two Joe the goose goals.

Harmes was a disappointment and I don't know what ANB brings. 

Spencer has really opened up some options for us.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

Am I right in thinking Watts was injured in the intra club last week.  I seem to recall an incident where he appeared to hurt himself but then he stayed on so I ignored it. 

I note the usual debate over Tom McDonald.  I don't understand it but perhaps I'm missing something. I think he's great but like all players makes the odd mistake.

And what of Frost?  Was he injured or just not picked?  I thought he was very good in the intra club match.

 

Glenn Luff was saying the same thing on SEN last Thursday.  Apparently he's plus 60 odd % for his position, but gets hammered by Dees supporters for a couple of errant kicks per game.

Re Frost, Max Gawn said in a Dee tv interview during their camp in Queensland that Oscar McDonald and Frost were battling it out for the key defensive post.  They may play games together, but there appears now to be evidence Goodwin doesn't want to play both.  

Edited February 19, 20178 yr by ProDee

Seriously, why some people must pick faults in a well rounded and very promising practice game against last year's premiers is beyond me. Imagine how sad these boards are going to be when we become top 4? Hangover from MFCSS.

It's in their DNA (Demonland Negative Attitude).

39 minutes ago, ProDee said:

Re Frost, Max Gawn said in a Dee tv interview during their camp in Queensland that Oscar McDonald and Frost were battling it out for the key defensive post.  They may play games together, but there appears now to be evidence Goodwin doesn't want to play both.  

I think that makes sense, with the addition of Hibberd there isn't a lot of room down back.

I expect Hibberd will play that undersized third tall so we have more of a running side.

As long as the defenders work together you can play undersized players on the key talls, just have to ensure we don't get exposed on quick rebounds.

Edited February 19, 20178 yr by boydie

2 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

In a day full of positives the biggest worry for me is how putrid Tom McDonald dosposal is still.

That's a myth that many people believe.  He had 10 kicks and 8 or 9 of them were marked by a team-mate.  People sweat on his errors but they are few.  Like Hunt he's playing to instruction to take the game on, there will be an ocassional error but overall his kicking hits his targets, he improved in the 2nd half of last year but people cling to out dated belief.

Can anyone tell me the Watts' situation? Goody mentioned Kent & Tyson as key missing players both pre and post match but no mention of the invisible man.  Have I missed an injury report?

Haven't watched the replay yet, but I don't recall too many T Macs kicks missing targets yesterday. Sure his kicking technique looks ungainly, but I thought his accuracy was much improved compared to what we've seen in prior years.  Think many have a set opinion on T Mac and aren't able to get past it or acknowledge he might actually have improved his kicking.

Of much more concern, and as someone else mentioned, based on a sample of the intra club and yesterday, Harmes' kicking doesn't look to have improved much if at all over the preseason. 

14 hours ago, Dees2014 said:

Totally agree about Spencer and Gawn. We look a lot better and balanced side with Spencer there. It is interesting that with the commentators waking up about Demon potential they can now see what a menace Max will be as a resting forward. Bring it on I say - and Spencil is a very under-rated ruckman which a number of  sides will come to learn in this current season.

I watched him in the ressies grand final and he looked very ordinary. There is a reason he doesn't get games and it wasn't long ago when Gawn wasn't getting a game either.

Repeat all season please:

2 hours ago, Maldonboy38 said:

Finally got to watch a replay of the game. Videos on the home page wont play so I had to wind my way through all the My Account rubbish to watch premium content. Why can't I just click on the game replay and play it? 

Spencer was a huge win for us. Not just his tap work which was very good, but his 2nd and 3rd efforts on the ground and in packs was focused, VERY physical, and actually had some skill involved. Certainly opens up a two-ruck option in our 22.

Joel Smith. Wow. 

Brayshaw remains my main man for 2017. Balance, aggression ad plays both side of his body. 

The biggest win is the whole body of half forwards, mids and half forwards whom we can rotate through the game. Stretch, Salem, Oliver, Jones, Vince, Viney, Brayshaw, Petracca, Hunt, etc... A lot of opposition teams will struggle to cover all of these each week. We seem to have finally risen to be able to match and play modern mid-field football.

Harmes and Melksham were the only two who really seemed to struggle.

However, it is the pre-season. 

Hey Madlonboy, can you specifically tell us how you got to the replays? Likje titan i go to match replays and nothing shows up on http://www.afl.com.au/livepass/match-replays

 

 

1 hour ago, Bay Riffin said:

Hey Madlonboy, can you specifically tell us how you got to the replays? Likje titan i go to match replays and nothing shows up on http://www.afl.com.au/livepass/match-replays

Well you can obviously pay to use Live Pass, but I was hoping that there would be some form of free replay out there.

1 hour ago, Olgreybeard49 said:

Can anyone tell me the Watts' situation? Goody mentioned Kent & Tyson as key missing players both pre and post match but no mention of the invisible man.  Have I missed an injury report?

Watts trained with the main group on Wednesday and wasn't showing any signs of injury then.

2 hours ago, Vogon Poetry said:

And Weideman and AVB.  Can't see Weideman playing on that form and still think he has a lot of development to go.  He just wasn't in the game other than one contested mark and two Joe the goose goals.

Harmes was a disappointment and I don't know what ANB brings. 

Spencer has really opened up some options for us.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

Am I right in thinking Watts was injured in the intra club last week.  I seem to recall an incident where he appeared to hurt himself but then he stayed on so I ignored it. 

I note the usual debate over Tom McDonald.  I don't understand it but perhaps I'm missing something. I think he's great but like all players makes the odd mistake.

And what of Frost?  Was he injured or just not picked?  I thought he was very good in the intra club match.

 

Pretty fair assessment.  

I think Weideman is a long way off and about an even money chance of making it.  Has nous, good skills and good hands but has neither the athleticism or strength and a kpf needs one or the other and preferably both.

In 2017 we have better options.

AVB just looked slow and underdone yesterday.

Rapt to see Salem and Brayshaw showing serious signs.  The midfield looks to be the the area that will improve the most in 2017.  

 

7 hours ago, bandicoot said:

Dogs didn't have more than 2-3 players missing from premiership side. The bont is a big out but so is watts for us. I think Liam picken is jnjured and wouldn't have played anyway 

Dogs had 14 premiership players out there.

54 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Well you can obviously pay to use Live Pass, but I was hoping that there would be some form of free replay out there.

Its on youtube now...

1 hour ago, Stretch Johnson said:

Pretty fair assessment.  

I think Weideman is a long way off and about an even money chance of making it.  Has nous, good skills and good hands but has neither the athleticism or strength and a kpf needs one or the other and preferably both.

In 2017 we have better options.

AVB just looked slow and underdone yesterday.

Rapt to see Salem and Brayshaw showing serious signs.  The midfield looks to be the the area that will improve the most in 2017.  

 

Agree re Weid but he will have 2 more chances to see if he can earn a Round 1 position.

I have Pedo well ahead of him BUT if we do go with 2 ruckmen I can't see Pedo playing in the same team.

Some interesting selection issues for the footy department!

16 hours ago, Dees2014 said:

Totally agree about Spencer and Gawn. We look a lot better and balanced side with Spencer there. It is interesting that with the commentators waking up about Demon potential they can now see what a menace Max will be as a resting forward. Bring it on I say - and Spencil is a very under-rated ruckman which a number of  sides will come to learn in this current season.

He's shed the Spencil tag, he's Jake the Snake now

Re-watched Q1. TMac 3 handballs to open up play. One kick to Hogan contest, spilled to Garlett, goal to Max.  No disposal error or turnovers.

Plenty of ruminations on here already, having witnessed the game at ground level yesterday then re-watched again today here's a few of my random observations:
-Jones left foot disposal was outstanding when called upon. 
-The prolificacy of combination disposals between the 'veteran' stars in Jones, Lewis Vince across the half back line, while the younger midfielders in Oliver, Brayshaw, Salem and Viney did the bulk of the middle of the ground grunt work. 
-Spencer playing very well allowing Gawn to use his skillset up forward.
-Fringe players doing little to change their status as fringe players with very little impact on the overall contest, namely JKH, VDB, Harmes and Nibbler.
-Joel Smiths first half.  For someone who's played relativity little football, his potential was there for all to see today.  Some great tackles and attack on the footy highly promising showing. 
-The disposal skills of Hunt & Melksham off the half back line.  Were very poor. Hunt has to be more than just someone who can run and carry the footy with alacrity, he needs to also concentrate on hitting targets so he doesn't undo all his good work.  We've seen Melksham's propensity to shank the footy at essendon, it was back again in this game. 
-Great to see David Rodan wielding the goal umpires flags. A lot of the centre bounces by field umpires left a lot to be desired. 
-What's better than signing the song after a win? Singing it again 2 hours later when the women also beat the dogs! Perfect end to the night.  
 

That reaching mark Weid took inside 50 in the 2nd (?) showed to me he has it. 

Clearly he's added a bit more muscle. IMO will get about a dozen games this year with a view towards breaking out in 2018, unless injury interferes.

He has me nearly as excited as I am about Hogan over the next few years. Pitching a tent in my pants, as Dazzle so eloquently puts it 

There's still plenty of development to come, which will happen with more games experience and maturity, but I've never been more confident that very good times are just around the corner. 

Yesterday's game reinforced that opinion. 

Late posting but was very impressed with the efforts of Hogan, Salem, Brayshaw, Petracca and Oliver and it was nice to see Garlett back and his unselfish goal assists in the first quarter which gave us the momentum. We are a better team when he is 'on song'!

Edited February 19, 20178 yr by CBDees

20 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

He's shed the Spencil tag, he's Jake the Snake now

If he starts coming up the race with a python around his neck, then that nickname is his!

 

Edited February 19, 20178 yr by Wiseblood

Salem was very good, I was critical of him last year but his sickness was the explanation.  He was great in the contested heat yesterday.