Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Demonland

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Featured Replies

Nothing more annoying and frustrating than a 'straight bat';

"I will play where ever the coach wants me"

It's the biggest load of [censored] ever. Fritsch would be [censored] angry that Badloss keeps playing him in the backline.

I hope he re-signs for 2 years, but I hope I never see him in that back line again.

He's a forward, play him forward. 

 
12 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

He's a third tall forward and our master coach has variously played him as a backman and a lone forward.

Like most on our list has actually gone backwards each year

Fritsch was great at the end of last season as a lead up forward, he was on fire kicking plenty of goals and taking 10 marks a game.

So Goodwin found his position, by luck or otherwise, and then he stopped playing him there!!   What is wrong with our coach

IMO, Goodwin's decision to put him behind the ball was as moronic a coaching call as any Goodwin has made.

The idea to even drop a player behind the ball is a bad idea from the start - how much more evidence has Goodwin needed over 2017-20 to see that we struggle to score when we're outnumbered forward of centre?

He then picks a player he spent two-thirds of 2019 playing in defence, to no avail. Who happens to be our leading goalscorer this year.

And then, whatever message was sent to Fritsch didn't work, as Fritsch was showing no intensity, wasn't zoning off well, wasn't in any particularly useful position on the ground, and had no impact.

In a long, long list of decisions made by Goodwin that I have disagreed with (one other was last night: using Melksham as a tagger on Fyfe), this one is right up there.

 
2 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

IMO, Goodwin's decision to put him behind the ball was as moronic a coaching call as any Goodwin has made.

The idea to even drop a player behind the ball is a bad idea from the start - how much more evidence has Goodwin needed over 2017-20 to see that we struggle to score when we're outnumbered forward of centre?

He then picks a player he spent two-thirds of 2019 playing in defence, to no avail. Who happens to be our leading goalscorer this year.

And then, whatever message was sent to Fritsch didn't work, as Fritsch was showing no intensity, wasn't zoning off well, wasn't in any particularly useful position on the ground, and had no impact.

In a long, long list of decisions made by Goodwin that I have disagreed with (one other was last night: using Melksham as a tagger on Fyfe), this one is right up there.

Very difficult to disagree tu.


32 minutes ago, Elegt said:

Does this guy practice goalkicking at training

It's a good question, I'm sick of the commentators saying "he's a beautiful kick of the footy". It may come off the boot nice most of the time but he's inaccurate and has missed some absolute howlers. His mission over summer should be to become the most reliable set shot for goal in the team. Practice with crowd screaming in his ears, practice with one eye shut, with the ball having been dunked in water I don't care, but he needs to get better at it.

52 minutes ago, Elegt said:

Does this guy practice goalkicking at training

Probably practices his shots 20m out directly in front

17 minutes ago, Pates said:

It's a good question, I'm sick of the commentators saying "he's a beautiful kick of the footy". It may come off the boot nice most of the time but he's inaccurate and has missed some absolute howlers. His mission over summer should be to become the most reliable set shot for goal in the team. Practice with crowd screaming in his ears, practice with one eye shut, with the ball having been dunked in water I don't care, but he needs to get better at it.

A lot of people have criticised him for being soft. I don't really care if he's averaging at least two goals a game.

But.... his kicking has turned to poo. I think his poor kicking has actually cost us games this year (I know he's not the only one).

He gets in the right position to kick goals. The club needs to work really hard with him to fix his woeful set shots.

 

He's not soft but he is a dumb footy player.

He is the most infuriating player we have; it's not his fault he is the main forward alot of the time but he rarely leads at the footy, he tries to body out too much, he goes up for speccys with a childlike cadence, and he looks like a terrified kitten when lining up for goal.

Apparently, he takes 50 shots before the game. It isn't helping - he should stop doing that - he is obviously putting the weight of the world on himself every time he lines up for goal.

And he shouldn't put that pressure on himself - if he is the difference between us winning and losing then we don't have a very good team...

I am always harder on forwards but he really gives me the [censored].

Probably the most frustrating bloke this year.
Real talent. Real absences. 

His goalkicking accuracy ?  19.20 this year is not good enough.  Should be 26.13 with some of his poor misses. 

I went to the Bulldogs game and prior to the start, Fritsch must have had at least 30 shots at goal in 15 minute warm up. He nailed virtually everyone. I think he missed 1 out of 30. Shots were all roughly 30-35 metres out on 45degree angle left and right and straight in front. Only remember one snap close in a pocket about 10 metres out at the end. No one on the mark. No running shots or pickup running burst kick. 
In the actual game he missed shots under pressure. 1goal 2behinds 2onthefull 
 

The problem 

1- his kicks are not always nice 30m out in front. There’s angles and sometimes in the pocket or pressure or a man on the mark. He needs to simulate match like Goalkicking. 
 

2- he is so laconic. He missed a chance v giants to take off after one mark when his opponent had fallen over. His lack of urgency or intensity or slowness to kick or handball means turnovers. 
 

3- his marking is very good BUT HE IS OFTEN BEHIND HIS OPPONENT AND SHOWS LAZINESS. He twice went for speccys v Haynes and then finally played the percentage shoulder into body move and mark in the space out the back. Result!! 
 

Fritsch can be good and a real danger up forward but he needs a rocket up him.  He needs intensity. His skills are generally good. He needs to play the smart way.  His kicking must be firm and direct , and not layback style. 


Took a great mark in the last and then slotted it, under immense pressure,  in a finals type game. Gotta give the guy a bit of love here too. 

31 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

he is so laconic

You might need to look up the meaning of the word 'laconic'.

35 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

he is so laconic

 

3 minutes ago, Wobbly Bob said:

You might need to look up the meaning of the word 'laconic'.

Spirit may be too laid back to look that up

41 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Probably the most frustrating bloke this year.
Real talent. Real absences. 

His goalkicking accuracy ?  19.20 this year is not good enough.  Should be 26.13 with some of his poor misses. 

I went to the Bulldogs game and prior to the start, Fritsch must have had at least 30 shots at goal in 15 minute warm up. He nailed virtually everyone. I think he missed 1 out of 30. Shots were all roughly 30-35 metres out on 45degree angle left and right and straight in front. Only remember one snap close in a pocket about 10 metres out at the end. No one on the mark. No running shots or pickup running burst kick. 
In the actual game he missed shots under pressure. 1goal 2behinds 2onthefull 
 

The problem 

1- his kicks are not always nice 30m out in front. There’s angles and sometimes in the pocket or pressure or a man on the mark. He needs to simulate match like Goalkicking. 
 

2- he is so laconic. He missed a chance v giants to take off after one mark when his opponent had fallen over. His lack of urgency or intensity or slowness to kick or handball means turnovers. 
 

3- his marking is very good BUT HE IS OFTEN BEHIND HIS OPPONENT AND SHOWS LAZINESS. He twice went for speccys v Haynes and then finally played the percentage shoulder into body move and mark in the space out the back. Result!! 
 

Fritsch can be good and a real danger up forward but he needs a rocket up him.  He needs intensity. His skills are generally good. He needs to play the smart way.  His kicking must be firm and direct , and not layback style. 

Smithy

Totally agree with everything you have posted. Seriously are the Coaches putting time into Bayley ?

If not we are ignoring a classy player who is under achieving and under performing.

Bayley is a good mark one in one If he is in front mainly or manoeuvres to the right side where the ball is directed,   also occasionally contested ( not recommended to try very often) also has great  skills but dies nit use them aggressively or smartly.

Only other improvement is his poor tackling which may be due to his light body frame.

Bayley will be a great player an A grader if he works to improve his already good skill base.

I estimate he could kick 2 more goals most games he is playing and also a breakout 5 goals is in the horizon if he is trained and encouraged properly.

its our elephant in the room again development. Development and development!!!

14 minutes ago, 58er said:

Its our elephant in the room again development. Development and development!!!

Yep it seems no matter how far we come we can't seem to get past this issue of turning good players into something more.


Biggest issue for mine is his refusal to take the front spot as a forward

He lacks defensive intensity but he’s hardly alone there; it’s something our whole side needs to improve on

I still think he’s a huge part of our side going forward

3 hours ago, Brownie said:

A lot of people have criticised him for being soft. I don't really care if he's averaging at least two goals a game.

But.... his kicking has turned to poo. I think his poor kicking has actually cost us games this year (I know he's not the only one).

He gets in the right position to kick goals. The club needs to work really hard with him to fix his woeful set shots.

Doesn't help that he always leads to the pockets 

I think we all agree. He has the talent. It’s his intensity that can lift, improved goalkicking accuracy will help, and he needs to play smart footy starting with getting in front. I’d like to see him get a 3 or 4 goal game this week. 

15 hours ago, Elegt said:

Doesn't help that he always leads to the pockets 

100% agree with that.

Fritsch misses so many shots because so many of his shots are on difficult angles.


15 minutes ago, adonski said:

We've traded Jack Watts for Jack Watts

 

download.jpg

16 hours ago, whatwhatsaywhat said:

Biggest issue for mine is his refusal to take the front spot as a forward

He lacks defensive intensity but he’s hardly alone there; it’s something our whole side needs to improve on

I still think he’s a huge part of our side going forward

A lot of that is we ask our deepest forward to lead back towards goal to open up space in front of them for the other forwards to duck in to or for the deep guy to cut back and lead in to.

Too often we bomb the ball to the deep forward too late for them to get it over the top - because we don't run, handball and kick over the top - and too early for them to double back. Plus ignore the guys filling the space created. 

It's far from the worst plan, it just needs the deep guy to realise on occasion the get deep game plan is not the right option and he has to keep front position. That said, front position without the momentum of a lead or the ability to hold space to one side or another isn't a great way to win a contest either. Defenders are too good for that.

Melksham and Petracca can kick the 60m darts that get the ball to the deep guy over the top. Others like Spargo and Koz can hit up the short leads filling space created - and can also be the short leads in that spot. If we cut out the players who love to get the ball 70m out, ignore the quick option but be too impatient for the right option we'll see a lot less of our forwards playing from behind.

 

Twigs build up into trees......

needs to start kicking around his body as he clearly can't handle the drop punt at the moment. 

 


Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

Featured Content

  • AFLW PREVIEW: Western Bulldogs

    The Dogs reigned supreme in 2018 with an inaugural AFLW premiership cup and the Demons matched this feat by winning the cup as the Season 7 2022 champions.Meggs wasn’t born when the Doggies won their first VFL premiership cup against the Demons in 1954. Covid prevented many Demons fans from legally witnessing the victorious 2021 AFL Grand Final cup performance between the Demons and the Bulldogs, but we all grin when remembering those magnificent seven third quarter goals.  

    • 1 reply
  • PREVIEW: Hawthorn

    Hawthorn and Melbourne. Two teams with impressive form from last week but with seasons that are travelling on different trajectories meet in Saturday’s twilight game for what could well be the most intriguing contest of the AFL’s penultimate round. Sadly, the game has been relegated to that unappealing time slot in the weekend when Melburnians are typically preoccupied with activities other than football. It falls between the morning's shopping, afternoon sport and recreation, and Saturday night fever. A time usually reserved for relatively insignificant events but this one is not a nothingburger for either of the clubs or their fans.

    • 0 replies
  • AFLW: 2025 Season Preview

    Ten seasons. Eighteen teams. With the young talent pathway finally fully connected, Women’s Australian Rules football is building momentum and Season 2025 promises to be the best yet. In advance of Season 10, the AFL leadership has engaged in candid discussions with all clubs regarding strategies to boost attendance and expand fan bases. Concerningly, average attendances in 2024 were 2,660 fans per match, with the women’s game incurring an annual loss of approximately $50 million.

    • 0 replies
  • REPORT: Western Bulldogs

    The next coach of the Melbourne Football Club faces the challenge of teaching his players how to win games against all comers. At times during this tumultuous season, that task has seemed daunting, made more so in light of the surprise news last week of the sacking of premiership coach Simon Goodwin. However, there were also some positive signs from yesterday’s match against the Western Bulldogs that the challenge may not be as difficult as one might think. The two sides presented a genuine football spectacle, featuring pulsating competitive play with eight lead changes throughout the afternoon, in a display befitting a finals match.The result could have gone either way and in the end, it came down to which team could produce the most desperate of acts to provide a winning result. It was the Bulldogs who had their season on the line that won out by a six point margin that fitted the game and the effort of both sides.

    • 0 replies
  • CASEY: Brisbane

    The rain had been falling heavily in south east Queensland when the match began at Springfield, west of Brisbane. The teams exchanged early goals and then the Casey Demons proceeded like a house on fire in the penultimate game of the VFL season against a strong opponent in the Brisbane Lions. Sparked by strong play around the ground by seasoned players in Charlie Spargo and Jack Billings, a strong effort from Bailey Laurie and promising work from youngsters in Kynan Brown and  Koltyn Tholstrup, the Demons with multiple goal kickers firing, raced to a 27 point lead late in the opening stanza. A highlight was a wonderful goal from Laurie who brilliantly sidestepped two opponents and kicked beautifully from 45 metres out.

    • 0 replies
  • PREGAME: Hawthorn

    The Demons return to the MCG this time as the visiting team where they get another opportunity to put a dent into a team's top 8 placing when they take on the Hawks on Saturday afternoon. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Like
    • 159 replies

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.