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POSTGAME: Rd 10 vs GWS


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34 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

This is just wrong. We weren't slow against the Eagles.

It's ball movement that count. The problem is when you turn it over and it flies back the other way which we are world champions at....

This is partly true but so is Yeater's call Jnr.  There is another problem i'm seeing which i will get to later.

Yeater is correct to a point.  We lack some outside speed and a genuine inside/outside mid also.

We are slow to get away from opponents in congestion.  Especially when we play either two or sometimes three out of.... Chunk, Clarry and Viney... through the middle at the same time.  PEDESTRIAN mid field that is too easily corralled and tackled to oblivion until the inevitable turnover which sees the quicker (outside balanced and slightly better skilled on the outside) opp easily run off.

Last season we had an in form Brayshaw who came in for an injured Viney and completely changed the 'look' of our mostly inside biased mid field (with Viney in) and helped to transform us from a mostly inside plodding mid field to a dangerous one. along with some help from Harmes.  This took the imbalance away from the plodding 3...either by accident or design, and helped turn our season around IMO.  Where is Brayshaw now?  Ok maybe he started terribly out of form and was never able to get back (actually gotten even worse unfortunately) but he just hasn't been or hasn't been able to impact going through the middle.  It would appear he is mostly playing a wing role now, and to the team's detriment.

And when the ball does get out there are few options outside of Salem (who obviously didn't play today) and Harmes on the outside.

A classy speedy outside wingman to accompany Salem on the other wing and a genuine outside/inside mid are a must get if we are to turn this around.

IMHO many of our turnovers are generally also caused due to a lack of burst speed away from congestion or from an opponent.  Players that are one paced are more likely to be run down easily or have the feeling they will be, and are then under perceived pressure that they should dispose of the ball quickly (and rightfully so) or they will be tackled quickly.  Smith's lack of speed, where he got tackled off HB early a great example of that and the fear that the lack of burst speed creates.

On the other hand, having that initial burst or speed or turn (whatever you wish to call it) allows a player, with just a few steps, to escape from congestion or an opponent, assess a little, then more often than not find a target (assuming he has basic level AFL disposal skills).  Yes, SOME do not and may never gain this and it wont matter what turn of speed they have.    But that is why you recruit for both.  If they don't FCS don't recruit them (outside of rucks and the odd genuinely talented big grab key forward or key back).

The other part i wanted to cover here is structure and organisation around the footy.  I thought ours was terribly poor today and we, yet again, regressed to a structure that saw us with too many at the contest while allowing the Giants too many on the outside periphery ready to pounce on the inevitable loose ball or scoop up the receive and get the ball moving lateral or forward quickly to their advantage.  This allowed them some fabulous delivery inside 50, leaving our defenders terribly exposed far too often.

And we not just had too many in at the contest (poor structure), we had too many slooow plodders, in at the contest who were then unable to get back with any speed into defence and help out once the ball left congestion in the hands of the Giant's outside sweepers OR to help out in covering their switch.

Poorly structured, unbalanced (too many slow inside plodders at the coal face for the center bounces) and in general too many one paced players who have no initial burst speed.  The structure and imbalance can be corrected by training / drills to a degree.  How it hasn't by this point is a major concern.  The burst speed factor should also be a plausible fix if the so called high performance manager was working some magic.  It would appear he isn't though with a few (naturaly gifted?) exceptions.  Aside from high performance the only other option there is to recruit it in from outside.

Edited by Rusty Nails
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6 minutes ago, Stormy Dee said:

They didn’t run through it. They walked up to it and gently squeezed through.

We have 3/4 of our players out injured or playing injured and replaced by NQR VFL players. What did you expect from this game?

I expect more than one goal for two and a half quarters. We had the dominant ruck and enough talent to do better than that. It not losing it how you lose

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I think we are the most 'confidence" reliant side in the competition and think this should be explored if it has not already by a professional.  Perhaps it comes from a combined lack of individual confidence which is on display when we play poorly. Conversely when we hit our straps we play like few others. Its as if our guys are saying," wow, we are better than I thought. It was on display again today,

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30 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

De Boer has many scalps this season tagging, there’s another one. Not that it would have made a difference but why not throw Oliver forward in patches and bring Gus back in the middle. 

Thank you DZ.  How many coaches are in the box again?  Instead we threw Spargo to FF at one point!   Lets forget why we were what we were last year WITH Gus spending a big chunk of time through the middle.

As one other option, how about Chunk forward (having had no impact for 2 quarters) , Spargo on the bench (having had no impact for 2 quarters), and Gus through the middle (see earlier parentheses!).

Edited by Rusty Nails
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What I sat through today (to the bitter end, I might add) was at times a farce. GWS need not get too cocky, they were playing against what was virtually a VFL side. Poor Max worked his guts out and looked exhausted. I truly worry he will break down. Marty Hore tried his hardest. If it wasn't for his efforts the Giants would have kicked many more goals. It must have been frustrating for him to see the ball come back down again so quickly. Then he was running all over the backline trying to cover for everybody like a lone hand in defence. Kudos to him. The rest? It was a side decimated by injuries and totally lacking confidence in themselves and each other.

Someone once said to me years ago that a good big man is always better than a good small man. In this case, a good ordinary (with apologies to Jack Dyer) big man is better than a good ordinary small man. Play Preuss to help Max or leave him in the goal square to wave his arms around. 

Ray Chamberlain- pack your ego away and seriously consider retiring. Your idea of making a decision is to give it to me to ball it up or play on, doesn't matter what irregularities have transpired on the field.

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I'm not sure if this or something similar has already been posted, apologies if I have missed it. 

The reality is, I challenge any team to have almost half or just over of their best 22 out and to be competitive. Yes, we had half a team of players who aren't AFL standard and it showed. It has also given us an opportunity to see what some players are made of when we are missing all these players. I, like everyone, entered this season hopeful and optimistic. I was furious when I left today, angry that the team had AGAIN dished up complete rubbish. After having time to calm down, I had a think and have come to the conclusion that yes, we are lacking leadership, but we are also lacking a hell of a lot of mature AFL bodies. But I would say the following are best 22 players (or are at least on the cusp) and they were all missing or have just come back into VFL footy:

Salem, ANB, Lewis, Lever, May, KK, Jetta, Hibberd, Melksham, Hannah, AVB, Weideman, J Smith, JKH - that's 14 players. I reckon of that 14, you would say all of them with maybe the exception of JKH, Lewis (age catching up) and maybe ANB are not best 22. So that leaves 11. Literally half our team. Not to mention, the majority of our backline. 

Some of the above we only have ourselves to blame for their absence - eg J Smith being sent back on with a groin injury in a JLT match. The rest is a result of bad luck. 

When you swap out the following players: C Wagner, Spargo, Petty, Stretch, Garlett, O McDonald, Fritsch and potentially J Wagner, Lockhart, O Baker (who I think will keep his spot) our team looks a hell of a lot better. Every team gets injuries, sure. But if I hear about how badly hit Richmond have been without a word in the media really about ours injury list and the level of player we're missing i'll spew. 

I acknowledge the lack of form of Brayshaw, Viney, Jones, TMac etc hasn't helped.

Things that I think are interesting out of our injury plight are - Hunt as a forward, Frost potentially keeping his spot when the defenders are back, seeing Lockhart and Baker with more mature and more highly skilled players around them, seeing if these players have any impact at all. If they don't then we can presume that last year was the anomaly, not this year. 

I'm also not usually the one for positivity. I don't think the above is being an optimist, I think it's just a reason. 

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3 minutes ago, lucifer said:

I'm not sure if this or something similar has already been posted, apologies if I have missed it. 

The reality is, I challenge any team to have almost half or just over of their best 22 out and to be competitive. Yes, we had half a team of players who aren't AFL standard and it showed. It has also given us an opportunity to see what some players are made of when we are missing all these players. I, like everyone, entered this season hopeful and optimistic. I was furious when I left today, angry that the team had AGAIN dished up complete rubbish. After having time to calm down, I had a think and have come to the conclusion that yes, we are lacking leadership, but we are also lacking a hell of a lot of mature AFL bodies. But I would say the following are best 22 players (or are at least on the cusp) and they were all missing or have just come back into VFL footy:

Salem, ANB, Lewis, Lever, May, KK, Jetta, Hibberd, Melksham, Hannah, AVB, Weideman, J Smith, JKH - that's 14 players. I reckon of that 14, you would say all of them with maybe the exception of JKH, Lewis (age catching up) and maybe ANB are not best 22. So that leaves 11. Literally half our team. Not to mention, the majority of our backline. 

Some of the above we only have ourselves to blame for their absence - eg J Smith being sent back on with a groin injury in a JLT match. The rest is a result of bad luck. 

When you swap out the following players: C Wagner, Spargo, Petty, Stretch, Garlett, O McDonald, Fritsch and potentially J Wagner, Lockhart, O Baker (who I think will keep his spot) our team looks a hell of a lot better. Every team gets injuries, sure. But if I hear about how badly hit Richmond have been without a word in the media really about ours injury list and the level of player we're missing i'll spew. 

I acknowledge the lack of form of Brayshaw, Viney, Jones, TMac etc hasn't helped.

Things that I think are interesting out of our injury plight are - Hunt as a forward, Frost potentially keeping his spot when the defenders are back, seeing Lockhart and Baker with more mature and more highly skilled players around them, seeing if these players have any impact at all. If they don't then we can presume that last year was the anomaly, not this year. 

I'm also not usually the one for positivity. I don't think the above is being an optimist, I think it's just a reason. 

Agree with you.

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6 minutes ago, lucifer said:

I'm not sure if this or something similar has already been posted, apologies if I have missed it. 

The reality is, I challenge any team to have almost half or just over of their best 22 out and to be competitive. Yes, we had half a team of players who aren't AFL standard and it showed. It has also given us an opportunity to see what some players are made of when we are missing all these players. I, like everyone, entered this season hopeful and optimistic. I was furious when I left today, angry that the team had AGAIN dished up complete rubbish. After having time to calm down, I had a think and have come to the conclusion that yes, we are lacking leadership, but we are also lacking a hell of a lot of mature AFL bodies. But I would say the following are best 22 players (or are at least on the cusp) and they were all missing or have just come back into VFL footy:

Salem, ANB, Lewis, Lever, May, KK, Jetta, Hibberd, Melksham, Hannah, AVB, Weideman, J Smith, JKH - that's 14 players. I reckon of that 14, you would say all of them with maybe the exception of JKH, Lewis (age catching up) and maybe ANB are not best 22. So that leaves 11. Literally half our team. Not to mention, the majority of our backline. 

Some of the above we only have ourselves to blame for their absence - eg J Smith being sent back on with a groin injury in a JLT match. The rest is a result of bad luck. 

When you swap out the following players: C Wagner, Spargo, Petty, Stretch, Garlett, O McDonald, Fritsch and potentially J Wagner, Lockhart, O Baker (who I think will keep his spot) our team looks a hell of a lot better. Every team gets injuries, sure. But if I hear about how badly hit Richmond have been without a word in the media really about ours injury list and the level of player we're missing i'll spew. 

I acknowledge the lack of form of Brayshaw, Viney, Jones, TMac etc hasn't helped.

Things that I think are interesting out of our injury plight are - Hunt as a forward, Frost potentially keeping his spot when the defenders are back, seeing Lockhart and Baker with more mature and more highly skilled players around them, seeing if these players have any impact at all. If they don't then we can presume that last year was the anomaly, not this year. 

I'm also not usually the one for positivity. I don't think the above is being an optimist, I think it's just a reason. 

Good analysis but I only only see the following automatic, established selections-Salem, Lever, May, Jetta,  Hibberd,  Melksham,  None of the others are established senior players with the exception of Lewis. All the rest have been in and out for one reason or another.

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Just now, Sorry kids said:

Good analysis but I only only see the following automatic, established selections-Salem, Lever, May, Jetta,  Hibberd,  Melksham,  None of the others are established senior players with the exception of Lewis. All the rest have been in and out for one reason or another.

I reckon that's a fair point too. I think though, when fit AVB, Hannah, J Smith in particular give our forward line a different look. And you would imagine would be in front of C Wagner, Spargo, Lockhart, Garlett

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31 minutes ago, lucifer said:

I reckon that's a fair point too. I think though, when fit AVB, Hannah, J Smith in particular give our forward line a different look. And you would imagine would be in front of C Wagner, Spargo, Lockhart, Garlett

Yes, no doubt better than current best 22. Lets hope a few of the others prove me wrong.

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3 hours ago, Forest Demon said:

Just finished watching and the disparity in effort was marginal, but the disparity in skills has never been wider. GWS were near perfect for 3 quarters and we weren’t even playing the same sport.

GWS were bloody good today. They came to play and their midfield was outstanding. Hard two-way running and also really hard to beat at the contest. The game was won and lost in the midfield and they took us to the cleaners. I feel in some way this is the most worrying aspect because our core midfield has been pretty good all year and it's our other ends that have let us down. I haven't seen them get that badly beaten since the PF.

Another problem we had today was that when GWS got on a quick break away, the midfielders were too focused on "folding back" into defence and not focused on putting pressure on the ball carrier (hence GWS' kicking efficiency and accuracy was through the roof). This was surely coach driven and it reflects a lack of confidence with our defensive personnel but also being worried about the potency of GWS' attack. With Lever, May, Salem and Hibberd back there, you won't see this focus on folding back as much as you can trust them to a win a one-on-one.

Mind you, GWS' foot skills are elite and they are also one of the most efficient team going forward this year.

2 hours ago, Damo said:

Ok Brayshaw is now on a wing and looking pretty [censored] unhappy with that change.

Paul Roos talked about this on the couch this week. He said that Jones had struggled in the wing role and it forced Goodwin to put him into the middle of the ground. Basically Goodwin had no where else to put him. Hence, he moved Brayshaw out to a wing. Brayshaw will go back into the middle once Jones is dropped/retired. I can't see him playing off half back when you have Salem, Hore, Lever, Hibberd back there.

 

Edited by At the break of Gawn
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3 minutes ago, At the break of Gawn said:

GWS were bloody good today. They came to play and their midfield was outstanding. Hard two-way running and also really hard to beat at the contest. The game was won and lost in the midfield and they took us to the cleaners. I feel in some way this is the most worrying aspect because our core midfield has been pretty good all year and it's our other ends that have let us down. I haven't seen them get that badly beaten since the PF.

Another problem we had today was that when GWS got on a quick break away, the midfielders were too focused on "folding back" into defence and not focused on putting pressure on the ball carrier (hence GWS' kicking efficiency and accuracy was through the roof). This was surely coach driven and it reflects a lack of confidence with our defensive personnel but also being worried about the potency of GWS' attack. With Lever, May, Salem and Hibberd back there, you won't see this focus on folding back as much as you can trust them to a win a one-on-one.

Mind you, GWS' foot skills are elite and they are also one of the most efficient team going forward this year.

Paul Roos talked about this on the couch this week. He said that Jones had struggled in the wing role and it forced Goodwin to put him into the middle of the ground. Basically Goodwin had no where else to put him. Hence, he moved Brayshaw out to a wing. Brayshaw will go back into the middle once Jones is dropped/retired. I can't see him playing off half back when you have Salem, Hore, Lever, Hibberd back there.

 

If correct that is very unprofessional and appalling coaching. No player should be gifted a position and if he is being gifted a game he should be played half forward-deep.

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1 hour ago, lucifer said:

I'm not sure if this or something similar has already been posted, apologies if I have missed it. 

The reality is, I challenge any team to have almost half or just over of their best 22 out and to be competitive. Yes, we had half a team of players who aren't AFL standard and it showed. It has also given us an opportunity to see what some players are made of when we are missing all these players. I, like everyone, entered this season hopeful and optimistic. I was furious when I left today, angry that the team had AGAIN dished up complete rubbish. After having time to calm down, I had a think and have come to the conclusion that yes, we are lacking leadership, but we are also lacking a hell of a lot of mature AFL bodies. But I would say the following are best 22 players (or are at least on the cusp) and they were all missing or have just come back into VFL footy:

Salem, ANB, Lewis, Lever, May, KK, Jetta, Hibberd, Melksham, Hannah, AVB, Weideman, J Smith, JKH - that's 14 players. I reckon of that 14, you would say all of them with maybe the exception of JKH, Lewis (age catching up) and maybe ANB are not best 22. So that leaves 11. Literally half our team. Not to mention, the majority of our backline. 

Some of the above we only have ourselves to blame for their absence - eg J Smith being sent back on with a groin injury in a JLT match. The rest is a result of bad luck. 

When you swap out the following players: C Wagner, Spargo, Petty, Stretch, Garlett, O McDonald, Fritsch and potentially J Wagner, Lockhart, O Baker (who I think will keep his spot) our team looks a hell of a lot better. Every team gets injuries, sure. But if I hear about how badly hit Richmond have been without a word in the media really about ours injury list and the level of player we're missing i'll spew. 

I acknowledge the lack of form of Brayshaw, Viney, Jones, TMac etc hasn't helped.

Things that I think are interesting out of our injury plight are - Hunt as a forward, Frost potentially keeping his spot when the defenders are back, seeing Lockhart and Baker with more mature and more highly skilled players around them, seeing if these players have any impact at all. If they don't then we can presume that last year was the anomaly, not this year. 

I'm also not usually the one for positivity. I don't think the above is being an optimist, I think it's just a reason. 

Ripping post mate ?

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See, the trick is to watch it on DELAY

When it gets to 44-9, you decide to skip through rapidly in 5s increments to see if we're mounting any kind of fight back.

Then when its around 56-11 you just skip through minutes at a time and then eventually you've watched quarters 2, 3 & 4 in 10 or so minutes.

Then you can devote the hour or two you've saved to doing something useful...

 

Edited by John Demonic
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Watching Gawn to made me feel like I was watching Stynes again trying to carry the whole side.

Seems like Hore is now our best defender and he's a first year player.

I think they've gotta try Jones forward or else he might have to go.

Geez our disposal is terrible.

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We are like a poor cricket side that doesnt bat very deep... too many vfl players not up to AFL level. Have drafted poorly & with key outs due to injuries we are shown up ..  Kelly & Wines just to mention a few blunders. 

Edited by Demonsone
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3 hours ago, Sorry kids said:

Do you think that means he would have played exactly like he did at Casey as he would have in the Giants match. Do you think the game would have played out exactly as it did at Casey, Do you think he would have played the same role as at Casey. Wow. Beyond that I do not understand your support of Spargo.

I'll take that as a zero.

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1 hour ago, At the break of Gawn said:

 

 

Paul Roos talked about this on the couch this week. He said that Jones had struggled in the wing role and it forced Goodwin to put him into the middle of the ground. Basically Goodwin had no where else to put him. Hence, he moved Brayshaw out to a wing. Brayshaw will go back into the middle once Jones is dropped/retired. I can't see him playing off half back when you have Salem, Hore, Lever, Hibberd back there.

 

Time to retire the elephant in the room just like all the circuses have done with theirs.

 

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4 hours ago, Damo said:

1. If you were coaching against us, you would tell the backs Demon mids will kick it it up and under into the forward zone. Other than Salem no one kicks it other than directly in front of themselves. By that I mean that if you look at the set of the shoulders this actually allows you to read where they are going to aim, again up and under. This allows time to defend as 50% of the time it will be right on the top of the head of the forward. So it will always look as if they are kicking to a contest, or a 3 on one. But it is because we are slower in the forward 50 this year.

2. That brings the issue of leading. Jaydon Hunt is the only one who can lead faster than his opponent. Tom Mac looks like he couldnt beat a cow coming in to be milked. We miss Melksham.

These are two major issues that need to be worked on.

How often did a GWS player take a mark inside 50 on a lead, with our defender trailing them? And how often did it feel like our forwards could get no separation on their GWS defenders?

Only Hunt was regularly getting away from his opponent and he took three or four good leading grabs.

But is it chicken or egg - are we seeing lack of separation from forwards because they are having the ball delivered behind them or above their head, as opposed to out in front of them to their advantage?

Our kicking going inside 50 isn't improving.

3 hours ago, jnrmac said:

This is just wrong. We weren't slow against the Eagles.

It's ball movement that count. The problem is when you turn it over and it flies back the other way which we are world champions at....

Agree to an extent.

GWS' superior foot speed was evident today - so many times players like Kelly and Whitfield were able to break free from stoppages and get clearance on our mids.

But generally, we looked much quicker last week with 20 of the same players playing this week.

The game was much more on our terms last week - we were winning CPs and clearances. Today GWS beat us in the middle and, as is too often the case with us, if you beat us in CPs/clearances the rest of our game falls apart.

37 minutes ago, pinkshark said:

You spelt his name wrong.  It's J.E.S.S.E  H.O.G.A.N

You mean the same Jesse Hogan who played all four quarters today against Brisbane and didn't get a single kick?

Meanwhile Dean Kent had 14 touches and zero tackles. 

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I will expand on this when I do my mid-season review in two weeks time, but essentially we were beaten well before quarter time.

How can a coach pick 7 players under 6 ft (Viney, Jones, Hunt, Spargo, Lockhart, Garlett, Corey Wagner) against a side called the Giants who are actually a huge side is beyond belief? It's hard to fathom how you could leave out an aggressive tall in Preuss for a game where aside from Mummy, they had Tomlinson, Taylor, Davis, Cameron, Himmelberg, Finlayson and Haynes who are all well and truly 192cm plus. Not surprisingly we were smashed aerially, except for Gawny who more than held his own.

Of course the answer is that we have some major injuries and unfortunately almost all of them have been to our mid-size brigade - Hannan, Joel Smith, Vanders and more recently Hibberd and Melky and you can throw KK into that mix as well. The injuries to May and Lever have meant that we've been forced to play slows in Oscar Mc and more recently Petty and been exposed on the lead.

On the positive side our injuries have given a lot of players a chance to see if they are up to AFL level. Baker showed a bit today, Stretch again covered plenty of territory and Josh Wags was resolute in defence, but clearly many of our fringe player are just not up to the level.

Have a look at the stats - Garlett, Corey Wags, Lockhart and Spargo had a combined 32 disposals - that's eight touches each on average. Petty and Oscar Mc combined for 13 disposals and three marks, whilst their opponents Himmelberg and Finlayson had 16 marks and shared six goals.

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3 hours ago, At the break of Gawn said:

GWS were bloody good today. They came to play and their midfield was outstanding. Hard two-way running and also really hard to beat at the contest. The game was won and lost in the midfield and they took us to the cleaners. I feel in some way this is the most worrying aspect because our core midfield has been pretty good all year and it's our other ends that have let us down. I haven't seen them get that badly beaten since the PF.

Another problem we had today was that when GWS got on a quick break away, the midfielders were too focused on "folding back" into defence and not focused on putting pressure on the ball carrier (hence GWS' kicking efficiency and accuracy was through the roof). This was surely coach driven and it reflects a lack of confidence with our defensive personnel but also being worried about the potency of GWS' attack. With Lever, May, Salem and Hibberd back there, you won't see this focus on folding back as much as you can trust them to a win a one-on-one.

Mind you, GWS' foot skills are elite and they are also one of the most efficient team going forward this year.

Paul Roos talked about this on the couch this week. He said that Jones had struggled in the wing role and it forced Goodwin to put him into the middle of the ground. Basically Goodwin had no where else to put him. Hence, he moved Brayshaw out to a wing. Brayshaw will go back into the middle once Jones is dropped/retired. I can't see him playing off half back when you have Salem, Hore, Lever, Hibberd back there.

 

I heard this but I don't think it's right.Brayshaw was one of the main reasons behind our terrible start to the season. His disposal was horrific and he pays little respect to his opponents and does not run hard defensively. For someone who came in to the AFL and was an elite tackler, he is now a poor tackler. 

When they switched him into the midfield today, you could see why he should be. The goal Josh Kelly kicked from the centre clearance  which was highlighted in the telecast showed how poor he is defensively.

He is devoid of confidence now, it appears they wanted him to work on some areas of the game and it has backfired.

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    DEPTH CHARGE by Whispering Jack

    The jubilation on the coach’s face as he danced a celebratory jig by the playing bench after the final siren sounded to record his team’s four-point victory over the Demons when the teams last met, said it all.    On that rainy Friday night at the Adelaide Oval, Ken Hinkley’s young midfield secured much more than four points on offer. The victory over one of the big dogs of the competition after a succession of wins over some of its lesser lights gave his team respect and validation fo

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 5

    TRAINING: Monday 25th March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Demon Dynasty & Kev Martin were trackside at Gosch's Paddock today to bring you their observations from training. DEMON DYNASTY'S TRAINING OBSERVATIONS Kade Chandler's left knee heavily strapped. BBB, Spargs & Jake Lever also in rehab group. Jake Bowey solo running separate kicking/sprint/agility drills. Super fine morning / early arvo at Gosch's for the boys to blow out some cobwebs. Choco initially had the light duties / rehab group

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Training Reports

    HIBERNATING by KC from Casey

    When they locked up the rooms for summer at the end of last year’s football season, the rooms gathered cobwebs, the atmosphere became dense and the place developed a sleepy feel. They opened up the rooms to let Casey out to play on Sunday but the team was still hibernating and they missed the bulk of the opening quarter. By the time they worked out it was game on, their opponents from Box Hill had accumulated five goals and, if the game wasn’t over, it might as well have been. For a se

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Casey Articles

    A FORK IN THE HAWK by George on the Outer

    For too long in the past, Demon fans became habitually sick and tired of watching the Hawks hand out thrashings to their side. But Melbourne’s empahtic 55-point win at the MCG on Saturday has truly put a fork in the Hawk and turned that history well and truly on its head. The Demons have now won nine of their last ten encounters with the other result, a draw.     And like a fork, it was the multi-pronged options that Melbourne had all across the ground.  It certainly helped that Hawthorn

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Match Reports 8

    PREGAME: Rd 03 vs Port Adelaide

    The Demons head on the road for the next 2 weeks as they travel to Adelaide to play Port on Saturday and then have a 5 Day break before facing the Crows in the Gather Round. With injuries to May and Lever who comes in and who goes out?

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 262

    PODCAST: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 25th March @ 8:30pm. Join George, Binman & I as we analyse the Demons victory at the MCG against the Hawks in the Round 02. You questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human. Listen & Chat

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 46

    VOTES: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    Last week Steven May took the lead in the Demonland Player of the Year Award from Jack Viney. Clayton Oliver & Max Gawn round out the Top 4. Your votes for the win/loss against/to the Hawks. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 50

    POSTGAME: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    The Demons cruised to an easy 55 point win over the Hawks at the MCG but but paid a heavy toll on the injury front with Steven May & Jake Lever possibly sidelined for a number of weeks.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 357

    GAMEDAY: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    It's Game Day and after mixed results in the first two weeks of the season the Demons have the opportunity to capitalise on their good form last week when they take on the Hawks at the MCG today.

    Demonland
    Demonland |
    Melbourne Demons 437
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  • Non MFC Games  

    NON-MFC: Round 03

    Discussion of all the other games that don't involve the Demons in Round 03 ... READ MORE

    Demonland | Round 03

  • Match Preview      

    DEPTH CHARGE by Whispering Jack

    The jubilation on the coach’s face as he danced a celebratory jig by the playing bench after the final siren sounded to record his team’s four-point victory over the Demons when the teams last met, said it all ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 27

  • Latest Podcast      

    PODCAST: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    The boys dissected the clinical thrashing of Hawks praising the immense performance of Christian Petracca whilst lamenting the injury toll to our defensive unit ... LISTEN

    Demonland | March 26

  • Training  

    Monday, 25th March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Demon Dynasty & Kev Martin were trackside at Gosch's Paddock today to bring you their observations from training ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 25

  • Casey Report      

    HIBERNATING by KC from Casey

    When they locked up the rooms for summer at the end of last year’s football season, the rooms gathered cobwebs, the atmosphere became dense and the place developed a sleepy feel. They opened up the rooms to let Casey out to play on Sunday but the team was still hibernating and they missed the bulk of the opening quarter ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 25

  • PreGame      

    PREGAME: Rd 03 vs Port Adelaide

    The Demons head out on the road for the next 2 weeks as they travel to Adelaide to play Port on Saturday and then have a 5 Day break before facing the Crows in Gather Round. With injuries to May and Lever who comes in and who goes out? ...READ MORE

    Demonland | March 28

  • Match Report      

    A FORK IN THE HAWK by George on the Outer

    For too long in the past, Demon fans became habitually sick and tired of watching the Hawks hand out thrashings to their side. But Melbourne’s empahtic 55-point win at the MCG on Saturday has truly put a fork in the Hawk and turned that history well and truly on its head ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 23

  • Post Game      

    POSTGAME: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    The Demons cruised to an easy 55 point win over the Hawks at the MCG but but paid a heavy toll on the injury front with Steven May & Jake Lever possibly sidelined for a number of weeks ...READ MORE

    Demonland | March 23

  • Votes      

    VOTES: Rd 02 vs Hawthorn

    Last week Steven May took the lead in the Demonland Player of the Year Award from Jack Viney. Clayton Oliver & Max Gawn round out the Top 4. Your votes for the win/loss against/to the Hawks. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...READ MORE

    Demonland | March 23

  • Game Day      

    GAMEDAY: Round 02 vs Hawthorn

    It's Game Day and after mixed results in the first two weeks of the season the Demons have the opportunity to capitalise on their good form last week when they take on the Hawks at the MCG today ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 23

  • Training  

    Friday, 22nd March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatcher Kev Martin and I attended the Captain's Run at Gosch's Paddock on this lovely sunny morning to bring you the following observations from the training session ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 22

  • Training  

    Tuesday, 19th March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Kev Martin & Walking Civil War attended Tuesday morning's training session at Gosch's Paddock to bring you the following observations ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 19

  • Training  

    Saturday, 16th March 2024

    Demonland Trackwatchers Kev Martin and Dee Zephyr wandered down to Gosch's Paddock on Saturday morning to bring you their observations from the Captain's Run in the lead up to Sunday's Round One match against the Bulldogs ... READ MORE

    Demonland | March 16

  • Farewell  

    Angus Brayshaw Retires

    After 167 games including the drought breaking Premiership Angus Brayshaw has made the heart breaking decision to medically retire from football as a result of a series of serious head knocks over his nearly decade of footy. We wish Gus all the best and he'll always be a hero at Demonland ... READ MORE

    Demonland | February 22

  • Latest Podcast  

    PODCAST: Koltyn Tholstrup Interview

    I interview the Melbourne Football Club’s newest recruit Koltyn Tholstrup to have a chat about his journey from the farm to the Demons, his first few weeks of preseason training, which Dees have impressed him on the track and his aspirations of playing Round 1 ... LISTEN

    Demonland | December 14

  • Latest Podcast  

    PODCAST: Jason Taylor Interview

    I interview the Melbourne Football Club's National Recruitment Manager Jason Taylor to have a chat about our Trade and Draft period, our newest recruits, our recent recruits who have yet to debut as well as those father son prospects on the horizon ... LISTEN

    Demonland | November 27

  • Next Match 

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    Round 03

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    Saturday 30th March 2024
    @ 07:30pm (AO)

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  • Injury List  


      PLAYER INJURY LENGTH
    Jake Lever Knee Test
    Clayton Oliver Hand Test
    Oliver Sestan Concussion Test
    Steven May Ribs 1 Week
    Lachie Hunter Calf 1 Week
    Daniel Turner Hip 2-3 Weeks
    Charlie Spargo Achilles 2-4 Weeks
    Shane McAdam Hamstring 3-5 Weeks
    Jake Bowey Shoulder 7 Weeks
    Jake Melksham ACL 12-14 Weeks
    Joel Smith Suspension TBA

  • Player of the Year  


        PLAYER VOTES
    1 Christian Petracca 27
    2 Steven May 25
    3 Max Gawn 21
    4 Jack Viney 20
    5 Bayley Fritsch 19
    6 Clayton Oliver 18
    7 Christian Salem 12
    8 Blake Howes 11
    9 Jack Billings 10
    9 Alex Neal-Bullen 10

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