Jump to content

Featured Replies

On 10/4/2019 at 7:19 AM, D4Life said:

At the end of 2016 at the Tigers, Hardwick couldn’t coach, Cotchin couldn’t lead, the committee was challenged, according to some the club was in disarray!

It’s easy to poke holes from affair, particularly into the Demons after a terrible year. Let some changes be made, get a decent pre season behind the players, hopefully injury free, pickup a few players from draft & trading, a few new assistant coaches and see what happens.

In the AFL very few teams just go up up up on a linear improvement. While very disappointed with this year, I’m excited to see what Oliver, Viney, Brayshaw, Harmes, TMac, May, & Lever do next year. Max & Petracca build on this year.

Have supported Demons for over 50 years and still believe that this is best list we’ve had in that time. While maybe only Gawn & Oliver delivered an A grade season, think back a year and we have a lot of talent!

The other big point about comparing the Demons to this years top 4 is age of core players 

Tigers - Martin Cotchin Riewoldt Edwards Lynch

Pies - Pendlebury, Sidebottom Treloar Grundy

GWS - Greene, Kelly, Cogniglio, Davis, Cameron

Geelong - Dangerfield, Hawkins, Selwood, Kelly

vs 

Melbourne - Gawn, Oliver, Viney, Petracca, Harmes

Add Eagles who should have finished to 4.

While finals is important next year, GF on age is still 2-3 years away. Hopefully we get lucky!

 

 

 

 
2 hours ago, A F said:

And just like Brayshaw I'm afraid. Which is exactly why I don't think we should be afraid of trading one or two of our mids until we get more balance and versitility.

The only untradeable for me is Oliver, who is so clearly the best talent at Melbourne in 30+ years. 

If it's Viney, Oliver and Harmes, then Gus probably has to go. Harmes offers goals and accountability. 

Anyway, let's wait and see. It's pretty obvious the club won't try anything too bold like trading Jack or Gus regardless.

Gus has some tricks. I could see him to a flank later in his career. Similar to Lewis. 

He certainly looks a bit out of place playing on a wing right now though

3 hours ago, BAMF said:

Gus has some tricks. I could see him to a flank later in his career. Similar to Lewis. 

He certainly looks a bit out of place playing on a wing right now though

And struggled on a forward flank or in a pocket early in his career. Was good off half back in his first year mind you.

Don't get me wrong. I love Gus, but I'm wondering how we can diversify our engine room.

 
On 10/5/2019 at 11:48 AM, BAMF said:

Gus has some tricks. I could see him to a flank later in his career. Similar to Lewis. 

He certainly looks a bit out of place playing on a wing right now though

I think if we program his pre season and mindset right Gus could be a prolific ball winner off half back and push into AA contention. But he has to want to own the position.

On 10/7/2019 at 6:38 AM, Left Foot Snap said:

I think if we program his pre season and mindset right Gus could be a prolific ball winner off half back and push into AA contention. But he has to want to own the position.

I agree.  I'm hoping Gus finds his feet.  I'm not sure he can 'step up' but hoping.  There is a something going on behind the scenes that he needs to sort.  You can feel it!  I hope he sorts it.  And values being an AFL footballer.  FCS, he's earning the big bucks.


35 minutes ago, Sloan said:

I agree.  I'm hoping Gus finds his feet.  I'm not sure he can 'step up' but hoping.  There is a something going on behind the scenes that he needs to sort.  You can feel it!  I hope he sorts it.  And values being an AFL footballer.  FCS, he's earning the big bucks.

Earning big bucks doesn't preclude you from mental health issues, nor does it heart balm the fact that being a gifted athlete  means you grind out the process of your chosen sport and at times, wish you were somewhere else, doing something different, away from the  grinding out training daily, the meetings, more training, more meeting, more meetings, AND more meetings, honing craft, AND more meetings rehab and did i mention the meetings?, social events, playing in front of 15-95,000 people who scrutinise you, rinse and repeat weekly for 6 months of the year.

Then there is the  scrutiny internally from your club, from yourself, from commentators, from the average joe on a keyboard, with no respite, ever, until you retire.  

Also, sometimes workplaces are a bit [censored]

and its ok for him not value being an AFL footballer.

Edited by Engorged Onion

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

  • NON-MFC: Round 13

    Follow all the action from every Round 13 clash excluding the Dees as the 2025 AFL Premiership Season rolls on. With Melbourne playing in the final match of the round on King's Birthday, all eyes turn to the rest of the competition. Who are you tipping to win? And more importantly, which results best serve the Demons’ finals aspirations? Join the discussion and keep track of the matches that could shape the ladder and impact our run to September.

      • Thanks
    • 133 replies
  • PREVIEW: Collingwood

    Having convincingly defeated last year’s premier and decisively outplayed the runner-up with 8.2 in the final quarter, nothing epitomized the Melbourne Football Club’s performance more than its 1.12 final half, particularly the eight consecutive behinds in the last term, against a struggling St Kilda team in the midst of a dismal losing streak. Just when stability and consistency were anticipated within the Demon ranks, they delivered a quintessential performance marked by instability and ill-conceived decisions, with the most striking aspect being their inaccuracy in kicking for goal, which suggested a lack of preparation (instead of sleeping in their hotel in Alice, were they having a night on the turps) rather than a well-rested team. Let’s face it - this kicking disease that makes them look like raw amateurs is becoming a millstone around the team’s neck.

      • Thanks
    • 1 reply
  • CASEY: Sydney

    The Casey Demons were always expected to emerge victorious in their matchup against the lowly-ranked Sydney Swans at picturesque Tramway Oval, situated in the shadows of the SCG in Moore Park. They dominated the proceedings in the opening two and a half quarters of the game but had little to show for it. This was primarily due to their own sloppy errors in a low-standard game that produced a number of crowded mauls reminiscent of the rugby game popular in old Sydney Town. However, when the Swans tired, as teams often do when they turn games into ugly defensive contests, Casey lifted the standard of its own play and 
 it was off to the races. Not to nearby Randwick but to a different race with an objective of piling on goal after goal on the way to a mammoth victory. At the 25-minute mark of the third quarter, the Demons held a slender 14-point lead over the Swans, who are ahead on the ladder of only the previous week's opposition, the ailing Bullants. Forty minutes later, they had more than fully compensated for the sloppiness of their earlier play with a decisive 94-point victory, that culminated in a rousing finish which yielded thirteen unanswered goals. Kicks hit their targets, the ball found itself going through the middle and every player made a contribution.

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 1 reply
  • REPORT: St. Kilda

    Hands up if you thought, like me, at half-time in yesterday’s game at TIO Traeger Park, Alice Springs that Melbourne’s disposal around the ground and, in particular, its kicking inaccuracy in front of the goals couldn’t get any worse. Well, it did. And what’s even more damning for the Melbourne Football Club is that the game against St Kilda and its resurgence from the bottomless pit of its miserable start to the season wasn’t just lost through poor conversion for goal but rather in the 15 minutes when the entire team went into a slumber and was mugged by the out-of-form Saints. Their six goals two behinds (one goal less than the Demons managed for the whole game) weaved a path of destruction from which they were unable to recover. Ross Lyon’s astute use of pressure to contain the situation once they had asserted their grip on the game, and Melbourne’s self-destructive wastefulness, assured that outcome. The old adage about the insanity of repeatedly doing something and expecting a different result, was out there. Two years ago, the score line in Melbourne’s loss to the Giants at this same ground was 5 goals 15 behinds - a ratio of one goal per four scoring shots - was perfectly replicated with yesterday’s 7 goals 21 behinds. 
    This has been going on for a while and opens up a number of questions. I’ll put forward a few that come to mind from this performance. The obvious first question is whether the club can find a suitable coach to instruct players on proper kicking techniques or is this a skill that can no longer be developed at this stage of the development of our playing group? Another concern is the team's ability to counter an opponent's dominance during a run on as exemplified by the Saints in the first quarter. Did the Demons underestimate their opponents, considering St Kilda's goals during this period were scored by relatively unknown forwards? Furthermore, given the modest attendance of 6,721 at TIO Traeger Park and the team's poor past performances at this venue, is it prudent to prioritize financial gain over potentially sacrificing valuable premiership points by relinquishing home ground advantage, notwithstanding the cultural significance of the team's connection to the Red Centre? 

      • Thanks
    • 4 replies
  • PREGAME: Collingwood

    After a disappointing loss in Alice Springs the Demons return to the MCG to take on the Magpies in the annual King's Birthday Big Freeze for MND game. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
    • 397 replies
  • PODCAST: St. Kilda

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 2nd June @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we have a chat with former Demon ruckman Jeff White about his YouTube channel First Use where he dissects ruck setups and contests. We'll then discuss the Dees disappointing loss to the Saints in Alice Springs.
    Your 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.
    Listen LIVE: https://demonland.com/

      • Thanks
    • 47 replies