1 hour ago, grazman said:

Need to keep things in perspective - until today's Collingwood Essendon game - last night was the biggest crowd since the 2019 GF.  Covid is still having an impact.  I flew down from Canberra to watch the game, but travel isn't what it was two years ago - there are a lot of reasons why it's hard to draw bigger crowds ATM - including all the contact tracing and other issues compared to just rocking up to the game and buying a ticket at the ground.  

Contact tracing is a non issue. Turn up and scan a QR code in an app? I’m in NSW though on Service NSWs app though which is very good. What’s the go in vic

 

not being able to turn up for GA probably a not insubstantial factor 

1 hour ago, jnrmac said:

And at nearly $200 for a family of 5 plus transport/parking and/or something to eat and drink you are wondering why more don't go to the footy?

This.

42 minutes ago, layzie said:

One of the most brutal suffocating performances I've seen from this football club in a long time. We came with a plan and executed perfectly. Out coached an all time great, stood up to every attempt of physical bullying and lastly, we tooled them in pretty much every statistic. 

The thing I still can't get my head around is the mental side, how have we managed to turn this around so quickly? I don't how how but I also don't care the fact is they have so far and I'm loving it. I am so proud of this footy club right now with the wat challenges come and we dont go to water, the keyword is 'calm'. Its about focusing on what we are right now and not what we've been, we are on the way back to where we thought we should be and the improvement has come from many areas.

Petracca is a bonafide big time player now and you can see he relishes the big stage. I did have Salem BOG personally but hardky disappointed with that choice. Tom Mcdonald's last 3 games have impressed me to no end, his work rate and ability to keep presenting is a massive part of all this. Spargo, ANB, Kozzy with their relentless 2nd, 3rd, 4th efforts. Throw Jackson into that as well, man this kid has a few clubs in the bag! Did I see a hitout from Gawn to him at one stage?

This is coming close to the best backline I've seen from Melbourne. You feel very confident when you see a high flying ball and Lever positioning under it. Tomlinson playing his role perfectly (yes I was one of his doubters), he's found j is niche. Just on that I saw him on the Sunday footy show and he's a exceptionally well spoken lad!

Hibbo tagged Dusty out of the game until his injury another great move. I thought Gawn started slow but really grew as the gane went on.

How about our 2nd 300 gamer? Has a defined job and does it well, pretty safe in the team for now I would say. I look at Jayden Hunt who was pretty much an expert in dashing and belting the cover off the ball, this guy is seriously playing to his strengths and i lpve the way he is timing his runs off the ball to get the quick handball. Bravo Jayden.

I haven't fully seen what happened yet in the Pickett scenario but free kick or not I was so proud to see our boys over there in a flash. Huge contrast to games last year where no-one got around anyone.

I could go on forever but we'll leave it at that. It's nice to have some more stable post match posts! far cry from the borderline losing my mind posts from late last season. Lid is off until tomorrow for me, going to enjoy the heck out of this for the remainder of the weekend which is T-minus something amount of hours.

Go Dees! 

 

Agree it is exciting. The missing piece for me is the inability of our midfielders to take full advantage of Max’s hit out dominance in the centre and at other stoppages. Get that right and we become close to unstoppable while Max is playing and flying. 

It’s really sad to hear that the COVID restrictions on crowd numbers is actually pricing people out of going to the footy. There really should have been a category created that would allow people to basically pay what you would for a walk up general admission. 

I still don’t see what the point of restricting to 85% capacity vs full 100% is going to make when there are no community transmissions. It was the only disappointment to the tigers match, it should’ve been played in front of 85k+ people. 

Dogga and Gawn in particular, the ability of those two giants to onballer type running roles is incredible and really does seperate us from most of the competition. 
 

Our pressure is incredible in the third term, just squeezing them possession after possession.

17 hours ago, A F said:

King was all over us back in 2018. We burnt him, so it may take a while to get him back. He was a big champion of ours for a while though.

Definitely. He’s been a proponent of the side when few others were because “Melbourne”. He just went a bit early.

In particular he has often talked up Salem’s quality and importance to the side. Again when few others do. Though maybe even he is surprised by the level he’s gone to this season.

1 hour ago, Watson11 said:

I was looking down at Kossie for the full lead up to the incident. I was surprised a free wasn’t called well before it got out of hand as the umpire was looking. Basically Kossie was trying to create some leads and Mansell was pretty much retrying to rag doll him with scragging and hanging on, no matter which way Kossie tried to run. Went on for a full 20 seconds or so. Eventually Kossie just took the bait and it started.  

I was watching that too from down the ground.  Held, pushed, and still the little guy persisted.  

Should have been a free seconds earlier, and should have been a 50 when the Tigers carried on with it.  Would have defused it much better as it looked like it was getting out of hand. 

Our guys flew the flag which was great, but unfortunately sometimes in these situations someone gets rash and reported.  Poor umpiring not to defuse it earlier. 

Crowds are also down because the process of getting a ticket is a pain. Lots of older people would not know how to get a ticket. Hell Ticketek is a hot mess even for the most technologically savvy. 
Given we have to scan a QR code, I don’t get why people can’t come and get a ticket on the day. Leave a section just for that and so everyone sits in that area for the purpose of contact tracing 

And don’t get me started on the epic stupidity of not letting reserved seat members use their bloody seats. What’s easier to contact trace than that?! ?

3 hours ago, Earl Hood said:

Agree it is exciting. The missing piece for me is the inability of our midfielders to take full advantage of Max’s hit out dominance in the centre and at other stoppages. Get that right and we become close to unstoppable while Max is playing and flying. 

I'm sure we'd love to get this connection right, but I think we're happy to sacrifice some stoppage work to ensure our defensive system behind the ball is rock solid.

Around the ground at stoppages, particularly at throw ins, we have often continued to go with one less at the stoppage, and one extra behind the ball - credit to @Axis of Bob for pointing this out weeks ago. This so often allows May or Lever or Salem to peel off behind the ball as the spare interceptor. It's a brilliant move and because our mids are so strong and Max is so dominant/Jackson rucks as an extra mid, we don't lose a whole lot by going one less in at stoppage.

I think in the first quarter our centre square stoppages weren't as well set up. Our mids were too close to the rucks, with not enough separation. I think Oliver should almost always start well wide of the ruck contest, so that he can hit the ball drop at speed. It takes his opponent almost completely out of it, as Oliver has such an elite burst of speed when he hits the ball.

The other addition to our armour at around the ground stoppages is playing Salem defensive side for the handball receive. We used this on two or three clear occasions last night in obvious set plays. But we were so clean with our disposal that we could flick handballs around and get it to an elite user on the outside. It surprised me that Richmond didn't roll an extra up closer to the stoppage to pressure Salem, because he was so often peeling off by himself. The Bulldogs will absolutely do this with Daniels this week. In fact, I'm starting to see the Bulldogs handball game in the way we're playing.

Edited April 25, 20213 yr by A F

10 hours ago, piddz said:

Wonder what it's going to take to get more numbers to our games.

The team literally cannot do any better or play a more attractive and hard-nosed brand of footy. 56k attendance is pretty disappointing all things considered (unbeaten, ANZAC eve, Jones 300th, our home game, Richmond being our biggest test of the year etc).  

At best the crowd was 50-50 but i think there were more Richmond supporters from what I gathered? 

Maybe i need to make peace with the fact that we will always be a small (albeit passionate) fan base. 

At the end when Tigers fans left and we sang the Club song plus the presentation  to Trac there was IMO 30,000 Demons fans minimum.

The MCC members was 2/3 Demons and Really good no 's  in The Southern Stand upper.
 

All I can say is any one not gong now just can't expect to rock up and get Finals tickets Especially if we play Tigers again. Get your GF guarantee also if you are serious.

Covid has placed some small hardship for fans but no more than going to coffee shops with the QRCode and it has been point by point provided by the Club on our website.

Reserved seat holders  and friends sitting together are being slightly disadvantaged but not prevented under the Priority 1,2 and 3 system of linking up.

What some people don't think about is their own safety and others. Contact tracing is not  just about you it is any one in the crowd.

Simple but effective and safe.

7 hours ago, A F said:

go with one less at the stoppage, and one extra behind the ball

I see a few clubs doing this. Dogs for sure, possibly WC, and Tigers, though not when they played us. We must have put too much pressure on that strategy. In our game,  I thought when the Tiges got the ball at the stoppage they attempted to go forward, and break the line quickly.

Often the outlet is a one or two, out  the back, with another running hard a bit laterally to receive the last handball and release ball by foot to leading players or make a switch and change entry angle into the 50.

 

12 hours ago, piddz said:

Maybe i need to make peace with the fact that we will always be a small

During the 50s  60s we were the club in the land.

13 hours ago, piddz said:

Wonder what it's going to take to get more numbers to our games.

The team literally cannot do any better or play a more attractive and hard-nosed brand of footy. 56k attendance is pretty disappointing all things considered (unbeaten, ANZAC eve, Jones 300th, our home game, Richmond being our biggest test of the year etc).  

At best the crowd was 50-50 but i think there were more Richmond supporters from what I gathered? 

Maybe i need to make peace with the fact that we will always be a small (albeit passionate) fan base. 

Think it will take a while for crowds to come out as they used to. I think they said the 59k crowd in Perth recently was the largest in the world since the pandemic. The Dees crowd was 53k so we are not doing too badly. As mentioned in an earlier post, the ticketing system brought in to manage the pandemic environment has not helped as it is too bureaucratic and complicated. 
 

In my view sporting crowds will not return to normal until the global pandemic subsides internationally and that could be several years away if at all. Given the new vicious strains emerging overseas we should be all thankful for the cautious approach all our governments are taking to keep us safe. We are still in the best position in the world, and the behavioural modification is still the best panecea. Vaccines are fine as far as they go, but they are not the complete answer at least in the short to medium term. 
 

Sadly, this could put the Tokyo Olympics, and even our grand final in some doubt....

Edited April 25, 20213 yr by Dees2014

14 hours ago, piddz said:

Wonder what it's going to take to get more numbers to our games.

The team literally cannot do any better or play a more attractive and hard-nosed brand of footy. 56k attendance is pretty disappointing all things considered (unbeaten, ANZAC eve, Jones 300th, our home game, Richmond being our biggest test of the year etc).  

At best the crowd was 50-50 but i think there were more Richmond supporters from what I gathered? 

Maybe i need to make peace with the fact that we will always be a small (albeit passionate) fan base. 

As an interstate member, I’m reluctant to fly to games because of lockdown/isolation uncertainty. I can’t afford to take 2 weeks off work if vic has an outbreak and I have to isolate on return.
The 2 Anzac eve games I went 2 were 70/30 Rich/Melb. So I’d say a lot Richmond supporters staying home.

Watched the game again on replay. That third quarter ... that's the most ferocious and intense play I can recall seeing from this club. Full on unrelenting 30 minutes where we gave them not one inch of ground, no room to move, no room to breathe even. Hardly a single Tiger possession that was not under extreme pressure. Not that they didn't try to give us similar treatment back, but they battled to score, while we pulled away. Fantastic stuff. GO DEMONS!

My take was it was like watching the old champion and the new challenger going toe to toe until one blinked. It suddenly dawned on the old champ that this new challenger was not going away. As much as the champ dished out the challenger gave back. The king is dead long live the king!

That was a convincing win on the big stage. Made all the better by responding well to a blistering start by the Tigers.

17 hours ago, piddz said:

Wonder what it's going to take to get more numbers to our games.

The team literally cannot do any better or play a more attractive and hard-nosed brand of footy. 56k attendance is pretty disappointing all things considered (unbeaten, ANZAC eve, Jones 300th, our home game, Richmond being our biggest test of the year etc).  

At best the crowd was 50-50 but i think there were more Richmond supporters from what I gathered? 

Maybe i need to make peace with the fact that we will always be a small (albeit passionate) fan base. 

Getting us back into our seats that we have paid for and enjoy sitting in would be a huge start Piddz.

Should I be seriously considering upgrading my memberrship for a guaranteed GF ticket, or is this fanciful thinking?

49 minutes ago, danielE288 said:

Should I be seriously considering upgrading my memberrship for a guaranteed GF ticket, or is this fanciful thinking?

Yes yes yes upgrade ASAP 

3 minutes ago, 58er said:

Yes yes yes upgrade ASAP 

 Just did ?

How good were Tomlinson and May to run down the ground after the kozzie incident in the look last.

They both starting remonstrating with Lynch who tried to get involved.

Nice to have some big players that others dont want to mess with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man that was a great replay to watch, especially I muted Darcy and the other tools

Trac stood out, after a slow start, his 3rd Q especially was unbelievable. The impact he is having on contest around the ground is the greatest I have ever seen from a Demon.  You just know he'll win the ball

2 hours ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Probably a tigers supporter  I reckon.