Jump to content

Featured Replies

Posted

I have thought for a while that our "small" forwards are our achilles heel. We have options re our big key forwards but with the exception of Picket (sometimes) & Fritsch the cupboard is bare. Compare our other 4 fwds this year with the 4 fwds from our 88 & 2000 Grand Final sides.

2021 - Fritsch, Picket, Jordon, Neal Bullen

1988 - Lyon, Flintoff, Williams, R Jackson

2000 - Robertson, Green, Powell, Farmer

 

Forwardlines irrelevant - pressure, elite mids and defence win big games, people will switch on soon enough 

Edited by adonski

56 minutes ago, adonski said:

Forwardlines irrelevant - pressure, elite mids and defence win big games, people will switch on soon enough 

Surely not irrelevant - goals still need to be kicked.  Unlike soccer we don't have nil all draws.

 
1 hour ago, adonski said:

Forwardlines irrelevant - pressure, elite mids and defence win big games, people will switch on soon enough 

Agree with this.

Also think our forward lines biggest weakness is with our talls. None of them are good in the contest. All look ok when leading into space but pretty much none of them take marks in contested situations, and most don't do a great job of even halving contests and bringing the ball down into dangerous spots.

Unless we apply pressure up the ground and let our forwards work in space we have little chance of kicking big enough scores to win it all. This is also exacerbated by the fact that we don't get a lot of goals out of our mids (we do get quite a few points).

  • Author
1 hour ago, adonski said:

Forwardlines irrelevant - pressure, elite mids and defence win big games, people will switch on soon enough 

So you take Reiwoldt & Lynch out of the Tigers flag sides or Kennedy & Darling from WC & it makes no difference ?   


3 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

I have thought for a while that our "small" forwards are our achilles heel. We have options re our big key forwards but with the exception of Picket (sometimes) & Fritsch the cupboard is bare. Compare our other 4 fwds this year with the 4 fwds from our 88 & 2000 Grand Final sides.

2021 - Fritsch, Picket, Jordon, Neal Bullen

1988 - Lyon, Flintoff, Williams, R Jackson

2000 - Robertson, Green, Powell, Farmer

1998- Neitz Lyon Schwartz Farmer

Never seen a more potent forward line in my time. That finals system robbed us. How on earth you can belt the eventual premiers and not make a GF is mind baffling!

3 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

So you take Reiwoldt & Lynch out of the Tigers flag sides or Kennedy & Darling from WC & it makes no difference ?   

Kennedy and Darling still going strong and the eagles are [censored] house

 

 

8 hours ago, Doug Reemer said:

1998- Neitz Lyon Schwartz Farmer

Never seen a more potent forward line in my time. That finals system robbed us. How on earth you can belt the eventual premiers and not make a GF is mind baffling!

Because its the midfield... if they don't fire the ball doesn't get to the forwards....as for the GF, done by the final system of the time.   Missed opportunity 

16 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

I have thought for a while that our "small" forwards are our achilles heel. We have options re our big key forwards but with the exception of Picket (sometimes) & Fritsch the cupboard is bare. Compare our other 4 fwds this year with the 4 fwds from our 88 & 2000 Grand Final sides.

2021 - Fritsch, Picket, Jordon, Neal Bullen

1988 - Lyon, Flintoff, Williams, R Jackson

2000 - Robertson, Green, Powell, Farmer

Spargo is more a forward than Jordon!


16 hours ago, Doug Reemer said:

1998- Neitz Lyon Schwartz Farmer

Never seen a more potent forward line in my time. That finals system robbed us. How on earth you can belt the eventual premiers and not make a GF is mind baffling!

The 1998 finals series did my head in too DR! Melbourne finished the home & away season 4th that year, beat Adelaide in the first final but didn't get to go straight to the Preliminary! 

The McIntyre Final Eight System in use at the time really disadvantaged teams who were good enough to finish the home and away series in 3rd and 4th positions.  This article by Tim Lane in the Age: Eight A Lucky Number For AFL Plodders, finally explained to me the farcical changes made to the AFL finals series in the 90's as the competition expanded and added new teams. The AFL really struggled to find a fair finals system during this time...

After much criticism, the McIntyre Final Eight System was replaced by the current AFL Finals System in 2000. IMV it provides the fairest reward for sides good enough to finish the home and away series in the top 4.

Let's hope the Dee's make top 4 or even better top 2 this year and take full advantage of this simpler and fairer system. 

 

 

18 hours ago, Doug Reemer said:

1998- Neitz Lyon Schwartz Farmer

Never seen a more potent forward line in my time. That finals system robbed us. How on earth you can belt the eventual premiers and not make a GF is mind baffling!

+1. In he air and on the ground the quartet would be the best I have seen in 60 years. On their day and at their best they were each capable of kicking bags of goals, if not necessarily all at the same time. They had ability, skills and footy smarts in abundance. And in that series they had Travis feeding them.

1998 - we was robbed.

 

On 7/9/2021 at 8:18 AM, AC/DeeC said:

The 1998 finals series did my head in too DR! Melbourne finished the home & away season 4th that year, beat Adelaide in the first final but didn't get to go straight to the Preliminary! 

The McIntyre Final Eight System in use at the time really disadvantaged teams who were good enough to finish the home and away series in 3rd and 4th positions.  This article by Tim Lane in the Age: Eight A Lucky Number For AFL Plodders, finally explained to me the farcical changes made to the AFL finals series in the 90's as the competition expanded and added new teams. The AFL really struggled to find a fair finals system during this time...

After much criticism, the McIntyre Final Eight System was replaced by the current AFL Finals System in 2000. IMV it provides the fairest reward for sides good enough to finish the home and away series in the top 4.

Let's hope the Dee's make top 4 or even better top 2 this year and take full advantage of this simpler and fairer system. 

 

 

Couldn't agree more. I was 12 in 98 and in 96 when I was 10 I had no idea how the finals system worked.. We lived in brisbane at the time and used to "follow" the bears mainly to go. I rememeber being adamant North were knocked out after week 2 ? When in reality they were straight to the Prelim.

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

  • PREVIEW: Carlton

    Good evening, Demon fans and welcome back to the Demonland Podcast ... it’s time to discuss this week’s game against the Blues. Will the Demons celebrate Clayton Oliver’s 200th game with a victory? We have a number of callers waiting on line … Leopold Bloom: Carlton and Melbourne are both out of finals contention with six wins and eleven losses, and are undoubtedly the two most underwhelming and disappointing teams of 2025. Both had high expectations at the start of participating and advancing deep into the finals, but instead, they have consistently underperformed and disappointed themselves and their supporters throughout the year. However, I am inclined to give the Demons the benefit of the doubt, as they have made some progress in addressing their issues after a disastrous start. In contrast, the Blues are struggling across the board and do not appear to be making any notable improvements. They are regressing, and a significant loss is looming on Saturday night. Max Gawn in the ruck will be huge and the Demon midfield have a point to prove after lowering their colours in so many close calls.

    • 0 replies
  • REPORT: North Melbourne

    I suppose that I should apologise for the title of this piece, but the temptation to go with it was far too great. The memory of how North Melbourne tore Melbourne apart at the seams earlier in the season and the way in which it set the scene for the club’s demise so early in the piece has been weighing heavily upon all of us. This game was a must-win from the club’s perspective, and the team’s response was overwhelming. The 36 point win over Alastair Clarkson’s Kangaroos at the MCG on Sunday was indeed — roovenge of the highest order!

    • 4 replies
  • CASEY: Werribee

    The Casey Demons remain in contention for a VFL finals berth following a comprehensive 76-point victory over the Werribee Tigers at Whitten Oval last night. The caveat to the performance is that the once mighty Tigers have been raided of many key players and are now a shadow of the premiership-winning team from last season. The team suffered a blow before the game when veteran Tom McDonald was withdrawn for senior duty to cover for Steven May who is ill.  However, after conceding the first goal of the game, Casey was dominant from ten minutes in until the very end and despite some early errors and inaccuracy, they managed to warm to the task of dismantling the Tigers with precision, particularly after half time when the nominally home side provided them with minimal resistance.

    • 0 replies
  • PREGAME: Carlton

    The Demons return to the MCG as the the visiting team on Saturday night to take on the Blues who are under siege after 4 straight losses. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 204 replies
  • PODCAST: North Melbourne

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 14th July @ 8:00pm. Join Binman & I as we dissect the Dees glorious win over the Kangaroos at the MCG.
    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/

      • Like
    • 29 replies
  • POSTGAME: North Melbourne

    The Demons are finally back at the MCG and finally back on the winners list as they continually chipped away at a spirited Kangaroos side eventually breaking their backs and opening the floodgates to run out winners by 6 goals.

      • Like
    • 253 replies