We had virtually no injuries

many players had career best years

these two thing are very unlikely to happen again

on the other hand we have real belief and unity and confidence. I would say this should balance out

21 hours ago, sue said:

But I bet you were feeling nervous in Q4.  They had significant injuries, we didn't.   Yes, we were probably the better team, but if they got an extra goal at a critical time, who knows...  I'm just saying the gap between the teams is not as large as some on here are saying. 

Some are arrogant and they can be. We will have our arrogant fans and that is fine. 

Doesn’t bother me.

4 hours ago, 58er said:

And how many quarters do you think it would have taken the Lions to overcome us? What happened if we kicked straighter or Charlie Cameron suffered an injury? 
The general result of that game by neutral opinion was we beat them by a far larger margin than the final result indicated.

Yes we had a bit of luck with McStsy being injured but that is footy!! 

Yes, but if they got that 1 goal closer they could have overtaken us wihtin the quarter. A team can be apparently far better than the opponent and still lose. That too is footy.  If you weren't nervous at that point in the game you couldn't possibly be a Demons supporter.  😀    

Anyway, while we  had a great year and a great final series all I'm saying is we shouldn't get over-confident about the size of the gap between us and other teams.   But if it makes any of us happy to be over-confident, fine. Just as long as the players are not.  (Confidence within bounds is of course good.)

Twice in the final month - our best team ever 🏆- suffered big runs of goals. 
 

Cats at Kardinia

Dogs in a GF

Good sides don’t allow that.
Can’t always manage 44/93 point turnarounds.  

What are the learnings?

On 10/29/2021 at 11:40 AM, John Crow Batty said:

As Leigh Matthews once said, to win a premiership everything at the club has to be in lockstep right down to who cooks the sausage sizzle or something like that. So we must keep the BBQ in good shape, source the best sausages, bread, sauce and onions plus make sure our sausage turner’s contract is extended so not poached by other clubs.

Are you suggesting that we become the Bunnings of the AFL?

2 hours ago, Watson11 said:

Getting my Bailey Scotts and Zac Baileys mixed up.  

Have you been on the Baileys?

20 hours ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

Funny, no one has mentioned Jeelong as threatening improvers.

Perhaps 2023 and beyond.  I hear there is a gun father/son in the pipeline, goes by the name of Methuselah.

1 hour ago, radar said:

Twice in the final month - our best team ever 🏆- suffered big runs of goals. 
 

Cats at Kardinia

Dogs in a GF

Good sides don’t allow that.
Can’t always manage 44/93 point turnarounds.  

What are the learnings?

Learnings   Great sides ( which we were this year ) can manage 44 and 19  (93) turnarounds.

In addition in the North and Lions games we also managed at least 40/50 turnarounds being about 24 pts down in both.

This team because of its "go to another level" factor is never beaten as it also plays " within the minute" and can mentally handle different situations within games.

Yes we will not every time  guarantee to turn around ALL situations but we know that the capability is there and never out of the question.

That is the learnings I take out of our 4 best Demon  games in a row in more than HALF ACENTURY.

Better if we don’t have to “turnaround”

How do we stop 8 goal blitzes against us in the first place?

3 minutes ago, radar said:

Better if we don’t have to “turnaround”

How do we stop 8 goal blitzes against us in the first place?

I’ve heard the MFC have contacted the worlds leading scientists for an in-depth analysis on the concept of momentum 

30 minutes ago, adonski said:

I’ve heard the MFC have contacted the worlds leading scientists for an in-depth analysis on the concept of momentum 

They also need to consult on friction.

On 10/29/2021 at 11:47 AM, Wells 11 said:

Lets not forget, if you include pre season, the doggies and dees were 2-2 last year. As we know, the GF was also a much tighter game than the scoreboard showed as well. So they dont even have to "improve" that much, the doggies are right there ready to pounce if we're not 100% switched on. I also think the blues may come with a rush...just not all the way. 

Poor bugggars.

On 10/29/2021 at 3:13 PM, Smokey said:

Commentary on a fan forum never actually won or lost a game either, for what its worth 

The doormen told me Goody consults Demonland every Thursday prior to selecting the team. 

(Then does the opposite to all suggestions.)

2 hours ago, sue said:

Yes, but if they got that 1 goal closer they could have overtaken us wihtin the quarter. A team can be apparently far better than the opponent and still lose. That too is footy.  If you weren't nervous at that point in the game you couldn't possibly be a Demons supporter.  😀    

Anyway, while we  had a great year and a great final series all I'm saying is we shouldn't get over-confident about the size of the gap between us and other teams.   But if it makes any of us happy to be over-confident, fine. Just as long as the players are not.  (Confidence within bounds is of course good.)

Sue what we did is have a poor or bad quarter ( third) with no goals kicked  vs the Lions but In saying that we conceded only 2 goals!!

If we had conceded 4/5 goals then the pressure would  have been far greater as the scores obviously would have been very close, in fact about level.

How were you in the third quarter in the Granny when in 10 minutes actual play we had scored only a point had slipped to 19 points behind and IMO needed a real spark from one of our stars to get us going again.

Again in that 10 mins we conceded ONLY 2 GOALS and in many ways SAVED the game.  Nevertheless in It I was worried ( watching live in the stand at Optus) in that period of play as our dare and flair had disappeared and the next score appeared a difficult effort and not knowing where it was coming from. BUT as a champion team does we found away, you could almost say 16 different ways to score go the rest of the game!! Naturally our centre  clearance  break  aways were pivotal for quick scoring opportunities as the Dogs lost their structure in the centre square and all our champions and role players contributed in the best 25 mins of Melb footy I have ever witnessed.

I don't think of the tight times we were in Sue during the last 4 games in 2021 now but that we learnt to regain control ( Simon always refers it to getting back to our footy and controlling the game ).

Our Team GREW so much in those last 7 games but ESPECIALLY in Round 23 and the Finals it is unrecognisable from the mid winter 7,8 and 9 goal struggle to overcome mediocre opposition and win games through sheer defence.

We are a formidable opposition for any opponent and our age demographic snd MCG desire to double up will keep our players hungry and motivated.

Plus our ability with our youth will keep us evolving on the journey yo returning at long last as one of the major Clubs in the AFL. 

 

52 minutes ago, sue said:

They also need to consult on friction.

?????? What is that it's not surely in the Club in 2021 !!! 

On 10/29/2021 at 10:36 AM, Salems Lot said:

Beware the hubris my friends.  This sort of thinking never won anyone a flag.  Stay hungry, stay humble!

Wise words, Don't like this thread at all.

 

On 10/30/2021 at 11:31 AM, sue said:

I have just watched the first final against Brisbane.  We could easily have lost that and who knows what would have happened if we did.  Too much hubris around here.

That's like saying we could have easily lost the grand final.

4 hours ago, DubDee said:

We had virtually no injuries

many players had career best years

these two thing are very unlikely to happen again

on the other hand we have real belief and unity and confidence. I would say this should balance out

And a lot of the younger players have lots more improvement

The no injuries stuff is a bit of a myth.

Our first two choice talls come preason were Brown & Weid - neither played til at least round 7.

Equally, Tomlinson going down could have completely stuffed us if we didn't have Petty waiting in the wings and ready to explode.

 

7 hours ago, DubDee said:

We had virtually no injuries

many players had career best years

these two thing are very unlikely to happen again

Why? If we continue to improve, more players will have "career best years". Depth, fitness and good management can take care of injuries unless they are really numerous and/or severe.

4 hours ago, adonski said:

The no injuries stuff is a bit of a myth.

Our first two choice talls come preason were Brown & Weid - neither played til at least round 7.

Equally, Tomlinson going down could have completely stuffed us if we didn't have Petty waiting in the wings and ready to explode.

 

We had an incredibly stable team with remarkably few injuries, especially to our keys.  Our three best players are Gawn, Oliver and Petracca. How many did they miss between them?

20 minutes ago, Redlagged said:

We had an incredibly stable team with remarkably few injuries, especially to our keys.  Our three best players are Gawn, Oliver and Petracca. How many did they miss between them?

About as many as Bont, Macrae and Libba did

A very similar amount to Wines, Dixon and Boak too

On 10/29/2021 at 3:25 PM, PaulRB said:

Our improvements that came late in 2020, continued into 2021 and put us into top 4 and minor premiers, with scalps for most top 8 teams over the year.

Late in 2021 we stepped up another level, and that level put us well above our top 4 peers, each of which we dispatched by good margins in the finals. There's no reason to believe we can't carry this new level into season 2022.

No reason to believe we'll backslide given the last few seasons we've gone from 17th to 9th to 1st... in fact given that improvement we should be 1st by a good margin in 2022. 

So to answer your question... "No, no team will catch us next year. We will have a season like the Dons in 2000. Dominant, hungry,  bloody hard to counter and at its best brutal, sublime and unstoppable."

Not being arrogant, just looking at what's just happened and extrapolating on the form lines...

Go Dees.

An improvement of 8 ladder places per year should see us at in negative 7th next year. 

Collingwood could be the smoky next year.

New coach, new game plan, determined to show they're better than their 2021 season and most importantly of all,

a fit and focussed DeGoey determined to rise to the next level

Beware the Pies !!

23 minutes ago, Big Col said:

An improvement of 8 ladder places per year should see us at in negative 7th next year. 

Good luck to whoever has our future 1st round draft pick!