12 hours ago, layzie said:

Yeah little surprised with the Hunter bashing at the moment. 

Yes it's weird. Was much better than Langdon on the weekend. Yet pilloried.

27 minutes ago, Redlagged said:

Yes it's weird. Was much better than Langdon on the weekend. Yet pilloried.

We always do this - the established recruit is but a few weeks away from being another teams cast off. The former Demon the one that got away…

Some still long for Weideman, or baker, or Bedford, hell there is someone pining for Michael Newton! 

7 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

I said hardly ever, not never. Fritsch has had 2 in 3 weeks. And I suspect Gunston's 7 tackles made an impact in that 2016 game. 7 tackles is a good month for Fritsch

Flogging a dead horse pal. Fritsch is a class forward who had a quiet match...but if he kicked as accurately as he usually does would still have kicked three.  Can we move on?

1 hour ago, Dwight Schrute said:

I would say our slight drop off is in part due to opposition teams having planned more for us, moving the ball more aggressively in general and we've dramatically improved offensively. i think a fully fit Hibberd and an inform Tmac will allow Petty to also drop back and stiffen the backline up nicely. Salem will also help a lot. 

We look like a dramatically better team when Kozzie is in the middle and our forward line looks downright scary with Petracca down there. you wish you could clone blokes but i do think these guys need to split that time a bit more evenly. give Kozzie more of a look at the midfield. 

Dwight :“….. . i think a fully fit Hibberd and an inform Tmac will allow Petty to also drop back and stiffen the backline up nicely. Salem will also help a lot. “

Yes for sure, a fully fit Hibberd, and an in form and injury free Tmac would be just great ….. but are both those scenarios now just wishful thinking, or perhaps just happy memories?

The current pressing problem preventing Petty going back into defence, where he made his reputation, is the lack of another fit and in form tall forward, notably Tmac and BBB.   But if Tmac cannot run, and BBB cannot run, jump or bend, then we will have to make do for now, and hope at least one of those two come good, and / or Disco comes along as a third (almost) tall defender.

55 minutes ago, Redlagged said:

Yes it's weird. Was much better than Langdon on the weekend. Yet pilloried.

People with very short attention spans may only remember the HTB against Hunter in the last quarter that cost a goal.  (A correct decision by the umpire just this once, though not by Hunter).

I had a look back in time to see the last game where Fritsch had such a poor output.

Round 21, 2021. Coincidentally, also a game where we were pushed to the line by a team that should have been much weaker, defeating West Coat by 72 to 63.

Of course, he then kicked 7 the next week on his way to 20 over the next five weeks, including a handy bag of six which some may recall.

 

We need to give Petty some time to learn the Forward's craft as we did for Van Rooyen.   

Possibly some less flaky coaching will train up the Love Shack for a key position.  We need the extra kilos.  Our new guys are lightly built.

Van Rooyen floats like a bee but dropped a lot on Saturday.  Half a century ago, a much taller friend was coached to tilt his hands forward.  Anyone out there with an updated diagnosis and cure?

I like to think of it as the George M. Cohen Cup! 

I'm attending this one in a family Group. Kids and cousins (all Dees supporters)

I want my kids early footy memories to be of us beating the Hawks. A bonus would be if we belt them. That would be good for my kids development i reckon. Hopefully instil a sense of disdain in them for that club and their horrible guernsey.

Edited May 8, 20231 yr by BDA

10 hours ago, Lord Travis said:

I doubt he will get dropped either, but on form he should be. He’s been below average in 2023 as both a forward and a defender. He’s probably the biggest disappointment from a playing perspective this season considering he was really pushing towards being an elite key defender last season. 

Yeah, sure.

18 minutes ago, Salems Lot said:

I like to think of it as the George M. Cohen Cup! 

Who is going to win the congretional medal of honour?

Edited May 8, 20231 yr by drysdale demon
less information.

42 minutes ago, BDA said:

I'm attending this one in a family Group. Kids and cousins (all Dees supporters)

I want my kids early footy memories to be of us beating the Hawks. A bonus would be if we belt them. That would be good for my kids development i reckon. Hopefully instil a sense of disdain in them for that club and their horrible guernsey.

Absolutely. I'd want my kids first memory to be the 18 final and then go through their whole life with no memory of losing to them like we had to endure.

The fact that being a MEDIUM forward Fritsch is as consistent as he is, tells you what a gun he is.

Anyone suggesting he isn't in the top echelon of forwards in the AFL is drunk. 

8 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

The fact that being a MEDIUM forward Fritsch is as consistent as he is, tells you what a gun he is.

Anyone suggesting he isn't in the top echelon of forwards in the AFL is drunk. 

Drunk and hopped up on goof balls. 

We need a replacement for Hibberd if he’s not going to be fit enough to play out the season. I can’t wait for Salem’s return. I honestly think if he can return near his best then he’s the final piece. I just wish Petty had done more as a forward and that Schache was given more games to show himself. I’d still like to see Max drop back more than go forward but that ain’t going to happen. 

7 hours ago, redandbluemakepurple said:

We need to give Petty some time to learn the Forward's craft as we did for Van Rooyen.   

Possibly some less flaky coaching will train up the Love Shack for a key position.  We need the extra kilos.  Our new guys are lightly built.

Van Rooyen floats like a bee but dropped a lot on Saturday.  Half a century ago, a much taller friend was coached to tilt his hands forward.  Anyone out there with an updated diagnosis and cure?

Tbh... and not a slight on you , but thankyou for raising the notion:

Personally i dont think you bring in a player or move them At AFL level... to learn craft. I allays immediately all but wonder what theyve been doing the previous 10 years or so.

There are different ilks of players...  Tmac actually knows how to swing....i.e play front or back and understands the craft of both.  He knew how to before getting onto our books.  His time with the Dees has allowed him to acclimatise that craft to the demands of AFL level footy.

Then there are some players who can only really play one or the other end. Their game, style, skills .."craft" is suited to that...and not the other.

At times eagle eyed trainers/coaches espy the rudiments and proceed to teach a position. This is done more often in the magoos....in days of old before that in the U19s...   so when their name is called they were good to go ...in that position.

I tend to think this especially more relevant to Key Positions more than utility players.

Imo ..Petty is not a FWD..  yes he's occasionally gone ok but in the main his positioning and style aren't that of a fwd.  The Roo Boy has it in spades...  compare the 2...enlightening. 

If you were to want to try and develop Petty up fwd....dont do it in games worh 4pts...  Petty tends to work in space and where he can time the flight better.

In the crowded, tagged environs of the fwd arc he's availed little to none of this.

Id only play Harry up front if there was no option. We need to ensure there are.

 

20 hours ago, Deespicable said:

Our last easy game before a tougher run of matches, including a huge Friday night in Adelaide against a fired up Power who will be going for a seventh straight win by then.

There's been a lot of talk about our poor clearance work last week, but I think people underestimate how good Rowell is around the stoppages - it took our Carey boy Viney to nullify his hard grunt work after half time and even then Anderson proved damaging and part of that is that Witts is a great tapman - although not a patch on Gawny when it comes to marking.

I reckon this is the last week for a while that we have to experiment with to our set up.

Like many here, I was keen to see how Petty would go up forward given he looked promising in that role in 2019 before injury cut him down. But what has become clear is that he doesn't have the quick-thinking peripheral vision assessment ability to quickly link up and send the ball downfield to the next option - he is not alone here, plenty of bigs struggle in this department. But I am happy for us to ditch that experiment now and send him back to the VFL to get his confidence back as a defender. He may need a week or two back there as he seems to have lost that gung-ho style and we need him for Finlayson (PA) and potentially Frampton (Coll), Cameron (Geel) and Hipwood (Bris) in the big games.

The obvious new experiment is Joel Smith as a forward - yes I know he'll probably be out injured before I finish this - but Smith and his pace and tackling ability is going to be key, if fit, against the Power (Bergman), Pies (Maynard or Murphy) and possibly Stewart (Geel). Ultimately I am still not sure if Smith, like Petty, is quick-thinking savvy, so his linkwork may not be good enough, but he has to be tried and the Hawks game is the best soft-kill game to get him going, although CJ will make him work hard. Smith is bigger and stronger now, so hopefully he can provide enough of a marking option. And the loss of a genuine third tall is no big deal because our best talls are Gawn and Grundy when they rest and we need them both on the field a little more than their current 75-80% game time. We should still have enough marking prowess anyway with JVR (BBB will replace him if he loses his appeal), Fritter and the Gawn/Grundy combo.

As to other changes, our backline is really coming along and McVee's pace is pivotal as that is our weakness, as Essendon showed us a few weeks ago. The penny seems to be dropping for Rivers, who after his late-game howler against the Suns was super committed from then on - although he still needs to up his awareness to the level of Angus and Bowser. Hibberd returns if fit to replace Turner, if not I'd give Disco another go - he started poorly against the Suns but I thought he was starting to find his way after halftime before being pulled.

The other obvious change is that Jordan comes out after a couple of solid but not sensational games. His spot probably goes back to Harmes with Spargo getting the subs vest.

In: J.Smith, Harmes (Spargo as sub), Hibberd (if fit), Ben Brown (if JVR banned)

Out: Petty, Jordan, Turner (if Hibberd fit), JVR (susp)  

Good work, Deespic. I particularly like this description of Petty: doesn’t have the quick-thinking peripheral vision assessment ability. (It would be great if Champion Data could rate all forwards on this new measure.) Charlie Spargo would rate very highly, I think.

21 hours ago, Deespicable said:

Like many here, I was keen to see how Petty would go up forward given he looked promising in that role in 2019 before injury cut him down. But what has become clear is that he doesn't have the quick-thinking peripheral vision assessment ability to quickly link up and send the ball downfield to the next option - he is not alone here, plenty of bigs struggle in this department.

 

16 hours ago, Little Goffy said:

Petty's most distinct trait is his persistence after an initial contest. He's got great initiative and is back in most almost immediately. I'm not pretending he's a sprinter or twinkle-toes nimble, but in that chaos that forms close to goal he has a level of alertness that really helps close up the little spaces that crumbers use for their snaps.

May is in bad form!!! Fritsch doesn't pressure!!! Our transition sucks!!! All fugazi, we're closing in on the number 1 rating for both offense and defense. As always, in the FD i trust. 

May had a very good game on the weekend, just don't understand the negativity on here. And 17 other clubs would start Fritsch in their forward line this weekend if they could. 

16 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

COME AND GIVE MAYSIE THE LOVE HE DESERVES!

Speaking of giving players the love they deserve, on Saturday I told Reece Conca I want his job. He said, “can you run 10 kilometres in 120 minutes?” Of course I lied and said I could. I told him that when he decides to retire, to let me know and I’ll take over. He said “sure!” Somehow I don’t think I’ll be hearing from him. 😁

17 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

This Saturday…

STEVEN MAY’S 200th GAME!

While it’s not our home game, it’s at our home.

It would be AWESOME to have as many Dees fans as possible.

4:35 on a Saturday arvo… a convenient time.

COME AND GIVE MAYSIE THE LOVE HE DESERVES!

❤️💙

I think it’s a safe bet the crowd will be at least 50/50 if not favoring Melbourne.  Hawks fans can’t be keen to come watch their side at the moment. 

4 hours ago, layzie said:

Absolutely. I'd want my kids first memory to be the 18 final and then go through their whole life with no memory of losing to them like we had to endure.

A Parents guide for D'landers:

Show your kids the 2018 finals run,bar the PF.

Show them again (or for the first time) our 2021 finals run including R23 down at the Cattery.

🔥🔥🔵🔴

1 hour ago, YearOfTheDees said:

May had a very good game on the weekend, just don't understand the negativity on here. And 17 other clubs would start Fritsch in their forward line this weekend if they could. 

I think I can explain it to you. There are a few posters on DL who love to latch on to a player and tear them down. They do it relentlessly, week after week. For them, anything that goes wrong can be sheeted back to their pet hate project.

I have only been in DL for 4 or 5 years but I first noticed it with Jack Watts, Omac, Milkshake was the target for a while. They don’t have to actually be bad players, Spargo and Gussy have been in the sights for example and now May and Hunter who are both really solid, talented players.

 How it works is that the usual suspects will get to work white anting, they can be relentless. They criticise everything that player does. If we have a loss or a bad game they can usually convince a broader group of people to jump on board for a big pile on.

 In my experience you can’t stop it. The best you can do is occasionally point them to some stats or  ‘actual facts’ about that player’s role and output. If you engage in any other level it just feeds it.

 

Never a good idea to simply expect the Dees to demolish a recently underperforming Hawthorn team. Melbourne v Hawthorn results in recent years have been mixed. Therefore, another possible mixed result could be on the way. For example, here are the last four meetings between both sides, 2020 - Melbourne won by 43 points, April 2021 - Melbourne won by 50 points, July 2021 - Drawn game, April 2022 - Melbourne by 10 points. The good news is that Hawthorn have not beaten Melbourne in their last four meetings. The bad news, take the upcoming game for granted and be prepared for a close contest. Just a thought.

Just watched the injury report. Salem will train fully this week and be available for selection according to Griffith, pity Casey have a bye