Jump to content

PREGAME: Rd 21 vs North Melbourne

Demonland
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

As I see it, Sparrow comes in for Woewodin.

The only other possible change that I can envisage is which of Smith, Tomlinson or Hibberd is in the starting 22 with one picked as the sub and the other missing out altogether. There are arguments for and against every option. Best guess: Tomlinson plays, Smith as sub, Hibberd unlucky and misses.

    • Like 5
     
    12 hours ago, picket fence said:

    As iterated Spargo was shizzen last week and does NOT deserve a recall!

    Maybe so, but I think Harmes is worse option and should not be in the 22. 

    • Sad 1
    1 minute ago, MrFreeze said:

    Maybe so, but I think Harmes is worse option and should not be in the 22. 

    We dont need either

    • Like 3
    • Sad 1
     
    On 8/1/2023 at 5:50 PM, binman said:

    Personally, i'm in the managing players camp.

    As Demon Dynasty notes, any best 22 player managed won't be doing any resting. Like Smith doing laps after the Tigers game, they will still have to the ks they would have otherwise done in the match.

    But the advantage is they don't have to be on and off a plane, or stay overnight in a hotel. And the risk of injury is much, much lower (ie no risk of impact injury).

    And perhaps even more importantly they don't have to worry about post match recovery (eg from bumps, bruises and soreness) interfering with their prep and program heading into the challenging - and likely super critical (re chances of top 20 - Blues game. 

    They also get a chance to freshen up mentally - which might benefit some players. 

    Get the load without the risk.

    There is another important element too i reckon - its give the club the opportunity to reward players at Casey for good form and/or give some young player some exposure at AFL level.

    And given any player coming in will have a specific role in the system, they get chance to practice that role at AFL level, (which might useful in the even we cop some some injuries ahead of finals) and that mitigates some of the downside of new players coming in

    And potentially a couple of fresh, motivated players who want to impress might actually help us put the Roos to the sword. 

    Agreed. 
     

    Any argument that resting players might mess with form is somewhat negated by the existence of an interchange bench. In any given match a team has to perform with several combinations of players on the ground. 
     

    Resting players such as Gawn or Viney (or whoever could physically benefit from it) provides the team with the opportunity to sharpen their form when those players are ordinarily on the bench in a “normal” game. 

    • Like 2
    1 hour ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

    As I see it, Sparrow comes in for Woewodin.

    The only other possible change that I can envisage is which of Smith, Tomlinson or Hibberd is in the starting 22 with one picked as the sub and the other missing out altogether. There are arguments for and against every option. Best guess: Tomlinson plays, Smith as sub, Hibberd unlucky and misses.

    I think that's right.  Adding Sparrow for Woewodin, and retaining JJ and Harmes, gives us a deeper midfield rotation and enables us to give Viney less load.  I like this if it happens.

    As you say, the other is a choice among three for the 3rd tall back Tomlinson/Smith/Hibberd.

    I: Petty, Sparrow, Harmes, Tomlinson/Smith/Hibberd

    • Like 3

    1 hour ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

    Just because Smith has played well being used as the sub doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get an opportunity to play a whole game. If any player makes our team as little as 1% better they should be playing. Was Hibberd’s last game against the Cats? He didn’t play well that night, plus earlier in the year when we just went with May and Lever as the two talls they weren’t at their best, our system and players work better with two kpd plus Lever. For mine Hibberd to miss and we need to make a call on CHB, either persist with Thommo or give the last 4 games to Smith.

    Tommo gets another shot.

    • Like 1
    7 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

    Tommo gets another shot.

    I’m happy with that, I just wouldn’t be bringing in Hibberd for a tall or McVee.

    • Like 1
    10 minutes ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

    I’m happy with that, I just wouldn’t be bringing in Hibberd for a tall or McVee.

    Who will North have as talls on sunday

    • Like 1
     
    3 minutes ago, Kent said:

    Who will North have as talls on sunday

    Goldstein, Xerri, Larkey 

    • Like 1
    1 minute ago, MrFreeze said:

    Goldstein, Xerri, Larkey 

     I mean in the forward line

    assuming resting ruck is one  Larkey 197cm is the only Tall

    the rest named are Tucker Phillips Stephenson Taylor Curtis are all 187 cm or thereabouts

    Do we need 3 talls ?

    • Like 3

    14 minutes ago, Kent said:

     I mean in the forward line

    assuming resting ruck is one  Larkey 197cm is the only Tall

    the rest named are Tucker Phillips Stephenson Taylor Curtis are all 187 cm or thereabouts

    Do we need 3 talls ?

    probably not

    which is why i expect hibberd to come in for tomlinson

    • Like 4
    23 minutes ago, Kent said:

    Who will North have as talls on sunday

    Probably only Larkey and have a ruck rotate through. Regardless, we should keep our structures if we’re not looking to rest players. One of the keys of our teams is our players versatility.

    • Like 1
    1 hour ago, MrFreeze said:

    Maybe so, but I think Harmes is worse option and should not be in the 22. 

    You are speaking about 2021 Premiership players

    • Like 1
    45 minutes ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

    I’m happy with that, I just wouldn’t be bringing in Hibberd for a tall or McVee.

    Tommos been gettng some good opponents.

    • Like 2

    Anyone who’ll be in Hobart tomorrow and is interested… there’s a Captain’s Run scheduled at Blundstone. The North cheer squad has told us it’s at either 3pm or 3:30pm, depending on who you ask. 


    49 minutes ago, radar said:

    You are speaking about 2021 Premiership players

    Spargo is also a 2021 premiership player. 

    • Like 2
    6 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

    Do we have any clearer news about Oliver's return as of yet?

     

    Next week v Blues

    • Like 1
    31 minutes ago, SFebes said:

    Next week v Blues

    Thanks very much SFebes. Looking forward to it.

    • Like 3
    1 hour ago, MrFreeze said:

    Spargo is also a 2021 premiership player. 

    I'll bet he'll be a 2023 premiership player as well.

    • Like 4
    • Haha 1

    2 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

    Do we have any clearer news about Oliver's return as of yet?

     

    As @SFebes has said, Clarrie’s due back vs the Blues. Tonight I’ll be at Casa De Frittata and should Fritta Jnr pop by I’ll ask him to confirm. Can’t guarantee that though, if he comes late in the evening there’s every chance I’ll be hammered and won’t remember a thing he’s said. 😜

    Let's all try and enjoy a good weekend of footy and hopefully a good win. 

    • Like 3
     

    Guest
    This topic is now closed to further replies.
    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • NON-MFC: Round 12

      Round 12 kicks off with the Brisbane hosting Essendon at the Gabba as the Lions aim to solidify their top-two position against an injury-hit Bombers side seeking to maintain momentum after a win over Richmond. On Friday night it's a blockbuster at the G as the Magpies look to extend their top of the table winning streak while the Hawks strive to bounce back from a couple of recent defeats and stay in contention for the Top 4. On Saturday the Suns, buoyed by 3 wins on the trot, face the Dockers in a clash crucial for both teams' aspirations this season. The Suns want to solidify their Top 4 standing whilst the Dockers will be desperate to break into the 8.

        • Clap
        • Haha
      • 167 replies
      Demonland

    • PREVIEW: St. Kilda

      The media has performed a complete reversal in its coverage of the Melbourne Football Club over the past month and a half. Having endured intense criticism from all quarters in the press, which continually identified new avenues for scrutiny of every aspect, both on and off the field, and prematurely speculated about the departures of coaches, players, officials, and various employees from a club that lost its first five matches and appeared out of finals contention, the narrative has suddenly shifted to one of unbridled optimism.  The Demons have won five of their last six matches, positioning themselves just one game (and a considerable amount of percentage) outside the top eight at the halfway mark of the season. They still trail the primary contenders and remain far from assured of a finals berth.

        • Haha
      • 12 replies
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Sydney

      A few weeks ago, I visited a fellow Melbourne Football Club supporter in hospital, and our conversation inevitably shifted from his health diagnosis to the well-being of our football team. Like him, Melbourne had faced challenges in recent months, but an intervention - in his case, surgery, and in the team's case, a change in game style - had brought about much improvement.  The team's professionals had altered its game style from a pedestrian and slow-moving approach, which yielded an average of merely 60 points for five winless games, to a faster and more direct style. This shift led to three consecutive wins and a strong competitive effort in the fourth game, albeit with a tired finish against Hawthorn, a strong premiership contender.  As we discussed our team's recent health improvement, I shared my observations on the changes within the team, including the refreshed style, the introduction of new young talent, such as rising stars Caleb Windsor, Harvey Langford, and Xavier Lindsay, and the rebranding of Kozzy Pickett from a small forward to a midfield machine who can still get among the goals. I also highlighted the dominance of captain Max Gawn in the ruck and the resurgence in form in a big way of midfield superstars Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver. 

      • 9 replies
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Sydney

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 26th May @ 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we analyse a crushing victory by the Demons over the Swans at the G. 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.

        • Haha
        • Like
      • 51 replies
      Demonland

    • POSTGAME: Sydney

      The Demons controlled the contest from the outset, though inaccurate kicking kept the Swans in the game until half time. But after the break, Melbourne put on the jets and blew Sydney away and the demolition job was complete.

        • Clap
        • Love
        • Like
      • 428 replies
      Demonland

    • VOTES: Sydney

      Max Gawn still has an almost unassailable lead in the Demonland Player of the Year award. Jake Bowey, Christian Petracca, Harvey Langford, Kade Chandler & Ed Langdon round out the Top 5. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

        • Shocked
        • Like
      • 46 replies
      Demonland
    View All