Jump to content

Featured Replies

Ps BPA I am not talking about Gus, Clayton and Tracc.!!

 
9 hours ago, dee-tox said:

Also the height of their midfielders gives them an advantage in marking contests. That was a big factor for the Giants in the second quarter. 

I worry we have too many midgets.  Viney, Spargo, Kozzie, Chandler, Laurie, Bowey, etc. That's one third of our team and one of the reasons I'm not so keen on drafting Watson.

Ditto on that.

In a big final, the bigger bodies are also harder to nail in tackles.

One of the keys to Brissvegas's turnaround last night was 'sticking' effective tackles in comgestion while a number of the Carlton smaller sized players weren't as effective.

Then there's the marking aspect in general, especially late in a tight game/final.

Sanders is a must get for mine.

That's IF the AFL circus masters don't move the goal posts this week in order to hand him over to Norf.  Looking like they will.

Edited by Demon Dynasty

 
7 hours ago, Gawndy the Great said:

We need one Kiedean Coleman. 

He was immense last night and has been up there in a number of other matches as well.

The ability to hit targets 40 odd meters away, especially out the back and on 45s shouldn't be underestimated.  Even on the switch.

Really stepped up, broke the game open on occasions and tore the Blues a new one last night.

Salem at his best was not all that dissimilar for us a few yeats back, albeit his kicking never had the distance / penetration we are witnessing from Kiddy.

Edited by Demon Dynasty

9 hours ago, Gawndy the Great said:

We need one Kiedean Coleman. 

Judd McVee has similar traits to Coleman.

Fingers crossed. 


13 hours ago, Gawndy the Great said:

We need one Kiedean Coleman. 

My word we do. Even Connor Idun would be handy.

4 minutes ago, Deemac said:

Really we just need to fix our goal kicking 

And i50 gameplan.  They are linked.

 
On 9/21/2023 at 10:23 AM, poita said:

That's what happens when you ignore the draft for multiple years. 2016 - 2018 in our case.

And too many fringe players given long term deals, eg Spargo and Chandler, presumably to push salary cap issues down the road. 

Don't think your draft situation is real. Our 23/27 is not a great issue snd our recruiting has proved successful over the journey viz. 2021 flag and Top4 3 years in a row. 

What we perhaps not got right is our forward line disruptions of injury and age that have crept up on us. But we have JVR Fritta Kossie and Petty plus ANB snd Spargo Chandler and Trac as well. Smith is a depth forward or back. 

Matt Jefferson is a future prospect for 2024/5 on. Howes Laurie and Wowe plus AMV are very close and 2024 could well be breakout years for them. And a top under 30 draft pick forward  should be chosen in November who might be a year away or even ready depending upon our first round selections. 

Top up with Chol could be the quirky left of field selection who galvanises with Petty and JVR our scoring potential. 

Remember we had 8 more shots than the Blues and Lions only 6 at their fortress yet they are playing next week!! 

56 minutes ago, Watson11 said:

And i50 gameplan.  They are linked.

Yep, we go via the flanks and pockets because it’s easier to defend. Kicking for goal at those angles and what do we expect?


On 9/21/2023 at 12:23 PM, dimmy said:

Not every player is a star (at AFL Level) .

The cadets are Woewodin,Turner ,Laurie ,Howes

The Gunners . Spargo ,Chandler,  Tomlinson & Jordon come into that category.

The Bombadiers (one step up) are Sparrow,Bowey,Pickett,McVee, , The seargents are ANB, Hunter , Langdon & Lever

The Seargent majors (who really run the show) are Jack Viney & Steve May

The Looeys : Rivers, Fritsch & JVR

Captain : Gus

Half Colonels  Oliver

Generals : Maximillius & Trac

 An army cannot have too many generals, Colonels etc because the mundane things in the "battle" are mostly done on the front. The quality of the leaders have a great impact, BUT so do the work of the Gunners.

Point of this is that the role of everyone makes a Unit

If Clarry hadn't been injured he would be known as ADMIRAL OLIVER!

We must go all in. We need players that can make an impact right away, whether that's through the draft, traiding or free agency. Flags are on offer in 24 and 25, if we make good decisions and are afforded a touch of good luck. This season we were a chance to win every game with minutes remaining, bar one (Essendon) 

Richmond recruited Tom Lynch in 2018 and went on to win the next two flags. 

I can't see our salary cap being a burden considering the known/expected departures will all be on good money (Grundy, Hibberd, Harmes, Jordan and potential retirements of Brown, McDonald and Melksham). 

1.  A forward who can ruck (not the other way around) 

2. Midfielders who can kick (either recruit them or find ways to get the blokes who can kick up the ground, Bowey, Rivers, Salem) 

3. A standalone forward coach who can improve our goal kicking accuracy

As crazy as it seems with the Grundy situation we need a quality ruck on our list. As it stands we are one injury to a 32 year old ruckman away from having Will Verral or  KFW as our ruck, or Schache, JVR or heaven forbid Tom Mc in there! We will simply have to rest Max, he simply can’t ruck 90% for a full season! 
I get that Grundy didn’t work but if he’d been willing to swallow his pride there would’ve been a spot for him moving forward, Max will need to be managed moving forward and he could’ve been playing games as number one ruck increasingly regularly over the next three years. 

Obviously a gun key forward would be nice, but I don’t see any high quality ones available and gettable. We also have a huge opportunity with ours and Freo’s picks to get some bonafide gun mids to add to the quality we already have, I’d be loathe to trade them. 
 

Out: Hibbo, Dunstan, D Smith, Jordon, Grundy, Brown?, TMac?, 

In:

At least one, preferably two, quality backup rucks (Flynn, Lynch, McLean, Goldstein)

Quality mids: Picks 4 and 13

A forward if available (or we go in with Petty, JVR, Jeffo, Fritsch, Melksham?, Smith) 

The BIG one, an effective forward/goalkicking coach,

A midfield coach who can balance our full ground defense with some decent ball movement

Edited by deejammin'

  • 2 weeks later...

Sydney have a youngster named James Jordon who may be interested coming to the Dees, we'll be able to provide him with greater midfield opportunities 


3 minutes ago, adonski said:

Sydney have a youngster named James Jordon who may be interested coming to the Dees, we'll be able to provide him with greater midfield opportunities 

Can have leapfrog Harley Reid?

Sounds like we will need an inside midfielder with good hands next year. Anyone available that meets that criteria?

On 9/16/2023 at 2:49 AM, KingDingAling said:

1. A disciplined coach

2. A disciplined game plan

3. Capable assistant coaches

4. Clayton Oliver (hope he stays)

5. Rivers in the midfield 

 

Did you know something the rest of us didn’t on 16 September in relation to (4) above @KingDingAling?

Clayton Oliver.


Probably in the minority here but in terms of the list we don't need anything...

We need a new mindset.  

Focus on team footy, humility, belief, not whinging and not doing stupid sh#t.

 

I have been thinking about Max.

Clearly a generational ruckman. But he's 32 yo at the end of this year and our game plan is totally based around him. It's predictable and teams have double teamed him to counter his influence. 

His influence is likely to wane from here on in.

We are out of the finals 2 years running partly because teams have worked out how to beat Melbourne by containing Max's influence.

We need to think of Max now as a pinch hitter. He can't be carrying the team for much longer. And we need a new game plan that is less predictable and relies less on Max. ie we need a game plan that is not Max centric 

If we don't do it now we run the risk of him being injured - then we are really cooked - or still predictable and beaten when it matters.

 

I posted this in the rumors thread prior to the Grand Final, but it's a better fit here:

If I were in charge of recruitment I'd be focusing on getting in:

- one or two quality high half forwards who are elite athletes and decent kicks (ie two more nibblers - who by the by was our best kick inside 50 this year in terms of kick to score ratio). Bedford would be ideal (yes I know he ain't going anywhere)

- a mid size half forward/utility/mid who is an elite athlete, above average to elite kick, wins their own ball and kicks goals (the player type I'm thinking of is McCarthy and Bailey from the lions. Sparrow is our equivalent. We need more sparrows)

- a distributor from half back (or wing or outside mid) with elite kicking and decision making skills who can reliably execute difficult, high risk kicks - even under intense pressure (salo and bowey have been these players for us, but for diff reasons neither were able to play that role to the required level this season. I'm thinking of players like locasious, Coleman and anderson)

- a second ruck (I've got no idea who)

On the second point it is worth noting that in the Grand Final:

  • McCarthy and Bailey both kicked 2 goals and their combined 4 goals was nearly a third of the lions' 13 goals
  • Add Hugh McCluggage's 2 goals (he also had a match high 3 goal assists) and Robertson's goal and more than half of the lions goals were kicked by mid sized non permanent forward utility types
  • Half of Collingwood's 12 goals came from their midfielders 

Our forward line 'issues' are a furphy IMO. All of our regular forwards, including Petty, are excellent set shots and pretty good from general play too.

The key issue, IMO, is the poor execution and lack of goals and goal assists from our mids and utilities (wingers, flankers etc).

Edited by binman


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: Fremantle

    A month is a long time in AFL football. The proof of this is in the current state of the two teams contesting against each other early this Saturday afternoon at the MCG. It’s hard to fathom that when Melbourne and Fremantle kicked off the 2025 season, the former looked like being a major player in this year’s competition after it came close to beating one of the favourites in the GWS Giants while the latter was smashed by Geelong to the tune of 78 points and looked like rubbish. Fast forward to today and the Demons are low on confidence and appear panic stricken as their winless streak heads towards an even half dozen and pressure mounts on the coach and team leadership.  Meanwhile, the Dockers have recovered their composure and now sit in the top eight. They are definitely on the up and up and look most likely winners this weekend against a team which they have recently dominated and which struggles to find enough passages to the goals to trouble the scorers. And with that, Fremantle will head to the MCG, feeling very good about itself after demolishing Richmond in the Barossa Valley with Josh Treacy coming off a six goal haul and facing up to a Melbourne defence already without Jake Lever and a shaky Steven May needing to pass a fitness test just to make it onto the field of play. 

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • NON-MFC: Round 06

    The Easter Round kicks off in style with a Thursday night showdown between Brisbane and Collingwood, as both sides look to solidify their spots inside the Top 4 early in the season. Good Friday brings a double-header, with Carlton out to claim consecutive wins when they face the struggling Kangaroos, while later that night the Eagles host the Bombers in Perth, still chasing their first victory of the year. Saturday features another marquee clash as the resurgent Crows look to rebound from back-to-back losses against a formidable GWS outfit. That evening, all eyes will be on Marvel Stadium where Damien Hardwick returns to face his old side—the Tigers—coaching the Suns at a ground he's never hidden his disdain for. Sunday offers two crucial contests where the prize is keeping touch with the Top 8. First, Sydney and Port Adelaide go head-to-head, followed by a fierce battle between the Bulldogs and the Saints. Then, Easter Monday delivers the traditional clash between two bitter rivals, both desperate for a win to stay in touch with the top end of the ladder. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

      • Thanks
    • 101 replies
    Demonland
  • REPORT: Essendon

    What were they thinking? I mean by “they” the coaching panel and team selectors who chose the team to play against an opponent who, like Melbourne, had made a poor start to the season and who they appeared perfectly capable of beating in what was possibly the last chance to turn the season around.It’s no secret that the Demons’ forward line is totally dysfunctional, having opened the season barely able to average sixty points per game which means there has been no semblance of any system from the team going forward into attack. Nevertheless, on Saturday night at the Adelaide Oval in one of the Gather Round showcase games, Melbourne, with Max Gawn dominating the hit outs against a depleted Essendon ruck resulting from Nick Bryan’s early exit, finished just ahead in clearances won and found itself inside the 50 metre arc 51 times to 43. The end result was a final score that had the Bombers winning 15.6 (96) to 8.9 (57). On balance, one could expect this to result in a two or three goal win, but in this case, it translated into a six and a half goal defeat because they only managed to convert eight times or 11.68% of their entries. The Bombers more than doubled that. On Thursday night at the same ground, the losing team Adelaide managed to score 100 points from almost the same number of times inside 50.

      • Sad
      • Clap
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • PODCAST: Essendon

    The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 14th April @ the all new time of 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect another Demons loss at Kardinia Park to the Cats in the Round 04. 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. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human.

      • Thanks
    • 63 replies
    Demonland
  • PREGAME: Fremantle

    The Demons return home to the MCG in search of their first win for the 2025 Premiership season when they take on the Fremantle Dockers on Saturday afternoon. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 415 replies
    Demonland
  • VOTES: Essendon

    Max Gawn leads the Demonland Player of the Year ahead of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Kade Chandler and Jake Bowey. Your votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

      • Thanks
    • 24 replies
    Demonland