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PREGAME: Rd 10 vs West Coast

Demonland
Demonland
in Melbourne Demons

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On 12/05/2024 at 22:17, Binmans PA said:

There's no reason why the plan to play Salo through the midfield won't resume with his return. That was the plan had he not been injured.

Unless we go Rivers into the middle. But given the pre season, I think it'll be Salem into the midfield rotation.

I think Trac worked particularly well up forward against the Blues as they were playing man-on-man and Trac can beat anyone in the comp like that.  It was great to see the Coaches notice that and make the change.

This game will be much tougher than the ladder suggests, but (ironically with our injuries) it will be our fitness that gets us over the line.  I reckon Langers and Nibbler to be in the votes.

    • Like 4
     

    Perhaps Fullarton and Tomlinson in. TMc Forward for one week and Tomlinson back.

    Or Tomlinson and say Tholstrup in. Tholstrup to get some mid minutes to give more time for Track up forward. TMc forward.

    Tomlinson has been in cracking VFL form. BBB's knees might to dodgy to fly to Perth especially at his height but he still is an option. 

    • Like 1
    5 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

    Determined to take this game lightly.

    Hell we have enough hard ones.

    Dees by 42 or more

    Definitely a danger game imo. 

    • Haha 1
     

    If Salem is fit he should play off half back. Very good in the midfield against Hawthorn but may lack the fitness atm. Love to see Rivers unleashed in there. Reckon he has a huge upside and will allow Trac to float forward regularly. Bpwey will be better fir the run.

    • Like 3

    Left field: Tommo in to the backline, and send May to FF, just for this game. 
    Tommo at least has decent form in the VFL, and I love to see May crash a few packs up forward. 

    • Shocked 1
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    8 hours ago, Deelectable said:

    If Salem is fit he should play off half back. Very good in the midfield against Hawthorn but may lack the fitness atm. Love to see Rivers unleashed in there. Reckon he has a huge upside and will allow Trac to float forward regularly. Bpwey will be better fir the run.

    If I remember correctly, Rivers played mostly midfield last time we played them and absolutely nailed it.

    • Like 1
    1 hour ago, Neil Crompton said:

    Left field: Tommo in to the backline, and send May to FF, just for this game. 
    Tommo at least has decent form in the VFL, and I love to see May crash a few packs up forward. 

    I think May would explode at this as a suggestion

    • Like 2
    14 hours ago, adonski said:

    IN: Salem, BBB
    OUT: Disco, JVR

    Go smaller, Petty to take JVR's ruck mins. Salem back into the midfield mix or Rivers for something different.

    Agree with this. If Salem doesn't get up, I suspect Laurie will get another crack with Woey coming into the side.

    Verrall and McAdams not ready and I don't think Fullarton's shown enough recently to warrant a call-up.

    • Like 2
     
    2 hours ago, Neil Crompton said:

    Left field: Tommo in to the backline, and send May to FF, just for this game. 
    Tommo at least has decent form in the VFL, and I love to see May crash a few packs up forward. 

    I would love to see this for no other reason other than to see if May and Lever would still argue with each other at opposite ends of the field. 

    • Like 1
    • Haha 8
    14 hours ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

    I really don't get the angst some posters have with JVR being unavailable and BBB, Will V, Fullerton or Loveshack stepping up. I suggest that it's about time Max was challenged by the coaching group. It's time he lifted, got the hard ball and played the game on his own.

    Send him to the middle at the beginning of the game. Tell him he'd better start dominating the ruck contests. Then he needs to sprint down to the back line, intercepting a high ball—his 6'10" frame awkwardly ducking a collision with the goal post, looking like a giraffe on roller skates.

    Next, he's in the midfield, where instead of hand balling, he starts using his ruck taps to direct the ball to himself, confusing the opposition and the umpires alike. By the time he hits the forward line, he's taking speckies over the oppo, apologising as he goes up. "Sorry mate, force of habit!"

    As the game progresses, and he's feeling like an interchange break, you can see him trying to negotiate with Goody via hand signals from the fat side of the ground, pantomiming a drink or perhaps a quick rub down—only to end up jogging to the next position he’s supposed to cover.

    By the end of the match, Max has covered more ground than a tarpaulin on the Simpson desert. The crowd is loving every minute of it, cheering every time he awkwardly gallops into the next position. The game ends with Gawn kicking a goal from fullback, shrugging as if to say, "Well, I guess I really can do it all!"

    Exactly

    If Kossie can kick his own ball forward to a pack and then crumb his own kick to kick a brilliant goal on the run, why can't Max?

    A couple of sprint sessions this week to get him running faster than Mach Pickett and some 50km endurance sessions in the afternoon. He'll be cherry ripe come Sunday.

    Or maybe send him off on a run this arvo across the Nullarbor to Perth. Harden him up a bit more.

    That way he'll avoid the physical degradation of those horrendous 4 hour flights. 

    Love you Maxy 😜

    Go Dees

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

    1 hour ago, Roger Mellie said:

    Agree with this. If Salem doesn't get up, I suspect Laurie will get another crack with Woey coming into the side.

    Verrall and McAdams not ready and I don't think Fullarton's shown enough recently to warrant a call-up.

    I think BBB is the easy in, he’s been emergency last few weeks so is next in imo. Salem if fit is best 22 so comes in as well. 

    Hore and Laurie were the other emergencies last week, Marty’s out so maybe Laurie in if Salem doesn’t get up - or the other option might be Tholstrup. He’s been in for a game and also named emergency a couple of weeks ago which is closer than I think Fullerton has got. 

    On 13/05/2024 at 11:24, WalkingCivilWar said:

    Just had a lovely chat with Zeets. He was outside Punt Rd because there’s something to report there this morning (the mind boggles).  He asked me about being in the cheer squad and what that entails etc. I asked him how he feels about the Dees. He said he respects and admires us and we’re a stable, well-run club. I was about to bid him cheerio when all of the sudden sch!tt got real: he said, “There is one thing I really, really don’t like about the Dees. *my note to self… never EVER leave home without an enormous carving knife, you never know when you might need it* 😅He said, “Your fans simply don’t turn up. It’s very disappointing how few supporters attend your matches.”  TBF, he’s kinda got a point. He made the point about us lamenting being the Sunday arvo staple years ago and now that we’re getting prime time we don’t show up.

    Anyways, they’ll never find his body. 😏

    WCW thanks for your dedication and insights into the finer things. You are a great supporter and advocate for the club.

    Its a bit unfair that you are paced in a position that you have to respond to what is just another bit of misinformation. I recall that we responded to similar comments in the past with detail that for our membership we had very high attendance records. im sure others will have a more factual detail but its also a pretty difficult situation.
    I want to attend every game but coming from the country I cant always get there. The Governments transport reforms certainly help the cost of getting there, but trains dont always align with start and finish times and I cant always get affordable accommodation.

    Still we are pretty well represented by you and our cheer squad (and my Melb based mates) Hope to get to more games and keep up the cheering. We do always seem to be not as loud as opposition cheering, but I am recognised for clearing out 3 rows in front of me,(due to volume) so hard to replace.

    Keep up your excellent reports and comments.

    • Like 2
    4 hours ago, Neil Crompton said:

    Left field: Tommo in to the backline, and send May to FF, just for this game. 
    Tommo at least has decent form in the VFL, and I love to see May crash a few packs up forward. 

    3 hours ago, D Rev said:

    I think May would explode at this as a suggestion

    2 hours ago, Dee Viney Intervention said:

    I would love to see this for no other reason other than to see if May and Lever would still argue with each other at opposite ends of the field. 

    Personally I think Lever is the more natural forward, but for both of them there is the problem that they clearly have a team rule that they aren't allowed to enter the forward 50 even to take a shot on goal.

     

     

     

    • Like 1

    WHY CAN"T TOMMO PLAY FWD?

    Really tricky selection this week with 2 confirmed outs, no obvious 2nd ruck and no one really pushing at Casey.

    I wouldn’t risk Salem in Perth. The ground is rock hard and a nightmare on soft tissues. Plus Bowser just got back. At most a half to 3/4s at Casey would be wise for Salo.

    Verrall’s too far off it I think, aside from fitness/size/strength concerns his ball use is poor. I wouldn’t bring in both Brown and Fullarton, that’s 2 fresh talls who don’t do a lot defensively. One or the other makes sense. Fullarton would be my choice if his ankle that saw him twice down in pain at Casey gets the all clear. But be prepared for some ordinary ruck and aerial contests.

    As for the other spot -  Woey in to the 22 and Rivers midfield or Laurie/Kolt in to the 22 and playing some mid/forward rotating with ANB and Petracca post centre bounce. Whoever isn’t picked is the sub and the likely change up if an early tactical switch is needed.

    Edited by DeeSpencer

    • Like 1

    4 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

    WHY CAN"T TOMMO PLAY FWD?

    He can barely play back. Casey stats have been hiding some ordinary form where he’s consistently beat at the contest. None of his attributes make sense as a forward, although he’d be potentially ok as a ruck around the ground 

    • Like 1

    IMO if its dry BBB and Verrall come in for JVR and Disco.

    I would ruck Verrall and Petty or even Tom Mac a bit, depending on match ups.

    Woey to get a full game in front of the family and friends.

    I would manage Max and freshen him and save him the flight as well.

    If Salem is fit he is in. 

    • Like 1

    TMac has said recently in interviews that his ankle and foot injuries have robbed him of the agility needed to play forward, but he can still manage to play back. I don't think we'll see him swing forward anytime soon unless we get injuries in-game

    • Like 4
    2 minutes ago, Mickey said:

    TMac has said recently in interviews that his ankle and foot injuries have robbed him of the agility needed to play forward, but he can still manage to play back. I don't think we'll see him swing forward anytime soon unless we get injuries in-game

    100%. It is also why he couldn't play in the ruck and we would be crazy to move him there when our defensive structure has been working pretty well.

    I'm expecting Brown to be in and one of Verrall or Fullarton, hoping Verrall to get a look at how he goes at AFL level.

    • Like 1
    • Clap 1
    14 minutes ago, Mickey said:

    TMac has said recently in interviews that his ankle and foot injuries have robbed him of the agility needed to play forward, but he can still manage to play back. I don't think we'll see him swing forward anytime soon unless we get injuries in-game

    Had him say the same thing to me. The mid-foot injuries affect you with accelerating out of changes of direction. I've wondered how Petty is going with it. 

    • Like 3

    15 minutes ago, Viney Vidi Vici said:

    Had him say the same thing to me. The mid-foot injuries affect you with accelerating out of changes of direction. I've wondered how Petty is going with it. 

    I think with Petty it's all about his confidence and timing his leap. He got this second half v cats but found himself on a very good defender vs Blues. The cats game suggested to me he can still jump at the ball despite his foot injuries (for now at least).

    Weitering is somewhat similar to May, not many key forwards will play well against him unless their midfield is on top. 

    Edited by Dee*ceiving

    To the suggestions of moving TMac or May forward... how about we don't mess with the only thing in our team that is actually functioning like a premiership side, our defence.

    Fullarton and Brown sounds like suicide, especially if McGovern is fit to play. I'd think about trying a smaller forward line, replace Turner with Koltyn.

     

    Edited by seventyfour

    • Like 7
    12 minutes ago, seventyfour said:

    To the suggestions of moving TMac or May forward... how about we don't mess with the only thing in our team that is actually functioning like a premiership side, our defence.

    Fullarton and Brown sounds like suicide, especially if McGovern is fit to play. I'd think about trying a smaller forward line, replace Turner with Koltyn.

     

    Very good point on the backline and keeping it stable.  We don't want to risk Max rucking >90%, and given their ruck stocks are (checks notes) "limited", it might be worth giving Verrel a run in there. I also like bringing Kolt back in for a "home" game. I've really enjoyed the innovation from the coaches this year, has really meant we have more options come finals and makes it harder for the other teams to know what we will do.

    • Like 1
     
    On 13/05/2024 at 19:44, Maldonboy38 said:

    I watched the Casey game versus Carlton, and to be honest, BBB (apart from some unusual poor goal kicking) and Laurie looked too good for VFL, but no-one else stood out as ready for an AFL call up.

    No way did AMW, Tholstrup, Sestan or McAdam produce anything to stimulate interest, but each had moments that showed their wares at VFL level. I will give Tholstrup kudos for his 2nd efforts and intensity. 

    Jefferson did all the right things but has trampoline hands. Hopefully this fixes with development & experience. 

    As for the Carlton AFL game, I have been critical of Billings but he played a very very good 2nd half and finally started to hit (some) targets. Fritsch was weak and half-hearted in the first half but that is rare. Chandler looks proppy. Turner the only real one to drop.

    At this early stage of the week, I would be bringing BBB in for JVR on the basis of injury rumour, Woewodin into the 22, Turner into the sub role (he can play forward or back). 

     

    Yea I thought Billings finally showed some flair. He showed some good use of the ball in finding teammates. Something people have argued his biggest skill, so it was good to see.  I really would like to see Woey get a full game and preferably not defending. 

    • Like 3
    1 hour ago, jnrmac said:

    WHY CAN"T TOMMO PLAY FWD?

    who knows?

    would be handy if he could though

    • Like 1

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