It will be an interesting podcast this week. I went to the GWS game and was excited by what I saw. I know we lost but it was an awesome game to watch. Like everyone very disappointed by our losses but I’ve learnt a long time ago …win or lose I don’t listen or read any media re MFC anymore & I only listen to Goodwin & the player who does the aftermatch interview. We seem to have forgotten that we’re watching a game of football ..the amount of scrutiny..analysis..dissection of a game is beyond ridiculous. Haven’t even listened to Demonland because it’s become quite depressing. I listened to a little of the Bombers podcast because Binman you are often the voice of reason but I’m disappointed that you seemed to have gone away from your adage of “listen to Goody”’. He has consistently said ..”we’re implementing a new game plan..we’re very confident we can do it..there will be hiccups along the way but in footy ThINGS CAN CHANGE QUICKLY “. We now have a healthier injury list (so we can drop players for form as we have some depth now). Senior players are regaining some form .. I don’t expect to win every game but I can definitely see the future. Goodwin took 7 years to build a gameplan around the players we had to get the ultimate success. He’s doing a new gameplan based around our young exciting players & it def won’t take 7 years. Goodwin deserves our respect.

I just want to give a shout out to our clubs very own Benjamin Button - Tom McDonald. He is consistent, reliable and always gives 100%. He looks incredibly fit and in great shape.

Can he go around again next season? I guess time will tell but I am enjoying his contribution to the team again this season.

I am curious if this game will prompt George to reconsider his take that tagging is outdated and has no place in the modern game. It seems to me that nearly every time we or any other team use this tactic it seems to be an incredibly effective tool for shutting down a key cog in the opposition's game plan (unless a coach does something really silly like try to bring a Bedford to a Petracca fight). Yes, you lose a link up player in some situations, but what you take away from the opposition is often (I think most of the time) far, far more important than what you yourself are giving up.

So perhaps what is really outdated is thinking that tagging is outdated!

Suggested Andy commentary:

"George, the listener has put the question to you. We saw Jack Viney successfully tag Caleb Sarong out of the game on the weekend, playing his best game for the season in the process...ah...so can tagging still be an effective string in the bow of a modern day AFL side, and is it something you'd like to see the Dees employ more often going forward? Over to you, George!"

I notice that @spirit of norm smith is trying to steal @binman 's thunder with a rather watered down analysis of the stats. It is also clear to me that binman has also conceded recently that the stats sometimes contradict what we've seen with our eyes. This week's stats file will be a feast of pressure acts and tackles inside fifty. However, @binman , beware that a blend of some data and a desperate desire for an answer does not completely make sure that an accurate point of view can be extracted from the greater body of data. How do you measure what is going through Max's mind or what might be Viney's motivation?

On 19/04/2025 at 17:23, Alex No Fancy-name said:

Can we have a discussion re what Ed Langdon is giving us this year?

I feel when he came to the club we saw him as a "bit player" with the running capacity his one wood.

This year, I feel like he is one of a few who've provided a consistent contribution, and we're seeing him evolve into a leadership role that was probably not expected.

Hi Alex NFn, I have to disagree. Ed Langdon has never been a bit player. From his time as the other member of Gus Brayshaw's Wingers' Club, Ed has been a major contributor at both ends and, crucially, in transition. On the weekend he fired us up after Freo scored first ( Admittedly from a free against Ed) with important assists. He has always been worth his weight in gold.

A couple of weeks ago, after he led the China Grand Prix from lights out to the chequered flag, i suggested we recruit Oscar Piastri because he knows how to LEAD. Suddenly, against Freo, we had forwards leading and taking marks or forcing opponents to give away free kicks. It was amazing. Question: was it loose defence by Freo or A: a distinct change of attitude by the Dee forwards or B: the change of personnel in the Dees' forward 50?

8 hours ago, jane02 said:

I just want to give a shout out to our clubs very own Benjamin Button - Tom McDonald. He is consistent, reliable and always gives 100%. He looks incredibly fit and in great shape.

Can he go around again next season? I guess time will tell but I am enjoying his contribution to the team again this season.

Agree. How good will it be when May, Lever and McVee join him?

Binman, do the stats tell us how Freo reeled us in after we scored 6 goals in both the first and second quarters? We managed 3 goals 3 in Q3 and 1 goal 6 in Q4, maintaining our number of scoring shots (6 or 7 a quarter) but recording a major deterioration in accuracy. Was this a return to our normal abysmal accuracy or a reflection of increased Freo pressure? Was our accuracy in Q1 and Q2 just a fluke?

I said this a few weeks ago on one of the Demonland topics, with the new game plan relying on speed and skill more i think selection changes of Kolt, Spargo, Howes are not to be over looked.

in the future i see Bill Laurie and of course McVee to also come in, which mean less disposals but better skill which will require less disposals.

We are going to get score against easier with this game plan but it is the way fwd, i am a little worried about how often a defender leaves his man to help leaving an easy over the top handball to an open player forward of the ball, often in the middle of the ground which allows that player all options when delivering inside 50.

But we are going to have these teething issues for a bit.

On a side note, how good was it to here Tom Morris's bit on footy classified about Petracca after the game, 1 - to here how invested he sounds to be, 2 - to actually have some positive media about the Dees and Trac!

Happy Easter gents

@the pearl @binman a great week to go through the stats - they tell the key to our success this week both across the team as well as the great performance of our stars. But this is now the standard that must be weekly, not just a lightning flash game.

What has happened to Christian Salem's once silky skills and his decision making? He turned the ball over on multiple occasions under no pressure and just seems to be bereft of confidence?

Jack Viney answered all his critics for the past few weeks. He was back to his bullocking best and proved he can still be valuable as a midfielder. I guess we just want to see consistency from our stars. We know they have the ability.

55 minutes ago, mandeelorian said:

What has happened to Christian Salem's once silky skills and his decision making? He turned the ball over on multiple occasions under no pressure and just seems to be bereft of confidence?

Yes I’m nervous with Salem now. Unless it’s a 15metre kick sideways, he seems too cautious to hit a target 30 metres away. Lost his penetration and when pressed, just kicks a high up and under. His style is to lean back when should kick through the footy. I’m sure the many astute coaches at the club have worked through this with him.

Any result on the Demonland Match Review Panel’s deliberations on the report against Andy for his outburst on last week’s podcast?

20 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

Any result on the Demonland Match Review Panel’s deliberations on the report against Andy for his outburst on last week’s podcast?

High impact, no contact, intensional means it is classified as a fine rather than a suspension. Defence arguement of great bloke, first offence and a very large bunch of credits in the bank was accepted, meaning that the fine of 10 banana smoothies is imposed, but suspended pending any further offence before the next Demons victory or the KB game against the filth (whichever comes first). Any further offence resulting in a resoundingly famous Demons victory will result in it becoming as compulsory to the podcast as the theme tune ...

This week I found myself rewatching the documentary To Hell and Back the MFC made in 2020, and it lifted my spirits a fair bit. bin man’s mentioned this before but I think there actually are some similarities between 2019 and 2024.

A week on, how does the panel feel about what was said on last weeks episode? Emotion was high, and I think we were all desperate for answers. But has our reaction to our underperformance become a little overblown? Maybe the answer is simple, we were just playing poorly, compounded by a lack of confidence and trying to apply a new style. This game showed me at least we’ve still got something. Keen to hear whether the panel is feeling any different this week, what you want to see from here.

Thanks!

The Podcast is LIVE Tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 8:00pm.

I am actually putting it all together now so I am going to cut the questions off here and lock the thread.

The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE tonight (Tuesday) at 8:00pm.