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Or perhaps you could turn up yourself and do better. Quite frankly, I'm sick of this unnecessary sniping for absolutely no good reason. There will be zero tolerance for this sort of thing in future. We should be happy we're getting the reports, particularly after a good win like the one we had on Saturday.

Why Dawes? he is a senior pro that leads by example he is out Number 1 forward he was instrumental in our few wins last year he strikes fear into the opposition (I personally dont mind the odd suspension once they are not cheap shots) only player to crack 20 goals last year will take the best defender and ease pressure on hogan shall i go on?

Both of them think this?

If there is a specific drill where the groups break into where they are going to play, I post that, they didn't the groups were mixed, during all the drills Already covered Dawes and Vince, and we know where they play I don't know how you can expand on ball movement and stoppages, it becomes waffle

After being at the G on Saturday and enjoying it, took footy free couple of days No shows today, Trengove, Petracca, Hunt and Nathan Jones Light duties Viney, Watts, Howe, Tom McDonald, no major issues, just management and Jetta (who had a bit of issue with concussion after the game) Ball movement and stoppages still the focus Spoke to quite a few of the players, as expected all up and about but there is a steely resolve to back up at the weekend Complimented Jeff Garlett on his game, got the usual "just playing my role", asked about the Watts tap back, said there was no call, just two players playing on instinct, said he enjoyed his time in the midfield Chris Salem said it was a very good weekend, said his kick for goal couldn't have come of his foot any better (Arsenal beat Liverpool 4-1) Asked Aaron Vandenberg how easy AFL was, said his body said it wasn't Chris Dawes is looking like a caged bear, if he gets the run, would not like to be first GWS defender who gets in his way Bernie Vince got through whole Casey game unscathed and is cherry ripe, I asked Should make Thursday's training interesting Pics will be on Twitter Demonpk Any questions feel free

No NATHAN JONES?!

And people on here are actually saying that he shouldn't play. spare me. We need to brutalise GWS this week, they are a tough team, and we need to throw it back at them.

You can't help yourself, can you? Every single training thread..

Just watched the replay. Really even performance from our playing group and will be hard to leave anyone out. I'm going to say straight out that I like Toumpas and will back him in to be a very good player for us. While his game wasn't flash on the weekend, I don't think it was as bad as some of the comments I've seen suggest, not least considering it must be difficult being thrown on early as sub then off, then back on mid way through the last. He had two clangers that stood out, a handball that missed its target resulting in a turn over in the first quarter and that handball in the 4th quarter that got smothered. Yet, most of our players had an equal or greater number of clangers/cringe worthy moments. A couple of Tyson's kicks were sprayed massively, two of watts's were something shocking, Jetta's dropped chest mark in defence, McDonalds direct kick to Malceski, Garletts scrubber kick, Salem's dinky out on the full kick, stray handballs from countless players etc.... yet it's Toumpas that cops it. The obsession of bashing him has probably been born out of our fans frustration of our overall performance of the past decade and our seemingly lack of ability to develop our young quality kids. The fact Wines, McCrae et al have gone on to have stunning starts to their careers certainly hasn't helped. For me though, all Jimmy needs to do us gain a little bit of composure at the top level, easier said than done yes, but it was blatantly obvious while watching that Jimmy is just a step off the pace causing him to rush his disposals/decision making. Will he get used to the pace of AFL at VFL level? I don't think so. Much has been said about how Toumpas is a confidence player. Well I think the best thing Roos can do for him to instill a bit of confidence is have him as a starting 18 player next week and back him in. Maybe I'm off the mark and dominating Casey for a month is the way to go, but I'd like to see more of him at the top level first. Having said all that, who goes out for Dawes and Vince?? It will be hard week at selection table indeed. As alternatives to the easy option of Toumpas, I wouldn't be surprised that both JKH and Brayshaw find themselves omitted, and will be very unlucky for it.

BUMP Good call RD Garry Lyon has been reading this site for article ideas.....

He gets a quick massage out on the ground before he starts training every time, must be part of the routine, was bouncing around at training, got the usual arm breaking handshake when I congratulated him on his debutThink even he was unsure as to whether he could cut it at AFL level, got better as they game went on, think we will see a step up this weekend

I think it's a given that Dawes comes back in. So either Bernie has another VFL run to get full fitness and it's simply Toumpas for Dawes Or they both come in and JKH goes out. JKH still has developing to do, bringing Dawes in you still get that defensive pressure with more physicality. Brayshaw the sub, sub Vince off at 3qtr time when we're 9 goals up. Brayshaw comes on gets 15 touches, 5 tackles 2 goals and a rising star nom. Dawes gets reported and JKH comes back in after starring at Casey. I don't see the problem.

Bit late to this but after a weekend away had first chance to sit down and watch the whole game.. fmd...who are these people in Red and Blue....they're playing footy and a very watchable variety of it. They actually seem to function as a team. A little raw but you can see it. Ive been on Watt's back so long now i cant remember when it started but it was because he needed to be who he can be and not an imitation of it. Here hes playing a very good game of footy. . I think he finally arrived, long time coming but keep at it Jack. The Van Man...almost the find of the draft. Looks like hes a 30 gamer already. Ive liked Kent for a while...hes going to get better still. Newton dispelled the doubts. It looked like the Dees were actually enjoying the game, enjoying the contest, reveling in the reward for hard work. That little dance by Harry after his goal was pure ecstasy of the moment. Still some silly hesitations, some intriguing decisions at times by players but all in all light years from where we've been. Still a long way to go but such an encouraging and enjoyable start to a season, cant remember the last one. A great confidence builder of a game. Go Dees

Wow......After 1 game of footy it is now gospel that the Hawks wont be beaten Cats wont win a game Crows wont lose a game Suns are shot Dees will make the 8 Nth are stuffed Freo and port will play off in the grand final Can't wait for next week when all of the above will proved to be [censored]

For Wiseblood One of the kicking drills involved a kick out from a point, with the players practicing their running patterns to create space Another was a cross field kick to a player who then feigned a kick inside and kicked down the line Another drill involved more attackers than defenders, with players taking turns, the idea was to take the correct option and to wave run Another drill involved body to body work, mainly amongst the big guys, although they did have Watts matched up against Dawes McCartney was again working with ANB, had Toumpas knock him around one on one so he gains even more confidence in his knee

"There were still plenty of skill errors but the innovative strategy of recruiting competent AFL footballers seems to be paying off." Gold.

I've only read part of this thread because my stomach can only stand so much. Jack Grimes is one of the gutsiest and committed players to play with the Demons for years. He will come back and be a major part in the Demons future. Some of the posts are disgraceful and ignorant and completely contrary to the way the club rates Grimes. And I have connections within the club, unlike so many flogs posting in this thread.

By the look of this photo taken this year, attached to HS article, i dare say he is a few years off even getting pubes, so is many years off showing any signs of being a father son prospect. Although i will say that i hope he inherits his mother's knees.

You actually have no idea. wow. He regularly throws his weight around, bumping, harassing, yapping etc. Have you actually watched him play? Yes he has done some dirty things, but to say that the opposition wouldn't fear him if they see him coming, OR standing in front to block etc. is just so so dumb. I'm shocked by how stupid you are. You CLEARLY have never seen him play, so here you go:

I feel like that kick hasn't got the love it deserves. It was Hawthorn-like.

Cut and thrust of informed debate is OK, but after such a great day on Saturday, there is no need for sniping. That said, I can't remember the last time we had the luxury of debating who should be in and who should be dropped for round 2, from such a substantial and available list. For that alone, I am grateful. Go Dees.

well his 9 possessions are misleading he had 2 frees awarded him where play on was called for another player he also played on after chopping arms given against russian and was about to goal when play on was disallowed additionally he only played 3 quarters with a fair amount of bench time he was also playing as a small fwd - hard place for high possessions he also did great work with 9 tackles and some smart shepherding take all this into account and his possession count wasn't too bad add all this up and his disposal count was ok if he is fit i'd be playing him and managing his time. gotta reward a good performance, especially first up

Seriously think the people saying if Dawes comes in we are too tall are delusional. Too tall means too many big slow immobile dinosaurs, who will get run away from. There is absolutely nothing immobile about our big blokes. Dawes is known as one of the hardest running KPF's out there. Hogan and frost both move bloody well as well. VDB and Watts as mobile midsize with garlett and kent/jkh making up the fwd mix is a good combo of size, speed footy smarts and will have any slightly underdone backs absolutely [censored] themselves at the thought of it, with the improved midfield able to give it to advantage

I don't think so. As an aside, I cannot bear to even look at Hird now. I change channel when he is on.

My bet is Toumpas and Brayshaw. My reasoning would be on the fact that Roos has historically favoured blooding kids slowly. Toumpas needs to run around and get some footy for a few weeks - whatever role he would play in the AFL wouldn't allow him to do that. Getting it 6 times in a quarter of a game isn't a bad effort either... just throwing that out there. Anyone can eff up a handball, not everyone can find it deep in the forward line in the first place...

You are kidding right?

The messiah has made it clear on numerous occasions that first year players need to be eased in. Given the situation, despite his fine performance, Brayshaw will be rested. In: Dawes, Vince Out: Toumpas, Brayshaw

The easy option is the right option. The other players would be very confused if Toumpas stayed, as would he himself would be. Think about it, you wouldn't be confident you'd be even more worried about letting your team down. The only thing in my life I can think about as the same pressure as an AFL game would be a uni exams I've done. And if I failed any I didn't just front up the next week with more confidence I went back and did more preparation to get confidence. I like certain aspects of his overall game and I like that he cares so much it hurts, because eventually that kind of dedication if it can be harnessed will be something. After the botched handball in the forward line he busted his gut chasing Malceski to pressure the Lumumba turnover, so I see the care is there. He had something like 6 touches and gave up 1 goal and messed up another certain crucial goal with 2 of them. It's hard not to say that's a shocker even with all the difficulties of being the sub. But more than that at no stage did he seem confident around the play. Time at Casey has to be the right thing. He's fitter and stronger than ever, so with that he'll do well at Casey and will come back in to AFL feeling much more confident than Roosy keeping him in next week would make him feel.

So can we expect Dawes to be missing rounds 3 and 4 through suspension? I want to see toughness like the way Vandenberg ran in off the wing and collected the Suns player and the ball. Or Brayshaw sitting under the ball with 2 opponents to take that mark. Dawes' cheap shots last year that earned suspensions are not tough.

If it had been on the opposite pocket, I would go for Salem. What a beautiful kick for goal. Look at our last goal on Saturday from Salem. Split the middle so effortlessly.

Great sign that Hogan's back troubles are behind him if he pulled up well and was able to train fully after his first AFL hit out

Normally I am not flying solo at training, I find the drill reporting a bit boring, but if I fly solo, willl make sure I put something As for Brayshaw, I thought he did ok and would be stiff to be omitted, but was thinking out loud about who Dawes and Vince replace, think the Toumps is easy, but thought hit them big in the first 3/4 then bring JKH on, in last quarter, could easily be Brayshaw or Vandenberg as sub, but that is stiff on JKH then, nice positon to be in though

Just a little thing but was good to see Jesse trying to take the boundary line shot in the last quarter from the out-on-the-full in our forward pocket (the one Watts slotted). Jesse's eyes lit up and he was starting to set up when the umpire took it off him. I just love the fact that he has no compunction about taking such a critical kick at an important time in what was his debut game. Great attitude and further evidence of his self-belief. Also on Jesse-watch, how quickly did he get to his feet after splitting the pack in the last quarter - he was as nimble and quick as Newton, who then teamed up with JKH for his second goal.

Hey Tim Hardtack. Great to meet & watch the GC win! Still in semi-euphoric shock we won a 1st rounder actually! This must be the tune you told me about. I took the advice to "only listen with headphones on and the volume cranked right up to maximise the pain... err, I mean, experience." Hahah, you're too hard on yourself. I liked it, great stuff! Your vocal intonation's fine and everything. All very enjoyable. Thanks for pointing out there are music threads on DL too. Coincidentally(?) the music posters also seem among my favorite footy posters to read [Redleg, Macca, Nutbean, yourself..]!? Anyhow, hope to catch another game with you. You're very welcome to phone/PM/email any time. Cheers, Rob

Amen to that WJ

Think the big scar he has on his face had something to do with his performance, wore Gawny's hip early on, he is fine, he has always put the club/team first. He is like the rest who didn't get picked, you get up and running for Casey and demand to get picked McKenzie is setting the example in this, again another one who never gives less than 100% for the club, no matter where he plays

In Roos presser this morning, was talking about managing Brayshaw, my opinion Brayshaw and Toumpas for Dawes and Vince with JKH as the sub

"The Kangaroos gave us the full range of Brad Scott’s facial expressions; shocked, bewildered, what’s that guy doing over there? And why is this happening to me?" Love it.

The only one I care about is no premiership since 1964. Fix that one and I'll be happy

Thought I had opened the "Changes to Next Week" thread. Any training reports?

Dawes is a must. Not just because of all the good things being said about him here, but if we want to make the transition easy for Hogan having someone like him around is invaluable.

Essendon set out to achieve the rare ‘have 34 players cleared by a tribunal then win on the weekend’ double. Not since Richmond showed up to watch the 2014 Preliminary Final, had Adelaide Oval seen an effort like North’s. They (North Melbourne) just have some work to do on their skills, offence, defence, stoppages, tackling and effort. Minor things really. Some really good stuff in there

I really don't think GWS are going to be the pushover some seem to think they will be. We have to find a way to counter the likes of Cameron, Ward, Shaw, Mumford etc as well as compete against a crowd that will definitely NOT be urging us on. I sincerely hope that the players don't go into the game with the same attitude as some of our supporters and think that simply turning up assures a certain victory. (just to be clear...my comments are based on general comments following Saturday's game... not necessarily aimed at just posters in this thread).

I plan on buying another three os memberships for friends, I'm so happy about it. I even managed to stream the game and watch it live while sitting in a hotel room with a 12mm bullet hole in the window. Another win and I will be convinced it's time to return to the G to see a game live.

I hate this kind of talk. Just because Garland had a great game 2 days ago does not mean that anyone who criticised his 2014 or his NAB cup was in any way wrong... just like anyone who bags Toumpas or Dawes or anyone else now will not be wrong if at some point in the future one of them plays a good game. It doesn't make any sense, this idea that if you critique a players' game you have somehow signed some contract declaring that this person will never be any good to the club ever. wtf. we call it as we see it based on the available evidence is it is no declaration or prophesy for the future.

Sorry, but giving us the best chance to win two games in a row with the best possible team far, far outweighs considerations of Toumpas' confidence levels. That's a long-term problem for the development team to be concerned with. Getting two wins in a row and helping the team's mindset has far wider-reaching implications than whether Toumpas builds into his game this year. Throwing him to the wolves against Adelaide/Hawks/Freo/Syd/Port over the next month will do far more to hinder his development than improve it.

I agree with most of what you're saying. The only difference is the players you mentioned who had clangers made up for their mistakes. Tyson sprayed a few kicks, but was involved in multiple chains that lead to goal, and kicked a good team lifting goal himself. Watts uncharacteristically shanked a few, but worked his ass off to set up other goals and kicked some himself. Jetta laid a few solid tackles down back, McDonald was pretty much BOG etc. Toumpas did not do anything effective for the team yesterday and that is why he deserves to be dropped. But I do take your point. I can see upside in him too. He generally finds a decent amount of ball, more than the likes of Salem, Kent, Kennedy-Harris and a few other highly touted youngsters on here. I remember he played a really good game against Geelong in the wet. IMO he was BOG for us that day, picked up 20+ disposals and laid 7-8 tackles. He also backed into packs to take intercepting marks and just generally read it well. Games like that show he has the talent and work ethic, he just needs it to click consistently at AFL level. The Toumpas bashing on this site needs to stop.

That would be a despicable act of cruelty

Dawes was silly to get suspended and had an ordinary NAB Cup and an ordinary 2014. He can earn his spot in the VFL. That's how good teams roll. In: Vince Out : Toumpas