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I tell you our next biggest problem, potentially worth its own thread, the playing of James Harmes as a defender. Watching the 2018 SF against Geelong this morning on Fox. He is a gun midfielder. Gets forward and kicks goals too. It is a criminal act to be playing him back. It will NOT work. He is an attacking player. You see how lost he is trying to find an opponent on transition. Another of Goody's dumb experiments that has potential to suck all the confidence out of one of our most improved players.

If we persist with Fritta as the key target one out inside 50, we will lose a lot of games. That killed us against west coast. It is NOT his role.

there is just no pleasing some people i think it's great that he didn't dodge the question - it's clearly something we, as fans, know is an issue, and he says that we're trying to address it as best as we can given that we couldn't train for ages mahoney is a fantastic operator and continues to impress for mine

I agree that you can't fluke a 50 goal year. Tom was great in 2018 however I don't think he will be able to ever repeat that as a number 1 forward. From what I recall he was receiving the second best defender all season until Jesse broke down. Opposition teams would be dropping back there extra/intercept defender focusing on slowing down Jesse allowing Tom a lot more one on ones and space. Being the number one man in 2019 a lot more focus would have been put into Tom from the opposition. He was continually blocked away and double teamed and struggled - his injuries didn't help this... The way we moved the pill was as if we expected Tom to play like Hogan and just crash packs again and again where they are two very different players. It was a massive worry watching the exact same rubbish dished up Round 1 this year and the ball continually rebounded out twice as quick as it went it. It still looked like a focus just to get the ball in deep to the hot spot rather than hitting up players. If our forward line is going to consist of McDonald, Kozzie, Milkshake, Fritta, Brown, Bennell whilst rotating through Trac/Oliver/Brayshaw then surely we have to adopt the Hawthorn model to not waste kicks and spot up leads. Harley, Fritta, Brown & McDonald are great set shot kicks which I'd back having a shot from 40 out on a 45 degree angle rather than just bombing it long to outnumbered contests. The concept of 'gaining territory' when we don't have a crash/bash forward is pointless in my opinion

Honestly, the last thing he said sounds to me like they still don't get it. He's still talking about the advantage to be gained from just getting the ball in there and how the teams with the most i50s generally win. Those numbers are only relevant if you actually use the ball well when you deliver it. The bomb is basically a free rebound 50 for the opposition. I wonder if they have considered how often the team that gets the most goals fro rebound 50s wins the match?

As much as Rd 1 was a fail, it can take time for players and teams to gain confidence in a new system. Before that confidence is built, it is easy to default to old habits under pressure. It took us half a dozen or so rounds to fully hit our straps and get going in 2018, but once we did, asides from a few notable (and costly) lapses we never really looked back. I'd like to see what our forward line looks like with Nathan Jones playing a half forward role on a regular basis which as absent from Rd 1. And as much as guys like Kossie ooze raw talent, I still think it will take a good number of games to build cohesion. It will also be interested to see what effect a truley small forward dangerous player like Kossie, Bedford and/or Bennell truely up and about could have on the psyche of opposition backlines. Looking forward (pardon the pun) to Rd 2 and beyond to see what the team can put together this year.

In terms of pure talent I think we have them covered by a huge margin. Unfortunately the evidence is suggesting we may have yet another group who don't go so well when things get tough. The Hawks culture thrives under the idea that their competitiveness can outdo the talent of the opposition. Ours does not. The fact that Hawthorn won 11 games last season was one of Clarkson's greatest feats. By rights that list should have sat in the bottom 4 with no more than 5 wins. They compete in an envious way.

Until the match committee select at least 2 tall forwards and not use one of them as a stand in ruck, we will struggle to kick goals. As was proven in the WCE game.

Petty may yet be the one. He is a good reader of the play, a good footballer and a competitor. As the mobile tall third, he could be the surprise.

About time they used a new address- the last one always resulted in return to sender - no one home.

As Mooney said... Believe it when I see it. But at least they have put it out there that they are attempting to fix it. Round 1 was a real kick in the guts for the hope I had that this would be fixed over the preseason

Believe it when I see it.

I'd prefer Yze has been under the coach of the century. Hawthorn have a pretty good record with their assistant coaches with the exception of Bolton.

Here here !!! Lockhart a walk up start gives drive and run from back and is very necessary.

He was there before The Donald

Garry and Chief are great to listen to.

Hamish “Rompingwins” McLachlan interviewed Boyd recently, in short, there’s no way he’ll be returning to the AFL.

Yes, that is true, but remember the four games on the trot against West Coast GWS Geelong and Hawthorn Hogan wasn't playing and he still went OK. That's 4 in a row against finalists not just one flash in tha pan.

Maybe Goody needs to put his stamp on it?

when things are glum, there's worse to come!

Agree completely Frittata wlll succeed but needs to take the fourth defender and once he isolates a bigger defender is plonked on him and he is out bustled a lot. Need Weid to replace Brown who looked lost and dropped Marks he got in his hands in Round1 Fritta and Melk are good forwards against their mid range defenders not 2nd defenders of the opposition. I ts all a mix and we need our different assets to combine to achieve a maximum result Over to you Goody and your coaches !!

well argued Deeko. I think we all assumed Weideman would provide the counterfoil formerly provided by Hogan but he has simply not come up. Weid's success is vital to our season in 2020. If he does not come through we may as well trade him and rely on Jackson

Is it just me or does it look like that beanie is a certain shape?

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Watching old games during Covid it has never stood out more to me that we need a key fwd that will crash packs and contest in the air at every opportunity, Neitz like, creates so many opportunities. So often over the recent years the opposition marks our fwd entry with our so called tall fwds just watching on! I don’t think TMac is the answer, nor is Brown... Play May forward.

No.25 2016 Round 12 v Collingwood at MCG Queens Birthday. It’s unfortunate that’s it become our “Grand Final”. But the rivalry is the magic that connects us. The Dees had been starved of Queens Birthday celebrations since our previous win in 2007. So we were very keen to turn it around. We had beaten the Pies in a 2015 late season round (after 8 years of losing) so we were confident we could finally win a QB game. 60,000 fans created a great atmosphere. The late afternoon start meant a few relaxing drinks and an enjoyable “Big Freeze” event pre game but we were on edge. The Demons started on fire as we got a goal within a minute. But the Pies got on top and were two goals up. Enter big Max Gawn. Against Brodie Grundy, Gawn got our midfield into the game and we drove the ball forward. Ben Kennedy (recruited from the Pies) was electric, creating havoc on the ball or forward. Some Petracca magic got us excited, and a Gawny goal put us in front. The Dees fans were going crazy. We piled on 7 goals to 1 for the quarter to take a 26 point lead into halftime. What a turnaround. The 3rd quarter saw a tight arm wrestle but we kept a 5-goal buffer. We were nervous but needn’t have. Goals were added by the Dees before Watts got two goals to seal the game (as the Pies crowd headed for the exits) before Gawn fittingly got the last goal. It ended with the Dees getting a 46 point victory. Maxy was our BOG with strong performances from Viney, Kennedy and Bernie Vince. It was great to see Paul Roos celebrate the win as he had grown the team and this win confirmed our positive direction. After many years of despair, we were able to celebrate at a Queens Birthday game. Melbourne 16.8.104 defeated Collingwood 8.10.58

As he said it's one game in so small sample size, but we had the whole pre-season (extra time than WC) to address and fix. But it looked exactly like last years entries for almost the entire game. It's one thing to get the ball in long and quickly, but know where to go with it, look for space to lead the forward to the ball, at least put it to their advantage. Like everyone, I'll believe it when I see it.

Instead of Bennell I would put Petty in as he can play at CHB or FF. In this team that is OMAC and the weed. Neither of those 2 are reliable.

For sure, there is a bit of a gap in the stats!

Lol not even a debate we haven’t won a flag since 1964 while hawthorn wins them consistently each decade, anyone who says Melbourne is closer is kidding themselves

Lockhart was one of our few good players in round 1 and was excellent in the preseason - would be surprised if he is not sellected.

Salem needs some serious PR.

I got a hold of the actual file of last Sunday's performance and decided to clipicise some of the tunes. Here are a couple (happy to hear any comments or criticisms):

Gosch's plus Punt Road could work for Richmond. Not perfect but definitely worth evaluating on the assumption MFC might go elsewhere.

T Mac 50 goals in 2018. You can't fluke a 50 goal season which puts him in the top group of goal kickers in the AFL. What we need is him back in form and confidence

Bennell could be the key. A very dangerous small forward playing short stints in the midfield. Bennell will attract the best small defender every week leaving Kosi a easier task.

As much as they are trying to address the issue listening to Mahoney speak about it being a territory game it seems we will continue with numbers around the ball and try to get it forward as quickly as possible. That tells me if our ‘big’ forwards can’t mark the ball at least create some sort of stoppage to lock it in. Kossie needs to play every game to become that small pressure forward that also makes something out of nothing. Not sure how many games we will see this year but I would leave him in the side for the entirety purely for developmental purposes. He will be a great pick up from the small sample we have seen. Do we play Jackson forward at some stage this year? Pretty nimble for a tall fella and looks above average even when the ball is on the ground.

100% agree. We seem to have a playerstart playing well and then decide to move him somewhere else. So confusing! We can easily rotate Viney, Petracca, Oliver, Harmes and Brayshaw through the middle. Trac plays forward when rotating. Viney plays forward when rotating. Oliver plays forward when not rotating. Brayshaw play half back when rotating. Harmes play half back when rotating. I'm not sold on our current coaching group, however I do think we need to stick with Goodwin for stability. I'd like to see a full sweep out of our assistants like the Tigers did and invest in the very best line coaches we can find.

I’ve got no issue if we move out there permanently. My only concern is it’s so bloody windy out there and would the players be happy to travel there day in day out?

If Richmond move we should take over the Punt road site and train on the G

Again Port Melbourne is an emerging community precinct that can be easily incorporated into an elite trading facility.

I thought Weid was unavailable due to an injury

They are Doc, our area was just given ~$8m for 20ks of bike, running/walking trails between 4 towns.

In the past 7 days I've listened to podcasts where Scott Watters and Brendan Goddard have both spoken about the disaster that was Seaford. They both mentioned how moving away from the club's heartland was foolhardy and how the players hated driving that extra distance to work every day. We won't move to Casey on a full time basis.

How anyone can base anything on round one in Perth and still be bitter is so far beyond me as a human being. Even with years exposed to this website and the eternal disappointment of being a Demons fan, like really?

Nothing would bloody surprise me with our fricken club NOTHING.

And he had the intelligence and wherewithal to spot that opportunity and ability to develop it. Thats not "fluke", that's acumen. Fluke is tripping up on a tattslotto ticket laying on the ground ( one worth something ) Good management/Engineering practice IS to surround yourself with capable people. Successful people dont do that accidentally or by fluke. You made a bad call DS. That's fine. We all do.

Really? How does a person "fluke" a business valued at about $200 mill? Wouldn't have anything to do with his hard work, IT nous, intelligence and business skills by chance? Pretty successful bloke at the age of 33. The company is picking up good contracts overseas, so the next 12 months will be interesting to watch. Good on him.