Leaderboard

There are hot cross buns at Coles, Easter eggs at Woolworths and Werridee teams on Demonland. Must be January.

I suspect Kozzie might end up being better able to wear the bumps than AD. That said, i agree. i hope he ends up being used like Cyril Riol- - 80% small forward 20% blitzing in the middle

This is a forum based on emotional bias, not facts. Shame on you!

Saw a video of Pickett with his shirt off recently. Holy [censored]. If anyone is going to get knocked about this year its going to be his opponent. He's going to become a badass forward.

Thanks DFA I regard Tmac as our "irreplaceable " tall forward over BBB simply because he has over the period since 2018 been more effective and at least if not better in serving as head of our attack. Yes Benny had a better last third in 2021 but Tommy set up for the first two thirds in 2021, kicked over 50 in 2018 and was a star in 10 games for us in the unbeaten run in 2022. Despite some figures presented on D/L I think Tommy has more effects and positive form for all the other forwards when at CHF.in our team. However I won't ever forget that fabulous run from Round 20 by BBB where he was playing tall and the team got it right in its use of Him plus he marked around the Flanks to great benefit. Tmac also is great when in form for his competitiveness down the ground also his slick goalkicking in the30m arc. Both in form are match winners and I believe both JVR and Fritta could still play with them due to their excellent ground skills and snap shooting prowess at times. I must admit leaving either ANB or Charlie out of our forward line was hard but we must move on from our 2021 heroes st some stage and search for a sharper goal kicker for one of them I believe. Chandler by all accounts is giving himself every chance on top of his excellent 2022 to be selected on form this season. And someone must make way if JVR is also in the mix.Again team mix is vital no doubt. We will all have an opinion but some changes must be made for improvement and a revamped game style if our forward line in 2023 is to provide more goals than in 2022.

Flexibility would be something new for MFC version 2022. Apart from injuries it was lack of FD flexibility that made the 2021 Premiers so " gettable"

Would be handy also if we had a game plan that would actually play to him and the rest of the forwards strengths...

Thought Jordan was looking good. He has developed poise, with some of his side steps/shimmy's, and then making great decisions. Usually, finding a player down the central corridors and creating attacking ball movement. Sparrow is standing up in tackles, power's through his hips and with a shrug or two, they slip off. Still not as strong as Tracc in that respect but, gee if their tackles aren't strong he will escape. Has courage to burn as well. Kossie is our gem. Wow, hoping for some magic between him and Oliver. He has so much explosive pace, and turns like a whirlwind is pushing him around in sharp arcs. They can't touch him. No-one is taking the aerial superiority as yet. Hoping the big boys are just biding their time. I think he is doing fine. Often, only going at 80%. Getting a full preseason into himself. Not standing out, but taking a professional approach. Still has his skills, poise and decision making.

Clarry and Hunter both have been sick this week. Club hope they’ll be back on track Friday 👍🏼

All righty then, let's see... B: Bowey Petty Lever HB: Salem May Rivers C: Langdon Petracca Brayshaw HF: Grundy [BBB/TMC] Hunter F: Pickett Van Rooyen Fritsch Foll: Gawn Oliver Viney and your favourites of Tomlinson, Harmes, Jordon, Neal-Bullen, Spargo, Smith, Sparrow, Laurie, Dunstan, Melksham. I'm tipping only one of Brown and McDonald will be in the round one team and that Van Rooyen will be ahead of the other. Grundy will be playing the traditional role of rucking half-forward/third tall! Langdon will have a wing left as open as possible while Brayshaw will take a wing-to-defence and Hunter will take a wing-to-attack role on the more congested side (i.e., the side May always kicks out to!) I think Laurie might sneak in if his practice games are good enough, becoming a dedicated small defender and pushing Rivers to the bench as another reasonably flexible runner. I think we may yet see Tomlinson string a chunk of games together as Goodwin has a go at positional moves, trying to confuse opponents and test out the best way to use Gawn/Grundy and maybe induct Petty as a swingman option.

Watch Kozzie and Sparg's.

And I hope he has a lot of fun and decides to hang around for a while

My team from training is: b: Training House Down, HB Won Time Trial, C: Trained, House, Down Hf: player, on, fire F: came, back, fit Foll: impressive, running Slick Interchange Talented, develops, noot ready, spare

Tomo was I believe recruited as a wingman ? the same trade period as Langdon but it didn’t work for some reason. Was it that joke of a season 2020? Then in 2021 going really well as a big defender he did his ACL -> premiership season over. Don’t recall seeing him much on a wing, and we have recruited Hunter presumably to play opposite Langdon so I doubt if Tomo will see much action there. Still he looks a determined big brute and I wish him well.

We really need Salem back to his best. He was a key to our 2021 success.

Kosi is very special, so good already but still so much upside. I hope he is happy settled this year at/in Melbourne and decides to sign with us for as long as he wants. If he moves on I’ll be shattered but at least he won’t be lost to the AFL. I still enjoyed watching the Wiz at Freo, even against us. None of us saw enough Liam Jurrah or Allen Jacovich (very different circumstances) though.

Into the warm-ups, which seem to be the same as usual. A scoreboard is out. My guess is that they use it to simulate time left, scores and quarter, so they can perform particular scenarios. They go into kicking drills, not the kick to kick type, but with players set at 4 points and at angles. It creates more chaos and gets them concentrating. A day that seems to be getting them into competitive mode. They do some handball games. Two stations are about 7 on 7, and one station is larger, then they rotate through them. Back to kicking drills, 3 stations, one hitting up the leader going sideways, another with the leader going away from the kicker and the kicker having to put a full range hit, can't remember what the other one was, they rotate through them. Full sims, tackling and competitive. Sparrow put his body on the line numerous times, I saw him body whacked 4 or 5 times. It was at a frenetic pace and got heavier as it continued. Worried a couple of times, Bailey got a hit, Tracc went down, Farris-white came off head hit (great leadership by Brayshaw as he escorted him), Impressed with Pickett, sharp turning, untouchable with ball, beautiful disposals, closes down space so quickly. Schache has a good lead, gets separation. Lever and Viney (holding back from tackling) keeping up the standards, Howes looking good as was Woewodin who has the same composure as Salem. No-one can keep up with Chandler. JVR is ready. Spargo getting to the drop of the ball. Tomlinson was playing too high, let attacking players get space behind him. Brodie still finding his feet. Some of our ball movement from back to forward was quick, delightful, and deliberate. Good structures already. Bowey did some great intercepts. They didn't do any stoppage plays, so Grundy, Max didn't go up against each other. After the sims into some goal kicking for mids and forwards, with the back-line hanging together in a warm down, talk it over kind of gathering with the ball moving between them. They were whistled, the runners are put on and away they go. Gruelling lap sprinting and fartlek running. They will sleep well tonight. Tracc was still on the paddock doing set shot kicking after everyone had left. Interesting that Hunter is not at training, not a good sign as these ones seem really team building. Talked to Richardson. Burgoyne(#33), they haven't decided yet. He will play for Casey if not listed. Lives with Pickett. I also asked about J.Smith. He tells me they still rate him and is not far off from completing rehab. Talked to J.Smith, told me he got an infection. Must have been post minor surgery. Talked to the volunteer, tells me Friday is for Casey. So I assume Monday, Wednesday 9.30 am at Gosch's and Friday at Casey, will be the schedule. GEORGE ON THE OUTER'S TRAINING REPORT DEESPICABLE'S TRAINING REPORT OLD DEE'S TRAINING REPORT

MFC Twitter account confirmed both he & Clarry have been ill. They're hopeful they'll return to training tomorrow.

B: Lever, May, Bowey HB: Salem, Petty, Brayshaw C: Langdon, Petracca, Hunter HF: Harmes, McDonald, Neal-Bullen F: Fritsch, van Rooyen, Pickett FOLL: Gawn, Oliver, Viney IC: Grundy, Sparrow, Spargo, Rivers EMG Sestan, Jordon, Brown, Turner

And like us in 2021, Geelong had a dream run with injury. A lot has changed in footy, but one constant is that injury is the biggest determinant of success.

Cox was a great mover and has Gawn covered for foot skills But Gawn has Cox covered in pure ruck work and contested marking Both Guns, hard to split

Andrew gets a 2 week suspension for drink driving De Geoy beats the hell out of a innocent guy, forcibly touches a woman and ends up a NY jail, and gets.... Zero weeks Makes sense!? *2 weeks for Andrew seems reasonable to me btw

Probably. If I were an AFL player and I knew I wouldn't be able to play a game the following season due to a degenerate knee, I'd be seeking a settlement from the club on the last year of the contract and then try to make up the balance of income forgone in another line of work, because I know that a perk of being an AFL player is the connections I've developed. In the past, players have retired before their contracts have expired.

Agree, as Binman mentioned many other factors come into play. As reigning premier and top of the ladder as we were for 12 or so rounds, teams prep and go harder for you. West Coast and North exemplified this last year, both putrid the week before playing the Demons, then both had a red hot go against the Demons, bashing and crashing into us as Langdon ribs unfortunately found out. We had a worse run with injuries and pushed a few players when obviously not ready Salem and Max immediately come to mind. 2023 seems like: - a bigger break after 2022, and we are in better shape, - a few new players who add to our strength in Grundy & Hunter, - better looking draw, - with a slightly modified game plan going forward, - TMac and BbB fitter, JVR stepping up a notch, - hopefully better goalkicking after Choco’s pre season work, - add a slice of luck, - to top it off for this KOZZY thread, he looks in great shape! Demons looking good for a top 4 finish and a crack at the 2023 flag

I hope Pickett isn't asked to play too much on-ball. Although Davey won a B&F as a midfielder, I thought it might have shortened his career because of all the crunching bumps and tackles he received in the role. Pickett will receive similar attention when he's in the midfield.

The only locks of our key position players will be May, Lever and Petty (either in defence or attack). I think our forward line will depend on how we use Gawn and Grundy. I think one of the rucks will need to play 60% game time as a deep forward. Neither is mobile enough to play as a midfielder and any other solution will mess up the rotations. I hope Petty is given more than 5 minutes of the season up forward to see what he can do. He could be our Tom Lynch. Disco Turner and Van Rooyen look likely but it is a big jump from VFL to AFL. I think both have a good chance this year and how they fair will impact which end Petty plays. TMac and Brown are near the end of their careers. I think TMac has more top level footy in him because he is more mobile and fits better alongside Gawn or Grundy at full forward. Casey will be very strong if we have no injuries.

He does seem a great bloke. And I hold out hope he gets back to form - he is literally the best tall fwd we have right now. But can we not live in a fantasy land that expects good people to walk away from a contract for the ‘good of the club?’ I find it naive and mean spirited.

I must admit that I am surprised and disappointed that some of the above posters have not shown enough faith in Tmac for his role in this coming season. Most Demon fans I believe are convinced that the loss of Tommy from Round 11 contributed majorly to our second half inconsistency especially on the forward line. The game plan also IMO and BBB 's injury also were reasons plus our slow ball movement into attack. Further to that was the fact that both Spargo and ANB did not replicate their stellar 2021 seasons and about 20 goals were missing from them. Also Trac kicked 10.26 or similar I think and was also 15/20 goals shy of his 2021 output. Along with tjis was the selection Cttee and Simon not giving Chandler Bedford a decent run and possibly even Bowey Laurie or Howes through form or injury not being tried on the forward line. We know that JVR was also not tried but was close to selection from about around 20 as he was named an emergency for the last 6 games. Fast forward to 2023 and all except Bedford are now available for consideration with Grundy Schache and maybe later ( or earlier) depending upon form and development in Jefferson ( lightly framed but has very good goal kicking craft) and Sestan ( appears to have excellent kicking skills and robust physique to be competitive) but his endurance and fitness may be a query especially in the early rounds. How do we come up with the right mix of forwards inc. talls mids and smalls.? If all are fit and available I would line up in Round1 as: HF Chandler Tmac Fritsch FF Pickett Brown Van Rooyen Either Spargo OR ANB would be in the 5 Interchange selections. Others to run through or rest or change in the Forward line during the game could be: Gawn Grundy Petty Petracca Harmes Hunter Schache ( if in 23) Jordan ( if in 23) Sestan (when fit enough and if in form) late in year Verrall or Jefferson May be developed enough or even Kossies mate Trent might be a chance if he joins as a SSP selection. So we have plenty of choices but firm and fitness plus game plan and connectivity are all important issues yo consider. I reckon we all consider that Fritta and Kossie will both continue their 55+ and 40+ goals contributions. I also happen to believe if Tmac plays then another 25/30 goals plus will be added to the mix!! We await with baited breath what Stafford the Coach can do with this eclectic group of goalkickers and forwards in our quest for our 14th Flag.

Seems like an outstanding fella that would put the club before himself if his knee can’t withstand another year. With that being said, we’ll be a far better side next year if we get the late 2021 Ben Brown edition, so here’s hoping.

It's like a cold sore. Hard to get rid off On this thread topic, as i noted in the Jackosn is leaving thread, after being anguished about Gerard Healy's defection to the Swans i vowed not to get too caught up in players leaving. If they leave they leave. I couldn't be any more ambivalent now about the young ruck who went to Freo last season. I have been pretty successful in not getting upset about players leaving over the subsequent years, but a couple of players have got under my guard. The one that immediately comes to mind is the Wiz. Totally understood why went home and didn't begrudge him one little bit for doing so, but I just loved watching him play so, so much that it was a real wrench when he left. In my top 10 favorite dees players of all time. I fear i'd feel much the same if Kozzie chose to leave. I just love watching him play footy and hope i get to do so week i week out for the rest of his career.

Got there a little late, but saw all the match sim and the running drills at end of session. My thoughts (although much of this has been covered by others). T-Mac: If I had to pick a BOG from the match sim, then T-Mac got the 3 votes easily. He is moving freely and the less-tight defence during the match sim just suits him to a tee as his smarts and positioning are always better than others. Trac: As someone who has been critical of his turnovers in recent times, I have got to say he was 100% with his disposal today and looked a clear team leader. The downside was that he appeared to jar his knee in a tackle late in match sim and spent a bit of time with treatment. The outcome must have been OK, because he did all the running drills at end of the session. Angus: After missing most of pre-Christmas on light duties, he was back doing everything today, except that he was a little out of touch. Got caught with it a couple of times. But he'll be better for the run. Rivers: This is a crucial year for Trent as he lost his way a little last season. And I liked what I saw from Riv and he has bulked up a bit so isn't as easily brushed aside. He also looks mega fit. JVR: It's now almost obligatory for everyone to comment on our new FF. And yes he did look pretty good matched against Steven May. But he did also make a couple of turnover howlers. But it's his ability to keep at it, that make him so watchable. Kossie: T-Mac got my votes, but who did I enjoy watching. It looks like he's going to play in the middle at times and he will provide a spark and break open the lines. It's just like watching Cyril or Aaron Davey. He's the most dangerous player on our side. Mr Electric. Ollie Sestan: He didn't touch it much, but when he did, he made a few lovely link-up plays. I have said before that I reckon JVR is the only newcomer likely to play this season, but who knows, this guy may be a chance late in the season. He has big Brian Wilson style hips, so he's hard to push off it. Harmesy: Had to play up forward in the match sim and I do feel for him. He was willing to go to Essendon in the off-season so he could get some midfield minutes and let's hope his natural happy-go-lucky nature can overcome his obvious frustrations. He's a Melbourne man through and through so I hope he can find his way through what shapes as a tricky season. OLD DEE'S TRAINING REPORT

I think the game plan should play to the strengths of your elite players. And our elite players are at the stoppages and behind the ball. Our forwards just need to take their chances. That's not to say tweaks to ball movement shouldn't be pursued. I think the acquisition of Hunter, the selection of Bowey, Salem, even Howes will hopefully have a natural flow towards greater forward efficiency from the chances our mids can make from contest and the chances the backs can create on slingshot.

If Schache starts round 1 we are in serious injury trouble for the start of the season. Same with Melksham.

Gone very early! Harmes, bbb, petty, schache, spargo and several others say ‘hi’! think there will be some interesting changes this year.

No Petty???

It means the Brownlow should be disregarded, or at least not be seen as the most prestigious individual accolade in the game. I’d put more weight in a media award, but I think the AFLCA Champion Player of the Year is the benchmark. Of which Gawn has won 1, and Oliver has now won 2.

Coincidentally, so am I. Got more time due to Covid 😷 One thing I read yesterday was the credit Max gave to Luke Jackson re improving Max's footwork post stoppage, his ability to spread quickly. He speaks of getting power into the first 3 steps after a ruck contest. He was always a great ruckman but It definitely improved his all round game. He wouldn't have kicked a 55m goal on the run like against Geelong in the PF 2 years before that game. This in something Grundy can improve on and if he can, those 2 will be even more formidable together.

Looking ahead, I think it's going to be one of the best playoff series in years when it comes to excitement, surprises and matchups. There's some brilliant teams in there but no absolute dominant standout. The closest thing to that would be KC and at that stage they would be my pick to win it, the offense has changed a bit since they won it and in many ways you'd have to say it's stronger as a whole. Juju has been an excellent pick up and they have the QB with the tools and now experience to do it. You don't lead total points and yards for nothing. The Bills are well placed too but hoping Allen is healthy and we'll see how they come out of this emotional period. The Eagles have been great but there have been some cracks in recent weeks and will Hurts lack of games lately hurt them? Still giving them the nod for best NFC chance. Niners have been one of the more in-form sides, the front 7 is close to the best but I'm not sure our secondary as one of the few times we came up against good weapons (D Adams) we were smoked. Been very impressed with Purdy but there are weaknesses there to be exploited by defenses. Obviously thus being the team I watch the most I'll be the most critical. I hate to say it but don't sleep on the Cowboys, it's an even more balanced team going in to these playoffs and this loss they just had to Washington you'd have to think this puts a rocket up their you know what. Terrorising defense and roster wise I have them on par with SF. The Bengals are playing very well at the moment and I can see them catching fire again. In playoffs I'm all about quarterbacks and "Who is your QB and which QBs are you facing?" For this reason the AFC has a few collision courses but also for this reason I fancy the SB winner coming from there.

we need a small defender, and TB has been training down back from what i've read

I could not agree more rpfc.

Would you?

Yes. It was interesting to see that absolutely nothing has changed – incredible hometown bias, overwhelming majority of Geelong supporters because Melbourne supporters simply couldn’t get tickets, and the extraordinary homeground advantage, which means Geelong of almost impossible to beat down there. Our mission this year, and over the next few years should be to make them our bunnies.

What about the enjoyment on the faces of the fans at attending a winning Melbourne match in Geelong at a time when the chances of us bringing home the 4 points was negligible and the prospect of that long drive home in the cold at the end of most games wasn’t exactly tantalizing.

“Interesting” mix of talls is a good way of putting it. We have no star talls. Ben Brown has averaged 26 goals when we thought he might be able to re-create his 60 goals years. Injuries have hampered him. T Mac as much as I love him is so up and down with his body and form we just have to pray for a good run for him. our best hope is for our young guys to make an impact. But right now, our lack of quality tall forwards is our biggest issue imo if we had a gun tall fwd like Lynch or Cameron we would be unstoppable imo

Going by big @kev martin chat with Alan Richardson it looks like Trent will be at the Casey Demons this year if we don't select him. Good to hear he's living with Kozzie.

No Tmac is more versatile and contributes so that the smalls can crumb better.

I do take that into consideration @rjay, but we had opportunities in the back half of the year to pull the pin on guys who were completely cooked. Ben Brown was barely on 1 leg and we had a fit JVR/Sam Weideman fresh and ready to go. For me, the warning signs go right back to round 1 last year when for some whatever reason we selected a proppy Christian Salem with a heavily bandaged knee who then lasted not even 5 minutes from a simple tackle. Why did he play round 1 when he was clearly not fit? Looking back this completely ruined his year. I know it's hindsight, but that was a perfect opportunity to just ease him back into it and have him fresh and ready to play come round 4-5. Just giving him those few extra weeks would have been beneficial.

Thank you so much Demonland, Kev, DS, WW, starting, GotoW, Dfp, Binman, Demon and all other posters it was a veritable smorgasbord. So much great info from so many different angles, loved it.!!!

I don't know if anybody is interested but is this the first sighting of 'laconic' for this year?

People are allowed to change opinions 'Nev'. I think it's would be a good thing if more of us did when faced with critical evidence rather than hold an entrenched view and argue it to the death.