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Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but the DeeBrief podcast has just done an interview with Aden Yze - I think it’s only on the Premium version. He was pretty candid with his info - some of the key take outs: - They definitely had a loading period over the past few rounds, with Yze likening it to a mini pre-season. He said they had targeted the consecutive 10 day breaks to put the load into players. - They are going to play Trac almost exclusively in the forward line, with Brayshaw coming up to midfield. He said that they trust Viney and Brayshaw to lead the midfield. They will also give Kozzie some centre bounces to get his hands on the ball. Apparently Kozzie had been sick after Alice Springs and so had not trained fully up to the Saints game. He was also tagged heavily during last week’s game. - The aim is to finish Top 4 every year, whilst we have this list. He described it as having a chance to knock on the door and whatever happens after that, happens. He explained that this was a theme that Clarko used at the Hawks. Yze also said that he thinks our finals series of 2021 was unbelievable and doubts whether it will ever be repeated (as in the total dominance of our opponents). - He also made mention of the fitness and medical team, saying that they are fantastic. He used the example of Salem being able to return to AFL level without having to come back through Casey.

Can we just ease up on the Grundy disrespect? Kind of falling into the self-hating MFC supporter trope.

No place for Yze spin here please. We all know: loading only exists in Binmans head kozzie is not interested since signing his contract Goodwin poor coaching and tactics are the only thing holding this team back from playing like the 2021 prelim and grand final every week hawthorn were on top of the latter for about 4 straight years and didn’t lose a game

This could probably go in about 3 or 4 other threads, but I thought it was relevant to Grundy's omission/management/dumping/divorce/separation. Given that he had a low fitness base due to his long-term injury last year, I imagine what is stated below has probably impacted him a lot more than others (although you could see Max looked laboured in the Saints game as well). This is taken verbatim from an interview with Adam Yze taken earlier this week. The question was framed around the media's general perception that our position in 4th is really tenuous: "We're really mindful of the way we finished last year. We really struggled and ran out of gas late last year. We feel this year in the end our goal was to make top 4, it always is. We finished in the top 4 last year and went out in straight sets, just by losing a lot of momentum and a lot of gas by the end of the year. We're really mindful of that. We had three really solid weeks of training - we had three 10-day breaks in a row. We were able to get a fair bit of training into our players, which we haven't had the opportunity to do that before (during this season). Our fitness staff set a really strong plan, and a really clear plan on getting an advantage with those three 10-day breaks in a row. It was like a little mini pre-season, they got a bit more volume... we're hoping that will give us a bit of a spike later in the year, so we don't have the same issues as last year."

Plenty of narrative going around that 2 rucks don’t work. How many rucks did we play in 2021?

I would characterize it as it being fatigued, not unfit. Posters were screaming this time last last year for Goody to take a squad mentality and freshen up players when needed. And that is exactly what Goody is doing this season - not that he is getting much credit for doing so. It is important to remember that fitness is iterative - Grundy missed a huge part of the 2022 season. And as as the club said preseason, has work to do to get back to his optimal aerobic levels. With Maxy's injury, Grundy has done a power of work this season, and probably more work than they had planned for when designing his individual program. So it makes perfect sense that he might need a chop out right about now. If he does need a chop out (just as was the case for Hibbo a few week back, and JVR, Chandler and Spargs more recently),it is smart by the club to manage Grundy. In my opinion, there is zero chance Grundy is not in our best 22 and if not in this week, will be back in soon enough and 100% will be in our finals team. Book mark it.

Yes and how many are the ladder leaders playing? Cox and Cameron aren’t much different to our combo. We haven’t lost games because of our rucks, we have lost quite a few games simply because of poor disposal and poor goal kicking accuracy. Whatever we do game by game, Grundy has kept Max fresher than in other years and that has to be a plus. I could actually see Grundy smashing packs and playing well in finals.

Gawn and Grundy is no different to Gawn and Jackson. We’ve played two rucks for years and Grundys output this year has been superior to Jackson’s output with us. Grundy has been our best ruckman this year. It would be strange to drop the better performing player, but I get you can’t drop your captain. Grundy hasn’t been incredible either, but he’s been serviceable and will be our ruckman after Gawn retires. The transition has already begun. This issue is that Gawn has fallen off a cliff compared to his past 8 years and currently doesn’t deserve his place in the team on output. Whether that’s himself as a player or the role the coaches have put him in, his form is the issue. Gawn is best as a ruckman who then plays behind the ball intercepting. Grundy is best as a mobile ruckman linking up around the ground. Neither is competent as a tall forward. The coaches haven’t found a solution, but need to look at the strengths of both and ditch the forward experiment. Personally, I’d try Gawn in defense seeing as we play a zone and throw Petty forward to pair with BBrown or JVR. We’re getting to crunch time now and the coaches need to find an answer quickly or we’ve wasted a second year in a row of a brilliant lists peak years.

One of those basic skills that has been lossed 🫠

Because Schache is a very ordinary AFL player and JVR is going to be a very good one.

First game with BBB and JVR together? Interested to see how they work together.

Here's my tuppence worth on this matter. If you are writing some sort of formal document or academic submission then accuracy in spelling and grammar is vital. However, on platforms like Demonland it's more about people being able to comfortably and confidently express their opinions on a subject they are no doubt passionate about. Provided the meaning of their submission is clear, I see no good reason to dampen their enthusiasm with unnecessary pedantry.

I interpreted his quote to mean him saying we hadn't had 3 10 day breaks in a row before, which is true.

I knew binman was actually Yze.......

“MELBOURNE father-son prospect Kalani White emerged among the standout youngsters during the recent national under-16s championships, enjoying a stellar carnival in Queensland last week. “White, whose father Jeff played 236 games for the Demons, has developed through a talented Suns Academy system and provided plenty of highlights in front of recruiters during a pair of matches on the Gold Coast. “The key-position prospect played at either end of the field throughout Gold Coast's campaign, kicking two goals against Sydney's Academy as a forward last Thursday where he demonstrated nice athleticism reminiscent of his 2004 All-Australian father.” Giant starts talks, rivals circle Bomber, clubs eye Dogs ruck

Tom likes to stir the pot doesn't he? I doubt he has any sources inside the FD he hasn't burned.

Fairly confident but much angst about their MCG hoodoo They will be dancing in the streets of Brizvegas tonight... again Will never win at the G again if we can't salute here. I'll be disappointed if Gunston doesn't outscore the opposition off his own boot for the second week running. Lions by 81. I've seen people say this game is crucial for our season. Crucial for Top 2 maybe, but even if we lose we are still a game clear of Melbourne in 4th. It's crucial also due the last time we'll be playing at MCG before finals. Sick and tired of the MCG bs, even if we make it so easy to write. Let's just get the win to shut the critics up. MCG is a haunted ground. It disgusts me that we are forced to play there at all. It will always be a thing until we start winning there more consistently. Or win a Grand Final. To maintain a top two chance, we just have to win this one at the MCG. Squiggle suggesting a nice relaxing game ... Melbourne 76 - 73 Brisbane Lions 81 points is our Go To margin. Don't see anything wrong with sticking to what we know I could have kicked a couple against West Coast and I’m waiting on a knee replacement on my preferred. Tickets bought, off to see another MCG masterclass by the Lions :) Quietly confident on this one, I think it will be a low scoring affair but I think our defence vs their forwards is stronger than their defence vs our forwards - we just have too many routes to goal. Lions by 18 You can't take them lightly because they have many other good players but they'll need to have a night out to beat us. This is ours to take , just need to bring our A game. If you want your eyes to glaze over check out the champion data definitions relating to pressure. Sounds like Grundy is doubtful to play, which isn’t much of a loss for them given his form. It should mean we can get away without having to worry about going in with the 2 specialist rucks ourselves How teams have performed the game after belting WCE by 60+ Melb: LOST to Ess by 27 Carl: LOST to Bris by 26 GC: LOST to Bris by 43 Haw: BEAT StK by 10 Coll: LOST to Melb by 4 Ade: LOST to Coll by 2 Syd: DREW with Geel 1 win from 7 games. Big watch on Bris against Melb this wk A huge 16 point Friday night game this week - No.3 vs No.4 ! A classic 32 point game! Cant afford to lose this 64 point game and be derided as pretenders for the nth time this year My Favourite: Some humourous banter from local fans: : Public service announcement re Friday's game: for any of my fellow Mernda or Hurstbridge line travellers, don't hang around celebrating the win for too long after the match. Bus replacement services will be running after 11pm. Yes, don't go home until the first morning train! Crown is open all night. if we win the game I think I’d happily walk home. Late Edit: Dees by 4 goals!!:

Confirmed dropped: “We have been transparent that we are continuing to look for ways to be more effective in front of the ball,” GM of AFL Football Performance Alan Richardson says. “We really like the impact that Brodie is having in the ruck, but think he would benefit from more time as a forward. “To provide him with this opportunity, he will spend some time in the VFL and focus on refining his forward craft. “To Brodie’s credit, he is completely aligned and on board with this plan. This is a testament to Brodie’s character and the type of person he is.”

Ok. But essentially that is exactly what Selwyn Griffiths said in the DL interview podcast way back in March that i have referenced multiple times.

Yes to Dunstan. Particularly against Brisbane, who don't have the quickest mids. With regards to Grundy, a week ago he was Champion Data's All Australia starting ruck, so it isn't all that bad. You need to take a few different looks before the finals. I don't think it's a clear-cut omission.

An ambulance chasing trollop. I have no doubt that we are not happy with how the Gawn/Grundy combo is working, and that we expected a lot more out of it. However I also have no doubt that we are resting Grundy, not relegating him to Casey (who have a bye, so what a good time to 'rest' a player). He spent 12 months out of the game last year, and is no doubt still building back his fitness. He has been in better form IMO than Gawn, but I think we want to exploit the Lions' distinct lack of speed, especially if Dunkley doesn't play. It is the one area where we can really expose them, especially on the wide spaces of the MCG.

Hard to believe you missed the 2021 Grand Final Jimmy.

Makes sense post the knee issue. I don't feel it's the right strategy if Max was fully fit and not in that space though. I'd want my best ruck to be at his very best and dominating. Even if it was just say two more seasons, for an improved chance at one more cup vs just plodding along for longevity sake with the help of another 'ok' ruck and probably missing out. Hope to be proven wrong, but the extra ruck means you have given up a place for a potential very good KF, inside or outside mid. When all is said & done i just don't feel the pay off will be worth that sacrifice after we look back and review this decision after another season or two. For whatever reason, post injury and/or other, at the moment Max looks like a shadow of his former self. That's not to say he isn't playing some pretty good footy at times. It's more his body language on the field and in general. The happy-go-lucky confident Max (on the field) that played with a bit of fire in the belly and freedom appears to be missing somewhat for mine this season.

Who cares why he’s omitted. He’s a quality human and footballer. I’ve no doubt he’ll be back better for it. Looking at Grundy and Gawn I’d say Gawn has another year and Grundy has 4-5 more. He’ll be number 1 ruck next year and beyond.

The coaching and fitness staff map out the whole year and look at all the breaks between games, travel, byes etc. They build a plan around that and maybe have to adjust for injuries and possibly easy vs hard games. Its no surprise to hear that the players had a special training regimen for the 3 x 10 day breaks that took into account how we faded last year. In fact I would be surprised and disturbed if we hadn't done that. AS frustrating as our games against Geelong and the giants has been Goodwin has always focused on the bigger picture which is getting a fit and healthy list to a top 4 position. Its us supporters that feel the angst when we drop winnable games. I'm nervous but I trust them at this point.

All we know is location of the injury. There are so many variables of the actual injury and what the imaging was showing that it is total guess work to make an assumption on what would be best practice. To try an answer your question, yes it is normal to be running after certain types of hamstring injuries. There is one thing I am 100% certain on and that every supporter needs to understand. The medical staff would be responding to his injury and imaging by the book OR new approaches that are backed with current research in the field. To think anything else is totally misguided. Just keep in the mind, as the player progresses through each level of training, the medical staff are relying on the player giving them feedback on pain/soreness levels and tightness. If a player is not reporting these things, then he is progressing through the rehab faster than he should be. Take what you will out of that, but that's my hunch....

That's almost exactly what Scott said last year- tgough he said they were prepared to miss the 8 to give the cats the best chance of winning the flag. The big change to last year's program is replicating the cats squad approach and managing mutiple best 22 players like jvr, bowey, bb, Hibbo, chandler, grundy and spargo (something we didn't do hardly at all last year)

Imagine the 2030 Demons Side FF - White FB - White Ruck - White

Dunno what he's drunk tonight, but he seems to be throwing up a fair bit.

Thanks Swans

Brodie Grundy is a quality character.

It’s certainly how I took it, listening to the audio of the interview (I dictated it to post here). To me, Yze was implying that they will risk top 4 to make sure we’re fresh for finals. We went a little too hard to guarantee top 4 last year and burnt ourselves out. He goes on to say later that even with a top 2 spot we fell out in straight sets, but Brisbane who finished 5th made the prelim. I don’t think it means we haven’t been loading mid-season in previous years. More that it’s being done with less focus on winning individual games, and keeping players fresh and primed in September.

Or he may not. Or he may get injured We don't have any idea. Grundy is a great get at a good price to replace Jacko while we are in our 'window' and while we are grooming another young ruckman. Our club has a good record in generating highly competitive ruckmen and I suspect it will continue.

we could be 1 game in to a 16-0 run through the GF. Just sayin....

Schache and Dunstan in, Jordon out. Consider a stand-up comedy career.

What it means is we want to manage another of our players, just like we've managed Hibbo, JVR, Chandler, BB and Spargo, and even Bowey. Now it's Grundy's turn, so he's fresh for Adelaide.

Smells perfectly right. He's going back to play as a forward. To develop his forward craft. Wouldn't expect to see him doing any or hardly any ruck time at Casey.

Good opportunity to rest Grundy. He’s hardly played a full season in yonks and has been surprisingly durable for us. will be an interesting selection meeting next week if Max dominates and we beat the Lions.

I wonder what your ex's version of events might be? Would he argue that he was just exercising his free agency rights?

The biggest issue with the Gawn/Grundy combo, is that we want one of them to play forward, and neither are forwards. At 29 and 31, that is not going to change. You just have to move on from that idea. We never played Gawn or Jackson as permanent forwards, so why are we insisting to do it with Gawn and Grundy? Gawn dropping back is where he excels, and providing the outlet from half back. Grundy needs to use his strength at ground level to play as an extra mid. He can't do that if he's absolutely buggered, so it's not a bad time to give him a week off to freshen up ahead of playing a fast moving Adelaide. But neither are forwards, and the more we try to make them something they are not, the more we will suffer.

Well based on our form and theirs I’m not surprised they are a little cocky, but we have the potential to turn it on or grind teams down. I hope we find some true form and play some fast attractive football and take it to them.

Critical game for us Friday night will take a mighty effort with Clarry and Fritta sidelined would love to see JVR on the park. I am loving it up here in Nth Qld went and visited a number of very large Saltwater Crocs today at Hartleys Croc Farm and just came to bed to read DL temp here at Trinity Park is still 21oC, so sweet.!!

Just because things worked OK in 2021, doesn't mean that they are guaranteed to work in 2023, for loads of reasons. Ohhh I mentioned loads.....

Thanks WCW. Yes, I was also managed by a woman in my early twenties that I so don’t think about from time to time with a sad cringe. I WAS MANAGED, not dumped.

Well, I guess that puts an end to the Goody is stubborn narrative. I actually know it won't because many on here are more stubborn. ....but to drop Grundy is a big move, a stubborn coach would have gone down with the ship.

Agreed, without Grundy, Gawn would have had to continue to play big TOG% and play through injuries and niggles. We have been effectively managing him, in game, to preserve him long term.

I LOL at those. They were my second favourite group of quotes. As an aside, I don't edit any posts but I try to group related ones together to tell a story.

Righto, well, you and I disagree again. As if we wouldn't want Trac in the midfield and then Trac in the forwardline. Every team would.