Leaderboard

He's still handy to have as depth even if he mainly plays at Casey. Can pinch hit in the ruck or any key position. Great team player & always gives 100%.

Absolutely not resiling from Steven May’s line in the MCG turf. The Demons are the ‘better team and should have smoked them’ period. Pessimists, doubters and detractors don’t bother showing up. Those up for the ride, saddle up this side is bound for glory. After near six decades in the doldrums one premiership ain’t enough for this core list. With the exception of Michael Hibberd who has been lost? Last season’s trade and high draft additions must stoke the Demon furnace. Media, league administrators, ‘competitors’ and assorted hangers on take note we’re not going away anytime soon.

After last September i am staggered that he is going around again I love Tom, but we played those 2 Finals a man down…

I sat in the Ponsford and saw close up most of his bag against Richmond this season. That convinced me that this guy is one of the answers to our forward problems. He made the Tiger backline look inept with his reading of the ball coming in and his ability to lose his designated defender and run at the ball, mark it with clean hands and then actually convert! If he can stay fit he could be one of the best KPF in the game, hopefully for us.

On the same topic I also spoke last week when in Melb to Christians Dad while at their very popular North Rd. Cafe. Very encouraging report on Christians health and fitness. Let’s say he is winding back his effort after a huge start to balance out the pre season. Is well above last 2 pre seasons and back in 2021 territory. Let’s hope he can return to that as he was very instrumental in our success as part of that superbly tuned backline that kick started our attack. We need that back again to connect down field successfully in 2024.

Sadly I think his career has probably come to and end. Playing wise that is. If it is, I certainly hope the club keeps him on in some capacity. Maybe a goal kicking coach.😀 I would love to be wrong but he seems a lot slower these days and has the turning circle of an old front wheel drive Mitsubishi Magna, I once owned. He has been plagued by injuries over the last three years and his performance in both our finals last year was umm .....yea. He has been a wonderful forward option for us and helped set up our 21 granny birth. Aa much as I would love that to continue, I think most of us would probably agree that it won't.

5 is my old man.

ive heard the same too, was told that he was running at about 60% fitness last year coming into finals when we needed him desperately.... no wonder he didnt do much at all. He ran a pb for his time trial which is exceptional considering hes at the end of his career

I have really high hopes for Jvr. Our forward line was on a state of constant flux and there was no real time to have everything gel in terms of game plan. It would be wonderful for some consistent key positions covered consistently if that makes sense. Jvr came on in leaps ( literally)and bounds last year and if that trajectory continues into this season he will be a star. Would like to see him settled at chf all year creating a strong leading marking option. Petty played little time up forward but proved that he was a star in his last two games before injury. He his a very hard matchup at full forward. Fritta was plagued by injuries as well. He is a natural fwd pocket player. If these three are firing and the three crumbers in Kozzie, Chandler and Anb can get back to their best then one could expect to see probably one of the best forward lines around. Spargo can play the odd cameo there as well. Also without mentioning names if all goes well maybe Trac can spend more time in our forward line in the other pocket. Although he does need to fix his set shots on goal. Joel Smith would be a good forward sub. I think injury wise we are due for some good luck this year.

I heard JVR on an interview last year saying he's not a natural leading forward, he relies on the contest. If he can add this ability to his skill set he would be a lot more effective in my view. I hope they are working on it with him, BBB would be a good mentor in this aspect of the game.

It's like the leading patterns from the forwards ... all important, but do our forwards know how to go about it? Also, the ability to create separation. It's notable that ex-backmen with regards to a 'fit' T-Mac and Petty are able to create separation in a natural way Brown at his best is very good on the lead. JVR is still learning, and who knows with Jefferson So, the connection between the mids and forwards is a complex one. Any number of variables are factors It's going to be interesting to see what McQualter's actual role will be and how much autonomy he is afforded

56. Graham Hunnibell http://www.afltashalloffame.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/156.-Graham-Hunnibell-187x300.gif Player Inductee North Launceston/Melbourne/New Norfolk/Clarence, Ruckman, 1974-91 12 games, 2 goals for Melbourne, 1978-80 Around 90 games for North Launceston 1974-77, 1981 Around 70 games for New Norfolk, 1982-85 Around 100 games for Clarence, 1986-91 New Norfolk captain-coach, 1984-85 Clarence captain-coach, 1986 North Launceston NTFA premierships 1975, 1981 New Norfolk TANFL premiership, 1982 William Leitch Medal, 1985 (TANFL Best and Fairest) Melbourne reserves Best and Fairest, 1980 North Launceston Best and Fairest 1977, 1981 New Norfolk Best and Fairest 1982, 1984, 1985 Clarence Best and Fairest, 1989 17 representative matches for Tasmania, 1977-1985 Lefroy Medal, 1982 (Best Tasmanian interstate player) Tasmanian State of Origin Carnival representative 1979 (Perth) NTFA representative 1974, 1977, 1981 North Launceston ‘Greatest Team’ 1945-1999 (Forward Pocket) New Norfolk ‘Greatest Team’ 1947-2001 (Ruckman) One of the most decorated Tasmanian footballers of the past 50 years, Graham ‘Moose’ Hunnibell won almost every award and accolade there was to win in a stellar 16-season career in which he was widely regarded as the premier ruckman in the state. Born in January 1955, Graham Hunnibell’s senior career began with North Launceston in 1974 at the age of 19. Already a well-proportioned young lad, the young big man impressed right off the bat, gaining NTFA representative honours in his first season and playing in North Launceston’s 1975 premiership in his second. In 1977 he took out the first of what was to be many Best and Fairest awards, and by the end of that season the VFL was circling. It would be Melbourne that landed the young ruckman’s signature, and Hunnibell lined up for his debut for the Demons in Round 7, 1978. Alas, despite Melbourne winning just 16 of their 66 games from 1978-80 Hunnibell was never able to significantly break into the senior team, managing just 12 games in three years. Despite his lack of senior VFL exposure, Hunnibell was still an automatic selection when it came to picking the Tasmanian side for the State of Origin carnival in Perth in 1979. After only two senior appearances for Melbourne in 1980, Hunnibell returned to Tasmania at season’s end, but not before he had taken out Melbourne’s reserves Best and Fairest award – a sign of things to come. Upon his return to Tasmania Hunnibell ran out for original club North Launceston. His first season back was one to remember, as the 25-year old played in a second Robins premiership, took out his second Best and Fairest award and was runner-up to East Launceston’s Paul Reinmuth in the Hec Smith Medal count. At the end of 1981, Hunnibell was on the move again, heading south to take up a lucrative offer with TANFL side New Norfolk. In his first season he proved to have the Midas Touch once again, taking out New Norfolk’s club champion award, playing a vital role in the Eagles drought-breaking premiership win and sharing (with Sandy Bay’s Tony Martyn) the Lefroy Medal as his state’s best representative player. In 1984 Hunnibell was appointed captain-coach of New Norfolk, leading the club to consecutive finals appearances and winning back-to-back club Best and Fairest awards. After four seasons at Boyer – the last of which saw him dominate the competition to win the William Leitch Medal as TANFL Best and Fairest – Hunnibell made the final move of his career, joining Clarence as captain-coach. This time he only spent one season holding the reigns but spent the following five years plying his trade as effectively and brilliantly as he had since his teenage years. He retired at the end of the 1991 season, but not before taking out yet another Best and Fairest award in 1989 – his seventh in 18 seasons. With this he achieved the phenomenal distinction of winning a Best and Fairest award at every major Tasmanian club. Hunnibell’s impact on Tasmanian football was enormous, and it therefore came as no surprise when he was named in both North Launceston and New Norfolk’s Greatest Teams in 1999 and 2001 respectively.

It's not necessarily a thing but is fairly self explanatory don't you think? e.g. 'Oliver wins the clearance and quickly handpasses to Petracca who then offloads to a bolting Kozzie who delivers it lace-out to a leading JVR (in or around the hot spot) If our coaches aren't planning for those sorts of outcomes what are they doing? However, set plays out of the midfield and from stoppages have been in operation for an age ... they are just not referenced or talked about enough Instead of that, we get a lot of fluff. Our footy media seem to be more interested in gossip So yeah, schemes it is. Unless there's a better word to describe midfield clearances

Troy Davis?

the club didn’t leak anything….. his running coach who is completely seperate from the club is the same as Adam Tomlinson posted it on his instagram.

Coincidentally that’s when my leave finally starts and I’ll start sinking cans like a madman.

I spoke to Christian Salem’s dad last week who said that Christian was training that morning.I didn’t ask where! Big help l know !

This man will decide our flag fortunes next year. 25 great games from him and Max and we've got a tremendous chance.

I saw Tom up north in October. Looked fighting fit and he felt confident that he was going to get through the bulk of next season injury free 🤞🙏

All the best KF's were/are strong on the lead but as you said, the game has changed and it's much harder for forwards to lead into space (but not impossible) Quick ball movement further afield and quick f50 entries is the key And that's what the Pies do. They catch out teams on the counter so it often looks like they've got an open forward line with their f50 entries They are quick and it's nearly every time. Thus, their forwards have got space to lead into What we do has been much discussed and we have to change We do a lot right though with a tremendous zone defence and we have real talent in our backline. The midfield is fine as well with plenty of talent It's just our ball movement which is not corridor-centric which leads to slow inside f50 entries So we need to be quick from HB, stoppages or centre-breaks and we should back ourselves to use the corridor ... turn it over and we've got the stellar defence as back-up Footnote: Pound for pound we've got a better list of players than Collingwood but their system takes them a long way. They play high-risk football knowing that mistakes & clangers are going to happen, no matter which way they play And the best way for us to pay them back for the act of thuggery is to beat them on the scoreboard (although we could send out a goon as well - Ice Hockey style!!)

Plugger Lockett springs to mind 'Macca'... Strong in the contest but also a great lead up forward who knew how to make space. The game has changed of course but these skills never grow old.

Agree . The flag that got away despite injuries and forward woes. We never tossed it in

The main problem was we had this same issue in 2022, and again in 2023 Massive F50 entries with very low conversion rates The issue was not resolved during 2023 pre season

I really can’t understand these incredibly negative opinions. We only needed to score one more goal a game last season & we go to one of the top forward lines. A few tweaks to our forward delivery & more importantly keeping our forwards on the ground will make a massive difference to our team. Get consistency on the scoreboard & that will impact our whole team dynamic. Name one team we haven’t matched it with & have lost for any other reason than because of our “much publicised forward deficiencies”.

Well he'll need to be stellar in the contests if leading up isn't his go. There's not that many successful KPF's that aren't good on the lead But JVR is still very young and is on a learning curve With the flooded forward lines we see these days, there's not that many 1 on 1's to kick to. Kicking long to a key forward these days more often than not results in a kick to a pack situation Besides which, in an ideal world you'd like to see our midfielders hit the lead-up targets in the forward line You'd reckon that leading into space would be a bread & butter move for a forward. I understand that the space isn't always available but you've still got to play the percentages e.g. 1 mark per 30 minute quarter (around the hot spot) results in 4 shots at goal from virtually straight in front. And a KPF doesn't always have to mark on the lead ... he can win a free kick and then there's the front & square smalls You're right rjay, they need to be working on it with JVR

Been a great servant but is well and truly cooked.

Pakistan played a pretty good series and could have easily won a test or two with a bit more polish. Will be an interesting watch the Windies series and whether they have Green or Smith open or go with another option before heading to NZ for that tour? Then comes the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean before some white ball tours of Afghanistan (neutral venue anyway), Ireland and England before we're back home. And I hope the ICC don't green light another T20 or T10 comp in October/November. We've often toured South Africa then, the ODI World Cup was then last year and is set for then in 2027 and its also the start of our domestic season. Cricket needs to make sure they don't let private enterprise ruin the sport.

I thought Troy Davis too, but if not him how about Nathan Stark.

Agree though the six or more wines that still a very reasonable comment. I believe many Demon fans agree with Stevie. Now is the time to follow it up in pre season right through to late in September. Lady Luck would be good for our group after 2022/23 but I fully believe that we will solve the forward and connecting issues as well as our horrible inaccuracy issues.

Without a shadow of a doubt. Probably never been more confident and what’s more — many many ‘experts’ have us tipping out if the 8, which in Melbourne history is just the thing we need. In all seriousness I genuinely think the players are Uber-focused and there is a genuine bite in the group atm many are sensing is much more venomous than felt before! Playing group couldn’t be in better spot health wise, Clarry aside. Fwd mix is MUCH better with recruits and actual forwards playing (we didn’t even have roo vs blues and many forget this).

Yet the recruitment of McAdam, Billings, Tholstrup & Windsor sends us into a direction that doesn't necessarily focus on defensive forward play. But all our forwards will need to have a defensive aspect to their play However, the recruitment of those 4 players places an emphasis on skilled forward line play. All 4 will get some game time up forward, some more than others Petracca being pushed forward is another pointer that we needed to change the way we go about it up forward But it all starts out of the middle and/or the stoppages. I'm expecting to see Kozzie play more midfield minutes as more of a forward/mid rather than just as an opportunist forward And the acquisition of McQualter says to me that we're looking to improve our midfield schemes and delivery into the forward line (a more scientific approach) We'll find out soon enough as we'll be playing our first game for premiership points in 2 months

Who said he won't change... He did last season and opened the forward half out a bit more which also opened up our defence. Problem was injury to key players (with limited KPF's to start with) meant we closed up shop again and played a more defensive game. It's going to be an interesting watch this year...

They aren't talking to each other?

If he plays he will (and can) play half forward and up at stoppage similar to ANB I suggest. He is taller than Chandler and PIckett and ANB only has 3 centimetres on him. He has shown this preseason that he has built endurance (only behind Tomlinson and ANB in time trial) and whilst not quick he is not slow and makes quick decisions. I have not written him off surprising a few in 2024 and if he does that will be the role its in.

An update from Max on Clarry

Three!

And hopefully it's the filth that drops out to accommodate them.

You make a lot of very good points, TD. Agree with all Some further issues ... So the South Africans are saying that sending a 2nd rate test team to NZ is a one-off when factoring in the future tours. But can they be believed? The trouble is that the ownership of all the t20 teams in South Africa are from IPL franchises and the IPL hierarchy itself is talking about having another t20 competition in the September/October window (every year) ... so in the future, any test cricket scheduled during those months could be compromised And what's to stop other test nations doing the same thing as what South Africa are doing ... in a short space of time a new normality could exist The ICC needs to protect the future tours when it comes to test cricket but will they? So cricket is in good health but test cricket is at the crossroads (somewhat) A sign of that is the glut of 2 test series that we're now seeing And we should look no further than our own backyard ... after Pakistan we play a 2 test series against the West Indies and then a 2 test series against NZ in NZ. Further complicating matters are the WTC* points gained from test matches. If NZ prevail against a B grade South Africa in the upcoming 2 test series, should they be afforded maximum WTC points? One solution is for cricket to be like soccer where International windows could be created to protect the authenticity of test cricket. All test tours could incorporate white-ball cricket to satisfy the bean-counters But that would require an ICC directive and the ICC is made up of all the member nations where self-interest rules ($$$$'s from privatised t20 comps) *World Test Championship (points)

1. I think you are wrong there, first of all the backline is in good shape with several player that can cover injuries. 2. The midfield is good but does need a quicker type of player there as we are a little one paced when it comes to opening the play up but overall matches up with other teams overall. 3. The forward line has been our achilles heel since 21 and that had a lot to do with the game plan, but has been bolstered and will be interested to see if this years game plan has changed with those players coming in. 4. Overall we are still in contention but Goodwin must change the style we use, Langdon and Hunter must sop playing boundary side and centre attacking a lot more, Kossie should be used as an attacking forward not a defensive one all the time and go no more that the H/F line just like the pies used Elliot and Hill. Will be interesting year I say.

Harrison will play a vital role in premiership calculations. If fully fit he has so much to offer as a forward - strong marking, leading, kicking set shots, yet also a serious option as a (Premiership) defender if needed.

Will be a good swingman if fit. Versatile,loyal,dedicated. Deserves respect and another year on the list unlike some vegetarians.

Finished.. End of story, too slow and mobility of Jabba the Hutt. Been a great servant but, now gorne! IMO

I feel so sorry for Tom - he was an important part in our flag, and in us getting as far as we did in 2018. He works hard, is strong and well bulked in the upper body, but has been let down repeatedly by his foot. Now time is against him and sadly I suspect that time will pass him by, though I hope deep down that he will be able to make a big contribution in what will surely be his final season. Thanks Tom.

Tommy was great for us in 2018 & 2021 and a fit TMac provides extra depth to May, Lever, Tomlinson, Turner and Adams. I hope Tommy gets back to his best in case we need him down back. The boys can learn a lot from TMac fwd & back.