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Guys, it hasn't been reported yet, but to show you how tough & committed to the cause that Aaron is, he suffered a triple fracture to his cheekbone early in the second quarter and despite blood trickling continually down the inside of his nose & throat he totally downplayed the knock and kept playing. Was even the only player to go in and remonstrate with Stratton after the crude knock on Weid. You can see why the Coaches & teammates love him in the side.

Beat some decent teams consistently before talking like this I am so tired of potential. The team we beat on sunday have won 12 Flags in 50 years This team has got the potential to beat Brisbane next week That is all we should be concentrating on

Leigh Matthews I think. This is peak Demonland. Two weeks ago we were as bad as the Neeld era. Now we're the best side in 50 years. Neither of those are true.

We've had some very good captains over the years but this guy might just turn out to be the best I think. Since he's taken the role his game has gone to a new level - he's leading by example as a true match-winner. And I think he has a communication style that everyone can relate to.

I hope you’re right, but as you are also the OP of the Goodwin thread, I think you are riding the roller coaster a bit. I can’t remember the origin of this quote but someone said things in footy are never as bad, or as good, as they seem.

You're kidding right? David Neitz is #1 - club games record holder, club games as captain record holder, club goals record holder, member of the Hall of Fame, Coleman Medallist, Best and Fairest winner, 7 x leading goal-kicker, All-Australian.

I was going to post this in the 'Best in 50 years' thread, but I thought it deserved it's own discussion. Here's an interesting stat: AFL Ladder Inside 50 Differential Ranking 1) Port Adelaide 1) Port Adelaide 2) Brisbane 2) Brisbane 3) Collingwood 3) Collingwood 4) Richmond 4) Melbourne 5) Geelong 5) Richmond 6) St Kilda 6) Geelong Our forwardline/ midfield connection has been woeful bar the last 2 weeks and has been discussed to death. However, I think those issues have masked just how good we've been in other key areas. Many have rightly pointed out that winning the 'territory battle' in the middle is pointless if your midfielders can't deliver to your forwards. Not exactly groundbreaking news, and Blind Freddy could see that this was the key reason we were getting belted in the early rounds of the year. But it's also a relatively minor problem - clearly, generating more forwardline entries than your opposition is strongly correlated with winning games of footy. We've been doing a hell of a lot right, and in this key area we're mixing it with the best teams in the league - we're 90% of the way to being a bloody good side and premiership contender. The last 2 weeks have been highly encouraging, and it looks as though we might finally be sorting out our issues up forward (albeit against terrible opposition). If we can continue to improve in that area, we'll be charging up the ladder very quickly. Some cause for optimism (always easier after a win). Go Dees.

Beat me to the punch, I just came to post this. Great question from Gibson, who obviously reads Demonland (hi Ben) and great explanation from Goodwin about the need for calm and clarity in the box. It’s these types of answers from the coach that convinces me Goodwin is a high quality leader. Stuffs me why supporters would prefer a coach who loses his cool and cracks in high pressure situations.

It’s only Victorians who are pissy about not being able to the footy who think there’s an asterisk. I’m invested and want this flag as much as any other.

Not at all. Surgery was being booked in before the last player had completed his shower.

The assumed rotating of players will be exercised on a case by case basis. Biometrics (distance covered, time spent in heart-rate zones) will be taken into account, but the overriding qualification will be based on subjective reports of recovery. Thus, players will have to be brutally honest about how they’re travelling in the days post-game. With our lack of injuries, we couldn’t be better placed. Hopefully that remains the case.

Looking it up Gawn came in against the Pies and looked good in the hit outs against a young Grundy. Then I remember the Saints game the next week, only 3 marks but 16 touches and a stack of hit outs against Longer. He looked like he belonged but tired as the sole ruck and made a big error with an aggressive hit out at the final bounce. Obviously he took the loss personally and also felt like he belonged all at once and produced the cats game. In the space of 3 games he went from injury riddled underachieving prospect in the VFL to star!

He leads by example, AND he’s relatable to players and supporters. I listen every time he is interviewed, we always knew he was good for a laugh, but he’s also extremely insightful, which is extremely rare. As a grown adult I don’t throw around terms like “favourite player” much, let alone “favourite ever player”, but if I had to nominate one, Max is a contender.

Like many, I need to see a body of evidence before I am piling credit on this list. What I can say though, after watching the replay again last night, is that the hawthorn game was probably the most complete performance I have seen from this team. We literally dominated every phase of the game from contest to defence to marks in forward 50 to forward half pressure to defensive structure. Every part of the game. The next thing we need to master is consistency. I'm as up this week as I was down after the Tigers game. I'd like to see us cement this level of play, confidence is a wonderful thing for a team (and a supporter). If they can nail a few in a row like the Hawks they will bring confidence and belief into every action. On a side note - how good was Langdon?! That bloke can seriously run all day, he was everywhere, providing an outlet, blocking up holes. he is like ANB but with skills and excellent instincts.

I know it's popular to find reasons to blame and/or hate Essendon at every opportunity, but the bye was not inflicted by Essendon but by a positive Covid-19 test (which may have been a false positive) on an individual. With the virulence of this disese, it could just as easily have been one of our players who tested positive. It is still possible that one of our players may test positive and should that affect the AFL season in any way, I would not want the MFC to be blamed for it. Furthermore, if McKenna had the infection and it spread from him to other Essendon players and then to our players, we would not just be mortified for the impact on the competition, but for the health of our players and their families. Let's keep the blame game to a minimum and instead appreciate what the AFL, all the clubs and all the players have done to keep the season alive as much as they can.

Pleasantly surprised, I was fully expecting this to be a post bagging him. A poster on another forum mentioned that vandenBerg’s tackles hurt more than any other player because they frequently cause turnovers. I don’t reckon we’ve had a player like him at the MFC since I’ve been watching. A medium-tall with an extremely solid build whose greatest asset is defensive work. His tackles hurt in both the physical and footy sense. I’d be afraid if I was nearby. Hopefully he is able to get a decent run at it - he was important in the finals in 2018 and has been so far this year.

Would be wary of a knee jerk reaction. Two weeks ago we'd probably be saying that we have major problems in every line. Still think we have problems with the forward line and I think quick teams will still be able to score easily on the counter.

Big loss but at least not foot and likely he would have been managed anyway. Jones in for him?

I reckon AVB is the Team's 'big brother'. For any opposition, Vanders is a ballistic missile whose feathers one would not like to rustle. This sentiment also applies to opponents who may be playing well against the whole Demon team - Vanders will get 'ya and then you'll be sorry. Vanders is a tremendous confidence booster for our younger brigade. He goes in to support any team member in whatever way he can. I feel that Vanders does these jobs just as well as the smaller but equally lethal Ray Biffen used to do before his run of back injuries, and the positively bullet-proof game of Rod Grinter, and the rampaging Todd Viney. Very proud of Vanders as a Demon - and very respectful of his journey back into selection for the Team.

In all fairness, the OP is about potential and it makes for an interesting and confusing analysis. On paper, the line-up is very strong and there is undoubtedly talent across each line. The question probably is why/how/when that talent will translate into performances better than some of the stronger Mebourne teams of the past few decades.

I can see this thread being brought up next Thursday night if we're 3-5. Next 2 weeks will sort out if we're any good or not.

On paper, our 1994 team was far and away the best side since our last flag. That team, healthy, would absolutely pummel our current list. Problem was we could never get them all on the park at once, and when we got close to, we would smash teams. Not all the unlike this current crop. Ultimately our issue now is depth. Whenever it's put to the test, we struggle to score. I do think we have a very good list atm but it's a combination of structure, coaching and behaviours that still let us down. We're far from perfect but certainly not a 17th-18th team. But we could be. That's the big unknown with this squad.

Tomlinson for AVB.

“If you’re emotional, it’s really just a self-indulgence thing and it takes you away from what’s really important.”

I'd suggest they hadn't actually ruled him out and didn't want the opposition to know he had a very sensitive cheek.

Knowing someone like AVB has your back allows you to do your job better.

I think the key in this statistic is "differential". We all know we get a stack of inside 50s. When we're bad, we know we don't score from them. But this stat shows that, in addition to getting it inside our 50, we also restrict our opponents from getting it inside their 50. We've seen our defensive zone holding up really well over the last month. When we limit our turnovers, we are defending the ground much better and, as a result, the ball is spending more time closer to our goal than our opponents. The fact that the other 5 teams in the top 6 for this stat are top sides on the ladder shows that is a common trend amongst strong sides, so there is a foundation there. Of course, it doesn't matter if we can't score (e.g. vs Geelong) or if we turn it over and let our opponent find an easy way home when they go inside 50 (e.g. vs Richmond).

I'm the opposite - I think for years he has been too unselfish / not prepared to back himself in. The true stars of the game have a touch of hollywood in their game - look at Dusty!

I think our 1998 team was the best team I've seen play for Melbourne, that forward line that contained Neitz, Schwarz, Lyon, Farmer, Yze then add in Smith or Robertson. You had Stynes and White as your rucks a great balance of experience and new mids and backline was good. We smashed the premier in the finals, we just struggled against North Melbourne. Sliding door moment, we beat North in the prelim we would have beaten Adelaide in the GF, I wonder what our club looks like now

And has only played 88 games... Imagine when he gets to the 150 mark.

Rotate players? Besides Bennell, until we’re guaranteed of finals then it would be madness to not play our best teams at all times. Professional athletes, Burgess they need to get through this looking to win as many as possible to get as far into the 8 as possible.

I don't understand when it is suggested this year has an astrix. In fact, this year is potentially the fairest year ever. You play everyone once. Everyone is travelling, moving, on notice. Interstate teams aren't disadvantaged with travel and advantaged with big home crowds. Vic clubs aren't getting cushy rides based on the crowds they draw to the G. The fixture is being drawn a few weeks in advance, so yes some clubs will have it better but it will largely be by chance not by design. All clubs will come up against it at some point. Winning this year proves you're the best in the comp over the season.

I 'liked' every post in this thread, because I love seeing Vandenberg named in our side. Love his story, love his effort. Remember I think a few other clubs sniffed around him last year or the year before and he said no thanks. He's like us.

Tough on the travel for us but harder for our opponents. Rd 9 vs Port Adelaide sees us not travelling coming off a 4 day break. Port get a 5 day break but travelling from Adelaide. I'd say this is about even. Rd 10 vs Adelaide see us travelling to Adelaide off a 6 day break. Adelaide are coming off a 4 day break travelling from Brisbane. Win for us. Rd 11 vs North sees us travelling to Tasmania off a 4 day break. North are coming off a 4 day break travelling from Brisbane. I'd say this is par noting the flight is fairly similar. Rd 12 vs Pies sees us travelling to Brisbane off a 6 day break. Pies are coming off a 4 day break travelling from Adelaide. Win for us. So two pars and a coupla birdies. We definitely can't whinge at this fixture imo.

of topic but does anyone else think when you look at fritta you think of Beavis and butthead

Sorry mate, not here. Thought May defended really well as well as had some really productive disposals. OMac didn't seem to be called on as much and his disposals tend to be more 'safe', which is totally fine of course, just comparing it to how May uses his kicking to attack and set up play. Reckon "spoiling team mates or mindlessly bombing out of the defence" is a bit harsh for mine. May's getting better every week, especially now that Oscar is so solid meaning he can focus a bit more on his own game.

Injury stuff aside, which is further proof of his toughness (although he is lucky he didn't injure himself further), I love having Vanders in the side. Yes, he isn't the best user of the footy in the side, and he doesn't necessarily rack up the big numbers. But you get the feeling he is the sort of player who can make others walk taller. He is one of the best tacklers in the side and he makes the opposition hurt. You wouldn't want him running at your from the other way. As he continues to get back to full fitness, he can be a real weapon for us who will fly under the radar while the more 'sexy' players take the spotlight. It's a credit to him that he is beginning to reap the rewards from the hard yards he has put in to get back into the side, and a credit to the club for sticking by him.

I hear what you're saying Titan but I personally find it hard not to have a look at the run home around who's in form and who's not. I even found myself perusing opposition injury lists last night to see who's out over the next month which is something I'd never do but have found more time due to the boredom caused from lock downs. Not being able to help myself in looking, the next 5 weeks we play the top 3 teams and bottom 2 teams. If we can't beat Adelaide and North who will be without at least Sloane and Ziebell then we should pack it in. The last game sees us against the Pies who will be coming off a 4 day break without Howe and DeGoey and us off a 6 day break. I'd love us to pinch that and at least jag 3 wins over the next 5 matches. I think this is a reasonable goal as we should consider ourselves a decent team. I'd take us sitting at 6 and 5 with noting we have two 'softer' matches we should win (Freo and Sydney). We then just need to jag two wins from St Kilda, Dogs, GWS and the Bombers which are all 50/50 at this stage. So all in all, we pretty much have one hand on the cup!

IMO it's too early for us to start looking at the run home and trying to work out finals calculations. For one, we're only one-third through our season. For another, we're looking at two weeks of good form vs a preceding two weeks of poor form. If we play vs Brisbane like we did vs Hawthorn, even if we don't win, I'll start to have enough confidence to say things like "we should be able to beat Adelaide and North" (as well as Fremantle, as that won't be in Perth, and Sydney). But even in 2018, when we were good and we were considered to beat up on bad sides, we still dropped games to St Kilda and Port, neither of whom played finals that year. It's unlikely we're going to get through this year without dropping at least one game to one of those weaker sides.

At least we are going to get exposure all around the country, so good time to be up and about playing well i hope...

I think it's a matter of talent vs team or, dare I say, team of champions vs champion team. There's an awful lot of talent in the current line-up, but we are not playing as well collectively as the 2000 team. There was a stack of talent in the '94 team, but there was not an even spread across the park - namely the defense and midfield were significantly weaker talent-wise that the forward line. Let's not forget, for all it's talent and enthusiasm, that team only made the finals after beating Sydney in the final round. Lose that and the '94 team finishes outside the 8 and is not talked about again. From the weekend, you could find a role for: Gawn Oliver Petracca May Viney Langdon Salem Harmes Hibberd Mostly midfield and defenders and, on current form, you'd probably consider Lever and Oscar too. Our starting tall backs in the 2000 grand final were: Ingerson, Nicholson and Collins; good honest footballers who could play a role, but certainly not incredible players. Again, a starting midfield of White, Rigoni, Leoncelli and Woewodin were playing very well collectively in 2000, but I would have my money on Gawn, Oliver, Petracca and Viney to be getting the ball out of the middle ahead of them.

You mean like 1994: Jeff Hilton. Paul Hopgood, Dean Irving and Jason Norrish 2000: Daniel Ward, Alistair Nicholson, Matthew Collins, Brent Grgic and Ben Beames

I think we really need to adopt a squad mentality to selection for the rest of the season. The 22 that played against Hawthorn plus ANB, Hunt, TMac, Brown, Jones, Tomlinson, Rivers and Smith will be the core players coming into the side. Preuss may even get a run if Gawn needs to be rested. Players like Dunkley, Sparrow, Baker and Jordon might even get a chance. The question is how we manage our key players like Petracca and Oliver. May and Langdon are also important given they are not easily replaceable. Like with Gawn, I would try to play these four in every game, but it will be a game to game proposition depending on how they recover. Bennell probably plays every second game and freshman Jackson and Pickett will play less games than they otherwise might. Still, looking at our depth, and the fact that our key players are largely in the perfect age bracket to recover, we are pretty well placed to do well in this crammed fixture.

23 years old today... amazing. Clarrie has a very bright future at the MFC.

Once we knock off Brisbane on the 25th and Port on the 30th, we'll be the best July Demon team of all my 50 July's watching ?

It’s not quite season over but it will make it difficult. We probably needed to win either one of them to make finals anyway but there’s something about losing two on the trot that hurts the confidence. That Geelong loss could well come back to haunt us, lost it at selection and had our chances at the end.

I like the optimism! And I don't see any reason to strongly disagree when you lay it out like that, BUT, I do think we are lacking the kind of forward line that rivals the the top teams for now. As it stands, we are pinning our hopes on Weid, Fritsch, Kozzie and perhaps Jackson and Sparrow to be that forward line and those targets we are so genuinely lacking right now. It's a big ask of such a young group, and there are no guarantees they'll all rise to the task. We hope like nothing else they will though.

Pretty happy with this fixture. We get to test ourselves against the best (Lions and Power) while in good form with a healthy deep list. We get the SA clubs how we’d prefer, Crows in Adelaide, Port in Qld. We get to play in Tassie again. We know this ground well, play this game every year, and North are struggling. We both come off 4 day breaks; seems fair. We get the Pies amid their, and our, travel bonanza! And without De Goey! Then I read that Melbourne Storm has just played 7 games in 7 different venues across 4 states while fully relocating to Qld - no complaints and once again they ease back into the top 4 in dominant form. Guess where the Storm are staying in Qld? Maybe Goody can buy Bellamy a few lattes..... And we have Burgess - have no doubt the players will get confidence from that, call it our X Factor. Carn Demons

He's all class mate. I know we were waiting around the traps with the Sparrow pick if he had dropped to us. He's exactly like his cousin Brad Hill in the way he glides across the field and sets up play with his class and poise, but also zip in and out of congestion with his speed and dash. He's someone who would start off as a high half forward and work his way on the outside of the wings and really burn off from his opponent. He's exactly the type of outside class that we need we still lack in our side and that wing/ half forward role alongside Pickett would be really exciting. Definitely needs to work on his consistency throughout games, but that'll come with experience.

And that's some serious courage by Vanders I definitely take @goodwindees word for it. Nailed some really good sources of late.