John Demonic

Geelong, Sydney, Collingwood Daylight The Dees Freo, Bris, Tigers, Dogs Big off season to get back up into the top echelon and challenge for a premiership. I don't care what anyone says about forward connection, goal kicking accuracy, missing tom McDonald, injuries to our key players or a very hard draw. We had 10-20 minutes less run in our legs than these 3 clubs when it came to the crunch. That's a huge enough discrepancy to need an off-season to get things right again both with fitness and with the game-plan. It would be salty/unsportsmanlike to think we were good enough to win it this year if not for x amount of factors going our way ie the Chris Scott sook. Time to let it go and move onto next year.

Isaac Smith, Bruest, Gunston - The last 3 years have been a merry go round of us being linked to these players and a move not eventuating, so I believe this. Not going to get the hopes up about any one of them. (Add Jamie Elliott to the list too)

... And even Richmond would've put up a better performance than that. Embarrassing end to our season to let this mob into a prelim.

An embarrassing night tonight for the Melbourne Football Club - this contest will be akin to the 2019 GF or maybe even... the 2020 prelim💡 A ridiculous one sided spectacle that will only do nothing more than highlight our poor 2nd half of the season and the 'what could have beens' of an epic prelim clash between a defending premier with the highest ceiling, and the best team of the current season. Of course I'll watch, and I'll hope the Lions win - but it will be with very little fanfare and it will be akin to watching NM try and beat WCE in an away prelim in 2015 - ie a lost cause that will barely last a quarter or two - a story that we all know the ending to, even if it is close for 3 or 4 quarters - one team will always have the other at arms length, ready to flick that switch and win easily by a few goals. And even if the Lions were to get up in a Hail-Mary-Cats-Choke of epic proportions, it will do nothing but fuel even more Coodabeen Champion fantasies on DL Absolute Lose/lose situation. I hope this prelim stings the players.

Good luck to them. All the 'On The Couch' footage of A Carlton zone in shambles with defenders caught in no mans land stopped this year. I wonder why.

Could we get Liam Henry from the Dockers in the Jackson trade? I remember us being into him in his draft year but Freo traded up and swooped in early ? Just hypothetically speaking if Picket was to leave anyway, im sure this is nonsense though

Brown, TMAC, Lobb, JVR, Fritsch & Gawn/Grundy. The old plan of never taking a mark will now be replaced With the new plan of never dropping a mark. (Joking, obviously)

For you or anyone else, does pick 2 ensure we get Cadman? Who do North look at picking up if it isn't a Cadman/A KPF? Are there are no standouts besides Ashcroft who's off to the [censored] Lions?

meh

Any reason why we are not in the frame for Griffin Logue? and/or Lloyd Meek? Or is it a matter of Preferring Grundy on the same 700k bucks + taking a 1st into the draft?

First goal of the 4th quarter too from a contested mark with 2 dogs flying at him. 89-59 looks a lot different than 83-65, if it goes down the other end from a spoil. And we didn't even discuss that mark and goal in the 3rd lol.

I'm just going to dig this up to play devils advocate and ask a question of demonlanders: Would you prefer to 1 up the Pies and do a Swans-Buddy move by chasing McStay, Instead of going after Grundy? And looking elsewhere for a backup replacement ruck. Pro's: Actual forward craft and experience. Unrestricted free agent ie no cost - Keep our 2 first round picks Cons: Costly if 600k-700k a year so its a big risk, Not a viable long term backup ruck option I eagerly await your response, and facepalms.

We got 1 year into JVR instead for the Dogs pick 17. no idea how Swans got it though. Great work again from JT

I think we simply can't plan around TMAC being available next year. If we can't find a KPF, then we find another mobile KPD and play Petty forward.

I won't blame a conspiracy, but you have to wonder why our middle fixture double up was Fremantle, a team clearly on the up alongside the Swans, that beat us in Cairns a few weeks earlier. And Collingwood who have the wood on us in general, although I'll attribute it to $$ - Still, I do hope the club actually asks to have a weighted fixture that gives us something nearing a 5th hardest draw and a little bit more foresight. Gold Coast and Hawthorn pls.

You have to wonder whether they were merely the messengers, and it was Goody/some of the coaches who spent the year telling them that our method and game-plan was superior, and if we just got it all in order then we could beat any one - and that this fast down the corridor method of attack won't last and these clubs will yield to our method of strangulation. All of this just eventually leaked out via Langdon in the most naive way possible. Obviously you can't blame anyone for thinking that way - That 'confidence and arrogance' is what makes a team succeed - but it also can be the blinders that shield you from the realisation that your method and game-plan has been superseded and needs major overhaul. Whether that's correct is anyones guess... Because It could be that we were only temporarily beaten and the system needs a fully fit group, tweaking/positional changes and a slightly easier fixture. But only time well tell. Go Dees in 2023! lol what a ride.

I did not call it. I did however, not pick up some beers pre-game, as I had a feeling that I just wanted to watch this as casually and emotionally detached as I could possibly get and not be hit with the heavy emotional + bodily depression if it went south, opting to save beers for a big enough game, like a prelim vs Geelong, as a treat. It worked a little, while I do feel a little saddened and numb - it's some consolation being clear headed enough to understand that we simply weren't good enough this year, without anyone or any thing to blame. I doubt an easier fixture would've given us the legs to overtake Geelong & Sydney/Coll in two more successive games, and I doubt the game-plan would've stuck up if we did have the legs.

Rest assured, 99.9% of the Hopefuls will be BIG enough to celebrate the 'premiership against all odds' TOGETHER without the pettiness of I told you so's. I hope that gives anyone food for thought that wants to bang the drum about being correct, if we do fail this year.

I for one look forward to an easier draw next year if this year is a straight sets fail #SilverLinings #OddYearsNotEvensThisTimeRound

Our performance last week should beat Brisbane this week. Looking forward to seeing Tom McDonald back in against Geelong though. Melk would have to kick 5 to keep him out, and even then you'd still make the tough call for TMAC and his structural importance. And then we might just put Melk at half forward. I did have a dream last night that ANB was a medical sub in one of our finals. Hilarious that DL team selection infiltrated a dream.

Hardwick seemed non-committal about whether Jack Riewoldt will be offered another contract in his exit interview tomorrow. Could we offer him a 1-2 year contract playing offer and a position as the forward coach when he finishes? I'll put my hand up and say I have not watched much neutral footy this year so I don't know how he's going in general re his physical ability for 1+ more season, but his record speaks for itself - he's in the upper echelon of modern day forwards alongside Hawkins and Kennedy, his contribution on and off the field could be invaluable for the next few years. If we're delisting Mitch Brown and attempting to trade out Weideman with 1 year left, then perhaps he would be perfect depth and a valuable player/coach at Casey, and would be ready to replace Brown or TMAC on form and injury when required so long as he backs himself to play again, and it seems like he wants to go on another year at Richmond . Everyone is taking it for granted that JVR will be ready next year, but you just don't know that yet - As for where he fits in with Jackson/Gawn and Gawn/Grundy well of course we are at risk of being very top heavy. It's probably a conversation to be had at the end of the season as we assess how T.McDonald and Ben Brown go, but it won't cost much and it's a bit of a free hit at 300k a year. Not much to be lost, plenty to gain.

The pre-finals bye was the one factor that we couldn't actually plan for based on past experience, given how much of a topic the training loads to replicate 2021, has been around these parts. The r23 pressure that Brisbanes defence put up can't have helped prepare us either! Curious indeed.

1. Was the round 23 domination of the Lions, in hindsight, not ideal preparation for the ferocious pressure the Swans brought defensively ? Looking ahead to the Lions: 2. Could we expect a few surprises thrown up by Fagan to test us tactically? (If you were Fagan, what would YOU do?) 3. Even if something has served us well in the past, going back to it again and again, might be the fastest track to elimination, given our opponents are adapatable and can prepare for it. Are there some positional or tactical changes we still could make to what we did in round 23, to ensure we get the win?

Brayden Spam?

You could almost call it a Blessing In Deesguise