waynewussell

On the mudlark theme, the players missing from last weeks team that played last Anzac Eve were Michie, Newton, JKH, Jamar, Howe, Dunn, Dawes and Cross. Newton would be a handy addition in heavy going but he is not ready. Dunn seems a certainty for Sunday. H and Garland weren't sighted at training today, but H wouldn't get the flick after one game back and will hold his spot unless injured. I could see Dunn coming in for Garland and I know Oscar is also available. I don't think Harmes will be dropped given the necessity for 'head over the ball' players in poor weather.

Going to be cloudy and a little wet in Hobart on Sunday. Very timely that our session today was in wet conditions. Hopefully it pizzes down and negates some of their big-man advantage (remember last Anzac Eve). Any mudlarks will be welcome.

Garlett an absolute "will definitely play" according to Misson. That negates any of my replacement suggestions

I'm pleased to hear that Garlett injured himself today and it wasn't a carry over from the game on Saturday. When I first saw the discomfort he was showing today I thought he had little chance of fronting up against Kangaroos. However, realising that the injury happened just minutes before I arrived, I think he may still get up after treatment. If not, Stretch, ANB and JKH may be forward options. On training form I would opt for Stretch.

Arrived 45 minutes late, stayed for an hour... steady rain throughout! Oliver trains with the same intensity he shows in the real thing. He is eye-catching, even in a training drill. Needless to say, it was very wet under foot. I was impressed by the intensity shown by all. Jeffy G was walking the boundary and seemed really sore, possibly left leg/ankle. Didn't notice Garland, Lumumba or Max King. Spencil walked around, Brayshaw, Vandenberg & Viney were on reduced duties, mainly kicking routines with Crossy. Brayshaw had one ankle bandaged. I was pleasantly surprised to see Newton do full training, as well as Dawes, who seemed ok in one on one contested stuff. Great to see Petracca and Trengove do everything. Both impressed with their footy smarts. Dunn looked fit and trained in his normal, full throated manner. I watched him slot a 45 metre goal effortlessly (while Hogan settled for several of the 35 metre variety) and was reminded of his ability to play forward. With Oscar seemingly fully fit, could Dunn be a CHF option? He certainly can score from outside 50, and can also pin-point a leading player by foot. Stretch's breakaway speed was good. ANB reminded selectors of his prowess in the packs. Mitch King was the only opponent for big Max in the ruck contests and he struggled. During this session I was reminded of the worth of White, Grimes and Terlich, particularly in the heavy going. Another who seems to have the size and speed to play senior footy is Wagner. I left with renewed confidence in our ability to rebound from Saturday's debacle. We have depth and it is being developed by a very good group of coaches. The main objective should be to keep this group together. I am sure we are looking at a climb up the ladder on the back of the current list and coaching panel. It will probably take longer than we had hoped. No predictions on how long, but Bernie was right when he said "We know where we are as a team and we're sure we are on the right track"!

Just posted part 2 at the top of the thread. Enjoy!

"Honestly WW, you are so much better than that.".... I know BB

rjay "we played safe, they played to win..." That sums it up for me.

well, I like to read these threads after a win or a loss. I like to get the view from other perspectives. Quite often I am staggered by how far removed from reality some 'supporters' find themselves after an upset. This chatter about Roos and Goodwin having different game plans is hilarious! The suggestion that Roos only won a premiership at Sydney because of one mark is very similar in tone to the description of Hogan's dummy-spit when things don't go his way. The reality is, we didn't play well in a game we were expected to win. That's it! That's all of it! We were, however, ahead and looking likely to win half way through the final stanza. The analysis of why we struggled and why Essendon prevailed is enlightening. The Bombers got up for a game that was earmarked as a line in the sand moment. Our blokes couldn't counter the wave of emotion and intent. Viney doesn't suddenly become a lesser Viney! Oliver doesn't suddenly become an unworthy Rising Star! Gawn doesn't suddenly return to the VFL scrap heap! Roos doesn't suddenly become Mark Neeld! After a fine start to the 2016 season we got set back on our heels. The way we respond will tell us something of our future direction.

The great disappointment is not that we were beaten by Essendon, it's that we got ourselves into a winning position in the final quarter (against the flow) and were unable to go on with it. If there weren't so many passengers we would have got up for an ugly win. I think the Bombers have done quite well with their top-up. Our opponents today had 310 more games experience, not to mention finals experience! Both teams had 7 players who have played less than 30 games. All the predictions of Bombers demise ("they won't win a game" - King!) are blind to the quality they have been allowed to bring onto the list. No excuses for us, we were very ordinary... nowhere near winning 10 games in 2016.

6 - Kennedy 5 - Vince 4 - N Jones 3 - Tyson 2 - Garlett 1 - M Jones

It is most likely that at the completion of round 2 there will be 8 teams on 2 wins (including MFC, of course). I wonder how long it has been since the whole of the top 8 were undefeated after two rounds....hmmmm??

...and you were worried about that as the ball flew into GWS forward pocket late in the final Qtr on Saturday?

6 - Viney 5 - Watts 4 - T McDonald 3 - N Jones 2 - Kennedy 1 - Gawn

The players have reaped the rewards of a great pre-season. Now its time for the match committee to demonstrate an awareness of which players are best suited to the desired game plan. Oscar over Dunn is the only decision that wasn't obvious throughout NAB. Let's see what the Coaches see!

Have no fear! Rarely have Demon supporters had so much to look forward to at the beginning of a season. How will Oliver go? Will Hogan nail his first shot? How good is Gawn? Has Watts taken the next step? Is Brayshaw back? Will Kennedy & Bugg fire? How many goals goals for Garlett? (looks like more than one!) Is Frost a genuine Forward? Has Kent recovered from injury? Is Tyson as good as he looks? Does AVB play? Salem & Bernie... who takes the kick out? I could go on and on.... It's all exciting stuff! GWS are on the rise and will be no push-over. I expect The Dees to hold on in a close one!

I initially took this to be about Jesse Hogan the Journo... who is very ill. Now I'm not sure

Sometimes a player will make a few mistakes early and an observer will be blinded to good work produced later in the game. Wagner had the jitters in the first quarter, maybe even beyond, but he was a really strong contributor by the final stanza. Oscar settled as well, and had a much better NAB round 3 than his previous game. Garland has played 135 games against all comers, so I doubt he will suddenly be found out by the high press (anymore than any key defender). He has been a bit rusty at various stages this time out, but he is flexible and quite reliable. If we have a group that go beyond his skill set, he will be replaced, just like the other 21 in our best! Not likely to happen in the near future!

No losers! Hunt is a great get and we have been patient. He has elite pace! He was coached by Robert Shaw at junior level and he said that Hunt had a couple of outstanding attributes, just needed to grow a man's body. Well, Hunt is growing and Roos & Goodwin know all about his tear away pace and long kicking. he will be a regular by the end of 2016... may get H's spot! Matt Jones has been backed in by R & G and hasn't let anyone down. Kennedy is a great get ( as I pointed out in Maroochydore) Frost is showing versatility and is also getting the "I belong" feeling I have no doubt that Billy and ANB will find a slot as the year progresses

I'm convinced that the majority of harsh critics here weren't at the ground. McDonald had a poor first quarter. He was good after quarter time. In the first quarter we kicked into a strong breeze on an unprotected ground that we had never seen before. It took a while to read the conditions and the ground. The Bulldogs were unable to kick a goal to the 'southern' end for the whole contest, so McDonald had a lot of 'mates' from both sides on the day. It is plain stupidity to use Sunday's game as a reason to ridicule one of our young guns! I do not regard those that have been hysterical in their criticism as MFC supporters.... more closely related to trolls in my opinion.

I can't read some of the 'analysis' here... but at the risk of repeating someone else's post, here's a few facts. Tom McDonald had more disposals on Sunday than any opposition player bar one! Tom McDonald will be highly sought after by many opposition clubs, including top four clubs, as soon as he becomes available! The MFC will have the retaining of Tom McDonald very high on it's list of priorities moving forward. Yes, we are aware of some weaknesses with disposal, but they have been blown out of all proportion here!

Garland took two nasty 'hits' today and was limping around for some time, but like the gutsy, fully committed, reliable defender he is, he ran the game out and helped us mop up the spill time after time... rarely beaten 1 on 1, a true defender who puts his body on the line week after week for the cause!

Really, I'm surprised that the punters on Demonland aren't universally praising our team for the very good win today. I took the drive to Craigieburn with my son. We were on the forward fifty fence at the 'northern' end. We were in perfect position to witness the magnificent goals posted by Garlett, Watts and Tyson. The team that kicked with the four-goal wind was always going to get the jump. We agreed at quarter time that we would have rebounded well if we tied up the scores at half time. That's pretty much what happened. We felt we needed to limit their scoring in the third quarter if we had any chance of winning. We managed to get a few against the tide. At three quarter time we decided that a spirited effort in the fourth, win or lose, would be enough to send us home satisfied. We were all over them in the fourth and every player contributed. The commitment and pressure was outstanding, to the point that we owned them with five or so minutes to go. All our targets were met and we march on excactly as Roos and Goodwin would have liked... not to mention our CEO (and person in charge of membership!). Get on the bandwagon Demonland, the signs are all good!

iI wonder how many of Tom's detractors were at Craigieburn today. Yes, he stuffed a few kicks and sometimes missed targets BUT... hos second, third and fourth efforts were exemplary. I am on his back when he takes too long to make a decision, but his aerobic ability is top class and he never gives up. He was still influential in our win today. For the lounge room critics, the wind was very strong to one end today (I'll call it the northern end). The ground was very open, not a lot different than Casey. Only the most skilful kickers came out unscathed. McDonald had much more influence than Dunn, and although Garland was terrific in commitment and pressure acts, he did not have the disposal numbers that McDonald had. He remains in the top ten rebound big men in the AFL!