In Harmes Way

Like the team this week. Even down to giving the two SA boys in Stretch and ANB a trip home to see the folks. Holistically looking after the team where possible (and I'd be happy if either had to come in). Good stuff Goody.

29 minutes ago, DemonOX said:

I think ur alcohol bill will be more than ur flights and accommodation by the end of the game small !!

Who knows, Ox, maybe this is the weekend my 11yo boy will give up on Hoges and take up bundy and coke instead...

I've tipped us every week and I'm not about to stop now.

that said, this strategy is more in hope as I'm flying the family over to watch the game. Don't want my $1500 for flights, accomm, tickets and large alcohol bill to be to see our worst showing for the year. GO dees (preferably from the first bounce this weekend, please).

52 minutes ago, A F said:

Good article, but certainly don't agree with some of it. The following bit almost debunks the rest of the article: "if you can’t make good, calm decisions and execute long kicks to the advantage of your opponent, you’re not playing in Goodwin’s backline". He then proceeds to name Frost and McDonald. 

But T Mac more often than not kicks it to the opposition. Doesn't this mean "to the advantage of your opponent"?

Maybe the guy who wrote the letter to Goodwin and cut up his membership should have read this first.

excellent article. The lift is going up at the moment, get ready for the rarified air!

7 hours ago, Deemented Are Go! said:

Congratulations to Jordan Lewis and his partner Lucy on expecting twins.

Welcome to the multiples club, chap. Just saw him on 360 break the news (just after a segment where he made comment on off-field distraction). I recognised that look behind his eyes and the timbre of his voice as he uttered the words! He and Lucy will be under the pump, but worth every second. Let's hope he gets enough sleep to be able to function on game day! 

Pity his sons or daughters will have father/insert sex selection at Hawthorn. I guess my girls will have to be the next great twin MFC players (after the Febey brothers) in the AFLW in or around 2035. 

Any other multiple parents here on DLand? 

Yep - I've got two deemented. One good one, one bad one (Geelong supporter, you try to raise them right...)

I'm taking my family to Adelaide this weekend to watch the game.

if we win, I will be very quietly singing the song and looking for reinforcements 

What I get really peeved with is the club statement "we're preparing for their best"

Not 100% sure we did that, and therefore what the eff that means.

Singling out anybody after that first half is bu!![censored].

On the golf course me and my mates still call out 5-eye when writing down our scores.

RIP Louie.

I understand the desire for a big KPF a la Neiter to kick a bag every week, but I'm less fussed at the monent given our average scores for the year - we're doing pretty well offensively (120, 86, 97, 75, 112, 91). Average 83 points a game, 3 of which without Hoges who is scoring ~ 3 per game. Not far off...

My tipping is absolute rubbish.

did pick the doggies at least.

I reckon this is typical AFL tinkering. They'll change it, the players will become even more stuffed with the reduction in stoppages.

I do think they need to do something about the deliberate oob, but I have no problem with boundary throw ins and like the uniqueness of this in our game.

That video is just another reason why I love the dees.

cant see something like that ever coming from the pies.

52 minutes ago, Vogon Poetry said:

As usual Pro you've nailed it.  I think Wagner's and Hannan's selection is for the same reason, they see them as the future and want them in regardless of whether it gives us the best winning chance.

Weideman was picked for the same reason.  The interesting question for me is "is this development or best available"?  I think with Pedo in the team earlier and maybe some other picks we win games we lost.  Does this strategy fit the "development" or "best winning chance" scenario?  If it's purely for development after so many barren years I find it a little frustrating.  I'm sick of losing. I suppose I'll see the upside when we win a flag!

I guess for us to win a flag VP that we need solid depth ~ 30 across the season. Whilst I'm frustrated some weeks that we've got project players on the park in OMac, Weid etc. a little under done on a game to game basis, I think this selection strategy puts us in a much stronger position for our premiership window over the next 5 years. We need to do this as we don't have the pulling power of Hawthorn to fill the talent gaps, but the better we get I suspect the luckier we will become in this regard as well.

23 hours ago, Vogon Poetry said:

Steve I'm not going to bang on about the same issue but I will say that your comment about a coach spending the entire game watching his own team play hugely off the mark.  I spent a year in the coaches box, admittedly about 10 years ago, and I can assure you that the coach spends as much time watching the opposition as he does his own.  He has assistant coaches who watch "their" group and their opponents and will give regular feedback to the coach.  The coach will have his own take.  There are stats people in the box giving continual feedback on what the opposition is doing and I'd imagine from my day the stats are significantly superior.  I think you are quite wrong about coaches not knowing what the opposition players are doing.

As far as who I listen to and how far it extends that is based on two things.  Firstly their experience in the game and secondly the quality of their observations and how accurate they have been historically.  I also look to their dogmatism on issues and their ego.  But having worked in an AFL environment for a number of years it is absolutely clear to me that experienced AFL footy people have forgotten more about footy than the vast majority of those here know.  So when JKH is retained in the team when everything I see says he shouldn't be there rather than call the FD idiots I question where I've gone wrong.

 

So with all that data Vogon, and experienced eyes, they should come to conclusions quicker than us. So when Sam Frost was persisted with in the forward line last year when he couldn't hit the side of a shopping centre with his kicks for goal, where did the system fail? The FD were about half a season behind DL on this one...

14 hours ago, willmoy said:

Keep an eye open for moore, my quiet tip

That would be a variation on the father son rule - both father and son playing for the same two clubs. Can't think of another example of this.

12 minutes ago, Wrecker45 said:

Thanks DC i just wasted an hour looking for the bl00dy rule. I can't cut and paste it on my phone for some reason.

http://m.afl.com.au/policies

Click on AFL Regulations and it is regulation 12.2 (b) (i) on page 39

 

Well done wrecker! I spent 30 mins looking and gave up

Interestingly the reg doesn't say the starting 18 have to be the same starting 18 between first and final lodgement, but I think it is inferred (as with most things AFL, open to interpretation)

Just now, Skuit said:

I think it can confidently be said now that Goodwin has form on 'form' - not blind but willing to give players blocks to work into it before the axe (early forward reshuffles probably more structure). Some here will be very happy with that approach. I'm still annoyed with JKH retaining his spot - but more because I think it's a capability issue rather than a problem with form.

Agreed Skuit, I'd have liked to see Kent for JKH. 

For me, Stretch for ANB (rested), wags for Melksham (can't bring myself to say Milkshake) and Hoges for OMac

i like the bench of Salem, Tyson, Stretch,Wagner

good team, looking forward to this one.

Go Dees

1 hour ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Why do I keep linking Ethan Tremblay to the non-song "Nacho Man" in my mind?

I don't know Ethan from, well, a bowl of nachos. Has he previously said something that might make me think of him in this way?

Nathan Jones interviewed this morning on SEN and stated he'd never seen anyone like Clarry in 11-12 years of playing football. It was quite a wrap.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2017/05/03/get-around-oliver-for-the-brownlow-says-dees-captain/

2 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Thanks fat Tony... I thought that might be the case

As an aside what was the difference with Hurley's positioning in the first and second half. In the first half he was loose in our defence but he seemed far less effective in the second half.

If you have a look at Pedo's goal in the third qtr, Petracca led Hurley out to the flank and the ball was kicked in behind him. Petracca did that consistently after half time and even got on the end of one doing this in the last qtr. clever tactic to get their #1 defender out of the way

4 hours ago, Vogon Poetry said:

I think you've missed the point I was making.  Nobody in footy gets everything right but those who spend their entire life in footy at the highest level talking to other people who spend their life in footy at the highest level will get things right more often, I'd contend much more often, than those that don't.  They are at the top end because they get things right, those that fail to get things right at the top level won't be there long.  They also have much more information.  For example can you tell me how Bernies toe is?  They know, you're guessing.

My point is when you have an opinion that differs from those who are heavily involved in the game then rather than just saying they are wrong you should question your own position.  There are more absolutes. STMJ should ask himself why the two coaches at the last match thought Tyson was in the best 6 or 8 players of the 44 who played.

As for the collective wisdom of Demonland getting it correct many many times I agree.  I've also seen the collective wisdom of Demonland get it wrong many many times.

I'm not dismissing others views.  I'm inviting posters to entertain the views of others and give weighting to the experience of those offering the opinion.  I personally give more weight to coaches than posters.  You may differ.

All of this is absolutely right VP - I'm not even at the lowest level compared to the informed opinions you refer to; but that said my eyes (as bad as they are) don't lie either: Tom Mac is a [censored] kick of the football. This is not fake news, nor will a coach ever come out and admit this.

I can also vouch for the demon land polo shirts - got one last Ye which I proudly wear to games. 

#getonboardguys

I've just bought a lifetime subscription to DL to have Ads removed. If only it would remove all the negative bs that comes when we're three goals down as well.

Love the site and the effort put in by all the mods to keep order (as best you can!).

Keep up the great work. Go dees.

Loved Pedos kick down the wing in the 3rd? Qtr (kicking to right of screen). 50 m kick that went parallel with the boundary line and marked less than 1m from the line. Dons supporters howling for OOF before realising it was still in.

#gold