Jumping Jack Clennett

I hate saying this, and hope like hell I'm made to look stupid next Sunday, but I reckon we're over-estimating Liam Jurrah. Sure, he usually does 2 or 3 miraculous things per game, but is that enough? He's not learning to be at the fall of the ball. Too often the ball comes into the forward line , and he's nowhere to be seen. Too often he's not in a position to compete. Perhaps he needs a couple of confidence-building weeks next to Brendan. A few times, just before half-time, I've sincerely asked my mates...."is Jurrah out there?". I'm most impressed with him when he plays midfield(Ess.practice NAB preseason game 2010, for example, when he was kickless, then went midfield, and had a big impact). But he's too skinny for midfield, and too light and short for KPF. I reckon we're playing a man short with Liam at Full Forward. I have a theory as to why star opposition players somehow manage to be on their own, 40m. from an opponent(surely this should NEVER happen). I reckon it's because of the coaches'(all coaches, not just DB), feeling that they must rack up the 120-130 interchanges, to prove they're up to date with current fatigue management. It must be so hard to know who's on who, when you're on and off every 5 minutes. I was watching from well above the interchange bench, and it was obvious Jordan Gys. was getting exhausted by the repeated sprints on and off the field. How he knew who to man up on, I can't imagine. If you're well on top, like Collingwood were, frequent interchanges may help, because it's obvious the opposition will have to try to second guess your changes. But in our position on Monday,it would be wiser for taggers(eg Jordie M, who I think actually did this), to only interchange when his opponent goes to the bench.

You're correct that we're happy when we go "coast-to-coast".It's a fairly rare event even in good sides. Unfortunately, the norm for us is the enormous pressure that develops on the backline when we have a kick-in. The kicker perseverates until the ump. calls play-on, then normally panics, and tries a desperate kick which rarely sets up an attack, but usually starts another pressured situation. Slip-ups at this time result in demoralising goals. Good teams regard a behind to the opposition as an opportunity to gain possession and set up an attack(eg Hawthorn in '08 GF). I certainly have never called for a review or replacement of the FD, and you are the first person I've seen refer to them as "neanderthals". I do think the FD underestimates the importance of kick-ins. I do not think they emphasise the importance of kicking in quickly, taking the first option. One example of a recurring error is the way one of our players leisurely collects the ball after a behind, then casually hands it over to the kicker-in. The kicker should run to collect it as fast as possible. The other guy should be out there offering an option. If we're one short in defence(with one player collecting the ball), the defensive zone is 10 to 20% easier to set up.

Don't mention the kick-ins!!! It's considered to be a trivial point on this forum, and not worthy of consideration, suggestion , or debate. The footy dept. has used the same lack of tactics since Steve Febey retired, and By God, we're NOT going to alter it!!!

As I remember it, most Queens Birthday holidays in the last ten years have either been wet, threatening to rain, or rain was predicted by the bureau, but never came. This was even true during the drought. Rain or a bleak outlook diminishes the potential crowd by about 20%, I reckon. I hope this cold snap is over by then. With a clear sunny day,and no rain forecast , we could get 75000, I reckon.

Good one, Daisy!!! How exciting to watch 2 debutants in a game that otherwise is unlikely to be fun for us Demon fans. Wouldn't it be great if big Max had a debut like Carl Ditterich in '63!

Does anyone think my suggestion that the multiple interchange tactic is disorganising the team? I don't think it's surprising that the opposition have loose players so often, when there's no time to set up any system. It seems to me that coaching staff almost feel they will be judged by how many rotations they make, so they rotate as much as possible, and in my opinion, more than necessary. I know that nowadays it's perceived that mid-fielders perform better with bursts of energy after a rest, but I don't understand why someone like Jurrah should be taken off after a goal early in a game.

I reckon that's an excellent and logical argument, Akum.

It must be incredibly difficult for players to know exactly what their role is, when they're "rotated" on and off the ground so often. Experienced players can probably recognise their exact role more quickly, but our players can't. Often on Friday, players returned towards the bench, but when they got near it, were told to go back on. Not only was it a waste of energy, but it was evidence of a lack of planning at a coaching level. How do players know their role if the coaches aren't sure? The players sometimes sprint the 120-odd metres to the bench, then have to sprint it again two minutes later , when they're sent back on. To me this could not be a useful "breather" for players. The rapid rotation increases fatigue, and adds to confusion. I propose a radical change that is more appropriate for an inexperienced side like ours. We should MINIMISE the number of rotations. At least give it a try. We won't play any worse. Also, it might give the coaching staff more time to concentrate on other, more important strategies.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You are so right, Clint.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From where I was(opposite end), it looked as if Newton was one metre out, directly in front of the centre of the goals, and managed to hook it at right-angles to miss. From my position, it looked as if it would have been hard to miss if you tried! I agree with the above posters about the positives..... Evans, Watts, Martin and McKenzie. Frawley was obviously told to play attacking footy, to run hard, break the lines, and attack up the centre. This came unstuck a few times, but looks like a winning tactic to me, if we persist. Maric's goal sense is starting to shine through. I thought Joel McDonald looked up to it under pressure, and "Gizzards" reminds me more of Pendlebury than Hird.....but either will do! Jetta showed a bit, I thought. Take away three silly errors costing goals, and Newton's unbelievable miss, and we'd have beaten the Grand Finalists(who have nearly a full list, I think.)

How good are we!!!!??? We only lost to WCE by 54 points with half our side out. The scraggers, touted as top 4 potential, lost by more than 20 goals over there!!!

I reckon Martin has developed more quickly than Jamar. It took the Russian about 6 or 7 years to show he was AFL standard, admittedly held back by lack of opportunity(White and Jolly). Martin has more mobility that Jamar can ever hope to develop.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I remember it, Newton was moved into the ruck(or was it the bench?), when he had 2 goals (should have been 3), was dominating th forward line, and playing with great confidence. We were dominating, and getting the ball into the forward 50 repeatedly. I have no doubt he'd gave got another goal or two had he stayed forward. Does anyone know the explanation for the move? Perhaps Martin needed relief. I'd have used Dunn in the ruck rather than take away Juice's momentum. North must have been rapt to see him moved away from the goals.

I'll try to find it on "Tune in" radio on my iPhone. Thanks. I remember Trevor vaguely . I think he played back pocket on the resting ruckman.Number 14. He had none of the panache of "Big Bob". Did "Tassie-Bob" play in the same team as Trevor and Big Bob? Must have been confusing!(like wqhen we had Trappper, Chris and Paul.) Did he move to WA like Donny Williams and Ken Melville(for different reasons, I'm certain!). Ken's involved in the Perth Demons. Is Trevor? How come he's being interviewed? I hope he's not heavily into WCE. It will be interesting to hear him discuss Norm Smith. I recently heard ex-player Keith Carroll talking about Norm, and it made me think perhaps Norm wasn't as god-like as I like to remember him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Couldn't agree more, WYL. (not so sure about the cross presentation, though!)

I was at the Gabba today hoping to watch us kick our record score . In the end we were only about 6 goals short . If we hadn't hit the post SIX times , and missed about 6 other absolute gimmes we'd have done it.I couldn't believe Greenie missing two left foot hooks from 20 m straight in front . Plus the Martin mark in the square .....no whistle! And the Wonna goal a millisecond after the quarter time siren. We should have got 30 goals without playing well!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Couldn't agree more Strawbs! We've worn red socks since time immemorial. Some new , highly subsidised club turns up,copies our socks, then we're expected to change our uniform to fit in with them.Red and yellow hoops would have suited them. Same with Adelaide , who basically pinched our colours. We got them first! They should have to compromise when there's a clash.They had an infinite variety to choose from when they came into being(yesterday!). If they chose to copy our gear, they should have to change when they play us. We've got the best colours and the best uniform. No wonder they want to copy us.

What a constructive and insightful contribution, Bhima. Thankyou! Keep it up!

I agree , "Mono", the jumpers look a very gay pink on TV. I didn't notice it at the MCG, but I was fairly high up.

Did any other Demonlanders notice Christopher Wayne Hudson's Collingwood mate duck his head when in position to mark a high pass in the forward line in(I think)Q2 on Saturday afternoon.? It looked shocking, especially when there was no-one within Cooee of him, but he expected contact from behind. I noted an identical incident last season.

I hope he goes well. Whatever deficiencies he had, one thing could never be challenged.....his persistence. He tried his best for our Club. I'll never forget an Anzac Day in Sydney when he dived to knock the ball out when we desperately needed it. He did his shoulder and missed the rest of the sesaon. He got a couple of good goals in that great win, too. Perhaps his career would have taken a different path if he hadn't injured himself that day. Remember when he ran down that Brisbane small man in that great win on the MCG? Good Luck, Paul!

I remember a wet day at the MCG against St Kilda. Sean Wight was on Lockett, and running off him, giving him a bath. St Kilda rallied in the last quarter, largely because Sean was taken out , I thought unfairly, by Lockett. The incident went like this, as I remember it. Wight played in front of Lockett all day. During the last quarter , Sean stood in "the hole" at vabout CHB, where an errant St Kilda kick landed in Sean's outstretched arms. Lockett ran from behind and decided to "make him pay", by absolutely crashing his back(no 50m., no report)He had to go off, then Lockett kicked 3 or 4 winning goals. Sean had the rare combination of brilliance, plus absolute courage. How I hope that courage helps in fighting this disease. If it does, he'll beat it.

Thanks a lot 45HG! I've set my Foxtel HQ to record the game and I'll watch it(not knowing the result) on Mon. AM. I was surprised to find I'm a Setanta subscriber,and I now wonder how much money I've wasted having a package that contains Setanta that I've never watched! I also am now aware that we're only into the quarter finals. West Ham should be concentrating on the EPL, since they have a very hard run coming up. But, they're playing pretty well! They outclassed Liverpool, who then beat MU. West Ham really remind me of the Demons. Thanks again!