Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Two Salems would be better than one! I'd probably have Hibbard and/or possibility Weid in the top ten somewhere.

Yeah, I feel like I'm taking a bit of a punt there across the board against the prevailing logic in a lot of ways. I just suspect that coaches and those within the club might rate the value of Langdon's contributions to the side differently to your average footy jurno. Even looking back at who myself and other have given votes to with the Demonland player of the year votes, Langdon doesn't feature that strongly, yet when I look back across the season at his enormous efforts he so consistently puts in week in week out and what that has provided for the side in terms of ball movement and structure, 3rd best and fairest doesn't seem too far out if at all. I thought I was going out on a bit of a limb to have Gawn so far down the list, but I was interested to observe that many others here also see it a similar way - that a) he's probably missed too many games to feature at the very top end and b) that he probably hasn't been in his peak form all the games he's played either. So close to call between the likes of Patracca, May, Oliver and possibly even Viney in there somewhere that I'm really quite unsure how the cookie will crumble, but will be interested to see how it all pans out.

Per the thread title, the club are running an online comp: https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/817801/predict-your-best-and-fairest-top-five For what it's worth, the top 5 as I think it will fall out is: 1. Trac 2. May 3. Langdon 4. Clarry 5. Gawn

Don't see how that's at all controversial. From what I understand Grundy fell away big time this season and wasn't anything like AA form. Goldstein started strong, but faded out. He was practically non existent up against Max, so I think that shows a clear pecking order.

Most consistently good player of the season would have to go to Ed Langdon in my book. I think I can recall him playing maybe one mediocre game all season, but I couldn't tell you which one it was. Really liked what he bought to the team. Absolutely genius move recruiting him and I hope he enjoys the wide open spaces of the MCG next season.

I also can't help thinking that the whole COVID situation, draw and fixturing didn't help our cause much this season. When you look at a number of the teams that have finished near the top, Port, Brisbane West Coast, they all had fairly substantial home ground advantages over Victorian sides this season, particularly Brisbane and to some extent West Coast who always seem to get a substantial home ground advantage (particularly from umpire assistance). West Coast were actually so good at home and so bad away from it, that you wounder if they would actually have made finals had they not been able to play in WA. Playing a bunch of games off 4 - 5 day breaks in hot and tropical conditions in Alice, followed by Cairns in shocking conditions really didn't help our cause. Neither did missing the Essendon COVID positive game and the subsequent lack of bye round (actually more like a normal 7 day break that most clubs got but we didn't). In the end when we only missed finals by one game, I don't think these factors can be discounted as to why we missed finals, but as stated in my previous post, it probably wasn't enough of a difference as to why we weren't a genuine contender either.

To me the Bulldogs winning tonight thus ending our season makes little difference. Had we made finals, we would have just been making up the numbers with the form we were in and the lack of ability to beat the good sides with any regularly. That said, I don't think we are really that far off any of those teams that finished in positions 6 - 8, being Collingwood, St Kilda or the Bulldogs, so finishing 9th is more or less as good as finishing 6th to me. About the only thing to be said about making finals is that we could have got a bit more 'finals experience' into a few players. Until we build the kind of system, confidence and maturity to consistently win enough games to beat all comers, embed ourselves in the top 8 early in the season and lock in a top 4 ladder position, we are setting ourselves up for failure yet again. I do think we have a solid core of players that could take that next step in years to come though, so it's not all bad. The good performers and big improvers for the season to me (in rough order of merit) were: Trac Clarry May Langdon Gawn Viney Salem Hibbard Weid Fristch Lever, Brayshaw Jackson, Rivers, Kossie, Spargo, Hunt, ANB, AVB Lockhart, Tomlinson, Brown, Preuss, Smith, Bennell, Harmes, Melksham Appologies to any of the better performers I've forgotten about. Unfortunately, there was also a bunch of players who had uninspiring seasons and I can't help but think their drop offs from what they are respectively capable of was part of the reason we didn't really take the next step. Not going to name them, we all know who they are and I'm hopeful that at least a few of them can turn around their fortunes and that of the team with them next season.

Situation apparently is that the club want him to build his fittness/running power and go to that next level he has in him. Unless he breaks down in the process and calls it quits, I think he'll be a Demon again next year. I was impressed enough with half fit Harley, the thought of us having him after a full tune up and firing on all cylinders again is salivating.

Great post. Hits the nail on the head for me. I don't even bother reading Caro's drival these days. To me all she has ever written is trashy tabloid rumors an innuendo. Seems to actually hate footy, because she never has anything positive to say.

But kicked four goals and we won by what 19 points. Don't think he needs to rack up huge numbers of disposals if he keeps hitting the scoreboard like that. Wouldn't mind betting that Jayden kicking goals and demanding defensive attention helped Fristch get off the chain in the last quarter as well.

I agree with your sentiments Re Hunt, but I'd also say that Trac is pretty accomplished kick for goal in general play and set shots. Love that one he slotted from 50 out on the boundary today when the game was up for grabs in the second quarter and that snap from 50m out on the run against GWS was quite something as well.

Have watched Smith fairly closely over the past few weeks and my observations have been similar. It's been good that he's been able to stay fit and on the park for most of this season. He was pretty solid on Cameron at times last week and I think his disposal and decision making is getting better with more exposure at the top level and more confidence. I'm very tempted to see what he could do up forward if he was allowed to fly for his marks a bit more. But I do think he could be worth persevering with for at least another season in our backline as he just might really turn into something.

We have really cruelled Jayden this year. My feeling was that he didn't do that much wrong in the games he was dropped and then we didn't give him a look in for weeks and weeks even though our forward line wasn't functioning that well. He must be very jealous of all the opportunities that Kossie has been given this year for some pretty mega performances at times. Hunt was one of our best goal kickers last season in a dog of a year and he has been one of our most dangerous again this year in the games he's played. Doesn't shirk the hard stuff, takes a good mark and is one of our better kicks for goal. For all his courage and skill, Fritsch's goal kicking from set shots this year has been putrid. We would have rocks in our head not to do what we can to retain Hunt.

6 Oliver 5 Langdon 4 Gawn 3 Hunt 2 Fritsch 1 Patracca

Oliver has been awsome today. Played a very important hand in a number of goals.

Was worth comming down to Carrara today, just to listen to the Bummers fans around me paying out and eating their own that quarter. May it continue for another two quarters.

Jeremy Cameron has looked about as out of form this season as Tom McDonald has for us. His fall from grace has been even worse, considering he won the Coleman just last year. To me it suggests that it might not be such a bad idea persevering with Mc Donald, as even the best players have had years. I'm not sure that McDonald's mobility has been his No.1 issue this year. He's got himself around the ground and to the right spots often enough, he just hasn't had the confidence to regularly clunck big marks inside 50, which had become one of his hallmarks.

Agree. Incidently I thought it was an interesting admission from Rivers in his most recient post match interview, that spoiling wasn't really a strength of his. Thought that we recruited him as a half back, so though it was odd that he wasn't up to scratch in the spoiling department. Unless it was that he was so dominant with his intercept marking that spoiling wasn't a practiced or required skill. Differences between underage/second tier comps and AFL seniors I guess.

I feel he actually played more forward/mid against Freo and looked like he was having an impact in those roles, but then he got injured.

When Frost and McEvoy make up two of their MVP nominations - very.

Great news for the young guy, hope he has a good run and turns into a real champion for the mighty Demons.

It's not an apples and apples season though. 2018, we had a ~22 round season, played a bunch of bottom teams twice and didn't have the 6-6-6 rule, before which we had a game style which ideally suited our team with ruck dominance. I don't think the shorter quarters and more defensive, lower scoring games this season has necessarily suited our team either. Whether we make finals or not, I measure our 2020 as being pretty close to 2018, by the fact that we have performed about the same against the top sides, thrashed/beat up pretty much all the bottom most sides and dropped a few games to middle of the road teams like Freo and Sydney that we did to St Kilda and Sydney in 2018. This year we have been compeditive with most of the top teams, but just haven't been able to get over the top of them at crucial moments or been quite good enough.

Cherry picking the losses and not counting the gains there. I don't disagree that those guys were somewhat of a loss (though Vince had about the same level of influence as Jones has this year), but it's discounting that we have had players like May, Lever and Langdon come into the side at the expense of guys like Frost. Patracca has gone to new levels this year which somewhat offsets some of the downsides. The way Hogan played in 2018, he is another big loss, but somewhat offset by the improvement in Weid. Players come and go and get in and out of top form. I personally don't think the change in level of personal between 2018 and 2020 is that substantial. I actually think we are close to the same level of performance this season as what we were in 2018, which is compeditive, but not world beaters. At the heart of the issue is that the core of the team is just entering an age of maturity that puts us in the frame to be a genuine contender IF we can take the next step and go from an average side to a true champion side that puts together a consistent season which puts us into the top 4 and a genuine premiership contender, not just a top 8 contender.

Even if we finished in a ladder position to 'negotiate', we wouldn't have a true choice. We'd nominate our preference and the the AFL would give us the slops and schedule the game at the worst possible time and venue for us.

Agree. But I think it reflects that he's been good most games, but not great in many. I did think he was quite good around the ground generally against the Giants and did kick a timely goal for us under pressure in the second half. However, while it's true he's our leading goal kicker, he's also kicked more behinds than goals, which for a specialist forward isn't great and I suspect people mark him down for that.