Goodvibes

I do. If you follow a team that hasn't won a premiership in 45 years, judging the footballing ability and assessing the mental capacity of the players on our list (old and new) seems like a pretty good place to start. Of course we can't categorically make calls on players who we have seen little from but surely testing your skill as a footballing follower to project the likely or even possible future of individual players and our list as a whole is a worthwhile exercise - certainly one fit for a footballing forum that should have as its core business the promotion of discussion.

I think that was the point I was trying to make, albeit badly. Newton was at a stage of his career where one of three things should have happened: 1. He was delisted because the club didn't rate him; 2. He was given a 2, 3 or 4 year contract because the club did rate him; 3. He was given a 1 year contract because the club needed more evidence but was unsure as to whether he could paly the game or not at the highest level. I would have favoured 1 or 3. I was baffled by the 2 year contract. I've been impressed with Bailey but the Newton contract decision seemed a little odd.

I was one who was really worried about Jones late last year and I saw nothing in the first up pre-season game to change my opinion. I was really worried about his kicking and decision making and felt his ability to win the ball in the middle and find an option by hand didn't impress enough to make up for the other deficiencies in his game. His form over the past 3 weeks, along with the performances of Martin have been my individual highlights of the year so far. Jones is winning a lot of quality ball in close and consistently puts other players into space through creative handball, he's picking out targets at a high success rate over 30 - 40 metres and he's running hard to gain some cheaper ball as well. This is a significant step and if McLean continues to improve after his long lay-off (I think he's got just a little better each game) and Sylvia can show that his game against Richmond wasn't a one off in the midfield then we're starting to get a pretty solid onball division together. Morton, Blease and Strauss will hopefully cash in on the first dibs ability of the aforementioned three and Grimes, Maric and Davey will add further cream. Let's not talk about next years top pick just yet. But I definitely favour a mid over key position or ruck. The midfield we all crave is getting a little bit closer and the improvement of Jones is a huge step in that process. Glad to be wrong on this occasion.

Hazy, let's cut to the chase. 3 year deals are given to players you rate and want to keep long term. 2 year deals are given to young players (first, second and third year players) who've shown a bit and deserve further opporunities to develop or players in their mid to late 20's that are in their prime but may be close to sliding later in their contract deal. I don't buy the argument that Newton was gifted a 2 year deal simply because we have a dearth of key position forwards. Either you're good enough to play AFL or you're not. 1 year deals are given to players who the footy dept believe still have the potential to develop into a player but need to show something and show it quickly. Newton wouldn't have been given a 2 year deal unless our coach rates him. If he was unsure, a 1 year deal would have been snapped up by Newton and given Bailey ample time to assess his ability. Surely no other club was willing to trade for him. So if Bailey rates Newton, how do you rate our coach?

Would you like me to send you my 'Brent Grgic HighLowlights Package'? I taped it onto a couple of old 240 min VHS tapes using the Longplay recording function.

Only two players had less than 10 touches - Bate with 9 (and a goal) and Green who had a ripping first quarter before demolishing his face. Everyone played their role.

Named in the best according to afl.com. Interesting.

Great post Jaded. Now I don't have to say it. Thanks.

I actually thought that we showed more confidence and belief during the first quarter and half today against a quality opponent than at any point in season 08. Our centre square set up was excellent. We regularly got first hands to the ball during this period of the game. Spencer is a good tap ruckman, the rest will come. He needs time. Jones and Moloney showed that they had the smarts by hand to create clearances. I didn't think they gave much indication last year of being able to do that. Jones in particular impressed me. I've raised concerns about his kicking in the past but over the past two weeks he's hit a lot of targets and like Moloney failed to blaze away when under pressure. Petterd forward continues to impress. Rivers is reminding us all of why we missed him so much - he will get better and better. Green showed leadership. Morton is a serious player and with muscle and age, confidence will grow and his potential influence is exciting. Of the four debutants this year, Bennell is the one who impresses me most. I'm amazed at those suggesting he gets dropped (both last week and this week). He is quick, has good skills and the defensive tools to get the job done. I have no doubts his is a 10 year player. Martin was a revelation. In all of my hypothetical teams of the future I have had Martin eventually replacing Warnock at FB. His performance today reinforced my belief that he possesses the ability and potential to not only play a role but to absolutely dominate the defensive 50. Some of his marking today was awesome. Having said all that I feel I owe Warnock an apology. He's much much better than I thought he was ever likely to become and he's stil improving. Frawley gets better with every game . Our defensive potential really has me salivating. With Watts, Blease, Strauss, Maric and Grimes all waiting to have an impact and Wonaemirri and Garland also out of the mix, I think we have a lot to be positive about. Obviously there are concerns. McLean is certainly struggling but it's amusing to see how quickly the faithful have turned on him. He missed a lot of footy last year and was a slow starter in the pre-season. He will get better. Bruce isn't having the influence he used to and our skipper is making far too many mistakes. If these three can recover the way Davey did today, we might just win a few games of footy. I not quite up for talking about Sylvia yet . . . I thought the run and handball at times today was exciting and certainly gave us an insight into how Bailey sees our future style of play. We're certainly getting better at the much discussed 'run and carry'. We're still making mistakes and we're still turning it over and the serial offenders will soon be replaced by the highly skilled draftees of 2007 and 2008. Dappa Dan has the right approach. We need to enjoy the baby steps and individual signs of improvement and keep our eye on the prize. I remember 2004 like it was yesterday. The next 5 years will fly. Buckle up.

Don't think anyone has made mention of our kick-ins. Garland looked quite composed and whilst not particularly adventurous with his kicks into play, he certainly didn't make any mistakes. He occasionally over-kicks when under pressure in general play but when he has time (as he did kicking in) he didn't miss a target. It's something I'll watch with keen interest as the season progresses. I hope he stays relatively error-free whilst becoming more dangerous with some slightly more risky longer kick-ins.

Can anyone remember the last time he ran someone down from behind?

I agree. McDonald found space forward of centre and delivered to a leading Miller (who missed the set shot) in the last quarter. It's the only time I can remember one of our midfielders finding enough space to break a line, compose himself and kick to a forward and have them mark inside 50. And this was when the game was dead and the pressure was off. A key forward with a strong aggressive approach, prepared to neutralize a contest and create a crumb is a must - whether it be Miller, Johnson, Martin or Ben Holland! Our forward strength lies in our smalls. We must give them opportunities.

Fellow Demonlanders, we are in the presence of greatness. Massive Fan. Welcome to the forums.

The continued development of an 'A' grade backline with Martin showing he can tackle the opposition gorillas, Rivers playing week in week out, Frawley combining a shutdown job with positive rebound and polished disposal and Garland giving us flexibility by showing he's equally comfortable beating both smalls and talls. I'm a massive Matty Whelan fan and despite the pessimism of some, I'd love to see him give the MFC another couple of great years. His experience down back would be valuable and would allow a Buckley or a Grimes to play with more freedom off half-back. I'm really looking forward to seeing the big banana bender, Jake Spencer, take over the number 1 ruck mantle. There are very few examples of rucks at his age performing so well in their bread and butter job of getting first hands on the ball and directing it into the path of our own players. Many highly rated young ruckmen impress with their skills and mobility and ability to break even in the ruck contest. Spencer, whilst rough around the edges, shows genuine signs of being able to win the tap and advantage our midfielders in the process. He could be anything. He will of course need support and PJ can lay claim to being one of the more flexible and co-ordinated rucks in the league. Pity he's not so good at the actual rucking stuff. You could do worse than Jamar as a third option. Let's not talk about the other fella. I'm from the school of thought that a star-studded midfield is more important than a star-studded forward line. And it is for this reason that I'm a little worried about the year ahead. If we lose McLean to injury again we're in real strife. I've always had concerns about the kicking of Jones and others seem to be coming around to that line of thinking. Moloneys body is unreliable and Junior is nearing the end. I can certainly see why the recruiting team were pretty keen on Jack Redden and why many a keen observer on D'Land want to see Grimes thrown into the middle sooner rather than later. Our first dibs midfielders are a supposed strength but I'm not convinced. We clearly need at least one classy, inside/outside midfielder with toe. Clearly speed and clean ball usage are central to our team philosophy and the drafting of Strauss, Blease, Bennell and Jetta along with Morton and Maric last year should give us the outside polish that we need. But they are some way off. I think we need to prepare ourselves for more frustrating turnovers in the short term and periods where we get spanking in the middle against the top 4-6 teams. I'll certainly be looking for the above mentioned players to show, when they get the opportunity, the ability to make smart decisions and the mindset that allows them to take the game on and break the lines whenever possible. Potentially the most frustrated element of our season ahead lies in our lack of key forward options. Despite Juice showing (apparently) some positive signs in cyclone-threatened Cairns, he gives me absolutley no confidence that he will be a long term answer. Robbo is still a long way off and a successful return is no guarantee and even then surely the end is near. Brad Miller is a footballer I have a lot of admiration for and can play an important role for the team as the hit up CHF but won't strike fear into too many opposition backlines when he is played close to goal. PJ as a makeshift forward should remain exactly that. Our hope of course lies with those yet to play a single game. Watts and Jurrah will hopefully form a formidible combination but dominating consistently at AFL levels seems a fair way off. We will again have to brace ourselves for frustrating periods where we simple don't look like scoring and have periods of play where our small to medium forwards look undermaned and outnumbered. The excitement up forward will again come from Wonaemirri and Davey but I'm hopeful that despite an injury-ravaged pre-season Maric will get on the park and give us another dangerous option. Above all, I'm looking for the team to certainly give us a glimpse into the future. I'm hoping we now have the cattle (despite being young) to show us how DB's gameplan will work. I'm looking for our older players (I won't call them leaders) to have consistent seasons allowing the younger players time to find their feet. But most importantly I'm looking for a team to be proud of; one that prides itself on doing the simple things that have been winning games of footy since Tom Willis and co sat down and conceived the rules. I want to see my team put their head overthe ball, run in numbers all day long and tackle like their lives depended on it. We'll struggle to match most teams for skill, experience and balance but we have no excuses when it comes to the much-hyped 1 percenters. I'm confident that our footy department are in the middle of assembling a team that will have the skills for us to compete in the near future but I want to discover during the season what makes these young gentelemen tick. When I saw Hodge, Lewis, Brown, Roughead and co a few seasons ago, I was left in no doubt that they had a group of young players that would stop at nothing to get better. That's what I want to see from the Dees youngsters this year.

Maybe he has.

Maybe he's adopting the "ask not what your club can do for you; ask what you can do for your club" approach?

It's good to see Robbo isn't putting too much pressure on the lad. That's what we need. Someone to grab hold of the club and say, 'righto, let's go boys, I'm going to take you there'. "He's going to be a future captain, most definitely, he's the next David Neitz I reckon."

Good, because I hate teachers!

That's a good call Mr Positive. I don't think anyone would disagree with your gradings of the players above and McLean certainly hasn't reached that level. However, a level between 'good ordinary' and 'A' grade is probably missing and that's where most people see McLean. A player who despite issues with pace is knocking on the door of 'elite' if (and it's always a big if) he can string a couple of seasons together without breaking down with injury. What's with the gradings anyway H? It makes you sound like a teacher again.

The Owls (my other footballing obsession) are in serious financial trouble. Since being relegated from the Premier League they fell further to the old div 3 and are now back in the Championship (the step below the Premiership/old div 2). They are currently dealing with a 28 million dollar pound debt. I sure can pick em!

Maybe not as crazy as it sounds Rhino. My soccer team Sheffield Wednesday are doing something similar. Owls donate shirt space

I'm in. Bring it!

Grimes at 34 - 1. I like it.

Great stuff! Cheers JJJ

The ruck debate for me is simple. Your ruckman does one of three things: a) wins the ruck; b loses the ruck; c) breaks even in the ruck. When Rhino "laments" the inability of PJ to negate the opposition, he's suggesting that he falls into category 'b' regularly and fails to even reach category 'c' enough. Rhino, Old and others don't rate the importance of ruckman because they analyze football with a premiership template in mind. Look at the recent premiers and we see that a break even ruck duo gets the job done, particularly when a star-studded midfield is awaiting the all too predictable ruck contest that more often than not favours neither side. A dominant ruckman certainly doesn't go astray but if you're looking at how to win a premiership, finding a champion midfielder takes priority over a champion ruckman. Watts over Naitanui every time. We all marvel at PJ's mobility and ability around the ground but unless he can "break even" a little more often, he's just another NQR. He's definitely worth persisting with. He has shown plenty of evidence to suggest that he has the scope for improvement. His overhead marking is a good example. Given his run of injuries, I'll back PJ in to improve his ruck work just enough to break even more often than not. And that's all we need him to do.