FlashInThePan

I totally agree @Action Jackson and @FarNorthernD Langdon was an absolute steal. I do still wish people would stop evaluating individual trades though. There is no silverware available for the best individual deal. We trade to put together a list which, in its entirety, will win a flag. Individual trades like Lever or Langdon may look like overs or unders on their own but it absolutely doesn’t matter if it contributes to building a team that wins a flag. i understand, when there is no silverware in the cabinet that supporters will evaluate the trades as though they are an end in themselves but now that we have at least one flag from all that trading I think we can look at the work in its entirety and evaluate the list that is currently in place, It’s cost is irrelevant. Every team spends as close as possible to its TPP. Every team uses all its picks every year (and sometimes more). There is no prize for saving $100k or moving up or down the order if it doesn’t get you another piece in the premiership team puzzle.

Yeah, that struck me also. I have now seen him variously reported as 193,194 and 195cm. Let’s make sure we get the tape measure out when he starts preseason.

I don’t think the Brisbane lions team can be considered on the same level as the other dynasties. The salary cap benefits and other AFL assistance measures they had let them put together and maintain their list. Sydney also has a raft of financial benefits but it was such a blue collar list you would be really stretching to credit their success to anything other than tactics and culture.

Interestingly that article explicitly calls out that clubs will not try to copy the approach of the grand final teams -Unlike every other year. Like so many SEN bold statements it is based on absolutely nothing. We have definitely shown a different way to get the job done. I’m not going to go as far as to say teams will try to find these exact players types but they will be looking at how to both copy and breakdown our defensive structure.

Yeah, an amazing result. JVR and Howes! Presumably we will also pick up Taj with our last pick. Great result.

Wow Skuit, you are hard. I have no problem seeing how a theme like that could motivate and galvanise a group that needs to believe in itself to break out of a narrative that casts them as unreliable losers. Maybe I'm just soft

Great interview and so interesting to hear ‘post premiership’ Goody speak. He has a very different, more relaxed style. It must be so empowering for him to have achieved the ultimate success. Taking a team from zero to premiership puts him in the elite AFL coaches category.

You’re right. I have been spending a lot more time on demonland since the flag. It is definitely in part due to just wanting to share the joy with other supporters, but it is also just much nicer to be here without all the fierce negativity and criticism. If they were just trolls…good riddance, if they were genuine supporters, I hope they can reinvent themselves with a more positive outlook and enjoy this fantastic time. I’m hoping for a dynasty but you can’t take anything for granted so we need to revel in what we have right now.

I have to agree with Dante. I don’t want to go to anymore games at the G where they barely bother to open the food stalls inside because there won’t be enough fans to make it economical. I’d love for our fans to have a deep connection to the club and be proud to be a member. In the last month I’ve lost track of the number of times someone has come up to me at the shopping centre or cafe while I’m wearing my demons cap and given me a quiet but intense ‘Go Dees’. I’d like more of that.

Fritsch goes alright too

Next year will be interesting for many of our players. Fritsch will certainly have a target on his back, when a player kicks 6 in a granny the opposition needs a plan for how to manage him. The upside for us should be the ability for other forwards to exploit the attention he gets. We've seen the bulldogs strategy for negating Lever, trying to force a match up with another tall like Shache or English so that he can't get any easy intercepts. I expect other teams to try to implement that strategy. I'll be interested to see whether teams try to put a hard tag on Oliver or Trac. Tagging Clarrie rarely seems to have a big impact since he is an inside, contested beast and extracting under pressure is his bread and butter. I haven't yet noticed any team put a hard tag on Trac, I'll be interested to see if anyone tries it next year and what sort of effect it has on his (and our) game. Maxy gets attention week in, week out. Frankly I'd like to see the umpires get a lot more involved with physical stuff and impeding movement well off the ball. It is going to be really interesting being the hunted. Can't wait for next season to start.

Interesting to watch the media pundits stick to what they know. Dermott clearly can’t let go of the Tigers, basing his certainty on effectively nothing. https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/11/17/dermott-breretons-early-2022-flag-prediction/ So, Asturbury retires, Robbie Tarrant comes in. They lose Coleman-jones and Marbiol Chol and he is tipping them to find their best form next year and win the flag. Besides Martin coming back from injury, I can’t see where the big improvement is going to come from. Certainly not from what they pick up in the draft. They may uncover some gems but they will still need a couple of preseasons to make an impact. I’ve been wrong before but I really can’t see them being at the pointy end come finals 2022. On a separate note, it will be interesting to see whether we have earned some respect from the media yet. Clearly not from Dermie but I’ll be interested in where the flag predictions will go.

I may be a little biased, but I’m comfortable with calling it the best quarter of GF football ever. It is certainly a quarter that I will never forget.

No, Watt’s gone first. Hugh’s gone second

There are so many parts of this I don't understand. How can a club delist a player that still has 2 years to run on their contract without paying it out? Why would they play silly buggers with one of their best midfielders? If you can do something as blatent as this, why not just do this with a player who is not getting games and represents zero risk? The article reeks of spin - everyone is happy, Hugh is awesome we wish him all the best, GC is an awesome place, so much better than when I arrived, really set up for success. The duration of the contract is exactly what he had (and they broke) at GC so either the dollars must be substantially better or he had no faith he would be redrafted. What a strange turn of events.

Good point, I would go so far as to say selection of ANYONE in the rookie list is speculative. Selection of rucks even in the main draft are often speculative.

They have proven that it is possible, but only because of the introduction of free agency. Unfortunately it is like walking a tightrope. You need to get the right free agents at the right time or you are coming down. You need a really strong development program because all those older free agents are keeping your kids out of the team. I prefer the spread of ages we have right now, if we can continue to recruit an A grader every 2nd year (a big ask if your picks are around 18-20 I know) we could keep the list going a long time with only the occasional free agent to fill a need. Going too hard to the free agency well means that eventually your age spread starts to look like the cats. Personally I think they should have developed Clark and Narkle over bringing in Higgins. Also trading 2 first rounders for Cameron doesn’t look like a good deal right now. Obviously if all teams could recruit using hindsight they would be amazing, but my point is that it is walking a tightrope. It doesn’t take much lose your balance and fall.

I was hesitant about putting up this topic. I’m not a glass half empty person, I think this team is the bomb. By a mile the best demons team in my many years of supporting, and right now, the undeniably best team in the league. Every year you need to find things to improve though or other teams will overtake you. The last two finals games don’t show it as much as we were just so dominant but the QF against the lions and some of the games throughout the year you can see we often dominate early in the game, most often in the 2nd quarter, but we kick points rather than goals. This seems like an area we could focus on for improvement.

I agree, I completely accept that there is a strong psychological component but equally there must be a physical skill component.

Going back and watching the finals series (a few times) I saw again something that happened often throughout the year. We rarely looked like losing but often in the second quarter we had the opportunity to put the game completely away but kicked points instead of goals. Obviously we took home the silverware so it is hard to be too critical, but the one place I think we could improve to make this team unbeatable is in our goal kicking. Goal kicking must have a huge mental component. Over the years, despite players becoming full time athletes and having access to facilities and resources undreamed of back in the 70s and 80s, goal kicking has not improved at all. The above being true we may see some improvement off the back of the swagger and added confidence that comes from being the reigning champs, but if there was one thing to really put some time into over the off season, for me, this would be it.

Whoops, I think we were ‘freed from desire’ not long after the granny.

It’s really hard to tell what the Joel Smith finished product might be. He has the attributes; massive closing speed, can jump, fierce competitor. I noticed his skills have also improved in the few games he played this year. I’m keen to see what he can produce with a proper preseason and some continuity. The hard question is who he could push out. Feels like he will be competing with hibbo and hunt for the one spot. Good luck to him, if he can hold those 2 out of the team he’ll be doing well.

I wasn’t around to see Hassa Mann play but I understand what a legend of the game he was. It is pretty exciting to think we could have another player coming through of that calibre to join a team already brimming with talent. I can’t wait to see what this team could achieve over the next 5-10 years. TBH I can’t wait for next season to start and hopefully a full season where we can be at games.

I really rate this kid. 7 games and already he is a quick, smart decision maker and rarely turns over the ball. He is just so clean as well, I am dying to see what he looks like after 50 - 100 games.

Melbourne CEO shoots down 'beat up' reports around nightclub stoush with western bulldogs https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/10/27/melbourne-ceo-shoots-down-beat-up-reports-around-nightclub-stoush-with/ A beat up? By a would be footy journo? Who'da thunk it?!