FlashInThePan

I don't think anyone on demonland underrates Ed but plenty in the rest of the footy world don't get how significant he was as a pickup in 2019. We already had the defensive structure but the only hard 2 way runner we had was ANB, our game plan just couldn't work with out serious defensive running. With the 666 and the injury riddled preseason we couldn't get the zone setup fast enough and teams would just cut straight through putting the back 6 under unsustainable pressure. Not only did he fill a desperate need, he has acted as a role model for what elite 2 way running looks like. Others in the team have now stepped up, Brayshaw is a great example. He has brought that 2 way running into his game and seriously built up his tank but also brings his own unique skillset to the role.

There you go @Cassiew, there is the drought breaker you can be a part of. We’ll all be there for that I would think!

2019 was definitely a blip, in retrospect one that setup the 2021 GF. We have discussed it at length in other threads but the massive number of preseason surgeries combined with the 666 rule change led to a team that was completely under prepared. The poor start killed our confidence and we never got back on track. i don’t think we were ever going to get the cup in 2020 but we laid the foundations. We probably should have played a final or two. Burgo had set the fitness base that we needed but the shortened quarters didn’t let us capitalise on that. And as stated in the OP the many 4 day brakes sapped the team. Even though the game style was starting to become recognisable, we didn’t have the consistency and composure we developed in 2021. Dogga needed that preseason with his personal trainer to get ripped and deal with the physicality of the game. Kossie needed to improve his fitness base. Fritsch needed to get his confidence back and get rid of the yips. TMac needed to change his body shape and in the process put Australian cattle at risk of extinction. Maybe it just needed to be that way. If we had played a final Goody would not have been under so much pressure and so would not have done the soul searching that led to his improvement as a coach. We may not have brought in choco or Yze. The team might not have been pushed to that realisation that nothing was going to happen for them if they didn’t let go of their need to be individual stars rather than team first. With the benefit of hindsight it all looks preordained. I’m hoping we’ll be reflecting in 2030 about how all of the above fed into the decade of absolute dominance that turned the Dees back into the powerhouse of the competition that it was in the 50s and 60s

Yes, I heard this mentioned in the media, so the last time I watched the replay I watched very closely. He has eyes only for the ball, he makes contact with the ball, play on.

In general I think Daniels is a very damaging player. When we bring our press up hard his style of distribution doesn’t work because we close up both the space and the overlap option. What I did notice in the granny was how much Bowey reminded me of him. Such a fast thinker and distributor. He could be absolutely anything. I am dreaming of both Bowey and Salem distributing out of our defensive zone. Bowey needs to get a couple of preseasons into him to strengthen him up but he is already looking like something special.

They got Fogharty in 2017 (12) and the 2018 pick dropped to 16 and they picked up Ned McHenry

Just for the record, his disposal efficiency across 2021 was 82.1% Defenders are always more maligned for their kicking than other players because any poor disposal back there can have such a big consequence. Also, 10.3 intercepts per game across the season…mind boggling. This is the highest average for a defender ever. The commentary around Lever when we brought him over seems absolutely laughable.‘He’s a one trick pony’ ‘He can’t lock down a power forward’ ‘Dees have paid far too much’, blah, blah, blah. Even if he had only one trick, it’s a pretty damn good trick. Marking or halving anything airborne that comes into the defensive arc. But he doesn’t just have one trick. He has a massive football IQ and is an awesome organiser and leader. He and May absolutely maintain our defensive structure.

When you put together a season like this one the following year can really only go one of two ways. Either the hunger is there for sustained effort or that was it and we drink our own bathwater and live off the ‘21 cup sinking slowly into mediocrity. We’d all be disappointed with the latter but you can’t ever take away this achievement. Based on what I’ve seen and heard, I think it will be the latter, and if they bring the dedication, intensity and focus that they brought this year, I can’t think of who could stop us. There is growth and improvement to be had all over the ground. As HB pointed out BB will only get better with another preseason and a midfield that is looking for him and knows his leading patterns. Fritsch has put his kicking yips behind him and looks like everything Gunston was in his hay day and then some. Just remember Pickett has only had 2 seasons and is nowhere near his peak. Sparrow and JJ and Jackson have barely gotten started, our midfield has significant upside over and above the awesome talent we already know so well. Our backline, holy sheet! Just think about the fact that Rivers was only in his second season and Bowey just his 6th game. Can you believe it?! Add to that Petty, who really just played his first full season. I can’t see Salem, may or lever dropping off anytime soon either. So there is significant organic improvement to be had all over the ground. It really only depends on what attitude they bring with a premiership cup in the cupboard already. I think we’ll have the answer quite early in the season, I can’t wait to be there for it.

Bought this and really enjoyed it. I even enjoyed Mrs Mongrel’s GF commentary. I will definitely be following the mongerel punt next season.

There is just too much of a spread of midfield talent at the Dees right now for one of our boys to get the brownlow. They are all stealing votes from each other. You really want to be a standout midfielder in a team of role players. That doesn't invalidate the brownlow just means it isn't necessarily going to the best all round player. Our boys are just going to have to make do with premiership medals and a smattering of Norm Smith's and coach's awards.

I’m sure some uncomfortable truths are faced every year at many clubs. What is strange is how publicly this has played out. You would have to think there is something seriously wrong over at hawthorn. Kennett telegraphing their intentions without any certainty that they would actually be able to pull the trigger. Leaks that Mitchell was actively shopping his stars himself. Players unaware and thwarting proposed plans. I’ll be interested to see how this affects Mitchell’s relationship with the players. I’m with a previous poster, long may they wallow in mediocrity!

Nah, I’ve never heard it before either but apparently it is a saying of its own: https://avedictionary.com/hard-as-a-coffin-nail/

It’s amazing how many once in a generation players come along each generation 😉 …sorry, I couldn’t resist, I’ll show myself out

I have to agree with @DemonOX I struggle to understand why you would want to rehash this period. We lived through it, I honestly can’t see what more there is to learn from it. This team totally changed the narrative this year, forever. I’m done with wallowing in how terrible we were. We can’t do a lot as supporters, of course we buy our memberships, go to games and make noise and contribute financially as we are able. The other big thing we can do is not constantly talk about losing and the terrible times. I don’t want to be part of the ‘veil of negativity’, I want to be positive and feed into the positivity this group is generating. We absolutely humiliated the cats in the prelim, they are not going to forget that for quite some time. We beat them in every phase of the game, I recall Isaac smith reflecting that the last quarter was perhaps the worst quarter of football that he has ever been a part of. Why don’t we talk about that instead?

Any chance Amiss makes it to 17? I’d love to get a tall sharp shooter into the team. Even though we made it look easy in the second half of the granny, there have been many occasions throughout the year where we could have completely sealed the game by half time but inaccuracy meant we left the door open.

I love this pick swap. Not only does it get us into the first round but the later swaps are entirely illusory. All of the slightly higher picks we swapped (and more) will go in bid matching. 37 could actually be as high as a pick in the late twenties or early thirties. When you consider that there will be bid matching on both Daicos and Darcy

I think we have to accept that you need to give to get. We got the trades done that we knew we needed to get done. One trade in isolation doesn't matter, it is the balanced list you build overall. What we paid for Lever looks to me like peanuts when I see what that back line has done for our confidence over the year.

I am still holding out hope on Mac Andrew. The only way a beanpole like that is going top 20 is if other teams think that Jackson was not something unique but just a type that they can replicate. I don't think there is another Jackson in this draft (or perhaps any draft) and Mac Andrew will definitely be an investment in the future. I'm also interested in what Rosman turns into. He is apparently an incredible athlete and at 194cm could be anything.

It’s funny, I just see him as a reasonably talented guy who came and did his thing for a while without really buying in and as we got more and more buy in from other players, probably with less raw talent, he became irrelevant. I don’t feel like we owe him anything. I don’t wish him ill, I just don’t feel like we need to get him to 200 games.

I don’t know which way it will go next year but I am very happy that it was us who served up those soul destroying defeats. Hopefully just the start of a long era of payback.

I see back to back as realistic. No doubt it will be extremely difficult, historically backing up a a granny has been rare. On our side though, is that success has become increasingly cyclic (Brisbane, Cats, Hawthorn, Tigers). We are in the sweet spot now and have a real tail wind. We need to be absolutely relentless in our preparation and drive because others will have watched that finals series and be coming for us with a plan. We need to be better than last year, but with around 7 players in the best 22 at age 21 and below we can reasonably expect improvement even without considering drafting or trading.

I think I get what you are trying to say and I agree that this outcome is the one that we all actually care about. But actually 1 would be a result of measurable improvements to 2,3,4 and 5. For instance our recent season result has been heavily influenced by getting the right players and coaches to the club (3) and training out at Casey which has a better sized ground for working on our defensive structures (5)

Are you saying there is a problem with this? The boys should start bottling their urine, they can sell it as champagne 😁

Haha, yes, he used his football knowledge, which is far superior to any other person alive, and certainly everyone in DL, along with the ladder predictor to assure us all that we could not make the top 4 despite being on top of the ladder with 5 games to go. He has gone conspicuously quite for some reason 🤔

Sure, he has added a lot in his time with us. I, for one, am grateful for what he has provided as part of the whole that has made the ‘21 season happen. All that being said, high performance is science and can be taught and experience implementing different approaches improves the judgement of practitioners. Hopefully we bring in really skilled practitioners and get the job done again next year. I’m not freaking out about losing Burgo, but I’m sad to see him go. He clearly knew his schnitzel. He will leave behind 40 odd players who are better equipped to manage their loads and hopefully some staff who understand sports science well and have good judgement.