tiers

We had McCartney as development coach based on his work with developing Geelong in the 00' to win three flags. He also coached doggies who also won a flag after he left behind his development work. He came well credentialed, it was a good idea but hasn't worked out as well as it should. My gut feel is that his development goals either did not mesh with the coaching goals in that players were not played when ready or in the right positions or he did not have enough time to complete his work. It takes at least five years to develop a player. The coaching panel needs a complete reset for 2020.

The cattle are in place. What's missing is a game plan that teaches forwards when and where to run and teaches midfielders and backs to know what to look for and to deliver. Until now, it has been ad hoc, so called" chaos" play and relied on individual great efforts to score. Let's add to that. No great dramas - just need good, intelligent coaches to make it work. One of the features of long established top clubs is that they are able to refresh and renew by absorbing new players who have been taught the game plan and can slot in. It's much harder when 44 have to be taught. Let's get a game plan and then we will know. It's up to you coaches.

Three things stand out. Gawn dominating the hitouts, swannies dominating clearances. How? Why? They play one on one so no dee is free. We play anywhere so they are all free when needed. How? Why? In any contest when the ball is there to be won in a pack, they win the ball, clear to an open player and then deliver downfield. We kick/handball blindly out of the pack to no one in particular. I think it is called "hail mary" How? why? Failure of coaching/teaching. If I can see it, why not the coaches?

Our great game of footy has its own culture - it is a game for everyone that can be played anywhere at any time with any form of footy. I can remember as a boy playing with a cloth filled sock (real leather balls were expensive) in a confined space that could be kicked and marked and we couldn't get enough. So long as it was our game of footy it was enough. The modern day cultures are an attempt to graft attitudes and behaviors from other, inferior ball games onto our great game. The correct response is to resist and deny these alien and destructive attempts. Our footy is the greatest game in the world and superior to all others sports. We need no culture - we just need a footy to kick.

I have seen every great and dominant ruckman since the early 60s including Schultz, Nicholls, Sampson (ess), Dempsey, Moss, Teasdale (he really was great in one year), Baker, Scott, Madden, Madden, Stynes, Sandilands, Cox, Maxie and others. Graham "Polly" Farmer was better than all of them. He could match any of them them for pure ruckcraft and footy skills and then added his own special dimension to his team and to the game. Our great game is in mourning today for one of its exceptional champions. Vale Graham "Polly" Farmer.

He is not big enough, strong enough, fast enough or clever enough to play the inside game that he thinks he should or that is expected of him. Coaches please find him a role that matches his endeavour, effort and skill set. Perhaps defensive HFF, outside runner or tagger. Too committed and too valuable to waste.

Gawn tagging anyone is a fundamental acknowledgement by the coach that we are inferior to the opposition. Max is a match winner and drives our performance when he is on song and the team plays to his game. Coaching error showing lack of creativity and match awareness. No wonder we remain nearly, but not quite, there. As for AA, Max should be absolute certainty. When the number of kicks and possessions, not ruckcraft, are criteria for selecting a ruckmen, then the game and the stats are losing credibility.

I posted this a couple of weeks ago. Nothing has changed on field but it is clear that we need a captain who acts as a leader on the field by voice and by actions. The job can be shared but there must be only one captain on the team sheet. It's funny how in the history of the game that in many cases the best captain is the best leader with the coolest head, not the gun player. Think Harley and Ling at cats, Davis at GWS, Easton at dogs, Hurn at toasters and many others. Who is our born leader with a cool head who can lift the side? Not Max because he is too busy being the best ruckman in the game and definitely not Viney who seems to believe that there is never too much stupid effort. My preferred options include TMac (who is always seen directing the team in close games), a versatile Tracca who has become the papa bear in the forward line (he is the one patting heads when team mates come to him after doing well) and has a football brain. Any other choices that fit the bill?

It's funny how in the history of the game that in many cases the best captain is the best leader with the coolest head, not the gun player. Think Harley and Ling at cats, Davis at GWS, Easton at dogs, Hurn at toasters and many others. Who is our born leader with a cool head who can lift the side? Not Max because he is too busy being the best ruckman in the game and definitely not Viney who seems to believe that there is never too much stupid effort. My preferred options include TMac (who is always seen directing the team in close games), a versatile Tracca who has become the papa bear in the forward line (he is the one patting heads when team mates come to him after doing well) and has a football brain. Any other choices that fit the bill?

The stats from the game reveal that we had fewer forward entries than the sainters but kicked more accurately. Thank goodness we didn't have more elastic band style forward entries (bounce right back) that would have created more scoring opportunities for them. Nevertheless, if we could retain our new found accuracy and regain our higher forward entry numbers from earlier this year, we might have the beginnings of a workable game plan so long as we can keep the ball in our forward line. I am still haunted by our game against the cats this year when we had 50% more entries and still lost by 80 points.

i posted this in December 2018. Nice to receive recognition at last. Frosty can be a weapon. The classic 80-100m players who can run away from any opposition and drive the ball long into the forward line. It doesn't have to be "lace out" just so long as the opposition are put under pressure and forced to defend in our forward line. Can't kick goals from anywhere else. If used tactically and strategically at the right times will make a huge difference to the game plan.

A 133 free differential between most and least favored is seriously disturbing. It equates to an average of 7 free kicks a game, any one of which could be game changing (ask Scott Thompson). For the credibility of the competition and the umpiring, these stats should even out over 18 rounds. All conspiracy theories should at least be aired but not necessarily believed. However, this should be no.1 priority for 'shocking' Hocking.

I couldn't watch much of the game against the toasters but I did notice that Preuss's tap work was very precise and nearly always to a dee and we either retained the ball or got a clearance. Gawn wins a lot of taps but we lose the clearances, especially in the centre. By the way his goal kicking will improve dramatically when he adopts the reverse Buddy run up ie. a curved run up that swings the ball to the goals by using his natural hook. Something to watch.

He was recruited to be a key player in the middle with his experience and ability to organise. He was not recruited to play a negative defensive game in our F50. Too slow, clumsy and unreliable to help us rise up the ladder. His time has passed and we need new younger leaders and role models. Made a contribution when we needed a cool head and a lift in reputation. He should be thanked and offered a coaching role.

The dorks got Crimmins, Mathews, Scott, Tuck, Langford, Mew, Ayres, Brereton, Wallace and many other 20+0 gamerswithout having to work. In those days the Mornington Peninsular and the Berwick area were growing rapidly whereas most other zones were relatively static. On the basis of this success the dorks were able to import Platter, Dunstall, Buckenara, Judge to add to their bounty. The lolly blues also had a good zone in Bendigo and were able to recruit many 200+ gamers and premiership players with no effort. Then they were able to recruit Kernahan, Dorotich, Bosustow, Bradley and Motley to add to the bounty. Doggies had the Latrobe Valley but squandered Quinlan and Round who won Brownlows at other teams. All other teams has a mixed bag.

This was before zoning (the most distorting concept ever) and the draft/salary caps. Success was a direct function of recruitment based on foresight, leadership and initiative and we had them in abundance. Jim Cardwell was the most effective club secretary of all time when he could approach a recruit with an offer to play at the MCG with the likes of Barassi and Beckwith. Zoning made these advantages worthless as clubs had exclusive rights over their zones. If you got a good, growing zone such as the dorks and the lolly blues did, it led to success. If you got a lousy zone like we did, clubs struggled to survive and advance. Until 1964 we had exclusive use of the MCG for training and matches (we trained at the MCG until the 1980s before the move to the Junction Oval). In 1965 toiges joined and deprived us of our inbuilt advantage and progressively other clubs have made it worse. We was robbed.

The most uniquely gifted and instinctive forward I have seen in 60 years of watching footy. All teams. He made it without "silver service" lace out delivery from upfield by relying on his rare natural ability alone. Jacca, Garry, Duke, Darren B all in the same team. There has never been a more talented Demon forward line but injury to Jacca and Garry brought them down. Agree with Spud - if only. Alas.

Who does he think he is? It's our game, not his. Time to invoke the "up yours" campaign again. In any event, just paying more free kicks for extended possession when tackled eg. 360 or even 720 degrees, and eliminating the stupid rule that allows umpires to avoid ball ups so long as the ball is still moving that causes ugly rolling scrums to form will reduce the number of tackles and the punishment to the players and clean up the spectacle. Watch replays from the 70s and 80s to see how the game should be played. Quick whistles and even quicker ball ups (umpires then took less time to prepare for a bounce than today umpires for a throw) kept the game open and moving.

To monoccular's comments. To suggest that players are scared to shoot for goal for fear of opposition kick in strategy is to deny the fundamentals of footy - that is, to score at every opportunity. Letting fear make the decision is contrary to all that we love about our great game. Is it any worse to squander the chance and concede an easy exit from our forward line and allow a "slingshot" thrust to score easy goals against us? Kick for goal because that is the basis of footy. Kick for goal and let the opposition worry about us scoring goals. Once we get our range we will be right. We get enough opportunities so only a small simple adjustment should bring benefits. 2020 Go dees.

I have written in another thread that there should be a team rule that anyone within 40m of goal and running free (or for Tracca and Clarrie 50m) must have a shot. No more dinky passes or stupid hand offs to players in worse positions with their backs to the goals. If a player must hand off (being tackled) then only to a team mate running free and facing to goals. Better to shoot and miss than not to have a shot at all because of some stupid concern about being called greedy or goal hungry. These should be encouraged attributes. Just shoot. When it becomes normalised we will win more games than we lose because we will be conditioned to scoring with every opportunity. Simple change.

Let's remember that when we had May, Lever, Salem, Jetta and Hibbert out at the same, Fritsch and Frost were forced to play in defence. Both would be better suited to play up the ground but we had to cut the cloth to fit. Both are still learning good skills but this year is now gone so leave them alone. And who would they supplant in the mid/forward line?

Tracca has been excelling in his ability to win the ball and deliver to advantage when in crowded situations. Seems to me he needs to learn the same for when he is free. He knows how to get to where the ball is so let him focus and this and worry less about goal kicking. He can play outside 50m arc and still be effective.

It would make a difference if we won some clearances from centre bounces. The best ruckman in the game working with a combination of Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes, Petracca, Jones and we get smacked in the clearances. How can this happen? When is this going to stop? Where are the changes to personnel or tactics going to be revealed? Why is there no response? What is being done? Just like forward entries on elastic bands (that bound straight back) this should have been fixed long ago. Help. Maccas last two paragraphs are spot on.

I normally defer to Saty's opinions because he is mostly correct and well reasoned. However while he reports that the players were fitter than ever in terms of their 2k run, and while aerobic fitness is good, were they "match fit" as a playing group able to implement their game plan? I am not convinced.

There is cause for hope. Start with Dr.G's last paragraph and add that if only a small adjustment results in a workable and effective game plan then we are on our way and off to the finals. My reservation is that, unless there is a "dees" specific game plan that builds on our strength,s then we might never reach the ultimate prize. We have the cattle and with an earlier start to a more productive pre-season with more players available there is only the game plan to go. 2020 Go dees.