Deemania since 56

So, the pattern hopefully will be: Loss, Win, (Loss), out of the 8.

Wagner has a few problems but these are/have being/been addressed in the main. He is still a good runner for the half-back and has deceptive height at contests, punching the ball clear, and kicks moderately well to position. His big asset is that he has some pace and can read plays early, moving to a position in some space. Worth another try as well, I'd think, and has produced a reasonably enthusiastic few games. Some have not been as good as others, agreed, but he does have his upsides to contribute. Agreed. Pop-up pop-down players must be confused and might feel cheated not to be able to gather their feet week to week. As for Wagner, I actually like some of his game; at least he goes hard at it most of the time. This trait can only improve and if he is in the side for the Catty Puts, I'd reckon he will intend to hit 'em hard as he can and break away.

Fairy 'Nuff!

Jones would be useful in clearances at HBFlank where more focus is on one-way traffic, combining with Jetta/Hibberd could create some drive ... his recovery from active stints is less than it was and midfield-wise, his tendency to 'bomb' everything forward is very frustrating and a luxury that we can no longer afford. He is a good, heads-up ball deliverer over shorter distances, and his handball may improve (often too hard and short for teammates to get 'out of trouble' himself) with more space in which to operate. He is still a very good footballer capable of very good drive and possessive options.

Lewis out. Vince, perhaps on Danger, again, as a tagger. Harmes might tag Joel S well for a while but should rotate with Jones. Selwood will slow as the game progresses and Jones can keep him out of the way. Rolling Clarrie forward will assist with his hard-ball gets and might free a tag from Geelong.

Hannan is a very useful 'on bench' forward when run is needing to be revitalised in the third quarter - and periodically in the last quarter, with the added advantage of taking that 'speccy' mark and his quick decisions to shoot at goal when opportunities arise. He is among our most consistent scorers in that regard.

Opposition recruits do it all the time - at our expense. That is because they have space to prepare their despatch of the ball and it appears, time to do as they please all because Lewis is on their tail so no threat for easy disposals. He'll most probably fall over when he sees/realises that these opponents are gaining big ground on his ability to pursue and tackle. Lewis knows what should be done and he knows how it is done - better than most. The problem is: he can no longer do it himself. Make a great coaching acquisition, though - to the correct audience of eager young beavers trying to become mighty Demons....

Yeah, ignore the tendency but I still dream each night of Robbie turning into traffic with the options of left or right foot, for effect. Will there ever be another of his ilk?

Cynically beautiful in concept and reasoning. Who actually would want the traitor, anyway? He is past his value to us, these days and would never provide a substitute for Viney, Jones (over the years) or Clarrie. I'd reckon that Spargo has a bigger heart and loyalty than this Donald Duck.

Great analysis, thank you.

Gotta a couple of poorly performing rattlers on top; Austalian fuels and oils ain' t great!

My first impression is that Hogan is instructed to roam too far forward and that, in combination with forward 50 entries, is wasted in so doing. The space left in our games as a result of this 'roaming' role is excessive; the forward line is a wasted area where so much could happen and is not possible. This is when we elect to change direction; this is where we elect to swing the play, laterally. I am seldom happy with that process. It is not good enough because as Hogan moves back to 'home' territory he is followed closely by opposition defenders and in that process, is left unsupported by our runners/crumbers, and this leads in general terms to rebounds and loss of possession. At the same time, TMac's role is to get back there, too. He seldom has time to cover the ground - a vacuous wasteland - already flooded by opposition prime movers. We see a vanishing of the good work from our defenders and midfielders in the first place, and limited options for scoring. One kick might change this tendency and add to our score from the residual arsenal that does exist for the Dees. It would exist if Hogan was not instructed to lead and roam so far forward. We have the targets and the individuals to look after midfield clearances but it is being ignored if Hogan and his entourage are not present; TMac is the alleged substitute but TMac is doing other things, so kcuf them - let them crowd their own backline and midfield. The ball under normal circumstances and the possession of the ball remains in Demon hands so often in this regard. One loose possession loses that possession, time and again. One good pass to Hogan to take or to bring the ball to the ground to ground with his support team results in a goal. Forward brilliance, one-o-one (101). The only real option at the moment is to have one residual crumber/sharpie in place, deep forward, such as Garlett or Spargo. Not an acreage of space unoccupied by anticipating optimists. The ball bounces differently and the umpires crotch teams deliberately to keep both sides 'in the game'. For example, we should have been 10 goals ahead at half time against the Bulldogs.

Perfect example of the faults in our game, actually, DC.

Yep, I was more relieved than happy that the Dees turned it on in the Doggies game, just in time. We were too dependent on Gawn, Oliver and Brayshaw for our own good. These guys were formidable and will be again and again. They flicked the switch but it was the Doggies who - with the usual umpiring interference - challenged us all over the ground for some time. We had too much space unattended without gap filling by mobiles in the first half and we kicked to contested packs all first half. Had it been Geelong, the Filth, the Swans, Hawthorn or others in the rankings, we would have been cooked at half-time. Our run is there, our ability to find space and incorporate excellent hand and foot passing is there but it is not a full game of efforts in these regards. At both ends of the ground we were consistently out of position looking only for midfield dominance at the contest without space-finding play makers. There were, of course, plenty of exceptions to this impression but it did not come to fruition until 10mins into the third quarter when Gawn, Oliver and Brayshaw had a second-go at righting the wrongs. To my mind (and this is most probably uniquely my impression) if 7 changes are needed, then 7 changes should occur. Until then, I cannot clearly see a full game of dominant play. The emphasis is on clearly seeing this occur, as in a couple of matches earlier in the year. Until then, I can only see the need for revivals of form and intent throughout any game. The competition, after all, is moderately even; what we need are the 'breaks', all game.

Given Viney's absence, and the fact that Tyson keeps bobbing up as a performer in the twos, as with Wagner who both should play, the Geelong game looms as a Geelong win if we do not do something to increase our possession count and inside 50s - where we miss goals too frequently. Forwards of all types must be more mobile to space against the slower teams, such as Geelong. Brayshaw, Gawn and Oliver emphasised our mid-strength against the Doggies and thankfully, in the third quarter last weekend, they flicked the switch and made the lights flash brightly again. Hogan and other forwards played a little too far from goal, as well, leaving acreage behind them for very large portions of the game, even in the last half. In order to get the goals to beat the Cats, we need run and then some more run, and to finish it off, some more run to space, enabling our talented smalls to get to the goalmouth time and again where loneliness is the hunter. To achieve this, space on the backline and flanks needs to be made for the likes of Fritsch, Harmes, (Stretch if available), Kent, vandenBerg, Wagner - providing some 'get better, get angry' time for Vince, Lewis, Omac and even Nev, having Casey time. Jones needs to get angry on the HBFlank to see out a full game, JKH to the back pocket for Nev, Spargo to fwd pocket / fwd roving, Baker to the Wing. Frosty to full back alongside the Weed at backpocket. Pedo at CHB with cross-overs to the Weid at backpocket. Petracca to be given an Araldite bum for the HFflank and ANB on the other.

It will be tight, it will be high risk if we seek just one or two key players, despite some immediate successes from this type of recruiting. We should be focussing on our troops of youth that we already have and those that we more naturally acquire as youngsters in future recruitment processes - developing their games, skills, confidence and roles within the 'machine' that the Dees may well become in the shorter-term seasons that follow. Casey represents a strong footballing springboard. Once, our recruits were selected, worked and discarded and our processing of football talent lagged, producing only a few mainstays each season - not enough! A good carpet needs a quality underlay - so be it with our onfield teams of the future.

Agreed, all absolute cow tish. Hogan has a head on his shoulders and it tells him to do as he is doing. It keeps him sane and to a large extent, low-profile in comparison to some egomaniacs only just nearing his aptitudes on the football field. We see a little frustration from him at times and for realistic reasons concerning 'team' but more frequently, tremendous smiles and motivation for the Demons and himself to continue along winning pathways. He is the epitome of all things good in football, with loyalty to the Club not discounted. He will retire in years to come as a Demon with a fantastic career in evidence. As we improve as a linking, team-oriented group of players with commensurate success ever-increasing Hogan, too, will contiuously improve and receive immense reward for his efforts in this regard. He is the new breed of footballing pros: skilled, improving, team-centred, successful and importantly, winning.

Many of our receivers are static, both ways. Teammates can make a deep defender look far better with anticipated movement into space - and there was plenty of that space at the 'G on Saturday - some of Frosty's passing was really good, and clearances at times could have been exceptional with downfield assistance/initiative. The Lewis factor kicks well to static players; so that is now our limit to defensive clearances?

He was good in tackles and nearby clearances.

Nailed it all in this report. We missed Viney quite severely, Jones needs to go the HBFlank for run and carry, and short passes.

He's 'worth a try' into the side. He can perform better than ever, perhaps, and he needs to do that. If he doesn't perform well, the bench is sensibly manned to provide an adequate replacement; this is something that perhaps I harp on about too much: better and more strategic use of the bench. So very important to rotate players from one role to the other with diminishing key effectiveness in any one game. Well done for your form improvement, JKH. I'd still like to see Pedo and VDB into this side against the the Doggies, perhaps even Kent for a touch-up. Lewis and Vince? Liability.

When we sit down for dinner at my mother-in-law's place - we remind ourselves to say grace after the meal - as an indication of what a lousy cook she happens to be. There is perhaps one saving characteristic: she could kick for goal close-in better than Max can.

For all of their well-heralded flaws here on DL, I just find it exciting to think about both Vanders and Pedo propping up our backline defences alongside Frosty. All three are versatile, two are very mobile runners, all three can mark in packs and kick well, all three can rough up opponents, all three game styles can be supported with runners and crumbers who are less massive, We still have OMac at full back to stay in position to defend. We still have Jetta and Hibberd in position - not having to watch them run all over the place to cover as sole performers against multiple opposition forwards - weakening our deep defence line. So, for me, it's goodbye Lewis, Vince and a few newbies, hello experience and team defence, at last.

For Kent, anything is possible.

Yep, willmoy. I'd prefer the Dees' players to stay out of the media - organisations that know how to exploit 'for the glory of it'. The media and the AFL world remind me of an old joke: Q: What do sharks and lawyers have in common? A: Professional courtesy. Media personalities are leeches. It's 'mate this...' and 'mate that...' , '...now show us your dirty laundry in the spirit of good humour...or better still, let us show the viewers/listeners/readers your dirty laundry that we found!'