GoD's67

Does feel like 87, but this team has a lot better cattle. Viney, Oliver, Petracca, & Hogan all have great potential to be stars & that's not mentioning Hunt, Salem & more. The future looks very bright!

Darwin we need the $$$$ Fade out in 2nd half was mostly due to fall in output from the five ins and Max rolling his ankle: Disposals. 1st half. 2nd half. Tyson. 21. 8 Viney. 14. 11 Salem 11 6 Watts 6 3 Trengrove 11 5 Umpires were just the typical inconsistent performance both ways. Only killer was the 50 for no reason in Q2 that gave PA a goal! This rule & deliberate OOB are about the worst the way they are interpreted! Port are lucky to have virtually no injuries and the softest draw, otherwise they would be lucky to be in the 8. Bombers also in contention due to soft draw! Watts played a bad game, but I still recall him getting us over the line against the Pies, I should have said Filth! Talking about filth, we play the Roos next week. Dirtiest mongrels in the competition. I'm hoping Goldstein doesn't play next week, because last time he had about 10 pure hit outs in the middle that created clean centre clearances leading to one outs and goals. Hopefully Big Max is okay and we [censored] the Roos. Other factor last time was the worst most one sided umpiring possible, like 22-10 to North. Have seen players (ANB, Melksham, Oscar, Frost, Hannan) improving as season goes on, and we have quite a few guns. Just a few more wins, get into the eight fully fit and we can have a crack! Reminds me of 87 but no super teams to beat.

6 Hibberd - what a fantastic recruit, another great game 5 Jetta - Ever reliable 4 Hunt - great run 3 Viney - 1st qtr got team going 2 Hogan - Had an impact, kicked 3 & once he starts marking a few, will be great for Ds 1 Melksham - 3 key goals & some quality disposals

Can't wait for tomorrow, just great to have a strong team back on the field, give it two more weeks add Jones & Vince back in, and we will be ready to rock by September!

Our tall forwards will be significantly better with Watts, Salem, & Jones delivering the ball to them. Once Max is tappping it to Viney, Jones & Oliver there will also be a few quick kicks coming out of the centre to make a big difference! No Watts, Tyson, Viney mean we've been relying on JKH, Stretch, Kent etc as their replacements, it's a massive difference in experience & skills!

Jesse or TMac in the square, with Garlett nearby! Or let big Max rest in the square, combining with Jeffy! On team defence, last year I lost count of the number of times our opposition ended up with an easy goal with someone out the back on their own! Other teams still let it happen!

We have come a long long way since then. Roos & recruiting achieved a lot, setting it up for Goodwin.

I rank Lewis number 17 on our list, however in the last quarter in a close game want him on the field. Carlton game, ANB kick to him to ice the time and game, smart experienced play. Pity he missed Freo game may have made the difference that day. Finals time want him on the field, so he shares his experience, positions players on the field. Next year he is likely number 22 on the list, but his knowing how to win, will still be valuable. If we didn't have Lewis next year, I would take Hodge for a year! Hawthorn still have many experienced premiership players, that's why Hodge can go, they don't have enough youth and talent. Goodwin & the FD have shown they know what their doing this year. To have the key injuries we've had since half way through round 3 till now yet still be in the 8 is a great effort. Just look at Port hardly an injury all year, Richmond have basically had their four best (Martin, Rance, Riewoldt & Cotcin) play every game, Adelaide not many key players injured, Cats Selwood, Dangerfield & Hawkins hardly missed a game, GWS the exception with great depth. Even the Swans who are now on fire, were 0-6 when they had key injuries early in the year. When we are in the eight playing our first final for ten years this September, Lewis will be worth his spot in the 22!

In such an even year, 12 wins and a good percentage might be enough, 13 a definite. We will just make it and with some luck might hit the finals with close to our best team on the field and most players back with at least 3-4 matches under their belts!

?TGR! I've watched footy over the last 50 years and there has been one player who would play well, but stood up in the big moments, often for only 10-15 mins a game, but in that period would usually kick 3 and create 2-3 goals, and turn the game - Carey! The Demons haven't had a player like that over the last 50 years (Schwartz was going to be until the knee surgeries) but Petracca just might be the one!

When Gawn went down in round 3 vs Cats, a few mates - well non believers I know, but who are good footy judges, went that's it for D's this year. Since then it has just got worse re suspension & injuries, yet we still sit 9-6, okay I think 9-7 after Crows tonight! But even with a difficult draw the Goodwin D's will find a way. Max will start finding form, Hoges clunking a few and next week with Watts, Tyson and maybe Viney back we will win enough to make the eight. Then Salem and eventually Jones get back, we might just have close to our best 22 on the park come finals time. If you look at the whole season, we've been a chance to win every game. Only bad loss was against the Swans, when we had major injuries, 4 games in 18 days and just traveled back from Perth on a 6 day break, against the most in form team in the comp. Demons will make it, winning another 4-5 and be ready to roll come the finals! They may even win tonight, who would have picked the Saints to lose by 10 goals after demolishing the Tiggers last week!

Best 16 Best 18 Jetta. O Mac. Hibberd. Hunt. Frost. Lewis Tyson. Oliver. Salem. Petracca. Hogan. Watts. Garlett. T Mac. Hannan Max. Jones. Viney. Next year can see Smith stepping up HB, Lewis on bench, another preseason Weid coming in onto bench and hopefully Brayshaw back healthy! Makes it tough to fit in best 22. Bench 17 Vince. Melksham. ANB. Harmes. Bench 18 Lewis. Weid. Brayshaw. ANB. means in 2018 next 8 guys not getting a game Vince, Melksham, Bugg, Harmes, Wagner, Stretch, Pedersen, Van-D! While we have some chance this year, assuming all our best players get back, just experience of finals this year, and the core list above, make for an exciting 2018!

If Max needs a rest, let him spend some time in the goal square. Spencer tries hard but is a VFL player. As many have said Tyson & Watts hopefully both fit & probably two of Stretch, Pedersen, Kent & Smith out. Mark Williams made a classic comment on the radio last week, along the lines as a coach you hold the line "one man out gives an opportunity for someone else to step up, play the team brand", but said the reality is you really miss the class players, as the skills of players 23 - 30 on the list just aren't up to your top 10 players, and it really impacts your link play and creativity, even if the effort can be matched. Just think Watts back in, almost always puts the ball to good use, kicking or creating many goals, versus the guys on the edge of selection who just aren't as good. Demons have done a great job getting over the Weagles & Blues, while well under strength and if we can win one of the next three would be really good, two or more would be terrific. Just need to stay near the 8 and get all of our best players back and fit. Then we can look forward to finals with some hope for a win or two!

A blend of the above, but number one had to be how he would go after a full pre season, on top of a year to fully recover from a terrible injury. Would love to see him make it, but if you are a bit slow, you need vision and great skills (Sam Mitchell like!).

McD on form! But would rather punt on Lewis or Vince and hope it inspires them to play a decent game. Both have been off the pace!

Media waste a lot of time: Win over Dogs - all about Bugg tweet. Win over Eagles - all about Oliver, contact or not. Loss to Swans - all about Bugg swatting Mills, 6 weeks, bad for the game. Bugg was unlucky his skills usually aren't that pinpoint, normally would have fresh aired the punch! The team that went on the field last Friday night for the Dees might have beaten the Swans one in ten. Hopefully we get a few back this week and can conjure up a victory against the Blues. Jones, Viney, Salem and if Tyson misses is a huge chunk of our midfield top talent out. Not to mention Brayshaw! Fingers crossed for Sunday, go Dees.

Agree, the whole team need to step up. The nine day break will help, as many people have stated we looked tired against the Swans! Hopefully Hogan and Garlett come in and both help, with luck Watts also comes back in and our forward line is a lot better. Allows Petracca more time in the middle. Then there are a few individuals that really need to lift: Lewis - has just been going. Vince - ditto (tag Murphy or Gibbs). Wagner - lift & hit some targets (if still poor replace with Smith). Outs - Viney, Tyson, Bugg, & White (just doesn't seem up to it) so leaves one spot or two if Watts doesn't make it. JKH - in the middle, up to him if he steps up, he seems to have got plenty of stats in VFL over the last few weeks in this role. Kent if no Watts - his best is good enough. A win against the Blues would go a long way towards us making the finals.

To look at depth, I selected my best 22 no injuries (like Port Adelaide have been able to do nearly every week). Jetta. T Mac. Hibberd. Hunt. Frost. Salem. Vince. Oliver. Melksham. Harmes. Hogan. Petracca. Garlett. Watts. Hannan. Gawn. Jones. Viney. Tyson. Brayshaw. O Mac. Lewis. Depth Key position/Talls: Pederson. Weideman. Flankers/mids/pockets: Stretch. Bugg. ANB. Smith. Kent. JKH. Wagner. Vandenburgh Your done, the rest on the list either have to improve, or aren't good enough: Maynard. M King. Filipovic. McKenna. Kelty. Kennedy. White. T Smith. Hulett. Probably last season: Trengrove (sad, too slow, injuries finished him) Spencer (much rather use Pederson, T Mac etc) Garland (too slow, others passed him) All in all, we've probably got 32 players we can field, which is pretty good, but you lose half a dozen of your best 12 and it gets ugly, just like for most teams, unless your AFL sponsored like GWS!

Agree, had the same 8 in my top 22! Getting Hogan, Garlett up front makes us look a lot more dangerous, hopefully Tyson is okay, and a nine day break will make a big difference, we just looked tired & slow on Friday night. We need a bit of luck on the injury front, get over Carlton next week and will still be well positioned for the eight. Dees are hanging in well, if you took out a key forward and just two of the top three midfielders from the other top eight teams it makes a huge difference: GWS - Cameron, Kelly & Coniglio (GWS only team with enough depth due to all of their AFL concessions) - Crows - Walker, Laird, Sloane (just tag Sloane & they can't win) Geelong - Hawkins & Dangerfield or Selwood Richmond - Riewoldt, Martin, Cotchin (actually no Martin would finish the Tigers) Port - Wines, Boak & Robbie Gray (Port have no injuries and can't beat a top 8 team) WC - Kennedy, Shuey & Mitchell Swans - Buddy, Kennedy & Hannaberry (lost first six rounds With injuries) Bombers - Daniher, Zaharakis & Heppell