Everything posted by Red But Mostly Blue
-
-
-
JKH never performs when brought into the senior side. He's probably not the worst of the lot, and some of the current group could do with more time in the seconds, but keeping him on when he just can't convert his Casey form is cruel and denies the spot to someone else who might be able to. It may be that he's only good enough to play with the seconds, big fish little pond sort, and that's ok.
-
Completely agree. I have lost count of the attempts we've made to bring his form in the seconds to the seniors team. He hasn't been able to do it on any of the occasions, and shouldn't have his contract extended.
-
Tell me about it. It seems that some people forget so easily!
-
We're a little bereft of depth, which makes it hard to drop some of our guys who probably need to be dropped, but how many chances does JKH get before we come to the realisation that he's not good enough, even for our current subpar standards (which says a lot). The JKH experiment goes something like this: he plays a decent game at Casey, gets called up, plays like trash then dropped back to Casey. His game against the crows was terrible. Some argued it was the effects of coming back from injury, but he played dumb footy and coughed it up more times than I can remember. He was dropped for a reason, and should stay dropped. We very quickly forget how bad some of these guys are! I know ANB is not perfect, but we have renewed his contract, so should stick to developing his role, if possible. Totally up for Preuss returning, with or without Maxxy being injured. He's the sort of crash and bash that we need. Also agree with Pride being an inclusion. Sorely missed!
-
This is a really positive post, thank you. Look, I broadly agree with you. The only problem is that the Lions (Brisbane era) don't have our tag of being a basket case. I could have mentioned Freo, too. They're not bad, and they'll get better. The Cats were supposed to be finished last year, now look at them! What I'm trying to say is that, ordinarily, a backwards slide wouldn't be such a big issue. But we have form in this area. So it's more concerning. This year has been a freefall in terms of skills and coaching. I also think we should 100% focus on 2020 as of right now, including managing anyone who is carrying an injury, trialling new positions and players etc. But I also think we should have done a lot of that in the off season. When the disappointment of this year wears off (like the other years, the stink of this one will fade), I'm sure that I'll be excited for 2020 (hopefully we'll have perfect vision for the year). But until then, we're stuck watching a team with poor skills and a coach who doesn't seem to see how far off the mark we are, or what to do to fix it. But you're right, we have an opportunity. Our list is decent, I hope we go in all guns blazing to get the extra class we need. The ones who remain will need to make sure they start the year with an unwavering commitment to improving their skills, and playing consistent, fearless footy.
-
Brisbane is a great example of how it's done. They've been improving year on year, and now have a really dangerous squad that will only get better with time. Plus, they look and play like they want to win. It's nice to see but I remember the last Lions dynasty, and really wish we were on track for our own. Overtaken by another team, again.
-
-
Absolutely. I've always loved Frosty. Yeah, sometimes his execution leaves a little (and occasionally a lot) to be desired, but he does some great things, many which go unnoticed. He runs his guts out, and there's hardly a better sight than the Frosty charging out of the half back, leaving opposition in his wake. Total excitement machine, I think there's always a place for him in the team, even with Nev, May, Lever, Hibbo and even Hore in the mix. For what it's worth, I think Salem works better pushing up anyway, freeing up an extra back possy.
-
Several of our passages towards goals were fantastic. Superb linkage, with our boys actually lowering eyes to find targets. What's more, the execution was much better. A little scrambly at times, where it looked like the last link could have gone anywhere, but that will improve over time with confidence. Much smarter, more direct, intentional football. Great stuff.
-
Much better today from the boys. TMac - YES! You could see some fire back in the eyes. He's been so down, hopefully today's killer performance will spur him on. Frosty was awesome out back. In fact, our movement out of defence was so much better. More controlled, thoughtful. May was great in this respect and it'll only get better once Lever and eventually Nev return. Gawn, huge again. As was Clarry. He doesn't always execute well, but Lockhart is creative and energetic. Gets into good positions. As for our leadership. I queried Jack's fitness and leadership last week (more from the perspective of giving him a proper break to let him get his game back together, but he showed a lot today. Real retro Jack performance. Didn't like the leadership shown by Jones in giving away the free though. Liked the passion, but stupid output. If we can build on today's improvments, we might finally be getting somewhere.
-
Also, why is this thread nearly 50% focused on Garlett? The topic is "Mid-season coaching revamp", not "Mid-season coaching revamp/beef with Garlett"...
-
I know it looks like we are scrambling to rectify errors we shouldn't have made (if you accept some of these guys shouldn't have been in their role, as intimated by Lewis), but at least we're doing something. We could easily have played out the rest of the year doing the same old thing (the true Demon way). Rawlings back is great. He won't solve the forward problem, but his presence might be a boost to the boys, and a different view of things might lead to some change.
-
Interesting timing. I don't agree with much from Lloyd, but he is also questioning whether Jones and Viney stay on as captains for the reasons stated above (age, fitness etc). Judd seems to think Viney should take an extended break. Lloyd also wonders whether an investigation should be called into our performance in 2019 due to pretty much everyone going backwards (so, not just injuries - actually looking at the guys who have played this year and asking why they have declined). I'm in favour of a formal enquiry into the first half of this year. There's a lot of footy to be played, but that just means that we have time to actually correct things rather than just do much of the same, and then be shocked when we're still bottom 4 (if not dead last) at the end of the year. https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/melbourne-demons-football-review-called-for-by-matthew-lloyd/ec3c6bf6-3b05-4817-af22-940ee6e4be70
-
I hope so, I have a lot of time for Jack. Choc full of potential and love for the club. I just wonder whether removing the burden of captaincy will help him rediscover/redefine his game.
-
I thought Harmes was good, and tried hard! Weid was much better, and looked more confident. He'll get better, especially once he starts getting some better delivery Trac was much better in the midfield. Fritter was decent. I think he provides much better value up at half forward.
-
By the way, I agree that we should see how this year pans out. I would expect that the captain would help to correct things for 2020. My question is just a thought and should be considered as part of the mix of things that will need to happen to dissect a year gone wrong.
-
I don't think it's a matter of spitting out our captains. Jones has been an immense servant and leader of this club. If we're to move forward we need to do difficult things. Sometimes that means people stand back (Jones can still be a part of our success next year). Viney needs to focus on his health and form. It's not like he's been out of it just this year, last year was not a great year either for the same reasons. It isn't just a form slump. It's a separate issue but I'm not big on this co captain thing either. We're looking at a bottom 4 finish, and may very well be bottom next week. After last year, and if we are to finally to correct our trajectory and be taken seriously by other teams (we're not, the GWS players comments about us last week are proof), we need to do a lot of difficult things, including changing our mindset, and reboot with the talent that we have.
-
Burn. You're right, maybe we can change things by asking no questions and doing nothing at all. We can call 2020: Head in the sand.
-
I'm with you 100% I haven't put either under the blowtorch. I've got a lot of love for Jonesy. He was there in our darkest times and I don't question his loyalty for a second. However, his days are numbered. That's the reality. Jones can still be revered in the time he has left in a supporting role. Viney is on the other side of things. Young, but hampered by injury (probably still not right), and just not himself for a long time. We're going to need a lot of changes if we're going to be taken seriously next year. Sure injuries will play their part, but a lot else has to go right. It almost has to be a rebirth of sorts. New, better gameplan (bomb it into 50 is not working), new vision and perhaps new leadership (I'm only asking the question, but to achieve different results, we need to ask questions, at least). For the record, I don't think Maxxy is necessarily the automatic leader, even though he appears to tick all the boxes.
-
I don't think it will 'fix' our problem, but it's a good time to think about it. This year's a bust. Jones is on the way out, and Viney has not looked himself for a long time. If we're going to pick ourselves up off the floor, it's going to take some serious leadership.
-
True on all fronts. I just worry that captaincy is an added thing that could complicate his game. Not a great example, but kind of like Smith being made captain of the Aussie cricket team (pre sand paper) - great batsman, not a great captain. But then again, it might be made available to him, he'd take it and his leadership could guide us to a proper evolution from 2018.
-
Lever is in a great position to be captain. Where he's at, he can see games building, and falling and could easily be in a position to implement change @Sir Why You Little
-
Yeah that's my struggle on this one, even though from the outside he would seem to be the natural choice. But it's not always the BOG who needs to be captain. Just a consistent performer. Someone who will bleed on he ground, give no quarter. That certainly describes Maxxy but it shouldn't mean automatic captaincy, because he'll have other things to think about. Could go a Harmes type? Young (but not too young), hard at it, consistent. Nev when back? Lord ➡️ captain?
