kev martin

I think Danger lost his footing, making him lower. Greene was looking to fend off from the chest. The slip caused a hit to the neck. He fended with elbow because two hands closer to ball. Small margins in an instinctual game. He was playing the ball and trying to make space after the tight contest.

My question is, are we a great team, or at least one in the making? A win, with some style, may go towards answering my question. They will bring the heat in the first quarter, after the media and in-house bashing they copped through the week. Though, they have had plenty of time (9 days) for a go at retribution. My guess is that time will create more anxiety than fight. We have pressure for positions (Bowey, Sparrow, Jordon, Melksham, Jones, Weids, Hibberd, ANB), and performance leading into the finals series is crucial for a few of our players to hold or take a position. Hoping the A graders, May, Lever, Langdon, Gawn can regain their earlier dominance. Good for us to have a crowd to play off, even if a bit one eyed. Great to get a training in a stadium, makes for a big build up, and we play good games when we have a challenge and some adversity. Hope we play with fire, and we learn from Viney's error, becoming tough in the contest, straight line them Dees. Bring the pressure and perform when under duress. Do the 1 percenters, as smothers, shepherds and selfless acts, change or turn the momentum as does smart footy. No brain fades, and kick accurately! Keep winning, go Dees.

I thought there was pressure on him. Some of his disposal were very quick and needed to be, as opponents were right on his tail. Harmes and Viney could learn something. A smart player who seems to know were the other players are. I think other first gamers would get caught with the ball, as they struggle to adjust to the pace of AFL. Great instincts, has a good step to find space and lifts his eyes to find team-mates.

A bit empty after the game. I don't like big margin wins. Perhaps I am just not used to it. I emotionally switched off in the third. We were not going to drop this one, Suns had no fight! Back-line controlled it. Forward-line creating scoring opportunities and holding the ball in their area. Mids giving so much supply and the defensive structure bamboozled 'em. Bowey looked a good fit, very clean, good decision, reads the play well, no nerves obvious. Can't see Tmac getting on the plane to Perth. Last thing a sore back needs is more sitting and having activity restricted. Weids may get another look. Worried about complacency, we can't bring that last quarter to Perth. Brisbane didn't start playing till the third after a game against insipid Suns. I am glad we have been playing the first quarters well of late. Hate to see us give the Westcoast a good start at their home. A week isolated together could gell us, and set us for a good run into the finals series. Winning form is contagious, Don't want to see us up one week then down another. Had too much of that over the past decades. Time to break out and claim this as our season. C'mon Dees, work together, play clean smart footy.

Here we go. No crowds again. Can't take the Suns lightly. Hoping for a very attacking game. Top ten players have to lead the way. Accuracy and efficiency is important for us to get our season back on track. Effort, run, anger and selflessness. Go Dees!

No score review!

No, not equating low score with being boring, we are boring. Fumbly, wrestling, stop start, rarely going with fast ball movement, most of our good play comes from turnovers. Now that other teams have the same fitness levels as us we are not running away from teams in the last quarters. We won alot more quarters early in the year. Nothing has changed! Of course it has. We could turn it on when we wanted to, back then. Now we just aren't dominating for extended periods in the game. Our beautiful plays has been turned into role play, with defensive structures being the number one priority. We used to swarm and run as a pack, hunting and breaking lines, and, having a good balance of inside and outside players. Now they are all at the ball and trying to do it by themselves. Never do we find free space without huge effort, most of the game is about pressure on and from the opposition. We used to be play on at all cost, "red mist' ring a bell. Now we stop and start. Would love to see us play smarter again. More shimmy and fakes, less straight down the line which makes for easy smothers or for defenders to read. Better use of angles and space. Smart play makes for more excitement. Didnt ask for help. Those games we were able to pressure them so that they looked second rate, rushed and broken. It was amazing how we brought the worst out of those teams you mentioned. Dominating a team through pressure, doesn't make for beautiful footy. Though those supporting the dominator may think so. Since I support MFC I found those wins entertaining, we played good footy and never looked threatened. Hope we get back to strangulation. Though pure footy is more entertaining for non invested spectators. By pure footy, I mean highly skilled games between two teams playing smart, flowing footy.

Boring footy isn't necessarily bad footy. Apparently it stands up in finals. Free flowing, high scoring is the bench mark for exciting footy. It shows high skill levels and general excitement. We aren't playing that style. If you believe we are optimising our skills and creating beautiful footy then you are easily pleased by the spectacle we produce. @Rhino Richards

That's right, and with our stop start game we have become boring. Wow, I see many of our wingers and forwards up in the back-line area. Yes we have, we started the season being a high scoring team, though still not making the most of opportunities. Now we just don't seem to take it on as often as we did. We are a wrestling team, kick to packs, and lack foot speed and outside run.

I think we are playing boring football. We used to be a play on, go fast team. Now we have a stop, take your time, hug the boundary style game. Occasionally we go through the central corridor. Our stoppage wins are really the only times there is some improvisation. We've become a dour, flooding, defensive first team.

Great that we hung in there and gave ourselves a chance late in the game. Umpires, wow, I thought all the talk pre-game was just that. Forward structure and the amount of bombs into that area at this time of the season is a worry. They need to lift the eyes and at least put flat passes with some angle into the 50 area. Are the players not listening or the coaches can't create changes. Such a fundamental at the level they play. I am hoping Goody is roping the dopes! Come finals, and we will be the most accurate and efficient team playing. Handballs missing the mark and fumbling. Perhaps they were just trying too hard and the conditions didn't suit the style. We are a selfish team at the moment. They have to help make each other better players. Trying to do much by themselves is not the way. I like that we acted angry and made some tough plays. Why wasn't the maybe rushed behind given a score review? They took the ball coast to coast and scored, to finish off our momentum. Somebody has to be accountable to that non-decision, it shouldn't happen. We couldn't read the nature of the game and so we didn't adapt our style, pressure and match ups. I think we are getting close to falling off the cliff. Fix our forward line and the delivery into it before it's too late. We have a defensive game, time to kick a few bag fulls, to finish off the home and away. Go all out attack and get the yips out of them, hoping for some shoot out matches.

Another response needed by MFC. The two frontrunners, have we learned anything from the two games we have already played against them. Could be a good strategic game. Will Bevo or Goods throw all their stuff into the mix? Hoping we play an attacking game and not a dour affair. Let our defence stand up without all the mids flooding back and exhausting themselves. Want accuracy in-front of goals. It has been our achilles heal. Hoping the forward structure is developing quickly. Tackles need to stick and can't let them have easy or uncontested disposals. We won't jump them again in the first (though would like a repeat). So we need to stick close and not let them blow us away early and play for the 4 quarters. It will be a spirited game. Come out angry Dees. Reset the season after some loses. Good chance to win the ones that matter. Go Dees.

Our ball movement will be a thing of beauty. Our ability to get the ball will hurt anyone in the way. Fight, get it and control it. They will chase us all day.

PD's (personality disorders), are a degree of associated problems, we all exhibit some behaviour of each. So it comes down to how dysfunctional we are, not the behaviour. I would suggest OCD (obsessive, compulsive disorder), is a more likely diagnosis within this threads topic and Demonlanders. Look how we get thrown out by change to the schedule and our weekly rituals during the season for our march to the grail.

More like bipolar, up and then down. Schizophrenia is living in delusional states, creating non realities. Which, is not true, we are a good side and have proven our credentials with some great wins. We have not imagined them. Reality is, we are a hard side to beat. Though, our problems are in our head, we need mental strength and agility

Gives us time to study their game plan well before the final series and to adjust in the lead up games. We can still peak if a few more home and away games left. Playing them close to the finals, then we play them when we should be at our best. Play them now and we still have room for improvement, with some fine tuning prior to the real stuff (finals).

We don't have an attacking game plan! Stop start or bomb it long. Selfish football, does it matter how many meters are gained off your own boot. Mentally weak, entitlement and arrogance everywhere, what happened to play angry. Self satisfied lot, better than those at the end of ladder, no repect given and got run off their feet by a faster, more desperate side. We play wrestlemania, win the ball and get it through the line, boot it 50 meters and repeat. No intelligent ball movements, nothing with flair or tempo control. Forwards all tangled with each other. Handballs to stationary or under pressured players. Very little outside run. Goody has them doing too much, and not doing their basic roles. When they face a fast team with pressure they are all out of position. What happened to our ability to put a rally of goals together in a few 10-15 minute burst. Where was our swarm of players. Tended to be individual plays. Some trying too much, and others not assisting. Need players who aren't in and out of the game. Was that our best 22? Time to turn the bathwater tap off, or serve it with those angry pills. I guess percentage doesn't mean as much anymore, so they will win some by 10 goals. Gee the MFC are head cases! We have achieved enough MFC, got to the top of the ladder and held it for a while. Time for some other team to have it, (sarcasm).

Unconvincing, they want to be able to choose when to play. Why are we dragged done to the Hawks level of play. I expected us to play some smooth, free flowing football. We are trying conterpunch and not, lead from the front football.. We are not getting much separation from the defenders, not using the central corridors, creating space, or switching the angles. Playing easy to read football and expecting others to do the work required. Cmon Dees come out harder a play smarter in the second half.

Another stable team at the selection table. Has to be lots of cohesion developing. Want us to be ruthless, kick scores with plenty of accuracy and play the 4 quarters. Pressure to be applied, and we need to stick the tackles. Oliver and Tracc to play with endeavour from the start and not just after half-time. It is a bad habit to be picking and choosing when to go. Viney must be game fit now. Expecting him to perform, get the ball in and under, then deliver with effective and efficient passes and handballs. Hoping his main impact will be with goal assist. ANB and Sparg's to lift, and the players to make lace outs to BBB. Want to see fast ball movement, clean hands and smart play. Win the clearances and the contested, so as to get our attacking system running smoothly. Go Dees.

Don't agree, he is often following up after he brings the ball to the ground. I think he is pretty clean as wel,l below the knees, and is often looking for a player to handball or kick to.

Error

How many in the forward 50? I thought most were in the central area. I want him in the MFC team, just he is at the back end of the forward pecking order now.

Develop him as a forward, in Casey, so he becomes a very flexible backup. Can see him as our super med sub.

Advocating for Weid to be tried in the backline. Swap J.Smith and Weids at Casey level. Joel is working well as a back, time to give him some development up the field. Weids is playing when away from the goals,. His problems seem to be getting the ball in the attacking 50. Can get his hands to the ball, but not clunk them when in the contest. Perfect for a key position backman, if he can punch it. He is also a reasonable field kick. Need to make something of his skill. Could be the best thing for him and us. We have many back up tall forwards if injuries hit, including, M.Brown and Majak. Less in the backline, and I wonder if J.Smith is more of a forward or tall winger, we should find out.

He wasn’t exhausted, he was bunging it in on for the camera and, I thought, displaying his subconscious attitude to effort. He had a good game, and is a match winner for us. Just believe he still has plenty of growth.