kev martin

Tough call for the selection committee. Hope they use commonsense and pick the team that matches up to the opposition and the way we want to play. I get a feeling the players are really supportive of each other. They seem to know that this years hard work has been a team effort, on and off the track. It would be difficult for those not picked or dropped but we will be there and about for a while now. Chances will still be there in the future. Good work Deespicable. No change for me.Unless an injury or we need a better balance to dominate the game. We are rolling. Go Dees.

000 Demon Members 695 164 posts #100 Posted Saturday at 10:58 PM We also have Cam Pederson if we need some height and a strong body

I prefer acceleration. That 5-10 meter explosion can get you to space then composure. Flat speed is good for the chase down but suprise can also be effective. So I would take footy brain over athleticism. Don't get me wrong speed players make lots of goals, can stop goals, gets to contest, stops and creates overlaps and can break open games. I love the explosive movement. Fastest from standing start over the 10 meters for me.

In the ruck contest they can't fend off with a straight arm. Arm has to be bent. The legs should used only to get some elevation in the mark. Protection should not mean harm to the other player. A knee up should be enough to protect yourself. I want hard football not dangerous stuff. You can see by the other players reaction that they see it as an unfair tactic.

I don't agree, I thought we had a well rounded 4 quarter game. Just missed too many goals. I hope we can snap alot better and get some composure when in front.

Agree, they will be kicking for territory more than side ways movement because of final strategies. Though I think we zone well. Sometimes we all go for the ball at once with the ball getting away from our control and no one down to mop up. With there small crumbers we could have problem. Hoping big game and cohesion from Jets, Fritsch and Salem to stop their crumbers and snaps. When we get it in our backline there can be chaotic ball use. O'mac and Frosty get me laughing with their "creativity".

Not sure if the game they have will stand up in finals. They rely on outside runners. Contested football is what we are about. They want to have freedom with their ball movement and are capable of it. Their coach may change their style and being so experienced at the pointy end will have something for us. Good test for us. Expect a tighter game then last night.

We also have Cam Pederson if we need some height and a strong body.

I was replying to a question from DV8.

His only support are O'mera and Sheils, who I think are a bit soft and can easily be bundled away. Their inside players are all going to have nightmares. Don't forget Jetts and Hibbs when they are close to their 50. Or Traccs and Tom near our 50.

I don't underestimate them. I was looking at their weaknesses. Hoping for a change of the guard. They control the ball well. Have good outside runners. Good distribution of goal kickers. Fast movers of the ball. Good leg speed and endurance runners. A tough team that can hurt their opposition. Are well coached and can change their structures quickly and effectively. Good front runners. Can take a game apart and be ruthless.

I think you asked did we have injuries. Wouldn't know, just a punter. Hoping for no niggles.

Coming off a loss. Backline disrupted with Stratton out. Looks like it is a change of guard in the AFL. The teams who have dominated the past decade may have ended. Jordans inside knowledge. No superstars. Mitchell not a big influencer for the amount of ball he gets. The others are impact players.

A few weeks off may have helped. Though it is his leadership to set up our structures, kicking in after a point, he likes hitting and hurting the opposition, reads the play well and the team love him. I think his only chance would be if injuries.

I looked at their list and think they have 10 players who we should close down. Sicily, Impey, Burgoyne, O'mera, Mitchell, Isac Smith, Gunston, Breust, Puopolo and Roughhead.

Wouldn't know who to drop. Bernie Vince could be an in with his experience and possibly last games. He has a beautiful kick and we saw what experience can give with the example of Jordan. Another being Joel Smith who brings a little x-factor with his marking and flexibility to play back and forward, though the step up with final pressure may be too much to expect. Jay Kennedy-Harris for his pressure acts, run and ability to be in contest. We have some players who can cover if there are injuries.

Heading/walking off to the "G" now. Go Dees. Good luck with rational thread.

I think we will keep our mids in the centre (maybe tracca? but he is a fwd most of the time). The centre is where it will be won and we need and have cohesion. Play the roles at the right time. Later may use Clayton fwd. They may push their old ones down forward but our forward line is very good.

It will be a ripper to me as well. Don't miss it. How switched on are we? How hard are we going to be? Will we be leading or chasing? Hope we settle quickly and don't let them in. Viney with the first clearance. Selwood to be the first that vander's smashes then Ablett. Gawn hitting to our players with his 360° taps and his footy smarts.

Love it when we get the ball. Great when we are fighting for it. Just a little worried when the opposition has it. Sometimes our zones don't work, they get out the back or hit easy lead ups. We can move the ball very quickly, so scoring shouldn't be a problem, so long as we are accurate and get the easy goals. Missing the easy ones kill our momentum and confidence. It will be manic and hoping the opposition can't go with us given they have had a soft lead up to the finals and we have been beating good teams. Our recent style is proven, they are getting ahead of themselves. Control the momentum, score after they get one and be front runners. Crunch and hussle, then bring on the skills. Go Dees

Tom Mcdonald (goals), Bailey Fritsch (contested marks and ball efficiency) and Alex Neal-Bullen (1%, pressure turnovers and assists). As well as our guns, Clayton Oliver, Angus Brayshaw, Max Gawn and James Harmes

Too difficult to determine. I hope it is the same for our opposition and we keep them guessing, so they don't get there match ups right. Possible ins with Joel, Tim and Jayden but most likely Hannan. He was kicking beautiful goals today and Rooke talking to him suggest he is being considered. Who to drop if anyone? The worry was the absence of Vanders one day out.

The mornings session was sharp and sweet. Blink and you would miss it. Plenty of media there. They seemed to be in a joyous mood. There was lots of talk and regularly they gathered in small groups to have discussions. Probably related to structures. Rehab had Bernie Vince, Oskar Baker, Dean Kent and Lachlan Filopovic. Bernie, Oskar and Crossy doing some nice kicking to moving targets (Great for Oskars development). Kenty doing laps. They started off doing kicking practice, then split into their lines. The mids did hit ups to the forwards. Backs continued kicking. Goodwin spent time with the forwards. At one time structured them up without any ball play. Jack Viney did some one on one work getting his touch with below knee drills. Some work with drills to stop the opponent recieving the handball off the mark from running on. The forwards and mids finished with goal kicking. Sam Frost doing some work running up the wing and then kicking the ball to a coach. No Aaron vandenBerg, probably being managed. He had been in the test group the last two weeks. James Harmes at training. Mitch Hannan having long discussion with Max Rooke. Last to leave were Jake Melksham and Christian Petracca who were goal kicking. Go Dees, from Kev Martin

I didn't see the start of their run. When they went passed me Joel wasn't with them. Thought I saw him in simulations. Maybe he is the emrgency.

Beautiful September morning, thanks to the supporters, the crowd continued to grow as the session progressed, maybe 300 there. Plenty of MFC staff in attendance. The squad was very vocal. Rehab had Oskar Baker (looking closer to playing), Lachlan Filipovic, Corey Maynard and Bernie Vince. Bernie told a few he is a good chance to play next week (probably at Casey). Dean kent joined later and was running laps. Jack Viney training well. Dom Tyson wearing a long sleeved jumper but not much of a guard showing, he protected his arm a little bit but did a full session. Jordan Lewis trained well, near the end he did a few extra laps. Cam Pedersen was working with the forwards. Plenty of goal kicking for the forwards. The mids did some boundary drills and then joined the forwards for some hit up work, delivering the ball from outside 50 to leads. Backs mainly looking for links along the boundary and later creating a 3rd man peeling away to impact the one on one contest when the ball came in. The drills with the mixed group involved some soft one on one contests, ending in a linking player who had a kick at goal. All were involved. Plenty of kicking drills for everyone, getting them to kick to advantage with "stick" men acting as the opposition or kicking the ball after work on the wings to a leading forward. The simulations seemed to be a competitive without having hard contest. They were finding the player out the back of the pack, getting the extra defender to the one on one, taking some contested marks and creating overlaps. During the simulations, the Casey squad ran some laps (included was Mitch Hannan and Jayden Hunt). Joel Smith was in the simulations. There was some intense tackling drills between Charlie Spargo and Jay Kennedy Harris, then between Alex Neal-Bullen and Christian Petracca. Coach was giving them some detailed instructions for their techniques. None appeared to be carrying any niggles. The week off has helped. They are up and about. Plenty of joy in squad. Go Dees, From kev Martin