Lord Nev

I've still got very very high hopes for him, and when at his best he gives us one of our very few genuine inside/outside options. On a semi-related note, I hope we've got some qualified mindfulness or something similar staff involved in the club, we seem to have a fair few on our list who have had very significant confidence battles.

Not sure what the forward line has to do with this willingness to run.

'Being played out of position' is no excuse for poor application. Gee wiz, of all the people to lower their expectations...

Ah yes, the old 'came 3rd in the Brownlow' argument. He also finished 6th in our best and fairest. Which one do you think is a more accurate assessment of his attitude? A shock 3rd placing in the umpire-voted medal he wasn't even invited to, or a 6th place finish judged by his coaches? Not sure Goodwin agrees with you in regards to the consistency of his application given he dropped him for exactly that reason. I'm actually quietly up and about for our 2020 and I see Gus as a possible real factor for us, but as I've said in another post, it seems strange to me when people make statements that contradict available evidence. Dropped due to poor attitude and application, then a shock Brownlow finish (and if we're being brutally honest, he didn't deserve that placing and got it on the back of running forward from the work of others), a horrendous 2019 where his effort was deplorable and we all waited for the injury reason that has never been forthcoming, training reports mentioning his half hearted application this preseason, but apparently magically he's going to be completely different next year just cos. Doesn't make sense to me. I hope he does turn it all around next year, we need him to, but it would be contrary to evidence.

Great post mate, love a good analytical one! Totally agree Fritsch looked the goods in those last few games, and seems we can lock him in for the forward line next year, but I'm not sure you can expect him to carry that form all the way through a season, particularly once he has other forward options around him more often that take a big chunk of that opportunity away. Let's remember the 3 games where he kicked bags there was no TMac, Weid or Smith(s), and the other forward options were a 19 year old key defender and a 33 year old half back. I especially wouldn't be judging Rayner, Cerra and Dow purely by disposal counts at this stage though, and remember Fristch has 3 years on them, and as much as I love Fritsch, geez imagine having Rayner, Higgins or Ryan in our forward line! My response wasn't meant as a slight on him at all, I rate him very very highly, just think top 3 in his draft year might be a stretch.

Wasn't just referring to that one claim though. There seems to be a lot of 'we will improve because this will happen and this will happen etc etc' without any evidence to back up the claims being made. I'm 100% a Fritsch fan, particular forward, reminds me a lot of Green in the way he plays there, but I just prefer to try and base predictions on evidence rather than make a guess about a result by guessing things that will lead to it.

Seems to be a lot of eggnog being consumed along with the 'optimism' on Demonland currently. So, you're saying Fritsch (who I'm a fan of btw) is better than at least six of Kelly, Rayner, Dow, Stephenson, Cerra, Higgins, Ryan and Naughton? Wouldn't think he's anywhere near 'consolidating' a spot among the top 3 there if we're using evidenced based metrics.

Based on what? I might have missed some training reports, but the bits and pieces I've seen haven't talked him up much and a few have been critical of his intensity and attitude. Missed the start of 2018 due to a poor attitude. Failed to run both ways this year. I want it to happen, but this is pure hopeful speculation based on the available evidence.

That's one of the purest footy stories I've ever heard. What a fantastic memory to have!

Look, can understand where you're coming from, just think there's better ways to put things sometimes. May I suggest you could roll with something like "lost appetite for the contest", "didn't play with intent" or even "lacked the will to apply pressure" next time? With a growing number of players having very real mental health problems, some even retiring due to it, I just think it's time all of us started to think more about the things we say about young people playing a game we love.

No one said criticism was not allowed. Calling someone a "pea heart" is not a grown up way to constructively critique someones football performance though. Especially given the circumstances. However; you sound like one of those people who think because a young man is wearing a footy jumper and being paid that it entitles you to say whatever you like about them so maybe I'm expecting too much.

This is a horrible comment where either you know his personal circumstances and are choosing to be a terrible person, or you don't know and then you should perhaps reconsider the public comments you make about people when not knowing what they've been through.

Agree with all that mate.

Not saying there isn't, but I think he gets harshly judged by some fans, ironically (and not directing this at you btw) by many who then bemoan our lack of outside skill, scoring power and "x factor".

Famous Melbourne name too.

Was our leading average goal kicker this year.

In the article it talks about part of the criteria being "durability and how likely they are to be selected" so you could pencil in guys like vandenBerg, Joel Smith, Kolodjashnij, Jordan maybe even Bradtke and Nietschke as potential candidates.

Sorry, quoted wrong comment.

If we have a poor record as of round 12 then Goodwin will be gone and a substantial board challenge mounted.

Get what you're saying, but it's a list analysis, not a team performance analysis. They explain that further in the article.

It's actually not if you bother to dig into how they work out their ratings within the context of how the club has spoken about our last preseason leading into the impact it had on our actual season. You can then overlay that onto the difference so far with the current preseason to make an assessment on how we might go in 2020. The ranking is based on previous performance, it's not a prediction tool. Of course, that's if you bother to think about it rather than just looking at the final list and getting all upset about it.

The "durability" and "how likely they are to be selected" would be massive factors for us after last year's horrendous injury run and how many changes we made week on week IMO.

"Melbourne was the big slider in the rankings year on year. The Demons were rated the best list before last season but are 12th entering 2020." "The rankings are based purely on individual talent and are not linked to overall team statistics or system. Champion Data’s new ratings formula this year takes into account individual players’ output, game time, what position they play, what they contribute to each position, durability and how likely they are to be selected." Champion Data's 2020 Rankings

See the difference is; I will look at individual players and form my own assessment based on their individual circumstances. But given you're making assumptions about me and my experience and knowledge without having ever met me nor conversed with me before; then it seems you don't use much factual evidence when forming your opinions.

I thought we were passed the days of expecting kids to carry us and not understanding what development was, I guess it takes a while to sink in with some supporters.