Lord Nev

Not sure if already mentioned, but there's some talk (not super reliable at this stage) Chandler and Bedford are in COVID protocols, so if Kozzy was to miss, and if the talk in the training thread is on point, then could be we see Laurie in for Kozzy tomorrow. All unconfirmed info.

My apologies, I forgot that we do an epic preseason over the next 7 weeks to get three quarters of our fitness! ;)

So he just randomly brought up that comment in the midst of having a crack at rpfc and his 'reckless' comment...? Yeah, not sure I believe that one.

Who are you saying said that then? I will assume you're referencing @rpfc's "reckless" comment, but that comment didn't necessarily mean it was in the context of player welfare, you're assuming that. It could have meant in terms of the impact on our performance and results, it could have meant in terms of it impacting the ability to get back to 100%, it could have even been in relation to how it impacts the ability to keep our depth players when sore/injured players are consistently picked ahead of them.

I mean, probably no different to you giving everyone on Demonland exact timelines around our loading program...

Also says in the article Hibberd is yet to be offered a contract, Hunt expected to re-sign, and club has told Bedford he'll get lots more opportunity in the next few years (which is intriguing to me tbh).

Just quoting a section of the article... Milkshake May get new deal Jake Melksham, the Demon at the centre of a mid-year stoush with Steven May, is mounting a solid case for a fresh deal after adapting to a new forward role in the past month. While Melbourne is likely to wait until the end of their 2022 campaign before deciding whether to recommit to the 30-year-old, Melksham’s role of locking down on opposition defenders in recent weeks has increased his chances of playing on in 2023. In the absence of an injured Tom McDonald, Melksham has not only worked his way back into the Demons’ AFL side, he has also kicked 5.5 across his past four games. Importantly, he has played a selfless role in trying to limit the impact of rebounding defenders including Collingwood’s Darcy Moore and Port Adelaide’s Aliir Aliir since his AFL return in Round 18. It is understood Melksham, who is out of contract this year, is keen to stay with the Demons. But he would consider his options at a third club if the club choses to go in a different direction. Melksham was thrust into the limelight in June after it emerged he had scuffled with May at Entrecote restaurant, resulting in hand surgery that cost him time on the sidelines. The Demons banned May for one-match and ordered community service work for May and Melksham – who is believed to have come to the support of teammates – after the incident. Melksham missed out on last year’s premiership success, but is working hard to stay in the Demons’ team as they chase back-to-back flags next month.

Yeah it's a fair point re finals. Feels like we haven't quite got the balance right this year, but fingers crossed we overcome those niggles in time for finals.

That was a big Burgess motto and it worked great last year, but feels like maybe this year the injuries/soreness have been worse and maybe it's not had the same effect.

Agree on that, which is why I'd prefer him higher up the ground rather than being a 'key forward' target for Ben Brown to deliver to. Just seems a backwards setup atm to me. Melksham had 0 inside 50s against the Pies and has had only 7 in total over the last 4 weeks.

We're carrying a lot of that this year, especially compared to our run last year, it seems.

Yeah the second key forward has been a problem, but on the flipside Melksham has taken 1 contested mark in the last 4 weeks since playing that kind of role so not sure it helps us not be outmarked inside 50. If he's going to be picked, I'd prefer him outside 50 delivering to our forwards as I reckon he and Spargo are our best users going forward. Agree on Harmes' ball use, can hurt us at times. Not sure how get the trade currency to bring in a better quality mid than him this year though given how much we need to do in the forward and ruck spaces.

Was just interested in your opinion mate. TBH I'm on the fence about both Harmes and Melksham being important for us. Melksham has been better than I expected since coming in, but personally I would prefer a tall forward in his spot, just think that would help our forward problems particularly when we have Ben Brown roaming so high up the ground so often.

Conversely, that would mean you consider Melksham an important player then yes?

Didn't mean to offend you. I'm sure you're right, I'm sure our entire team will go after Cripps and our supporters will boo him all day because he wasn't suspended. Apologies.

Would think if there's any effect at all it would be the complete opposite...

More conspiracies here than Tom McDonald's twitter feed. Anyways, jury is back - he's free to play.

Apart from being out of contract, not wanted to due game style and part of a rebuilding club, sure...

Yeah absolutely, and if (and it's a big if) they were doing something like that it wouldn't be a surprise to see a change up before finals given top 4 is on the line. Who knows if that's something that can even be switched on and off like that anyway hey?

Not that I'm advocating for him, not super keen, but he's 28 and this is the first year he's missed a large amount of games through injury.

I laughed, but only because I had a similar 'what if' thought this morning about our forward delivery. What if, we keep hammering away at the forward pocket with entries not just because of the defensive advantages to it but because when the need arises in finals we know there will often be space/leads/players available straight in front? We've all seen the open players in those spots ignored, it's even been raised by the media types in the last week or two, so it's not something the coaches wouldn't be aware of. Tacking that onto your thoughts and onto loading as well, it does paint a picture of a team maybe looking to slingshot into finals. Just a 'what if' though.

So, one team we ran over at the end of the game and one team we made look like witches hats, but falling over against Collingwood in the second half is more impressive? Sure the opponent is different, but not sure I agree there, and pretty clearly from a purely fitness point of view they are VERY different performances in terms of how we ran out the games.

Splitting hairs a bit there mate. Ok we 'soundly defeated' Adelaide comfortably. Better?

Might not be the best example of a corresponding game given it was in Perth and stopped for 30 minutes due to lightning. On either side of that game we smashed the Suns by 98 points (after flying to QLD and back), and wacked Adelaide at the G by 41 points. There's nuance to the opposition, the traveling, form, current injuries/soreness etc, but that just makes it even MORE irrelevant to directly compare to a game in the same round last year.

Yeah, but Sam Blease was the real heartbreak one...