NeveroddoreveN

Brayshaw is a much loved team member.....not sure he is of core importance though, nor a core player, unless you weigh in Gus/Gawny podcast. His last few seasons have been pretty down.....he has played much better this season but Cerra on a wing would be a clear upgrade. Brayshaw is definitely not irreplaceable! Stay still and we'll stagnate fast, list has to be turned over to some degree. Personally looking forward to who is interested in getting to us, and who we might be interested in. Seems pretty obvious by commentary that we are actually pretty into Cerra.

I find it interesting so many seem to think trading out Gus for Cerra would destroy our culture. Players have to be turned over each season. Cerra for Brayshaw is an upgrade....they are on similar type $$$...Cerra has a much higher ceiling imo. I would not be unhappy if we traded out Brayshaw/Tmac and got in say Gunston/Cerra. Either way there will be changes, we should be getting excited that we are a destination club and in all likelihood we will be stronger for the changes that ARE going to occur.

Bowey has forced his way through being a standout in match simulations when Hibberd was going right off the boil and fumbling everything. There is no way known he will get dropped for "fumbles"....regardless if Bowey has the ideal matchup. He is actually releasing Salem to play his more normal game as we now have another lovely user of the ball in the back half. Love Hibberd but can't see him forcing his way past any of our current back 6. Even Smith is ahead of him atm.

Still have nightmares about him getting selected and Fritsch dropped for the prelim against West Coast. Personally i don't think we have exposed enough players to AFL level this year. What do guys like Chandler/Bedford/Lockhart/Bowey/Smith actually have to do to get a shot? If we get injuries during finals we will effectively have no exposed depth. We have had players in and out of form all year. Find it befuddling we have not risked , even small, like for like changes where we would lose very little. It is fine to play someone like VDB/Jones but not risk playing our more talented young guys? I don't get it!!

I think we could create the space required for player like that at @$750k per year. Tmac was on similar $$$ to this and although he has had a great season should be nowhere near worth 750k.....say he gets negotiated down to around 500K....We then have another 250k to spend on someone like this. If Brayshaw wanted to go play with his brother, we have some sort of currency. Fwiw i think if we were to pick up player like Cerra, we would pay less than what Carlton would to secure him, as we would be much more desirable club to look at. By the sound of it all Cerra will be playing with a Vic team next season. Would we be interested in him? Yeah i think we would at least ask the question!

Trent Rivers or even Jackson maybe real possibilities looking forward at the wing position too. Brayshaw would be on decent coin somewhere around 500-600k, per year. Langdon we actually got for around 450K. Would consider trading for someone like Cerra, who would cost similar $$$ but add lot more polish and grunt to our team. i find it a bit of a conundrum with Harmes/Viney/Brayshaw and their lack of adaptability to play other positions, they all get paid really well but can't seem to nail down alternate positions to play.

I think many are on the super generous side when it comes to Brayshaw. Honestly i expect more from him. He has never had the desire to run both ways, and he still does not work hard enough both ways. Langdon is the one that is always getting back,. But also running hard the other way to create something offensively. Brayshaw has improved dramatically this year but is still not what i would call a dynamic winger. Plays his role but if we are serious we should be looking for replacements for that wing.

Is this thread about Majak or Grinter? Can we keep it remotely on subject pls guys, really no need to be going off track every 2nd post! Has zero to do with Wallace/Grinter incident, not even similar lmao!

I thought they were allowed to challenge even with the tribunal? I recall a few cases getting dismissed once at the tribunal already this year...

The actual incident is not that bad, until right at the end.... he puts his whole body weight on Collins and basically slides his elbow off his neck over the side of his face, It is a move used in the UFC to try and open people up with the use of elbows. You can't exactly use precedents of Buddy or Selwood for this case as it is actually quite different to any of the cases they got off. He will get whacked for 2 weeks and get off with 1. I don't think any of us want to see these type actions as part of our game......We accept actions like this and the all of a sudden you have juniors doing the same stuff. It is footy not UFC!!

My bad. Sorry @old dee, was harsh to say that... i really hope Melbourne bring you some joy this year, enjoy the ride.....we are in it this year up to our eyeballs! Go Demons!

Just reading your posts in this thread is depressing. Go play monopoly with your GD.....posting with such negativity about the Demons when they are top of the ladder and approaching finals IS madness. IF you are not interested in the footy why are you on a football forum discussing your lack of interest? Makes no sense at all. I for one are thankful we have footy to distract us in these times. It is one of the few things that i find to be a healthy distraction from Covid....I am sure many other passionate supporters feel the same

It is putrid when put this way.....40m is a pretty easy kick, they should be getting nailed 50/50 by any player on on the day. It gets exponentially worse from around 50m....i would say only Petracca can actually cover the distance with any sort of reliability. We need to learn to put teams away. The pressure on set shots with fatigue/pressure gets too much for us in final quarters. I believe our team needs to be reminded that EVERY game is worth 4 points, regardless of their ladder position

All of this makes a lot of sense.....If this were the case why did we finish full of run in the last quarter and not the first 3? Something is not quite adding up with Melbourne atm. I believe it is more a mindset thing. We have won games off our defensive effort all over the ground in the 1st half of season. Lately we seem to see what the opposition are going to do and hope that our defensive structure helps us repel and prevail. We have lost the impetus to win the ball, take on tacklers, or pressure the ball carrier lately. Our structures when we go forward are all out of whack because we are defending all over the field. The balance of our team has gone way too defensive, we need to move the ball much quicker. We seem to be switching every time through the backline which makes us slow and predictable. We are allowing any team vs us to be in the game up to their eyeballs through our currently predictable game style. Melbourne have been great at resetting this year within games.....i feel they need to take a collective deep breath and reset themselves for the business end of the season. As a collective we have become too insular in our mindset and ability to take the game on. The shackles will (should be) released this week. Expecting to see a new mindset and lot more energy from the whole team. Really looking forward to this coming match, will tell us lot more accurately of where we are at than the last 3-4 weeks!

Flat-track!

All VFL matches this week are cancelled sadly.

Langdon is the player i could see us struggling most to replace structurally....there is no player on our list with similar attributes.

I think the two biggest things we have improved on which has made a huge difference, and neither are a measurable quantity. BELIEF....in each other more than anything. We have had some great players for years and i am sure they believed within themselves, just not so much in the players and structures around them. TRUST...in each other, the game plan, and all our coaches. Why we were so often in the past like bees to the honeypot was a complete lack of trust. We now hold our structures to have players as options in many different positions for an outlet or quick transition. The last one i would like to add that i think is also important! SIMPLICITY....in our gameplan. It has been clarified that players actually understand what they are required to do in all 3 phases of the game. Players no longer drift through games waiting for their moment/s. It is a team effort and every player is depending on their mate to either win the ball back, hold structure or run to create options. The players have bought into all these things. I can imagine Williams coming into our club and saying to our players that Richmond where/are no better than we "could" be. They built their belief and their confidence surged, Williams would look at our list and drool, perhaps even better than the Richmond and Port Adelaide teams he had a part in that won flags. Listening to the way the players speak about him, and the way he talks during interviews, my guess would be he is building on these intangibles of belief and trust and is the refreshing voice our players needed to play the way they are. I remember not so long ago Blues tagged as bruise free. We have come a long way, and we could be building something special. Starting to believe and trust in my team makes each game a pleasure to watch. It feels like the start of a dynasty....not that i would know what that feels like!

From around 35 min 30 to around 39 minute mark is really fascinating viewing! Love how our team is going about defense. Worth the watch :)

Was some fascinating footage of what our players are doing without the ball on The First Crack last night by David King. Would love to put it in this thread as it seems really relevant to our new look defense. Can't find last nights episode to highlight it though. If anyone could find it would be great to discuss!

Seems that Rioli's girlfriend was offended by random guys....Rioli tried to put an end to the situation verbally....copped a punch to the face....Bolton jumps in to smack the guy who just assaulted his mate. Pretty straight forward, i am glad both the guys defended their gf and each other. Rioli gf is pretty hot, could see her getting unwanted attention. The issue is many go to nightclubs to get drunk/high or both and not much good seems to happen when it comes to altercations/booze and drugs. It is much safer to dance at a friends house/home than risk it these days...particularly if you an AFL footy player. They gotta live, but also make more sensible decisions in regards to their entertainment

Get the chopsticks out with Dusty hey!

One of the major reasons we .lose in the middle is lately we are 2nd to the ball. We are just not getting our hands on the pill first often enough. Another is Max, he never gets off the ground, nor does he block for our onballers at ground level, he is pretty much useless actually once the tap has been won or lost. Another thing i am seeing is Oliver starting too wide and is actually not getting to where the ball drops way too often. A lot of these things are not as noticeable at boundary clearance situations as we have Langdon/Salem/Brayshaw/Jorden covering. Oliver is playing a much more stationary predictable player at round the ground stoppages too. It is clearly not about tap outs otherwise we would be drilling most teams. Really do think Max needs to screen/block for others a lot more, or rest him if he can't put his body on the line. To me he just does not throw his weight around.... nearly every other ruck does. Max needs to play with lot more aggression and we will start winning a lot more clearances imo.

North player is also being pushed into it in this shot, looks like he was falling into the tackle.

After Oliver/Petracca/Viney i think we are actually a bit thin. JJ can definitely play a role but he is not doing it currently as a pure midfielder, more structure based filling gaps and putting on pressure seems to be his current role. Sparrow is improving out of site and needs experience at senior level....SHOULD be in this week. Harmes is a bit of a worry honestly. He racked up heap of the ball in the reserves but he just runs around chasing the ball ignoring any structure around him. To me he does not think when he plays. He crashes in over the top of teammates to get the same ball, gets lost in transition and lacks care with disposal. Brayshaw i don't think has what it takes to be a pure midfielder. Although he has had good games in the past there, he is generally just too fumbly with the ball. Melksham is not a midfielder, he lacks the pressure required and does not seem to want to put his head over the ball. Jones i would put ahead of Brayshaw/Melksham and probably Harmes. He can fill a role as required. The player i would be taking a good look at in the middle is Salem. He is clearly a heap fitter this year and his clean ball handling skills around stoppages could really free up our other mids. I think with Rivers/Hunt it would allow us the flexibility to at least roll him through there occasionally.