JimmyGadson

Interesting poll results. Demonland is definitely an older demographic if Covid is the primary reason! Easter obviously played a big part. Nice to see the MCC barely a quarter full, everyone down at Sorrento I'm assuming. We're old as a supporter base so many must be concerned about covid. The essendon game was super disappointing considering Hawthorn and Carlton nearly managed 70,000 the following day at an early Sunday game. Ticketing needs to [censored] off, it is a complete shambles. It'll be really disappointing if we don't break 70,000 for Anzac eve.

Call me the Oracle. Just watched Goodies presser and it's clear that Weed will stay in and Brown will come in for Tom. (save for any unforeseen circumstances). Tom Mac has been so underwhelming of late it beggars belief. You only had to look at his body language post siren to see that he knows he's out of form. Weed not going anywhere, hopefully this will kick Tom into gear a bit.

It'll be Ben Brown for T Mac. Pin this post. Tmac hasn't fired a shot for too long now and Weed deserves another crack after tonight.

Clarry and midfield responded after half time and look what happens. Incredible to see us in full flight, haven't seen that since the granny. All facets of our game firing. Glad we saw it tonight, let it be a warning to the comp.

Oliver needs a rocket. Going half paced at man and has been sloppy with disposal. Needs to impact in the middle, they've been killing us through there. He's playing like he thinks he's god's gift. Get back to hard basics Clarry and what you've built your reputation on.

The system is a joke and crowds will continue to disappoint until they revert back to the old system. Part of why I have kept my MCC through the years is because of the ease of walk ins to games and arriving when I want. Especially if Im wanting to go with friends etc. It is a complete joke and tonight I won't be surprised if they don't even crack 25,000. Covid hesitancy is obviously a factor. But not as much of a factor as the post covid ticketing scenario. A JOKE!

I stand corrected. So Smith took Hunt's spot for that game. And Cameron ran rings around him.

Hunt and Hibberd were unavailable from memory so he was next in line to take a Brisbane small. Remember how he fared? I do. He's on the list, he has some positive traits. But posters like to think he's a walk up start and think the FD prefer him to most. Which they clearly don't.

I think Petty's inclusion after limited minutes in his first VFL game show how highly rated he is. Posters really do overrate Smith because of his sparkly athleticism whilst constantly missing his defensive blunders.

$5.30 is ridiculous odds for a team that got us at the G last year. We'll also have some outs this time around, (as do they). I expect us to win but given we've really only been getting over the line thanks to our defence, we're definitely gettable atm. And if Trac is out, their Midfield would be licking their lips. That's where they could get us this week. Still expect to grind a result, but the odds are ridiculous.

The fact that they still aren't allowing walk up/ins to all games is stopping thousands from going. It's extremely frustrating. Obviously there are other reasons. But having to go online to book tickets is just ridiculous with where our state is at. There's no contact tracing any more. Why are we doing it?

Haha, mate the onus is always on the player without the ball. Do you live under a rock? Ryder most clearly wasn't stationary. He was moving, no matter how slow. And he bumped. And hit day's head. So he's gone. I keep forgetting it's school holidays.

Firstly, Ryder wasn't stationary. Secondly, Ryder could have attempted to smother the ball, corral Day to pressure him into a rushed kick or even attempt to tackle him front on. There were multiple alternatives to bracing and bumping Day. How pwople cannot see that Ryder had options but still elected to brace and bump is simply astonishing. Genuinely astonishing. It's so simple.

No Hopper, Davis, Green or notable ruck. No excuses, would like to see us put them to the sword and get our offensive game going.

Frustrating re Brown. No change then. Midfield need to fire up a bit imo. Especially against this mob, we know what happened last time at the G against them. Oliver and Trac need to lift their ball use and please stop kicking to both Tom and Weed in the same contest.

Supporters overrate Joel as a defender by his shiny, sparkly athleticism. I don't think we'll see him again unless injury strikes. I'm not sure supporters appreciate Tomlinson's positioning and body work off the ball which allows both May and Lever to intercept a mark or completely kill the ball. It's almost the most important component of our backline. And Gawn basically stated as much with his weird post match comment regarding Smith. Would love Smith to be in the side for his positive attributes. But his lack of defensive smarts, positioning as well as his regular brain fades that turn into opposition goals make it hard to trust him. And trust is paramount in a defensive unit.

Weed deserves a go with Brown now imo. I don't know why you wouldn't give it a shot given T - Mac is just so inconsistent in his form. I'd give him a block of games whilst we have the luxury of being 4-0 and with T - Mac out of form. It can only be a good thing. Force T Mac to get back into some form and give Weed the opportunity to play every game as if it's his last. Brown for McDonald. Do it.

Positives are that we clearly have the best defensive system in the AFL and another win to add to a long home and away campaign is all you want this early in the season as well as no injuries. I disagree with the notion that we didn't get out of second gear. It's such a pointless throwaway line and it contradicts those who congratulate our defensive system. You can't play a first class defensive game in second gear. The negatives are that our forward half game and our connection going forward continues to struggle. Brown's leading patterns and forward craft have been sorely missed the last two weeks. Our entire forward 50 function so much better with him in the side so he can't come back soon enough. I think Brown helps our ball movement going inside 50 also. Last night our efficiency going inside was awful and again Tom Mac and Weid were tangled up going for the same balls. Weid did himself no favours with his game but T Mac was hardly any better. And a fair bit of blame can go to ball use going inside. I think Trac and Oliver went back to blazing away inside 50 with no real care at times. Overall, it's hard to complain given we're still banking wins whilst still having areas that need clear improvement. Looking forward to coming up against a full strength quality side to really give us a test. It's almost as if we're waiting for a challenger to get our arousal levels up! Cant believe I'm saying that as a Dee's supporter.

Gave up more than one goal.

No one is arguing that players don't make mistakes, that's a given at AFL level. We all know that. There's a difference between making a mistake like missing a target going inside 50 and dropping a mark or completely missing a spoil in d50 which results directly in a goal. As AF says, Joel made significant and costly errors against Essendon that directly resulted in goals. Go and watch the replay if you didn't notice. Does it mean his positive attributes and good play are then ignored? Obviously not. But Jake Lever is waiting on the wings and someone needs to come out for him and I'd say that Joel Smith is the like for like player. Tomlinson didn't exactly set the world alight either but I think the FD would prefer to go with two big bodied one on one players to allow Lever to do what he does best and peel off a small to intercept. Smith reminds me of Frost in many ways. The defensive brain fades are too much for me and the goals he leaks are too many imo. He obviously has some positive and impressive traits as a player. But I prefer footballers over athletes. Lever for Smith and I reckon Brown will be given another week so no change in the forwards as much that it pains me to see McDonald play again.

Well it'd be almost certain that he couldn't do any worse than Tom has been doing.

I don't think posters need to bother comparing Max's game to Draper's. That's silly. This is about influence on a game and where he can get better. I agree with others that his output has been down and whilst he's still a phenomenal ruckman in most areas, his tap work at contests simply has to improve because its bog ordinary at times. He hits it to the strangest spots and regularly straight to an opposition player. The fact that we lose as many centre clearances as we do is pretty wild given we have arguably the best midfield group + ruckman in the AFL. Definitely need to improve in that area, especially if we want to bring Carlton back to earth.

What's new.

It's honestly astonishing that supporters believe that team selection is based on form only. The only reason T Mac has still been playing is because of structure, flexibility and because Weed hadn't done enough to demand a spot. It's pretty much the same for when O Mac was consistently being played when stinking it up. Weed has held his spot, has proved more valuable from an output point of view in a single game compared to T Mac and will therefore take his spot when Brown comes back next week. If that doesn't happen, I'll never post here again. Bank it. If Brown doesn't play obviously T Mac stays. Tom McDonald was equal lowest in touches last night with only 6. That's fine if you're doing a lot of work off the ball. But he was worse off the ball and allowed Stewart to look like a star defender at times. Tom was comprehensively beaten off the ball by Stewart whenever they were matched up. If you're not marking, kicking goals or getting touches, you've got to bring the ball to ground and Tom couldn't do that on many occasions. I genuinely have no idea what people watch sometimes. They see the selection table and believe that T Mac being in means he must be in form. Couldn't be further from the truth and Wednesday night will reveal all. The only way he plays is if Brown somehow doesn't get up. Or if Lever doesn't either and T Mac plays defence.

Big fellaaaaaa