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The Uncontested Possession numbers are the most concerning stat to me - the players are still suffering from inertia. Roos needs to solve this issue and quickly - we were up in UPs in the first quarter before putting the cue in the rack for a reason unknown to everyone seemingly. We can criticise the deck chairs all we like but this is new to this group - enterprising play used to be impossible, now it is like a malfunctioning faucet - it comes and goes with no discernible rhyme or reason. I can handle getting smashed in the clearances - we have a terrible midfield - Vanders and Brayshaw already becoming the 4th and 5th best mids at the club is testament to that, but I don't understand how spread and pushing into space and desire to run and be bold can be so inconsistent. Embarrassingly inconsistent.

Unless there is an asterisk - I can find proof through a simple net search.

If he does end up elsewhere, it will re-enforce a point I have been making for half a decade - ruckmen take so long to come on that drafting them before their early twenties is a wasted pick. We have poured in at least 5 years of (sub-standard) development into Gawn, Fitzpatrick, and Spencer for little return. And we are still talking about trading for a mature ruck to take over from Jamar - something we were talking about 5 years ago: http://demonland.com/forums/index.php?/topic/23209-backing-jamar-thread-bumped-poll-disabled/?hl

You can look at it the other way and say that he hasn't forced his way into the reckoning over the last 18 months... Re-rookie players would be an option too. Finding more players like Vanders should be the focus, not giving chances to kids. We have enough talented youngsters. It's an indictment on the list that a 23 year old NEAFL star can play two months worth of footy and cement himself as the 3rd or 4th best mid in our team. So I would prefer to give Riley another than a youngster we will struggle to play.

I am still going... Forgot about the Dogs: Yay! Clearances: 8 (-6.5) I50s: 2 (-14.9) UPs: 38 (-18.9) CPs: 16 (-0.3) Margin: 39 (-23) Quarters Won: 3 (13) And here is the nonsense from last weekend: Boo! Clearances: -7 (-6.6) I50s: -10 (-14.3) UPs: -41 (-21.3) CPs: -11 (-1.4) Margin: -61 (-27.2) Quarters Won: 1 (14 over 9 games) If I was to remove the Preliminary Finalists from last year these would be our averages: Clearances: (-5.2) I50s: (-9.4) UPs: (6) CPs: (6.8) Margin: (5.4) Quarters Won: (12 over 5 games) Sigh.

Updated. At this stage: I would re-sign Garland, Toumpas, Pedersen, Gawn, and upgrade Vanders. I would not re-sign Jamar, McKenzie, Hunt, Bail, and Fitzpatrick. I would trade Howe. That would open up 5 spots on the primary list. I would give King a third year on the rookie list, and White a second. Riley, Cross, and Harmes are wait-and-see prospects for the last half of the season. If all three were moved on that would be 7 spots on the PL and 2 on the RL.

Blend in? Are you kidding us? Australia's rich and legislated racist history surrounds the forced, coerced, and 'volunteered' "blending in" of people indigenous to this land. If Winmar had of just blended in, we wouldn't have grown as a sport and a fandom. The world is full of great stories about persecuted people who did great things by not blending in. I think he gets booed because he won AOTY, and behind that is a racist view of how he got that award - through imposed Affirmative Action. He is a great of the game on his last few matches and one hell of a better human being than the [censored] playing his 400th tonight he will be lauded by all and sundry. Even if you hate him for the right reasons (eyeroll), suck it up and give it up for a footy player that has done so much in his career.

I see this as astute list management, especially if Trengove is on a smaller pay packet in 2016. Many teams would have moved on, and many players would have done the same, especially considering he was a clear MRI away from playing for another team in 2015... We couldn't have located a talent like his at ND89 in the draft so the opportunity cost is mitigated should he not succeed.

Pick 14 in 2008 when their hand was forced by St Kilda (IIRC) in the F/S bidding process. That was one where there were whispers that the Dogs promised the Cordy's that they will take him wherever and were made to pay a high price by a competitor. Honestly, if you draft an 18 year old ruck in the first round, you are kidding yourself, your fans, and the kid you have just doomed. 7 years just to find out whether he is good enough...

It's quite funny that he is such a destructive force in close with his tackling as that was his knock internally at Ainslie even when he was dominating NEAFL - he didn't tackle enough. I always thought it was difficult to tackle someone when you have the footy, but I didn't expect such ferocity that he has shown - he has had two 10+ tackle games... It's interesting how an aspect of one's game can improve (or seem to) when you go up a grade - instead of being the first target of the opposition, you are the 4th and you can escape attention. Go down a grade and that gets harder. Some food for thought for those that might want to see Brayshaw and/or Vanders have a spell and work their way back through Casey...

That's hyperbole based on a few weeks of poor form. He has little confidence in his marking at the minute for whatever reason but he is a better player than Pedersen and I hope he can get some fitness and touch back - we are a better team with a fit and in form Chris Dawes.

Wouldn't have seen it after Round 4... It's been Hogan's forward line since Rd 1, 2015 and will remain that way for hopefully a decade or more, but the role players around him have to know their place in this future. A smart player like Dawes, despite his inability to clunk anything with Sherrin written on it at the moment, will always be a chance to play in that forward line. Pedersen is in a bit of form at the moment and I hope for his sake it holds, I don't mind having good players playing at Casey, even if they do; being dropped is not the end of the world...

Well, you must have loved the 5 contested possessions Riley had then... Toumpas had 17 UPs, Jones also had 17 UPs, vanders had 16 - it's a huge part of the reason why we won. And why any team wins; GC, Brisbane, Carlton and us are the only teams averaging less than 200 UPs a game. Elite company... I hope all the players got some confidence from the weekend - Riley included, but the biggest reversal of form was for Spencer and Toumpas. I am happy for them, and not still pointlessly bitter about what could have been they way some are.

Great to hear Vanders dominate, and Toumpas get some footy - him becoming something of worth will help us immeasurably - his skills are great. Happy to see 53 Inside 50s, 16 more contested possies, and 227 Uncontested possies. Those numbers are the stuff of a decent AFL side. And I like following those!

It's about quality, PRB. Heeney in a split second.

Watch Collingwood's zone team get stacked real quick... Honestly, where is this BS coming from?

6 of those pages are examples... And, really? Document length?

Now hang on, this thread will get Mitch Clark back next year and Jesse Hogan debuting... I know threads need midfields to be good but Trengove and Toumpas will get better and...I can't finish this...

Bump. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-05-21/new-bidding-system-introduced-for-fatherson-and-northern-academy-players http://www.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL%20Tenant/AFL/Files/Father-son-bidding-system.pdf Every pick has a value and players will be selected by clubs more in line with their talents. It may be more complex but will mean that there will no more 'steals' from the Northern clubs with their academies.

Of course, the AFL makes up the rules as they go however...

It has been over half a decade since our last 'handout'... Olisik's premise that we won't win many more games is a morbid outlook of the season but if we were to finish this season so poorly I wouldn't be so unequivocal about applying the rules that are established for bad teams like ours.

I am a forward myself, so I will admit to some empathy but we have averaged 24 less Inside 50s to our opponent these last three weeks. The fact that Hogan can make do on scraps is a judgment on Hogan - not Dawes. It is simple maths - if you get into your scoring zone at such a paltry rate (35 average over the last 3 weeks) - the chances for your forwards to do some damage is lessened significantly.

Three horrible weeks... The numbers have blown out from after the Richmond game, in the last three weeks we have had: - 12 less Inside 50s compared to opponent than we did in the first 4 rounds (from -12 to -24) - 57 less Uncontested Possessions compared to our opponent than we did in the first 4 rounds (from -3 to -60) - 17 less Contested Possessions compared to our opponent than we did in the first 4 rounds (from plus 4.5 to -12) We have also been outscored by 67 more points than we had been in the first four rounds and won just one quarter over the last three weeks. Oddly enough, our clearance rate of -8 compared to our opponent held steady. There are a few things that people can read into about that - essentially, if we get thrashed or not, our clearance work is equally bad against all teams good, average, and mediocre... Let's hope the confidence can return this week against the Bulldogs and we can get back to some decent footy...

lol

Did you feel this way after the Richmond game?