demoncat

Good point and the rest of this year will be a real test of our 'system at all costs' strategy. We've all seen what our system can accomplish when all players are fit and firing - and I'm still firmly of the belief that should we play that way come finals that there is no team that can stop us. Having said that, we have to make the top four first, and the risk of this strategy is that we cost ourselves too many games during the home and away season. I'm still backing us in, but we're going to have to show our class and hopefully time our run in the last three or four games like we did last year. If we crash and burn, we'll have to reconsider how we approach both individual games and the entire season in 2023. But until that happens, we do what we did so well in the first place.

My thoughts too. So much of our gameplan is based around the playing percentages. We clearly value kicking to the pack and backing our mids and smalls to win any groundballs rather than risk kicking to one-on-ones and having it marked by an opposition player who can then begin to counter attack through the corridor. Same when we kick to the pocket - we would rather have it spill out of bounds than risk allowing the opposition an easy mark in the centre of the ground. This works when we are fit and firing, but when we can't lock the ball in our forward 50 and aren't applying pressure around the ground, it can be frustrating to watch.

I love how JVR is progressing and I'm pumped to see how he develops long term. My gut instinct says that he won't be playing this year and that we'll persevere with Weid if we bring back another tall - but you never know, we bought Bowey into the team as late as Round 20 and he slotted in perfectly. Having said that, Bowey had the luxury of playing in the best backline in the league with a lot of direction from players like May. I have a feeling that JVR would be asked to fill bigger shoes in a struggling forward line!

I have to agree here. If we had have brought our pressure game and got the ball inside 50 faster our smalls would have been better able to mop up the spills and kick some goals (like in the Brisbane game). But when we reverted to slower and more predictable ball movement, we desperately needed another tall to kick to and to create a contest. Geelong really made us look undersized down back! Having said that, another tall wouldn't have changed the outcome of that game because, as I said, we didn't bring our run and swarm that creates so many scoring opportunities for us.

Great reminder Vipercrunch. The fact is where we sit at this point of the season is tracking with where we were at the same point last season. Now, that is not to say that we should excuse or ignore poor performances and ongoing issues. There are clearly things that we need to work on and the club admits as much - just like they did last year when we went through our down patch. But I think that people need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture before declaring that our season is over. People were making the same calls last year and look where we ended up. If we are indeed still loading - and I am on the side that we are given that we once again looked fatigued and therefore slow and fumbly - it is a necessary step we have to take to be at out best come finals. Anyway, all of this is to say that I will be more worried if we play like this in the last few rounds of the year, not when we're in this loading phase and certainly not when we're playing on that ant mound that Geelong calls a stadium.

Nah mate no split loyalties for me. Not all cats are Geelong supporters!

And I also think this is true. It will come down to whether Goody wants to retain structure at the expense of keeping an underperforming Weid in, or would rather go for the smaller forward line. Time will tell!

I don’t disagree that in terms of scoreboard impact that M Brown could have as much impact as Weid, but I don’t think M Brown can offer the same physical presence in marking contents either down the line or in the forward 50. Kicking to contests is clearly a strategy that we are committed to, and I think Weid is better able to impact this area than M Brown. All that said I do like M Brown and you could argue that he is a “better” footballer than Weid, but I think their roles in the team are different.

I didn’t say whether or not keeping Weid was a good idea, rather that if Goody wants to keep that forward structure then we don’t have any other options. Like any Dees fan I have been frustrated by his lack of development, but rehashing this debate doesn’t change the fact that he is the only choice we currently have to fill this role.

Retaining our structure of two talls rather than continuing with the smaller forward line that we have used in recent weeks. I get the sense that Goody and co still believe that this is our best forward structure, and, until TMac is fit and firing, our only option is Weid M. Brown does not have the strength or size to play the role we want him to effectively, and like it or not we need to develop Weid so that if we pursue with this structure in finals, he has had enough game time to be match-ready if TMac can't get up.

It really puts it into perspective doesn't it? It can be hard to take a step back and see the bigger picture when you're losing, but that slump was really not as bad for our season as many people were making it out to be. While there is still a lot of footy left to play, we have set ourselves up well for a strong run home!

Would love this role for Weid. As much as I would love to recruit a KPF in the vein of someone like McKay or Curnow, it doesn't seem like we're going to have that luxury in the next couple of years. And I'm suspect of recruiting an older key forward, least of all Tex given his personal history. However, I do think that getting Weid involved in this role and allowing Max and Dogga to play forward more could help give us some more structure up forward - particularly as Max's forward craft has improved so much recently.

I think we will find out more before the end of the season, but as it stands, our best 22 is probably our premiership team minus Rivers, with Gus at half back and Jordan on the wing. Medi-sub could be a toss up of a few players. Having said that, would love to see Bedford slot in there somewhere, it is just difficult to see where unless we are committed to going with a small forward line heading into finals. Kid deserves a good run at it!

My gut feel is that the club is more confident of re-signing Gus than Jackson. At least that is the sense I got from the way Goody described both of their situations. Neither one seem like the type of players who would leave for money or even a 'greater role' in the team (i.e. Gus as a permanent mid or Jackson as the number one ruck) - both top blokes who have had a huge impact on our team success and seem to love their team mates. It will really come down to whether one or both of them want to return home, and it seems that might be more of a factor for Dogga. Fingers crossed we keep em both!

Both seem unlikely to move from Carlton given that they're finally on the rise, but these two would be just about the only players in the league I would back throwing the kitchen sink at. Either one would do wonders for our forward line right now. And while we know that we can kick huge scores even without a star forward - just look at Thursday night's result - a true KPF would take our forward line to the next level. Of course, keeping our current stars - Oliver, Jackson, Brayshaw - should be our number one priority!

The article posted on MFC announcing his debut mentioned that he is 194cm, so I'm presuming that's his current height.

I think this is spot on. Barring us having a bad day where our intensity and system fall away, I think the only way that a team will beat us - and beat us convincingly - is playing a near perfect offensive game with speed and precision. If a team can maintain that style of play against us for four quarters, they're every chance of knocking us off. But therein lies the problem for opposition teams. To do that consistently without turnover is incredibly difficult, particularly with our constant pressure. And if a team tries to do that, they risk us carving them up on the rebound and scoring heavily against them. So it really is a catch 22 when playing against us. Go fast and you might get us, but you risk causing a turnover and getting punished by us going the other way. Go slow and try to control the ball and we'll set up, cause a turnover and either score or lock the ball in our forward half. That's not to say that we're not going to drop a game, but at this stage, I really think it's going to come from our own faults rather than the opposition's strengths. Gee its a good time to be a Dees fan.

I think that is what people are missing from this game when they complain about us not thrashing them by 10+ goals. A bit like Essendon last week, we were forced to play on their terms. And unfortunately for those watching, those terms were based around playing a mind numbing unconstested possession game. That game style was an admission by Port that they knew they couldn't take us on in general play, and that their only path to victory was to make it a low scoring game where they might have been able to sneak a few goals and keep the score close. That in of itself is a testament to us. So yes, while we could have (perhaps should have) had cleaner entry into our forward 50 and scored a few more goals, we were never going to score a tonne with Port playing that style of game. And the fact is, we didn't need to.

The Brown/TMac/Weid conundrum only gets harder! It would be really stiff to drop Weid after what was a career best performance, but as some others have said its difficult to see how those three can fit into the same forward line. I'm also split on TMac at the moment. It's clear that his form has dropped off considerably since his amazing start to 2021, but its also clear that he plays an important role in our structure that helps players like Brown and Fritsch to shine. Not to mention his great aerobic abilities. Having said that you have to wonder if he's only averaging a goal a game and is repeatedly getting out marked, is his mere presence in our structure enough? Clearly Goody and co. reckon it is, but gee I think Weid did well last night and if TMac's dip in form continues, I'd be curious to see what dropping TMac for Weid would do for us (for better or worse!)

Younger fan here, so I haven't seen much of Mitch Brown beyond games for the Dees. Does his style of play differ much from Weid's? I just wonder if there is something about the way he goes about his footy that Goody prefers him. Would be curious to know what kind of discussions are going on there.

Big moment for Weideman if true. Curious what people's 'pass' marks will be for him if he comes into the side. Personally, I don't think he needs to kick a bag of goals - he just needs to show that he is willing to compete and follow up with second efforts. Goals will come if he does this consistently. Unfortunately though it seems that this is the one part of his game that he has been missing. Fingers crossed he can take that next step.

Great points. I think someone posted an except from the Mongrel Punt's review of the game where the author spoke about the importance of guys like ANB and Harmes playing their roles. This quote sums it up well: "They’re prepared to play defensive roles if necessary, sacrifice their own games, and work as an individual toward a collective goal. That is what makes champion teams." Being on the ground lets you see all of the off-ball work that we do so well and you really get to appreciate the defensive work that players like Harmes are putting in, even if they might not seem like they're having a great game when they get the ball.

Expecting a close contest with both sides looking to flex their muscles. Dogs will be hungry but I think we've got the talent and system to absorb their pressure and keep them to a relatively low score. Dees by 12.