demoniac

Nothing much to say than a shocking first quarter.

Ok I predict that this will ASTOUND you! The team that went hardest after Nathan Jones before he signed a new contract between seasons was Essendon. The team where one Sean Wellman is an Assistant Coach.

BonJohn I predict this will astound you! A few weeks on the couch Paul Roos commented that Nathan Jones is one of the most under rated players in the AFL. Roos has signed up for 3 years with various media outlets. This was a not a random term as he won't coach again until his kids have finished their secondary schooling in Sydney which would see him free to move his family from Sydney at the end of 2013.

Bailey's Building Blocks The 15 Players on the 2011 Senior and Rookie List who were on the list in 2007 which Bailey inherited. Player......Age Turned in 2007...Games played end 2007 Green 26...................166 Davey 24...................82 Jamar 24...................64 Rivers 23...................64 Moloney 23...................61 Sylvia 22...................52 Bate 20...................33 Jones 19...................29 Bartram 19...................23 Dunn 20...................23 Newton 20...................10 Petterd 19...................9 Frawley 19...................9 Warnock 23...................4 Garland 19...................2

I don't place great importance on what the Gossip Girls and Boys of the Media write these days. Journalism in 2011 is tabloid, personality based and controversy focussed. The journalists are multi platform celebrities read in the newspapers and online and on twitter, heard on the radio and watched and heard on the TV. Media Brands in their own right with a voracius appetite for content to fill the space and the time of their multiple content hungry platforms. Incestously they feed on the stories of their fellow journalists to generate their own content elevating cliched hack tracts almost to the status of revealed truth.

Methinks Paul Roos will not coach again till his kids have finished their secondary schooling in Sydney. Googling tells me his kids were 14 and 12 in September of 2008 so they'd be 17 and 15 by the end of this year so at least one will be in secondary school for another couple of years.

I think Moloney did cherish and value the Vice Captaincy so I dont underestimate the penalty. Shane Crawford of course placed such little weight on the Captaincy of Hawthorn that he quit the position live on the Footy Show whilst dressed as a character in a Footy Show serial skit so maybe he does not understand the impact on Moloney. In general I find it amazing that given how the coverage of the game in the media has grown so much we hear so little about tactics and so much about the politics and the rumour and the innuendo.

Whou would have thunk a bottom age 193 cm 82 Kg still growing draftee would take more time to develop than manchilds a year older? Draft for Tomorrow. Trade for Today.

Showed once in the Casey v Port game that he still has turbo speed when he went for a run from half back into he centre square. Finished off the run with a nice short pass to Cook.

Works well in Union where the referee can call the ball back if the flow of play does not advantage the team. Works shockingly in the AFL without.

For mine if we push our forwards up to the midfield and our mids into the defence to 'press' then we can't play on at all costs when we get a free kick or a mark in the midfield because we need to hold up play and let the midfielders and forwards push back into the midfield and the forward 50. In essence the Press and 'Play on at all costs' are mutually exclusive. Too many times this season out I50s have been long kicks to outnumbered medium or small forwards and have thus been totally ineffective. The player in possession needs to show more patience and look to construct an effective I50 so we are able to retain the ball I50 for longer and have a far greater chance of scoring. His team mates need to lift their work rate to push forward to provide multiple options short and long and we need to have the numbers forward to pressure the defence if we do turn the ball over. The query for mine is whether this is a failure of gameplan or a failure of workrate. And if it is a failure of work rate is it because our young players have not had the pre seasons required to build their endurance and repeat speed so they can push forward after pressing back. Roosy does have some odd views. Thinks that Carlton did not recruit anough experienced players in recent years and that recruiting Maclean was a good decision. Thinks that the player we are missing is the tried and failed Brad Miller. And that Nathan Jones is our mout under rated player.

My recollection from the AGM is they had budgeted for 35,000.

Lets look at one of Moloney's Inside 50s. Takes a mark on the Member's Wing. Almost all of our Forwards have pressed up to the defensive side of midfield. Instead of waiting for the forwards and mids to work back into the 50 so we have a better chance of retaining possession he bombs the ball long to the 176cm Wonaeamirri who not surprisingly does not outmark the 196cm Merrett who is standing next to him. A totally useless Inside 50. When a key stat in relation to scoring goals is the time the ball spends inside 50 an entry like this is totally useless. Gysberts was better than Moloney because he wins genuine inside ball that Moloney cannot, releases to the advantage of a team mate and we retain possession more when he kicks it. I have no confidence when Moloney gets the ball that we will retain possession.

Juice is dominating at VFL Level. He has been tried and failed before but I reckon he will get another chance at senior level this year as a full forward who can pinch hit in the ruck. Did Bo Nixon get suspended for his low blow on Maric?

Is dominating at VFl Level. Leading well. Marking well. Kicking well. Applying defensive pressure. Will get a chance as a Full Forward/ Follower at some point I think.

The first thing to note when analysing a VFL game is that the games are played at old fashioned suburban grounds so wind is much more of a factor and can play havoc with disposal efficiency. This was the case at Port on Saturday. The ground itself seemed to have had truckloads of sand dumped on it which made judging the bounce of the ball a difficult task. And of course being at Port the burger was fantastic. Casey got off to a shocking start. Port scored 4 of their first 6 goals from frees or 50s though Dees players were not at fault in the 3 I can recall. From there it proceeded in almost a cliched way for a game between an aligned club and a standalone club with the standalone club not being able to match the higher fitness levels of most of the AFL listed players of the aligned club. Of course like in any game if you get as far behind as Casey did then its a long way back. Maric and Jetta: I have grouped them because both showed that at VFL Level that they can find the ball but both need to improve their decision making when in possession. Maric bombed long into a flukey wind from Centre Half Forward when he had Strauss who had run hard to get into space on the 50 on the flank. He also had Newton clear on a hard lead at around 40 metres but bombed long to contest. Both also tend to hang on to the all for too long. Joel Macdonald: A very good VFL player but has been found wanting at AFL Level. Sam Blease: Last year was really just about Blease making it back on to the field. This year is about Blease establishing himself as a consistent VFL player and hopefully getting a run with the Dees at some stage. He certainly showed that post injury he still has his pace and that he can use the ball well at the end of a run. Pressed the turbo and had 2 or 3 bounces frm half back intot the corridor and hit up Cook beautifully. Should improve as he gets conitnuity in his football. Re the comment about Blease fumbling he was not the only player to struggle with the bounce of the ball on the sand infused surface. Evans and Nicholson. Impressive. Both have enough pace in their first 4 or 5 steps to buy them some time and space when they take possession. Run to good spots and use the ball well and can go in to the centre square. Strauss: Had a few shocking kick ins though the wind was a factor at that end. Got better as the game went on. Runs the lines well and generally uses it well - which is of course why the Dees coaching staff are keen to out some senior games in to him this year to aid his development. Is improving in the contest and getting more confident and involved in the game. Matthew Bate: At the crossroads. Should really be dominating at this level but struggled to have an impact for alot of the game. The same problems that plague him at AFL level were evident. Dropped marks he really needs to take and is very slow from hand to foot when kicking. Ricky Pettard: Struggled up forward early but improved when shifted up the field and took some strong marks. Spencer and Gawn: Overshadowed early but both improved as the game went on. Both are still works in progress and with the sub rule will be allowed to develop whilst Jamar plays as the Nm 1 Ruck. Gawn needs a few more kilos but inpressed in the ruck and also with this poise in general play. Kelvin Lawrence: Unsighted early but improved a little as the game progresses. Has a nice first touch. Tom McDonald: Much like our former Captain and namesake he looks like the kind of player who will always leave it all on the park. Needs to work on his disposal but competes well in the air and rebounds pretty well too. Newton: Dominates at this level. Leads well, applies defensive pressure and converts. A player Dees fans love to hate but his form will demand selection at some point as a Full Forward who can take a turn on the ball as a Follower. A make or break year for him.

An exceptional athlete for a player of his height. Showed promise prior to his injury frustrated year last year and is now fit again and showing good signs in the ruck and defence and around the ground. His athleticism and flexibility is particularly important in the era of the substitute. He does need to improve his forward play but to do that he needs to spend soe time up forward which may frustrate but is required for his overall development.

Like the trumpeter and raising of the flag and the Premiership years on the Olympic stand. Its about time that when you attend a Dees home game that you actully know it is a Dees home game rather than just another generic AFL game.

A natural contested ball winner who is strong overhead and drifts forward to kick goals. Was easily our best mid today. I was dreaming today of Gysberts and Scully together in the centre and at ball ups/throws around the ground.

He also thinks that the tried and failed Brad Miller is a player we are missing at Centre Half Forward. For mine we don't need a Centre Half Forward who can't mark or kick no matter how many times he presents.

Outs: Maric, Jetta, Ins: Gysberts, Wonaemirri If Garland is injured then Newton in to play as forward/follower with Martin to defence. And yes I have resisted the temptation to drop most of the 22 involved in the 3rd quarter embarrasment.

The reality is that he inherited one of the worst lists in the AFL and since he took over we have recruited almost exclusively young talent with the aim of building a list capable of winning a flag. When you go young it takes time but the rewards can be great but even in year 4 you'll have games like today. Personally I am happy that the club has finally held its nerve on a youth policy rather than starting one then squibbing it lke we have in the past. The Hawks are a different kettle of fish. Premiers in Bailey's second year of coaching. They have added mature experienced players such as Hale, Gibson, Burgoyne and Bruce at some cost in terms of draft picks to a core of the now experienced and fit again talent that took them to that 2008 Flag. They have very much recruited for the now. Thats their gamble. For mine the insipid third quarter was more about the poor leadership from our senior players and our kids gettng shellshocked than anythng our coached did or did not do. And yes that was an issue for us at the end of the Daniher era and we are rebuilding our leadership core a smuch much as we are rebuilding our list.

Grimes is not a liability. His ability to read the play, his run and his strength overhead make him a crucial player. It is important to note that he is a developing talent as today was only his 28th game. But his kicking is not of a standard required for him to be creative with his disposal. Its simply too risky particularly when he goes short or back into the corridor in defence. Keep it simple Jack and go down the line.

Mr Hodge should also be some trouble if the cameras picked up his discreet wack to Dunns guts in the second quarter.