CHF

Have this for lunch on Sunday as a tribute....

That is one of the things that the coaches have been vey open to, trying plyers in different positions on the ground. I heard mention on one of the podcasts that each players has a primary position that they train for as well as a secondary position that they also cover. I would imagine a few of them would have three positions that they could cover. Rosman has been a bit unlucky with Covid as there have not been many Casey games for him to show what he can bring. It will be interesting to see how the younger players that have not had a lot of game play have developed. it might be the begining of a new development method. Get them on board and keep them training and working on their skills for a season or two before they get to play..... just kidding. Agree with you re Chandler.

Yep. Howes could end up on a wing but I tend to discount the new draftees as to what position they may play because these days once they get to a club the club develops them and then looks at where they might best play. Howes could play forward, wing or half back. JVR forward or back.

I have been having a detailed look at our list and, as we all know, the structure and depth is very good. A few seasons ago I noted that the way the drafting and trading was going we were looking to bolster the defence with a view to restricting the opposition scoring and then launching from the back half/defensive 50. This coupled with great levels of fitness and stressing of the importance of hard running both ways has built a list of players that work in the team system that has been developed to understand how to cover any weaknesses that may develop as the play unfolds. I have decided to look at the list with an eye to the future rather than just accepting we are the Premiers at the moment and therefore should perform better than the rest of the teams. Besides, we are top of the heap, it is off-season and there are not a lot of training reports or much to complain about and we need something to talk about….so, why not? DEFENCE: As I stated above this area of the ground is the cornerstone of our structure. We have an excellent mix of not only key position players and running, skilful link players but also a great mix of experience and developing players. Established key position players include the likes of May, Lever, Tomlinson and Petty with the first three of those traded for and brought in from other clubs. Between these four there is a good deal of variety and flexibility in the way they play their positions. They all have the ability to intercept in the air and I have been amazed when watching the games to note in a few of them the key defenders had all taken intercept marks by the end of the first quarter. Developing/Support key position defenders I have as Turner and J. Smith. Smith is a very good depth player and I think he could more than fill in if required for longer periods if there is injury to others. Turner has the opportunity to develop as required through a very well-established system. When looking at the runners out of defence we have a really exciting group of proven performers with Salem, Rivers, Hunt and Bowey. Within this group there is also a good mix of experience and youth with Salem and Hunt both in their peak years turning 27 this year and Rivers and Bowey 21 and 20 this year. A good mix of skills there as well with Salem and Bowey elite ball users and Hunt, while I do not put him the same ball using club as those two, has speed and a willingness to run and carry that gives the team a lot. Rivers is a mix of the two, with good ball distribution as well as good run. D. Smith at 20yo is waiting for his opportunity and I look forward to seeing him slot in at some stage. Hibberd at 32yo might find himself in a similar position to Nev last year. We also have a few versatile players that can drop back there for cover. Gawn has done it a few times when the backs are under pressure, and I was very impressed last season in the way that midfielders and even forwards flooded back as needed to assist. It was not just that they got back there at times, but the fact that when they did, they were effective and did not look to get in the way of the defensive structure. Next year I could see us looking to add to our key position defensive stocks with a draft pick to develop. You never know JVR might end up back there for a time. MIDFIELD: It is in this area of the round that we look to be scary good. Mature, strong players just entering their prime with good solid young players developing well as support/depth. Petracca, Oliver, Viney, ANB and Harmes are all in the prime years of their playing days with experience, strength and hardness. Their strengths complement each other as they play through the middle. Any combination of those players in the middle at Gawn or Jackson’s feet will give you confidence. Additionally, we have added another mature body in Dunstan, I have not watched a lot of him and will be interested to see what he brings. Sparrow and Jordon are players that can rotate through there. Both are good young solid players that have enjoyed development over the last season. When they step into the team there are no questions about their ability to perform. I expect both of them to be better again this year. Langdon and Brayshaw on the wings own their positions and I get the feeling that Gus might have a bit more to offer there with the experience he has now gathered over the last season. Langdon is a freak and if he continues to play at his present level for a few more years, I will be well satisfied. Baker as depth is adequate but I think we need to find and develop at least one other player along with Rosman to cover this position. It might be one of the young guys already on the list. Laurie? Moniz-Wakefield? Both of these kids along with draftees Woewodin and McVee are presently classed and ‘midfielders’. We shall see. Leading the midfield is Captain Max and Luke in the ruck. The Master and his apprentice …. Best ruck in the comp and a 20yo that has incredible natural talent and could be anything. Backing them up in the ruck depth is Daw. He is able to hold his own in that position on a good day and is versatile as he can also fill in in other parts of the ground. I would say that next season we need to look for another young ruck to develop. A good time to do it as they usually take time to grown into their bodies and learn the task. We have some excellent examples for them to follow. FORWARDS: We have got some opportunities and potential here with a group that was successful last season almost in spite of itself. I find this group the most difficult to analyse. For a large part of last season they chopped and changed and managed to get winning scores on the board most weeks. At times they suffered from inaccuracy that was troubling, but, having said that, they did a great job when they had to. B. Brown, Mc Donald and Fritsch were the key forwards at the end of the season with Brown and Fristch the main goal kickers. Mc Donald held up his end and always presented a running option. To me it was a strange mix but it worked. Weideman, Daw and Mitch Brown are there as support. Brown will be used in emergencies and Weid will get a few opportunities to show if he has developed or not. I will not be holding my breath but will be hoping. Daw looks to be emergency cover to my mind. Draftees Van Rooyen and Howes are being developed as forwards (I hope). I think in the next year or two we will need talls ready to go. Melksham is a medium forward that might be running out of legs and opportunity, but I can see him a excellent cover if required. Pickett and Spargo are our present first choice small forwards and they work very well together in both attack and defence. If they stay fit and their form hold up it will be hard for others to get a look in. The others are Chandler and Bedford, both very capable players to have in support. Moniz-Wakefield might get developed as a small forward as well. From reports he has pace, agility and a presence on the field. ANB is a player that roams into the forward 50 very effectively along with our resting ruck duo. Overall, as we know, a good well-structured list that should be competing at the pointy end of the competition for the next few years. For me the fascinating thing will be to see how we work to bring in and develop new players. In the next couple of years we need to get key defenders and a or two forward in to develop so they can slot in a players get older. They are the positions that take time to fill and I do not think we will be in the draft position to trade for quality players for those positions. We might be able to pick up a player or two through free agency, but I do not see that as a durable solution. I will be interested in comments.

True.... that is one way of looking at it....the other way is that we may have kicked a forth in that period if brown had not been held down.....

I have long been annoyed at the lack of application of punishment for time wasting. I think it will make the game faster and more open if it is enforced. The instance dworship describes above was an example that was blatant in the extreme that went unpunished by the umps and had me yelling at the TV. I also get annoyed when there is a delay in getting the ball back to the player after a free or a mark. I sometimes think it would be a disadvantage for the attacking team to get the ball back in their hands quickly. I am all for this clampdown on time wasting.

Yep Jontee, left out the observation on the Saints...... And Angry man Jones. Was watching the performance of the Dees very closely.

Think I will work my way through the season looking at games through the prism of a Premiership and our quality of play in the final series. Posted in the Post grand final thread my round 1 observations. I remember that there was a lot of pumping up of the Saints early in the season and I was not confident prior to the game and I have to say that watching the replay of this game and knowing the outcome did not mean that the frustration levels were any less than watching it live. 12 goals 19 behinds with us scoring 3.6 in each of the last two quarters. 9 different goal scorers and 9 different behind kickers. not sure how many we missed completely. Frustrating and it highlighted what would become a theme in the first half of the season with us winning games with a dysfunctional forward line. My observations: - Viney in for Harmes who was injured jack kicks a goal with his first touch.... - Players in the team that did not play in the GF Jetta, Tomlinson, Hunt, Jones and Baker. - Commentators talking up Saints every opportunity. - Umps pulled the trigger on play on calls very quickly.... I seem to remember that this happen a few weeks before it settled down. - Oliver was a clearance machine and his connection with max was obvious. Also started to see the Oliver/Petracca combo being built. - Langdon smooth mover and his disposal quality was better than the 2020 season. - Support in both defence and attack was something I saw a lot of off the back of some excellent pressure. This was a developing theme for me during the season. - Salem crazy good with his positional play and support efforts. - Forwards all over the place like a mad person's breakfast except for the Kossie/Spargo combination. They work well together. - Petracca's strength. He really stepped up and continued to develop during the season. - I also saw the team's turnover reaction as a big plus. Their reaction to adjusting their structure to switch from defence to attack or from attack to defence was fast and well drilled. - There was a growing awareness of the potential of the quality of our defence. Second game that the defence dominated with intercept marking. As I said, a frustrating game to watch live and a no less frustrating game to watch on replay.

Maybe this post should be in Post Game - Round 1 thread. I am finding it interesting to look back of replays of the games this season through a prism of winning the Grand Final and the quality of play that we achieved in the second half of that game. Here are some of my observations on the Round 1 Freo game. - Playing in the game were Tomlinson, Hunt, Jones, Jetta and Jordon who were all missing from the GF team. - Kossie was deployed at the opening center bounce. - our defence started the season the way they meant to play for the whole of the season... conceded no goals in the first quarter. in the first quarter all of Lever, May, Tomlinson and Rivers all took contested intercept marks. trademark of the defence right there. - Goodwin coaching from the bench was something that he did all of the season. looked to have an immediate connection with the players. Will be interesting to see if other coaches follow his direction on this. - Brayshaw on a wing. it was interesting to see how this developed over the season. in this Round 1 game, he was there but not a fully fledged member of the Wingers Club. it was good that during the season this was persisted with as he has developed into this position well and excelled in the final series. - Sparrow looked at home in the team and provided good links into the forwards with some excellent delivery. he built on this during the season. - ANB ran all day and continued to do so all season. - I saw some glimpses of the way we developed during the season with the overlap running, both through the center and on Langdon's wing with players like Hunt, Salem, Rivers and Jackson running in waves. I aim to watch replays of all the games last season during the off season and might add some observations as I do.

I agree with the need to change it up a bit and have a look at some different players at the center bounce. I hope we get to see Rivers in there for a bit of difference but I would also give the opposition a few things to worry about by putting Jackson in there running off Max's taps. I will also be interested to see the development of the players that have joined us over the last couple of drafts. I think we might get a bit of a surprise (good) when a couple of these youngsters get some consistent footy through Casey.

Twomey has the first 10 spot on. Would be a hell of a lot quicker and better if they just let him run through his selections as the draft.

I never expected very much from his 8 earlier games a couple of years ago when he filled in up forward. what I did see during that short stint was a kid that is very competitive and never takes a backwards step. I liked his aggression and the fact that, even at that early stage of his footy life, he gave a good as he got. 2021 showed Harry was a well developed player who is able to fit into the defensive structure very, very well. While he has maintained his aggression it is tempered with a clear understanding of his role in things down back. I can see that there will be a lot of competition to fill spots in the team and I look forward to watching that unfold. Harry has played 19 games so far and I can see him getting more critical to our structure as he gins more experience. He may well step into May's shoes in the future.

This kid (not meant as a derogatory term, more a reflection of his tender years) is excitement central when he is near to the ball or ha it in his hands, either in attack or defending. He did step up this season from last year and I can see a lot of room for development of his game. Besides the fact that I think he will build more of a tank over the next couple of years I think he will also build an awareness that will lead to him being even more effective as an attacking force. I saw this a little more a this season went on. he really delivered some excellent inside 50s kicks that he had not looked like doing in the earlier part of the season. He has all of the tools and it looks like he is learning to use them most effectively. Hope he can stay around for his footy life with us. Is a beauty and will get better over the next few years.

Great natural talent that landed with us at a time when we were able to develop his talent properly and with out any pressure on him to be a superman. Look settled and, like all the players, is enjoying the footy and his team mates. Covers the ground very, very well and has that awareness that the best of players have. I am sure that they will build his tank a fair bit over the next few years and he will spend more and more time on the ground during games. After watching him over the last quarter of the season and the finals I need to keep reminding myself that he is so young and likely to get a lot better over the next few years. Very glad that he is playing for us and not against us.

I see this season a a really good first season by him for the Dees. The way that the fitness and coaching teams work with him in the early stages of the season to get him fit and in form was excellent. On the surface Brown did not kick up a fuss or make any demands to be in the fist team, he merely went about his work and let the game come to him. Come finals he was very, very good the way he worked with the rest of the forward structure. Considering the chopping and changing that the forwards went through during the season, it is great to have Brown there to build around. Looking forward I can see Ben dominating a lot more than he did this last season.

I have always liked the look of the way that Sparrow plays the game and look at his development as a blueprint for the way to bring young players into the game and work on their strengths and weaknesses. The coaching team have done wonders with some very good raw material. For Sparrow he is in a great position of being able to play a role in behind the likes of Petracca, Oliver and Viney so that he has the freedom to do what he does. He is a very good kick so he ha the attacking elements that make him a danger. He also has the defensive game with his tackling and running. I also like the competitiveness and aggression he shows. He is developing well but will be even better when he builds more of a tank and I can see that coming over the next couple of pre-seasons. A lot of upside for this kid. A great game in the grand final, and remember, according to the AFL stats, he only rated 15th best in the Demons 22.

Like the way he goes about his job. Not a lot of fuss or bother, just gets it done..... and gets it done very well indeed. Should have the nickname "Sub", as in Submarine because he glides below the surface only to pop up unexpectedly to cause havoc. Reads it well and has great reflexes and balance. I will enjoy watching him for the next few years.

Binny, I like the view of that goal from down the ground. As Sparrow receives the perfect handball form Oliver there are 4 dogs that look to converge on him from the 4 points of the compass. One step. Bang! Too late she cried.

I love the way that Oliver has matured and developed over the years and can see that he is looking for ways to become even better. I also think that with Petracca in the middle they both benefit tremendously from playing along side each other. While both are incredibly talented players, they are both better when playing together. Oliver has touch, awareness, strength and a competitive streak a mile wide.

I have not posted really at all since The Win. I have re watched the game more than a few times and I am astounded at the quality of play that was achieved by individual players and by the team as a whole. According to the AFL player stats for the game the bottom 6 players for the Demons were, from the sixth lowest to the lowest, McDonald, who scored a couple of goals, Rivers, who had a strong defensive game and attacked when the chance presented, Spargo, a goal and a good forward 50 defensive game, Petty strong defense with a 6 disposal game for 95% TOG, Hibberd, who played an excellent defensive game and Pickett, whose pressure in the forward 50 lead to goals. For a bottom six that is as strong as it gets and was one of the critical reasons why we won and won so well. Add to that Tom Sparrow who was just above Tom McDonald and you get a clear idea of the level of play we achieved across the team. I rate Sparrow very highly and believe he will mature into a top class mid for us. Excuse me I have to go off and have a look at the replay of our most recent premiership.

Hawthorn is the 'new' Collingwood

One of the things that I have been watching closely over the course of this season is the developing combinations, connections and on field relationships within the team. All have noted the May/Lever combo and the way that they work together in the structure of the defence. When Tomlinson went down, and Petty came in they looked to work together with him to ensure he knew what he needed to do. It was similar with Bowey. The defence also has great connection with the mids, not only in defence but also in attack. I noted early in the season how many times Hunt would run down the wing inside Langdon to support and give him an option. Later in the season it looked to me like Salem took over this role, running in support of Langdon in particular but also backing Brayshaw. In the defensive part of the ground, it was not uncommon to see Spargo pop up back there to do a job. With the mids the connections are very obvious with Petracca and Oliver seeming to have an uncanny ability to know where the other is and to find them with a pass. Viney looks to me to be more individual in the way he plays the game. He has a very broad based game that looks to hunt the ball and then relay on reflex to get the ball to go forward player. (not sure if that makes sense) All the mids that attend stoppages or centre bounces look to have a good connection with both Max and Luke. The connection/relationship between max and Luke is very clear. Max The Mentor and Luke soaking it all up like a sponge. Things like ‘the wingers club’ needs a mention as I think Gus enjoys this aspect of playing the position with the contrast to Langdon. The mids work in defence and also in the forward 50 relies on understanding when to go and when to stand out and let the specialists do their work. This was exceptional this season. Both ends really worked well. In the forwards we have Spargo, Kossie and ANB that work together well. Kossie the spark, Spargo the steady and ANB the Spreader. All three together are better than the individuals. They just complement each other so well. AS for the talls down there, well, it took a while to come together but it was worth the wait. This premiership game will cement the relationships within the team and the wider list and the players will realise just how important these combinations and connections are and go about understanding them and working on them and supporting team mates. I love the way that this team is enjoying their footy this season and love the way that the whole list ha brought into the team ethos. P.S. have watched the game replay each day at least once since last Saturday. A time goes by I am sure I will drop back to watching it just once a week. Not yet though.

Thank you Nev. A wonderful team player and a great example for young players. Loved the way you played the game and the way you handled yourself off the ground. Again, thank you.

Mazer, with all due respect to the Birthday Cake Angels, it took them 57 bloody years to deliver on my birthday wish in the first place. How long would it take them to delivery on 5 in a row?

So, what the hell do I wish for when I blow out all of those candles on the birthday cake this year? been making the same wish for more years than I can remember and the cake angles finally answered. I know I could make the same wish but I may need to make the wish to another entity. thank you Birthday Cake angles.