Dappa Dan

Not to barge in uninvited... Maybe you can't. But you can argue whether or not the issue's are even worth raising. I don't see it as any different to the age old question of "some players take longer than others." You can point out faults in nearly every player's game in that way. Having those faults isn't an indicator of future success though. Judd wasn't a good kick. TMac has woeful kicking skills. Similarly a kid like Harmes? Nothing on a football field he can't do. But does he do it? Not nearly as often as he should. Why? Because of his age, games experience, cumulative pre-seasons and the style of game he plays. In the context of their careers, the time for guys like him and ANB is NOW. Have they become whipping boys? Not at all. This "whipping boy" crowd have let them go largely unnoticed. Yet a kid like Oscar who's at a relatively similar age and experience in terms of games played, and is playing a much harder one-on-one role that traditionally NO-ONE does well at within their first 100 games (Rance, anyone?)... is poleaxed here and elsewhere. Anyway, you've heard all pro-Oscar and anti-Oscar rhetoric. It's been nothing but that for the whole time he's played seniors. The reason I've chimed in here is that (maybe for the first time) demonlanders are pointing the finger at themselves. What are WE doing right and wrong. For what it's worth, having been posting here for the last 15 years or so, when you look at the full scope of a player's career, the whipping boy "finding faults" mentality you raise is infuriatingly useless. And probably, in the end, only harmful to a kid's development. And in the end, so often the groupthink thing is just plain WRONG. Not taking aim at you and jnr and the regular posters here who love their footy and know what they're talking about, but holy smokes, some people just plain don't know footy. The Oscar "whipping-boy" thing is one of the better examples. He's doing exactly what he should be doing as a KP defender that's early in his career.

?? I understood perfectly. I DISAGREED. I'll explain again. I understand some players draw ire from supporters. What I'm saying is that that sentiment is to be ignored, as it's unreliable. I've been around long enough to know that groupthink isn't to be trusted. You think Oscar cops it harshly? Demonland might not have been as well populated back then but Jamar copped it from literally everyone on here. Went on to be an All Australian. Similarly, players like Rivers were great when they started and went on to do sweet f/a. But on demonland, because they'd been decorated early in their careers, they were defended from criticism. Do you follow? What? Come on jnr, you're better than this. Read it again. You understand what implication means, right? I'm not comparing the quality of the players. I'm highlighting the fact that both have played a month of one-on-one KP defending roles deep inside fifty. One (Oscar) has performed well and been trashed on here and elsewhere... the other has been woeful (Jake) and is defended because the dees faithful can't handle criticism when it comes to big-money deals going wrong. Do you see? I'm not comparing the players' quality (I reckon Jake will work out as the better overall player)... I'm IMPLYING that the public perception of them is wrong. You can do this with so many of the criticisms on here. In Oscar's case it's way out of whack. He's not a future AA, but he's doing well and building nicely. In other words he's a whipping boy unnecessarily, and the groupthink that led to him being one is wrong. Same as it was for Jack, Jamar, Nev.. the list goes on. STMJ is right. There IS a reason the public make whipping boys. They're STUPID. They SHOULD be aiming their anger at the MFC coaching group. But that's a different thread. Watts and Bennell? Oh for christs sake. Watts was over 22, whipping boy, and he was actually a pretty good player. Go back through all the #1 picks in history. Plenty of them aren't as good as Jack. And don't give me Bennell. He was never a whipping boy. I don't remember ever reading anything about him, TBH.

I'm not referring to or reacting to criticism. It's the nonsensical abuse I'm talking about. And yes, whipping boys do appear without reason. Not all the time, but often without legitimate cause. Oscar has been pasted on here, and elsewhere, even though he's a KP player who's still developing. Jake Lever has gotten off lightly compared to the abuse Oscar's copped. What's the age difference? About 2 weeks. A "common view" is as regularly wrong as it is right. In all fields. People are thick. A PERSON is smart. I find it funny that whipping boys always seem to be under 22ish... and certain other players get off scot free.

Yeah, in a roundabout way it's a good place for us to be in as a club. The sooks on d'land and elsewhere always need their whipping boy. Nowadays they have to pick players who are actually playing well to get their weekly abuse in. Going along well is Oscar. Some other whipping boy highlights - Jeffy who's roundly believed to be knocking on the door of AA. Lewis who was second in B&F. Bugg who kicked 4 a week and a half ago. Wagner who has been among our best defenders through the first 3 weeks.

I saw them. He's no prodigy when it comes to tapping to advantage. I've always felt that had more to do with the midfielders brains. Still... it's better if you get a hand to it. Also he identified we were struggling in clearances and would tap for distance, not finesse. And yes. It is good. Had he got 40 against a 4 quarter potential AA ruckman from last year that would have been great. 66 is insanely good, height or no.

Everyone's quick to jump on Grundy after 4 good weeks. Max is the better player, more runs on the board, better ruckman... Give it half a season, Grundy won't play like that every week. Meanwhile Max has 66 hitouts against a class ruckman in big boy. 66 is ridiculous, even against a no-ruck team.

Yeah, but even among WRs he carries on like a pork chop. Hasn't been dangerous or scary since he did his ankle. Is worth more to opposition teams making it all about him, than he is to the teams he plays for. I reckon as a GM with the whole "Dallas for life" thing, it'd be hard to get excited about a player who has DIVA concerns but doesn't produce well enough to have them. Will have to be a Red Zone threat at best, like Jimmy Graham. I don't reckon he'll be able to choose where he goes nearly as easily as people are saying. At Rams for example he'd be third biggest target.

Dez says a lot of things... lol

My mate @Kraken is devastated. Jerruh put up the X on Dez... How much will he get and where will he end up? I'd love it if Eagles had the room and snaffled him. They don't of course.

Yeah. Shouldn't have included him as his best year was under Goody. Yeah. Like I say though, I think way too often they'll go looking for stats just to have something to talk about. And if your stats sound more considered and profound year after year it makes me think maybe they're looking a little too hard. This forward pressure thing... It's just a stat. Why are they defending so well? Why is the ball getting down there so often? Who and what were the matchups in terms of height? What style of opposition play did we observe? ie did they switch often? Did they bomb it long etc... I'm not saying it's a bad thing that we have these smaller guys that tackle and harass and compete. Obviously that's great. But I don't think it tells us we're a better defense. Or that we're a more attacking defense. I'll take a high possession redounding defense. I'm not sure one is better than the other. Still. interesting conversation.

It was Kingy and Scotty Lucas I think. And yeah you summed it up well. I always find those things a bit meh, as they really do go looking for something to get statistical on. But in terms of just us following our club, it was introduced as something that's a shift in how we play, at least through 3 weeks. It's also worth pointing out they said we were up there with Tigers, which is good... and GC. So you take it with a grain of salt.

You know. I wouldn't put it past him.

Good post. My fear currently is the post Roos malaise. Under him he took 3 years getting a really super defensive game together. The mentality carried over into 2017, which is natural I guess. But now it's slipping. The narrative that Goody is all offense is starting to look accurate too. He's making inside fifty players look like All Australians that weren't before (Bugg, Melksham, Hogan, Tmac). Meanwhile class defenders are starting to look second rate (Lever, Hunt, Hibberd)... Omac and Jetta obviously a pass. Coaching up what amounts to a retooling of the Mick Malhouse press is ok... As long as it's mixed in with some other things. I hope you're right about the fact he's pushing this gameplan for now to drill it in. It's a small sample size, only three games... and two of those games were against developing teams. I feel like we're gonna be in for some Goody hate over the next couple of games though, on demonland at least.

Miss? Handball in the square? Smile when his team's getting pumped? I'm intrigued. I reckon so. I'm not saying Hogan couldn't reel him in one day. But as of right now he's the most sought after KP forward going round not named Buddy.

Where do you place Lynch?

As of last 3 rounds, sure. But in the wider football world Daniher has more runs on the board. I already had him as the better player, but I wouldn't argue the point with opposition supporters on who is better as of round 1 this season. Daniher was amazing last year. Hogan will be amazing this year. From 2019 onwards, it won't be just us on here saying Jesse's better.

Tmac + Hogan + Small forwards who are pound for pound better contested marks than they should be (Jeffy, Hannan, Fritsch)... Plus some of the better guys going round in the AFL when the ball hits the deck (same 3 guys). I get why he does it. As they say in chess, the best move isn't necessarily your most aggressive or defensive... it's the move your opposition LEAST wants you to make. And for this reason, bombing it long worries me. I'm all for it at the right time... When pushed when there's no other option... I'll take my chances with Jesse 1 vs 2... so often he will destroy two players and leave them sprawling on the ground, cutting a swathe for the mosquito fleet... But that's not what has us worried. It can't be an all the time thing. We have foregone a good running option many times to go for this tactic, and we've gotten ourselves in trouble for it. We're still vulnerable to a rebounding team, even with our top four inside fifty defensive pressure (courtesy of SEN today). I'm confident we'll change things up when Tmac gets back. In the meantime though, Hawks will slice us, and Tigers will smash us if we keep trying it.

I don't sugarcoat things with demons. I'm harsh, much like a proud dad is harsh when he coaches his own kids... So I'll be harsh and glass-half-empty on Hogan. He'll be better than Daniher.

1. Kent's 4 quarters. 2. Kent's kicking skill. 3. Kent's pace. Everything else... Gawn, Hogan, even Bugg... came as no surprise. But this from a guy I had written off was massive for us. He brought those three things, all of which we lack hugely. With hunt woefully out of form, we are dying for pace and kicking skill. The difference he makes to our 22 is absolutely massive.

love it.

I came on here to find some news on it. Not a sausage. I'm stunned, frankly. Especially with the Frost one.

Agree. I've been banging on about this for months, so I won't go into massive detail about definitions, or how long "my lifetime" is... but yes, in terms of players who do what he has done, as regularly as he's done it, as young as he is... Nothing even comes close.

Best midfielder I've seen at demons in my lifetime.

Oh for God's sake. Cooks to Rams?!!! Eagles shaking in the cupboard clutching their Lombardi.

Hmmm.... May have gone early.