Fat Tony

12 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

The fact that we had a number of players who were down is a positive IMO. 120 points with Koz kicking 1 goal, for example. Personally I think Lever was fine and nowhere near as bad as he’s copping on here, other than the two awful kick turnovers (he has to learn to stop trying those kicks, he routinely misses them).

Agree re Latrelle. How many times did he find himself in space and with the ability to impact? He was behind the pace of AFL level, and not fit or strong enough, but the sign is there IMO that he can be damaging once he adjusts.

12 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Lever gave away a free to Ryan when he had the advantage and did a two fist spoil when he had the sit in the second quarter. He needs to be better and King should suspend his licence for kicks in the corridor.

Personally i think TMac is better than both Petty and Lever (but I can also see why he is going for younger players). Melksham and TMac are being held back for injury and are both in our best side.

I thought our team selection was good.

The decision to play with Petty as the second ruck gave us an extra runner and Max's amazing effort in the last quarter won us the game.

Apart from JVR, I thought our better players had mixed games. Kossie was great in the centre bounce but fairly well held around the ground. Max fumbled a bit early on. Lever made poor decisions.

I am still not sold on Rivers in the midfield long term. He is a weapon off half back and just average in the midfield.

Lindsay is not a great defender but Bowey is still months off returning, so we will need to persever.

I thought CJ was pretty good. Not sure why he is geeting criticism.

JVR looked fantastic being 4kg lighter. He is a fantastic set shot and just needs to keep holding his marks.

Culley playing as a forward was a good move.

Good start for Latrelle. I think he is going to be in and out of the side this year and he is probably not in our best side, but he showed enough signs and kicked a great goal. Good effort to go from SANFL seconds to the AFL.

Langford had a quiet day. We need to feed his left foot more.

Mihocek looks the same as he did at the Pies.

Waverley will be a better option than Caulfield anyway. Dingley, Tullamarine and Casey are all terrible training facilities due to the wind and Caulfield will be the same because it is so open.

AFL players need to train in good conditions because they play in protected stadiums and a lot of what they are training is ball movement and team defence, which requires learned running patterns.

Having the whole club together is not essential. Admin is a very seperate job to playing. The AFLW is at a different time of year (and they all have jobs). And the VFL is semi-professional as well.

I would start Kossie in the midfield and Langdon forward and then push Langdon to NMW and let Kossie cheat forward.

With 5 on the bench, i think TMac or Petty could play both forward and back at times. Rucks and key forwards usually play 80% and key defenders usually play 85-95% game time. Having a player that can be versatile and play both ends makes sense with the new rules.

I would play JVR as back up ruck. I think he competes in the ruck very well. I know there is a thought that it hurts his forward game, but I am not convinced he will ever really be an A-grade forward.

Fritch, JVR, Mihocek is plenty tall enough. Langford can pinch hit. Culley and Steele offer good options as well. We will likely have one key position player for depth on the bench out of 5.

Definately no two rucks. We had a season trying it and it failed with TWO ALL AUSTRALIANS.

Jackson was a different player.

8 minutes ago, AshTaafe said:

Max Heath should get the gong ;-) And Gawny has been listed with "hamstring awareness" so a genuine ruck option has to be the safe bet.

Gawn played last week and I haven't seen him on the latest injury list.

Regardless, we play only one ruck because Heath or Gawn would unbalance the forward line. The fact that Heath didn't play last week, means he won't play.

If both play, there will be 50% of game time with both on the ground at the same time. It didnt work with Grundy and Gawn, why does everyone think it will work with Heath?

5 hours ago, adonski said:

Really weird team by someone at AFL house who hasn't followed much of preseason

I think the only change to that 22 will be CJ for Taylor.

6 minutes ago, BangBnagBang said:

On a small base with heavy incentives for a (at the time) starting 18 player. Only thing that is amateur is your comment.

May was 32, looked nearly done and had another year left. The coach was under pressure and we weren't sure if we were still in contention. It was a horible contract which we tied to trade out of 12 months later. It cost us $700k and we got nothing.

We extended Viney because North offered him deal and because Petracca tried to leave and we unsuccesfully shopped Oliver. Now he has another 3 years including this one.

We recuited Mihocek because our forward line sucked but we brought him in three years late.

The decisions make no sense.

1 hour ago, whatwhat say what said:

there's no such thing as 'significant cap room' in the afl

every club must pay at least a minimum 95% of their total cap, with an allowance request to dip down to 92.5% (afaik dogs are the only club to ask and receive this), and a tolerance to 105%, to a even keel over a period of time (i've heard recently it's 2 years, but i thought it was 5 year rolling period)

AFL clubs can front load and back load deals to create space and it compounds. Spending $700k on May this year and $3.5m on Oliver for the next 5 years shows how poor we have managed our list and cap space. We have a bottom 8 list and have lost some ability to bring in players over the next few years. The MFC needs to reset and work out what year we can win it again. Gawn, Mihocek, Steele, Viney and Lever are unlikely to be part of the next premiership team and they make up circa 30% of our cap space. And Oliver and May is another 4-5% each.

I am not saying we should have completely cleaned out the club but there needs to be a timeline and strategy here.

57 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Wasn't in March. Was reported in March, actual extension was some time in the 2024 season to prevent him running off to Carlton, despite being contracted for 2025. Which isn't all that much better.

Thanks. Still no reason to extend his deal. Stupid waste of money.

1 hour ago, Lucifers Hero said:

May's contract gone end of this year. End of 2027 Max will have retired or if he stays probably on much less $. Ditto end of 2028 for Steele, Viney, Mihocek. That should all add to quite a few dollars ... $3m? by end of 2028.

The club can move other contracts forward or back around the above known salary space.

Plus the ability to under/over spend the cap so smooth it over several years.

No need to worry. Sal cap is a bit smoke and mirrors!

The fact that we are not in contention and that we don't have significant cap room IS a reason to worry. Our club needs a timeline to win our next flag and our list management is not coherent.

The fact that we signed May in March last year for another year requires an investigation. Our list management is amateur.

3 hours ago, AshTaafe said:

Can we leave JVR to focus on being a forward. He's been under the pump for a while and hadn't been developing enough. This pre-season he hasn't been doing as much ruck craft and frankly is looking more like a dangerous forward than ever...

Someone has to be the second ruck. Mihocek needs to come back into the side and Kentfield will go out. The other option is bring in Mihocek and Heath but that completely unbalances the forward line.

I am not convinced Petty is quick enough to play as a key defender anymore. Seemed too slow for Tom Lynch.

How did Melksham play?

Think we would be much better playing JVR as second ruck than Heath. The new rules are anti-second ruckman (and we shouldnt play a second ruck with Gawn anyway).

Think Steel, Langford, Fritsch and Culley (if he plays) give us another forward marking threat. I also want to see Melksham in the side when he is AFL match fit. The side looks ok on paper but we could do with more pace. Bowey is a loss.

1 hour ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

I actually think Langdon gets a bad rap for us for kicking out of the full. I think he has done it so often, precisely because our strategy had been to hug the boundary and he's so often the player receiving and then delivering the ball in this area of the ground. King has a quiet different philosophy moving the ball out of defence and so long as Langdon has bought into that, I think we'll be fine.

His ability to run all day and keep presenting as a option in the spots we need him to is a real asset and Langdon could have a great year for us with more space to move into in an attacking way, as well as his great defensive efforts.

There is definitely some truth here about game plans but Langdon definitely has weaknesses in his game. Especially when playing on the left wing. I thought these were covered up better last year when he played in ANBs old role. I hope he plays this role again because it allows Kossie to cheat forward after the centre bounce.

My point about the rule stands that the wings need to be even better at keeping their kicks in play when close to the boundary.

With the new rules for free kicks for out of bounds between the arcs, I think playing wings with their kicking leg on the boundary side will become more important. I wouldn’t play Langdon on the wing (better high half forward or on ball). Think it also means territory is more important and kicking to the pockets inside 50 MORE important. You don’t want to get split open on the counter attack.

3 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

My take on yesterdays game.

Whilst it was only a practise games against one of the worst AFL teams of this decade then yes, just have to temper expectations.

At the same time, there are many positives and glimpse you can still take from yesterdays performance.

Finally for however long I can remember, we are actually going to be fun and exciting to watch this year. The speed on the ball was something we haven't seen in a long time.

We will leak goals fairly easily this year but I thought our defence was rock solid at times yesterday. I do agree with a previous comment that we will miss having a big bodied defender like Steven May just to take the bigger 198-201cm type forwards.

Quick summary on a few players:

Mihocek - A pity he was out early. Hes got such a big presence up forward and put that alongside JVR and Kentfield/Jefferson then I think we will be fine in that department.

Kentfield - exceptional game. Really surprised me once again with his ruckwork and ability to work hard around the ground. Just an old fashioned tough bastard who doesnt take a backwards step. 3 goals in the 'Pederson' role has him pretty much locked in for a round 1 debut.

Heath - Similar to Kentfield. Just another hulking angry [censored]. He was getting stuck into that thug Xerri and was laying blocks for his teammates. I have always like this pick up the moment we showed interest. What I didnt realise was his incredible leap at the centre bounce and ability to palm it in front of his teammates. Something Gawn isn't good at. He is a round 1 lock imo.

Howes - i am surprised not much has been made about his performance. I thought he was exceptional and would have easily had over 20 plus disposals off half back. His ball use was neat and he actually provided run which we havent seen from his game before. Players like Howes will thrive under the King regime because the shackles have been finally released and it showed yesterday.

Lat Pickett - my god we're in for a ride with this kid. Can I say its heart warming to see the #33 out there dazzling away at half forward. Interestingly he was playing the high half forward role Similar to how ANB use to use. His work rate was exceptional, just needed to tidy his disposal but that will come with experience. Get the ball in this kid hands in the wide open spaces of the G and let him cook. I was thinking of player comparisons.. Nas Wanganeen with a touch of Lewis Jetta?

Koz Pickett - Enough said. He was going at 70% and taking the [censored].

Laurie - I really liked his game. Working hard up the ground and provided some really good deft touches with his ball use. Once again, played the role imilar to the ANB which Laurie is more then capable of locking that position down if he badly wants it.

Steele - Was so clean and neat with his disposal with the added bonus of providing on field leadership and guidance.. something Oliver and Petracca didnt do. Everytime I saw him side of the screen he was pointing away at teammates just marshalling them around. No fuss and just goes about his business well.

CJ - Another who is going to be a bargain pick up. His ability to leap and spoil is going to be an asset down in defence plus we saw the glimpses of the run and dash down back. Him and Bowey down there will provide us with the quick sling shot and rebound.

Langford - he is good on a wing but he is a gun as an inside mid. Leave him there.

Special mentions to Fritta, Chandler, Langdon and Sparrow.

Lastly, North are an absolute shambles.. I'm not one to feel sympathy for opposition supporters but it must be demoralising for them to sit and watch that with the amount of talent they have on their list being coached by a 4 time premiership coach.

Something stinks down at Arden.

Doubt both Kentfield and Heath play. I know there is another man on the bench but Gawn will play 75-80% in the ruck, so that's a lot of minutes for both to be playing forward.

4 minutes ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Tbf, I don’t think there’s issues with gameplay changes with them out.

It doesn’t change what the fill in players are told to do or the others playing.

Would be nice to not have so many out though.

I think the new game plan requires more skill and Bowey and Salem are losses, especially early on.

Culley also a loss because of Viney being out. Looking at our list, Culley, Steele and Langford (and Sparrow) give us a few players who can drift forward and take a mark and kick a goal in a slow play. I can see us using a lot of pulled 40m kicks into a stacked forward line to these players who have a marking advantage. The main issue with our midfield is it is too slow (apart from Kossie and Windsor).

And we have Kossie who can cheat forward on a fast play.

4 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

AFL WEBSITE

The Demons' new-look midfield has been hit hard with Jack Viney (Achilles) set to miss most of the first half of the season and Jai Culley (arm) out for a month after a promising summer. Max Gawn has been nursing a finger fracture but played in AAMI AFL Origin on Saturday, while Jake Bowey will miss several months as he recovers from a Lisfranc fracture in his foot. Harry Sharp (hamstring) and draftee Tom Matthews (groin) returned to match sim training last week, while Shane McAdam (Achilles), Jack Henderson (back/sacrum), Tom Campbell (neck) and Andy Moniz-Wakefield (knee) are all in various stages of recovery. Christian Salem has been restricted to running laps in recent sessions but the club reportedly said in late January there were no concerns with his fitness. Father-son tall Kalani White has returned to Queensland to spend time with family as he recovers from a bout of glandular fever. - Michael Rogers

It sounds like Viney, Culley, Bowey and Salem are the most likely players doubtful for round 1 who would be selected. And May is very, very doubtful and Petty is unlikely. I can see issues implementing a new game style with so many personel issues.

Spoke to the head recruiter of another AFL team and they said they really liked Latrelle and he watched him play about 6 times last season.

The main issue I have with shifting Langford into the middle is that we already have Steele, Viney (if fit) and maybe Culley in there. That will be too slow in the midfield.

I was a bit sceptical last season with Langford on the wing initially, but we discovered he has good pace once he gets moving and that he can completely open the game up when he plays on the right wing because of his kicking and being able to bring the ball inside. I think if he plays in the middle this season he will get less kicks and more handballs, which is not what we want. I also think he needs to be allowed to cheat forward and take marks. It is not about putting in a role to get the ball as much as possible, but it is about positioning him to get more kicks and take more overhead marks inside 50.

3 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

I reluctantly re-watched the first 5 games of last year to see where it all went wrong and two things I picked up that were relevant to your post.

1) Jeffo showed some sneaky great signs in the GWS round 1 game. A goal in the first 20 seconds of the game, a beautiful gather near the boundary that set up a goal to Henderson, and a classic full forward lead and subsequent goal (from a crisp Windsor pass) that appeared to seal the game at the time.

2) Petty ain't a defender either if the first 5 games were an indication. Our defence overall was a complete circus during that period but he was hopeless one-on-one, and far too slow for a modern day key defender. There's a probably a reason he was swung forward for the balance of the year.

I think the idea of Petty playing as a defender (and May and TMac playing VFL) will make us worse.

Goodwin was no mug when it came to building a system that worked to our team's strengths. We just have a very inflexible list of players.