DeeSpencer

Our backline recruiting has focused on good ball users - apart from Frosty. A healthy Jake Lever can kick well and is a great handballer, May, Oscar, Hibberd (at least in the past), Jetta, Salem all good kicks. Mids and forwards not as much although you need ball winners and good athletes in those spots. It's worth questioning the chase of Langdon because he's not a great kick but there's so few good kicking outside runners that I'm not sure it matters, better to get someone than no one. Goal kicking seemed to be a strength of ours in recent years until all of a sudden it wasn't. It's not a strength but if we get back to being able to win the ball, run both ways and create some space with our handballs I think our kicking will take a huge leap forward. The trick of Hawthorn and West Coast is how well they work to get guys clear and easy options to kick to. That's our real deficiency.

What when? Tomlinson's never had a season that I've seen that would have him anywhere near an All Aus top 100 yet alone the squad. He doesn't have near Tom Lynch's forward smarts nor the kicking. He can spot up a neat kick but to consistently hit targets in crowded 50's you need to play on quickly, manipulate the man on the mark and then hit up a target with super accurate kicking. Tomlinson can't do that. Plus we've already got a better player at doing that in Melksham. Wing, with the added bonus of being a decent back up ruck is how the Giants use him and that's how I'd use him too.

We had largely stopped that by finals last year hadn't we? When Harmes/Viney/Oliver could work 2 ways at centre bounces unlike this year when they were underdone for the first month or so. Even last year many questioned if it was actually helping us. I'd say Jennings was let go because of more of our overall structures and game plan rather than the bounces. There's a stoppage coach who's full time job it is to monitor that area of play, if we were largely undone by the 15 seconds post stoppage he'd be the first to go.

The significant rule changes only ended up being 6-6-6 which matters for about 15 seconds after a centre clearance. A very small factor. It shouldn't have mattered at all but Oliver, Brayshaw and Viney couldn't defend a centre stoppage to save themselves so it did mean cascading changes to the midfield. The bigger factors were teams just took a big step forward adding pace back in to the midfield - something Richmond started in 2017, diffusing forward pressure by controlling the ball with a patient kicking game (very West Coast and Coll 2018, Geel/Bris 2019) and smarter forward tactics - the big switch across half forward that takes our all our zoning players (West Coast killed us in the prelim last year with this one) and/or kicking to one tall and structuring around the jumper (Geelong killed the whole comp with this for 10 weeks this year). Our A game fell apart and whilst the criticism of our coaches for not having a plan B is fair I don't think there's a team in the comp that wins a lot of games playing with a plan B. Maybe Port Adelaide who seems to cycle through plans B, C, D, E, F until they don't have a plan A anymore. Maybe our coaches didn't see the writing on the wall with the need for quicker mids, patient defensive ball use and smarter forward 50 entries. Although maybe our coaches did know what was required and Vanders - inside mid speed tackling machine, Steve May - strong mark and ball using defender, KK - outside mid run and class never got out on the park.

And we wouldn't have won a single game more with him than without him. Preuss got an opportunity to show how far he's got to go, Keilty got a well deserved chance of a couple of games and we got some extra games in to Petty who showed he has at least a bit to offer as a forward. If Tim Smith, Weideman and T Mc were all injured then yeah we'd have kept Pedersen but knowing our luck he would've been injured too.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-02-06/offfield-role-tweak-for-demons-great-viney The question is what are we losing if Todd goes? And who replaces him? If Todd's been a big part of flooding the list with unskilled unfit players and neglecting skill and run then he's made some big mistakes. But if he's taken a backseat in that area and is more of a manager then maybe he's an experienced head in a young footy department. Do we need to make changes - yes. Do I really believe there's some kind of Goodwin cabal that's been holding the club back - nope, sorry. Pert seemed to undermine Buckley and chop and change the support staff (losing Malthouse - thankfully, losing Eade, losing Balme) and Bucks was on eggshells. I'd hate for an already nervous coach in Goodwin to end up that way. Pert leaves the Pies and suddenly there's a whole new confidence to Buckley and his players. If Pert's working to provide new faces and support alongside Goodwin this will work out. If he's got an ego as big as his head and thinks it's clear the decks and ramp the pressure then he won't make the right changes and he'll be left holding the bill.

Trubisky will be the story but I'm not as concerned about him as the whole offense. The rough start was due to the Packers defense just balling and terrible play calling, both of which continued for most of the night. After the start he had a number of big plays miss by inches. Robinson shoved out of bounds early before the catch down the right side, commentators don't even mention it. The deep ball just missing the 2nd foot/just landing out of bounds to Gabriel. The offensive PI to Gabriel which is always going to be paid - especially after a stupid challenge that robs the game of momentum (such a terrible rule, wonder if it was a tactical challenge) - but had no bearing on the play, the defender was always having the ball sail over his head, Gabriel only puts hands on to balance, oh well. Then Trubisky makes a great throw under pressure to the RB near the goal line and it hits the Packers defenders trailing arm in a total fluke, ball would've been inside the 2. Then his tight end drops a simple out. O line was bad and run game never got moving. Penalties penalties penalties for all sorts of crap, some on the QB but a lot on the team. Pretty much Nagy was missing his TE (weakest spot on the roster as well as the most important position in this and many other schemes) and has just shat the bed trying to get creative plays over the middle. A bad QB and a coaching crap show but credit to the Packers defense and a lot of easy improvement for the Bears to at least get a functioning offense which Trubisky can do.

AFC North: Cleveland AFC East: NE Pats AFC South: Jags AFC West: KC AFC Wildcards: Bills + Broncos NFC North: Packers NFC East: Eagles NFC South: Saints NFC West: Sea Hawks NFC Wildcard: Cowboys + Rams MVP: Drew Brees SB: Chiefs v Packers

GB Detroit KC Stayed away from the Dolphins game because I don't know what would happen if it's ruined by the hurricane. Should probably stay away from the Jacksonville game as well but what can you do!

The Casey move was the right move for him at the time but he made a Grand Final and still only got token interest in a job as far as reports go. Coaching a Casey team that was always likely to miss finals and short on AFL listed talent wasn't going to get him a senior job this year. Their season was down the drain before he was reassigned. He's now gone to be the senior assistant at North, which is probably the best position to get a head coaching job from. If things were going well at Melbourne and he was well rated he would've got an extension a year out, happy and well regarded people don't get stranded with 1 year left on contracts and he could've been given his pick of jobs. He's found a great opportunity and we haven't stood on his way, I just think if we were desperate to keep him we'd have found a good opportunity within the club. Same thing goes for Craig Jennings leaving to hopefully coach a VFL team when there's a perfect job opening at Casey he could've taken!

He had good success with Dunn and Jetta but I remember those were also the days where we bemoaned how many goals were let go out the back and other aspects of the defensive system. Plapp took Casey to a grand final too. Rawlings was successful at Casey but I never saw any great tactical brilliance or skill development. I would've thought getting credit for a forward line turnaround would've been good on the CV and if we really wanted him we could've extended his contract and given him a choice of roles to further his career. The 'coach you own side' thing is a bit overplayed, the majority of senior coach hires still come from assistants at the clubs - or in case of this year the caretakers. I'm not saying he isn't a good coach, just similar to North losing Leigh Tudor because Shaw got the gig ahead of him there's always going to be a degree of turnover especially when there's more senior coach changes. I'm a bit of an assistant coach skeptic in that I don't think any one individual is all that brilliant. So many of the best assistants get hired and are complete flops as senior coaches. When it comes to assistants I think it's about getting people who have particular skills and getting the right people in the right roles.

We sooked about how awful the backline was when he was in charge and I can't ever remember thinking Casey were brilliantly coached. He made our forward line better after mid year but almost anyone could've done that. I'm not saying he isn't a good assistant but if we've released him from his contract then that means we think we can get more return for the dollars elsewhere. The main thing I liked about Rawlings was he had a good presence on the training track and I thought that complimented the rest of our coaches. Teaching tactics are skills are a big part of coaching but it's nice to have a coach with the respect of the players who can give them a good bake at times as well.

The romance of playing alongside his brother would be nice but I also don't see why Ben would want to go to the Saints. It would be near on impossible to develop 2 baby giraffes in the same forward line and Ben would probably end up down back again as he was in their junior careers. If the AFL do the right thing and refuse the priority pick we then have a way for the Suns to get the 2 guys they want in the draft. In fact given the AFL's love of a negotiated outcome I'd go to them and say we'll put pick 2 on the table for Ben King (maybe part of a bigger deal) so the Suns can get the 2 best mates with the top 2 picks. That's what I'd be doing if I were Josh Mahoney - assuming the club rates King higher than the pick 3 we might be in line to get.

I don't think Jones is that proud, stupid or arrogant to know he won't be captain next year. Making a big song and dance about him giving it up only creates a negative news story. They can have that story in November when they are back in training, or when it comes to appoint the next captain or captains they can do it then. Gawn, Viney and anyone else who wants to be captain can come out and earn it as well.

Not sure how it finished out but I felt like we started well for about 15 minutes then all of a sudden the ball was on the outside more and we couldn't keep up.

This is like when Saty wanted to ban people reproducing his training photos on here. If it's public it's public, Jones would know that. As long as there's no inappropriate posts about his family there's really no issue. I've been as critical of Jones as anyone recently but I thought it was great to see him enjoying time with his family, no better way to get his mind off footy to refresh before a big preseason.

He's not a strong key forward though, he's tall but plays like a running mid sized player. Cameron and Himmelberg get the key defenders and more often than not he's released to play on a flanker or given space by an intercept player. I think Fritsch and Melksham offer more in that 3rd tall role and if you start asking Finlayson to be something that doesn't suit his game he'd get found out.

Yes: Daniels - excellent small forward Sproule - if he's very cheap he's a depth key forward option Maybe: Langdon - I like him as a pressure forward but injuries have been a concern Cumming - nice back flank prospect Hately - he's solid but unspectacular, unsure of his best position, probably half back O'Halloran - haven't seen any of him this year, thought he was a good but not great draft prospect, like him more than Hately because he's a more natural outside runner I think Perryman - he's ok and versatile but lacks pace, skills haven't been as good at AFL level as the pre draft buzz No: Finlayson - think we have similar and better players in Melksham and Fritsch Caldwell and Hill - Giants won't trade these guys, big parts of their future Bonar - he's already what we have a surplus of - big body mids/forward without pace/fitness/skill Briggs/Idun - young talls the Giants won't want to give up Shipley/Buckley - fringe players

What numbers? A slight dip in uncontested possessions, hardly a surprise given the team couldn't move the ball nearly as well this year as last. AFL players to average 20 disposals, 10 contested possessions and 1 goal a game this year: Dangerfield and Gray. Petracca was next best. That's rare company. His disposal efficiency improved - in particular his field kicking was far sharper. His goal kicking got better after an awful start and he might be working towards a long term fix. He doubled his inside 50 tackles. His score involvements only dipped from 6.7 to 6 which is actually a great achievement given how much the rest of the sides score involvements dropped off. There's plenty of stats to back up his improvement as well as just watching the games.

Current fit AFL quality wingmen: 0 Assuming Vanders and KK aren't going anywhere we still have Stretch, JKH and C Wagner as expendable players if we sign better options.

The key to answer that question is first determining what Jones' position is. I think it's safe to say it's not the wing and we've got more than enough on ball options. If it's half back then we don't have a lot of great options after Salem but we could use Harmes there as well as Hibberd or Hore as far better defenders. If it's half forward then it's another list of hardly inspiring players but if we have 2 talls, Melksham, Fritsch and a crumber then it's out of Lockhart, Hunt (if not traded), C Wagner, Hannan, J Smith, ANB etc plus any recruits or kids who come on. It's not that these guys will be better over all footballers than Jones but they almost certainly will be quicker, better defensively (at either end of the ground) and more suited to the role. Jones is going to have to be smarter and add value to the team with experience. A full preseason gives him a chance at fresh legs and training in a certain role. The concern is I'm only guessing whether I think forward or back makes more sense.

With a preseason I full expect Viney to bounce back to better form and it's time to get Petracca in to the midfield, he should be a mid/forward not the other way around. There's enough minutes and match ups to work with all of Viney, Oliver, Petracca, Brayshaw and Harmes playing through the centre square. One week you might use Harmes at half back, another it might be Petracca forward or a heavy rotation of Oliver/Viney/Brayshaw through the forward line but it can all be done. Trade for Langdon and that's one wing sorted, then it's a matter of seeing how the list shapes up for the other wing.

Trading for fringe players from top sides is always fraught but I think Butler's a decent upgrade over what we have because what we have is stuff all: Chandler - 1 game Bedford - a fair way off it Lockhart - has a bit more ball winning and grunt than Butler but doesn't hit the scoreboard or rack up big tackle numbers Spargo - really appears more as an up the ground player than a crumber or tackling player, another who should compete for the ANB role C Wagner - has very little forward craft, another who's more use up the ground Hannan - will his body hold up? Does he still have the pace to threaten defenders? Hunt - might be traded and whilst a somewhat decent forward option with good pace and some overhead ability his tackling pressure is poor On the basis that he has some forward instincts and tackle pressure Butler has those guys covered. But he has to be healthy himself and he might only be fringe or in the side until we find a long term solution. Price is certainly the stickler.

up a yes

Disagree. Key forwards rarely win finals. It's great when they do but it doesn't happen all that often these days. Nick Riewoldt was a champion for years on end, but finished with 41 goals in 17 finals. He rarely dominated a final and certainly not a grand final. 69 goals in 24 finals looks great for Buddy but he kicked 7 in his first final and 8 against a hapless Dogs backline the year after, take those 2 out and he's 54 in 22. In the big finals he's mostly been well held especially since the rise in zone defending in the 10's. Tom McDonald was absolutely the main key forward last year, with or without Hogan. 53 goals in 20 games and plenty of marks. He's not in the top 6 key forwards but he's not far off if he gets back to 2018 form. He'd be the best key forward for Collingwood, Brisbane, the Dogs, Essendon so at least 4 of the finalists. Surely there's still belief he can get back to 2018 form? Jury is out on Weideman and if there's a chance to upgrade from him that's a good idea but we've got a heap of gaps to fill. A desperation ploy at a replacement now (and who?) doesn't make sense. Bringing in competition for his spot and depth is absolutely important but not with a wild swing. De Goey is the Pies full forward and Stephenson is their plan B. Charlie Cameron is the Lions full forward. Dusty still does stints at full forward for the Tigers. We need a 40+ goal kicker no matter the size. And we need small forwards because the cupboard is incredibly bare right now. It's a vital position because they are the front line of defensive pressure that creates turnovers and turnovers lead to scores. I wouldn't make an aggressive trade move for a small unless they are a Charlie Cameron 40+ goal type but I'd absolutely look to trade for someone like Dan Butler and to keep drafting more options. I look at the Eagles adding Liam Ryan and Willie Rioli and suddenly going from fringe finals side to premiers as well as the Tigers turn around in 2017 with their smalls creating so much pressure. Slow, poor overhead, creative/unskilled midfielders up forward doesn't get the job done.