DirtyDees DDC

I heard he had a cork thigh which slowed him down in the match against the wiggles. He still played a good percentage of the game and has two weeks to recover.

This question was posed about a month ago. I read that if we finish bottom and we win 4 or less, we get picks 4 and 6. The priority draft still lives, but in modified form. GC will automatically get the 1st 3 picks. Swallow is already pick as one of the 3 and is training with GC this year. Jack Darling in WA looks a very good chance for one of the other 2 spots.

Totally agree with the poor handball. We didn't seem to have enough options when we had the ball, and we didn't hit them when we tried. Too many times we stuffed up the first couples of handpasses out of the pack. At other times we would string 8 or 9 handpasses together to free up a player (similar to Geelong). This should improve as the players get to know each other, but i hope the club has a major focus on handballing under pressure in the next 2 weeks. A couple of other observations: It took us 1 hour to get from cheltenham to the ground. Big traffic jams outside the ground. That road needs to be 2 lanes each way near the entrance. The crowd was very quiet. not much noise apart from the section in the stand. Why were Spencer and Martin in the ruck at the same time in the second half?

Chris connolly raised the issue this morning on SEN. His last words were 'I'm sure the incident will be investigated by the AFL'. Chris is actually saying 'AFL..please investigate this incident'. Good. An investigation is needed. It may just be a coincidence that Sylvia was also suspended for 3 weeks from the Dees v wiggles match at the 'G'last year.

This morning 'The Age' reported that Sylvia broke his jaw in an 'off the ball bump' by West Coast's Josh Kennedy in the first quarter. Wasn't Sylvia suspended for 3 weeks last year for making contact with a West Coast player at the'G'? Is Sylvia's incident yesterday also related to the blow-up between the two sides at the end of the second quarter?

We selected 3 senior players today who were underdone due to injury. Matthew Bate has not played in any of the NAB cup or Intra club games. He has been hampered by injury since Christmas and finally got some game time last week with Casey Scorpions. I have also been critical of Bate in the past, but i was just happy to see him on the park today. He is not a lead-and-mark forward like Reiwoldt, but he can still be a very dangerous beast on the forward line. I would not use today's match to assess his value. Aaron Davey has also struggled since Christmas with leg soreness and only played 1/2 a game at Freo. Cam Bruce was looking good in January but has also missed every NAB and intra club match. He played in defence and was loose at times on Hansen, but he kept trying. Yes we played badly today. We seem to lack effective tactics at the kickouts and planting the ball into the forward line , but i was more disappointed after the freo match. I wasn't expecting a lot today. We were missing Rivers and Joel McDonald in defence; Grimes was rested; we'd lost more guys with injuries; and the wiggles had a near full strength team. So before we crucify the team, just remember that we played badly for the whole match, yet despite our poor decision making and bad disposal and lack of system, we were still leading the wiggles in the 3rd quarter. So maybe we weren't doing that badly. The Wiggles seemed to create space and hit targets. Twice in the 2nd quarter they moved the ball from the kickout to inside their 50 without a demon touching the ball. I reckon we got in front because the team didn't stop trying. Unfortunately within 15 seconds of the bounce (when we took the lead in the 3rd) they scored a goal - the first of 6 in a row. We had one of those horrible moments like last year where we are completely lost for a quarter or more. We seem to lose confidence. Dunn runs into an open goal and tries to dribble it thru from 35 metres out. Scully misses a set shot at goal and it starts a sequence of points. i don't know how to turn this around, but telling everyone the players are crap is not going to help. We find it very difficult to clear the ball out of the backline. Our best option today was getting Strauss to kick to himself, then bomb it to a contest near the boundary line. At least this didn't result in too many goals from turnovers, but there must be a better way. I also wonder why our forwards gather in a huddle at the bounce. We get the ball out of the centre and bomb it to the huddle. Dumb stuff. The wiggles placed their full forward in the square and spread the other forwards across the half forward line, giving them more room to move. Sylvia was a big loss today. We should get back Grimes and Joel Mac for the Hawthorn match, but i have heard that Rivers may be struggling with fitness. Bate, Davey and Bruce should be better for the run. I hope so. This was a tough day at the office.

Say it ain't so. thanks for the updates. let us know if he comes back on.

Matt Burgan's report in the MFC website (Garland Fit, Bate, Bruce ready)indicates that Morton will miss 12 weeks due to his knee injury. This is more than the 8-10 weeks reported on the official injury list. Looks like Wonna and Hughes may play against the Wiggles this weekend.

Gawn...but not forgotten. (someone had to say it).

Congratulations J-Riv. You escaped alive!!! I had a similar experience in 1985 - the interstate match b/w the Big V and the croweaters. It was the match where the Vics played one extra player and it was the year the SA clubs were about to lose all their best players (Kernahan, Platten, Bradley etc). Fortunately i kept my mouth shut and watched the Vics win by 50+ points. I was listening to Scottie West on SEN this morning. He said the plane flight to Adelaide was in a 50 seater that had to fly around the storms. It took 2 1/2 hours for a trip that normally take an hour. They arrived late and he thanked Adelaide for agreeing to delay the start of the game. Thanks for all the reports. i believe Rivers did not play after 1/2 time. Does anyone know if he was injured or rested?

Can i add shepherding to the list? Too many times we stop thinking when we haven't got possession. We have to protect the ball carrier and also create some space for the guy going for the ball. Maybe the changes in the interpretation of the bump rule caused players to avoid laying strong defensive shepherds in case they make contact with the head. That's a pity.

Last night Leigh matthews talked about preparing for round 1. He said that it didn't matter if you were playing in the final of the NAB cup. All clubs play their last pre-season match on that weekend and every club tries to get their best possible team on the park for that match. So we should get a good idea of the team for round 1 by next weekend. The MFC will probably bring back Davey, Sylvia and Moloney for the last NAB Challenge game, plus Bate and Bruce if available. Garland might be the surprise. He's been in full training for a month and was rumoured to have popped up for a 1/4 at the intra-club match. Gawn and Tapscott are on the long term injury list. Does anyone know if and when they promote 2 replacements from the rookie list? The favourites must be Spencer and McKenzie.

This is probably the best line-up from available players for the first match. Garland has not played for a year and has a very interrupted pre-season. Watts hasn't played a NAB cup or challenge or intra-club match and is still on the injured list. Scully and Trengove deserve their spot, and it's a good marketing decision to debut them on round 1. So what happens to the rest? Blease, Gysberts and Co? There are practice matches for the Casey Scorpions before their first game on April 10. 2010 Practice Matches - All matches at Casey Fields Sunday 14th March Casey Scorpions v Frankston Reserves 11.10am, Seniors 2pm Friday 19th March Casey Scorpions v Northern Bullants Seniors 4.30pm, Reserves 7pm Saturday 26th March (check this date. it's either sat 27th or friday 26th March) Casey Scorpions v Bendigo Bombers Seniors 1pm and the first VFL game... Round 1 Saturday, Apr 10 Casey Scorpions vs. Geelong Casey Fields 7:00 PM

It's an interesting side, not only because of the selections but also the names that are rested or injured. Here's the official injury list from 4th March: Aaron Davey – Adductor Soreness – 1 week - Cameron Bruce – Hamstring – 1 week - Matthew Bate – Quad – 1 week - Colin Garland – Foot – 1 week - Neville Jetta – Groin – 1-2 weeks - Jack Watts – Back – 2-3 weeks - Sam Blease – Ankle – 2-3 weeks - Paul Johnson – Foot – 5 weeks - Cale Morton – Knee – 8-10 weeks - John Meesen – Ankle – Indefinite - Max Gawn – Knee – Indefinite - Luke Tapscott – Hip – Indefinite Add Moloney, Sylvia and Bennell to Bruce, Bate and Davey and you have at least 6 players pushing for selection in round one who are unavailable this weekend. The club is probably trying to nurse these players so they are ready for the Hawks on March 27. No Hughes or Healey either. We'll probably struggle in Adelaide. We are a bit thin in midfield without Moloney, Davey, Sylvia, and Morton. We might not have any certified grade 'A' players at the moment, but at least we are starting to develop a deeper list. And welcome back Wonaa!!! He finally gets to play alongside LJ. We desperately need someone that goes overtime with his passion and enthusiasm. I hope he bags a couple and jumps into the crowd.

Dunn wasn't on the official injury list but i believe he pulled up sore after the intraclub match. Good to see him back, and he did spend some time on the forward line during the pre-season's match practice. I wish we could work out what we are doing with Stefan Martin. He was on the forward line last week; the ruck against Freo, and spent some time in defence during pre-season. Maybe it's time to find him a position and leave him there.

I was disappointed too, especially after the Freo game, but don't read too much into the first two weeks. We selected players such as Fitzpatrick and Strauss who may not see a lot of senior footy this year. Let's see what happens in the final pre-season game. I don't mind playing Hawthorn first up if Burgoyne's injury reports are correct. The could be without the killer 'B's on March 27, with Bateman and Buddy also suspended.

So we have an inexperienced list and are using the NAB cup and NAB Challenge matches to develop our younger players. That's fine. Last weekend we were without our four most experienced players. Instead we played Gysberts, Bail, Strauss, McKenzie, Scully, Trengove, Fitzpatrick and other players with less than 20 games experience. It's a good way to use the pre season comp to build up their gametime and it fits in with DB's plan to get 40-50 games under their belt. We'll proably do the same this weekend, then bring back as many top players as possible for the final trial match at Casey on 13 March. Then why did we only allow 3 listed Melbourne footballers to take the field with the Casey Scorpions in the VFL 1st elimination final last year? It was a great chance for Spencer, Bennell, Jetta, Cheney, Jurrah, Watts and others to get some valuable finals experience against a full strength Collingwood VFL side. Not everyone was injured, and of the 3 players provided by the Dees, Valenti and Zomer were delisted and Newton was demoted to the rookie list. VFL football is still a game played by senior players. Many great players such as Michael Tuck and Gary O'Donnell had to play at least 40 games in the reserves before they established themselves in the senior team. We wasted a simple opportunity here to develop our list and build a good working relationship with the people at Casey.

Sorry I forgot Spencer. But Jamar is still a better option than Spence for the next 3 years, because of his experience and kicking.

Thanks for all the reports guys. Lots of different viewpoints but there were several consistent themes thru the threads. Jamar. Definitely our No. 1 ruckman. We need two of him - at the bounce and in the goalsquare. We must re-sign this guy asap. He is 27yo and can play another 3-4 years, but he is only on a one year contract. He is good enough to be a leading ruckman in any AFL side, and we don't have many other options. Please don't offer him as trade bait at the end of the year. It will be at least 3 years before Gawn and Fitzpatrick can possibly be good enough to lead the rucks. Jurrah. Flat, but that's not suprising. He was injured before Christmas and was not completing the training sessions in January. And he's only played 9 games. Miller was the only guy in that side that has played more than 100 AFL games. We are fielding a young inexperienced team so they can get some gametime together. Isn't that what we want? Kids like Strauss, Bennell and Maric had good pre-seasons and deserve the chance to play alongside Scully and Trengove. They will form the nucleus of the Dees in the next 3-5 years. The reports from yesterdays match are far more favourable than the Freo game. Is this because we had a preconceived notion* about our chances? I admit i was gutted after the Freo match, perhaps because I geniunely feel we will be more competitive this year. I had very low expectations for yesterday because of the injuries (now 15 and counting) and the short recovery time from game in WA. Grimes. No suprises, except that he's only played 12 AFL games and he's possibly our leader on the field in the absence of Green, Davey, Bruce and Junior. I don't know who we play next week, but there's a chance we may not win any pre-season games, and there's a very good chance we will lose our first 3 regular games to tough competition. The round 4 match against Richmond will be important, but at least Deans' head wont be on the chopping block due the the contract extension. Remember poor Terry Wallace at the same match last year. I hope we can turn it around soon, but it may take a couple of thrashings to trigger the response from the players. There was an interesting game at St kilda in 2002. They we absolutely butchered by Port and Geelong in rounds 3 and 4. They were playing the Swans and were massive underdogs. The side included Baker, Blake, Del Santo, Hayes, Milne and Reivoldt. They were leading in the last quarter, held on for a draw. I remember that game because I thought the players became a team that night. By 2004 they were nearly the best team in the league. Maybe that can happen to us. * I have great difficulty with words. I was going to use 'preconception' but apparently that means something like 'arranging to get pregnant'. Still, considering our bad luck with injuries, anything's possible.

Davey's pre season has been interrupted since Christmas. Possible hamstring injury. He missed training in january and only played 1/2 of the intraclub match. At least he has 4 weeks to get himself fit. I don't think we have another player who can break the lines like him.

memo to Carlton...'are your McLeans showing?'. Not so far. Am i missing things or has Mclean hardly touched the ball to 1/2 time. And good grief, what a dreadful match. I like one-on-one stuff but there's no one offering a target up forward. Jetta looks good. They said he wasn't a great kick but he's hitting targets and he's quick. BP said he could have picked up Jetta as a rookie in 2008. Bummer.

It is only the NAB cup, and the 26 man format gives us the chance to play rookies like Strauss and Fitzpatrick who may not be picked for round 1. As an example I think Rohan Bail played most of the pre-season matches last year, then played 2 minutes of senior football. However this squad possibly contains at least 17 of our best current 22 players. It contains all of our key defenders, and is only missing Bate, Bruce, Jamar, Garland and maybe Wonna as automatic picks in our round one squad (if fit and available). Apart from Davey who may be recovering from an injury, the rest should be fit and ready. It wouldn't be good if we got hammered like Richmond, but that is very unlikely. I like our defence and they will only get better as they play more matches together. We've got a bit of muscle in midfield and Spencer is tall enough to compete with Sandilands in the ruck. I'm not expecting miracles and the heat may affect the result, but i'd like to see a competitive outfit that makes fewer turnovers than last year. I want to see good organisation at the kickouts and a stoppage clearance rate better than 50%. Many of the players in this squad will be still playing for us in 3-6 years.

Out of the side that beat Freo last year go Robbo (5 goals), Bate (3), Mclean (2), Johnson (1), Valenti (1) plus Dunn and McNamara. Back in the squad come Green, Warnock, Bennell, Grimes, Spencer, McKenzie, Bail, Bell and Maric. Added this year (if picked) for their first games - Scully, Trengove, Strauss, Joel Mac, and Fitzpatrick. Looks like we have a better defence and more options in midfield (esp with Grimes) but we've lost a bit in attack. If we're building the team from the backline, then let's see if we can hold Freo to 80 points or less. Our average last year was > 100pts.

I didn't think they'd pick Davey, but maybe they'll sub him out after half a game. Looks like Spencer and Martin will take on Sandilands in the ruck. What a great test for them. We may find out if they're good enough to be our future ruckmen.

I think i'll stay inside and paint my room. I have a feeling they'll be celebrating a win over the Saints. I hope i'm wrong but they appear to have a much better side this year. They have added Jolly, Ball, Pendlebery, Fraser and a fit Medhurst to the team that played in the finals. They've only got three guys on their injury list, and they have Brown, Reid and Rusling returning from Injury. I don't think they have great stars in their line-up, but they have a very even team with a lot of depth. If they do have a good start, and we can beat Carlton in round 11, at least we are guaranteed a big crowd for the QB match.