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good call, I like that suggestion. The centre square clearances hasbeen a great weakness under Bailey. We now have the firepower to fix that, especially to exploit Jamar's expected superiority in the rucks

Most posts here suggested we dominated the rucks, with BOTH the Russian and Spencer playing well, especially Spencer round the ground. Does this mean we used the Russian affectively up forward as well? This is a really important area in round one as it is one of the Hawks biggest weaknesses, and we need to fill the likely non availabilty of Watts and liam. Anyone with comments who was there? If we can get this right it will give us a huge boost as Jamar has played very very effectively in the pivot in the past, and on his day is an excellent pack mark. Exciting times.

And so does Watts. Going by DB's past comments he thinks so too. I hope so anyway - I think he will make a huge impact and considerably jncrease our skill level.

Yes, i was sitting in front of the players at Visy Oval on saturday and he ws there and looking fit. DB has said that he not playing senior players who are not 100% fit but if it was the real season he would. Specifically he has said this about Jack Watts, but i assume it also applies to Bate and Dunn. I wouldn't play them either if they did not play in the next two weeks, but i expect them to if only the last competitive game plus the intraclub. We'll see over ythe next two weeks, but I must say that side looks a lot stronger.

Since most on this forum seem to think we have a great chance against the Hawks in round one (I need to be convinced), what will be the team to get us there and how will it differ from that which was flogged over the last two weeks? As of today, according to the Club's website, this is our injury list 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 Based on that, let's assume Davey, Bruce, Green, Bate, Garland, Jetta, Watts all play. Let's also assume Wonna is fit. Based on current information, how does this look for a team for round 1? Can it beat the hawk minus Burgoyne (injured), Buddy and Bateman (suspended) B: Dunn Warnock Rivers HB: Garland Frawley Bruce C: Pettard Sylvia Trengove HF: Davey Miller Jurrah F: Grimes Watts Bate Fol: Jamar Green Scully Inter: Wonna, Martin, Maloney, James MacD This means the following missed out who are available: Bail, Bartrum, Bell, Bennell, Bleeze, Cheney, Fitzpatrick, Gysberts, Jones, Jetta, Joel MacD, McNamara, Maric, Strauss. Of those only Bartrum, Bell, Bennell, Cheney, Jones, Jetta, Joel MacD and Maric would be seriously considered. I'm sure we would all agree a very much stronger team than we saw on Saturday, and yes, possibly could knock off the Hawks. So where are the weaknesses/strengths in this side? The obvious one is in the rucks although the way the Russian played at the weekend if he stays in one piece we will win there in round 1. Certainly the forward line looks very much better than it has over the first two weeks. Much more bulk and experience. The question marks for me are: Is Watts fit and ready? Will Miller provide a target and run on the leads he is capable of? Will Liam re-capture last year's form? The mid -field is populated by either experience or great skill and they are all in form. The addition of Bruce, Dunn and a fit Rivers adds considerably to down back with Dunn providing additional height and run and Garland providing marking power The bench is a mixture of runners and height. Garland at half back also provides an option of putting him in at half forward if miller or jurrah have off days Looking at this side I am very much more encouraged. It is a very different side to the last two weeks. What do others think?

You are spot on Jnrmac. The Hawks example is illuminating. See my earlier post comparing the Hawks side to ours. They took a very different approach to recruiting. I too have a real problem with the way we play the game and frankly a lot of it can be put down to lack of discipline and poor coaching. Your examples: tackling, chasing, running, hitting targets from 20m, defending kick-ins, centre square set-ups etc are mostly in my opinion more to do with those two things than basic lack of ability. Last saturday the lack of chasing, and poorly executed set plays eg kicking in after points scored so many times went astray. That would not happen in a well disciplined unit. We are a long way from the Hawks of 2008. We should be a lot closer.

Here here Jayceebee31. One of the most realistic and thoughtful posts i have seen on here. Bring a welcome sense of realism to the table.

Yes the post was interesting for the Stats - it tells us what we already know - we are a young side, and given our access to early draft picks over the last three years, we should be closer to the Hawthorn example than the Cats. But we are not because of how we have recruited. Hawthorn recruited in their early drafts two dominant tall forwards - Roughhead and Franklin, both dominated the GF 08. They also had a number one draft pick from 5 years before, Luke Hodge, a medium sized player with superb skills who complemented those two talls superbly. We traded our only older no. 1 draft pick, Travis Johnstone, who in many ways plays a similar role to Hodge, with wonderful delivery and skills. We have no-one equivalent to Johnstone on our list of similar age and skill. As far as dominant forwards are concerned we have Watts who I am sure will develop into a superstar but not yet, and may well be better than either of the Hawks. But we don't have two of them. Fitzpatrick is young and raw, and Jurrah is an entirely different sort of player who in my opinion would be very important as a third mobile tall like say Robbo, except faster and possibly more skillful.In the meantime, our best option is to rest the Russian and PJ up forward as tall marking targets. As you can see from my name, I believe a flag in 2014 is our destiny, so who am i to question the thrust of these entries. But I do take counsel from the warnings we may not have that time. We need to show continuous progress and be competing for the 8 in one to two years. My alarm about our first two outings this year is that we seemed weaker than any MFC team I have ever watched, and i've been watching them for 40 years. My faith in progress to 2014 has taken a severe pounding over the last two weeks.

Frankly, I do not put much importance on WINNING these games. I was more talking about what I saw on the field, and what I saw on the field in both games to put it mildly was a worry. We have gone backwards from last year, and i'm not talking about our youth. The areas we should expect improvement in (3-6 year players) are simply not stepping up with a few exceptions (eg Jamar, Grimes,Frawley, Pettard). The others are going backwards (Miller, Jones, Maloney, Morton, Jurrah,Bell, Cheney,Maric, Warnock) and the reasons they are going backwards is that their skill levels aren't improving. Missing targets, running, pressure, kicking for goal were all appauling in those two games, and unfortunately the middle tier were the major culprits. I'm also becoming increasingly worried about the young brigade. I cannot remember in the last 30 years watching the Demons closely when our side was knocked out of the game so easily. We simply got brushed aside in both games with no fight or spirit. You can blame young bodies to some extent, although you might expect them to chase which in the main they did not,and certainly when they got the ball they seemed to have very little idea how to use it, with the singular exception of Trengove who will be a star. Scully was a real disappointment - constantly getting caught, missing targets most of the time, and kicking either off target or simply not long enough for a first grade footballer. His goal kicking from set shots is particularly weak. Hopefully Jack Watts will correct some of this because from what we hear things outstanding in his game are his skills and his smarts - the two things singularly lacking in the sides I have seen coached by Bailey. I hope I am wrong in all this. I too was greatly looking forward to the Demon new area. Unfortunately I think it will be more Barrasi like than Daniher like

Unfortunately, having watched both games so far live, we will not win any of these games, and frankly I doubt whether we will win any games this year. I know in my last posts I got bagged for knocking the effort, but frankly I doubt whether my critics really looked at these games dispassionately. I hope i'm wrong but i fear our much hyped new breed will not deliver, and owing to the fact that we have got rid of our experienced legacy, we will wilt under pressure. Time will tell. If I am right, it will be a disaster for the MFC.

Today's game was better than last week for the Dees - but not much. I think both the Bombers and the Dockers are going to end up in the in the bottom four, and so will we if we don't improve rapidly. Although i previously predicted a top 8 finish for us, there is no way this is possible on these two performances. We are simply too insipid and too easily knocked off the ball, as well as a basic lack of intensity particulalry in allowing the ball to come out of our attacking area. There are several individuals which this particularly applies to, of which more later. So what did we learn today? The Good 1. Jamar absolutely dominated the ruck and gave our on-ballers an arm chair ride. Unfortunately they did not have the skill to capitalise on it. 2. Pettard and Grimes played blinders, and for medium sized players, capitalised on every opportunity, particularly Grimes who not only crumbed well up forward but took some very good pack marks. Outstanding games by both of them, particularly Grimes 3. Scully showed glimpses as to why he was no.1 draft pick. Is a ball magnet, but at the moment too often gets caught with the ball. He is also not a long kick. Had a free kick about 45 metres out in the third quarter and did not even make the goal square. Was also often astray in delivery down field, but is very quick and accurate with hand-passing. 4. Trengove I though was good on the wing in the first half but hardly sighted after half time - perhaps he was injured. At times showed the sublime skills for which he is known, but early days and lacks consistency which is understandable for one so young. 5. I thought our tackling was pretty good all day, and in that respect at least the intensity was good. 6. Colin Sylvia, after an ordinary start last week is getting back to his top form. Faded in the second half. The Not So Good 1. Lacked intensity, particularly our of attack. Jurrah in particular hardly chased at all, and seemed to be continually out of position. 2. The skills continue to be a concern: dropping easy marks, missing targets, and pathetic kicking for goal. We could easily have lead at half time if they had in any way kicked straight in the first quarter. 3. The defense was loose. I'm not as enthusiastic about our Defence as some others on this site. I think their decision making is often poor, particularly as demonstrated by their ability to lose possession while kicking in. To me this is just lacking discipline and frankly poor coaching. I'm afraid it may signal deficiencies in other coaching areas which may not be so obvious. It can't be blamed on youth, on lack of experience. It is simply a sign of a poorly drilled side, and this was demonstrated time and again at Visy today. 4. Liam Jurrah had another shocker. it was not so much he spilled marks, or was out of position, it was more he seemed to lack interest. Maybe he needs to be played up the field, or even on the ball to get his confidence back, but at this rate he will not be playing round one. 5. Much of our side seems to lack strength. we were continually beaten in one on one contests. This is particularly so of some of our newer players eg Gysberts and Fitzpatrick, even Morton and Scully. Here are my comments on each player 44. Bail - little to enthuse, did one or two nice things, but mostly a fringe player 3. Bartram - seems to drift in and out, and has lost much of that running play which made such an impact in his first couple of years 21. Bell - better than expected and often took Watson on and won. Maybe can build from here, but still gets caught with the ball far too often 43. Bennell - provided some run out of defence particularly in the second half but also was loose and fumbled. Has potential though, particularly if he could tighten his defensive skills 45. Cheney - was rarely sighted, and had little impact 48. Fitzpatrick - had no possessions. Reminds me a little bit of Nick Smith. 6. Frawley - some uncharacteristic clangers, but still got his usual share of possession. 16. Grimes - great game up forward, both as a crumber and marking forward. Also about the only one who can consistently kick straight. Roll on Jack Watts. 40. Jamar - terrific game from the Russian, absolutely dominated the ruck and even took a brilliant pack mark, even though it was at the wrong end! I think he is the short term answer to our strong marking forward problem, he has done it before and could be invaluable when resting.At least would provide a strong contest, and is a very good pack mark. Can be better used, but at the moment our on-ballers don't know how to take advantage of his ruck dominance (another coaching deficiency?) 2. Jones - gets good possession but so often either gets caught with the ball, or poorly disposes of it. In the third quarter, he grabbed the ball on the half back line, and finding no-one coming at him ran and bounced it to the half forward line but when he was on the wing Jamar was by himself in the goal square. Instead of looking for a target, he blazed away and of course kicked a point. A candidate for a trade a years end. Is not the answer to our on ball problems. 24. Jurrah - has worrying 2nd year blues. as i said before, maybe a role up the ground to restore confidence may be what is needed. 19. Maric - has some skills, but accurate goal kicking is not one of them, neither is consistency. 34. Martin - didn't play a bad game. Took some marks up forward, and held his own in the ruck. Too often fumbles though. 7 Miller - at least provided a target, and was hard at the ball. At the moment is our most effective forward. 22. Moloney - very quiet game, lacks consistency, and does not provide the drive from someone so senior and well respected should be. 10. Morton - for him, had little impact before injury. Was played mostly in defence, where he is wasted. Better either in attach or in the midfield. 15. Petterd - great game from Ricky, whether down back or on the HF line. 27. Rivers - is an effective back with great skills, but at the moment doesn't seem to be making the impact he should 31. Scully - showed class, but needs to improve on some key skills. Taking a while to adjust to the pace of the game 47. Strauss - has some strengths, but far too inconsistent and worryingly was beaten a number of times one on one 12. Sylvia - wonderful first half, but faded. Looks though to be returning to top form 9. Trengove - good first half. Can see the potential, rarely makes skills errors, is a great mark for his size, and has some pace. will be a star 1. Warnock - often too loose, and was worryingly beaten in the air on a number of occasions.also shown up for lack of pace by a class forward 5. Gysberts - had no impact in his first game. very light framed and often just knocked out of the way. Impossible to tell his skills cos he hardly got the ball 28. Macdonald - I think this guy is an ordinary pick up. He was a number of times beaten for pace today, and also in the air. I do not think he will make our best 22, but i guess at least he has experience Finally, I was sitting three rows down from all the non playing Demon players today, and for such a young group it struck me as though they were singularly detatched from what was going on on the field. Maybe they have seen too many games, but there seemed to be very little passion there. This was not a good day for the MFC

Today's game was better than last week for the Dees - but not much. I think both the Bombers and the Dockers are going to end up in the in the bottom four, and so will we if we don't improve rapidly. Although i previously predicted a top 8 finish for us, there is no way this is possible on these two performances. We are simply too insipid and too easily knocked off the ball, as well as a basic lack of intensity particulalry in allowing the ball to come out of our attacking area. There are several individuals which this particularly applies to, of which more later. So what did we learn today? The Good 1. Jamar absolutely dominated the ruck and gave our on-ballers an arm chair ride. Unfortunately they did not have the skill to capitalise on it. 2. Pettard and Grimes played blinders, and for medium sized players, capitalised on every opportunity, particularly Grimes who not only crumbed well up forward but took some very good pack marks. Outstanding games by both of them, particularly Grimes 3. Scully showed glimpses as to why he was no.1 draft pick. Is a ball magnet, but at the moment too often gets caught with the ball. He is also not a long kick. Had a free kick about 45 metres out in the third quarter and did not even make the goal square. Was also often astray in delivery down field, but is very quick and accurate with hand-passing. 4. Trengove I though was good on the wing in the first half but hardly sighted after half time - perhaps he was injured. At time showed the sublime skills for which he is known, but early days and lacks consistency which is understandable for one so young. 5. I thought our tackling was pretty good all day, and in that respect at least the intensity was good. 6. Colin Sylvia, after an ordinary start last week is getting back to his top form. Faded in the second half. The Not So Good 1. Lacked intensity, particularly our of attack. Jurrah in particular hardly chased at all, and seemed to be continually out of position. 2. The skills continue to be a concern: dropping easy marks, missing targets, and pathetic kicking for goal. We could easily have lead at half time if they had in any way kicked straight in the first quarter. 3. The defense was loose. I'm not as enthusiastic about our Defence as some other on this site. I think their decision making is often poor, particularly as demonstrated by their ability to lose possession while kicking in. To me this is just lacking discipline and frankly poor coaching. I'm afraid it may signal deficiencies in other coaching areas which may not be so obvious. It can't be blamed on youth, on lack of experience. It is simply a sign of a poorly drilled side, and this was demonstrated time and again at Visy today. 4. Liam Jurrah had another shocker. it was not so much he spilled marks, or was out of position, it was more he seemed to lack interest. Maybe he needs to be played up the field, or even on the ball to get his confidence back, but at this rate he will not be playing round one. 5. Much of our side seems to lack strength. we were continually beaten in one on one contests. This is particularly so of some of our newer players eg Gysberts and Fitzpatrick, even Morton and Scully. Here are my comments on each player 44. Bail - little to enthuse, did one or two nice things, but mostly a fringe player 3. Bartram - seems to drift in and out, and has lost much of that running play which made such an impact in his first couple of years 21. Bell - better than expected and often took Watson on and won. Maybe can build from here, but still gets caught with the ball far too often 43. Bennell - provided some run out of defence particularly in the second half but also was loose and fumbled. Has potential though, particularly if he could tighten his defensive skills 45. Cheney - was rarely sighted, and had little impact 48. Fitzpatrick - had no possessions. Reminds me a little bit of Nick Smith. 6. Frawley - some uncharacteristic clangers, but still got his usual share of possession. 16. Grimes - great game up forward, both as a crumber and marking forward. Also about the only one who can consistently kick straight. Roll on Jack Watts. 40. Jamar - terrific game from the Russian, absolutely dominated the ruck and even took a brilliant pack mark, even though it was at the wrong end! I think he is the short term answer to our strong marking forward problem, he has done it before and could be invaluable when resting.At least would provide a strong contest, and is a very good pack mark. Can be better used, but at the moment our on-ballers don't know how to take advantage of his ruck dominance (another coaching deficiency?) 2. Jones - gets good possession but so often either gets caught with the ball, or poorly disposes of it. In the third quarter, he grabbed the ball on the half back line, and finding no-one coming at him ran and bounced it to the half forward line but when he was on the wing Jamar was by himself in the goal square. Instead of looking for a target, he blazed away and of course kicked a point. A candidate for a trade a years end. Is not the answer to our on ball problems. 24. Jurrah - has worrying 2nd year blues. as i said before, maybe a role up the ground to restore confidence may be what is needed. 19. Maric - has some skills, but accurate goal kicking is not one of them, neither is consistency. 34. Martin - didn't play a bad game. Took some marks up forward, and held his own in the ruck. Too often fumbles though. 7 Miller - at least provided a target, and was hard at the ball. At the moment is our most effective forward. 22. Moloney - very quiet game, lacks consistency, and does not provide the drive from someone so senior and well respected should be. 10. Morton - for him, had little impact before injury. Was played mostly in defence, where he is wasted. Better either in attach or in the midfield. 15. Petterd - great game from Ricky, whether down back or on the HF line. 27. Rivers - is an effective back with great skills, but at the moment doesn't seem to be making the impact he should 31. Scully - showed class, but needs to improve on some key skills. Taking a while to adjust to the pace of the game 47. Strauss - has some strengths, but far too inconsistent and worryingly was beaten a number of times one on one 12. Sylvia - wonderful first half, but faded. Looks though to be returning to top form 9. Trengove - good first half. Can see the potential, rarely makes skills errors, is a great mark for his size, and has some pace. will be a star 1. Warnock - often too loose, and was worryingly beaten in the air on a number of occasions.also shown up for lack of pace by a class forward 5. Gysberts - had no impact in his first game. very light framed and often just knocked out of the way. Impossible to tell his skills cos he hardly got the ball 28. Macdonald - I think this guy is an ordinary pick up. He was a number of times beaten for pace today, and also in the air. I do not think he will make our best 22, but i guess at least he has experience Finally, I was sitting three rows down from all the non playing Demon players today, and for such a young group it struck me as though they were sigularly detatched from what was going on on the field. Maybe they have seen too many games, but there seemed to be very little passion there. This was not a good day for the MFC

Agree with mostly what you have said,but you forgot Watts as an elite skills player, especially kicking supposedly.I would also add Dunn, Grimes, Maric and perhaps Wona as honerable mentions

Sunday's display in my view showed up an issue which has plagued the MFC for some time. There seems to be almost a timidity about our play and a pervading lack of risk taking. We seem obsessed with playing it safe, almost afraid to make a mistake (which we do anyway in spades). Some might say it is our youthful team, but it doesn't seem to affect other inexperienced teams as much. Anyone who saw the Swannies display against the Blues last weekend didn't see anything timid about their players, especially their young brigade. We need a new sense of adventure and a willingness to take risks. Anyone agree?

I saw him play in Canberra last year against the swans. Did some magical things then limped off at half time and was not seen again until well into the last quarter. I was one of the few demon supporters there but was asked a number of times by Swans supporters "who is this guy? where did HE come from?" such was his impact on the game when he was up and firing. At his best he is one of our few game breakers

Why was Jamar not playing on Sunday? We could certainly have used him. Also has any one else noticed our injury list? According to the club website, the injuries are: - Cameron Bruce – Hamstring – 2 weeks - Austin Wonaeamirri – Hamstring – 2-3 weeks - Matthew Bate – Quad – 3 weeks - Colin Garland – Foot – 3-4 weeks - Jack Watts – Back – 3-4 weeks - Sam Blease – Ankle – 4-5 weeks - Paul Johnson – Foot – 6-8 weeks - John Meesen – Ankle – Indefinite - Max Gawn – Knee – Indefinite The fact that this list is so long at this time of year and it seems riduled with serious injuries is a real worry. What does "indefinite" mean? Certainly our ruck set up is seriously depleted on this basis and looks like being so for the first half of the season. What worries me more than anything about this is that it means Gawn missing out on invaluable development time with the rest of the team. I think he will be an exceptional acquisition once he matures, but i just hope he is not another David Schwartz with that knee. The other person on that list of concern is Sam Bleeze. He seems to have continual leg injuries. Was the accident in the school yard more serious than we have been lead to believe, and is it in fact curable? We seem to have a number of players who seem injury prone: wonna, Bleeze, Watts, Garland, Gawn. May I suggest, more than 50% of the young guns of the future. Let's hope it is an abberation!

I've only seen the gameplan implemented twice - against Freo and Port last year. What we had then which we didn't have on sunday was continuous run. This chipping around reminds me of Collingwood at their worst. Melbourne's recent success ie between 2000 and 2005 was based on relentless running, possession, and long kicking mixed in because we had a key forward ie David Neitz who could be relied upon to make a contest and often win it. If not, the crumbers, Farmer and Davey would get possession and often score. This current side chips it around, often loses possession through poor skill, but does virtually no long kicking into the forward line because at the momnent it has no dominant key forward. This is where Watts is the big hope, and a full forward line of Jurrah, Watts and Bate will provide a considerable challenge for opposition teams. It would be nice though to see this team begin to practice a more positive gameplan, even while it is waiting for its eventual gamebreakers to arrive. By the way, in the absence of Watts I would put either the Russian or Jonno down there. Both have at times provided considerable marking power and at least we could practice the eventual plan and see if it works. The scary thing though is if this is just a fantasy. What if Baily thinks chipping and possession are what wins football matches? Maybe this is how he wants them to play, it is just they are not very good at it? Now that is scary!

Accepting last night performance was abysmal, what areas can we realistically look to improve 1. several key players weren't there, many of them play makers: Cameron Bruce - his experience would have been invaluable Wonna - we really lacked a fast crumbing forward Jack Watts - a fast leading, high marking forward is desperately needed. We were thrashed on the full forward line, with Brad Miller being the only one to provide any sort of contest. Matthew Bate always provides a contest, and this more than anything else was what was missing up forward 2. The forward set up was pathetic, but it was nothing like the "ideal" that we should be expecting during the season. What is this? HF: Trengrove Miller Davey FF: Bate Watts Jurrah A very different set up from what we saw last night. 3. Liam Jurrah had a shocker. We are not used to this. It was either an aberation, second year blues, a big head, or just one of those things. From what we know of Liam, and how he is being developed and mentored at the club, I would bet on the last. He has huge improvement to give, and will do so.Watch him play blinders in the remaining practice matches. 4. The rucks were thrashed. Don't forget our three top ruckmen were missing - Jamar, Johnson and in the longer term Gawn. In the long term, Gawn is the answer to the Sandilands problem - play fire with fire, and with most other sides besides Fremantle, our opposition will have the problem we had last night. Good recruiting by the club. 5. The area where we should be expecting immediate improved performance ie our experienced players and those with 3-6 years experience were seriously missing on Sunday night. I am thinking of Jones, MacDonald, Maric, Martin (although I an impossible task against Sandilands, in the right position he will be serviceable), Maloney, Warnock and to a lessor extent Rivers. A real dissappointment was Sylvia who looked like he did three years ago. 6. Our young players maybe were less ready than we expected. Watching other first year players starring for other clubs in the NAB Cup games raised our expectations about our new blood. None of them were any better than average players although they will come on. Scully in particular looks raw, he was continually caught in possession a bit like Jones is, but he will no doubt improve, but certainly none of them look like game breakers the way some other first year players have have shown for the Swans, Eagles, and Kangas. Overall there is much room for improvement, including the execution of the gameplan. I think we can all ligitimately expect very much improved performances in the remaining NAB Challenge matches. If there is not, then I think questions should, and must be asked

I think we are too hard on this guy. Jack Watts will be another David Neitz and will be as important in Demaon history as Neitz is he anywhere lives up to his potential both as a player and a leader(yes i believe he is that good). Since arriving at the Demons, as far as we can tell, he has conducted himself impeccably,trained hard, and bulked up over the last 12 months in preparation for the contest ahead. But, and it is a big but, he is only just 18. We should all encourage him, not knock him, and look forward to his developing into an A-grader in the next couple of years, where he has the potential to dominate in the same way that Neitz dominated and was a magnificant physical force in the team (a charactaristic we currently lack in our players). Remember, Nick Riewolt hardly played in his first year at St. Kilda, and took several seasons before he became a dominat player. Watts is no different, but has the potential to be just as good.

We need stand out performances all year from our veterans: Green, Bruce, Davey, Miller, McDonald, Rivers; we need our rejigged mid-field to become a dominant force; we need several of our "lessor" players to emerge into the elite and surprise us all: Maric, Bate, Dunn, Frawley, Wonna; we need Liam Jurrah to continue his rate of improvement and become a dominant force; we need a good run with injuries; we need a few of our "young guns" to become dominant in 2010: personally, think the most likely to do this are Watts, Tapscott and Trengrove; and Dean Baily needs to abandon his stop/start tactics when the side gets under pressure. His sides have not yet got the message about "relentless running" the best Demons sides earlier in the decade had in abundance. What do others think?

2010 Ladder position and record: 7th / 13wins 9 losses B & F Winner: Cameron Bruce Most Brownlow Votes: Colin Sylvia Most Rising Star Votes: Jack Trengove Most Improved: Jack Watts Our 5 most important players at the end of the season will be: Watts. Jurrah, Warnock, Bruce, Davey (special mentions Sylvia, Scully, Wonna, Frawley, Jamar - who will star up forward also) 2010 Premier: Cats Wooden Spoon: Tigers Brownlow: Ablett Coleman: Brown

I think this is pretty accurate Maximus. I would put GF 2013 and flag 2014 (as you can see by my name) - the 50th anniversary of the last one. I think that is very realistic. One thing no-one seems to have taken account of is that by 2012 there will be two new teams in the comp which realistically will not figure in finals football for at least 3 or four years (think Brisbane Bears). In many ways they will be in the same boat as we are except three or four years behind, and will have none of the tradition or expertise which an established AFL club naturally has by dint of its experience. For a emerging club, these teams should represent three or four wins a year which will make it that much easier to make the eight (or nine or whatever the AFL decides maximizes revenue). The timing of our deterioration in the last three years has undoubtably set us up for a decade of prosperity on and off the field, and it will be very difficult for the recently diminished clubs like Richmond, North, Frematle, Swans even WC and Port to build out from that because the quality draft picks will simply not be available to them. Roll on 2010, and even more 2014!!