binman

Depends what you mean by a far superior kick? Omac has a better technique and as a result turns it over less. His decision making is fine. Petracca can spear a ball but he can also butcher it.

Goody seems to agree with you. You are probably right about his game but he played on one the best forwards in the game for the whole game and kept him to 1 contested mark, 2 marks inside 50 and 1 goal zip. As a point of comparison lynch kicked 3.2. Who was on him?

And David Cordener

I assume started barracking for us this year?

A question. Do you think impact players should have an impact? If yes perhaps you can get a message to VDB and let him know.

I doubt there is too many bigger Omac fans on this site than me (i'll let my fellow demonlanders into a little secret - i tricked my family into calling the dog we got 18 months back Oscar - my wife tricked me back and registered the name as Oskar) but the only selection that really surprises me is Omac in. Not because i don't think it is the right move - it is. He'll play deep on King and free up May to be more attacking and allow Lever to play the role he is most suited to. he should have been playing all season, but there you go. But jeez it is tough on Smith. Worries me that they would go with a particular approach and then abandon it after only two games, particularly given he was ok against the tigers (he did a good job on Riewoldt). Where does he go with his footy now? I hope they put him up forward and tell him to make merry hell. To a lesser extent the same goes with the forward line set up ie playing small. That said it clearly was not working and good to see Goody accept that (though no less frustrating he tried the small forward line, not so much agiansth ecats but more so against the tigers when it clearly had not worked). Play weed high (see what id there) and TMac deep (nothing to see there) out of the square with Fritter either on the wing or at high half forward And Tomlinson was poor but i would have given him one more chance and dropped Melksham in a heart beat. Benell for Hunt is no brainer. Had his chance and simply did not do enough in the last two games Rivers a touch unlucky i reckon but i like Jetts back in the team. One thing i really like with the selections is that Harley is the best kick in the team and i reckon Omac is the next best (Salem has gone backwards in my view - a player who can't reliably hit a target 50 metre away and can't kick low and flat is not great a kick in my view). And jetts is a reliable kick as is Weed (except when he is having set shot for a match winning goal). Smith, tomlinson and Smith all below average so the players in address the skill issue a fair bit

Top Rankine

I've been speaking to happy Garry Baker avatar. I've told him that he should wipe the smile of his face as i'm far from happy. Since reverting to him far from turning things around we have barely score a goal, the dees have been forced interstate and the state has gone into a six week lock down. He just smiled. And said, relax, the suns will play attacking football and as a young team learning their system won'y have either the interest or ability to play the sort of tempo football we seemingly can't respond to. Which will suit us perfectly and we will win - and win well. Garry also noted that their wins have been on their home deck against teams who have played poorly, they are traveling two weeks in a row, coming off a bruising encounter and their new talisman is out for the season. Garry recommended to put a good solid bet on over the dees to win by over 24.5 points. I asked him what the impact of the possible thunderstorm would be on our chances. He said, relax the game will be played in perfect conditions and with ta civilized 6pm start demonlanders will have a top, if not somewhat blurry Saturday night

At least this week we will get the actual team rather than an extended squad

I would rather anyone than melksham. And that is frustrating because he is od the most talented players in the team. And he should be a leader. But is playing selfish football.

Roos and goody must not have got this memo) (by the by of course it is true - nothing wrong with the skills of players like Neale, Martin, Ablett, Selwood, Zorko, Sidebottom, Rowell, Shuey, and Cripps. to name a few)

Heading that way is a fair understatement

Such is the NSW's government fears of anything Victorian they will probably pass legislation to Melbourne members going to the football, Hell they might even ask Melbourne fans to leave the state. You all will need a special hand signal and a secret, well ventilated, meeting spot.

Can't imagine many would miss out. Though with the luck of your average dees fans they probably will all somehow miss out!

They picked a very good time to get out of dodge. Ironic that for the vic teams going to a hub is actually now a top outcome given they faced lock down here

You can but laugh. Personally i do not understand what people get from deliberately trying to wind others up on an internet forum. Particularly one such as the demonland forum where people actually share and care about a common passion. Even more inexplicable winding people up at point in time where everyone is at various stages of frustration about where our club is at. But each to their own. But leaving that aside how you could post this comment in a thread that you have only visited (despite or more likely because of the thread title) to bag the so called 'perpetual whinegers (sic) and whiners' completely defies my sense of understanding what motivates some people. I mean is it possible to be any more hypocritical/ What would you like people to add? Don't answer. I know the answer and that is to respond to your baiting. Which of course i have just done. But for the last time. I'm done with reading your comments and unpleasant interest in upsetting people. There is enough angst in the world at the moment without reading the comments of an adult who enjoys upsetting people for his own amusement. So i'll take the mod's adice and yours for that matter and put you on ignore. And this time for good. And all sarcasm aside (as i know i can default to that) can i sincerely ask other posters who choose to engage with Saty's baiting to not quote him or if responding to a particular comment perhaps deleting all but the first couple of words so it is clear what the post is referring to. Thanks in advance

i see what you did there...

That's not quite true nev. In 2018 we absolutely leaked goals up to about half way through the season. But in large part that was due to our ultra aggressive game plan that exposed us on the turnover and the fact that even then we had mids who didn't work hard enough defensively. Goody addressed both of these issues and IIRC, from about round 12 till the end of the season we were the second hardest team to score against. And in the finals we kept the highest scoring team in the league (the cats) to 50 odd points and the hawks to not much more.

Agree, The other issue is the game has changed, with all teams now employing much more aggressive zones and all team defence. This means that we are more frequently kicking into a crowded forward line where there is n out number. That was happening in 2018 but not to the same extent. And into that mix you can add that in 2018 we had two of the best big forwards in the game in hogan and Tmac, an in form Melksham and Hannan and in the finals VDB. The other thing is that last year and this year all teams are now employing a deep back/sweeper to stop the out the back goal (think of how dew you see no, in any game). And of course tempo footy has become the norm. Hard to play manic, play on footy when the opposition is playing mogodon ball.

Agree. The forwards get let off the hook a bit in terms of work rate. The all team defense pretty much all teams employ these days (which is a the heart of the low scoring) requires just that - every player to work hard defensively. To do that forwards, in addition to manic defensive pressure inside our 50 have to be able to push right up the ground to help out defensively and then sprint back when we win the ball. Players like melksham are just are not doing that. Nor is is Tmac this last year or his year. is it fitness or work ethic? I suspect part of the logic of not having weed in the team (and having smaller forward line) is i don't reckon he is fir enough, and/or athletic to the running required. TMac did but doesn't ATM. I wonder if Brown does? If he does i'd bring him in. This running is one of the key things we have missed with Hogan. In 208 him and Tmac were up and down the ground all day. As was a fit Hannan and in the finals VDB

I agree AF it is too simplistic to say it is all about the lack of foot skills. Agree also decision making is a big issue. On decision making i agree the game plan may not help. And agree it is the coaches responsibility to help improve decision. But I worry that we have too many players who are simply not great on field thinkers. The other think I'd more is skill and decision making intersect. i firmly believe many players burn the obvious kick and resort to bombing it (down the line or inside 50) because they don't have confidence in their ability to hit the target. Players hesitate all the time for example when seeing a switch option. Or take an easy option and kick it to an out number (so bad decision) rather than take a risk and hit an obvious target. And for me thus is where the coaching comes in. Players should be encouraged to take the risk. Or at least more of them. I'd rather them miss a target and cause a turnover than simply gifting the opposition an easy out number intercept mark. But players look scared to take risks. In part perhaps because tbey doubt their skill but I wonder if the messaging is right.

Here's a likely change: The odds for our Suns game. Remarkably we are $1.80 favorites. That will surely change.

Gawn was awesome gain. That said a growing concern is how often opposition teams are sharking his taps, particularly after a quarter or so. That is not his fault as such, it is down to getting our set up at stoppages right. And at the risk of putting everything at the coaches feet it is their job, well specifically Mathews as the mid coach, to get the set ups working right.

I have a confession. I am not Garry Baker. I am Gary Lyon. And I'm also redleg. At least I think I am as I could have written this post and spoke the words Gary is quoted as saying. Both spot on x 1000. Red you make a very good point about our game plan. We had a window when that ballistic style could work for us. But since 2018 the use of zones has accelaterated and now clog up the ground in a way that makes every kick forward a challenge because your targets are always outnumbered (by the by the 666 rule was supposed to address this - and has failed) - which is the key reason scores are so low. (The zones and ability for teams that run hard to get back have also almost eliminated our coast to coast goals we got so many off in 2018. And the zones also punish turnovers ) This kick forward requires skill. To escape the zone teams have to work the ball back and across the ground and stretch the opposition. And eventually hit an attacking kick and then the next one inside 50. These kicks are often under no pressure, but still require skill, even if if kicking to a free man as long kicks (eg crosses to the dat side) need to be low and flat, some need to be kicked between players onto pockets of space, some need to be sideways and when they finally bite the bullet, for example a kick to the corridor, they need to be fast and accurate. We simply do not have players with those skills. And as Tim Watson said there is no easy fix. Richmond have a similar, though not identical, game plan. The difference is they have players like cotchin, houli, Martin, constagania and rioli who are all elite kicks. And most of their list is at least average standard. And most important of all they have few absolute butchers.

So roos said. Illustrates the same problem though as roos would have selected billings, an in and under mid, ahead of a silky, outside player who was an elite kick even then. And besides, as it turns out, I'd rather we took billings anyway. For full disclosure i supported the decision at the time. But that doesn't change the fact it has proven to be the wrong decision. Fact is they should have chosen Kelly. Not because he has proven to be a gun. But because the roos Goodwin game plan built around contested ball has proven to be redundant and they have both failed to bring elite or even above average kicks to the clubs.