binman

Exactly. Add to that Weed and TMac are both excellent in the ruck at centre bounces and Jessie ok from throw ins. This allows Max (who is incredibly mobile and athletic for such a big fella) to play a kick behind the ball, 'rest' up forward, fill the hole down back or have a solid break on the bench to recharge his batteries (essentially giving us another mid/runner on the ground whilst he is on the bench). (Giving Maxy more time on the bench might be important next year because surely we will want to mange Max's time a bit more next season given the load he carries and his importance to the side.) On top of that the athleticism of our bigs and their ability to play in multiple positions makes us very unpredictable as they seem to be very fluid in terms of role and field postion at any given point in time. Hogan, Tmac and in the last few games Weed also go well up the ground to provide the marking target down the line All this fluidity creates huge match up issues for opposition coaches and headaches for opponents. How many players are strong enough to compete one on one with Hogan or Tmac but also good enough athletically to run up and down the ground with them too. Sure they can 'hand off' but this creates confusion. it also creates space in our forward line. There were two great examples in the first quarter against the cats of the problems this fluidity and movement from our bigs causes. The first was the Harmes goal. We go down the line (in what is obviously a set play/team rule) to Tmac who takes a big contested mark. He kicks quickly to Hannan in the corridor (the 45 degree kick the commentators are talking about now). The forward line is completely open (in large part because Tmac has dragged his man up the ground) and Hannan hits Spargo who hits Harmes running into open space. The second example was the final goal by Weed. Weed delivered the ball lace out from half forward to Melk - so about 70 metres from goal. He then runs a big arc and ends up unmarked behind the defenders (including Blicvacs) and takes an almost uncontested mark 5 metres out. They completely lost track of him and were defensively all over the place. This versatility is huge weapon for us and a massive point of difference to the Tigers - or any other club for that matter. It means we have the tigers ferocity, territory and chaos style but can control possession more. It also means there is no issue at all playing Hogan, Tmac and Weed in the same forward line. Not least because there would be very few occasions when all three were actually in the forward line together but also because of the incredible endurance and athleticism of Hogan and TMac. I can't wait.

If the dees win a flag each player should have a bath. The water from said baths should be bottled. And sold to diehhard dees fans. Who can choose to drink should they so desire.

That can't be right. A demonland poster (whose name escapes me) is confident he us not 'locked away' because he is not best 22 and club are holding odf with a view to trading him. Sheesh. Dr cool is getting cooler.

Good points. But even in footy right now having a mobile tall who can mark the liong ball down the line is critical. We are the number 1 long kicking side. Richmond second. Territory is now king. Our advantage over tigers is we have more players who can take a big pack mark from a long kick from defence. Just as tmac, maxy, hogan and weed do so well. The critical thing is that the bigs are great runners and can cover ground. Like hogan and tmac. And unlike say hawkins, who is a one position player. The dees are ahead of the curve.

Great get guys. A serious question. I am interested in the fact that the team defensive running has improved so dramatically in the last 5-6 weeks. We are covering the outlet pass, minimising uncontested marks and slowing opp transition so much better and there is no doubt it is the key reason for our ability to keep teams to low scores (the other big factor is how they have used Max Gawn who is more regularly dropping back in to our back half to intercept and as importantly setting up down the line and forcing the opposition to go around him - or kick straight to him!) The question is how we have been able to improve our defensive running so much. Is it an attitude thing or a reflections of of a different tactical focus? Or is it (as i suspect might be the case) down to training loads (eg heavy blocks mid season) and tapering to ensure we are fitter, fresher and less tired at the business end of the season? (note he himself has said that effectively the club has been tapering the younger players by giving them a day off legs a week, but the question is about the whole club )

Would he trade hogan?

What does he think of his Demonland name Spartacus?

i won't tell a lie. This line from Sam McClure's (who cannot stand for some reason) article on the prelim timing gave me a bit of a pause: The AFL is set to fixture its first afternoon preliminary final in seven years to ensure either Melbourne or Hawthorn can return home on Saturday night and have as much time as possible to prepare for the grand final, should they beat the Eagles. Yikes.

What is this talk about him 'thinking of going'. The only talk from Hogan has been the complete opposite as per my comment above. You mention rumors that 'News was he was off to docket land last year but didn’t happen'. Why didn't it happen? because he extended his contract with dees. Pretty good indication he wants to stay with us i would have thought. He aint going to Freo. Why would he? Why would anyone? Why does their best player want to leave? This whole thread is based on premise of he is 'thinking of going'. For the sake of argument lets accept he does not want to. If you accept that then the thread collapses because he is contracted. And would have to agree to a trade. Sure the club could 'encourage' the player to agree to a trade - Watts comes to mind - for example by saying if you don't agree to a trade you'll be playing twos but does anyone seriously think the club would say would give that sort of ultimatum to Hogan? No i didn't think so. Fugazzi. And i'm out.

Of course. Prudent. And i'm sure the club will start discussions once this season is done and dusted. Those discussions are likely to go on for some months. And of course the club will be hoping to have them finalised by say mid next season to avoid the palaver that comes with a player 'waiting until the end of the season.' I'm sure Jessie will want that too. It is worth remembering Jessie extended his last contract for that very reason. Because he loves the club and wanted to avoid fugazzi (and he is private fella and no doubt he wanted to avoid drama). What we know is he has expressed only recently, though his manager, that he loves the club and has no thoughts on going. We know Goody has come out and said the club loves Jessie and has no thoughts about trading him.So any pressure to sign now or be traded is pure Fugazzi. Jessie is a once in generation player. Here is little trade secret i have picked up. You keep them.

And you wondered why i chose Mark Neeld as your avatar.........

Any issues with maxy? Did he train ok and move freely?

He had some swagger last week. Looked pretty aggro and fired up too. Gave a mouthful to Danger at one point after smashing him in a tackle. I said earlier in the year that he had got much bigger. He seems to have got bigger again. Seriously big unit now - with a very long reach. Developing into a handy second ruck as well. Which is perfect as it allows TMac to stay in the forward line, Hoges to play as a roaming center half forward and max to drop into the hole down back.

Yep. And the fact he does the one percenters, puts pressure on and tackles regularly and with ferocity.

I am going to try and stay out of this thread because reading some of the frankly ridiculous comments (we must act! he has to prove he want to stay! he needs to sign! yes he is gun, but we could trade in another gun! we don't need him! i'm not saying we SHOULD trade him, but if he wants to go home! etc etc) does my head in. The thread keeps popping up in the recent posts function and like a fool i can't help but to look. But its not all silly posts. This being a good example of a rational, logical one. Leaving aside the fact Jessie is incredibly unlikely to want to leave a club on the brink of a sustained period of finals success for one who is on the complete opposite trajectory (and he would have agree to a trade of course) the club has been shouting from the roof tops about building a team first, 22 brothers running out together , fully connected, group love culture. For pete's sake it recently became public that our motto this year is one borrowed form the great Norm Smith - Esprit de corps. Why on god's good earth would the the club risk that culture by putting any pressure on Jessie or considering trading him. I mean please. He is a loved team member who the club has nurtured and looked after during incredible personal issues. One of the brothers. Been at the club since he was 17 years old. The MFC is his his extended .Goody won't have it. And thank go for that. What about trading Weed instead (jokes)?

I think many don't recognise how critical his running is. Covers more ground rhan anyone and gut runs to get across to outlet kicks and stop/slow transition. The whole team has improved this defensive running in tge back half of rhe season, which has been the key factor in our ability to restrict opposition scoring in the last third of the season (where have the calls our defensive unit is weak gone?). But in the first two thirds of the season anb was one of the few players willing or able to cover the sort of ks and do the gut runnning required for the dees to be competitive with the top teams. I have little doubt goody would have used anb as an example to his team mates as what is required at this level in terms of running and effort.

Good lord.

Best thw autumn sun. Rosehill race 4 no 1. A class above. Like the dees

I like that the hawks are saying Stratton will be ready for a prelim....

A Channel 7 directive apparently. Understandable given they were power club in the 70s and early 80s....

You make a good point. That said i'd prefer he play the defensive winger role than Tyson. Maybe brayshaw could play that role and Viney in the guts - or the two alternate. But as noted Gawny, Brayshaw, Oliver and Tyson have developed strong connection and i worry Viney may not immediately pick up where he left of in terms of connection and synergy with Max and the other mids. All that said not a bad problem to have.

My feelings exactly. I think we will win by 6 goals plus.

You can have a sleep and wake up to rhe dees!

I think he might play a similar role to jkh. Outside, defensive winger. The position tyson played in earlier this season. Tyson struggled in that role. Even though jv is an inside beast he is better suited to it. He will still get his contested ball but is quicker than tyson and more naturally defensive. A like for like swap with jkh in terms of role and doesn't upset the synergy tbat you rightly say has been terrific in recent weeks.