binman

I agree he isn't there yet. Of course he isn't. He's a kid. Apologies if i implied you suggested he should be dropped.

'One event does not maketh a forward' Huh? I used the Kent goal an an example. There are many others i could have chosen. Of course Pedo can and does crash the packs but it is not either or. You need a minimum of two big players crashing packs (Dawes and Hogan or Hogan and Pedo). Again as Viney notes it is about structure. Take one of the bigs away and the structure suffers. Agianst the hawks Weed still competed so was the second big, but given he is relatively small Gawn played forward quite a bit to provide that player who brings the ball to ground. But all that aside Hogan is a gun. Yes he has been down in the last month but he has still contributed. You don't drop guns unless they are not contributing at all. Honestly who would be surprised if he came out this week and smashed the blues. Even if he doesn't Weitering will go to him. Which means he won't be on Watts or Pedo. Happy days for those two.

Disagree rusty. As Prodee notes an opposition player rarely marks the ball when Hogan is in the marking contest. Therefore if he doesn't clunk it it inevitably comes to ground. The goal Kent snagged off the pack was a good example. And by taking the best defender and being doubled team it allows other players, as Viney noted in an interview this week, to 'get off the chain'. Watts is huge beneficiary of this.

Spot on. I shake my head at any suggestion they might drop him. It wouldn't even come into the coaches thinking. Not for a second. We have a slim chance to make finals and to do we need to win both games. So they will pick the side that gives us the greatest chance of winning. And if he is over his illness they will pick Hogan. Ipso bloody facto the coaches, highly paid professionals all, consider him to be an important part of the puzzle and that we are more likely to win with him in it. Drop Hogan? sheesh.

He may well be right and certainly the team look fit (which is his job) - and they need to be to play our game style. But the lack of injuries would have little to do with increased fitness. Luck is the key factor. A good medical team no doubt helps and if anyone deserves kudo its them. Though the low number of muscle injuries could be in part credited to misson and his team

The phrase microcosm of society comes to mind

I thought that was interesting also. His lack of speed is clearly a big issue in terms of his chances of getting a regular senior position. I did wonder though if the comment was referring to leg speed or perhaps how quickly he was moving the ball. I think Dunn, Grimes and to a lesser extent Garland have struggled to adapt tot he run and gun style we are now employing and instinctively look to hold it up instead of taking a risk and getting it moving. Not sure about JT though. I still reckon if JT is to become a regular senior player at the dees he will need to play a Sam Mitchell inside mid role and we might need one or two more really quick players around him to compensate for his lack of lag speed, in the way Hawks do.

In that article they note the following: Coach Paul Roos told reporters earlier in the day at AAMI Park that the club was hopeful Lumumba would return. “We’re just hoping that ‘H’ gets right and comes back to pre-season and has a good year next year,” he said. Hopeful? That's a long way from confident he'll play again. A shame if true

Great points, all well made. The last one is really interesting. I was reflecting on the weekend watching our game how that players have by in large adapted to this shift and are better now at approaching a contest and staying upright. I often thought that instinct was an issue for Watts as basketballers, particularly points, have to keep their feet and generally don't dive in head first (with delly being an exception!). He has found a good balance with his now where he'll go low when he has to but also stands up in contests and is able to feed the ball out to teammate (a fundamental basketball skill). I never had much to do with basketball until the last few years with my kids starting to play. I really like it as a game now and have a much greater appreciation for the skill and physical toughness required to play. I watched the Boomers last night and they were awesome - really tough and hard at it with a swarming defense. In fact their style of play reminds me a lot of how AFL is currently played.

Yep, also great spatial awareness, terrific at knowing where their teammates are at and really deft with taps and knock on to team mates. Both Trac and Watts are very good with this latter skill - trac did a couple of beautiful tap ons on the weekend. Watts uses this skill in general play but also in his ruck work. Funnily enough his tap work in the ruck is becoming a bit of a weapon and he more than hold his own most times. These days with sure hands being so critical with all the pressure an terrific (how good are modern players at hand balling under pressure and flipping the ball around looking for an outlet?) the skills of basketball have never been more transferable to footy

Some strange posts on this thread in the last page or so. I mean Hibberd hasn't even signed on with us and he is getting potted for not being fully committed. Jeez louise. And knocking his parents for encouraging him to stay? Please. I for one hope we get him as i think he will slot in very nicely on the half back line.

That's a good point. I doubt anyone would argue that we have not really improved our player development in the last 3 years. More and more getting McCartney to the club seems and inspired move, and Jennings for that matter. From a development perspective the club obviously believe OMac's development is bets served by playing senior footy and as you say Weed and Hullet playing VFL. in Hullet's case he is bigger and stronger than OMac so is suspect he could handle the rigors of AFL but that's not the point.

Which is bulltish anyway. We didn't win because they didn't show up or were not switched on. It was a high pressure game, all game and until the last ten minutes our biggest lead was 17 points and IIRC correctly they got out to a 9 point lead after kicking 4 in a row (2 either side of halftime).

Yes there is. And that's occasionaly choosing to read a post from a blocked poster and feeling doubly stupid for one, doing so and two reading the content. It like accidentally banging your head on a wall and then later doing so deliberately.

Agree but it was yet another great bit of coaching to give him a rest and one point and sending him back to the vfl for a block of games. Yes it is still senior footy but nearly as intense, minutes can be managed and players can work on defeciencies, in oliver's case his defensive skills. They learnt their kesson from gus flagging near the end of last seaon and now have a fit and firing oliver back in the side. By the by, said it before and will say it again. The kid is a jet. So glad he is ours

Agree. Its terrific to have players who play at consistently high standard. One of my favourite non MFC players (albeit one who was aa MFC player once!) is Scott Thompson. Week in week out he racks up his 30 odd possesions

Agree on all fronts HT but particularly his improved reading of the play. I think his confidence is on the rise as well (which often a natural by product of coaches showing confidence in a player). He is a good kick i reckon and is stating to use that skill. One bit of play from Saturday night comes to mind. He had the ball inside their 50 or thereabouts) and had a player on his own on the wing. Instead he elected to kick toward the corridor to a player (forget who) that had Port players in the vicinity. A much more difficult kick (he had to kick slightly across his body) and certainly much riskier as a turnover would have almost certainly resulted in Port have a scoring opportunity. He nailed the kick and i'm pretty sure we took it up the end and scored a goal. A gutsy play that fitted perfetly with our attacking game plan of whenever possible getting the ball thought the middle channel. I have no doubt the coaches encourage him and others (Frost post match said as much) to take this sort of risk. Good coaching and again reflects the importance of getting game time into layers like OMac

Spot on LF. Good defenses have always required a level of connection, which why they are often referred to as a unit. That need has never been greater. The zone requires complete synergy and trust . A terrific example was that brilliant spoil by Tmac where he left his man to help his team mate out. That sort of synergy and trust can only be forged in the heat of battle and by playing games together. As i have noted several times the back half of Wagner, Jetta, TMac, Omac and Hunt is both about the now and the future. By finals time next year they will have played 40 games together, the following year's finals 60. They will be a hardened unit by then who like the best defensive units (think Cats and Hawks) know instinctively where their team mates are and have complete trust they will cover for them when required. The zone also requires 100% buy in. The players have to fully believe in the system and have to have the courage to take the game on and attack. The current unit has those elements, which i have no doubt why Roos and Goodwin have selected them and OMac in particular. I also suspect it is for these reasons that Garland, Grimes and Dunn are not likely to be selected in the future, or at least not more that the occasional fill in.

Quite. A number of erstwhile demonland posters have made it clear how bad omac is, that he should be dropped and not return until next year. Amazing we have improved so much this year and our defense is now regularly keeping sides under 80 odd points, even high scoring ones like the Hawks and the Port. Imagine how much better we would have been if the our coaches had just listened to them.

You might have misread his comments. Unless you think Boyd and Patton have in fact gone past Hogan. You don't do you?

[censored] is censored?

This made me laugh. I might start using that on DL when i want to sledge a poster: (insert name) you are the biggest [censored] who has ever expressed an opinion on an internet football fan forum, to be fair

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiq-_rVzbrOAhUIupQKHdrEByYQyCkIITAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqoqQnR8NOVI&usg=AFQjCNHocscKo8QpO5sjF1SyEZjfl3kQ_g&bvm=bv.129422649,d.dGo

Fair enough. However i would say the 'Tom Boyd Precedent' involves paying massive overs for a player who has to yet to deliver anything at senior level and desperately hoping he will become a star in the near future. The 'Hogan Precedent' involves a player who has kicked 50 odd goals as a 17 year old against men in the VFL and has kicked 40 plus goals in his two years playing AFL often rag dolling grown men like Zac Dawson and exhibiting the kind of presence and aura that Boyd can only dream about at this stage of his career.

Yep, that's my read too