binman

3 hours ago, Roger Mellie said:

The night grand final is purely media driven. The TV ratings are higher at night. That's all there is too it. The rest of it is absolute rubbish. What a surprise that Ch 7 and Foxtel (also AFL Media and SEN) generate 'public' demand for a night grand final where there is none.

I might be wrong but i don't think ratings would be higher with the AFL GF already the highest rated event each year. I think the pay off for channel 7 is they charge significantly more for ad time after 6pm

Funny

http://titusoreily.com/melbourne-chat-to-jesse-hogans-manager/

The Trac for mine. I am as excited about what he might bring to the table as i was with Hogan.

Because he is not a KPP i don't think people have really considered how big an impact he might have, unlike Hogan who everybody thought would impact straight away (admittedly also because of his big year at Casey not just he was KPP). I really think, if he remains fir, he could be huge factor for us in rising up the ladder.

He will be a really difficult match up on the HF with his size and strength and us loading up on talls in the forward line will make the match up even trickier. And they will have to blanket him because he will damage sides if not. He also an X factor and all teams need one or two of those in the forward half. 

Kent is a close second, for much the same reasons actually and in particular because he also has an X factor. He also has a bit of a strut and a bit of mongrel about him.

Funnily enough the nab games are more meaningful now that there is no charade. Important practice matches. No more no less

1 hour ago, ProDee said:

Nah.

I'd had a couple of lovely reds that night if I remember correctly (maybe one too many) and the sight of a Jordie McKenzie look alike was too much to bear, especially as I was then keen on Parish.

In the cool light day I thought I'd better take a closer look.  It took nano seconds to realise my previous offering was moron worthy.  Aghast, I quickly retracted and have been a "Clarriefier" ever since.

A nice bold, big Ben Hur Shiraz?

Or perhaps a Sharp Hannibal syrah?

Thanks to all who made the effort to do reports. DL at its best. 

Reports all quite consistent. Some really interesting insights.

Some good signs but our disposal remains an issue and if we do attack more will be exposed. Which is one reason we have a fair way to go

2 minutes ago, Dee-licious said:

That is Wagner up in the air. 

Looks great but it appears Wagner still able to dispose of the ball so an ineffective tackle. 

9 minutes ago, deeznutz said:

First time post, I didn't want to mis anything so just made some quick notes that may be slighlty out of order; 

First half

• Weideman good hands and nice field kicking to position - already bigger than I thought he was, gawn as others had mentioned is looking super fit,
• hogan standing five meters from a trainer who's kicking low hard balls at him and his hands are phenomenal doesn't drop one and they are coming in quick and they just stick,
• first goal long ball to the goal square jesse nearly takes the mark between two spoilers Kennedy stays down and gets the crumb and goal for the blue team,
• watts 55m out takes a mark in space acts like he's having a shot drills a beautiful low ball to someone in space who's set shot hits the post white team,
• garlett boundary line poster blue,
• hunt great kick to gawn 45 m miss to left just behind blue,
• tom mac spoil behind white,
• anb second nice delivery from in traffic to someone in space,
• Kennedy to hogan to harmes good set shot 40 meters out bit of an angle goal blue,
• anb good tackle in front of us, mongrel kick forward
• weideman good chest mark 45 out beautiful action another poster white team,
• oliver two nice strong tackles,
• gawn dominant early in the rick,
• watts chasing hard two good tackles,
• oscar bad turnover in space to the opposition,
• pedo dropped chest mark,
• clayton oliver nice turn on traffic long ball in to the forward fifty,
• Viv michie nice goal ran around one 45 out.
• Kent nice run and carry to quick for viney, best passage of the day so far,
• Vanders strong mark instant dish to running grimes who spots up hogan in space in the middle to garlett back to Vanders who kept running, courageous diving spoil from Dunn just stopped what would of been a super passage of play.
• Kent 80m run down that just missed,
• Vanders again strong,
• grimes good tackle should been ball umpires pretty laxed,
• clarry again strong in the contest nearly breaking free when he should of had no chance to do so, even when tackled by two still kept his feet,
• Weidman nice pick up turn and handball from a bouncing ball,
• tyson to Vanders 45 out slight angle to the left one behind blue,
• anb had a bit of it and using it well, grimes had it a lot and also using it well and running hard,
• Kent good spoil
• watts another good tackle just misses Kent inside fwd 50 and out of bounds,
• anb snap in traffic around body spoiled through for a behind for white
• again good ball movement from blue salem,
• Vanders and a few others involved in a nice chain from back line that ended with an uncharacteristic dropped mark from tyson 40 m out directly in front.
• Nev jetta and Dunn good first half,
• grimes again good handball under pressure keeps running to space inside fifty should of been his shot at goal poor kick to him jusssst out of reach,
• salem beautiful pick up, run an lace out pace to watts on the lead good mark 45 out on front poster blue,

Second half

• watts fwd, goal white team non melbourne player,
• awesome contest mark
• salem quick inside ball that opens up the play kick to watts who nudges his opponent out pick up kicks to Vanders on the fifty quick kick to hogan on the boundary 35 out set shot goal.
• Another white goal from a turnover to a casey player,
• salem ball use amazing, tyson catches someone holding the ball centre
• handball to tom mac holding the ball,
• nev beautiful kick fwd to pedo hands to clayton 50 out just misses crowd thought it was a goal, another nice piece of play,
• intercept mark salem from jetta kick, salem to Vanders mid field to a hard running jesse to a hard running grimes on the goal line goal blue,
• clearance viney clean tap to brayshaw who recovers a poor viney handball, to vander behind from 55,
• Kennedy good spoil runs to goal chase down hunt misses everything,
• Kent out the back to hogan in the goal square good attempts to spoil by Dunn but mark and goal hogan blue,
• viney getting his hands on it a bit and using it well, watts the same,
• salem has been best on ground another good contested mark and beautiful kick,
• Kent pushing up to the wing,
• Tom mac good intercept mark handball to garlo 70 bomb to the goal line touched through,
• good mark inside 50 pedo slight angle pushed to the right behind white team,
• watts marks 60 out spots up frost on the lead 40 in front bad miss left behind blue,
• jesse good intercept mark handball to frost check side goal to blue 30 m out,
• spencer off since first quarter boots off,
• clayton good acceleration then turn over,
• anb good clearance,
• salem again involved twice and sets up a running viney to someone who goes long to jesse good contested mark in the goal square, kicks his 3rd goal blue,
• salem is on fire and the crowd are loving his work,
• blue ball movement been really good all day another chain and quick switch from full back to jesse free kick from Dunn push near the boundary 30 out goal for blue, jesses 4th,
• harmes been spending a bit of time in middle,
• great tommy mac link up after spoil three touches that leads to out bounds fwd fifty,
• watts again in space marks and just misses
• Kent, gawn a couple of nearly marks near goal today in big packs,
• viney goal from clearance inside 50,
• gawn nice tap to brayshaw to viney to grimes another nice pass to a diving lead mark.
• Clayton holds the ball up and releases cleverly, player kicks to the leading weid, good mark on the lead turn kick to dangerous spot stretch gathers and goals,
• watts again to salem another good kick,
• good tackle hunt,
• Wagner turnover,

After match comments.

Some running, grimes viney Vanders and tommy mac leading the way, grimes really really impressed me today.

Salem was unbelievable and was getting everyone very excited,

gawn won the ruck contests handsomely and the only thing that stopped him havig a really dominant day was a missed goal that was kickable and two or three nearly big pack marks where the odds were against him,

Kent didn't have a lot of it but was very very good, fast and precise with his kicking, was chasing hard and tackling well too,

Vanders was excellent he was really running hard to space and getting in good positions and linking up his running seems to have gone to another level,

Neville jetta was excellent, garlo and Dunn too, tommy mac got in to it the new the game went and viney had a big second half.

Tyson was in it a lot, anb also had his share of it today and was good, oscar mac didn't have a big influence and was involve in a bad turnover under little o no pressure,

michie kicked a really nice goal from just inside 50 after running around a player,

watts was excellent today and was definitely in the best few out there today.

Kennedy did a few good things he intercepted a ball and went charging in to the open fifty and hunt swallowed up the ground enough to pressure him as make him miss everything from an angle, hunt really impressed me today too, I hadn't seen much of him and I can really see why others have been talking up his ability he's got a really nice kick and his speed is awesome; I can see him playing more games than not this year, 

Many thanks Deeznutz for a comprehensive first post. I have taken the liberty of editing my quote of your post it so it is a bit easier to read

29 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Also, the link-up role is essential if we are to be more offensive in our game plan and that seems a perfect role for Watts, his skill set and footy IQ.  Can't think of a better person for the job!

Agree. It keeps him in the forward half where his excellent filed kicking can do most damage but also with this pace off the mark suits the long lead up style (that Lynch and tex walker for that matter does so well) in that he can get a break on his opponent. He also has good hands on the lead. 

I see your point on forward pressure but perhaps the focus there is trapping it in from kick outs by covering talls and spoiling pack marks. 

However even though he won't be hunting the ball into the back half (assuming he plays high HF) i'd still like him to get more possessions than he does. I reckon 17-20 possessions should be the KPI. Perhaps a bit ambitious given he will be depending on others feeding it to him but we really want the ball in his hands. 

35 minutes ago, Jaded said:

Is anyone else worried that Jones has been missing in action both in the match simulation and now the practice match?

Anyone got any info?

From MFC twitter quoting Viney (who gave a post match presser)

8 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

MFC twitter feed indicates that Watts did some really good things:  lead well, good link-up work which ended in a few goals etc.  Maybe Watts' forward role will be more like the forward/link-up for which we tried to get Crows' Tom Lynch. 

In which case 30 goals is unrealistic as a KPI. If he plays a high half forward who leads out and delivers to the deep forwards (as he seems to have played to according to Tappysquads) then 20 goal would be a reasonable KPI.

His key measures would then be goal assists, forward pressure and score involvements. 

5 hours ago, Eyes on Red & Blue said:

If he's going to have his hands on the footy I'd much prefer Grimesy be forward of centre than behind it - I always feel like he puts himself under so much pressure because of where he has the ball on the ground. If he's on the half back flank you can see he wants to 'go' and almost does a number of times before he pulls up and decides not to risk it - those moments of indecision then sometimes create turnovers/clangers as he gets a bit flustered PLUS the opposition have more players in front of him as a result of stalling, making it even harder to progress the ball forward, hence the 15m kick sideways which we all know him for.

So I'm thinking it's a nice move to see if we can 'release' him from being in that position, hopefully he can feel a bit of freedom with not having to watch his opposition number as closely and get forward of centre and start creating instinctively.

Good call. Really interesting that this year they have been very public about specific roles players will play eg Watts deeper forward, VB in forard line, Frost ditto, Salem sweeping half back, Gawn ruck (a joke joyce) and before his suspension the Melk as rebounding HB.

There must some thought behind this, perhaps it helps to get players ready. I guess that they always tell players what role they might expect to play but the transparency seems novel.

5 minutes ago, Jaded said:

Would love to go and enjoy my only bit of footy until June, but it is my last day at work and I don't think they'll be impressed if I miss my own farewell. 

Counting on the trusty Demonland community to provide play by play updates, and here is hoping for no injuries! 

Jaded you have a brilliant opportunity to combine your farewell with love of the dees. Get down there and make your colleagues come. After all its your farewell!

1 minute ago, america de cali said:

Would disagree,  he has done very well for a player of his modest talents.  He can take pride that he was around even as a small cog in Hawthorn's  success machine. He knows which side his bread is buttered. This aura of success has no doubt hepled get him his third gig when he was basically washed up after we delisted him at what seems a very long time ago.  If he was picked up by a lower ranked club then his career would have been gone and long forgotten by now. May be the kind  of guy that will build a career in coaching eventually. 

Could not agree more. Total respect to Kyle for carving out a career in the AFL. Played some important games for the Hawks during his time there, played his role and was important depth. Doing similar things with the Crows. Not bad for a bloke the dees, who were at the bottom of the ladder at the time, thought was not good enough for a game and was traded for SFA. 

Love players who get the most out of they have and as you rightly say he is the sort of fella who might carve out a successful coaching career. The best coaches, with a few exceptions that prove the rule (i'm thinking Barrassi, Matthews and Blight) are more often than not exactly such journey men who have extracted the max out of their ability.

On 2/6/2016 at 11:43 AM, TheoX said:

Nice to hear he was hoping to be drafted to Melbourne.

‘‘He (Roos) was one of my favourite coaches with what he did at Sydney, and I was hoping to be drafted to Melbourne so I could learn from him so it’s all a bit surreal."

Two words. Destination club.

11 minutes ago, Deemonator said:

Top post but i don't how you can count CP5 as one of our three stars when he hasn't played a game yet. 

I do. He will be a gun and I'm predicting will have a significant impact on our fortunes. Rising Star.

28 minutes ago, Redleg said:

 

It is now being suggested, that this relationship may have been ongoing for 3-4 years, at a time when the participants were married, living together with their spouses and  all very close family friends, with the males, workmates as well.

I will leave it there.

Again who gives a toss? Still gossip not news. The amount of media coverage of this is an embarrassment. Just shows how far journalism has fallen in Australia. 

Anyway i'll leave it there also.

Its sad state of affairs that story has got so much media time, I mean really who gives a toss? It's gossip not news, and as gossip goes not particularly interesting. The news seems to be that GL is a dog for deigning to have a relationship with a mates ex partner. Geez Louise.

And as this excellent article points out there has been precious little consideration of how wither of the women involved (or their children) might be feeling. Bro's not hoes as Clementine Ford puts it: 

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/what-footys-outrage-double-standard-reveals-about-attitudes-to-women-20160215-gmuma2.html

The story though has given me one good laugh. An news.com articel that talked about Slobbo's anger Channel 9 had shown care to GL and none to Billy (who apparently loves a frothy according to Slobbo, the wives not mentioned of course) described him as Australia's most respected football journalist. Seriously. Now that's funny.

8 hours ago, Outside fifty said:

What you guys couldn't see Jesse smiling at the drone towards the end? In all honestly I'm surprised that that the club released any of that footage at all. By the way it was big Maxy taking the grab in the goal square. 

And its Dunn holding off the handball to draw the player and pop it over the top to a player who hits either Watt or Harmes on the lead 60 out.

1 minute ago, Baghdad Bob said:

Pro was referring to the angst in relation to his training on Friday.  I didn't see any angst.

Ok. I will cease my arguing lest it derail an otherwise harmonious training thread.

Would be a great story for Terls to fight his way back to the seniors. 

For those who haven't seen it this is brilliant:

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/2016-02-15/drone-at-match-simulation

25 minutes ago, Baghdad Bob said:

Where is the angst?  

Over the journey he has been bagged quite a deal on DL - turnover specialist etc etc. But more recently there have been at least 2 comments suggesting if he gets picked for the seniors it means we are going backwards. Which is silly because it is much more likely to mean terlich has raised his standards to a level where Ross will pick him. Indications are he is giving it a good crack.

2 minutes ago, Choke said:

Lol, you don't have the 'right to free speech' on an internet forum. Where the hell did you get that idea?

He probably thinks he has the right to bare arms as well

20 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

maybe he could be a top-up player for the bummers?   they are looking for a kpp

It says something about disastrous a pick Cool was at 12 that your comment was a joke. 

On 2/12/2016 at 8:42 PM, dazzledavey36 said:

You know what im happy for Terlich playing out of his skin. Lets be honest his weaknesses is his kicking skills but one thing he does provide is run and dash out of the backline. He is by far not the worst player thats pulled on the jumper like some on here make out to be. Get his skills and decision making right and Terlich is a pretty handy player when full of confidence.

I agree dazzle. I thought he played some terrific games under Neeld and i thought his ability to run and carry and take some risks of HB were real positives. Yes his skills let him down sometimes, particularly when trying to cross the ball to the fat side but i suspect that is not the reason roos has not picked him.

Put bluntly his fitness has been nowhere near the level required but if as Pro Dee suggests he is working hard on that then all power to him. Like PD i also don't get the hate for him, nor for that matter Matt Jones. And comments suggesting either being selected are indicators we are going backwards are just plain dumb.

Such comments suggest players in their mid twenties can not go up a level, which may well be true in a general sense but there are any number of exceptions. Jobe Watson is one. A more relevant example is Kyle Cheney who we traded out for zilch. Kyle has gone on to carve out a good career with the hawks and the Crows. Jamie Benell is another.