speed demon

2 hours ago, Demon Jack said:

Just in case there's anyone that thinks Bowey only wins easy ball on the outside. Some seriously good contested wins here.

Thx for this. I thought Bowey was good against the Lions but honestly I didn't appreciate how good. He's so quick and clean it's easy to miss.

In his earlier years, I thought we was strong offensively but vulnerable defensively. Not any more.

I think some posters are being uncharitable to AJ. People are writing about him like he’s reached his ceiling.

However, he’s only 25, played just 3 games and been in the AFL system for all of 6 months. Last year was only his second in the VFL and he was working full time on the tools.

He’s been on a rapid upwards trajectory and with his attitude there’s every chance it continues.

If he can hold his own in the ruck, kick 1-2 goals and scare the bejesus out of the opposition, he’ll earn his keep.

Find a way to give him a stint of 4 games. Love to see him run out against Collingwood on King’s Birthday after swallowing the whole bottle of Fritsch’s angry pills!

3 hours ago, beelzebub said:

I'd go as far as to say finals won't be the litmus. How we're playing and how we are trending will be the yardstick.

Totally agree @beelzebub .

Focusing on “wins and finals” as a benchmark for Goody’s ongoing tenure reminds me of Goodhart’s Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure".

The target should be a flag and the measure a flag-winning game plan and players able to execute it.

When we focus on convenient objective measures like wins and finals, a coach is incentivised to play it safe (stick to the game, play the old brigade) and achieve short term goals rather than take risks and incur failures in pursuit of longer term loftier goals.

16 hours ago, Little Goffy said:

Whatever comes from the rest of the season, you have to respect the club for holding their nerve.

Demonstrated 'learnings' from last season, I guess!

This is a good point. I admired Goody earlier this year for criticising himself for not holding his nerve last year when the team floundered with the new game plan and he reverted to the old game plan. Great as it was, the old game plan is not winning another flag.

"Better to dare mighty things and fail than live in the grey twilight where there is neither victory nor defeat".

I found this article surprisingly moving. Far more substantive than the usual stage managed “I love the club and want to stay” unconvincing reassurances.

The description of Kozzie being both homesick and wanting to stay was illuminating. This complexity is usually ignored by the media in pursuit of a simplistic and dramatic narrative.

Kudus to the journalist, Kozzie, his dad and the club.

22 minutes ago, Pates said:

Beat me to it, we have tried Sparrow as a tagger and it's never worked. Clarry knows running patterns better than anybody and I think with him returning from his week off he wanted a role he could dive right into rather than "be the man".

That makes a lot of sense and playing a team role is a great way of (re)earning the respect of his teammates

A few comments, some against the grain:

Oliver: tasked with tagging Newcombe and did his job.

JVR: covered a lot of ground, competed fiercely in the air, laid 4 tackles and did well in the ruck (9 hit outs, 3 to advantage).

Jefferson: I'm more critical of him being selected than on Jefferson himself. He played according to his form and this will have only depleted his confidence.

Forward line: Main issue - apart from goal kicking - was the lack of another tall forward to compete in the air and split the defence. Too much to expect JVR to do it on his own.

Sharp: went when he had to, tackled well, using his running power to get in great position for his goal and to save another (i.e. the spoil on Watson). Improving.

Langford: Most complete first year player I've seen at the Dees. Chef's kiss

Really liked the use of Viney in a run with role against the opposition's best over the past two weeks.

Just as an explosive game by Reid will lift WC and the crowd, multiple additions of Harley Reid to the "Jack Viney made me cry" thread will lift the Dees and deflate WC.

With Oliver out and Viney (perhaps) playing a defensive role, this is the game for Petracca - whose form has been solid - to get back to his gaming-winning best.

20 hours ago, GS_1905 said:

Aside from that, i really really want to know what is behind this notion that Oliver cannot return to his best. Many on here (myself included) seem to accept this - likely due to almost 2 years worth of below Oliver's known AFLCA level of performances.

i know he missed last years pre-season or a fare chunk of it, but surely that alone cannot account for what we are seeing. Is it understanding the new game plan or his ability to execute role? Goody did give him a reprieve at the start of the year and he is still playing 78% of game time.

I cant see why he doesnt play in the same way that Libba does. They are ultimately the same type of player.

Interesting question. I'm skeptical that Oliver will get back to his 2021/2022 best but nor does he need to in order to be valuable.

I think Oliver is someone for whom aerobic fitness is hard to acquire. That he continued to improve from his debut season in 2016 to 2021/2022 may have in large part being due to steadily improving aerobic fitness and thus allowing him to get to more contests (acknowledging he also improved his strength allowing him to break away from contests). He was remarkably consistent during this period, only missing a single game between 2017 and 2022 inclusive.

Those that have to work hard to acquire aerobic fitness also tend to lose it faster. Thus, I suspect Oliver lost a lot more fitness between mid-2023 and the start of 2024 than a different type of athlete (e.g. Langdon) would have. Contrary to popular perception, players don't tend to improve their aerobic fitness across the season (although Oliver may have slightly as he was starting a very low base). One preseason (ie 2024-5) was never going to be enough to get back to his pre-hamstring level of fitness built over several consistent years.

At just 27, he still has time to regain aerobic fitness. Plenty of runners reach peak aerobic fitness in their late 30's and even 40's. Though I think it is going to be hard for him and he seems to have made less progress than I would have expected.

Moreover, I think we need to re-adjust expectations. If Oliver simply gets back to his contested ball winning best and fires out handballs into the path of outside runners with excellent kicks, that's enough. We don't need Oliver to win the ball, break three tackles and kick high and long down the line. Better for the team to play to his strengths and mitigate his weaknesses by utilising the strengths of others (eg Windor, Langford, Lindsay kicking skills).

1 minute ago, Chook said:

Best game I've seen Sparrow play imo. Bowey has turned into an absolute jet. Petracca is just going. Oliver has fallen off a cliff.

Agree. Best consecutive games I've seen Sparrow play. Strong marking on the lead last week and crunching tackles this week.

(thought Oliver was good in the 3rd)

2 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

Politicians now feel the need to comment about everything - Taylor Swift, drinking water to stay hydrated, swimming between the flags, checking on granny during hot weather and every high profile crime event. I really don't know how humanity survived without their gratuitous advice.

She should shut her cake hole about most things & worry about paying off the debt.

Is this a parody account?

The ten seconds the politician spent responding to the journalist's question has no bearing on the state's finances.

3 hours ago, Roost it far said:

That’s likely the worst argument I’ve ever heard for not putting someone in jail

Cost is always a consideration.

I would rather Balta did something productive like cleaning up my local creek instead of hanging with criminals in jail. I'm unconvinced that jail is the effective deterrent it is often assumed to be.

On 18/04/2025 at 19:27, VoiceOfReason said:

Windsor, McVee, Langford, Rivers, Pickett.

Kolt hasn't shown anything to suggest he'd be up to it IMO.

I can see why you say this VoR and I think he'll take longer to establish himself than the other names you've listed. I also think Kolt's destined to be more highly valued internally than externally. There's similarities to Neal-Bullen; leadership qualities, great attitude and willing and able to do the team acts that tend to go unrewarded and unnoticed (e.g. harassing, two way running).

That Kolt was selected straight into the AFL after a long injury lay off speaks to how he's valued internally. Although he didn't get a lot of the ball he played with the intensity we've been lacking.

If a 16yo can learn to do this...

professional AFL footballers should be able to reliably convert set shots.

I don't think the AFL is as professional as it likes to believe.

35 minutes ago, Gator said:

Goodwin is in his 9th year as senior coach, but for all intents and purposes was the senior coach in Roos' last year, so arguably 10.

How long is too long to be subjected to the same voice ? There are exceptions to every rule, such as Sheedy and Chris Scott, but in my view he's had a good run. The message may be getting stale.

So much has happened since the premiership that it's hard not to think that the club and players needs a new voice.

It also needs some clean air. How good would some clean air be ?

I expect we'll get back on track at some point during this year, it may even be tomorrow night, but in my view it's time for a change. Reinvigoration won't be guaranteed, but for me, Goodwin has run his course.

I've been a Goodwin supporter but I'm coming around to this way of thinking. Ten years is a long time to lead an organisation.

I've read about a theory in organisational psychology that I think applies to our current predicament. Leaders can become personally invested in 'projects' they oversee. If a project the leader is invested in is underperforming, a leader may continue to support the project trying to make it a success rather than acknowledge failure. The more that has already been invested - and the more the success of the project is linked to the leader and their reputation - the more the leader continues to invest ('sunken cost' fallacy). Whereas, a new leader can view the organisation more objectively and be free to cease projects or cut staff when needed ("failures of the previous administration").

I wonder if the above explains Goodwin's slowness in previous seasons to adapting our once supreme game plan despite evidence we needed to. Also, while acknowledging Goodwin's relationship with the players has been a strength, I wonder what decisions a new coach - without close connection to the players - may make regarding senior players and would this be in our better interest?

I think he's got this year but without recognisable player buy-in and effective execution of a new game plan, I think there's an increasingly strong argument for a fresh face to be our next premiership coach.

20 hours ago, FarNorthernD said:

He is a bit quicker than I thought too

I went to one of the open training sessions over summer. A dozen or so players were doing ~150m sprints along the boundary while most players were doing match simulation. I'm from an athletics background and thus quite interested in the players running technique and ability so I watched closely (I'm rather dull like that).

Looked like they'd been instructed to run hard but not all out. The player who impressed me most was Jefferson. Not only was he fast but - unlike most the others - he was nicely balanced and moved very smoothly. I imagine that translates to being better able to mark on a fast lead. 

If he can build a good aerobic base he could be a very effective high forward by getting away from his opponent on long leads or out sprinting them when running back to goal. With his height, he could become a difficult match up.  

There are a few "ifs" with Jefferson but plenty of potential there too. 

My concern with JVR, Turner, Fritsch and no AJ or Campbell is who provides ruck support? Seems even less likely to be JVR with his back concern. 

So much more engaging seeing players be themselves rather than trying to concoct answers to statements-masquerading-as-questions like "you must be excited to be drafted to the Demons"!

Lindsay may go on to be the replacement for Brayshaw that we need; a runner with high footy IQ who can play  multiple positions, read the play and make good decisions. If he can do that - and be a better kick - he'll be a valuable asset. 

1 hour ago, Sir Windsor said:

Hmmm … I’d rather a fit and firing Oliver over Trac tbh. 

If Oliver has done enough to prove his turned a new page, vs Tracs alleged rogue antics. Oliver everyday of the week. 

I'm with you @Sir Windsor.

If Trac wants to leave - at 28yo and coming off a major injury - trade for the right price. That's business. 

If Oliver wants to stay - as a vulnerable person who seems to be getting his life back on track - keep if he's committed and capable. Trading wouldn't be business it would be an erosion of trust between the playing group and the football department. 

I strongly doubt it happens. 

1 hour ago, bing181 said:

"can be fatal" to "I nearly died" is quite the jump. Though once again, the surgeon never said he nearly died.

Yes, it is quite the jump but in my experience it's one that individuals or their family may take during the stress of the event. Unfortunately, these embellishments can be unhelpful - and are worth dispelling - as they enhance the psychological trauma of the experience. 

In this case, a clearer perception is "could have been fatal if untreated but very unlikely to have been so given access to necessary interventions". 

45 minutes ago, binman said:

Are you serious?

In what world would the MFC be paying a single cent of tracc's contract if he leaves?

In fact, if anything the dees might even be prepared to take unders in terms of what another club offers us to get his exorbitant salary of the books.

The reality is that even if tracc changes his tune and wants to stay:

- he turns 29 in January

- won't be able to put a full preseason together (he hasn't been able to do any running yet, or presumably strength work, so his fitness base must be completey eroded), which will impact his 2025 season 

- has said himself he is struggling with the trauma relating to the injury

- if I was a betting man, I would offer no better than even money (ie 50 50) that tracc will ever get back to his best

- seemingly has burned bridges with his teammates (and possibly coach, and almost certainly the footy dept and board).

In short, even leaving aside the impact of him staying when he wants out, there is a very good chance we would not get value from our investment

In that context, it might be prudent  for the dees to take unders. 

We will then have plenty of cash, particularly with gus' salary iff rhe books, to invest in our young guns and money to attract stars from other clubs.

However the media spin this, the MFC has the whip hand here. 

For the reasons you identify, I agree Trac is no longer worth the value of his contract (and that's before factoring in his further degradation in value due to destabilising the club).

If he were a committed MFC player, I would wear the loss and support him. As we have with Oliver.

If he truly wants out, then we have an opportunity to balance our books, restore unity and regenerate an aging midfield.

It feels crazy to be writing this but it now seems a trade is best for both parties. My only concern is the ability to get an acceptable deal done.    

Thanks for your excellent training reports @WalkingCivilWar. Love how you compassionately personalise the players. Your insights enhance my enjoyment of following the club and serve as useful reminders that our players are just young people making their way in life. 

55 minutes ago, 58er said:

I don’t think for one minute these figures are correct for 2024. 

Where are they from? 

@58er you are quite correct. These figures are not for 2024. Exact membership numbers for 2024 will not be reported until September. These figures are from the 2022 season. I should have been more explicit about that. 

I've ran the numbers for 2024 sourcing average game day attendance data (up to and including round 19) from https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/attendances and estimated club membership (as of 30th July 2024) from https://www.aflonline.com.au/afl-news/current-afl-membership-numbers-for-2024/.

 Interestingly, we again come in third, despite a poorer season this year than 2022. 

My overall point is that the popular narrative that MFC supporters are fickle and don't turn up is false and should be contested. Of course, there are individual supporters who are fickle and our attendance numbers are lower at night games in the depths of winter etc but this is true of all clubs. On a comparative basis, these numbers not only disprove the stereotype but actually show the opposite; proportionally Demons members are more likely to show up to a game than members of 15 other clubs!  

* A limitation I've just realised is that the numbers I've used are for average attendance are for all games not just home games as in the 2022 data.

36 minutes ago, WERRIDEE said:

Slow ball movement stagnated forward line. Time to go if you care about the club Goody you should take sole responsibility for the disasterous year we have had. We need to rebuild and Goody is not the man to take us there unless you want a Simpson type form line. Roffey if you are worth your weight you should sack him now. Time to release Jeffo

"For every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, clear and wrong"