Maldonboy38

Just got back from Casey Fields where Casey won by 1 point. It was a bit difficult to make out the Dees players at times but here are my insights for what they are worth. Fitpatrick continues to develop. He puts himself into a good position in almost every contest and is super quick for a big bloke. I am not a fan but he impressed me today. But his kicking is going to restrict his influence at AFL level. Leigh Williams had a shocker. Tried hard and he is coming off illness but his marking and in-close disposal was ordinary. Sam Blease is on shakey ground. He runs well but that is it. He tried to get around every opponent and often couldn't, his kicking long to position often ended up with an opposition mark, but his defensive efforts were absolutely horrible. He only ran when Casey had the ball and his intensity around the packs is absent. I am a fan of this boy but I don't want him doing this in a Dees jumper. Tapscott was OK. Some great stuff but only on 3 - 4 occasions. Seemed to be a bit lost today. Cale Morton was excellent. He put his body on the line on numerous occasions, inlcuding standing beneath pack marking, and was poised and deliberate in his disposal. In the last quarter he held his nerve when the crowd was yelling at him to kick it: he held it for as long as he could and fed it off at the right time. An impressive game. Jai Sheehan had a lot of the ball across half back and is a really good kick, but a lot of his disposlas were under no pressure so it is a bit difficult to gauge. His timing for defensive spoilng was good. Couch was good, and excellent in-close during important moments. Troy Davis. A really good game. Dominated his opponent for most of the game, often left one out and won most of the one-on-one stuff. Good thinking and disposal off half back. The game was a blatant lesson about the importance of the half-forward line. There were a lot of stoppages (which Frankston won really well), and there were a lot of free possessions across half back. But the the half-forwards running into the right place at the right time was a lack for both teams. Frankston got it right in the last quarter and almost stole the game. The only Casey player who played a good game through half forward was Fitzpatrick when he rested there. But he would not excell there at AFL level. There is no strong half forward at Casey whom the Dees could promote, on today's form. If someone could tell me who is no. 14 for Frankston that would be good. Read the game really well, used his body well, was quick for his size and and outstanding kick. Morton, Couch, Davis should be considered for promotion. Fitzpatrick maybe. They may promote Tapscott but it would be on potential not form.

Out: Bennell, Green, J MacDonald, Sellar In: Moloney, Tapscott, Strauss, Martin

Where do I start? First, this is not about recruiting, development, coach appointments etc... Most of these things have been OK , with the exception of a few errors here and there. Second, at the moment our boys are playing so similarly to Fitzroy mid 90's it is very scary. They had Roos, Pert, Lynch and a host of other great footballers but their confidence was shot, their enjoyment of the game was being sapped away, and they were no longer playing as a team. We have good players and some of them will be great players (Trengove, Howe, Frawley) but we play with no heart, no stand out leader, no confidence. Third, at this stage it appears that Mark Neeld has a game plan that he believes in, but he cannot adapt during the game. Our midfield and forwards are playing without discipline, creativity or flair, let alone any defensive intent. I feel horrible tonight. I am starting to use the "Fitzroy of the 90's" language for my beleoved Dees. And to make it worse the older of my young boys was talking about Carlton tonight!!!!

The Good The physical effort by Jones, Tynan, Watts, Bail, Trengove, Magner. They all had a dip We won the contested ball The Bad Defence at stoppages. The Lions spread away from stoppages with horrible ease. Long bombs to the forward line Footskills coming out of defence The Ugly The pysical intent of our senior players Melbourne fans booing their own players The rate 5 / 10

1. Demonlanders are an uptight bunch. 2. Moan, complain, whinge, hurl abuse or scorn - but NEVER boo your own players. What a disgrace! 3. After all the soft failure of the past 5 seasons, perhaps it really is our most senior players (Green, Davey, Moloney, Rivers, Jamar) who have influenced this the most. 4. Grimes as captain is a good choice. 5. Enjoy each game but give scant attention to those "special comments" blokes and 95% of sport journalists.

I like his directness. I like his emphasis on a game plan built from defence. I like his firm hand and uncompromising manner. I like the fact that he is not very likable - he comes across as deadpan and terse. But I will not/cannot put myself through the ringer for another coach until I see MFC playing finals type football through the season, where winning becomes the weekly normal. What I like or dislike about a coach is becoming decreasingly important to me. I want results. I want my four kids to feel proud of wearing the jumper, and not be the butt of jokes for other mongrel clubs. Until this happens I will not become a fan, of buy in, or any other term. When it all boils down, how good a coach is he actually? We will have a clearer picture by about round 11 or 14. Until then, I withold any conclusion on Mark Neeld.

With the exception of the first 10 minutes if the first quarter, the first half was a good game of footy. There was effort, physical accountability and some good marking by both sides. But even in the first half melbourne showed poorly in two areas: At stoppages Our senior players - Moloney, Green, Davey and Rivers were horrible. Rivers did some good solo efforts but his fumbling and kicking were way beloe par. I thought Trengove, Magner, Watts Howe and Jones were all OK, and Tynan was OK in the first half.

Just finished watching the game. Especially in the first half there was some good aggression and attack on the ball. 2nd half was very difficukt to watch. I thought many Demonlanders were ranting about the senior players but I am afraid they were right. The most glaring dysfunction about that effort was that Moloney, Davey, and Green were very poor. You know when a lot of first gamers get their run, how they run around the packs out of position and waititg for a ball to come their way? These three senior players played that kind of game. Davey. A favourite of mine whose career is coming to an end. I don't think we will see him in the seniors for the rest of 2012 unless we have a string of injuries. Green. How can a bloke with his experience and skill play that badly? Moloney. Ran around chasing the pack all day. However, he rarely has two poor games in a row. Also, we must keep him because he is still capable of producing his best.

I was listening to ABC 774 at about 12:30 this afternoon and Gerard Whately had a really insightful comment to make. He has an annoying voice when commentating but his pre-game andf post-game insights are the best in the business. He basically said that there was a battle of wills happening at Melbourne. Neeld has a specific model of how football should be taught, trained and played and he has no room for contradictions. Whately reckons that the senior players like Green, Davey, Rivers, Jamar (he did not put Moloney in this group) have not "bought in" to his plan and are playing as if to say "well your method is OK, but this is how we play footy". He intimated that the main issue under Bailey's rule was that the leadership group would not lead his game philiosophy, therefore laying the playing form of the last 4 yeras squarely at the feet of the senior group. If there is a battle of wills at the moment I have three responses: 1. Neeld is very tough and seems very fair. Unlike Bailey, he is tough enough to put to aside those players who will not buy in. 2. The board, CEO's and supporters must get behind him so that his plan can be fully inplemented. 3. I am absolutley furious. If this is true, then Neeld should do what Blight did at Adelaide and move these so-called senior players on. A player should be coachable whether they have played 3 or 300. If they don't buy in then get out of the way and give someone else a go.

A man can have two faiths - Jesus Christ and the MFC. No tension at all here for me.

Biffen - you have it lucky - I have to CONDUCT a wedding at 4:30pm, for my neice who is a Dees supporter! I cannot believe she chose the opening round of the season for the big day and I almost said no. Almost.

Agree with most posters about Maric. If he is given time and space he has good decision making and good skills. But in the normal cut and thrust of a game of AFL standard footy that space is taken away from him and he looks less than ordinary. Is he the classic "wrong option" player who is defined by bad choices?

I am surprised not to see Gysberts - I thought he played as well as Watts at Casey last week. Also fairly surprised that Jordie has made it in. He was in the rehab group for a long time and didn't play a lot during the NAB cup. Really surprised to see Joel Mac picked - some of his basic skill errors during NAB cup were horrible and he seemed low on confidence. However, you can tell that "hard at it" players are favoured by Neeld and Joel Mac definitely fits that bill. Stoked to see Bail in. Can't wait to see him fit and firing. Can't see the team lining up as selected though.

I really like the fact that trying to guess the Round 1 team is harder than it has been for a while. Here goes. Backs: Bartram, Frawley, Rivers, Garland, T MacDonald, Blease, Mids: Trengove, Jones, Gysbert, Moloney, Bate, Bail Ruck: Jamar, Forwards: Green, Watts, Howe, Clark, Petterd, Bench: Davey, Magner, Martin Sub: Dunn In my perfect team: LJ as a forward - Green to the bench Sylvia into the midfield - Magner to Casey Strauss as a backman - Tom MacDonald to Casey Tapscott into the midfield - Bate to Casey Davey as sub - Dunn to Casey

I reckon the commentary has been good. The interviews before the game and during half time were a bit cringe worthy but the actual game commentary is fine. GWS Curtly Hampson will be a gun. All the silky skills with a bit of grunt Townsend. Really tough and reminds me a bit of Jordie McKenzie in the way he is so dogged. Ward, Junior, Cornes, David, Rhys Palmer all doining really well. Backline is good Forward line is non-existent. Swans Some good signs from some younger players. Lewis Jetta tore GWS apart Goodes is a superstar, even when he plays an average game. However, if this is the best they can do against GWS in the first game, I reckon the Swans could take a big dive this year. Tim Mohr looking strong and composed - did the Dees ever seriously consider him? I have 4 GWS players in my Supercoach team who have all done well

RIP Jimmy Stynes. I give thanks for your sincerity, your warmth, your glowing example of humanity, and your commitment to the welfare of others. I've met a lot of people - leaders and followers - from many walks of human life. But few demonstrate the instrinsic goodness that Jimmy had. Even when his life circumstances were horrible he radiated a goodness that few people ever reach. No, he wasn't "perfect" but he made it possible to believe that people can be good, kind and generous. He didn't teach life, he modelled Life with a capital "L". Our club, city and nation is the lesser for his passing.

This is harder to gauge than it has been for many years. We have not seen anything like our best 22 in any one preseason game so far. I reckon we will be 3-8 or 4-7 for the first half of the season, and then a strong finish with 6 or 7 seven wins. 9th or 10th probably. However, if the gameplan kicks in earlier we could be a lot stronger than this.

Gerard Whately by a mile. He is a professional commentator and it shows. Bruce was great once - too sugary now. That horrible interview with Dane Swan at the Brownlow last year. Shudder!! Dennis Commetti is still the b est of the TV guys but I also miss Sandy Roberts. For pure enterntainment, Rex Hunt. Yeah, I often had no idea who had it or where it ws going but Rex, Huddo and Robert Walls were a great trio. And I also wish Kerry O'Keefe had played footy. His cricket commentary is very good when he sticks to actual commentary.

I really liked the presentation of this video - I reckon I will try and watch all of them as they review each team. It was great to see two sport journos simply talking, without trying to be stupid, without trying to promote their own presonal profile, and without any egocentric predictions. Their insight into where we are was right on the money. Actually, the way they described us was about the same as I described Carlton about 3 years ago. The midfield youngsters with potential will begin to emerge as genuinely capable midfielders and then our win/loss ratio will improve.

Sorry, Macca, but I disagree. I don't reckon we lost it all over the ground. We matched the Hawks in contested ball so we had our chances of winning a hard ball and getting it into our hands. First - in our poise and disposal we shot ourselves in the foot. Second - we could not find a way to stall their accurate kicking and possession game.

I haven't watched the game yet, but it sure has been an interesting read here on Demonland. If many of us reflect on our main frustrations over the past 3 - 4 years, one has been our intensity at the contest and our lack of ability to physically stay in a contest. Against the Hawks last night we matched them in contested possession. In the midst of a big loss I reckon many are missing what a big achievement this is by Neeld adn the coaches. Think about it - we matched a top four side in contested possession! Once we can maintain this new standard of playing the contested ball well, we can then begin to develop the poise and polish as we spread and deliver forward. Our defence is still our strength and I like the way we set up forward. The coaching effort has to now bring some class and poise to our midfield. Grimes, Trengove, Jones (at times and it gets better each week), Watts all have this poise and class, and I reckon by about round 5 - 6, it will begin to emerge. Yes, at this stage, we definitely lack the A-grade midfielder but we are not too far away. One step at a time.

I want to get a good look at Kel Lawrence as a possible small forward and am glad to hear he is training and ready to have a run.

I am not too worried about Jack at the moment but he does need to show more urgency. However, I have just watched the Tony Modra highlights video on the AFL website and I want Jack to attack the ball in the air like Modra did. No, I am not after mark of the year each week but I forgot Modra's manic, confident, aggressive attack on the ball in the air. If Jack can attack the ball in air like this and not hang back, our forward line could be very dangerous.

Good thread and I remember well most of the players. I immediatley think of the Crpws 97/98 teams. They were no full of A-graders they simply had an amazing team ethic. Even the outside players like McLeod (what a rolls royce this bloke was) ran hard off the ball to help the team set up in both defence, attack, and through the middle. The Dees team listed above never seemed to gel. They just turned up to play footy, had a beer and went home until Tuesday when Barrassi would rant and rave at them again. Also, the club beneath the team were totally resistant of the professional era that was upon them. They wanted Barassi to shape a 1950's team, when Barassi huimslef was trying to lead them in a different mindset.

I have just watched the DeeTV interview with Max Gawn and I have a problem question that needs answering. I know there can be physical differences between brother and sister, or sibling to sibling - with one being tall the other short, one being fair skinned one being tanned etc.... but is it humanly possible that Ellie McKenzie is really Jordie's sister?