Maldonboy38

Dear Garry Lyon. As a Dees man, I love what you have done for our club, and you were a gun when you played for us. Just a note though - there are 2 teams playing in the Hawks v Pies game and THE PIES ARE ACTUALLY BEHIND. The Hawks are playing better, and thwarting the "rampaging" Collingwood. Any chance you could mention some of the tactical nouse that the Hawks are using to thwart the Pies? Or even their great in-close pressure? Or their team defence. As much as I hate the Hawks, their play deserves respect.

I feel filthy shouting "come on" to the TV when the Hawks get a goal. I might need counselling. But if it means seeing the Pies lose, I suppose the lesser of two evils...

Hawks are actually a well drilled team, they just can't sustain it. They often start really well only to get overtaken half way through the 3rd quarter. Watching them now, their midfield play is really strong, and those young guys are sprinting to the next pace over and over again. High quality. 

The Pies are playing loose (again), and the Hawks are pressuring the kicker rather than the ball carrier. Let's see if the Pies can reverse this earlier than the last quarter. 

I have been doing some light gardening, listening to the Crows v Suns game via the AFL app, choosing the ABC stream hoping it wouldn't the biased carp we get from 5AA. BIG mistake! You would have thought they were getting paid by each compliment they could give Crows players, with passing mention of anything the Suns did. 

There are a large number of us Demonlanders who watch multiple games across the weekend, and most of us are probably on the mature end of the age scale. So over the years we get to see some great footballers who stand out.

I was a huge fan of Paul Kelly from the Swans and would watch Sydney games just to see him.

It's the same with Bontempelli. Watching him makes me love the game. Fair, strong, ridiculously skilful, natural leader, match winner. I put him up near Robbie Flower for the graceful way he plays the game. Last night he was at his best.

A few reasons why I want us to annihilate North with no mercy:

1. Boomer Harvey running amok against us for 20 b****y years straight
2. David King
3. The brilliant but horrible Alistair Clarkson
4. This rabble of a club having a dedicated home base and we don't

No way do we risk Clarry against North in Tassie. Clarry can't help himself, and has to go at 100% so he will never "ease" into anything. Perhaps give him 60% game time, and sub him out early if they do decide to play him

OUT: Gawn, Viney, (both rested) Harmes, 

IN: Grundy, Sparrow, Hibberd

6. Gawn

5. Petty

4. Viney

3. JVR

2. Lever

1. Petracca

Rivers and Melksham very stiff.

Post game, I got drenched walking to Flinders Street Station, then we had a protestor on the line, holding up the train (full of steaming wet supporters from both teams) to Sunbury, into the car and now home in central Victoria. Under other circumstances I would be wet, annoyed, grumpy and ready to rant - but not tonight. Pumped!!

That was a great win.

In the first half, to be honest it felt like a casual boring game without much oomph. The Tiges were killing us at ground level and our half back line were getting annihilated by Richmond's small runners. Didn't look like a Dees game at all with lots of free ball movement and few tight, contested passages of play. Taranto, Martin and Prestia were running amok seemingly with little effective response from us.

Enter one M Gawn. To see him dominate like that in a game with so much on the line will be a lasting memory in my footy-loving life. Leadership, skill, influence, and left nothing to chance. Got to contest after contest and made us win. 

To see our forward line mark and kick like that was so, so satisfying. Petty, JVR and Melksham were brilliant, but so were a lot of the smalls. An incredible team effort, and the tigers  had no answer.

Jack Viney should canter across the line in our B&F - he is everything we want, and everything I go to the footy to enjoy. Got crunched a few times heavily, and simply got up, shook it off and ran to the next contest. And in the last 5 minutes he was still sprinting to the next contest.

Not sure how it came across on TV, but Lever was instrumental in our backline tonight. Genuine leadership.

And JVR is my new favourite player. He just chucks himself at it - marking contest, ground ball, ruck play - he just launches and takes no prisoners.

Great win, great day, I'll go and get dry now.

Go Dees!

Ah, the beautiful sound of the inbreed cats fans booing when the umpires don't favour them. Entitled [censored].

Just now, Chook said:

Teams are starting to not care about trying to stop Collingwood chaining up through the midfield because as long as they've got the inside 50 kick pressured or can make a contest inside 50 it doesn't matter.

Absolutely, Chook, and this is how we beat them on KB'day. AS long as there is not an overlap player, let then run and carry. Just pressure their kicker. And cut it off at half forward. I have to admit, Voss' coaching and game plan ha been very good tonight. 

1 minute ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

Maynard thinks he’s an enforcer.

I dislike some players, and there are others who annoy me, but there are few I loathe watching. Maynard is a total anchor-with-a-w, faux tough guy and dipstick. Can't stand watching him.

Collingwood being gifted free kicks - the umpires must be listening to the commentators who will not shut up about b****y Collingwood. The Blues have woken up and are playing a very similar game to how the Dees beat the Pies - giving up the run through the wing but clogging up half forward. 

6. Viney

5. Gawn

4. Kozzie

3. Brayshaw

2. Langdon

1. Chandler

Apologies to Rivers and Salem

Fortunately, we know how to win. In terms of collective effort, will and hunger, we are as good as anyone. But there are some serious holes in our play which have been constant for most of the year. (brainless handballing, appalling kicking especially inside F50, and unpressured turnovers) We can get away with them against the Crows, but not against Pies, Power and Lions.

Today against the Crows, 2 other issues arose which are of great concern.

First - Crows players ran from behind the play to take a handball, and ran through our midfield like a hot knife through butter. They did it unabated all day. We stuck a few great tackles at times, but their run and carry tore us apart. Secondly, our decision making around contested ball or coming through half back. Wow. I have no idea what has happened to Stephen May but he was putrid.

Great to see Kozzie and Chandler play really well.

Loved the hard work of BBB and JVR. Not huge stats but they worked bl**dy hard. Likewise Sparrow.

Max and Jack Viney - I salute you.

I hate our field kicking at times. 

Can someone perhaps, maybe, possibly, just man up on Rankine. 

9 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

Collingwood make N Daicos look good - not the other way around. 
 

Once you shut the game down, he has no real impact. 

He's a really good footballer, but much more limited if you let him play wide. When we beat the Pies, both Daicos boys were rarely allowed to be more than 2-3 metres from an opponent and had little impact. 

Mason Cox - hahahahahaha!!

Do either of Geelong or Brisbane know they are playing FOOTball, and not HANDball? So much ineffective, unnecessary handballing all over the ground. Kills me. 

Haven't been able to watch any footy this weekend, until now. I sit down to watch Lions v Cats, and it is an absolute howler of a game. No highlights, dominated by defensive efforts, skill errors. 

18 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

Essendon 11th. 😂

To quote Keats: "a thing of beauty is a joy forever". The lower those (insert derogatory expletive here) fall, the more beautiful is the joy.

A qualified yes from me, but he is only mid-range for salary.

Pros:     He breaks lines, has genuine speed, and can have huge impact moments in games that begin periods of momentum.

Cons:    Kicking is average, has periods of weeks in a single season where he is in poor form, and he wants to leave because he is not playing where he wants (me first attitude)

I reckon Choco would be great for him.

I rate him highly as a 200 gamer, meat-and-three-veg kind of player. Not a star player with a specific set of skills that set him apart, but does all the required things well. For mine, he is ahead of both Harmes and ANB as a midfield/utility. It appears that the selectors have him 'ranked' just behind Sparrow but I have them on an even par The issue is, he is on the edge of our best 22/23 and would slot into 14 of the other clubs easily.

I really hope he stays, but reckon we have already lost him. He has been sub or dropped too many times. 

8 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Depends on whether they’re telling the truth.

The word is hubris. Total, self-absorbed arrogance to rest so many starting 22 players believing the win was already in the bag. I LOATHE Carlton but glad they won tonight. 

I can't believe I am enjoying watching Carlton serve it up to Port. They are doing to Port what we did to the Pies - crowding their wide-playing ball carriers and making them accountable. Pressure really works.