Maldonboy38

I have always despised those who may lack a bit of talent so instead of working hard they "go the knuckle". Hardwick was a thug as a footballer, he was one of the few players I could not watch. But like many blokes who were thug players, he seems decent enough once off the field, and I have admired him as a coach - until now. A part of his true nature has emerged and there is clearly an ugly, bitter, nasty part of his baseline personality. I am usually fairly indifferent to Richmond, but I am hungry to see them do one of two things: finish 9th again, or go out backwards with 2 huge losses in the finals.

I don't have too much to say about your post, but love your name and Avatar. Not too sure how many Demonlanders would understand, but to anyone with Scottish connections, Rab is an institution. Four knot-cornered handkerchief hat, string singlet, unintelligible English. Brilliant.

We need to pick a team to defeat our specific opponent - the Doggies. We also need to back ourselves in with a system and gameplan that has worked against recent (weaker?) opponents. Doggies strengths: Bontempelli is a match winner, running half backs, Hunter, they can be quick, Caleb Daniel as the backline marshal, Naughton if you let him run and leap. Our strengths: midfield firing, better skills by foot, a very strong back 7 players and defensive system, May, Max/Preuss/Jackson, Langdon, Weideman. Tag the Bont or Caleb Daniel but not both Preuss or Max to dominate English Our grunt should put them back a step - they don't have a lot of inside strength. Be wary of their run and system off half-back. Hit our half-forward targets and do NOT turn it over too much here. The Dogs will torture any team that puts the ball into their hands at half back. Very even game, Dees by 16 points

There are so many variables that it is really difficult to nail down the ins and outs. The Football Department must be in a mine field when it comes to selecting the final 22. Harmes - way out of form. AVB - is really playing at VFL standard. Tomlinson - hasn't really nailed his designated spot as defensive wing (Langdon being attacking wing) TMac - has been overtaken by others in all 3 of his likely positions; forward, back, or wing Melksham - the class seems to have disappeared but I reckon he might be doing what the coaches like in some way we can't measure Bennell - classy, but has definitely hung back out of contests when it was his turn to go. Goodwin hates this Spargo - a real surprise Rivers - I'm always impressed by this kid, Jetta - has lost his spark Fritsch - his point of difference is usually his basics; kicking and marking. But his basics have been awful at times Brayshaw - play him in his position and bang, the fuse is lit. A million other things in my head but for mine: OUT: , AVB and Harmes IN: Gawn and Viney The Pies are basically a team of midfielders. Our attacking and defensive spread will win or lose us the game, along with our field kicking.

Don't trade either of them. I can't see the problem of rotating 5 or even 6 through the midfield, especially if you systematically rotate 1 or 2 of them through the forward setup as well. Although Oliver's kicking at the moment is horrendous, I remember his set shots in 2018 as being fairly reliable (happy to be corrected if my memories of 2018 are in error). So why don't we rotate Oliver and Petracca through midfield, bench AND forward? This might allow Brayshaw more time in the middle where he is needed.

The season is not over. It is stuttering and puttering along like a beaten up EJ Holden but it is still moving. The Port game has got us all riled up again - and rightly so - but I don't feel the need to fling my arms in the air in despair. Not yet. Try and win every game. If our players hit targets, we win games. I still believe it is this simple with a couple of small adjustments: Pick players in position. Bring Tomlinson in and keep him and Langdon on the wings. Put Brayshaw more through the middle. Persist with Jackson and Weideman as our 2 main forwards, etc... Show some ticker. Get Viney and May to play right on the edge, maybe even go over the edge a couple of times, get angry, aggressive,

I actually think North will be fine. A whole heap of their best 22 is injured, and many of those are in the 22 - 26 year old category. They also have some younger guns who need 1 or 2 seasons to become very good players. They will end up bottom 4, trade for some early draft picks and be OK. Hawthorn are playing as poorly as Adelaide, but their coach is so good it rarely shows as being that bad. They have 2 - 3 years of pain but if Clarkson stays they will be in the final soon, as much I as I hate to say it. But at least the Hawks v Swans game was watchable. Even in the wet, some of the individual efforts and skills were great to watch.

I'm a huge fan of Brayshaw, my favourite current Dees player, so my view is probably skewed in his favour before I start analysing. He still runs both ways, still gets in and under when it is his turn, and still plays the gameplan and structure really well. Some have suggested he is lazy - I think you'll find he has a long running step length and it makes him look like he is jogging. The only problem with his current game is clumsy, lousy, weak disposal. But it is becoming bad enough to ask questions about his place in the 22. If he turns it over in the midfield 4 times against the Lions, they will take every advantage. However, I just can't see who to bring in for him. Brayshaw at 60% is still way better than Tomlinson. Rivers maybe, but he plays a vastly different role. Jones - possibly. I'd be keeping him in at the moment, but the ice is getting thinner.

Jones in for Lockhart. Lockhart is ok, but when he makes a blunder it seems always to result in a opposition score. Brisbane are very good at keeping the ball locked in their forward half of the ground. Jones' steady head could be required in defence.

How good is it to be able to sit, watch the entire game without extended periods of gut-wrencing mistakes, and win 4 quarters!?!? The start of the 3rd quarter showed our worst, but we rallied and picked it up again. A lot of positives, especially from some young guns. Gawn, Trac, Langdon, Weid... thanks for giving me a positive Monday. And it's amazing how good our game plan looks when we hit our targets.

I both teams play near their best, we are a 3-4 goal better team. Within this context I have 2 concerns: We can be flaky, and give up 4-5 goals in a row without responding. Clarkson is possible the best coach I have seen. He could coach any team to a win, and is rarely beaten in game-day coaching. I am looking forward to Jackson and Weideman playing together, with Kozzie at their feet, and Melksham, Hannan and Fritsch being creative around them.

He has played so little football at the top level, it is difficult to see where he fits. To me he doesn't really look like he fits anywhere yet. Traditionally, you start your career in the backline if your place in the game is still developing. The only thing that stands out is he flies for the ball in the air, often without thinking of how this impacts the team mates around him. For this quality alone, it shouts out that he is a forward, but we have a good 10 players on our list who I would put forward before him. So no place in our starting 22 just yet.

Difficult to reconcile 2 competing ideas. We are hungry for success and cannot gift games to anyone, club legend or not. We must honour our champs. The Junior debacle will stay long in our memories Jones is not a star of the competition. He is a MFC icon. He stands as a symbol of tenacity and hope during an era where we were a disgrace, where behind the scenes we even tried "the benefits of losing". Game by game, he fought, led, played with dignity and passion, and bled red-and-blue. But he is also an underrated footballer who plays the game at a high level, The image I most want to see is Jones standing on MCG fence facing the Demon Army at the Punt Rd end, holding a Premiership cup with his trade mark long jawed scream and tattoos pulsing. Sadly, I am fairly sure I won't get to see this. Just one more bloody grief for a Dees supporter. For mine, he remains in our best 25, and should be given a contract next year. Many reasons, including injuries, can see a club using 35+ players in a season so let's work at getting him to 300. No gifted games, but earned games. I might not see him lift the cup, but surely he is worth every effort to run through his 300 banner.

People are going early about Rankine. How many great debuts have we seen over the years - some even in red and blue - that have NOT led to great careers? Granted, he looked good, but the gushing is a bit too much. Anyway, back to the Dees... Long term, not sure what to expect from Bennell, but having the ball in his hands makes me feel very, very calm.

Absolute no to dropping him. He isn't in the best form (to put it mildly) but he is not worthy of bring dropped. A few others in front of him who cause our structure and man-ups more concern than Gus.

If TMac misses, I would bring in Jackson. I know he looks unready, but for me, Brown is a backstop for when all else has failed. I eally want to see Jackson and Weideman on the park together.

A very pleasing, if imperfect, win. Some of our good was great. Attack on the footy was excellent. There was a lot of just basic, good ordinary football skills, and all of a sudden the gameplan looks ok. Some bad skills and decision making continue to frustrate, especially when under no pressure. Add the lack of composure kicking. The Weed and OMac exclusions to date are mind-boggling. Neither were match winners or match savers but of boy, the difference they made. And I hate to say it, but I think Nev has lost his edge. I am a massive fan, and for a long time believe he and Max to be first picked. His response time is.5 of a second too slow and the young guns are running past him. But I got to hear the team song - with Max!

OMac - glad he is back in. He looks clumsy and makes howlers at times, but he adds s fair bit to the system and structure of the backline. Weid - we need a forward line built around 2 talls. I love the way he goes for it in the air, even if he is under it or has concrete hands. I can't wait to see Kozzie hanging around his feet. Jetta - Good decision, but the Gold Coast youngs will test his nouse and maturity. Bennell - still feels like trying to hit a 220 metre approach shot with a 2 iron, onto a green above my eye line surrounded by water. Huge risk, but it will be amazing if it works. I want to see it work but my expectations are low.

Not sure where we go from here. Board has endorsed Goodwin for the foreseeable future. Our best players should be making up an elite midfield, but there basic skills are untrustworthy. Our new skipper is busting his gut but see very little leadership from anywhere else. Our recruiting of Lever, Tomlinson and Langdon - which looked to be such good planning and team building - is looking like the worst trade/recruit waste in a long time. Little development of younger players. The messages from the Footy department and coaches gives the supporters nothing - no hope, no energy, no new thinking. We are stuck. The way out could be long and painful... again.

For the most part, the effort was there. But skills - appalling. No excuses. Especially for that late kick by Oliver. No pressure, 15 metre pass missing by 5 metres when we had all the momentum. Sums up our day actually. So often over the last 20 years, our skills have murdered us.

Perfect kick to TMac - easily outmarked. Oliver is getting a heap of the ball and I don't reckon 1 kick has spun like a drop punt. And he simply cannot hit a target by foot. Not sure what has happened to Fritsch, but he looks sub-AFL We can't take a mark inside 50, ans when we do our skills and decision making are horrendous. I am so disappointed... again... or is it still

same old - can't hit a target forward of centre and can't finish

Our defence actually does a good job keeping opposition from getting big scores. Our midfield is getting plenty of ball. So, fix 2 things and we win. Stop the dysfunctional handball patterns through the midfield and the horrendous decision making that is the final act of those patterns Don't feed the Richmond defence intercept marking and spoiling.

Like many other Demonlanders, I am a long time footy tragic and Demon follower. I loved playing footy, watching footy, talking footy. A few weeks back, I found myself turning over to watch some house-flip show from the USA rather than the footy. That's how far footy has dropped as a spectacle. Although I like ideas such as 16 players on the ground, returning to player substitution in preference to interchange (except for certain things well highlighted by others), incentives for higher scoring, etc... I don't think that is where the problem lies. There has been a fundamental attitude shift over 4 decades, which began when our coaches began introducing ideas from other sports. Keeping possession is now the number 1. Everything else is a slave to it. So we "switch", do endless short kicks only to end up where we began 6 kicks ago, hand ball in "patterns" until a loose man is created, kick backwards and sidewards, and yes, even have no forwards who become "pressing up midfielders". Why? So there are numbers around the ball so we don't lose a contest and therefore keep possession. In basketball they throw it around the key until they create an opening. As they do in hockey, soccer, netball and many other rectangle court/arena sports. In our great game, it is this padding, this slowly creating, this strategic cat-and-mouse that is the mind-numbing boredom that exists for 60% of the time. The AFL can shuffle the deckchairs if they like, but until coaching emphasises the one-on-one contested nature of the game, in which we take risks by hand and foot and trust our teammates down the line in the next context, then our game is stuffed. Most of us will remember playing or even having kick-to-kick as kids. We wanted to kick, mark and do fancy footed crap around our friends, all with the risk of being tackled and bumped. Maybe delighting in these simple pursuits would remove the slow strategic strangulating chess game it has become. If I have to watch another USA house flip show I really am going to puke.

I thought at the time he was a great acquisition. But he is appalling at the moment.