La Dee-vina Comedia

Old Dee, surely you know that there are many Demonlanders who don't like revelling in the glory days. We have to talk about the future not dwell on our successful past.

Based on the above, there seems to be a view (although not unanimous) that with hard work and better decision making, players can improve their kicking. So why do so many posters say Nicholson should never play again? Surely if he can fix up his kicking he would become an excellent player given he has the other attributes we seek. And a point about Tom McDonald. in the first couple of weeks after Neil Craig took over it seemed to me that Tom was handpassing at every opportunity whereas under Neeld he seemed to kick more often.

Wow. Delist or trade Gawn, Trengove and Watts! I think not.

It seems to me as supporters we are very quick to dismiss players with poor skills. Sure, turnovers kill us and Nicholson, McDonald and Grimes are some of the worst turnover kings. The question is: can kicking be improved in AFL players? By the time a player is drafted, if he isn't a good kick, can he ever become one? (For the purpose of this thread, a good kick is someone who reliably hits a target.) If you believe kicking can be improved, can you please provide some examples. I can't think of anyone who's been converted from a poor kick into a reliable one.

Yes, if we had one A-grader any time in the last 10 years it would add weight to the argument that we'd been able to develop him so the others we recruited must have been intrinsically poorer to begin with or they, too, would have developed into A-grade performers. Or to look at it another way, Travis Johnstone, Jeff White and Jack Watts were all pick number 1 - did any of them consistently deliver A-grade performances? They've all shown talent and that they had (or have) sublime skills...but none of them truly dominated their position. I know I'm being a bit harsh on Jeff White, but he didn't consistently deliver A-grade performances. And neither have any of our other earlier picks, such as Sylvia, Trengove, etc. .

It's hard to tell on TV but did Howe spend most of the game at full forward against GWS? I wonder whether he's suffering from being expected to be the second main forward, after Watts. I don't like playing Howe up the ground, but he's always going to struggle if we expect him to be a key position forward. We had the same problem many times when we expected Russell Robertson to play full forward. I agree Howe hasn't contributed much lately, but if Dawes comes back, I'd like to see Howe playing as the third key forward and leave out Gawn (or Fitzpatrick if he's injured or "needs a rest"). I think Nicholson should come in for Davey to tag Ablett. I doubt McKenzie could keep up with him. And while I don't think Byrnes was our worst, I'd rather play Blease than him because I doubt Byrnes will be playing next year.

This has been discussed in D'land many times, so I won't go on about it other than to say I believe it's statistically unlikely that we haven't recruited at least one A-grade player in the last 10 years. Ergo, I believe the problem is primarily with player development.

I should have qualified my claim that the midfield is 'the easiest part of a list to put together' by pointing out that my statement assumes competent recruitment and competent player development. I'm convinced our failure to have a decent midfield is partly about poor recruitment but primarily due to appalling player development.

Joeboy - has given up?

A physical impossibility.

I'm more optimistic. I think our list is in better shape - meaning it has much more potential - than at the time Bailey left. I'm convinced a properly functioning midfield will make all the difference. And that's the easiest part of a list to put together. The players have had no continuity in coaching. There have been 6 senior coaches (3 permanent, 3 temporary) in the last 7 years. It must be hard to be a player in that sort of dynamic.

Bit late, but.. 6. N Jones 5. Spencer 4. Pedersen 3. Viney 2. Clisby 1. Garland

Which might also explain why the actual number of contests is lower than other defenders have been involved in. Nevertheless, it's a good performance and makes me appreciate him more - but not enough to believe he's part of the longer term solution to our worries.

He might for $2 million, though.

Well, that helps the online readers. No such message in the print edition.

I'm not sure the article actually says that this is his team. There's nothing in what he's written that explains any of the choices made. Which makes me wonder whether the so called team was put together by someone else. In fact, the article says nothing much at all.

Maybe Essendon would prefer cars with fuel injection.

I don't care where they're from and whether they're luxury or not. Just as long as they pay up.

I rather like that a thread on Evolution v Revolution has a post by 'old dee' immediately followed by one from 'Young Dee'

Good stuff, Cudi. In your case study, don't forget the impact emotion has on decision making. Until Peter Jackson arrived, everyone involved would have been unable to separate their love for the club with dispassionate decision making.

still support my club.

For what it's worth, I don't blame Collingwood's on-field demise on the succession plan. I think that's just a result of the closing of their window. I'll go one step further - I think Collingwood is in a much better position now because Malthouse has moved on. Buckley is already regenerating that list. If they'd not moved Malthouse on when they did, he'd still be in denial and Collingwood's future prospects would be more dire. The concept of a succession plan is a good one, but not generally adopted by football clubs or political parties.

Amusing to see the opening post claims the coaches' record as "Sheedy 0 Craig 0". Unfortunately, that's about the only amusing thing about this weekend. If we win, it will be seen as "just GWS" we beat; if we lose it will be reported as a "Dee-saster" (Herald Sun) or "I told you this team (s)tank" (Caro in The Age) .

Wow. Where can I go to get back the couple of minutes I wasted reading that drivel?

Without disputing any of the above, I'd like to see the end of massive goal scoring run-ons by the opposition. You know the sort - where we are in a leading position (or, at least, still in touch) and then 30 minutes later we're 10 goals down. And if we can do it without putting a spare man behind the ball, even better.