Demon Dynasty

Very difficult. Should be ready for a run with Casey from Saturday week but unfortunately they have another bye which means the earliest he'll get on the park is Sunday 13th August vs the Blues at Ikon. Maybe a slim chance provided he has no setbacks from there.

That might be needed Bubs but who knows. Certainly not me lol. Fingers crossed though as you wouldn't want Petty having the same result as he did last time he came straight back In without any Casey lead in.

Correct and if fully fit might be brought in to play that role on Balta this week. Ideally he might need a run at Casey though. Potentially one week (or more?) too early for Harry.

Have no idea if Petty is up to speed or not. Have to assume he is if we decide to bring him in. Surely Tomo has earned his stripes down back. Unless they decide Hibb is raring / ready to go for another Dusty ding dong as a horses for course in/out for Tomo (this week). Looking at the lay of the land including form vs the Crows my gut feel is.... Barring any last minute fitness hic ups, Petty is highly likely to come in for BB and play a defensive forward role on Balta, the league's No.1 intercept marking defender. Smith to stay as Sub or possibly a swap with Melk to give Smith some more serious match time and keep him at the level. Melk managed a tad to also keep him fresh.

You can't just swing a KD forward without training fot it over an extensive period.... most likely off season. May did start off his career in a brief stint as a KF but it's probably too late in his career now and you are robbing Peter to pay Paul taking him out of a Premiership defensive line up. Too small and no g'tee Fritta will return back to full fitness / form in time for finals.

Plenty of upside here. Good signing. Looking forward to seeing his development after another pre-season or two. Some VG signs in his last month or so. Reminds me a bit of the Duke with a much better kicking action. For those too young to remember...

Team & Player Ratings to Rnd 19, 2023 vs H&A Season 2022 Three key aspects that if we can sort them we give ourselves a VG chance of making another PF, and who knows from there... 1. The obvious one is getting Clarry back and somewhere near or at his best top line levels. 2. Solve the Steven May mystery. Might only be a mystery outside the four walls and he is just coming off what has been an amazing two years of AA level form, which is unsustainable given his age. Alternatively this issue (ie; age factor) and/or some sort of physical hindrance that us outsiders are unaware of. If it's the latter then IMHO we seriously need to attempt to get him back towards the 21/22 AA levels we saw from the champ by carefully managing him through a fine tuning program vs the likes of North & the Hawks. 3. Decide on who is taking the No.1 KTF role between the likes of BB (reportedly carrying a knee issue), Schache (unlikely as he seems out-of-favour with Goody & the FD even though in VG form at Casey the last few months) and/or (as a huge outside chance) maybe Macca if he can recover and find form/fitness prior to finals. He is due back in terms of full training next week so we shall see. Alternatively if none of those talls are serious medium-term options and/or too risky to plan as regulars coming in to finals, then we need to back in one of either Smith or Petty to play as the quasi Tall-Medium forward. Using the one we aren't selecting in this role as the sub. Tomlinson is in career best form. He can handle the Petty role with ease and may well be the better of the two here right at this moment with Petty coming back from multiple injuries. Between Tomo and Hibb we can manage nicely down back, selecting between either of those each week, depending on the oppo's tall / small mix and match ups. For example it might be Hibb this week to take on the likes of Dusty... albeit i still think Hibb is another week at Casey away from hitting AFL level fitness. An important phase coming up for Goody & Co. in a number of aspects. Fingers crossed and good luck fellas. Not easy! Player 2023 Rating 2023 Rank 2022 Rating % Change vs 2022 2022 Rank Change in Rank vs 2022 C Oliver 5.285 1 5.320 -0.66 1 0 C Petracca 4.644 2 4.456 4.22 2 0 A Brayshaw 3.822 3 3.839 -0.44 5 2 T Rivers < 3.665 4 2.423 51.26 18 14 Jack Viney 3.632 5 3.971 -8.54 3 -2 J Jordon > < 3.569 6 3.164 12.80 9 3 Max Gawn 3.402 7 3.643 -6.62 8 1 Ed Langdon 3.204 8 3.109 3.06 11 3 Steven May 3.169 9 3.971 -20.20 3 -6 B Grundy 3.159 10 - - - - C Salem 3.139 11 3.363 -6.66 7 -4 Jake Lever 3.031 12 2.703 12.13 14 2 A Tomlinson 3.029 13 2.079 45.70 22 9 T Sparrow 2.915 15 2.665 9.38 16 1 L Hunter 2.918 14 - - - - Jake Bowey < 2.875 16 2.856 0.67 13 -3 J Harmes > 2.804 17 3.082 -9.02 12 -5 M Hibberd < 2.589 18 2.613 -0.92 17 -1 H Petty < 2.571 19 2.392 7.48 19 0 A N-Bullen 2.499 20 2.688 -7.03 15 -5 K Chandler < 2.451 21 - - - - K Pickett 2.281 22 2.118 7.70 21 -1 Judd McVee 2.246 23 - - - - B Fritsch 2.230 24 1.936 15.19 27 3 J V Rooyen 2.143 25 - - - - T McDonald 2.054 26 1.967 4.42 26 0 Ben Brown < 1.941 27 1.762 10.16 29 2 C Spargo > < 1.886 28 1.981 -4.80 24 -4 Joel Smith 1.798 29 2.239 -19.70 20 -9 T Woewodin 1.533 30 - - - - J Melksham > 1.407 31 1.947 -27.73 25 -6 J Schache * 1.375 32 - - - - B Laurie < > * 1.300 33 - - - - D Turner < * 1.075 34 - - - - Team Rating 70.65 69.48 1.69 * Played less than two full matches (in total) < Subbed Out at least once or more (player rating could be comprised somewhat) > Subbed In at least once or more (player rating could be comprised somewhat) Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

He might need more than two weeks to find any mojo as a part time forward if Saturday's game is anything to go by. 12 disposals, 12 hit outs and 1 goal 3 behinds is not exactly progress as a part time forward / mostly ruck against a VFL team with zero wins imv. And yes, of course he shouldn't be judged on one week's performance but he probably shouldn't on two weeks either. Hence he may need more time imv Scache and even Jefferson looked more dangerous as forwards and were more effective with 2 goals a piece and similar output with 10 disposals each. Only my amature view from the sidelines but does he look a few kilos too heavy / clunky in the legs post injury?? Maybe lightening up a little might help his game going forward, including covering the ground a little quicker plus getting off the ground but that won't happen this season (if it is a factor).

Woey's fitness / running capacity is first class. Probably would manage on a wing with chop outs from Gus or Hunter as sub in the early trial stages. Positioning could be a thing but has played a fair bit of time on the wing with Casey and played it pretty well. Does that convert to AFL standards though? Not necessarily. It's a risky call & something that would take a fair degree of patience from Goody & Co. before it might pay off. Doubt they'd be willing to take such a risk at this point, especially with finals not too far away.

One of the great footy characters & personalities. A strong voice of clarity around the boys on game day, both at senior and Casey level. Not to mention his drive to see every player reach his best potential, regardless of which level they're playing. His humour is out there as well. On Moose's 150th at Sandy a few weeks back he was yelling at the assistants to drag Moose to the sidelines so he could grab a happy snap of him standing under a rainbow (which had emerged behind the field on the opposite side). When the request was refused because Moose was actually out in the middle playing, Choco told the assistant he would be lucky to get a gig the following week and then started yelling out to Moose himself.... "Moose get over here.... Moose... Moose"!

IF you're referring to bulls who go in and extract the footy at the source i beg to differ Jimmy. Personally feel too much was being left to Viney & Max in this area in the first 4 to 5 weeks post Clarry's abscence. Gus has started to assist a little in the last few weeks. Add a few minor cameos from Tracc, JJ & Sparrow which closes the gap a bit more. In a strange way, Clarry missing may have helped Tracc's game here as i felt he was becoming a little too biased as an outside player earlier in the season. Appears to have remedied this since and it's paying off. Clarry's slick extraction work, more so around stoppages, plays a big role in us getting the ball going forward more often and with some speed that gives forwards a few more 1 v 1 looks. Him coming back also frees up Tracc for more regular forward minutes which has to be a win. The difference he should make when he returns, assuming he gets back to somewhere near his best, will be pretty substantial.

Tracca you obviously have something against BB in totum i feel yes? Yesterday's game is in no way a reflection of BB's usual standards nor the way he's gone about his career. You would know this if you took your 'hate for BB' hat off me thinks assuming you've watched enough of him throughout his career. If he's on one leg of course he will not be at his best and the FD were probably intending to sub him all along as a result. The fact he's stuck his hand up with the issue mentioned shows that he still has the G&D to keep giving his best for the club under some duress. Same with his Casey appearances. That is a diff level of course but he's been VG at times throughout the year there as well.

This is spot on and BB has and always will be a Demon immortal. Age catches up with us all unfortunately and as you say we don't have an abundance of TFs knocking the door down at Casey. However, if his injury is impacting that heavily it might be time to seriously consider bringing the Shack back? He's a similar height and can also provide a chop out at CB ruck contests instead of Roohey. In pretty good form at Casey as well. Allows Max some time behind the ball if needed and also Roohey more time to focus his energy / efforts up forward. Getting the ball to our most accurate set shot a few more times wouldn't hurt either.

Round 19, 2023 MCG - Demons vs Crows Poetic outcome for Ed on his 150th. Hopefully we can see those sort of levels from here and throughout the finals! Just saw your post thanks DZ...you would have sent that as i was finalising! Shouldn't read too much into one week but... Some worrying numbers here amongst many. How we even got over the line is a minor miracle given the Team Rating (TR) was down 18% on the season's average TR to last week. Need to keep in mind the Clarry factor on the team rating. Excruciating wait time now...bah! Of course there were a few who bucked the trend & had a day out such as Ed (up 42%) , Kozzy & Chandler (50% +) and others who had a very good day (statistically) such as Rivers, ANB & Tomo. Making up 10% to 20% differentials from usual season averages is certainly within reach and not usually a cause for alarm. However when you see this over many many weeks (eg., May who is presently off his 2022 season average by approx 18% to last week) then of course some bells might start ringing a little as to what's going on. 25% - 30% plus however is a long way off and somewhat more concerning even if its a one week result. Unless said player was under an effective lock/run with from opponent in this match (eg; possibly Viney), just having a one-off poor day or maybe the flu or similar. Of course numbers can also be a poor indicator of what happened. Most would say Jack was very influential on the outcome yesterday and one of our best, if not our best, but his rating doesn't reflect that. His rating impacted by a hefty 9 turnovers, the most of any player on the day. Watching the game however, you probably don't take as much notice given the heavy inside combative nature of Viney's game style and the positive outcomes that arise as a result. Stats also don't take into account how well the oppo is playing / pressuring etc. Not taking into account the oppo's efforts etc is also not doing the game any justice. As i often say, always best to watch the game of course with stats being a mere rough incomplete guide as to what took place on the day. P.S. take no notice of Smith's rating in this match vs his season rating as he was the sub and only played 21% match time. Unfair comparison. On the day i thought he was VG after coming on and should have been subbed in much earlier imv. BB looked way off his best (this season) and a mile off his best in 2021 failing to get to many drops, unable to work his way into front position and very few effective leads. Demons Scoring Efficiency Disposals Per Goal 24.50 % In50s Goal 26.90 Conversion % 51.90 Crows Scoring Efficiency Disposals Per Goal 26.08 % In50s Goal 24.10 Conversion % 46.40 Player Rating Rank Season Rating to Prior Rnd % Change vs Season Rating Ed Langdon 4.450 1 3.127 42.31 T Rivers 4.350 2 3.625 20.00 C Petracca 3.850 3 4.691 -17.93 K Chandler 3.775 4 2.360 59.96 A Brayshaw 3.750 5 3.826 -1.99 K Pickett 3.400 6 2.207 54.06 A Tomlinson 3.350 7 2.965 12.98 Max Gawn 3.275 8 3.412 -4.02 Jake Lever 2.875 9 3.041 -5.46 A N-Bullen 2.800 10 2.481 12.86 C Salem 2.725 11 3.191 -14.60 Jake Bowey 2.500 12 3.105 -19.48 T Sparrow 2.350 13 2.905 -19.10 S May 2.200 14 3.233 -31.95 J V Rooyen 2.200 15 2.138 2.90 Jack Viney 2.125 16 3.727 -42.98 J Jordon 1.900 17 3.775 -49.67 Judd McVee 1.825 18 2.271 -19.64 L Hunter 1.525 19 3.005 -49.25 T Woewodin 1.150 20 1.725 -33.33 B Brown < 61% 1.000 21 1.975 -49.37 J Smith > 21% 0.875 22 1.541 -43.22 J Melksham 0.775 23 1.536 -49.54 Team Rating 58.25 71.19 -18.18 Top 6 23.58 26.28 -10.29 Bottom 6 8.28 9.26 -10.64 < Subbed out / TOG % > Subbed in / TOG % Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Rain can be helpful (vis a'vis Poms) or unhelpful (us) Thank Lucifer this wasn't being played at Old Trafford

At the Bermagui Beach Hotel for this one. The screens are more AFL & racing than NRL👏🏼 Hope they don't switch em over after the GWS game...

They have so much folding stuff they aren't concerned. It will be more the peer pressure coming from the AFL hierarchy. At some point their concerns about how it impacts the look of the game from a broadcasting rights perspective will come to the surface.

He's probably still waiting for a banner guernsey! I'd be [censored] too!

This pretty much covers it. Think he would make a handy forward if he trained for it in the off but also unlikely. Melk is a big game player. Has to stay in. I think his effort last week will see him preferred over Joel from here regardless of Fritta coming back or not. (no slight on Joel either who's done well to push his way back in and makes a pretty good sub imho). Our two great come back wins in the last two seasons had significant Melksham moments. Not sure what slack you are referring to LD? Maybe BB's form given his knee is apparently not great? At some stage the forward line needs to settle and just be allowed to click in terms of being a core group that rarely changes most weeks. That's the only way they'll get to know each other's game / methods / leading patterns etc in order to become a tight cohesive unit performing at a high level most weeks. A la our regular line up down back. Same in terms of the mids/HBs clicking with them and visa-versa.

I've mentioned Camberwell before but pretty sure this site wasn't in the picture. I assume we've searched far & wide in these parts...

I'm having nightmares after reading this... might need some psychological assistance to deal with the fallout

Jefferson plays a much more mobile TF role a bit like the Duke. Completely different forward craft here so should be fine. He might actually find Grundy handy as a bit of a launching pad.

You might get your wish FT. On Casey form Bill should get the nod over Chandler but of course Chandler has more experience plus early year 'AFL' cred form so the SC may revert back to what they may see as the safer option.

Not 100% sure of this but we might be looking / hoping to develop Adams as the eventual successor to May