Demon Dynasty

The communication of open days seems ok Kev All this closed stuff at Casey is an unknown though. Do all clubs have their main sessions as closed sessions? I assume so eh

Silky old Salo! Great to see him hitting some form of late. A great guy all round and forever a Demon immortal

Yes. Has struggled with goal kicking up until about half way through this season. Now appears to be turning the corner. His attack at the marking contest has gone up a notch as well. No doubt more confident in the body as he fills out and gets stronger.

Ugal-hagen is slowly emerging as a star of the comp. Fabulous work ethic. Multiple leads high up the ground and doubling back occasionaly for a few inside 50. 2nd efforts and some great passes inside.

The Duke 2.0 is developing very nicely ty.

DeGoey caught twice then his team mate straight after.... Nichol's response.... "Play on play on" even while the 2nd player was being effectively tackled and dropping it for the third time

BM i would argue, at least until last week when Woe was in the team and in good form and Tomo various weeks before going missing, any forwards, including the smalls have a better chance at finding their mojo at Casey vs the seniors. The difference in terms of speed of ball movement, finish and cohesion between mids & forwards there is chalk and cheese vs the senior team. Ok so it's a rung down and oppo also a fair way off AFL level, but aside from that the service, delivery and methods coming inside 50 are much more conducive to an efficient / functioning forward line with those forwards happy to work hard at honing their craft & skills (at this level) much the beneficiaries. Watching Casey is a joy at the moment. May it continue and if they can hold the core group together, on present form they are a decent chance of going back to back.

Yep he loves to create a bit of controversy the old Volcano

Seems relevant to post here. Don't shoot the messenger! On a positive note... has Clarry changed stylists? Looks like he's had a bit of trim and starting to get into the swing with a bit of a fade!!?? Noice one Clazza! https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/07/06/melbournes-mismanagement-of-oliver-injury-labelled-a-disgrace-and-a-debacle/

We can play Grundy as sub. Solves many of these problems and Grundy is still there for if / when Max hits the wall in a match or the FD see he has reached his loads limits etc. Gawn can also start as Sub in matches where his loads might need to be managed and / or the match ups / weather suggest 2 ruckman may not be needed for the entire match. That way you are also conserving Max for the big games / match ups where his influence / output is more critical vs Grundy's.

We already tried this earlier in the season. Playing smalls like Spargo and mediums like ANB & Harmes at CHF. A cunning plan that worked a treat so why not go around again when you're on a winner!

I'm imagining they would be working on this aspect as well as changing angles before attempting to hit someone up inside on long and / or shorter shallow leads surely Febes. Including timing and the ability of a forward to do this and the mid/hb with ball in hand outside 50 having the patience and ability / willingness to attempt a skilled weighted kick to advantage. Hitting the target imperative as often as possible. Getting the forward mix right (maybe next season!), the above (forward craft/cohesion with mids etc) plus a better return in front of the sticks. That's the last, but seemingly the most elusive, missing piece of this team's puzzle from here.

Well at least the English have done the right thing again. Won the toss and sent the Aussies in to bat. That's 3 - Zip to Australia in the bag!

BB back to take King.... Petty forward! 🤣

If you're referring to his last game at Casey vs GWS he kicked 4

That should be BB if JVR was playing. Apparently this coaching group is of the belief that a genuine tall CHF is not necessary in the modern game. Either that or they feel our game style has this critical position well & truly covered with our mediums & smalls. And/or Gawn & Grundy. Both of whom are only averaging a goal every other game so far this season. If you are putting one up forward it should be Grundy who is at least a better kick at goal this season running at 66% accuracy vs Max's 39%

Neither of those disposals were effective, one of them resulted in a turnover. Negative 2 meters gained in approx one quarter of time on ground vs the Cats. Obviously has some credits from the coaches viewpoint but i fear they've placed too much faith before form again here. Same as they did vs the Cats.

Woe ✅️ Jordan for Harmes ✅️ Chandler out ✅️ Lose three mediums to medium talls in Smith, Fritsch and Melk and go super small replacing them & Chandler with another small (the little one) .... Holy Moly Batman!

I agree with this Macca. Much more dare is needed and taking the game on. That will take a major change of message from above though given what we've been witnessing in the last few months. I also think we are somewhat restricted here from a personel perspective in terms of ability to execute switches, 45s and hit ups of leading forwards (if there were more leads forthcoming that is). This is why i have been all for getting new blood into the team like Woe & Howes. While neither are world leaders at passing / hitting up targets they at least are capable of it about 2/3rds of the time and are doing so at Casey on a regular basis. No fear and playing with confidence! Watching Casey's transition off HB, so often they'll look to switch across HB or 45 into the corridor. They also do this as first instinct after exiting forward of the wing. Often hitting a target at the top of the square which then changes/opens the angles coming inside 50 and often opens up the goal face for a genuine long bomb attempt from a high percentage spot. Fpr those who may not habe had the chance of watching Casey's last match.... for a great example of this type of play go to 22:30 in the third quarter. Check out the switch from Schache to Sestan on the middle of the forward square. The rest is poetry, even though it doesn't end in a goal. They will also just take the game on and go straight through the corridor off HB if they see an opening with good use of HB and overlap. For another great example of this go to 7:30 into the third and watch how slick and well drilled this team is. Fabulous ball movement from a number including Steele & Dunstan through the middle ending up with a lovely weighted kick to Schache who goes back and slots the set shot from 40 meters on a slight angle. This is a well oiled & drilled group we are watching who are a good chance of going back to back this season subject to keeping the bulk of their present line up on the park.

Hope the penny is dropping and they aren't under the illusion that it's merely an accuracy issue. If so we're toast and we'll just keep seeing more of the same entries to low percentage areas with the same horrid results where we end up kicking double or triple the amount of points to goals.

At best guess from memory of the last 4 matches.... Approx 60% / 40% Wing / Middle A little more mid time when Jordan & Dunstan were out

He should be in Bing regardless. Our most accurate set shot at goals. Out of our designated forwards he is (on averages)... Top 5 inside 50 for.... Goals (4th) marks (4th behind Fritsch BB & Kozzy), tackles (a bee's whatsit behind ANB in 4th) and one percenters (2nd only behind Petty who i suspect is only ahead due to his time down back...Footywire has designated him as a forward). Surely some of the issues (or THE issue) Goody speaks of can be worked on at senior level and is something that he'll improve in as he goes (gradually). Regardless it / they can also be worked on in the off season. Right now we need to settle this forward line and drill drill drill them into some sort of form and cohesion. The cohesion team work bit up forward wont happen if we are constantly changing the core group! We are 16 rounds in and Goodwin & Co. STILL haven't worked out who is there preferred line up!!????? 8 weeks to go and the clocks ticking. There's no one else to decide upon in terms of talls at Casey bar Schache and he just doesn't look like the better of the two (vs JVR) for mine. Incredible that we are still fluffing around at this stage of the season and in danger if dropping out of the four while we speak. It's not rocket science.... get on with it fellas FCS or we'll be kissing another wasted opportunity / season goodbye!

I suspect Jordan will come in for Harmes TU. All just guess work of course. Great to see Taj get the call up. Really cleaned up his disposal in the last 3 to 4 matches and starting to hit targets about 70% of the time (no evidence or stats here just a stab based on the old eye test).

Wasn't sure where to put this... may have been posted already so mods maybe delete this if you are aware of it elsewhere pls... https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/why-a-forgotten-forward-can-be-the-missing-piece-to-melbourne-s-premiership-puzzle-20230629-p5dkew.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2PvJel6pXvV7M_IJ5ODG24dk78dOukQUbzsRtn7Q79FLwo26FZN5Uk-fU#Echobox=1688265547