Demon Dynasty

INCREDIBLE THAT THIS STILL HASN'T BEEN ADDRESSED OR AT LEAST TRIALLED! GOODY & THE FD ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL! Might be able to solve this by bringing in the 2nd tall defender option .... this week Tomlinson against the Blues? Tomo takes whoever tends to take his marks/leads up around the arc more often out of Curnow & McKay. Tomo's in his best form all year at Casey last few matches but still wouldn't want him anywhere near the goal square. Imho he's a tad more solid playing a more traditional CHB posi away from goals as much as possible where he gets the yips (resulting in clanger goals) and often in the road of the likes of May & Lever. May takes whoever plays closer to goals more of the time. Other weeks it might be Disco against slightly smaller 2nd tall set ups. The above are fill ins only until Petty comes back. Bottom line, we need to free up Lever as first priority. Petty forward should not be our priority and only used if it is possible to bring in Disco to take a medium 2nd tall.

FCS Goody / FD & Leaders....Kill the super loose fold back zone inside 50 & higher!! Gives the oppo too much room. Allows constant switching, control & possession in their back half. Keepings off if you like. This gives the oppo some massive advantages... 1. More time with the ball in hand while we run our butts off and expend energy. 2. Relatively easy exit to the half way mark most of the time under little pressure unless there's an unforced error. 3. Easy yardage 4. Teams who have very good or better defenders by foot are going to take advantage. It brings VG users of the ball into play eg; Hayden Young on Sat who on a good day can run the ball out 25 meters then hit a target 40 meters away with pinpoint passing. The next kick is heading into our 50 or close to it! That's two kicks! No time to get effective numbers back. 5. Allows too many launch kicks deep into our 50 or to leading forwards. The latter achieved by constant switching under lowish pressure across the middle of the ground until a forward presents or a hole opens up deep for someone to lead into. 6. If the opp is disciplined, patient and skilled, with a few hard leads they won't turn the pill over as often and shouldn't given they are not having to expend much energy to that point as they're under minor pressure. This limits our turnover capability and takes away a major strength. 7. Multiple medium kick switches. Less running for them.... more for our Mids & Forwards. Over short periods fine. Do it over a few quarters a la Freo and it will eventually wear the mids and some forwards down until they are spent. 8. As a result of No.7 ... even when there is a turnover....most players are so exhausted getting back towards goals and presenting etc that their kick at goals is even more compromised than usual resulting in ordinary accuracy or bad misses in front of the sticks. This is not hindsight either. Mentioned this prior to the Freo game and have done so a number of times over the last few seasons. When we tighten up here from the get go you can usually see we're more switched on. Causing turnovers in more dangerous parts of the ground etc. Playing loose as we did on Sat you can almost G'tee a loss unless the oppo are bottom 4 or thereabouts and/or having a bad day in front of the goals.

Don't see him as a line breaker if that's what you are looking for Roy. Not slow either though. Sort of a slightly shorter sleeker version of Disco? Quite agile on the move.

NS i'm pretty sure nothing we say on here will ever effect the Coach & FDs management of the list in any way whatsoever. No harm in some expressing their views as to where it's presently at and wish lists surely? Just DL banter & a bit of fun at the end of the day

Yes that's a point i made in the Casey thread y'day. Jefferson is getting crowded out by the likes of BBB & Joel up front at the mo. Might be a bit premature to judge him harshly as he's probably being played out of position at times.

You may be proven right Roost. We just differ in terms of the time required i reckon and while not setting the world on fire yet, he has shown the odd bit of promise in some games. I'm prepared to give the young fellla more time. Too early to rule him out imv and at 195cm they tend to take a bit longer to find their feet.

Tracking ok for now but not a plausible short term option to come in either given how young / green he is plus his height. Possibly another season and a half at Casey needed (or thereabouts)... if he makes it. Fair bit of strength / gym work ahead to stay strong and keep his feet in the contest. Patience needed.

Yes partly this ...we did have two in Hunt & Baker but alas. This list does look pretty ploddy by foot now. Yes i know....the ball moves quicker in the air. But it ain't going anywhere unless you can break away from your opponent first, which then allows you to finish off the work in the chain and / or take a decent crack at the goals.

Short term.... Mids Amature view but FWIW.... Only one effective first use extractor in the last few weeks. That's Viney. With some assists from Max. The odd extraction from Grundy, Jordan with super rare ones from part timers like Kozzy & Gus. If the first two aren't firing we are toast at CBs. The oppo just need to shut Viney down for two quarters or so and any average midfield (or better) are either easily matching us or the better teams are beating us up. Stick Grundy in the middle and Viney's ability to extract goes down even further. Clarry used to be a gun here (previous two seasons). Not so sure so far this season (first use extraction at CBs). If i'm the line coach / coach i'd be sitting down with Clazz and asking a few questions on this as to why this part of his game has dropped away substantially the last 3 matches or so. Maybe the hammy was twinging a tad in the lead up to it going? Who knows. Regardless a short term solution here might be to 1. Get Clarry back to 2021/22 best asap. Recovery obviously crucial here. 2. Get Dunstan back to full fit and straight into the guts to assist Viney, Max and hopefully Clarry can also find his mojo here again. 3. Rivers on a short term trial (2 to 3 matches) to see what he can bring with clearance work on the outside 4. Woe in for Spargo .... as per Rivers above.... see if he can offer something as a clearance option. Core midfield group Group A: Max, Viney, Tracc & Sparrow (assuming we can fix his recent extraction absence). Group B: Max or Grundy, Dunstan, Clarry (clearance more than extraction) Sparrow & Jordon Group C: Max or Grundy, Dunstan, Tracc, Rivers (or Woe off the bench) Forwards Need a tall leading forward to draw the oppo's tallest/best defender from JVR. Not sure Macca is the answer as he appears to have lost a yard on the lead and struggling here. Probably go for BBB to ensure the oppo sends their no.1 defender. Benny will at least get the ball to ground and draw frees even if he doesn't mark all that often. Lastly maybe consider bringing in Joel Smith to replace Chandler and offer a medium tall mobile leading forward to compliment BBB, leading to the opposite flank.

He did land on it at one point and got up slowly. Seemed to shake it off as he got up though. Reaction was similar to that of a minor stinger.

Call me crazy but i've been wondering do we roll the die this week and rest big Maxy in prep for KB? Freshen him up, get him super primed and ready to rumble on the big stage. Just run with Grundy mostly in ruck with a few chop outs from Rooh at CBs & forward 50 stoppages. He will also get the buy after to freshen up for a big tilt at the 2nd half of season.

Ratings to Rnd 11, 2023 vs H&A Season 2022 Average Team Rating drops below season 2022 for the first time 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 4.836 2 4.456 8.53 2 0 A Brayshaw 3.745 3 3.839 -2.45 5 2 T Rivers 3.736 4 2.423 54.19 18 14 J Jordon > 3.641 5 3.164 15.08 9 4 Jack Viney 3.480 6 3.971 -12.36 3 -3 Steven May 3.242 7 3.971 -18.36 3 -4 A Tomlinson 3.233 8 2.079 55.51 22 14 T Sparrow 3.128 9 2.665 17.37 16 7 L Hunter 3.105 10 - - - - Ed Langdon 3.039 11 3.109 -2.25 11 0 Jake Bowey 3.027 12 2.856 5.99 13 1 J Harmes 3.001 13 3.082 -2.63 12 -1 B Grundy # 2.907 14 - - - - Jake Lever 2.890 15 2.703 6.92 14 -1 Max Gawn # < 2.875 16 3.215 -10.58 8 -8 M Hibberd 2.865 17 2.613 9.64 17 0 Alex N-Bullen 2.791 18 2.688 3.83 15 -3 K Pickett 2.731 19 2.118 28.94 21 2 C Salem 2.725 20 3.363 -18.97 7 -13 K Chandler < 2.505 21 - - - - H Petty # 2.418 22 2.392 1.09 19 -3 J V Rooyen # 2.192 23 - - - - Judd McVee 2.173 24 - - - - B Fritsch 2.148 25 1.936 10.95 27 2 T McDonald # 2.038 26 1.939 5.11 26 0 Ben Brown # < 2.033 27 1.759 15.58 29 2 C Spargo 1.934 28 1.981 -2.37 24 -4 J Melksham > 1.437 29 1.947 -26.19 25 -4 B Laurie < * 1.300 30 - - - - D Turner * 1.075 31 - - - - Team Rating 65.90 68.89 -4.34 * Played less than two full matches (in total) - player rating compromised # Hit outs to advantage not counted < Subbed Out at least once or more > Subbed In at least once or more Stats courtesy of footwire.com

In the last CB (or maybe second last) y'day we set-up with all forwards deep around the goals in an attempt to isolate whoever was placed at CHF and the goals. I would have thought we'd have Macca or JVR (or someone solid and tallish...Grundy/May, even Lever) at CHF with a crumber somewhere nearby eg; within about 5 meters. Instead we isolated and unleashed the towering Harmes at CHF. Everything was going to plan at the bounce, we extracted the ball and somehow managed to lollipop it on top of Harmes's head.... and errr... well that's where our cunning plan ended. (In a ball up stoppage if i'm correct!?).

100% needs fixing this week. If Goody doesn't act here with Disco or Tomo (& eventually Petty on his return vs taller oppo forward set ups) we will absolutely struggle on Friday and beyond imho and may end up losing 5 on the trot. Not only are we losing Lever's best in terms of intercept king down back, he just isn't that good 1 v 1 as you say. It's a double edged rolled gold win to the oppo. I haven't taken enough notice of Shack in defence to answer either way on the first part Sydee. No idea. Maybe someone else who's seen a fair bit of him at the Dogs in this role? Possibly yes.

That about sums things up as to where he's at right now Sydee. Physicality needs another pre-season or two (minimum) to start clunking the odd pack mark. More comfortable out wide and higher up offering options through the middle / around the arc etc. That also could be what's being asked by the Coach for him right now? Showing promise and a few nice involvements but very early days. No doubt the old saying with taller blokes also applies here.

Just on Schache... Appeared to go from boiled lollies in the 1st half to chocolates in the second. Alot more involved. Some clever work in the middle also. Presented nicely on a few occasions. Not sure what triggered this. Maybe some extra time in the middle/higher up the ground? If anything Casey are probably one tall too many with Joel, Shack & BBB running around. Hence you don't see any one of them in particular dominate the scoreboard all that often.

He's fine imho and on track. Just lacks the physicality. Another pre-season so he can hold his feet / positioning in a contest. Showing signs but does get brushed aside a bit too easy ....for now, and loses his feet a bit too often. Similarities to the Duke if he does add the physicality and works his butt off in the off season! Could be the tall mobile forward many on here are screaming for!

P.S. Disco, Sestan, Woe (along with Joel* & Melk*) should be elevated (if they aren't already) into training with the seniors from here. Need to send a message. "Keep pushing...on the right track and not that far off!" Also sends a message to those they're competing for spots with. *pretty sure they already do from my odd training attendance...Kev?

Casey are really missing Moose and remember that many players who played last season (and even this one) have either moved on, injured or now playing AFL.... Chandler, Baker, JVR, Dunstan, Weid, Mitch Brown & Bedford. Reckon we did ok without Dunstan & Moose. And while this most likely wasn't the difference, the umps did pay some insanely rediculous 'hand-of-god' frees on at least 3 to 4 occasions which helped keep Werribee within touch and pushed them ahead at times. If you need any convincing of this check out the holding the ball against Woe straight in front of their goals early in the 4th. Was literally tackled as soon as he took possession and taken to ground /sat on. Ventured to try and handball it but no way he had any prior. The other must see miracle free was at the 17 minute mark of the last against Roan Steele. He tracked the ball from a Werribee kick off HB through the middle, picked up, turned on a tight arc quickly to boot the ball back into our 50 or find a target. Slipped over, got straight back up (no oppo touched him and if they did it was a finger tip trip anyway) and the ump paid HTB!!!!

Yes at times as high as HB. Joel played mostly stay-at-home and BB obviously the roaming relief down the line. Both played their roles well. Joel held his positioning and presented well with good timing on the lead on a few occasions. Maybe didn't do enough for AFL call up but things can also improve your own performance at AFL level as you're sometimes getting more service... although maybe not that clean with us at present! BB was involved in quite a bit and played his role (assiming that's what was asked) very well. Melksham also had a solid game without setting the world on fire. It should be noted that their opportunities were limited with much of the delivery coming in dirty under pressure. My view after watching this match was that we couldn't do any worse with BBB & Joel in for JVR (managed/rested) and Macca (out). I also think Melk is in better form than Chandler / Spargo at this point and we would probably see at least a goal or two extra scored with him in the team coming off the bench or as sub. Obviously not a long term option but couldn't play much worse than the aforementioned. Both added nothing yesterday.

Turner was solid enough without setting the world on fire. Held his own and didn't do alot wrong vs a pretty star stacked forward line (for VFL). Most of his positioning, body work without ball and decisions with it are hard to fault. Reads the play beautifully. Would i bring him in to free up Lever? Would depend on the height of the oppo's 2nd tall. Yes if ok...otherwise Tomlinson till Petty returns. Tomlinson is much better higher up the field playing the old CHB posi imv. Not so good nearer the goals. If Goody doesn't make this move this week.... we're doomed imv as you are killing off one of our biggest assets in defence that helped us win a flag and handing the oppo coaches & players a free hit for the entire match. They will then look to enter our defence any which way they choose without having to think about how they're delivering so much. Laurie got to the right places and got on the end of things. It's the gives that are the problem here and lack of foot speed. Tended to overdo handballs and a bit too often selling players into trouble. Not a game of note by any means and was shut down quite easily on a number of occasions through the middle and elsewhere. Turned it over a bit. Woe was probably the best (in an ordinary day) of most mids. Gets caught a bit but starting to shine when he shakes off the oppo. In a classier AFL line up he might do better and add something. He's on track and if he did come in i suspect he'd be a lot handier around CBs than most of the other mids bar Tracc, Clarry & Viney in terms of clearances. Stoppages are another matter all together. Going from contest to contest and impacting requires taking the tank to another level. Not sure he has the tank to go more than a few quarters at AFL level but could be wrong. Another pre-season will serve him well here. Be very surprised if he isn't in the team in the next 6 mths (of play..not calender). Ollie Sestan had limited involvement but when he does... all i will say is he could be the bomb. But all will depend on how hard he wants to work. His work with ball in hand is mostly 1st class. Makes the right decisions in traffic and can hit a target short nicely with VG vision. Doesn't panic. A brute of a player in the clinches and when tackling. I'd be salivating if i was a coach watching this fella...needs to do a stack of work off & on the track but the upside could be huge. Subject to doing that work and impacting more often, i can also see him coming into the 22 in the next 6 months

There are a number of players who were too easily beaten in 1 v 1 battles today against mediocre opposition. Some were that ordinary even Goody shouldn't be putting his complete faith/trust in them from here, let alone us fans on the sidelines. Some will no doubt work their way back into form but need a spell at Casey, where they should not get another call up unless they do. Others had their 'jump the shark' match today however and appear to be on a slippery slope down. Possibly close to being out for the count Replacements needed from here when others genuinly earn a call up at Casey. Recruiting required at years end to bring in further talent and fill in some of the missing holes.

I've been saying for weeks that as good as Rivers has been much of the time, his skill levels by foot are, on a few too many occasions, not even VFL level. He started the rot today with the first turnover across HB which got them their first goal. He needs to clean it up or be told not to go for anything by foot from deep in defence and just play the percentages to numbers up the line. His turnovers are in the worst part of the ground (usually around the arc or just outside) and aren't defendable on the rebound. Costing us goals, and cheap ones, every week. Massive team deflator and momentum killers. People used to laugh at Frosty, and still do, at some of his mad runs and turnovers resulting in sling shot rebounds and quite often a shot at goal. Rivers isn't that dissimilar in terms of mucking the good work via turnover too often. If it was just a rareish occurance and he was improving as the weeks went on fair enough. I wish that were the case. Sadly it now appears to be regular part of his game.

And Gus

6. Tracc 5. Sparrow 4. Bowey 3. May 2. Hibb 1. Viney