Demon Dynasty

Play man on man and this is the result. They arent that good unless you give them the space and time to execute

My take... precautionary only Will play subject to anything ugly of course

Man on man peeps. Exactly whats needed against the Swans on Sunday. This is the way

100%. We gave them a free hit last week. Bevo has also finally come to his senses and changed from a mostly 'outside 5' on the mark to 'standing the mark'. As insignificant as that might sound, constantly getting up into the face of the oppo ramps up the pressure to another level, provided of course you are bringing it in general play also. Bevo's 'Outside 5' strat of the past 18 months or so has allowed the oppo too much 'free' extra yardage, less pressure and has been a disaster for their team defence in general.

Yes this is the blue print at least in the first half. Heavy hitting one v one for the first two quarters. Reset and a small tweak back to a tight zone thereafter if the scoreboard is in our favour. If not ....keep wacking in and don't give them any room to breathe.

SEN-BLOODY-SATIONAL NEWS! Was meant to be this week. Will probably take a few weeks to find his feet but young fellas also have no fear so hopefully has an impact early. Hope Goody gives him a decent block of games to settle in.

Can't go in playing the way we usually play or they will most likely win and win comfortably. The Cats demolition in the GF is the blue print on which all tweaks / changes are based surely.

Anyone know anything about May's scan today?

Something about a split webbing issue Mr Fence yes?

Gotta give this fella his first look and with Sydney's ruck stocks way off their best the timing couldn't better. JVR for Melk is also a no brainer on the pressure dept with Melk not exactly a renowned pressure forward. JVR isn't shiiite hot here either but he's a fair way ahead of Macca and BBB.

ANB on SEN after 2pm fellow minions

Thats a great point Roost. When we become the hunter we more often than not crunch the oppo 💪🏼 Having May back will be a big boost this week as he makes others stand a bit taller. Balls out for Clarry pls boys. They all need to play as if it's their last game for mine to honour this bloke and all that he gives this club.

Goes without saying, but we might struggle up forward without Kozzy in this one. His stints through the middle will also hurt us as his run down / break away speed / agility is a major headache for any opp giving us some seriously quick transistion and finish coming inside 50 and drifting down there also. T-Mac might well be asked to go around again as a chop out as you mention but not sure why TBH as he just can't get off the ground to compete at the moment. Unless he somehow has a big turnaround athletically, then an extra mid might e just as effective as Macca's rucking capability? Given the Swans lack of serious ruck stocks i would think this is a great week to debut JVR for Melk. Wouldn't bet my house on it though knowing how often Goody loves to return to the same well most of the time.

A solid young prospect. He's going to have his work cut out to replace someone from the seniors unless it's through injury. Shows some lovely patches of work and when he does he looks the goods. If he keeps building the tank & finds some consistency im sure a window will arise but, injuries aside, more likely to be 2024.

Reckon he'll debut well before season's end and make an impact. This bloke is a naturaly giifted footballer with the smarts to go with it. Already has a body that will hold up at senior level, at least for short stints anyway till he gets the tank built. Powerfull is an understatement given his age. As you say its just a matter of the tank / fitness but i'll eat my hat if he hasn't debuted by about Rnd 12 or thereabouts.

Starting in the middle for the center bounces Trav? On occasions possibly yes but i think the main time starting there was the 2 or 3 matches after his contract signing. Many players starting around the arc would show plenty of heat map time going back and forth through the middle post the center bounce I see him as an on baller (post the bounce) sitting a kick behind for the intercepts. You may well be right in terms of starting in the middle (as a mainstay) in the last 6 games though. I'd need to go back and watch all of those matches.

On the few occasions he did get played in the guts in 2022, whch im pretty sure was the match or two (maybe three?) after his big contract signing (where it was suggested he asked to be played there more often as part of his contract lol), it is my understanding that he was sluggish, sloppy and got caught a number of times ie; the experiment was as fail (in that instance). And that following that experimental horribilis, thereafter he didnt play any significant time through there bar occasional brief cameos. You may be getting confused with 2018 where i believe he looked and (from memory) was quite effective in the middle when he was given a bit more time through there, i believe as a result of JV's absence for a while due to injury. JV then returned later in the season and pushed him out with some suggesting that Gus was the better of the two through the middle that season.

Didnt we try Gus in the middle in one or two of the finals? Seem to recall it was a bit of a fail Kozzy out is a real bummer at the mo as any others going through the middle dont have the zip and finish that he brings. Cat amongst the pidgeons for the oppo.

And experience especially under heat

DD there shouldve been a big response to getting beaten up a bit in the Semi... Surely Friday night is a huge psychological faux pas given we had 6 months to prep for it? While i wouldn't be hitting the panic button and there doesn't need to be a Spanish inquisition, Friday night's fail needs to be looked at and questions asked across every Dept including high performance, leadership group, trainers, physios, the Cap, all line/assistant coaches and Goody himself. Aside from losing Max early, having to travel, the oppo and the conditions, was there anything majorly diff that stood out with our prep/training/mental approach/strategy/coaching messages or methods during the week leading up to this match vs the week before that we overlooked etc? There may not be a simple answer, hec there may be no answer/s. Yes we should give some cudos to Brisbane's performance. However, just explaining it away as "they were too good on the night" is a load of buncombe. Brisbane weren't / arent that much better and an oppo team doesn't simply become 'that good' in the space of the last 3 encounters, especially given we pantsed them in the first of those just four matches ago at the same ground (final round 2022).

Yes as old blue eyes sings... "it was a very good year". Sometimes you have to reward effort and the run/carry off HB was super handy for quick transition into 50 for the forwards to get better 1 v 1 looks. Goody has to be careful we don't end up with a stack of dour defenders that defend really well but can't rebound quickly enough. Enough to give more looks to our forwards and worry the oppo anyway.

Everyone sees things diff W. Laurie, Jordan were both ok to good in patches y'day but also went missing at times. Jordan only racked up 1 possession (or thereabouts) in the third I believe? Very good either side of that though. Laurie wasn't very influential prior to half time, good contribution afterwards. Dunstan i thought showed something in terms of possibly replacing Harmes ... however there's the disposal. Bit of a Jekyll & Hyde here. Clean that up a little more and go a bit longer at times i reckon he should get a call up at some point. Having said that the FD may see it diff and he might get the nod this week!

I reckon him coming into form during that season was a bit of a catalyst for us doing so well in 2021. Still see him as part of that Premiership as he played his role to aplomb throughout the season and stepped up from his previous ordinary one. In 2020 i had him ranked (statistically) as the 33rd player out of 35 that played that season In 2021 he moved up a massive 19 places to finish in 14th from 34 that played. Albeit off a low base, his average weighted score in 2021 was up 127% on his previous year (2.59 vs 1.14) Very sad to see him go. Personally would've signed him for at least one more season. Great young fella and fabulous to watch in full flight off HB.

They are one of the best disposal teams going around, especially that last kick into 50 and love to run & carry as well. You don't want an open free flowing game against this mob imv. Don't give them an inch of space. The Cats mauled them and worried them out of it in the first two quarters of the Granny and it worked a treat. They never recovered. Anyone not using that footage as a reference as to how to beat them would be pretty foolish. Might be too old style and off the mark but if it was me coaching this week i'd be seriously considering asking the boys to play back of shoulder (heavy pressure man on man) and make sure they get no clean ball or run & under constant pressure for at least the first half of the match. Make it a massive heavy hitting scrap with no easy possessions then possibly reset back to a slightly more open / rolling zone style afterwards depending on scoreboard / results of first half lock down strat. Cover the guts from their kick ins as they love the FB to run it straight up the guts and also make sure there's an extra number defending the wings as they also love to go wide with medium kicks looking for a free out there, then they link up run & carry into 50 for the angled pass. Not unlike a soccer play down the L/R chanels before crossing the ball in.