Demon Dynasty

Yep... tackling by the ankles is allowed as long as it isn't a Port player

Worst game I've ever seen from Lingers. Viney is doing ok at stopping but is a mile off the pace with ball in hand.

Two and then handball deliberately over the line and no frees at all. There are diff rules for this mob or whistle just gets put away with the obvious stuff on their side much of the time. Gawny works Lycett off the ball in the ruck contest straight after but apparently you're not allowed to be strong in the contest!

Wow did we need that. ANB hitting up a long lead for the Macc goal. Basic footy and nice finishing all round

Who's playing the sweeper behind the contested packs!!!?????? Just dumbass footy

Rivers on to play Lingers role pls. He's just off tonight. Must start winning the contested at the call face

Awful kick by May on that kick out. Look for a shorter target son. Too predictable

Lingers having a mare

Spargo why would you turn your back on play when you know you are no chance of making the distance....then kick to the line!!!!!????

Awful panicky play Lingers... wjat was that handball. Take them on mate then go long to a contest.

That forward line has no ground ball beasts. Get down and grab the bloody thing someone!

Time to put JJ on Wines. Viney looks pretty spent. Lingers ...no need to panic on that kick. How was that not dropping the ball on Motlop? He also threw the other one earlier two handed for the Wines' goal. Port player runs over the line under no pressure. Not intentional. No rules for Port with ball in hand! Anything goes.

I would have Harmes playing a hard tag on Pepper. In hot form at the mo but doesn't like the two way accountability that Harmes will force him to bring. Tag team semi shared role (softer tag) between JJ and Viney on Wines might be the go. May takes Dixon. Petty or Smith (if Petty doesn't get up) to George. Hopefully Hibbo can manage Marshall with chop outs from Lever. The key will be the supply though. Mids need to step up in a big way vs last three weeks or so plus extra pressure in our 50 to slow their transition. If i see a loose zone happening in our front half of ground from the get go you can probably kiss this game goodbye. Need to bring manic pressure all over the ground from the first bounce. Can back it off a little if we get a decent lead and zone off a bit more from there (in patches) once we have control of the game.

Judgement cast too soon on very little evidence it seems KP. It will take him at least four to five games to settle in to this side and for some of those running into our forward 50 to start spotting him up and kicking to his favoured side etc. This team is not used to playing to a genuine multiple goal kicking forward as a regular target. I'm not expecting instant miracles but if he can average two to three goals per match (on average) over a block of 5/6 matches we're getting a decent return and BB will be doing what is asked i believe. Might take a month or so but if he finds form we will become a more formidable prospect in time for finals. Let's hope Goodwin is also wise and patient here and allows this transition to develop. Alot of this will depend on the mid field and small forwards picking up their game from here too. Our success or otherwise doesn't all fall on whether BB fires or not.

Yep this is the 10 goal Reel. Draws plenty of frees which for us is super rare up forward. Every extra goal counts whether the free is there or it isn't. Check the last goal. Would love to see Tracc break from the center and kick to BB's favoured side like Higgins here. And others...Clarry, Harmes, Viney!... When you start hitting a KF up like this on a regular basis it also frees up our other forwards when their player peels off to double team etc. Throws the whole opposition defence out and puts doubt in their mind. We are way too predictable and easy to defend without a KF target playing deep and doubling back on transition as BB tends to read and do so well here. He knows when to hold his Depth. Will also mean Macca gets the opp's 2nd best tall which might help him out as well.

It's hard to just switch being the "The Hunter" on again. Some have probably unconsciously slowly let this part of their game slip / ebb away since the game against the Crows. Probably thinking we could coast along and still win comfortably. Well unfortunately the above, some significant personnel / form / connection and cohesion issues up forward plus some woeful delivery with ball in hand coming inside (and or no serious tall deepish target to bail out to last week), has seen us drop some games we never should have dropped. The result against the Crows was a coin flip. Had the intentional been paid who knows. However, the way we lost to the Pies and GWS was much more of a worry IMV. Let's hope the FD / coaches have really gotten down and dirty on these two awful performances and have started to address the ugly aspects creeping in. Make no mistake, this is partly due to the above and as Jnr has so nicely highlighted, a pressure issue, but 50% or so is also purely above the shoulders. Tomorrow night will be a genuine indicator of how far this team has come in terms of maturity and getting down and dirty for a win against the odds on the road against a quality gritty opponent who never take a backward step. The bell will either be ringing or we will know we are back on Tracc once more and still eyeing a place in the top two.

Yes i was just making the point that he is not the same Goldy we were seeing two to three years or so ago Jnr

This is generally correct YB. The centre bounces however are one of those times when they at least start deep though.

Medium smalls and in some cases smalls can still run into a hole on the lead RPFC ...and get hit up if those doing the delivering can hit a target, kick it out in front softly or to their favoured side. There should be multiple go to options up forward. The likes of Kozzie on the burst should be an option here on occasions but aren't. Must not be training it? But then those kicking in need to have confidence in these smaller kickers provided they're within distance. Obviously they have no issues with Fritta here. However as for some of the other smalls.. even if they are hit up most can't kick beyond about 35/40 meters. And when they do on occasions, usually not accurately as it is beyond them. Also small and medium options presenting will usually result in entries out wide to the boundary (flanks & pockets). KFs (who play deep and lead etc) will usually see entries hitting the corridor area more often resulting in a better conversion rate. Why you would not want to have at least one effective (or potentially effective ...everyone has bad days) key tall focul point playing the deep role for most of a match is perplexing.

Possibly yes. That would be also due to the retirement of Boomer and the falling away of Goldy's around the ground dominance as he aged IMV.

T-Mac, the only genuine tall, was roaming up the ground and back again but rarely stayed home (Punt Rd end not sure about the city). Dogga played deep when not rucking but ineffective up forward. Played a VG game up the ground imv. We were devoid of talls on the rebound and rarely got first clearance out of the middle to bother the Giant's defence. When we did get a few clearances or clean possession/connection from the middle, we fluffed our entries inside most of the time. Tracc the worst offender here. Burnt the team on at least two occasions...possibly more. Viney on at least one occasion off a wing & of course Hunt on at least three occasions. Played well other than that and may well have pulled the trigger to not fluff those runs had we had a genuine tall target deep. Everything changes when a running / breaking player spots a tall option deep.

Fritta on SEN now

I love his work up the ground and i even appreciate the efforts up forward Dazzle. On the ground he's also very good for his size. However, as you say, in the air (when playing forward....bit better up the ground) is the issue here given his height. He just doesn't clunk enough or on the lead. I see him as our possible (similar) version of Hipwood (without the the rucking component). Everyone plays diff of course and not expecting a dopple ganger but he isn't even close to a Hipwood. We probably would have won a few more, and much more comfortably if he was. This was my worry when we were selecting him in the draft. That he wasn't a genuine KF. Ok so he's a Gawny future replacement/protege and I do love his work in the middle. Hec i would happily see him playing through there in place of Gawn in a 70/80% role. But... where does that leave Gawn? He isn't a genuine forward either just ok for a cameo. That's why i wasn't as keen as some here in getting him (plus the go home factor) vs say Young (Hibbo replacement?) Weightman, Green, Serong, Ash, Schoenberg and Henry (some of those weren't realistic of course given the academies). Having said that if Dogga can learn to mark on a lead and clunk more in the contest / pack (inside 50) he could become anything which would have my views looking pretty foolish in a year or two's time. As i said earlier would love to experiment without Dogga in. Just BB & macca as the two talls with two mediums (Fritta & other, resting mids? .. Tracc for example) and two smalls....and see how we go. Time is running out though and i can't see them dropping Dogga at this stage as he they obviously feel he is doing enough (and up the ground he is) to hold his place. But the issue up forward remains.

While not completely convinced yet.... and still seeing a possible relief role for Dogga (when Gawny is injured & assuming BB is in), I am beginning to lean towards this argument. He is also potentially keeping out the likes of Melk who could play through the middle at times and connect with the likes of T-Mac (assuming he isn't way up field from 50 like he was most of the time Sat). However i would have loved to see Goodwin experimenting with this situation much earlier than with just seven rounds to go. He may have left this aspect to too late which might have already sealed our fate for 2021. Hoping I'm wrong. Viney isn't as bad as you say once he hits form but at this point in time he does feel like a lead weight around the neck. Might need some time at Casey and instead play Chunk when fit (1st preference) or ABV in a fill in (non permanent) role until Chunk is available and/or Viney hits some hot form prior to Rnd 21 or so. I wouldn't want Viney coming back in just in time for finals in his present form. That's not to say we would ...just saying. Having said all that I'm of the view that if BB gets in he will hopefully straiten us up both with our forward 50 entries and accuracy in front of goals. Plus bring the likes of Kozzie into the game in a crumbing / goal kicking sense. I'm still not convinced Spargo is the answer at this stage. Would love to have picked up Weightman in the draft if wishes were horses. A better version of Spargo (on steroids) who can take speckies and score more consistently.

They could have more accurately tested that theory by playing BB on Sat W4 surely. With 50% of the theory not included in the practical experiment, this unfortunately left the forward line devoid of a genuine goal kicking KF. And effectively the loss of 4 critical points that may decide our fate at year's end. History repeating? ie; games we expected to win or should have but didn't which cost us a finals berth) ...2017, 2020, 2021*? *Top two / four