Demon Dynasty
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A few observations after watching the first half replay.... 👉 Defence was not the same without Lever but generally held up well under the circumstances. Kudos to the guys playing back. In particular Smith who i thought played a very solid first half. 👉 May appeared to have Naughton inside 50 much of the time in this half but when Naughton pushed higher up the ground May appeared to retain his spot as the last man back. All good but then who was picking up Naughton as he pushed up the ground? It would appear no one in this first half. While i understand this is a difficult ask at the best of times, with most of our Premiership defenders out this task became even more problematic on Weds night. Something to ponder over for the future as he is a very tricky match up both on the ground and in the air. A direct match up when he pushes up the ground doesn't really come to mind at this point but it's something we need to put some work into for future encounters. Anyone? 👉 English took front position against Max most of the time when Max pushed forward, resulting in a number of frees against Max for ITB. One of which should have been a free to Maxy as the first push came from a Doggy defender behind him who cannoned him into English. Of course that first push of Maxy was missed. Would like to see Maxy work for the front possie on occasions to mix things up and hopefully force the free kick in front of goals also. 👉 The 2nd quarter tap outs were almost always to the punt road end and or slightly sideways and half the time straight into a waiting doggy sweeper. Would have thought our two ruckman would wake to this earlier but seemed to be missed as our boys were often sitting out back. I also felt too many players in the middle got sucked too close to the ball drop. This meant when we did get the odd possession we were often hand balling to a player within three or four feet of each other were under immediate pressure and dumped off to another player in close etc etc. There was very little handball to a player on a different line out wider / or a tap across/ forward in their direction for the quick transition inside 50 as they mostly werent there to give to (a la the GF). This resulted in a few turnovers in the middle, even when we got our hands on the ball first (which was pretty rare in the second) which helped the Dogs big time. Probably only a set up tweak needed here which i'm sure the boys addressed at half time as things seemed to improve here in the second half. No doubt some first game cobwebs happening. 👉 JJ had a mare and looked completely out of sorts in this first half. I understand the want on here and possibly by the FD to stick with a winning combo but to me JJ has looked out of sorts since about 2/3rds of the way through last season with not many credits remaining at this point. I would probably seriously consider Bedford as in front at this stage. He just looked to have more speed and to be more at the pace than JJ for the most part. 👉 Harmes not far behind JJ. Much of his not so great work happening around HB where he always seems out of sorts IMV. Harmes much more suited to playing a bullocking role through the middle working off his opponent as a run with minder role when we don't have the ball on the likes of say a Macrae or a Bont. Did a few good things in tight to redeem but overall i didnt like his game much in this first half. Has plenty of credits though and the second half probably a different outcome from what i recall at the ground anyway. 👉 The big play maker for the Dogs across HB is of course the smallest fella on the field in Caleb. His influence in that second quarter was immense and he was left to run amok without anyone checking him. And not just across HB. He pushes right up to the 50 meter arc at times as a key link man. As a coach or coaching panel against the Doggies do you ask the question "Do we try and take away or at least limit what we know is a key strength and/or a part of the Doggy's DNA?"? For me Caleb is a key part of how the Doggies tick and how they arrest / maintain momentum from their opponent. Much of this is obtained on the counter. Sure i would not be too worried in the opening salvo of the first quarter where its a bit of a turkey shoot in any match. Let the players sort themselves and lets see who appears to be hot and who might be somewhat off early and review at quarter time or at least have option B up the sleeve. In this case i would have looked to have Kozzie run with Caleb after they got on a bit of a roll on in the second.... say 3 goals, and just asked him to blanket him until half time. Reset from there. Kozzie was not that influential, other than a few opportune pressure cameos which sure, were very handy. But i would have much rather seen him sacrifice his game a little from early on in the second quarter post the third goal and review at half time. 👉 Like to see Clarry hit the afterburners when he takes possession more often as we know he can... and look to break free of the congestion then head out wide or long. Not a major issue. Just a minor tweak towards more of this and a little less of the in close dinky hand offs to another player under severe pressure. Tracc also on at least one occasion.... sold Clarry into trouble in the middle bounce when a quick kick forward was in the offing (in the second quarter). 👉 I thought Viney (both quarters in patches) and Tracc (especially in the second) were immense at keeping us in the arm wrestle early. Ditto BBB. Some fabulous timing of leads / leaps on his part along with his usual accuracy from distance. Macca down back was also VG for mine and really steadied us under fire in the second. 👉 Big Maxy on one occasion gave a block free to English in the middle bounce, but then when the favour was returned by English with 2 minutes to go to half time at a bounce just forward of the middle Max received nothing in return. It would appear Max is severely behind the eight ball here by the umpiring fraternity, who will basically immediately call him on any apparent blocks but ignore them the other way! This needs to be brought to the attention of the AFL by the FD immediately with examples shown given that the players are now unable to vocally remonstrate on field. 👉 The free to Weightman at the end of the 1st quarter gave the Dogs hope coming in to the 2nd and was crucial in their second quarter turn around. They also received some very fortunate bounces from the middle ruck contests 👉 During patches of the second quarter we gave them way too much room coming out of our D50 and continued to do so as they moved the ball up the field. This will only improve the opp's chances of converting and i just can't see any significant advantage that helps us here. Once the ball hits our 50 arc players must simply close up the distance little by little with the pressure wick fully cranked by the time it's anywhere near the middle. Rolling back as the opp finds hole after hole in our D as they waltz up the field to the middle and beyond is just asking for trouble and something most skilled / highly fit teams will just consider money for jam. Allowing them to kick easy / consecutive goals on the run. While i realise this situation doesn't usually last for more than a few minuets in short stints in particular quarters, it's when it moves beyond a few minutes / short stints IMHO that ends up seeing big runs against us, often resulting in teams gaining confidence / belief that they are a show even if they're down by thiree / four goals etc in the early part of a match as we saw on Weds night. Sometimes these runs won't be caused by this issue but i find more times than not this is our biggest Acchilles heal. Yes teams are going to get a run on at times and there's nothing we can do. Sometimes it might be simply fatigue that's causing the gaping holes and the opp's just having a great quarter or a purple patch over 10 to 15 minutes. I get the momentum stuff but i still believe there's room for tweaking here. 👉 Someone received a 50 from Hannon at some stage in the second (Spargo / Gus!?). Went forward and two fellas were sitting on the fat side of him....with plenty of leading room. To me the best option was a lead from one of them (think it was Kozzie & Bowey) into that fat side. Taking the kick from just outside 50 the kicker was never going to make it. The Doggys were all looking for the kick to the top of the square and predictably thats exactly where we went and the ball spilled and was easily cleared as they had so many back. A lead up from one of the smalls might have seen us taking a set shot from about 40 meters out on a not so tight angle for a crucial goal to pull back the lead further. Instead both these blokes just turned their back and walked away from the kicker towards goal from the 40 / 50 area. Opportunity missed IMV and would like to see some of the smalls (vs leaving it mostly up to Fritta for example) pull the trigger here a bit more when the space IS clearly there on the fat side and at least look to double back on the lead here a la Harmes to Fritta in the third quarter of the GF. -
Yes just a coincidence. Was a clash of knee caps with Salem coming off 2nd best (chipping some cartilage) Conservative guess would be 6 to 8 Sure beats an ACL ~ throws salt over shoulder & checks the evil eye key chain
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It tells me you are an infatuated tragic like many of the motley crew on here..... 24 hours of good news....congrats x 2
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Quite a blast it would seem you had WWC. I've been up in the boxes / bleaches on a few occasions. While i love the corporate freebie action in terms of the food / drinks flowing, i felt a step removed from reality and the noise / atmosphere of the mosh pit. Especially when the glass to the box was closed! Even when open its still NQR imv. It is nice to see how the other half live once in a while though and froth away knowing someone else is picking up the tab. On such a grand occasion it doesnt really matter where you're at anyway. As long as you're there to witness and soak it all up with a friend or two. Keeping the beers rolling is a must however and if i was there there's no way you'd be stopping at one. Bottoms up lassie!
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Bold & the Beautiful eat your heart out!
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Things i loved about this Rnd 1, 2022 GF re-match... 👉🏼 Meeting Bro & Sis before the match around 4pm at the Mountain View for a few pints & a meal. Sis barracks for the Blues but is now almost a convertee and very chuffed about what we have and are achieving 👉🏼 First time sitting in a pub pre match in 50 years knowing we are now premiers and effectively the team to beat. Strange & surreal after so long...but loving it. 👉🏼 Kate & Perty wheeling out the cup 👉🏼 All the old boys carrying out the flag that had our names on it 👉🏼 the old boys in Hassa Man, Stan Alves, Greg Wells and Ron still with us and being able to experience this grand night together in the same stadium as part of the flag bearing crew 👉🏼 The Roar for Chunk when he was anounced as one of the flag bearers 👉🏼 The cheers for the Reverend when he came up on the big screen at one point 👉🏼 Bulk of the crowd going off in the 1st when we got on a bit of a roll. 👉🏼 Gawny chant when he unleashed his monster (AFL quote!). Just to clarify, Gawny's monster = a long bomb from 50 👉🏼 Coming from behind to win 👉🏼 The players and Goody approaching the Punt Rd end to show their appreciation and the crowd giving it back in spades 👉🏼 So many happy smiling Demons around, even during the match when things got a little tense 👉🏼 finally on the run home.... the old Demonette (i think) driving a rickety old 70s station wagon that had a pro "Give em Hell / Gawny / the flame " back window display and Demon motif/colours professionally done on both sets of doors. Turned a few Richmond locals' heads as it was coming down Bridge Road. Reckon the paint / graphics job would've cost considerably more than the value of the car! Carn the Mighty Demons!
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I recall my maths teacher used a similar line on me in year 9...just before giving me one across the chops! (true story!)
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Kozzie to Daniels.... game over
Yes cant argue with that when we havent got the ball. Not doing so well when we're in possession (in terms of small forward craft). Further up the ground when going there....more reasonable.
The zoning off at the beginning through middle of that quarter along with the contest in the middle cost us. One too many handballs instead of a clearing kick. When you have twin talls up forward speed coming inside 50 is critical. Kozzie, Spargo & Fritschkreig too quiet. Kozzie is leading up to the player coming in for a long shot at goal even when there's no space on offer. Play the percentages and hang out front and square for a possible spill once the player has committed to a long shot or a kick to the top of the goals. Gus is a hard worker and reads the play beautifully. Just needs to clean up the disposal and decision making in this second half. We closed down their space better in that last 10 minutes and went a little more direct. Should still be up by 3 points taking the two insanely wrong umpiring decisions out that gifted them at least two goals. Macca down back was a steadier that quarter. A number of times our ruckmen have easily out positioned their opponent at the middle bounce yet instead of ripping the ball down and quickly kicking forward theyve opted to try a cutsie tap to no one and/or worse, straight to a happy Doggie. More awareness please Jackson & Big M in particular.
Needs to play the ball and stop lairising. For a young bloke who's just on the scene its a really bad look
Talk about gifting them a goal. What a woeful decision by all four umps. 12 to 4 against us and we had the bulk of the play
The Basking is over damn it! This has all come around very quickly. Can we delay the start of the season for another few months?
Sensational. The crowd chanting "Jonesy" was a memorable moment. Would have loved to organise a parting gift for the Jones boy from the supporters if i was more connected and in the money. A hotted up GT mustang or similar in Demon colours with the No.2 subtley imprinted into the finish with the words "thanks for everything chunk" or similar branded somewhere appropriate. Maybe on the tow ball!
“Don’t talk to anyone, don’t touch anything, don’t do anything, don’t interact with anyone, and try not to look at anything.” - Dr. Emmet Brown, ‘Back To The Future’.
She was still doing that about 2 hours later and going strong @ the London Tavern aftermath party. She's a real knock about gal & a very good sport to boot
G'day Sam. Yep Bally, Ross, Ollie & Vince from Sassafras! A few others whose names escape me. Often half drunk pre-match coming from the Hilton or the Royal before the game had even started....with a six pack under the wing for good measure. Liver, feet & lungs sure got a workout in those days. Fun times apart from too many bad losses. But any feelings were mostly well & truly numbed by half time and completely brain dead at the final siren 😄
You made it OD!?? ....very glad to hear this
Sorry to hear that
25 years earlier
