Demon Dynasty

Chicken and egg LN. I think its the reverse. Had we had that base i think there may have actually been a GF party or two at said base already and we would probably not be talking about the need for a base or the lack of any silverware since 64. I'm not changing the point at all. The base is a must, not just for training & admin, for the fans as well. Without fans and without considering them in the picture, the club in its own right (having no real face to face connection with fans at any point, outside of game day) effectively is running itself in isolation and for what purpose? To please the people in positions of power, the coaches and FD, the players and the media? Without the fans there is no point in the club existing at a professional level. Even a small country club eg; Barnawartha Tigers has a raison d'etre, a soul, a base and possibly a better connection with its fan base at this point as a result of having a place to call home. It's part of the fabric, the essence of any half decent club imv... You (and i'm sure a number of others on here) therefore must feel there is no need to connect / please the fans at all. Just take their $$ and continue on continuing on no matter what happens on or off the field.

I think the 'cause' of being as close to the MCG as possible OD is probably being lead mostly by a chorus of MCC connected members vs those who are MFC only. Maybe the board doesn't want to ask the latter nor care for their response?

SATY is that you? ?

It's not just about training & admin imv LN. The fans are just as important as is having a base you can associate with and call home. There will remain a disconnect between the club and its players until this is found imho.

I don't mind speculating the 'what ifs' if we're able to keep most key players on the park and what if we can win X number of games for the remainder? Where would we likely finish on the ladder IF? I think most do that. But outside of that i never think anything beyond who's ahead of us this coming week. Most of these journalists writing these articles have no idea what it's like to live through what we have lived through. Some no doubt might if they follow the likes of the Saints or Bulldogs (prior to 2016). I believe they are confusing "enjoying winning more often vs the ****ty feeling when you lose alot" ...with dreaming. They are mutually exclusive from where i sit and i never scream the house down as a fan during a match thinking "oh if we win this, we might win most of our coming matches, we might make finals and we might make a GF. Hec we might win it this year". This is all just journalist and opposition clap trap. Most would hate for us to have any success as they can't stand the idea of such a loser club (in their minds) beating up on their beloved club/s. Most journalists, regardless of how much they might scream... "i'm a professional unbiased journalist", are barracking for the team they followed as a kid growing up or the team/s they played for. They want to see their team/s winning, they don't want to see us have success. There might be a few rare ones who maybe follow other sports and don't have a team they support who are truly unbiased and want to see the under-dog succeed, such as us, or have us as a second team. However, you could probably count them on one hand. The rest are dying for us to fall over at some point so they can all say "I knew it", "You heard it here first", "Same old Demons" etc. The only way to shut the [censored] supporters and journalists up is to keep winning and bashing up on their precious clubs. Many of whom got to where they are from winning so many premierships in the 70s and 80s (namely Carlton, Richmond and Hawthorn) by rorting the zone system the VFL set up in 1970 for a good 15 years prior to it being disbanded in 1985. For all those supporters and journalists, especially the ones who follow those three cheating clubs in particular, and who might be whining about us having a few wins in a row....SUCK IT UP CHEATERS! ?

I think in the past pre getting kicked off the MCG (training) around 1985 i would have agreed with you chook. Those roots have long since passed now. As has been mentioned ad nauseam on this thread, all potential options within a stone's throw of the G (borrowing OD's terminology) have now been exhausted. It's time to create a new home and facility for the entire club and it's supporter base, somewhere realistic that allows all that is required but obviously cutting edge as well from an FD / Admin POV....plus some substantial room for growth. Assuming success on the field. We've all heard the question umpteen times. When the Demons do make a GF, win or lose, but let's say we win....where do they go to celebrate on the night? Sure, there are options for a select group of connections that might receive an exclusive ticket that evening (say up to 1k in attendance). But where does the supporter base, which might be in the 50k to 60k mark at that stage, attend the next day to celebrate as per all other club's traditional next day attendance? Conservatively there might be 10K to 15k who might want to attend. And i'm pretty sure most wouldn't want to attempt that at Gosch's nor travel an entire hour or more (depending on location) to Casey. We are STILL talking about this elephant in the room 36 years after being booted off the G and having to find another ground to train at. Incredible really.

I didn't have any feelings of dread during that match that i normally would have had in years past. Injuries might catch us out on occasions this season, as per the norm with any club, but aside from that if we are running soemwhere near full capacity personell wise, we are a very different team than even 2019/2020. Some oppo supporters are gonna have to eat their words and are in for a rude shock. I'm sure many Hawks fans would've copped same after the siren on Sunday.

Yes i did Red for sure. Certainly wasn't the same somewhat timid player staying on the outside looking for scraps i have seen previously. Occassionaly had to look twice!

Both Brown & Melksham (after half time? ...missed most of the first quarter trying to park in the G...never again lol) were very good. Melk found his 2018 form again and certainly proved his worth and justified Goody's faith. I'm still not sure about his defensive side but he more than made up for it with clsssy ball use and finish. One thing i have observed with the Tigers, and probably true of most teams of course, they don't appear to perform as well under scoreboard pressure. Aside from covering Dusty a little, i would not be adverse to us trying to go fully ballistic in the first and put a decent lead up, rather than overly worry about their strengths too early, which effectively gives them the early ascendancy. That ascendancy would make them very tough to beat IMV. Would much rather the former at quarter time than the reverse.

After winning three premerships i'm sure every coach & his crew will be more than across their strengths Kent so i have faith they will be covering as best as possible but in the end it comes down to the ability of each player to play the role being asked vs how well the opponent is doing same and bounce of the ball (luck), injuries/niggles picked up in game etc. So many variables no doubt it's impossibe to counter all of their strengths nor wise to as we would then lose too many strengths of our own doing so. Then it becomes a gamble pre match. What / who do you cover, without losing too much of the essence that's seen us on a 5-0 win streak so far? If it was me, aside from some of the issues i brought up in thst earlier post, i wouldn't be changing too much. At least not early anyway. If the game did start to get away from us a little at some point, then of course you need to have a few options ready and pull the trigger if required.

I also worried he might have lost a bit of speed off the mark when he came back from a serious injury a few years back LITD but any injury before or during a season is said by many VFL/AFL players to be a big set back vs an injury free pre-season. No doubt more so as the years pass. Doesn't take Einstien to know that of course. But yes, as much as i love Nev and all he has brought and still brings i was calling for Hibb for Nev as soon as he was 100% and ready. Having Hibb, Rivers & Hunt coming off HB, linking up with the likes of Ed & Gus is going to be a nightmare scenario for oppo coaches & players. While i'm a big fan i'm only calling for the run with role on Dusty due his prior success here. His low center of gravity, ability ro scrap, his burst of speed (assuming its not far off his best when he was hot a few years back) and experience should hold him in good stead once again....hopefully! Would have to be the hardest run with role in footy so he will need assistance if this is what the coaching panel are planning. P.S. goes without saying he played a major role in our 2018 success. No reason why that would change when fully fit. His numbers, for a backman, were off the charts on Sunday!

One match does not a swallow make but...seemingly substantial improvement in many areas on 2019 Mr Leg. Agility, evasiveness & quick off the mark. Much stronger through the core, able to break the odd tackle. Closing down speed quite good. Tackling quite good also. Able to hit loose players on the 45 and on the lead with ease and accuracy. Short kicking is A1. Can't say i took enough notice of how he did going longer. Goal sense and snaps appear to be improving also. Of course this is all at VFL level. Will he cut the mustard taking the step up? Probably won't set the world on fire in his first dozen matches or so but not many do. However he's definitely looking likely and worth having a look at as the year progresses if a window opens. Lots of upside and could end up being a regular small forward, tearing it up in the seniors at some stage. Not saying he'll be a Kozzie. But he could end up being a very handy addition inside 50, possibly even more than that. Lots of class on show on Sunday / cheeky goal sneak potential also!

A very switched on assessment of where both teams are at. May is definitely a big out and not having him in could be the difference on the night if the match doesn't break open. Hope we don't go "too many talls" forward and muck the balance into their defensive favour. The other areas we need to look at most of the match if possible to try and limit a few of their strengths.... ? A defensive sweeper but not the traditional one. Defensive fat side sweeper slightly goal side (for them) covering their inside run through the corridor, where the Tigers love to run to (in waves) on the break from ball ins. Small/medium forward as plus one at many of these contests? Might also open up our forward line a little on the break when we win here. ? Hibb to go with Dusty (again) with occasional chop outs from JJ & Kozzie. Or....JJ runs with Dusty until he gets picked up by Hibb when he drifts forward. Bit of tag team needed. Unlikely to stop Dusty of course, just looking to limit the damage. ? At least one mid goal side of as many contests as possible. The Tigers looove to handball over their heads backwards and knock the ball forward from contests at any opportunity in congestion. Controlled chaos designed to gain yardage but also to gain momentum under chaos knocking / handballing the ball forward then swarming on to it/tackling in numbers. They are going to win their share of these battles as they're so hard to stop but we must try and unsettle/limit the potential damage here and their (chaotic) rhythm. ANB & Gus?

Weighted Average Scores up to & including Rnd 5 , 2021 vs 2019 Our average team score this season is now tracking above 2018! Ok so it's only slightly above at a tad over 1%, but it's still higher. Does this mean we are PF bound? 18% above 2019's disaster. Quite a return game from Hibb in this round when you see it in context vs the season averages. That will probably drop off in coming weeks but one can only hope he holds that level. Pitty May won't be back for the coming Anzac eve / Jones' 300th against the Tiges. Reckon he might be the difference if it's a close one. Player 2021 Score 2021 Rank 2019 Score % Change vs 2019 2019 Rank Change in Rank vs 2019 Clayton Oliver 5.265 1 4.643 13.40 1 0 M Hibberd* 4.500 2 2.124 111.86 20 18 C Salem 4.130 3 3.658 12.90 3 0 Max Gawn # 4.065 4 3.256 24.85 4 0 Steven May 4.000 5 2.446 63.53 14 9 Jake Lever 3.915 6 2.313 69.26 17 11 C Petracca 3.830 7 2.616 46.41 10 3 Ed Langdon 3.680 8 Kysaiah Pickett 3.255 9 Jack Viney 3.213 10 3.068 4.73 5 -5 Jayden Hunt 3.055 11 1.958 56.03 22 11 A Brayshaw 3.035 12 2.894 4.87 6 -6 J Melksham 2.625 13 1.931 35.94 23 10 James Jordan 2.545 14 Charlie Spargo 2.525 15 1.375 83.64 35 20 Bayley Fritsch 2.500 16 2.641 -5.34 9 -7 T McDonald # 2.475 17 2.150 15.12 19 2 M Brown* 2.475 17 A Tomlinson 2.390 19 Alex N-Bullen 2.365 20 1.984 19.20 21 1 Trent Rivers 2.310 21 Luke Jackson # 2.195 22 J Harmes* 2.150 23 3.850 -44.16 2 -21 Nathan Jones 2.115 24 2.711 -21.98 7 -17 Tom Sparrow 2.087 25 1.075 94.14 37 12 H Petty* 1.900 26 1.905 -0.26 24 -2 Neville Jetta 1.888 27 2.264 -16.61 18 -9 Average Team Score -Top 22 70.35 59.62 17.99 # Hit outs to advantage not captured * Only played one match not an average score Stats courtesy of footywire.com

You should see me when i'm mindlessly drunk!

A little confused but pretty sure these are rhetorical questions Uncle

Ty Mr Jones (also posted in another thread).... Bottom line.... there are certain 'Special' players that define a club and set the standards for all to follow. Both ON and OFF the track and on game day. They DON'T grow on trees. And they set these standards week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Regardless of how the rest of the team might be coping/playing. They are there bringing a level of acceptable, and in many cases higher, standards for others to follow and mark themselves by. Chunk was (still is!) the fire, the guts, the blood, sweat and tears that kept the spirit and flame of the club burning through some very dark years. IMHO the darkest i've witnessed in my short 50 years following this club. The Jones boy has earned his moment. This week, on this stage, many times over and over and over! The impact he will have on all those around on the night you cannot put into words, nor can it be measured or easily defined. Spirit, guts and great loyalty. It might even help get us over the line on the night. Go get em Jones Boy! What a role model for this club. Love ya son!

Bottom line.... there are certain 'Special' players that define a club and set the standards for all to follow. Both ON and OFF the track and on game day. They DON'T grow on trees. And they set these standards week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Regardless of how the rest of the team might be coping/playing. They are there bringing a level of acceptable, and in many cases higher, standards for others to follow and mark themselves by. Chunk was (still is!) the fire, the guts, the blood, sweat and tears that kept the spirit and flame of the club burning through some very dark years. IMHO the darkest i've witnessed in my short 50 years following this club. The Jones boy has earned his moment. This week, on this stage, many times over and over and over! The impact he will have on all those around on the night you cannot put into words, nor can it be measured or easily defined. Spirit, guts and great loyalty. It might even help get us over the line on the night. Go get em Jones Boy! What a role model for this club. Love ya son!

Unfortunately the NBL/NBA/20/20 nonsense has invaded the AFL arena. If the volumes were at a reasonable level i wouldn't mind but it is way too loud to enjoy the breaks. And why do we need a "GOAL" flashing thumping thingy every time a goal is scored? I understand doing this when there were no crowds but to carry it through at these insane noise levels post 2020!? Might be time to start taking my phone earplugs and listen to the comments on radio at a decent level and just switch off. And some of the half time ticket stuff with the 3 minute countdown today. Arrghh....who was that host of there's. Getting his rocks off about a bloody countdown clock. As bad as it was though, nothing was as bad as the night i went to Marvel to watch the Melbourne Renegades... "GET ON RED...GET ON RED....GET ON RED". "RENEGADES....RENEGADES....RENEGADES". Over and over and bloody over again at every possible break. Probably louder than the G today if anything. A potentially good night's entertainment spoiled! Adios Reds!

I think he's running at about peak for this year but he might have another gear DD, you never know. Another pre-season to improve the core & upper strength a tad more and he should start clunking a number of these marking attempts. The fact he is getting to so many of them though at this early phase is bloody exciting. The benefits of his improving match fitness /hardness, combined with his natural athleticism, appear to be holding him in good stead as the season progresses. hoping this will also see him mark and kick the odd goal on occasions before season is out. That would be a great bonus to have up forward when he isn't rucking.

Rnd 5, 2021 MCG - Hawks vs Demons Gawny hits the big time for the second time this season. His other top ranking was against the Giants in Rnd 3. Clarry's contract discussions seemingly having no impact on his ability to contribute. Decision making looked a tad off today at times and still plenty of room for improvement, especially with his connection work coming inside 50, where i thought he was a little better last week against the Cats. There was a moment today where he marked in the member's pocket on a super tight angle, we had an open CHF area with Melk & ANB running free from the center square open for quite a while but unfortunately Clarry never even appeared to be looking out for them. Missed the goal by quite a lot. Opportunity lost. Some future work on this forward 50 connection aspect and set shots at goal wouldn't hurt going forward. Little things that, if improved on, just might take him to super star status. Welcome back Hibb! I thought he was very influential today pressuring his opponents, leaving his own to support, two way running and general desperation. Super impressive return. Salem again in the top five and having a solid start to the season. And yes you aren't seeing things, the super mossie Kozzie in the top 5. And not for the first time. He came 5th in Rnd 17 last season vs the Giants with a score of 2.925 However, this was his highest statistical score by far, easily beating his outstanding Rnd 3 score against the Giants of 3.650 Our best players also batted deep today! Without trawling through records (going back to 2017), i can't recall too many times (if any), where we've had 13 players hitting a score of 3 or higher in any match. That's a good solid contribution (or better) from so many today and quite possibly a record i would think. The team score of 69.03 is right on our 2018 average team score of 69.53 !! Player Score Rank Max Gawn # 5.375 1 Clayton Oliver 4.975 2 M Hibberd 4.500 3 Christian Salem 4.325 4 Kysaiah Pickett 4.275 5 James Jordan 3.900 6 Jake Lever 3.700 7 Tom McDonald # 3.600 8 Jake Melksham 3.550 9 Luke Jackson # 3.350 10 Jayden Hunt 3.075 11 Ed Langdon 3.050 12 C Petracca 3.000 13 Trent Rivers 2.975 14 A Brayshaw 2.925 15 Alex N-Bullen 2.550 16 Mitchell Brown 2.475 17 Harrison Petty 1.900 18 Jack Viney 1.900 19 A Tomlinson 1.875 20 Charlie Spargo 1.250 21 Nathan Jones 0.500 22 Team Score 69.03 Top 6 27.35 Bottom 6 9.90 # Hit outs to advantage not captured Stats courtesy of footywire.com

LJ VERY good today indeed

Other than behind goals Ponsford end probably not although the MCC might have had slightly more

That's the one! ?

Awhhh ...there's a retorical response i was awaiting Mr Old. Not necessarily from yourself. You know...Uncle, PF, other! P.S. don't wake me up pls