Demon Dynasty

Getting beaten to many loose ground balls more often than not.

Why would lewey target Stretch there...stretch rarely takes a contested mark

Hibberd is a ball destroyer. I would bench him for the rest of the match barring injuriee / exhaustion. Horrible HB player right now. Massive turnover king in the worst places with many running forward and then caught in no mans land.

At least he connected!

I shudder to think of the quarter time margin if they don't. Then there's the final margin. The only thing i'm hoping to see out of today'' game is zero injuries, especially to Max. Any other team would put Max in cotton wool for next year

You mean the threads where we pontificate and drool over all the amazing top line recruits and A grade free agents out there that mostly end up at the top 4/5 Vic clubs and interstate clubs?

Very sketchy CYB. Depends on who's in the team, who isn't and what stages they're at in their individual programs. Rnd 6 is usually a reasonable block of games and should tell the story.

Forget logic OD. Based on examples from some recent posts (some examples above), i reckon this thread has now had it's own JTS moment (see below) and is now in it's final throes...

We will know by about Rnd 8 or so in 2020 BBP. 8 months is quite a wait!

Goody realising that a focus mainly on crash / bash & overwhelm inside style of footy isn't going to win many games in the medium to long haul if this is your main go to method. Speed on outside, spread and an attacking overlap game style taking over. Also becoming expert at tempo / possession option when needed to ice match or protect a lead etc. Getting the inside/outside structures right - BALANCE. Getting smalls and mediums front and square more often. MASSIVE reduction in turnovers via improved skills, particularly by foot. Flow on - hitting a stack more targets inside 50 (and generally), resulting in greater ball retention and control of game/momentum. Big M as the new captain. Viney & Jones getting a full pre-season in. AVB making a miraculous comeback. Snatching a key forward, 2 quality smalls and a classy outsider in the trade. Burgess turning Tracc into an inside/outside beast who can tear a game apart through the mid field on a regular basis. Clarry as per Tracc. Get some run/gun and finish out of congestion...more kicking, fewer suicide/look away hand balls and instead looking to give first option to runners on the outside wherever possible. A broom through many NQRs on the list in place of pace/burst power marking and finishing skills including at goal. Uncovering a potential gun in the draft with serious X factor who can turn a match in 15 to 20 minutes of pulsating ball bursting footy! Goal kicking accuracy generally!

Provided they put him on game day strat & in the box vs the Aints that's at least two extra wins next season...sweet! 40% improvement on this year locked in already! Two heads are better than one and a new voice / perspective now that Macca's gone might be a good tonic.

Fingers crossed he is at home putting his feet up for a well earned extra week off Clint. Big P can handle the ruck duties for this dead rubber. Good experience for the followers to see how they go at connecting with his tap work, and visa versa, outside of training and for the coaches to monitor this (and his) progress at AFL level.

Bucky on SEN now speaking about Franklin's 300th and history of recruiting him. Likely to brush on the state of the MFC list also FWIW.

If we are smart they will rest Gawn and just play the big P regardless dees. Absolutely nothing to be gained risking our only A grade player in a nothing match and everything to lose.

And the 2018 Prelim!?? Oh hang on ...

That would probably do it C13. I also think the umps have had it in for us even more than usual since this happened...

Any chance we can put this on the agenda ...

Correct Bin. Only the most tainted minions know the NSC is something not to be meddled with!

If it's only Dec i will happily run around the MCG naked CC!

Am still holding a glimmer of hope that Burgess might come to the rescue OD but it's not looking great eh.

Out: All players not carrying a niggle, injury and all those required for next season. In: All fringe players / rookies (yes, including Bradtke & other first gamers), Lewis and anyone else who is expendable. Even i'm happy to sit on the bench handing out oranges at quarter time and running on with the occasional water bottle after a goal if it means making up a mock 22! NS's curse is ever present! ... ..."Barring major problems in the final round against North Melbourne in Hobart, it will give incoming fitness boss Darren Burgess - who was appointed in late July - a chance to make an immediate impact on the group that is expected to undergo a fierce pre-season after winning just five games for the season..."

Harry O, Trenners & Clark in recent times also DJ. We seem to have a penchant of picking up players that are prone to not quite cutting the 'resilient' mustard.

I'm really just reworking / parroting stuff that's already out there Kent but thanks. Happy to put this up on any player requested... Is it possible (pure speculation just putting it out there) that Gus has decided, at some point, after signing till 2022 that he now wants to return home (homesick) and/or to play out the rest of his career with his bro, sooner than 2022? Or maybe the club has looked at him and to some degree agree with the article below and are looking to trade also. Or they are both in agreement and as an assist to help get him back home we are looking at a win/win package deal for Langdon ( one of Freo’s key ball movers in 2018, trailing only Lachie Neale for inside 50s, Nathan Wilson for metres gained and Luke Ryan for marks)? Excerpts from ESPN article in June.... ..."Looking at the individuals in the Demons' midfield isn't pretty reading either. Oliver, Harmes, Viney, Brayshaw, Nathan Jones and Christian Petracca are the club's top six for centre bounce attendances from 2018-19. All are ranked by Champion Data as average in terms of kicking efficiency, except Oliver (below average). In terms of uncontested possession percentage, Jones is listed as above average, with Brayshaw and Harmes average, Petracca and Viney below average and Oliver poor. It's obvious Melbourne's strength on the inside is now being outweighed by the lack of spread and skill on the outside. Which brings us to Brayshaw. The 2014 No. 3 draft pick is averaging a healthy 25 possessions, 3.2 tackles and 3.7 clearances per game, and has gained the 14th-most meters in the league this year. But Brayshaw personifies Melbourne's midfield issues - fantastic in the contest, tough as old boots and able to find the pill, but unreliable by foot. He has committed the 11th most turnovers in the league this year, with his disposal efficiency under implied pressure and physical pressure the second-worst and fourth-worst of the league's top 50 ball-winners. But as a high draft pick coming off a third-place finish in the Brownlow, and in the prime of his career at 23, he would still command some serious trade currency if the Demons were so inclined. Would the Dees consider dangling his name out there to a team lacking someone of his skillset? If so, who should they target in return?".

And Gus...