Demon Dynasty

The Tigers had a dream run with no significant number of injuries to top liners prior to this year for three to four seasons. Might having fewer chances to play at AFL level inadvertently have helped those at their VFL to develop/learn and mature to a point they were more capable of taking the step up to AFL level vs many of our depth players (and those of some other clubs)? Unfortunately our depth as been shown up as poor at best, with a few exceptions. Maybe in part for the exact opposite reasons?

Can only go on what he said in the interview Bin. He did mention he's been pushing hard to improve on last year's performance including hard on weights. Maybe an extra kilo or two in muscle has slowed him down a tad. Who knows.

I was asking the question SW. If you are happy with none (so far) then that is your position and you are more than entitled to hold it.

I would happily lean towards that way of thinking SW... If we were coming off a strong successful base and some recent (say last two decades) success with say 70k plus members. If the cost of doing so weren't so prohibitive (CBD and nearby region) AND.... IF the MCC were right behind us and showing signs of supporting/backing us in eg; .... ?? allowing us to return to the G to train again ?? Concrete evidence that the MCC were looking to step in and help in any said discussions with local council (or the MCC Itself) to redevelop an area at our around Yarra Park....OR similar support (direct $$/helping to find or raise $$ via high level MCC backers etc) if that is not viable. It's a nice romantic thought SW but where is any eveidence of the above from the MCC?? If you can show it to me i will happily sit up and take notice. If not then after 35 years since being kicked off the G and just having an affiliation, like many other big clubs have with the MCC now and the Pies taking over the G and the surrounds as the main player, it's time we found our own identity. Members / Admin / the FD and players will be much better off once we have that identity. And part of that identity is physical bricks and mortar where you walk in and can see / feel / breathe the culture. At this point i cant see that ever happening while we are talking Pollyanna/Walter Mitty type piece together pipe dreams in or near the CBD, where there are just too many obstacles and financial hurdles for us (as a struggling smallish club) to go through. Time to look elsewhere before most have gone past us in a big way and we are left in the wilderness to bemoan our inability to bite the bullet and move forward with a viable option further out. Time to look forward....not back SW IMHO. And part of doing that means being realistic with regard to our genuine options.

Said "i thought i've had a good pre-season and it was the first time in 3 years i haven't had a major surgery". Not a niggle or injury issue according to Tom. Just form. Feels like he's just starting to get his mojo back now though.

I thought it was a mostly a stop gap 'get numbers behind the center square' style defence (effectively a flood) UH. I guess that's a full defence! Goody must have realised we were toast with his early set up/structure after the StKilda horribilis coaching debacle. He (and the players/FD) did not have enough time, with the very short 4 day break between the Saints and the Tigers, to implement any significant change up so he went with a variation of a flood/defensive half zone set up to minimise a looming blow out (had he persisted with more of the same). The 10 day break between the Tigers and the Hawks being the circuit breaker, providing Goody & Co the luxury of a few extra days to change up the style/structure and for the FD to implement it effectively with the players. It is no coincidence Goody sent the players off for a 4 day break as he more than likely would have wanted them, not only to refresh, but to reset their minds for a slightly new approach on their return. The present structure/style we are seeing, and effectively a new start to the season from a player mindset (both on and off the field...with the pre game huddle one obvious sign of this), effectively began from Rnd 7 against the Hawks.

I wouldn't read to much into our ability to adjust or cope with 666 and the rest of the rule changes 'this season' Moon given the rediculous level of injuries etc so far. Let's see how we go once we get most of our best players up and firing eh. 666 has definitely had the reverse effect that the AFL were hoping for though that's for sure. Scrap all the other rubbish with kick ins etc and just have 666 with significant reductions in interchange. They changed the game for the worse by taking it from a few interchange to allow for injuries to unlimited just to 'supposedly' keep the game as fast moving as possible. It had the reverse effect by allowing coaches/fitness gurus to change the style of player to power runners in short bursts able to close down on ground balls and lock it in creating stoppage after stoppage and mad levels of congestion. Add to this the umpires slacking off with the prior opp rule resulting in less free kicks vs the past and the AFL created a rolling scrum / rod for its (our) back. Keep it simple. Retain 666, reduce interchange significantly to reduce the effect of the burst power runners' ability to get to the contest/tackle, scrap the other new rules, then see how it plays out.

It goes without saying that AFL is a tough gig. Crap happens all the time, especially when you are under pressure in a nail biting situation like this. Everything looks easy in hindsight and especially from the comfort of a lounge room. Rarely do things happen the way we might want in these scenarios. The random uncertainty factor is what makes our game, and other codes, so interesting for fans to watch. However, just because AAA.(Lloyd) highlights Oscar as the main offender, doesn't mean he is necessarily correct. What Lloyd fails to highlight is that Oscar was still recovering from a sling type tackle after taking a hospital handball from Frosty. He was also manning the mark! Clarry had a chance to coral from what i saw but a split second decision to instead attempt to attack Holman front on saw Holman slip past with the old one/two and resulting goal. Frosty's decision to play on immediately after marking a bail out kick from GC was the catalyst. Needed to go back quickly behind the mark, assess and (if possible) try to maintain possession by foot to run down the clock as much as possible with some classic stall ball, the clock at that stage sitting at 1:24 By playing on he played into the hands of GC, with a turnover on the arc. The worst case scenario at that point was a turnover with us on the attack and so many pushing deep up the ground. At the very least, if Frosty couldn't hit a target short by foot to maintain possession or for a decent shot at goal by hitting somone up inside 50, he needed to eat up the 8 seconds off the clock and then pump it to the top of the square with a low raking dirty ball kick, in the hope it fell into the hands of one of our boys and, failing that, give those players who were inside 50 ...the chance of locking it in. This would allow us to eat up more time off the clock, as well as a good chance of edging ahead with a point or major, being so close to goal. It would also lesson the chance of a GC response, with the ball being deep in our forward line and a wall set up one kick behind (plus a sweeper behind that!) If we happened to score a point or no score at all for a draw. A series of unfortunate events. Highlight the error of Frosty. Highlight Clarry's split second decision to attack vs the coral option (if /where possible) for next time (yes a coin flip decision and even the best may have done the same!). Goody then has them practice/train these same scenarios drilling what to do when marking a similar bail out kick on or around the arc from various angles. Go back assess, no obvious options inside then stall ball around the arc and/or if uncertain of remaining time...get it in to the top of square with a flat dirty ball. I'm sure the FD has the post-match fixes and corrections well covered, this is just my amature take on it. Train for scenarios like the last 2 minutes as Goody said we do, but, also add in training to 'show' the boys the better alternatives using the same NQR set play that we muffed on Sat so we have that part covered more comprehensively next time, which hopefully prevents the last 48 second miracle comeback from being required at all.

And....

Rowville Football Club? Appears to be a ton of room at this location for development, facilities & car parking. Just off Eastlink also. https://maps.app.goo.gl/pLGz51sjYrFv39dz8

DV excuse my ignorance but why has/is the MCC still having such influence on the make up of the board/club when, from what i undertood, they seemingly cast us out in the mid 80s? Is it mostly as a result of a large number of MCC members who are supposedly also holding a partial MFC membership (ie; a bit of spillage of MCC coin into the MFC coughers)?

I don't see why not JD. What's good for the goose...

A clunker or two up forward to take a few contested marks inside 50 from all the bombing wouldn't hurt either. Would love to see a contested inside 50 mark stat from last season to compare to this one so far. Never going to be huge but every little bit helps.

I only saw short snipets but what i did see looked a little like a version of the old Clarkson cluster but with extra numbers behind the ball. The zone starting more around mid field and behind rather than most of the field under the 2008 version. Snuffed out the ability of GWS sling shotting off HB and easily hitting up leading targets as in recent weeks. When the Hawks got it they then switched to possession/momentum mode with accurate kicking across HB on switch etc. At one stage late in the last quarter they had racked up 97 marks just for that quarter! Strangulation of GWS possession. Insane control of possession when they had it. Mind you the GWS pressure or willingness too close up on an opponentn when Hawk's had possession game going looked pretty ordinary from where i was sitting.

Agreed. It would help if we received some sort of communication/updates from the club once in a while with some stated intentions/progress. Maybe they have and I've just ignorantly missed it along the way.

Did we miss an opportunity at Elsternwick?.... Bayside Council to spend millions upgrading ‘worst VAFA ground in the state’ September 6, 2018 11:51pm Paul ShapiroBayside Leader WOMEN’S footy and other Bayside community sports will get a supercharged boost when work on a multimillion-dollar upgrade of Elsternwick Park Oval 2 is completed at the end of next year. I can't see the rest of this article as it's under the HUN subscription. Someone else might be able to. The No.2 oval isn't the one we are discussing (obviously the No.1) but upgrades and a possible inclusion of our HQ could have been considered surely? I'm assuming this was covered in the MFC's investigative search that OD is referring to last year under PJ... https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.heraldsun.com.au/leader/inner-south/bayside-council-to-spend-millions-upgrading-worst-vafa-ground-in-the-state/news-story/2361a080000b6a71d68569bb8642f3f4

I wasn't suggesting the oval isn't the appropriate size SK. My tongue in cheek 'termination' comment was in reaction to OD's post stating that the MFC, under PJ's reign, investigated the option of Elsternwick Park and found it to be a non-viable option for whatever reasons. IF that information is correct (outside of the size info) then i would be trusting that it has been looked at and we need to strike it out as an option.

I hear you OD and a fairy tale would be nice. But as we know....fairy tales rarely happen.

Thanks OD. Elsternwick Park (football oval) option terminated.

1. Scarcity of land and competing developers will ensure the price of doing so is unobtainable...for us. 2. Elsternwick Park? OD says this has been looked at and rejected already by council. Does anyone have anything concrete on this. Could be an option if we turn the wick up? (yes pun intended). 3. See No.1 above. 4. Again see No.1 plus you will more than likely have locals up in arms rejecting any major development. Good luck getting it through. DJ suggests too small for a major development anyway? No we don't. We lost it in the early 70s when we gave up our training at our home the G for Jolimont. The fight to retain it should have happened then. The club gave up the fight not OD! Fight over, we lost and the other clubs moved in, took their opportunities and have now outgrown us. See the Hawks and Bombers also. The Hawks aren't anywhere near their original roots and are about to move further out. City area (within approx say 15 kms) unaffordable for us given our current size and presence (big end of town backing lacking etc). A possibility but have we / are we? Any more detail on who investigated and when OD? Yes it can DJ!! It's called vision and planning. The MCC have not and will not be there for us. Time to move on from the old romances of the 50s/60s. I don't think one man will change 50 years of going nowhere and not having a place to call home SW. Maybe you know something i don't about what / who he is bringing with him that will help him achieve the unachievable over 5 decades now. It is actually 9.5kms but yes they have still had the foresight to move away from their heartland and utilise cheaper land values heading 10kms further away from their original base and the CBD. They also have a massive member / supporter base, especially at the top end including Govt support (both sides i believe?).

There is not many to select from to rest / manage DV. I think it's more the FD just working with what they have and getting them to a level of conditioning and fitness that will help them to compete and execute over 4 quarters (or close to) at AFL level (via the VFL also where possible). If we had decent depth at Casey, you might (for example) 'manage' Gus this week and bring in a similar style depth mid to cover allowing Gus to work on aspects of his game before recalling again. A nice luxury if the options were there.

One against team rules for the win, Hore's was probably part of a trained instinctive play Bobby (i'm guessing). Either way they both resulted in wins for the club. In only his 6th game, that goal was one of the greats for this club. He is young and will no doubt have a few downs here and there but we've uncovered a beauty in Marty.

Biggest positives from last night.... The Bulk of the mid field is back firing. Salem having an outstanding year. Clarry back to his early season form and that of last year. Harmes up on last year and he and Jones have had two very solid week. Viney (slowly getting there). The negatives... Obviously the injuries and almost zero depth at Casey. The horrid lack of connection coming inside 50. The players who were either way off their 2018 levels or still a fair way off it..... Gus, Gawn, Tracc, T-Mac, Oscar and Jeffy. Gawn and T-Mac struggled a little with the dewy conditions. Gawn has shown recent very good form and not a concern. T-Mac still working his way back and with 3 goals and the winning point he certainly did what you would expect from any key forward last night. Slowly getting his mojo back. Tracc, Gus and Jeffy are the guys who really need to get a move on. Get those three into some form, we get some injured coming back, somehow cover Hibb in the short term, get the mids and forwards connecting...and we are on track for a return to 2018 form.

They will definitely look to go through whoever is playing on O-Mac. The trouble is who takes his role? Petty is not yet up to the heat that WC will bring this week. You can play T-mac there but robbing Peter to pay Paul. Lose roughly 3 potential goals up forward. Personally i would start with the following forward line.. Gus/Chunk Pruess Jeffy Lockhart T-Smith Melk (if fit) Brayshaw/chunk up forward (sharing a partial mid role also). Tracc plays a mostly mid role to cover for Gus mostly forward. Time for Tracc to step up in a major mid role pushing forward. More shots from 50ish would be handy. Horrible at anything around 30 to 40 out so no point playing a HF role. ANB (sharing the role a little with Clarry) plays the Hibb role. T-Mac back (O-Mac omitted) to START the game. If that's not working by half time then Bull might need to swap roles with Tommy. Let's face it, it's gonna be a tough ask no matter given our injuries so we need to roll the die on a few change ups here and hope that the smalls (Jeffy especially) can work off Pruess and Bull to begin with. Jeffy needing a solid block of games, starting this week, to justify his spot. Did a few good things last week but generally ordinary so far.

Ha possibly DV. I think that would have been handy last night but with a few more injuries we will just have to wait and see who's available. Hibb is a real blow as he was getting back towards 2017/2018 form, giving us some decent run off HB. Together with Frosty we were just starting to get our mojo back here. No luck at all on this front.