Demon Dynasty

Makes our backline and those around him stand tall. Never shirks a contest. Leaves everything on the park. Almost always in our top 5 to 10 rated players every week, bar when he's returning from injury or hindered by a niggle. Premiership immortal. What more can you say... it's Steven Stonewall May!

It's sounding a little more like it will be the latter, at best, Andy. On a brighter note, and while touching my head plus any other wood at hand, our injury list is starting to shrink to a fairly negligible level.

Sounds promising Mr Bin. Will keep the faith and assume we are on target 🤞🏼👍🏼

My biggest concern is that in the same game POST BYE last season (courtesy of Andy's 'Last Time They Met' thread) ... MELBOURNE 2.1.13 4.8.32 6.11.47 8.15.63 GEELONG 3.4.22 4.7.31 5.10.40 11.12.78 The Demons made the long trip down the highway and looked the winner until the final break but ran out of legs even though they were coming off their midseason bye. My biggest concen here is we are effectively coming off the same rest period as the bye when we met them last season (albeit at Tax Payer Park not the G) and the same number of days (break) as the bye prior to meeting the Tigers last match. We appeared to come out flat as a tack against the Tigers and ran out of puff in the last against the Cats last season under the same 'break' scenario. So, if it's true that we treat the players to four days off and then attempt to cram in an extra main training session into the remaining seven days before these matches in order to make up for the longer 10 day break)...AND its not working. Ie; we are running out of puff in a significant way (vs the Cats 2023) or coming in flat in a signifcant way (the first half vs the Tigers last week). If so then why do it? You're effectively setting yourself up for a potential loss by adding the extra day's training in to the standard 7 day schedule. We got away with it against a severely depleted team in the Tigers. You won't against the top liners like the Cats this week. Alternatively if the extra day's considered a MUST from a HP POV, why not give the boys three days off instead of four and use that extra day at the end for recovery from the extra training session!? That should, in theory, bring them into the match a little more fresh or maybe alot more and potentially set us up to have a better chance of winning vs cramming in an extra (3rd) sesh into a standard 7 day break schedule that usually only has 2 main sessions. Bottom line... you can have all the amazing strategies, tactics and players in the world... which is fantastic. But bring them (or a fair chunk of em) into a match where many are cooked .... well good luck as most won't be able to execute as per the plans / tactics as required or for as long as needed to beat the best. Also, surely we wouldn't throw in an extra (3rd) serious session this week knowing we're coming up against the top of the table team and then a top eight team in great form in the Blues only 5 days later? A potential recipe to lose both matches imho. And IF the players MUST have their four days off for whatever reason, surely a huge match against the Cats is more than acceptable as the 3rd training session that the FD would (usually) like to throw in to this 10 day break scenario knowing we have a tough match to follow up five days later!?? We also don't bat deep in the midfield. No point overly thrashing them...will only result in under performance and/or potential soft tissue injuries that we can't afford.

I hope someone in the area had the presence of mind to call the security number for this imbecile WC

Just finished listening to the podcast. And read through the ABC article you posted in the "How rest and preparation dictate AFL performance" thread. No doubt the FD are all over the rest vs 'training loads' ratios throughout a season and have the experience / data on every player etc. However i'm starting to wonder if Bin might be on the money regarding the impact of the extra training session on a long break between matches such as the bye week against the Tigers and this week against the Cats. If that theory holds any weight then i'd expect another ordinary or very poor opening quarter or half vs the Cats followed by some sort of uptick in the last three quarters or half. Hopefully not, as the Cats will eat us alive and win comfortably under that scenario. The alternative is we play it smart on the training track and gym, particularly for the more senior players. Maybe not even throw the extra session at them and we come out cherry ripe from the get go??

Thanks very much Kev & WCW for the updates and efforts first thing Monday! Have not seen or heard of Jack doing anything separate to the main group so far. IMHO has not been the same player since the trip to Adelaide. I figured it could be just a fatigue / form or minor niggle thing. We're only talking a couple of off games since and coming off a high benchmark but also might be a little niggle going on here? Just speculation and hoping this isn't anything other than a corkie or similar (at worst). The comparative numbers from the first five rounds vs the last two rounds appear to support the drop off. We'll need him AND Clarry back to near their best for the Cats. Worth a watch as the week progresses. #7 J Viney Rnds 0 - 4 Rnds 5 & 6 % Change Contested Poss 10.8 8.5 -21.3 Uncontested Poss 12.2 10.0 -18.0 Effective Disposals* 14.8 13.0 -12.2 Disposal Effeciency % 67.9 70.5 2.6 Contested Marks* 0.2 0.0 -100.0 Marks inside 50* 0.2 0.5 150.0 One Percenters* 2.8 0.5 -82.1 Clearances* 4.2 4.0 -4.8 Rebound 50s* 2.6 2.0 -23.1 Inside 50s* 4.8 4.0 -16.7 Tackles* 5.0 4.5 -10.0 Score Involvements* 5.2 2.5 -51.9 Meters Gained 377.6 309.0 -18.2 Turnovers* 4.2 4.5 7.1 Intercepts* 4.0 0.5 -87.5 Tackles Inside 50* 1.0 0.0 -100.0 Time On Ground % 81.6 73.5 -8.1 Goals* 0.6 0.0 -100.0 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 3.9 2.6 -33.5 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Well that's dissapointing. Some work required on my PR skills 😩

As a follow up to the above. Assuming we're putting in an extra session on longer breaks, specifically 10 day ones like the bye and this week's. Why is the Coach, FD &/or high performance crew, giving the players four days off? Why not just give them three days off and that then gives them the extra day to recover from the extra session? This turns the week into an eight day program instead of trying to squash an extra (third) session into a standard seven day schedule that would normally only have two main sessions (plus everything else of course). One day could make all the difference to any jelly type leg effect (heavy legs or whatever you want to call it) from cramming that extra session in to the usual 7 day schedule. Maybe the four days isn't a club based decision and insyead is built in to the player's CBA and non-negotiable?

I agree on your assessment of the extra session Bin as being almost a certainty in the 10 day break between Lions & Tigers matches. Assuming that's the case then this would also be the case this week leading in to the Cats and no doubt the bye as well. While it was only one player, and he may not represent what's happening with the entire playing group as they often have tailored programs and at varying stages of fitness / recovery / age etc, Melk confirmed this last season. According to him they're asked to do extra sessions on these longer than normal (i assume his understanding of normal meaning the usual 7 day break as he mentioned 6 days as being a shorter break ...see below) breaks. He followed that up saying "anything shorter like a 6 day break" and the training sessions / loads are carefully managed and usually reduced. He also said it may vary somewhat for individuals as each player has their own program depending on years in the system, injury status and they're usual role in the team. He said from his experience that's pretty much it and that apart from the longer/shorter week adjustments, most weeks are very similar and don't change that much. When asked about loading, he responded with "what's loading?". I attempted to explain it as best i could ie; meaning extra sessions, either on the track and/or in the gym outside of what a normal week might entail in order to prep and aim to be at peak fitness/strength for a big match a few weeks away rather than specifically the one coming up, he said aside from the longer or short break adjustments (as per the above), he was not aware of anything like that. The article from the ABC (courtesy of Andy) would appear to confirm Melk's view of reduced training loads in between matches on a shorter 6 day (or less) break. Not that this article is necessarily representative of every single club either. However, given we're discussing this article as one potential sample it's worth noting that ex Essendon staffer, Andrew Little, when speaking about shorter time frames between games and adjusting the training schedule, said... "A compressed schedule is going to mean lighter training loads overall as the games themselves will provide the majority of the physical load," Little articulates. "On a six-day break, one of the post sessions will likely be merged with another and the main session will have reduced load. On a five-day break, individual craft or recovery skills are likely dropped and the main session is drastically reduced. Sometimes that's only a couple of drills in those situations."

You two must've been reading the Stats Files - 2024 thread where this was covered on Saturday. By all means feel free to pinch juicy stuff from there but in future just put a credit as to where you sourced this from pls! 😆 But on a serious note.... Gawndy is correct. It's referred to as the 'Defensive Mid Zone' which is... the area from the top of the D50 arc up to the centre circle. Laptop man (Kingy) refers to it as 'the wedge'. Not to be confused with a choc wedge or a wedgy! My understanding is it's a carve out of how much of your total score is sourced as coming from this area of the ground as a percentage. The source (of the possession chain) being captured to calculate this ratio might include; Winning the ball from intercept, winning the ball at stoppage / CB (clearance) and/or winning disputed ball at ground level (eg, loose ball gets). It may also be just score from turnovers in that part of the ground but it doesn't appear to be that as it was not mentioned and the term 'score source' suggests it is referencing 'from which part of the ground the scoring (possession) chain commenced' as a percentage of total score sources. Don't hold me to those interpretations though. Would need absolute clarification from a Champion Data rep (which is pretty tricky... maybe @WheeloRatingscan help on this?) Maybe Andy, Bin & George can score a bit of a coup and get Radford our strategist in to the post match podcast and grill him on it! Not that Sam would give much away. Maybe Choco instead, who at leaast might give the odd tasty morsel up with a nudge and a wink 😄

Don't think T-Mac.will be changing roles up forward anytime soon King. Playing some of his best footy in a few years down back and has trained solely as a defender pre-season and so far throughout 2024. We are relying on his intercept, one v one defendong and short game to slice and dice our way from deep in defence out towards the wing, while maintaining possession as much as possible. Out of all our regular defenders in 2024, he's also one of our most accurate users of the ball by foot, running at 81% kicking efficiency only 2nd behind our best kick, McVee, on 84% Very much doubt he'll be going forward unless all key forwards ended up off the ground injured. #25 T McDonald 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 5.2 3.8 -26.5 Uncontested Poss 6.2 8.2 33.0 Effective Disposals* 7.8 10.4 32.8 Disposal Effeciency % 77.9 87.1 9.3 Contested Marks* 1.0 1.0 0.0 Marks inside 50* 1.2 0.0 -100.0 One Percenters* 2.0 5.8 190.0 Clearances* 0.5 0.0 -100.0 Rebound 50s* 0.2 4.0 2300.0 Inside 50s* 1.7 1.2 -28.0 Tackles* 1.8 2.4 30.9 Score Involvements* 4.0 2.6 -35.0 Meters Gained 167.0 194.2 16.3 Turnovers* 2.2 1.6 -26.2 Intercepts* 1.3 5.4 305.0 Tackles Inside 50* 0.7 0.0 -100.0 Time On Ground % 77.0 98.8 28.3 Goals* 1.3 0.0 -100.0 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.3 0.0 -100.0 *DD's Player Rating 2.1 3.0 46.3 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

I take it you didn't see much of Casey on Thurs Gawny? Bit confused here Pipe. On one hand you're saying you like Gawny's idea to bring BBB in for Petty and in the next breath you're canning it

Beautiful weather in Melb. Just had a nice lunch at the local with man's BF and come home to the filth presently in 10th place behind GC. A very pleasant Sunday

Riveting match this. Crowd up and about!

Makes sense NC. May goes to Hawkins. T-Mac to Cameron?

Absolutely. Still alot of work ahead if he's to take the next step WC but some good signs so far this season. Fingers crossed.

For those who haven't had a chance.to see this. Some Sesto magic! Starting to find his feet. Promising moments and building nicely... https://www.facebook.com/share/v/kmqg7qyic3fjmNb8/?mibextid=xfxF2i

Thanks Norm. A few uglies in there. On that last point we may have found one in Disco and there's only upside ahead with the Petty role, where we've basically been a KF down up forward given his disastrous form so far. Yes i realise he's coming from a long way back after a double set back but having him playing at such a low ebb is a big price for the team to carry at this level. If Petty can improve over the next few weeks, even by 10% to 20% that would be something. I just hope it doesn't cost us in a big way against the top liners if he doesn't. On another positive note.... post the 2023 bye, we were ranked 17th in moving the ball (transition) off HB into the 50. So far this season we are ranked No.3 That's a massive improvement and shows we are probably in the early phase of adjusting to a significant change up in game style. It would appear we are looking to bring the ball out with some precision to HB and then sling shot from there vs the traditional dump down the line we witnessed for the most part of 2022 & 2023. Bringing the ball out to just over 50 or so before attempting to slingshot quickly forward also means that if we turn the ball over it's potentially a bit more easier to defend vs a quick dump kick that is roughly a 50/50 outcome at ground level and as a result is often coming straight back in from around the arc? I think where the change may begin to fall down is vs a very good pressure side that pushes up high and makes it difficult for us to slice and dice our way out of the square or deep in defence up to about 50 through to the wing before launching. Not that that's a revelation in itself. It's been pretty obvious since Rnd 2 and many have spoken about it over the weeks since. I believe there was even mention of a change coming during the pre-season. But the above improvement confirms that this change is definitely happening and the effort and results are now showing. You need some decent speed on the exit as well as post getting it to the launch spot and sling shoting. Harder to do vs higher level opponents or lessor ones having a day out? Works a gem against lessor opponents who don't bring as much pressure or don't push so high? We possibly turn it over more and don't look so good against the former. Which is a given and why the better opps are rated as such. Unless of course we improve in this change up with continued practice and improved disposal accuracy as the season goes on!

Does Ungarie get a DL Rising Star nomination? A new rookie to DL but already having a major impact!

Doh!

What a joke that match was. The result was NEVER going to be in doubt from start to finish. Why even have a match? AFL shld just say, we need at least one Adelaide team in the eight for a healthy comp and give Port the 4 points. Save everyone the trouble.

Even if the Saints got close the umps would pull something out of their arzz to ensure these pretenders win

Take the non goals from the out of bounds mark and Dixon's charity and the Saints would only be 3 points down right now