Demon Dynasty

As hard as it gets to find 6 worthy today. So many were so far off their best it wasn't funny. We played about as well as we did against Essendrug (output wise as a team) and got rightfully pantsed. Probably more of an indication of were the Pies are at. Bloody good form team right now as mentioned pre-match with genuine multiple A graders. Could go close to making the big one this year. 6. T-Mac 5. Clarry 4. Lewis - apart from that last horrible turnover across HB and inability to close down space on opponents quickly enough (zero tackles...wasn't alone in closing down space quickly ...Vince / Oscar et al) he was easily in our top 6 or so in terms of involvement. Also topped our rebound 50 count with 8. 3. Fritsch - this bloke just gets better and better! Amazing courage also for such a small frame! Other bigger framed (more experienced!) players could do worse than watch some examples of this young fella's effort / courage!! 2. Smith 1. Nev

AFL StatsPro says his kicking efficiency this season is average at 63.9% (not elite) but he has apparently improved in this area slightly vs his career average of 62.3% The only thing here is you do need to allow for his size IMO. Would be a better stat if you could compare him to the AFL's other KPFs and see where he lies there. Gut feel says he might be elite vs other KPFs. But then you have to ask if he isn't elite in this area (in general) up the field, then why do we play him up there so often? I guess the FD is looking for a big body to bust through packs and take a number of contested marks or intercept marks to assist down back a little (steady the troops under fire...control the tempo better) and build a wall with the press. Something that obviously didn't happen much today if so. http://www.afl.com.au/stats/stats-pro#/discover/CD_I296324/Hogan-Jesse

If your starting four in the middle includes Clarry, Chunk and Viney (at the same time) you are doomed against teams who are clever and quick with getting it to the outside like the Toiges, Hawks and now that we know....the Pies also. Hec even the Doggies beat us in this area last week but weren't as good at finishing as the Pies. Quality opps (with outside class) just corral those three and pressure them as they know they are not much of a threat (outside), wait for the turnover, flip it out, then they're free with an extra number (or two) on the outside and off spreading to the races. That starting 3 (above) is just too one paced and inside biased for my liking. I would be rotating Chunk and in the short term Viney off the bench. This allows Chunk some much needed additional rest time and Viney also while rebuilding his tank. He could be up to 4 to 6 weeks away from his best at this point due to the lack of workload pre-season IMHO. Question is who are the other starting 2 who can offer the outside run / carry / spread? Brayshaw is probably already getting the gig quite often as the 4th starting mid. But who is the other to replace one of the very inside biased mids of Viney / Chunk? Harmes, Tracc, Salem? Maybe Fritsch? Maybe none of them are up to holding this role down effectively right now and we are toast against rated teams here?

Good luck winning any match when you lose clearances by nearly 20 and they get it inside 50 twenty one times more also. We lost the clearance count big time last week as well. As a one off and you correct it the following week all good. Two weeks in a row....we have a problem that needs looking into prior to moving on to the next game otherwise we'll lose that one as well. The game was won and lost there as well as our inability to enforce any sort of press or cause a few turnovers in our forward 50 (non existent forward 50 pressure / inability to play close checking accountable football allowing our opp to slice their way through us like witches hats!). They waltzed through the middle which we failed to cover (inside) very similar to the Hawks match and we also got beaten in too many one on ones as well as other times when we outnumbered them in a number of disputed contests. The sky isn't falling but unless corrected we are going to always struggle against better rated teams. We have lost 3 out of 4 against rated teams now. Not a good sign. Need to re group and fix some outstanding issues before heading to Adelaide if we're to have any chance there.

Forward defensive pressure & press non existent today

Pedders to CHB ....Tracc to replace him at HFF FCS!

We also need to close off the inside options and force them out boundary side. We have allowed them to own the middle but the Pies have pressured us well when we've tried the same.

1. Put ANB on DeGoe and we have a chance. Close him down. 2. We have lost structure through the spine. Get it back. T-Mac starting deep but also occasionaly pushing high to help out through the middle. Hogan true CHF and Pedders to CHB. 3. Brayshaw into the middle. Jones / Viney rotate off the bench. Not enough clean heals in and around stoppages with Jones/Viney inside at same time.

Summary of the 2 teams - Last Round Statistical Comparison Top 10 Players Last Round (11) Comparison / Score / Rank* * Apologies to Maxy as comparative score does not account for Maxy's Hit Outs to Advantage, which would no doubt place him easily in the top 5 last week. Grundy also missing this stat of course. Overall Team Score Comparison - includes the "Ins" of Pedders & Joel Smith (Smith given a best guess / low notional score having no prior games data to utilise) Demons: 79.80 Magpies: 77.42 Differential: Demons +2.38 Vs Bulldogs Rnd 11 (Compiled from previous week's Rnd 10 Matches) Demons: 83.80 Bulldogs: 57.87 Differential: Demons +31.40 Statistically (and in reality as we know) the Demons are in superb form but not quite at the level we were at vs the Crows. The Pies are in blistering form also and technically should be right in this match up to their eyeballs. Based on pure stats and using the team differentials from the Crows game a few weeks back as a base (neutral territory and assuming no home ground goal advantage from the umps, unlike the Dogs match last week) this one looks like going down to the wire. Pure Stats Predictor: The Mighty Demons in a nail biter by a miserly 7 points!

It would seem the only pride happening at the Saints is off the field

The equivelant of Thor vs Ant Man

Surely must be up there as one of the most expensive blunders in VFL/AFL history. No one is watching at the ground or via the box. A complete ratings disaster and there is absolute zero interest in putting in from the bulk of the senior players.

Great to hear the story and background of Harmesy. Nice work thanks guys

On now

Nic named him Cool Hands Clarry after about 6 games. It's taken the AFL media about 2 seasons to finally realise he has amazing hands. Then there's the rest of his game they still haven't caught up with. Talk about lagging!

Yup...he is easily the next cab. And not just the genuine mids. Would put Tracc and Salem in there also. Hoping they all stay the course though with crossed fingers & toes.

Lol DC. A very 'rarebit' for me now!

If we choose Wagner or another smallish defender we will be making the same mistake we made in the final Rnd last year against them. They dominated up forward by taking advantage of their talls vs our smallish backline. Hopefully Goody has learned from this. Although he probably hasn't earned the call up form wise @Casey and certainly not in Lever type form, IMHO we have no other option but to get Frosty in for the Big Freeze!

Not sure he is ready yet but under the right circumstances i wouldn't mind seeing this trialed either. Worth a look when the timing's right and might become a solid tall defender for us.

yes i hit subscribe button but alas no go. Cheers!

No invoice or auto charge at this end Andy. Did you want to PM me an invoice with bank details maybe?

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-06-05/tommy-gun-locked-and-loaded

Because the AFL are always looking to promote their two start ups wherever possible. Andy if you are still grumpy just grab a few highlights from previous 6 weeks and enjoy again mate.

....."Cam Pedersen: Cam's too good for this level and demonstrated today against VFL opposition he can dominate. His marking, particularly above his head, is very strong at this level and his work rate and courage were excellent today. He started to dominate in the second half and kicked a number of very good goals. Interestingly he started the third and fourth quarters as the senior ruck and played that position for 5 or 10 minutes but he looked so much more dangerous forward. I thought he was "training" to replace Tim Smith if he doesn't come up but sadly he was knocked out with about 10 minutes to go when his head hit the ground in a marking contest. I was standing a few metres from the incident and it was pretty upsetting to see him immediately after the incident. He managed to get to his feet after a few minutes and get to off the ground with the assistance of a couple of trainers but as a layman I'd be stunned if he didn't have concussion and it would be a surprise if he played next game. A sad end to a really good performance"... Nice update thx BB. Looks like Pedders was the most likely call up prior to the head smack. A real pitty as no one else appears to have made the step up in form this game. Frosty didnt appear to be that impressive from what you've reported and would be a lucky selection if he makes it in.

- an in* house - there / their * Edit: Cant edit after a bit ?