Demon Dynasty

Powerful @ 73kgs? Maybe as a jockey. Not another skinny kid (ANB type) i hope. Have alot of respect for Bucks but i prefer the power and height (contested marking ability) that someone similar to a Cripps/Fyfe brings. Very hard to match up on and shut down and can play in multiple postions in smaller or taller type roles. The "tidy up his kicking" another worry. It is no accident we are presently the worst disposal team in the AFL and this area has to be targeted big time and improved upon in a massive way via recruiting selections if we are ever going to win regularly and pick up some silver along the way.

That was a very scary day indeed. I'm just glad i was down the opposite Punt Rd end and only saw the Sheedy lead rent-a-hare krishna crowd on the big screen. Just saw them as an orange blur of bald heads. I can't recall but did we overrun them in the last quarter or was it an ugly close outcome?

ZERO Expectations... upset looming!!

At least we are consistently good at something Jaded!

Round 6, 2019 Tigers vs Demons MCG (ANZAC Eve) Pure Stats Predictor has the Tigers winning by 26 points Team weighted score (includes best estimate for official Ins/Outs) Tigers 65.58 Demons 60.78 Top 6 ranked players (weighted statistical composite) last round Tigers Demons Bottom 6 Tigers Demons *Omitted this round (6) 2019

Cheers Buck. Contested we are doing fine and are still in the top 2 in the league (dropping only one place since 2018 so far). We have no major issues with inside mid field coal face contested / clearance work (yet) and i would argue we are still right up there with the top 4. Yes we may need to tweak set ups / structures around stoppages which might help a little with our ability to cover the outside mids of the opposition when they escape with their own clearance work (run & spread). Our options to cover impacted by injuries / late pre-season etc impacting in the short term!?? Probably. On the flip side we might also be shizen on the spread eg., too many at the contest, winning the contest but then not being able to escape the contest with decent speed / agile outsiders (lacking!?) resulting in another stoppage or worse, a turnover with the Opp then escaping quickly again and off to the races with their more capable / talented outsiders, our ability to close down poor? So much of the game to work on and get right. Never easy at any point, especially when you lose some of your best troops and start dialing up the rookies. Something that we really need to work on at Casey now that we know our depth is virtually non existent, in particular with the spread / speed / crumb & finish (up forward also). I wouldn't say we are always too slow coming i50 either. Just the method of delivery. We talk about chaos footy. But if we are bombing the ball on top of our forward's heads far too often around the hot spot, that is hardly chaos. That's predictable footy and something the opp coaches would be licking their chops at. Tough comp but Goody & Co. need to be better in so many areas, including the ability to seek out an opponent's weekness/s AND train / play to exploit them (wherever possible)! Example: Port realised they were facing an extremely tough back 6 vs the Eagles. They knew they wouldn't have much time to play precise footy through the middle against the quality pressure the Eagles usually bring. Port also knew that regular bombing wasn't likely to work against such a formidable mark/intercept team. It was also raining (yes this may have happened on the fly!)....but they tried this change of i50 entry method against the reigning premiers on their home turf....and it worked a treat! https://www.afl.com.au/video/2019-04-23/did-port-show-us-a-new-way-to-beat-the-eagles

Interesting to see and, for those players caught by the ratings, a very decent guide as to how they are trending / impacting the game (in a positive way) over the last few seasons vs their peers!

We are No.1 in center clearances Wrecker. We have improved 5 places on stoppage clearances from last year as well to be ranked 6th (from 11th place in 2018). No.2 in contested possessions. The engines doing fine..it's what is happening after we clear it. Too many turnovers, smashed on the outside spread when we do (last in uncontested). Stoppage set ups needing work to cover the Oops outlets more effectively and utilise our own better including who we play through there? Bombing into the 50 far too often on top of players heads. That is NOT chaos football. Overly aggressive press crowding out our 50 making it way difficult to convert opportunities. Lack of quality zippy smaller forwards to clean up / convert and provide occasional lead options into space on 45s. Lack of to space for anyone to lead into in general due to the aggresseive press (overcrowding) issue. Aggressive press and big turnover numbers resulting in quick sling shot transistion for Opp far too often, impacting scoreboard and effectiveness / confidence of defenders ie; the Opp converts more often than us as they are taking it into a more open funtional forward line vs our dysfunctional overly crowded one (effecting our conversion and turnover rate i50) even though our i50s are usually much higher than the Opp! Also the way we bring it in to 50 and out of form Key Forwards probably not helping. Delivery generally and skill levels right off the scale vs last year (Casey call ups not ready or up to AFL level) as a result of injuries etc. Ranked last in Disposal Efficiency vs 14th last year and last in effective disposals vs 9th last year.

This is one of the great posts of 2019 AF if not THE post of the year! The other point is....under this severely crowded forward line (in comparison to other game styles which don't rely on such an aggressive high press and resulting in more open forward lines like the Saints on Sat)... 1. Your key forwards must somehow perform their role ie; taking marks on the lead, the odd contested mark inside 50 and converting at a decent % OR bringing the ball to ground for crumbers front and square; and 2. Your small forwards need to crumb front and square or occasionally out the back on a fast break from a long chaos ball deep, try to create something and score occasionaly from ground balls and also place pressure on opponents when we lose possession. For various reasons including some poor form, lack of Key Forward talent?, lack of quality smaller forwards (injuries to Hannan / Garlett and no other viable alternatives at Casey) ...our forward line has failed to be effective at No.1 & No. 2 so far. Example re No.1... So far this season our 2 key forwards Tom & Sam have averaged between them.... 1.2 goals per match; and 2.2. marks inside 50. However, the ability to be effective is, as you say, being impacted significantly by an overly crowded forward line caused by Goody's stubborness to review and adjust this part of his game style. The engine room is still running ok on the inside. The outside needs fixing. The defense is leaking badly but IMO only because of the sling shot effect /Joe the goose you have highlighted above. Fixing/adjusting this aggressive press should go a fair way towards assisting our ability to defend until Lever & May (if he makes it back for 2019) return. Goody addresses this and drills the change up into the playing group and we might start to win more often. Other fixes (outside run, zippy small forwards needed who can FINISH) can be addressed in next season or two if we are smart at the recruiting / trade table. Nice work AF

Select Season Stat Rankings - 2018 v 2019 (inclusive to Rnd 5)

A DEElightful set of numbers SW.... ok here's a summary of our highs and lows for the 2019 season to Rnd 5. It would appear the mid field still has a heartbeat but the remainder is on life support There is still effort (tackling) but we are equally the worst ball handlers in the league (No.1 in clangers) along with the Tigers (yes there is hope tomorrow night folks!). Anyone have access to pressure point stats 2018 v 2019? P.S. Don't take too much notice of clangers. Turnover stat is a little more meaningful IMHO. We are only ranked 3rd here (yikes!) ...the Tigers 13th (lower ranking is better in this case in case anyone is wondering) ?... High Rankings Low Rankings ● Ranked 4th in Tackles Per Game ● Ranked 2nd in Hitouts Per Game ● Ranked 3rd in Inside 50s Per Game ● Ranked 2nd in Clearances Per Game ● Ranked 1st in Clangers Per Game ● Ranked 2nd in least Opponent Hitouts Per Game ● Ranked 1st in Team to Opponent Hitouts Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 3rd in Team to Opponent Inside 50s Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 2nd in Team to Opponent Clearances Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 1st in Team to Opponent Clangers Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 16th in Kicks Per Game ● Ranked 15th in Handballs Per Game ● Ranked 17th in Disposals Per Game ● Ranked 18th in Marks Per Game ● Ranked 14th in Points Per Game ● Ranked 17th in Rebound 50s Per Game ● Ranked 15th in least Opponent Kicks Per Game ● Ranked 16th in least Opponent Handballs Per Game ● Ranked 16th in least Opponent Disposals Per Game ● Ranked 18th in least Opponent Points Per Game ● Ranked 18th in least Opponent Tackles Per Game ● Ranked 17th in least Opponent Goal Assists Per Game ● Ranked 16th in least Opponent Rebound 50s Per Game ● Ranked 17th in Team to Opponent Kicks Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 14th in Team to Opponent Handballs Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 16th in Team to Opponent Disposals Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 17th in Team to Opponent Marks Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 17th in Team to Opponent Points Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 16th in Team to Opponent Tackles Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 17th in Team to Opponent Goal Assists Per Game Diff. ● Ranked 16th in Team to Opponent Rebound 50s Per Game Diff. Stats: Courtesy of footywire.com

According to Jones the honesty session never took place and was a press beat up. Just saying...

Wise to give less attention and rigour than you might normally do to any smashing, especially one nearing the pinnacle of this profession (prelim final), is a VERY foolish move IF that is what has occured. And i'm not saying in concrete the FD didn't fully review as per normal, but all "press speak" from Goody would suggest that he and/or the FD didn't review as deeply as they might usually do (assuming they do so as a matter of course when a match is lost etc). Assuming he isn't lying to the press and us as members (a dangerous assumption i realise but we can only take what Goody says on face value) then for whatever reason he has not been as professional as he normally would because of his own beliefs.....rather than, potentially, the cold hard facts of the outcome following an in depth inclusive review, by his entire review team (whoever that might be). If the above is in any away close to the truth, then as the Head Coach, Goody has let himself, the players/members and club as a whole, down very badly and as a minimum he has not carried out his role professionally, in this particular instance. Luck has certainly played a part in the systemic fall from grace through pre-season injuries/surgeries as has some ordinary (or worse) form from a select group of players. The players should not be completely exonerated in some cases (others are performing at a reasonable level or have even improved on their 2018 so far and should be encouraged). No, our current fall doesn't all lie at the foot of SG & the FD. But i'm afraid it would appear (as an outsider) that SG also played a very big part in the present sorry state of affairs on the field by playing down a Prelim Final result that, if he was being honest, should have received at least the same, if not double, the scrutiny of a normal ugly H&A loss. With the extended number of outs early in the season this has also exposed how ordinary our list actually is, outside of our best 22 (when fit). Most players outside our best 22 are simply not up to AFL level in any way shape or form (now....some might be in years to come). The cupboard is pretty much completely bare down there. If the club decides at some point (IF SG & Co. can't right the ship by mid season) that a mid season review of all levels is required, then the present 'depth' (or lack thereof) debacle, needs to be at the top of that review list. Regardless that aspect needs a full review ASAP. It's one of the major reasons the SG game style is now flopping in front of our eyes.

Pretty decent summary shorty

We are in a bit of a fix Doc. Cant argue with any of that. The impact of an in form and fleet footed Hannan in the 2nd half last year as well as the injection of the hard hitting & clever decision making of AVB after his comeback, were both significant factors in us making finals and going deep.

Tongue in cheek D11. He does seem to be carrying a little too much though when you look in the flesh. Who knows he might shed a little (muscle!) and find half a yard as the season wears on. I'm probably seeing it all [censored] up but i think he hasn't been as bad as some are suggesting, given the poor form of the team as a whole. If we were somewhere near our form of last year he might be smashing it.

Personally from what I've witnessed he looks fine other than skin folds!?? ? He is big and mobile and hard to tackle if he hits the contest hard. We played him there in small doses last season and wouldn't mind seeing him play there a tad more. Rjays idea of Viney at HF (or even deeper) has merit alternating with Tracc in the middle. Might also help Viney shake off any tag a little. Play him off the circle a little and tell him to run through anyone that gets in the road (eyes only for the pill of course!)

Half forward yes but you still need speed out wide on the G to break a game open and/or defend against a fast break from a shallow entry into our forward 50. And if a sluggish wingman's opponent gets out the back on a fast break our defenders are toast . And with sluggish wingman you can't afford to push too high on a hard forward press. That almost kills the raison d'etre for the entire "lock the ball in our 50" strategy as the Opp will place a few quick smaller defenders to run off into space and hook up with anyone faster than our wingman out wide over the top! And as you say, their wingman don't have to be that quick...just quicker than ours...which isn't hard against Jones and Lewis. And thats exactly what the Saints did. Too easily picked off on either side on the fast break for multiple joe the gooses into forward 50 and a few joe the gooses beyond that, running into an open goal. In the case of Jones and Lewis they are unable to cover that option meaning the Opp can switch to either fat side and potentially gain an advantage with a slightly speedier match up if they move the ball reasonably quickly and accurately, which the Saints did very nicely for much of the game. Yes you might be able to cover one sluggish wingman IF you have HBs that are able to cover enough ground quickly enough to close down space on their opponent and play them closely enough when the switch is on. But even then you are still going to have a spare if they get away from a Jones or Lewis at any stage, creating an overlap player that's coming towards or inside 50 under little or no pressure. Easily able to hit up forward targets on a lead etc or even run into an open goal from or around the arc. Defenders have no chance covering this effectively much of the time as the Opp can pick either side of the ground at will and bring it in under little pressure with solid accuracy. You simply can't play sluggish players or even one on the wings at the G for long periods of a match against quality opposition and not expect to be severely punished in today's super professional game. Any coach who believes this is an option is going to be torn a new one by any half decent opposition. A great team will absolutely pulverize it and make it look like a training drill. Also you say as soon the HBs & HFs dropped off Lewis & Jones were toast. Chicken and Egg DS. We gave them a massive incentive to make multiple switches and do just that as they knew their wingman would eventually get the better of both our old boys out wide. If they can't see or don't believe that opening is in front of them they are less likely to try it as often leaving our HBs & HFs a tad less exhausted and probably able to punish more effectively going the other way or be more accurate at goal when having a shot. All the little wins (or losses) on the day add up!

Lewis only has a few limited assets left including his ability to read the play and intercept across HB, then feed off. Goody would have been about the only official in the football that would have felt Lewis (and Jones) should be played off a wing (at the G). Don't play him at all if he can't play his usual HB role in that case. It was an amateur call as was the idea of putting Jones on the other wing. By the times Lewis and Jones run "Hard" backwards the ball would already be rebounding (after having gone there already) and be sailing over their heads before they've gotten half way there. It's the quickest part of the ground, you don't play your slowest through there. Yet that's what our senior coach did from the get go. The Saints coaching group must have been laughing and licking their lips on seeing that set up at the first bounce but initially must have thought "settle boys....it's just a ploy....they won't continue with that one!".

The kicking in danger earlier also for the Cats overlooked by 4 umpires. They would call that against us 9 out of 10 times.

He did. Half his body was already over the line and he was given the slightest of shoves into the top of left shoulder. Ump called it without hesitating. The umps call things (or don't) very differently for the top clubs and players vs the also rans like us. Winning against any of the top 4 Vic clubs and clubs playing out of Marvel is an amazing achievement at any point in the calendar.

The umpires doing their best to get Hawthorn up. Amazing. Last free on the boundary was invented.

It's not that crazy BoG. If we lose against the Tiges i would say it's a necessity. An objective review of the entire FD and list wouldn't hurt at all regardless, especially post 666!

I know....but ... alternatives? Until we get May in when fit and Lever....it's always going to be a band aid job

The outs are all plausible PF....IF we had some depth of talent in form at Casey to cover them all. The likes of Spargo & Cwag should still be playing at Casey to develop and learn their craft for another season or so before getting a recall (if justified and a spot becomes available). Bringing in Sparrow and Chandler is a deck chair job at this point in their career IMHO for the same reasons. Young blokes will only be scarred if they are exposed to too much ugly footy at senior level. Yes I'm putting Lockhart in which is against all that but he has shown a little and IMO we need a smaller defender out of the back pocket to combat the small brigade of the Tiges. Locky has shown a glimpse of something special albeit small but has played predominantly down back in his junior years and is supposed to read the play very well from there. Jones better suited to be being played mostly as a deep forward now IMO. So until we get Pruess, Nev, May, Lever, Hannan and AVB back this would be my best 22 for the Tiges... In: Keilty, Garlett, Lockhart, Stretch Out: Spargo, CWag, Pruess (inj), Nev (inj) B: Lockhart Frost Hore HB: J Wag TMac Hibberd C:- Salem Clarry Fritschkreig HF: Melk Weids Hunt F: Garlett Keilty Tracc Followers: Gawn Harmes Gus INTER Jones, Lewis, Stretch, Viney Edit: KK or ANB omitted... had one too many!