Demon Dynasty

We got bullied by the Hawks and as everyone has already pointed out we haven't put lessor teams to the sword in what seems like an eternity. SEN will put anything out there for a story. Spud must be on his own crappy home made Vodka! Nothing to see here!

I haven't seen enough of him 56 but thought in the Geelong game he did ok once switched onto Ablett. A lot more effective than the first 2 or 3 they put on him and that job is really a bit of a death wish for someone trying to find their feet early on. Coaches didn't like what they saw as you say. Might head along to Punt Rd tomorrow arvo to support the boys. Should be interesting.

I haven't seen any of his work 56 so i will take your word on that. Maybe the 3 weeks against the Saints, GC & Carlton is also an ideal block to trial a few from Casey while giving the likes of Vince, Melksham, Bugg, Pedders, Fritsch and Nev a rest (not all at once i mean but rotating) so the likes of Balic, Maynard, Hannan, T. Smith, Stretch & Weids get a run (subject to form at AFL/Casey). Obviously some of the above will get a call up this week but just saying. One stat that is interesting for me (and i don't usually bother) was in Maynard's only game for us this year he did manage 5 clearances (one of the few public stats i think carries a bit of substance) which is 2nd only to Clarry right now, averaging 5.5 a game. We got smashed in this area last week. It is only one game and usually you would need at least 5 games before bothering to compare...but out of the 26 players that have graced the field so far i have Maynard ranked (objectively via weighted stats) at No. 6, just behind Jones.

The good news is after 4 rounds Lever is leading the club in intercepts averaging 7.5 per game. The top 5 are (average per game)... 1. Lever 7.5 2. Frost 7.0 3. Hibberd 6.25 4. Hunt 6.0 5. Lewis 5.75

Are you telling me Max will just keep missing those Ralph?

A stack of man on man happening in this match. Can't man up all the time and you are going to lose your opponent at times in the chaos but the MFC needs to bring this manic pressure when the heat is on or there's a run on. Especially critical when playing teams like the Hawks who rely so much on their accurate kicking. Give them enough room like we did on Sunday (and many times previously) and they will cut you up and make you look silly.

I have no idea. Just follow Dixon. Who is our goal kicking coach??

I like the idea of Weids coming in for a long look at it but at the right time for both him and us 56. His next foray at AFL level is probably his 4th (or so). If he doesn't hit his straps a little this time around it might be a big hit on his confidence. Would hate to see us do another Watts on him this time around. Rnd 7 vs the Saints is looking ideal. Perfect time for a minimum 3 match foray with the next 2 weeks against Gold Coast and Carlton. Pedo offers decent form for this week's crucial match and a whole lot more forward/AFL experience. He has the size he can throw around to get the ball to ground, rattle the defence a little and, as you say, provide some structure when Hogan goes roaming. Pedders is no great relief ruckman but anything's better than a Harmes or similar medium.. While I'm not sure he would be classified by many as a wizard, he definitely brings others into the match around him and can lay a hard tackle inside 50 also to let the opp know he's about. Perceived pressure if you like. I would be very surprised if he doesn't get the call up 56.

Whill Balic is starting to show something Optimis I'm not sure this week is a good one for testing the waters given last week's debacle.

We need a tall forward who can mark on a lead and also take the occasional pack mark. With Hulk drifting up the ground off HF to help out much of the time we often don't have a tall inside our 50 to bring the ball to ground or take the odd pack mark on the multiple entries we are getting right now. Pedders can pinch hit in the ruck as we know which leaves our mids to focus on their role inside and out, instead of rucking (which must be bloody draining and totally ineffective anyway!) Having said that Pedders can also dish up some horror performances like he did against Brissy so he might have lost a few brownie points with the coaches. Weids might get the call up also. Who knows. Whoever the FD thinks is the better option is fine by me but i just hope they are selecting on good form from Casey rather than promise/potential. Plenty of time for Weids to work his way in if it isn't this week and this week might be the worst timing for him on such a big stage if he is the nervous type. Personally i still think we need an extra powerful tall forward who can kick accurately with distance from around 50 meters (if there is someone lurking!). Pedders is 31 and maybe only 3 to 4 years left. Weids a medium term work in progress. A long range goal kicker would mean the opposition has to defend a little higher at times which might help to provide a bit more space out the back and provide us with a few more opportunities for our smalls/mediums to work their magic in.

Very true OD. I used to sit in the members on the flank but i now sit behind the goals just aft of the Demon army. It reveals a bit more of how the plays unfold. But you usually then miss half of what's happening up the other end and end up having to watch the big TV part of the time anyway. If only the seats could hover and follow the play around the ground!

With regard to the behind the goal footage. Seems to show that some tweaking from Clarkson on the match ups around the ground plus our inability to win the clearances on the day (our biggest asset), cost us dearly. Clarkson needed to win that arm wrestle and he got a gift early from Goody with Jones occupied on Mitchel. In my opinion the lock down of Jones on Mitchel was the biggest error on the day followed by Harmes in the ruck for too long (or at all) during the 2nd. Left us too thin in the mid field / stoppage clearance area and too many B (bordering on C) graders to pick up the gap left by Jones being occupied (Clarry the sole exception). They may also have read many of Maxy's hit outs and done their homework well which helped their cause. The wings were probably always going to disappear at some stage to get the match ups Clarkson wanted back and forward. Once he got them things started to turn for the Hawks. Add to this the compound effect of the Jones role & Harmes in the ruck for too long in the 2nd. Then there's the mental / physical bullying factor (see below) and we have ourselves a recipe for a serious towelling as the game wore on. My biggest worry is that in Goody's press conference he stated that he believed the Jones match up (result) for us on the day was a win. Personally I don't think it was far from the sole reason for such a horrid result but it played a big part. Vid 1: Cyril is on Nev (seems likea good match up for us, if there is one for Cyril). Maxy's hit out goes to the only player in the centre who is stationary and alone (for a split second) which is a Hawks player (possibly Jaeger being checked a little loosely by Salem). The ball comes in quickly after Jaeger breaks, Lever backs into the contest without looking and falls over. Frost gathers but is easily tackled then outnumbered (I suspect the Hawk that hasn't fallen over is involved in pressuring also). Other Hawks from mid field have quickly drifted forward and waiting front and square they gather the ball turned over from Frost under pressure and score the first goal in record time. The fact that Jaeger moves straight to this position just right of Maxy at the first bounce suggests either Clarkson has done his homework very well in relation to Maxy's drop zones, Jaeger just got lucky on this occasion or Max didn't look to see who he might be tapping to. Maybe a combination of all three! Vid 2: shows a neutral bounce result followed by a secondary ball up. This time Cyril is on Vince in the Hawks forward line who, although running with him, isn't quite checking him as closely as one would probably wish given Cyril's pedigree/experience. Cyril moves toward the middle putting a little more distance between himself and Vince. Max hits the ball directly into Cyril's bread basket and he's off to the races for another forward 50 entry with Vince trailing. Probably not a lot Vince (or anyone could do with delivery like that) but Clarkson probably has one of his most dangerous assets on a better match up. Win. Vid 3: After the bounce we eventually get the ball on back of square / wing (to our loose man...maybe Lever) who gets a quick kick to about 40. Stratton (on Fritsch) reads the play much better and holds his position about a kick or more away from the contest up field.....playing well in front. As the quick bomb comes in Stratton takes the easy defensive mark around 50. All forwards (who didn't race into the contest initially (Kent I believe) are waiting back with their man and in Fritsch's case he is about a kick and a half away from play and eventually 10 / 20 meters behind Stratton. Obviously you don't want everyone leading but in this passage the other Melb forwards (staying forward) seem happy to just sit around true CHF as the play develops. Those remaining at CHF don't break in the direction of the contest at any point. In this Vid I also notice that before the bounce Stratton comes in to man up on Fritsch. On the way he thumps/punches ANB (I think) in the arm or chest. ANB goes down on his knees in pain for a while. No Melb forward remonstrates. Maybe they didn't see but hard to believe. He then goes past Hulk and gives him a shove. He then finally gets into his opponent, Fritsch, and shoves him in the chest also. At no stage did any Melb forward push / remonstrate or shove Stratton back at any point!! What happens if you don't take on a bully in the playground guys!?? There were some other shoves / prods (socially unfriendly!) acts from other Hawks players also in these vids but I could only see one shoving / pushing act back at the Hawks from a Melb player the other way.....Kent.

Was the first quarter or so I was trying to convey in the time difference OD. Unfortunately my attempt at humour was ''ill timed'. Sad to hear the news about your mate. With Bro not able to make it I went alone to the North match the week before and wasn't quite the same even with a solid win. I also don't attend as many as I once did when I was younger but I make most of the big matches at home and foolishly some away games in the hope of an upset. The TV is sometimes a good option as i can walk away when getting too antsy and come back to it after calming down a bit! Often feel I see more of the match vs live. I still like attending the big matches at home (and occasional away for the upset foolishly) especially vs the big V clubs and also any hoo doo matches to try and support the boys. Have to say if it wasn't for the Jones boy I probably would have missed many more games during the Neeld era. Whenever I was wavering he was (and still is) a big motivating factor. Punt Rd match sounds good. I have vague memories of passing reserves matches there on the way to the G decades ago and dropping in for the last quarter or so occasionaly. Might even drag the war office down with a lunch bribe beforehand somewhere in Swan St. Enjoy and lets hope we can do the double!

OD where is your salesmanship? It was only 3 wasted hours (Or thereabouts!)

MKR & Chanel 7....a match made in heaven!

Im not so sure OD. You just might sharpen them up!

If there's'Pressure Points' LD i reckon a 'Flubber Scale' is a shoe in for this lot!

OD have you considered taking on an advisory role under Goody!?

I have heard him scold players for not doing the team thing at VFL level 39. Not sure if that counts though. Hopefully they just let him play and develop for a while. Hate to see that weight on his shoulders too early.

that could be deemed bullying nowdays!

Does that mean he will need to sit on his opponent Buck?

If we can stop bleeding goals, weed out some chaff as the season rolls and inject more smarts (decision making) and skills by foot (including goal accuracy) plus some speed of foot....AND... dont waste Jones in a lock down role or Harmes in the ruck again...we will make finals. Ins from: Peders, Hunt , Stretch, Tyson, Maynard, Hannan. Outs from: Frost/Lever (one of), Bugg, ANB, Lewis (Inj.), Melk, Harmes.

I haven't been watching for the player on the mark inside 50 before Jnr. Good pick up. Will be interesting to watch that from now

Nice work BZ and a very simple solution

All rules are made to be broken at Hawthorn or the envelope of them severley pushed. They perfected the artof scooping/Spiking/throwing the ball and disguising it quite well very early on in Clarkson's tenure also while others (including us)were still looking to handball slowly in the correct fashion.They exagerate every potential free that might be rewarded also and if there is even a sniff of the umpire paying a deliberate against all odds those near the boundary will all raise their hands in the air to put pressure on the ump to make the call Vince is about the only player at Melb that does this consistently also, sometimes with good results. He has the venom thats lacking by many within the team. There are a few others like Clarry and Jack, but we lack the white line fever across all our 22 that the Hawks bring pretty much every match they play. Another example is when taking the mark. The Hawks usually always take an extra step or two over and wait to be called back. On the kick ins if you watch carefully, especially Cyril, you will find that they creep forward a little right at the end of the alloted time the kicker has in order to gain that extra half meter and try and get the smother or tackle in once play on is called. Clarkson's Hawks have certainly lead the way in getting every advantage they can by pushing all bounderies to their limits.Something the Demons have been very slow to catch on to but i have seen areas where we have started to. Titan raises another very good example of where we are still trailing behind though. Often its the little things and attention to detail like this (as one example) that define a good or ordinary team from a great one.