Demon Dynasty

It could also work the other way Picket. Some things were meant to be maybe this is one of those moments where Clarry dodges a bullet

Personally I think any chance we had of finishing on a high ended last week but who knows. If they trained anywhere near the low levels of last week this week (according to the coach anyways) then more than likely we will cop a bit of a belting. We will then hear the usual excuses trailed out like..... We are fielding a very young/inexperienced team (ignoring the fact that this is partially because of the FD's own selection decisions) Their experience shone through It's been a long season and some were obviously a little tired The Cats had more to play for blah blah blah

Most of the kids have been great Balls for sure but down back it took them quite some time, maybe half the season or slightly longer, before their numbers and results in terms of hitting targets/Turnovers, started to see improvement vs earlier in the season and that was coming off a pretty low base. Like all inexperienced players, we had some playing out of their skin and having a blinder, some went missing, others played an OK game for half a game, missing for the 2nd half etc. I'm fine with a slight youth bias, it's when we go too far a la last week that IMO sees us pretty much throwing away a decent chance of winning (or getting close to it more often). If we had 8 to 10 players of calibre and experience at the top end (eg; 100/150 plus games) I reckon we would rarely see results like last week or the Bombers. Instead we are lucky if we go in with 3 or 4 max with over 100 games each week. The fact that we haven't got those 8 to 10 and instead usually have 10 plus rookies (sub 50 games) most weeks means we can't just throw an extra raw boned, skinny wet one gamer in to critical contests (finals berth in the offing) like we did with Weids last week. Nor players that have been tried at AFL level and have shown they aren't quite able to take the next step in their previous matches (ANB/Michie). I love the Weids style and reckon he'll also be a solid addition with another pre-season or two. His first half against the Hawks was a great insight into what he might bring for 3 to 4 quarters (eventually) after he gets those pre-seasons under his belt. He was probably playing on adrenalin in that first half and we saw the great potential he offers. But that adrenalin doesn't last through an entire game, nor necessarily through the next one, the one after that etc etc. Only time, effort, lots of gym/strength work/match time and fitness/experience will see him move through that wall that I'm sure most new players hit when first starting out, either during a match or at some stage during a season. Oscar, Frost, Wagner have also no doubt hit the wall at various stages this season. Frost has shown some progress and would want to have vs his early form. Seems to be working his way slowly to an acceptable level but I'm not as bullish or as convinced on him being a lock in HB just yet. The jury is out and a big W.I.P. IMO. I still think he may play a few games up forward at some point and may also need a stint at Casey for a while to work on aspects of his game before returning. In this case we may well need to call on the likes of Dunny (if he's still around) or swing Pedersen down back to cover. We can all see the improvement on the field and we can see that the FD has been developing and bringing a run and gun fast break attack style off HB by moulding and bringing in kids who can do so, as well as work a forward press etc. But you need balance in defence and when an opponent gets hold of your turnovers and starts winning the centre clearance work, as the Blues did last week, you also need one or two very experienced dour types to prevent the dyke from bursting, taking critical marks when needed, playing a "slower" but higher percentage style of possession footy to control the tempo and kill a run on. Poise and a cool head in a crisis if you want to call it that. That only comes with much experience. The key word here is balance, across all lines and in general. When we achieve that we'll start seeing some consistency and a good team that rarely drops matches like last week and the Bombers. Regular finals appearances should follow. The Swans are a great example of never going too far with either youth or seniority and usually have a nice balance preferring to recruit ready made players along with a smaller focus on some youth in the draft. It's no coincidence that they have only missed 3 finals series since 1996 when Eade took over.

Yeh don't mind that. Has had a big year and a taste of finals along with a bit of success (hopefully) would be nice reward

Balls this club is not in a position to roll the die. Every club is only one or two horrid decisions away from seeing things go awry as we know all too well at this place. We can hardly afford to go 'all in' on youth every match in the hope it will some day pay off. Last thing we can afford is more thrashings. We should be picking the best, most experienced side every single week (injuries/form allowing) in order to give ourselves the best chance of winning and also to avoid a severe bashing. Our willingness to roll the youth die every single week, if we keep doing so (including at the trade table), is eventually going to come back to bite us if we have a few ugly weeks with outs (injuries/tribunal/illness). Footy is a brutal game. We must stay brutal and never accept mediocrity!

The Club will say anything to suit it's "youth" bias policy Bing at the expense of the more experienced out of favour players that appear to have been marked as expendable or NQRs going forward. If this were the case then Hogan would have been out weeks ago to work on his wayward kicking method and Watts this week. Our forward line has been ineffective since the Port match. The omission of the Bear last week in favour of Weids was a huge error. He doesn't just take shots on goal, he plays a variety of roles and can play them reasonably effectively and for most of the four quarters as well. He at least has a tank to do so, tackles hard, leads hard and hits packs hard bringing ball to ground which some on here use as their Hogan defence as to why he continues to get a guernsey each week. If this update from Roosy was anything to go by before the Carlton match....(if close to the truth which may of course have been unlikely... but not like Weids was a powerhouse forward returning from a short spell!).... "Sam Weideman was injured last week so we’ll see whether he comes up as well.” And this..... “[There hasn’t] been a lot of training but more meetings and making sure that the players understand what the expectations are, what the learnings are from last week’s game and how we need to attack this week.” Maybe we played as we trained last week.....which, according to the report (if close to the truth or somewhere near it), wasn't much at all.

Ah gotcha Maldon. I thought it was some abnormally large leg muscle he was suffering from

Weids stays after last week? Common MFC we all know he isn't ready yet. The bear surely should have gotten a call up for this one to give us a show, just as he should have last week (no hindsight either from my end, was calling last week's selections a debacle before the match). A second consecutive week where some weird and wacky choices go down at the MFC selection table. Been doing this to ourselves since i started following (Northey years maybe an exception). And why are we bringing in a seemingly underdone player in Salem for his first game back?? And why risk him with a potential injury stepping up to AFL level in the last game of the year which counts for nothing? Mothballs for mine given where he is coming from this season. Just let him be and get a full pre-season in FCS. From the VFL review..... Salem - was probably another one that had an interrupted preparation due to a bit of illness during the week. Christian certainly provides you with some really composed ball use when he has the ball in hand and he continues to work really hard around the stoppages and his craft. He continues to build and he’s certainly on the right track back from having a decent lay-off. As i forecast in last weeks selections, what the hell did we play Weid, ANB and Michie for last week? There was nothing to gain and it ended up being the recipe for last week's loss..... Posted Saturday at 09:55 AM (edited) · Report post Not at all, just don't play them at this point so late in a season with such a (potentially) critical match looming against the Cats. Ben Ken & Grimes have at least shown they can perform at AFL level albeit not stellar performers. Although having said that Grimes first up game was completely off the charts stats wise. Flopped a little the week after along with most others..out lol. Michie & ANB are too big a risk at this point and do nicely at VFL level but that's where their limitations lie right at this moment (ANB a potential AFL option next year if he can take it to another level). If they underwhelm and need changing out for the Cats match you have then also not given Grimes/ Ben Ken (if Jeffy doesn't get up for the Cats) a chance to adjust to the step up to AFL level. They'll be coming in cold. Not that the FD would ever pick Grimes I realise. By selecting Michie over Grimes (the worst selection table choice for quite some time IMO) Roos/Goodwin/ FD have obviously signed his papers. Grimes is easily our best "AFL ready" option at VFL level right at this moment who has proven he can play a role consistently vs others of a similar ilk playing at Casey. Next year might be different but we don't have "next year". We have two matches and need to win both of them very convincingly on the scoreboard to have a chance of playing finals (assuming the other games fall our way obviously).

Care to expand? Haven't heard of that one

Ah yeh, forgot about that one OD. They also took Petterd though so you never know

Well said Jaded. One of my Idols on the field and has now cemented his place in Demon history as the great revivalist of this club. That win against the Hawks showed we are capable of playing premiership football over 4 quarters. Now we just need to beef things up a little and fill a few holes to bring that level most weeks. Boys will still have to up the ante though to get there. To think 3 years ago we were on the verge of oblivion. What an effort dragging us away from the precipice and setting us on course again. We are still a fair way off being a good team but we aren't that far away either. He has set up a great culture and also for the first time in a long time, shown that this club can attract decent players from other clubs as well as finally develop the youngsters into decent competitors/footballers that play with grunt, flair, skills and determination. They play for each other and the club (occasionaly they don't but at least seem to hurt), something i hadn't seen since the Swooper years.. Once again we have a football team that competes and plays footy the way you would expect any team to do at this level most weeks.. Like all very good coaches it was more about man management and philosophy than other factors like teaching tactics, skills etc. Plenty of assistants/specialists who are doing all that. Thank you Mr Roos. Sorry to see you go

Dub didn't anyone ever tell you about lightning? Oh wait, it is the Toiges i guess

Lol started my own vote thread on the main board no realising this was here My personal view is their timing on Petrie, Firrito and Dal Santo is probably about right from a list management perspective but they should have waited until their season was over before announcing. A pretty horrible PR decision no matter how you look at it. As for Boomer, he was BOG last week against the league's top of the table Swans. He was probably the difference between our Rnd 3 win/loss which in the end has also proven to be the difference between us making finals this year (along with the notorious Bombers match). Boomer is also super creative, usually involved in about 30% or more of North's scoring chains and is very accurate in front of goal either on the run or a set shot. That accuracy alone is worth something in today's game, which often sees players (even some of the best rated) missing from 25 or so out, sometimes directly in front, due to fatigue issues or the player just not being that accurate even though he may have decent/excellent skills in other aspects of his game up the field. In addition this bloke is very hardy, he rarely misses a match. But he is old as footballers go obviously and would need to be 'managed' well. IMO he would need regular 'rest' options throughout the year in order to get the best out of him. Something North failed to do miserably this season IMO, and not just with Boomer. He might need to miss 2 to 3 rounds or so in order to keep him up and about and allow his aging bod some decent recovery time from general soreness. However, if he is on the park he is usually "on". He rarely has a poor game. He is also an extremely tricky player to try and match up on and not many clubs, including us this year, are able to find a match that will keep him quiet. How many times have we worked our way off HB this year and through the middle through a hard press/zone only to look up and find no one inside 50 to give it to!? Boomer knows when and where to run and reads the play better than most and would probably be able to take advantage of these situations quite often. No point doing all that good work if you don't get enough chances of scoring up the other end! That's not to say we haven't been successful here, i've seen us kick a number of joe-the-goose goals. But why not add even more firepower and finish? I have also been harping all year that this list, being the most inexperienced in the AFL every week, was way too skewed towards players under 100/50 games, exposing us to teams who have the edge in tight games (experience wise). IMO we need to balance out our list a little at the top end, where in most weeks we are lucky if we have 3 to 4 players with over 100 games experience. With 430 games experience we automatically gain about one season's worth of games (on average per player) across the team. A huge boost and one that might get us over the line in a few matches eg., against North (5 points!!!). Might be the difference between playing finals next year and not. Also a reasonable insurance policy. What if that one or two games that we needed to win were against a team that picks Boomer up and he makes a significant impact on the day? It's a big YES from me to a one year contract on moderate coin.

Have North stuffed up by not offering Boomer a year's extension? My personal view is their timing on Petrie, Firrito and Dal Santo is probably about right from a list management perspective but they should have waited until their season was over before announcing. A pretty horrible PR decision no matter how you look at it. As for Boomer, he was BOG last week against the league's top of the table Swans. He was probably the difference between our Rnd 3 win/loss which in the end has also proven to be the difference between us making finals this year (along with the notorious Bombers match). Boomer is also super creative, usually involved in about 30% or more of North's scoring chains and is very accurate in front of goal either on the run or a set shot. That accuracy alone is worth something in today's game, which often sees players (even some of the best rated) missing from 25 or so out, sometimes directly in front, due to fatigue issues or the player just not being that accurate even though he may have decent/excellent skills in other aspects of his game up the field. In addition this bloke is very hardy, he rarely misses a match. But he is old as footballers go obviously and would need to be 'managed' well. IMO he would need regular 'rest' options throughout the year in order to get the best out of him. Something North failed to do miserably this season IMO, and not just with Boomer. He might need to miss 2 to 3 rounds or so in order to keep him up and about and allow his aging bod some decent recovery time from general soreness. However, if he is on the park he is usually "on". He rarely has a poor game. He is also an extremely tricky player to try and match up on and not many clubs, including us this year, are able to find a match that will keep him quiet. How many times have we worked our way off HB this year and through the middle through a hard press/zone only to look up and find no one inside 50 to give it to!? Boomer knows when and where to run and reads the play better than most and would probably be able to take advantage of these situations quite often. No point doing all that good work if you don't get enough chances of scoring up the other end! That's not to say we haven't been successful here, i've seen us kick a number of joe-the-goose goals. But why not add even more firepower and finish? I have also been harping all year that this list, being the most inexperienced in the AFL every week, was way too skewed towards players under 100/50 games, exposing us to teams who have the edge in tight games (experience wise). IMO we need to balance out our list a little at the top end, where in most weeks we are lucky if we have 3 to 4 players with over 100 games experience. With 430 games experience we automatically gain about one season's worth of games (on average per player) across the team. A huge boost and one that might get us over the line in a few matches eg., against North (5 points!!!). Might be the difference between playing finals next year and not. Also a reasonable insurance policy. What if that one or two games that we needed to win were against a team that picks Boomer up and he makes a significant impact on the day? It's a big YES from me to a one year contract on moderate coin. What do you guys feel?

The harm could be that he doesn't play much at either level and takes up a spot plus coin for somoene who might be able to hit the ground running at either level. The FD and Dawesy will no doubt be in discussions/tests etc as we speak. Dawesy seems like one of the most honest blokes you could meet. Doubt he would go on unless he felt he could add to the club's/team's future improvements going forward.

Also think the bear wins here. More reliable (less injury prone), better results generally, competitive beast and able to play multiple roles including ruck chop outs. Dawesy rarely rucks and is unfortunately, for various reasons, limited to playing a forward role only. Do we consider Petrie or is that a fry pan option? Is Petrie fried?

I'm not sure that's possible Adz. Have the feeling his injury woes have finally caught up with him, not just physically either. He might be forced to make the call himself at season's end

Also agree, the professionalism and finish on a one year contract would be very handy. Not sure about this year but Boomer was the player with the most involvement in the Roos scoring chains of play in 2015 running at about 35%. If he remains fit he is a great addition, goal assist, goal sneak, finisher in front of goals and takes a very solid defender away from the rest of our smalls/medium smalls, allowing them to instead play on a 2nd/3rd fiddle and develop under a little less pressure (when Boomer's fit and on the park anyways). Was the difference earlier this year in our 5 point loss to them. Would be great to have him batting on our side in our next match against them in 2017. Might be the difference between making finals or not.

Guys come on. A bit of respect please. This bloke came to an absolute basket case of a club on its knees and being bailed out by the AFL. He may not have been able to walk the walk as much as we were hoping but his talk, his professionalism and his leadership both on and off the field has been exemplary and second to none. He has also had his moments on the field in some matches/patches. Yes he is on pretty good coin but we needed an injection of premiership/finals experience around the club where there was none (on the field). He has provided us (off and on through injury & form woes) with a target up forward and allowed the FD to at least structure up a very inexperienced forward line while it developed from embyronic phases. His effort and attack on the man and footy (forward pressure/2nd efforts) have been first class and early on he was pretty much doing this in a void up forward. Yesterday I watched him do a few run through at Gosch's with a fitness (physio/PT?) watching on probably testing that dodgy knee again. Let's just say he wasn't pulling up like a young Colt. He is not alone in carrying injuries at AFL level but the passion, effort and mentoring this bloke has provided the club should be applauded and appreciated. We are not long of this earth guys. Everyone is blessed with certain assets and others with less. I saw one who was very much gifted today in Exhibition St going about his business. Old Neita looking as big as as ever but showing his age a little as we all do eventually. Does Dawesy have the talent/skills of a Neita? We all know the answer. But does he care any less, try any less or is he any less professional? I highly doubt it. My gut feel is that Dawesy is a great bloke and a great servant/clubman of the MFC. He surely deserves better than what some are dishing up to him in this thread. This old saying is just as appropriate now as it was centuries ago.... "Be to his virtues very kind, Be to his faults a little blind"

Yeh i was in the forward pocket that day and watched Gazza kick a torp goal from just outside 50 on a mud patch. One of the best goals i've ever seen live and a memorable win

We have made solid progress Nasher but are still a mile off becoming a solid finals contender subject to the draft. 3 to 4 very solid mature bodied senior players needed. No more kids unless it's a likely Cyril/Nic Nat/Fyfe/Judd/Danger type please. We won't improve next year unless we balance the age/experience of this list up at the top end.

Enough time for some quality reds to have aged and mellowed

Nonsense just keep playing more kids... one day, maybe in my next lifetime, it will eventually pay off