Demon Dynasty

64 you don't think he is capable of doing both?

No Steve....Casey radio if the truck makes it

Pineapple If it has to be a Johnny make it a blue. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Jones busy on mitchel. A soft tag on Clarry? Taps early straight to Jaeger/Cyril. Confidence down... Better hit it into open space in our general direction and hope we run onto it instead? Not really sure but that's just my take Pates. Jones not tagging anyone would be a nice start. Blocking for Clarry also if he has a tag etc. Not having Vince trailing behind his opponent (if he is picked) into the middle contest under little pressure etc. Will be devastated if we lose the clearance count in a fashion similar to Sunday this week after that effort. Get well soon Jack! We need you mate.

And just as I was beginning to bury that one...

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

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 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.

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

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?

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.

I'm with you SWY. Why are some clubs (and in our case one of the poorest) running down the moral (minority) no through road when the AFL is clearly sticking to the main pro gambling Hwy in every sense of the word? It's embedded in every TV coverage and post-mortem (and pre-mortem) tv / radio broadcast of every match and fully endorsed by Gill & his AFL cohorts. It's a nice fuzzy outcome but has PJ explained how we are covering the lost revenue in the pressers / media release?

In the main this is true CB, however there are some very clever (and/or extremely lucky....or both!) pokie players out there who sometimes win and win quite big at times. And i am talking winnings in the $10k plus region within a fortnight or so on occasions. I agree that most normal punters/dabblers would seldom win though (unless they got lucky on the right machine and the right time once in a blue moon) and some addicts would be selling the farm to fund their addiction. Not good for some that's for sure. The MFC out of it isn't going to stop ppl using those same machines though. Leighoak and the Bentleigh Club will just lease it out to another bidder or take the license over themselves (Bentleigh via new owners IF the MFC divests i mean) .

If they make up the loss i would happily applaud the club Jaded. But i'll believe that when i see the end of year report to members (at least a good 12 months after we have fully divested ourselves of pokies revenue, which might be 2 reports away!)

The MFC divesting their interest will not stop pokies being played by the masses CB. Even if all AFL clubs followed suit. Many humans love to pass the time away on the punt. Be it horses, poker, the dogs, sportsbet (etc etc etc) two up or an illegal [censored] fight. Do you think we will ever ban all forms of gambling right across Australia/society?

Dee i fear we will be waiting decades for that to happen, if it ever does. In the meantime pokie addicts and/or occasional flutterers (like myself) will just go to another venue, including some who will drop their hard earned (or otherwise) at a rival club's venue (potentially). I would like to know how much we are losing from this decision yearly and projected to lose over the next decade and how we are planning to replace the money foregone as a result of this.