Demon Dynasty

Clarry yes. Bugg or Grimes for shut down on Mitchell yes. Weid this week is just wrong IMO. Bring him in sure but not against one of the most experienced top end teams in the AFL. Would have left Dawes as he as he can at least compete and bring ball to ground for crumbers and has the big match experience. Played ok higher up ground last week also without being great. As well as reasonable tackle/inferred pressure on the ball carrier inside 50. Seemed to be stronger through the core last week from recent match time also. We gain nothing except .... less experience up forward AND probably less pressure inside our own 50. Hogan provides virtually no pressure and will probably be only 'just' going if he makes the squad. Jeffy, well who knows what he'll bring from week to week he is so inconsistent and unreliable. He might kick 3 and do nothing else or he might lay 2 or 3 tackles and do not much else. The Hawks will have a field day rebounding out of our forward 50, even if we get reasonable entry numbers. No Dawes to relieve up forward for ruck duties either so Watts will be expected to do even more work here. The obvious in for mine was Pedo for Hogan if Hogan is only 80% or so. Leave Weids to debut against the Blues, not the Hawks. Pedo a great foil for Big Maxy and the 3rd best contested mark in the team. Can play forward or Back as well. If Hulk is 100% and doesn't need managing then would still go Pedo for Dawes. Weid "IN" , Dawes "OUT" (no Pedo) is a huge gamble against the best team in the AFL. Are we also saying stretch/nev to cyril/puopolo? Stretch in a purely defensive/rebound role!?? Don't like that either. If Cyril misses we might get within 3 to 4 goals if the gamble pays off. If it doesn't and Cyril's in then who knows. Could get ugly by the time the siren sounds.

Super lucky Clint. A few tackles and that was about it.

He is on now SW ...and yes he certainly was that. Best times i ever had supporting this club.

Swooper Northey hour long interview tonight with Finey 1116 SEN. Not sure the exact start time. Somewhere around 8 - 9pm probably My all time fav coach of the mighty Demons. Old but not old enough to have witnessed the Red Fox at work ?

It was certainly ugly OB but I would rather be winning regardless of how it happens. Winning is infectious throughout the entire club ....not too many positives I can think of when you don't.

Harmes is a W.I.P. but so are many at this stage Bing. We have such an inexperienced list in general. They tend to make a huge clanger one quarter (or moment) eg.,His decision to go for an extremely high degree risky inside kick from a mark on the HBF (on boundary line) which went straight to a Sons player who turned and goaled (or gave off to another for the goal) i think in the 3rd!? Then he contests well from a Son's kick in late in the last, gets a solid contested clearance, gives off a handball to Hunt who gets it to Wattsy for the mark and the winning goal! I think you will find that if you look hard enough Harmes does a fair bit of this inside "link" stuff that tends to go a bit unnoticed versus some of the run and gun flashy stuff on the outside from others. Having said that i don't think he is any cleaner inside than say a Viney, Bugg or Gus, maybe worse at times, but the work ethic is also there. Kicking not so great as you say vs some others like Tracc, Matty or Stretch but he tends to be involved in a fair amount of contested in and under, hitting packs hard when ball is in dispute. His gutsy mark in the middle running towards a probable collision without fear was a highlight for me. Some would have shirked that or heard footsteps and spilled it. Wasn't a great game by any means but he stayed competitive and was in the contest right to the end. I like the cut of his jib even if a bit rough around the edges right now. Lots to learn but unless he tips off the edge i reckon he is worth persisting with.

Worth a run but who for Glen?

I agree re: Hulett but maybe not against the Hawks Django. The week after maybe for either Kent/Garlett depending on their output this week and Hulett's performance at Casey. He was patchy with Casey and had some good moments but wouldn't say that performance was noteworthy enough to force his way in just yet. Consider resting Hogan for Pedersen. Had a very solid hit out last week, without being great. But showed signs he was hitting pretty good form, laying some nice tackles and contested well. Goal kicking accuracy not great but probably not much worse/better than Hulk atm. Hulk a possible knee now and its been a long season, especially for a key forward role. Rest would do him world of good for the last few games. Pedersen can also take occasional ruck duties, allows Gawn to rest forward a bit more. Also keeps Watts out of the ruck duties allowing him to focus his energy on where he is most damaging. Maybe occasional 3rd man up role instead to keep him out of trouble against the Hawks crash & bash rucks and give Big M another chop out option. I would also give Vince a rest. After watching that match in full he is def either carrying something or just a bit spent with general soreness. Not a young buck now and the week off will do him the world of good also for a return the week after. Would bring either Grimes in as a hard 'run with' tag on Mitchell for most of the day, alternating with Viney. Or Clarry to try and clean up our inside ball use and clearances which was pretty horrid against the Sons. If Clarry then i would share tag duties between Viney & Harmes. Both are ball butchers in close much of the time right now (probably tiring a little as the season wears) and their efforts to shut down Mitchell should provide a better 'pay off' than allowing him a free reign and trying to counter his output the other way. I would also rest Wagner for this week also. Was serviceable against the Sons, but at times appeared to tire and looked a little out of his depth and it was only the Sons. Dunn to cover here for the week and let Wagner freshen up a little also. Wags, Omac & Tmac also need to work on their organisation a hec more as they are often all going up together (or 2 of them) instead of one staying down in a 2 on 1 or 3 on 2. Ball getting out out the back too often as a result.

I'll second that. I wouldn't play him at all this year. He's barely going at VFL level at this stage. Rarely holds a mark and is a fumble king atm.

Maybe play Hunt in a 'run with' roll on Tom!! ......"Tom do NOT kick on the run under any circumstances, just handball to Hunt... oh wait. Wattsy how do you feel about a run with role on Hunt!??"

I think the 'comparison' aspect is important mauriesy but only when comparing like with like which is hard in today's game as very few players play the bulk of the match in a similar area of the ground for the entire match now. Watts is a great example. Used allover the park. So his time spent up forward, yes you could compare that portion of his efficiency with others' portions where they spend that part of their efficiency component up forward eg., Dawes or Hulk. But part of his DE% also includes time spent through the mid, down back and a small amount in the ruck now. All pose differing degrees of pressure on disposal so very hard with some players who are moved around a fair bit. Also some mids might be under a heavy tag vs others who aren't being checked as heavily etc. If you want a really rough comparison then sure, mids with mids, forwards with forwards etc, but only those you know are spending the bulk of their time there. And how the hec would we know those percentages unless working for a club with access to Champion data or Champion itself!? Even they may not drill down this deep. Also DE obviously has kicking efficiency in there somewhere which i think holds a bit more weight than the hand ball portion (hospital handballs, balls that hit an opponent at his shoe laces making it almost impossible to get the next efficient disposal away etc!) but unfortunately we are unable to get this carve out from Champion data. In short i think comparisons can be made, but only across lines, and even then any such comparisons should be accompanied by a huge caveat.

Big Boy is a crasher not unlike Spencil style wise. Insurance needed for Watts and give Big M a chop out and also allows him to drift forward a little more and stretch the Hawk's D. Would not risk Watts as resting ruck this week! Out: Hogan (hasn't fired a shot in 3 weeks....time for a break and a little refresher. Even a week off wouldn't hurt. Might be enforced anyway due to knee) In: Pedersen for Resting Ruck/Forward role to cover Hoges/Watts/Maxy Dawes to share the resting ruck duties also. IF Bernie has an injury and only IF tag Mitchell with a terrier who can also get his own share of the pill and just run with/annoy the crap outta him. Someone who has the tank to do so at AFL level In: Grimes Out: Vince (if Inj) Demons will need to play a super slick brand of footy off HB and through midfield with a stack more effective kicks this week to have any chance of remaining in the game for most of the game.. And i mean decent kicking not the usual long high hail mary bombing (Vince, Viney, Tyson et al!) coming into the 50 mostly into the pockets! Kick low raking long kicks to the hot zone if under the pump and you can't score, hit up a free target or kick to someone's fat side a la Hawthorn. Get Jeffy, Kent Vanders & Tracc to share the front and square at the drop of the packs and tell them to go for it where possible. Super pressure also needed by our forwards inside 50 if we're to have any chance of staying in the game. The Hawks are the best at this up their end IMO. Another good reason to have Pedersen in for this week vs Hulk. Not sure the Hulk is switched on or has the tank for constant pressure i50 at this point. Tackle count in last three matches is 2 vs other main forwards Jeffy 4, Watts 6 & Dawes 9 (2 games).

Correct Season average is 67.5% so far. Up to Rnd 17 this was only bettered by Gus on 64.5% Need to update Gus for Rnds 18 / 19

tryin to keep a lid on it!

He is already in our top 10 IMO ... has occasional brain/skill fade but who doesn't. Especially so new to the game. Great spread/ link player and quick thinker/mover of the air conveyance. A very solid outside pick up who occasionaly goes in when needed as well.

Yep. They would be all over this. There's no rush for Clarry to come in on a regular basis until he has the tank to go at it for longer and better on the outside. Having said that he is def our best ball user inside and i would still play him occasionally ahead of Matty for a few games over the remainder of the season just to keep his hand in and confidence/belief up at AFL level. Maybe after the Hawks match. For a great example of how good his work is inside check out the 28 minute mark of the 2nd quarter, Casey v Sandy match last week. It's approx 1:14:40 into the replay on the Plus 7 website. Magic Clarry at his best. Link here if interested..... https://au.tv.yahoo.com/plus7/vfl/-/watch/32144867/vfl-sunday-24-jul-casey-vs-sandringham/

Terlich!

Terlich for Hogan (injured)

Go You good things! Thank Lucifer for Jacky Boy and Vanders! On the rebound from the toughest road trip out west and still a very inexperienced team overall. I'll take that win any day. In the past we probably have dropped that one, and not by a few points either If more players can clean up some of their ugly kicking skills (Vince running at 30% by foot at one point about half way through the 3rd quarter! That doesn't count that last kick haha) then we should start to see some wins against better rated opponents

It could also be what parts of the ground players are leading to or where guys up the field are kicking the ball to when running towards goal T. I've noticed alot of our good work up the field tends to end up going deep into a pocket much of the time instead of going more often to the hot zone. We need to sort this out. No doubt decoy leads are going to head into pockets at times but that doesn't mean we should be going there so often. Surely someone is also heading into space in a hotter area of the forward line. Even if it's a Hogan being double teamed, get one or 2 front and square and feed off the crumbs more often. Pocket play success is obviously low percentage and should also therefore be a low % 'go to' option (unless we had Stevie J or Eddie!) Probably a combination of fatigue and kicking skills/power (timing?) not quite up to par depending on the player guys. Like if you take some of Tracc's work out and away from stoppages, he breaks tackles, then runs hard but is still capable of hitting targets going i50 quite often. Others do similar eg., Viney/Jones boy/Tyson but their %s of hitting those leads or kicking to the favoured side of guys running into space is probably not up there. I would agree with BZ here in that in some cases more pre-seasons should technically help when running towards 50 or goal and shooting. But at the same time some just might not be talented enough or powerful enough to finish, no matter how much work they put in. If their kicking style isn't great or they don't have enough power then it's all for nothing. I would put Matty Jones in the power category here. Nice silky skills but how often do we see Matty (or any of our mids or mid/forwards for that matter) break a tackle and kick a long raking goal from somewhere around the paint? Vince is probably one of the rare ones who can do so from the give off set play although he hasn't been so effective at this of late either unfortunately. Also some of our set shot work, outside of Watts, can be pretty ordinary at times. Maybe we need to put further work into set shot techniques as well. Fatigue obviously plays a part here also and this might be worse when up against better opposition who are making us work harder in general play. Looks easy from back here. It's a super tough running game and all that heavy inside work would also take a big toll as the game wears on. Another pre -season and the injection of a few more senior quality players, who can kick effectively on both sides, should see us take the next step up. Roos & Co. have done a super job to get us to this point given where were coming from.

Just hope he hasnt been watching too much of Dawes marking methods. Certainly not a one grabber at this point :-S

Negatives In the fist quarter we dominated possession but in some cases hacked the ball or chose to kick it down the line straight to a loose eagles player waiting a kick behind play (Dawes) In the first/second we failed to pull the trigger coming around the wing often enough when the opportunity was there. Either due to lack of confidence in kicking ability or lack of vision, instead kicking down the line to a contest. Our backs were great when ball was hitting the deck. Ie., cleaning up, with the exception of Omac. Not so good with long balls deep to a one on one and being isolated. What we gain on the attack we lose in true defence. Ie., being able to beat or nuetralise your opponent much of the time in a marking or pack contest with a long ball coming in. OMac the biggest offender here costing us 2 goals in the first beaten easily both times in the marking contest. He also continues to miss or choose incorrect targets up the field. To me Omac is an easy swap out for Dunn here. Dunn will do just as much in attack and neutralise a little more often in the contest. Omac is at least 2 pre-seasons away from coping at this level physically. He has a teen bod which is way off AFL standard in a contest at this point. No contested marks i50 by our key talls with the exception of one from Dawes. No assists from any! All Key tall/medium forwards were pretty ordinary with Watts/Hogan both ineffective on the scoreboard. The Jones Boy, Tyson, Kent and Viney are all fairly ordinary with ball use in general and rarely impact the scoreboard. Kent occasionaly has a cameo when playing more of a forward role. Clarry doesn't impact enough when he receives on the outside at times but is a mile ahead of these 3 with his inside work. Much cleaner/smarter ball user. We will see a big improvement once he becomes a regular inclusion. The sooner the better. Kent falls/slips over way too often for my liking placing pressure on many of his disposals. The disposals after he slips are less effective as a result. Wagner's horrible kick coming off HB in the first resulting in the Eagles 2nd goal (i think) to Priddis. Wagner another clanger off HB in the last straight to Butler. Clean it up fellas (Tmac/Wagner this week!) and give yourselves a chance! If you can't do so please go back to Casey and work it out. Dunn & Garland are hitting short targets more often now albeit it is only VFL. Still, time to bring them in and instruct the others where they need to improve! Dunn & Garlo can also be bad but can't be any worse. Lets see if they have improved! As if the free against Dom wasn't bad enough people forget......The first Goal to the Eagles was the result of a blatant throw in a tackle and should have been free kicked by the umpires with no goal resulting. We are ball deestroyers most of the time (not in every case) coming i50 with very few players able to hit targets or kick to advantage often enough. This includes but not limited to, Nev, the Jones Boy, Kent, Harmes, Gus, Dawes, Tyson, ANB and Stretch (going down the line with 11:00 to go in the last instead of deeper towards the hot spot....Dawes alone around there!). You can have as many i50 entries as you like. While you continue to murder the ball as often as we do it is, in the majority of cases, a complete waste of all prior effort off HB or out of the middle. We gift the ball back to their backs (and +1s) and and we are defending again. ANB ,the Jones boy and Frost a few exceptions hitting targets i50. When the opponent is often playing a +1 down back this is even more critical to avoid the quick rebound and play into their game plan! Tyson's mad bomb after crumbing from a contest with about 12:00 to go in the last a great example. Bombed it to a deep pocket contest instead of the hot spot! An easy Eagles mark to Mackenzie resulted. Alternatively take a few steps and have a ping mate! Viney plays on far too often at break neck from marks/free kicks. Needs to assess quickly first and check himself in case there's nothing on. Places himself and others under pressure here often resulting in some costly and unnecessary turnovers. Is this a lack of confidence in his ability to hit short/medium targets from a set kick i wonder? Tends to bomb the ball coming i50 on the run also. Needs to lower eyes, hit more targets and/or kick lower raking longer kicks, closer to the hot spot. Kicks are high with not enough distance falling too short to be effective or for forwards to impact. Our forwards should also become more aware of this when seeing the game unfold and work to the front higher up. Our set shot kicks for goal were pretty ordinary most of the time. For god sake practice guys. Shithouse and IMO this ultimately cost us the game!!! Watts (albeit usually on), Stretch, Kent, Dawes. When we recruit this year and next for Lucifer's sake, get some decent set shot kickers and some mids who can kick goals from 50 or just inside also! Matt Jones from 35 to 40 meters couldn't even make the distance on the run. We lack polish, class and some power kickers in and around the paint! Gus did some very good work but missed a critical straight forward handball in the 3rd with about 4:30 to go that would have given us a running shot at goal and may have put us 3 goals up with a bit of breathing space. He also gave away a very ordinary free deep in attack with a few minutes to go in the last. We were one Key tall short against the Eagles IMO with Dunn being the obvious "in" for Omac to cover Darling and give a chop out to Tmac on Kennedy when possible (and visa versa). The Eagles had limited supply but made the most of their limited entries by taking enough contested marks and converting accurately due to our Key Tall backs and other HBs being too easily beaten with the exception of Tmac and Frost. The ump paying a 50 against Vince for trying to get Licenth (or whatever his name is) off him after the ridiculous holding the ball decision with 3 min to go in the 3rd. Then giving 60 meters or so! Amazing bias or incompetence. The Fake "legs taken out from under" by Darling on Watts in a critical contest at the 11:20 mark in the last. Can't believe the umps and commentators fell for it, including Derm. Clever play by Darling though. Priddis and Giles both dropping the ball (incorrect disposal) in a stoppage with 9:50 to go in the last not paid...Tracc screaming for the one against Giles or maybe both lol! He can see but four umps couldn't or maybe didn't want to!?? 50 Meters to Mr Vince at the 6:15 mark of the last after being knocked down well after marking....no decision! Almost a certain goal there. All controversial decisions defended by the head of umpiring on AFL's website. The bias runs deep! Tmacs horrible turnover rebounding off HB with about 2:30 to go in the 3rd. Goal to Cripps. His turnover to Kennedy, again attempted short pass under no pressure after marking early in the 4th. After nearly 100 games he continues to cost us in the worst parts of the ground and undoes much of his good work. A huge worry for mine given the games under his belt. May not be fixable. Trade consideration? Why are we allowing Wagner, a 13 game rookie to take the kick in (or any kick ins!!?) with 5:00 to go and game on the line in the last! Astoundingly poor coaching/on field leadership!?? Positives General pressure and tackling on the opponent was probably our best for the year. Our biggest tackling game for the year, the next against Freo. Our forward press in the 2nd quarter was on for a long period and again probably the best i've seen over such an extended period of a quarter. Stretches spread and ball use is mostly, but not always, first class! Great team effort under extreme pressure to clear the ball off HB with 13:00 to go in the last. Finishes with a super short pass from Dawes to Kent on the wing. This is the type of slow play we need at times in order to avoid constant fast play, eventually turning the ball over to their +1 or another HB under extreme pressure when going fast too often, only see it come back over our heads straight away. We need to play this option a little more often and assess before hitting the "go go" button so often. Frost's solid last quarter. Was a little quiet at other times but i've been critical of his inability to finish off a game so this was great to see. Tracc's great run and decision making plus finish to hit ANB lace out coming through the middle with 9:15 to go in the last. Unfortunately all that good work was yet again undone with ANB having no confidence to kick from 45!? Passed a cheapy off to Gus who off a step or 2 kicked a meek one to the pocket....again. OOB no score! Again we didn't finish. Sorry but had to put this negative in as it's associated with a positive Great smother by Watts in the last with 8:00 to go should have resulted in a goal by Kent ot Kent to Dawes for a running goal or set shot. Another point and yet another poor finish. Another great smother by Mr Vince shortly after. Overall The bottom line is, for all our efforts and for all the massive supply that was and is given in many matches, we are STILL not potent enough up forward against the better clubs (ie., top 8) in terms of conversion. As much as we have kicked some high scores this year, this remains an unresolved issue. This one should have been a 4 to 5 goal canter IMO had we hit more targets on the lead, targeted the hot spot more often from outside 50 when running in and kicked accurately with set shots & some on the run. That was our worst game up forward efficiency wise this year with 50 disposals per goal and a conversion rate (% inside 50s goal) of only 12%.

On days like today we should be playing Dunn over Frost or Oscar. Earned the recall in his last VFL appearance

A rare appearance by Glen Bartlett in the media on MMM right now

You have to be more than capable at doing both SPC. We are ok at going fast up through the middle for short stints until our opponents crowd us out through there. Not so good at chopping our way up the field out wide then back in hitting 45s to counter. You cant always go at break neck speed straight up the guts. I agree about the switch. We lack some really solid kicks who can manage this with confidence and quickly. Other times we need to play slow tempo in order to stop a run like y'day. Regardless of how good or bad we are at it it still needs perfecting if we are to beat teams like the Saints (and better) going forward. Most of our problems can be summed up in 3 major factors that are lacking.... 1. Leadership across the park 2. A lack of mature players to hold the line and who know how/when to play slow, drop back and defend, organise the zones and less experienced players etc. Basically a list that is too skewed with inexperienced players just learning the basics of the game, with a sprinkling of serious talent/grunt. 3. Lack of quality users of the ball by foot which therefore leads to not enough use of the ball by foot, this leads to constant 'fast' play by hand which eventually results in fatigue and increased turnovers, gifting goals to any opponent who can keep a reasonable amount of pressure on the ball carrier