Demon Dynasty

I saw this also buck. Frost an offender on a few occasions. Don't think it cost us from his point of view though from what i witnessed, at least up the Punt Road end anyway. Too far to tell what was happening up the other end. Lewis much missed here to organise and direct the troops down back. Doubt he would allow that slackness. Our general organisation down back, lack of clearances through the middle in the 2nd half, a lack of extras down back for the last few minutes, the inability to cope with their press and our slowness and horrible delivery on occasions coming off/out of HB cost us dearly.

Unfortunately we will never know the answer AF. I hope Mr Lewis has finally learned a lesson here. It's great to fly the flag but lets keep it below the head from here on! Viney did the same dumb act last year i remember which saw him out with a fractured fist/finger for a week or so extra on top of the suspension yes?

Depending on the match ups and venue i think that is worth a try Dom. The extra tall taking a few clunks across half forward might be just the tonic and he can ruck as you say. Frees up our best ball user and most accurate kicker in front of goal in Watts a little more also.

Clearances are only marginally down. But down is still a worry. Would rather see a +1 around the stoppage instead of down back early on. Someone on the outside that can run and/or shake off a tackler and then hit targets inside 50 or just get it in there more quickly and more often a la Brad Hill's role y'day. Harmes, Salem and/or Stretch in rolling combos? We overuse the ball in the back half and 'uncontested' plus 'possessions per goal' would seem to confirm this. We switch a little too often when there is no clear advantage or open fat side. Other teams know this and have often already covered the outlets fairly easily meaning all that hard running from one side to the other often goes unrewarded. We also aren't all that great at short/medium passing (with some exceptions), meaning we open ourselves up to the intercept more often when switching. Sometimes you just have to go up the line if there's no viable inside targets and the switch isn't on...or you are an ordinary kick or project your kicking. Back the talls and boys around the ball to lock the ball in and or win the contest for the next clearance in a place that is less risky up the field IF we do happen to turn it over. Play the percentages and play within each player's limitations. Melksham and Tmac come to mind here on the kicking side. We lack a quarterback who can take a few contested marks down back. A Scarlet, Harry Taylor type. Very hard to find. We still lack a clean/quick game breaking outsider in the mid field who can break the lines and find or direct the ball more effectively towards targets i50 and maintain this role/effort/cleaness and run for most of the game. Having said that we might be seeing them unfold right now from the likes of Petrac, Harmes, Salem and/or Stretch. More games into all of them they should slowly improve, building better tanks, making less rookie errors etc.

6. Jeffy (1st / 4.53) 5. Clarry (2nd / 4.43) 4. Salem (3rd / 4.03) 3. Spencil (12th / 2.98*) 2. ANB (5th / 3.83) 1. Harmes (6th / 3.75) *No hit out stats included. Big Maxy's results around the ground (also excluding hit outs) were, Rnd 1 ... 1.45 and Rnd 2 ... 3.28. Big Maxy's average score in 2016 was 2.72 Worst 3 (weighted statistics only) Weids (22nd / 0.38) Melksham (21st / 1.18) Hannan (20th / 2.20)

Thumbs up on the pushing up of Vince/Salem although Vince is a perpetual big bomb into forward 50 player. Not sure you can be just that in today's game and survive/help the team win more often. IF we get Gus right and into some decent form and Mr Vince doesnt lift/change his disposal methods, i would bring GUs in as a direct replacement but only in that wing (outside) role pushing forward. Tim Smith and Pedders are the only serious alternatives as the 3rd tall at this point. - Smith/Pedders (whoever performs better at Casey)....straight in for Hannan. - Hogan for Weeds - Omac/Hibberd (whoever performs better at Casey) for 'no contested ball/turnover king/no run off HB' Milkshake.

I realise DE% is a very loose stat and very dangerous on its own but noticed we were a fair way off previous weeks and Freo's yesterday (and last week). Noting the AFL medium term team 'average' is approx 73%....... Rnd 1 .... 74.7% (W) Saints 70.4% Rnd 2 .... 74.5% (W) Blues 70.3% Rnd 3 .... 70.1% (L) Cats 71.1% Rnd 4 .... 71.7% (L) Dockers 74.5% ~ Commence rants on how horrible/meaningless stats are

We had a +1 down back early on Lord. They got on top slowly around the stoppages and as Sandi started to find or direct the ball favourably to his targets and/or those targets started reading him better. Fyfe, Hill and McArtney keeping them in it early and then slowly getting on top with Sandi's assistance. They had their +1 around the ball early and most of the time throughout the match which we never seriously addressed. Thought this cost us dearly in the end with the number of clearances they extracted and quickly into their 50. I thought the mountain man did a sterling job under the circumstances though and even took a few nice clunkers and some nice goals. I actually dont think we were offensive enough as we tended to be happy to try and work our way backwards as you were suggesting far too often (i agree it became very predictable), and we were also too slow from off HB to get the ball into 50 when the opportunity arose, fluffing it around laterally around HB and even across HF at times failing to put Freo under pressure often enough. Freo did a great job of working their way around our +1 defence and finding a free player somewhere inside 50 or alternatively happy to just plonk it in quickly, taking their chances with the havoc ball on the ground, the ball bouncing luckily their way for the easy pick up and goal on a few occasions. Our biggest fail though IMO was our failure to handle their heavy press in the 3rd. Very hard to get the ball out under such circumstances for any team but i thought it was badly handled. We were happy to hang off our opponents sitting 60/70 meters from goal, instead of manning up and putting pressure on them and contesting. One on one was the way to go. Back each individual player to beat their direct opponent instead of allowing a panic kick to be easily marked and driven straight back in under extreme heat and havoc for eventual easy goals by a Freo player who has 5/10/15 meters on his opponent time after time. This, our continual backwards/lateral play (the ball being worked/switched around the back half often unnecessarily) and the failure to flood in the last 2 to 3 minutes were the stand out fails of coaching on the day from where i was sitting. Goody and the boys still have a fair bit of learning left if we are to win/ice close games like this in future. If they keep playing and using strategies like yesterday, expect to be in games for longer, just don't expect to win many of the close ones.

And make finals. Freo had plenty of finals experience In their team yesterday. We have very little. Every loss is super costly to this teams potential progress. Finals is a must this year IMO given our lack of experience and the decade out of them. We are in no position to be blooding players who are clearly NQR or not ready for the big league just yet.

I would guess many probably aren't genuine supporters bandi that's why. It's a social club, they go there to catch up with a few buddies and business mates, talk shop and forget about their woes or daily grind over a few quiet ones or maybe more than a few! Footy isn't their main game or passion in most cases I wouldn't think. Im sure there's a few genuine passionate ones but if they got too noisy or rowdy they would probably be told to settle down or they'll be shown the door by the uppity officials ! ? If you're a seriously passionate MFC supporter then the MCC is probably not the place to hang out. A fair percentage would also be non MFC members and a small percentage probably barrack for other teams including the opposition.

AF there is no 'saving' Weeds and no room for someone to be 'carried' at this level. That's ok at high school or amateurs level. He occasionally shows glimpses of promise when out in space and gifted the ball when the whole team's doing well. Never seen him stand up when things aren't going so well. Had another opportunity yesterday 15 meters out and failed. All that will happen if we keep flogging the horse is..... ....Weeds' defender will be more likely to drop off him most of the time and go third up to blanket Hogan. Then we have two forwards who will be ineffective in the air (one already is...Hogan will be less effective) and only one who 'might' impact a little at ground level. As I said before yesterday's match, a Tim Smith or even an 80% fit (or thereabouts) Pedders is at least a 50% improvement on Weeds at this points. Weeds wouldn't be the first player to have had a peek at what the AFL looks like before returning to a lessor league to work on his craft and build a bigger bod & tank. He is miles off it at this point and wasn't anywhere near it when they first trialled him late last year. Unfortunately some coach/s or assistant within the FD has decided he 'shows' something and is 'too good' for Casey. Big big mistake. No one is too good unless they have the tank and are performing at a decent level on the main stage comsistantly most weeks. He might end up being good and needs to be persisted with (when ready) but he is a glaring black hole at this point. When we change the attitude that 'promising' players should be gifted as many games as possible until they get to an acceptable AFL level at the selection table we will finally turn things around and start winning 3/4/5 games in succession and start making finals. If we don't, we won't and as supporters we will continue to scratch our heads and ask a bazillion questions as to why we continually can't quite get there and continue to lose very winnable matches, like yesterday.

Yep....a toenail but he did Mono. You can rest easy , at least on that bit anyway :-S

This is Melbourne we are talking about. Just flood and play as ugly as needed for the win FCS

1. A solid first half 2. A horrid 3rd quarter in terms of not doing the hard yards running the other way and pressure acts? Freeo (Hunt,Fyfe and others) played out of their skins and busted us in the stoppages. The number of times i saw Sandi bunt the short thrown ball in towards the boundary with hill already at full tilt picking up the crumbs was annoying. 3. Jones & Viney were well covered on the day and bobbed up here and there but mostly innefective. 4. We have a very young side who are prone to not playing the percentages a little too often when the heat is on. 5. Vince had another ordinary disposal/decision making game. 6. Watts/Spencil (Mountain Man) were admirable but the lack of a decent KPF up forward was glaring. 7. Jeffy waa incredible! 8. Why didnt we flood after the Viney goal??? Horrible coaching

Bing from where I was sitting absolutely nothing worked well in our forward line last week. Remembering it was indoors so no random gusts of wind etc. The only match that made me feel more ill than last week's umpteen misses were some from the '87' prelim ? At least the players had some sort of excuse there....arctic Park (including a hand of God gale force swish of wind which saw an initially dead straight through the middle kick from Yater vere of its perfect trajectory in the last 10 meters which would have sealed the match ie, Big Jim would have been hugged instead of screamed at by Swooper) and playing one of the greatest teams of the modern era.

OD the form Weids is in at the moment I doubt anyone would offer you more than evens anyway! ?

Wise even an 75% - 80% Pedders would offer at least a 50% (or more) impact and effect than Weids is having at the moment I would think. And he can also pinch hit in the ruck to relieve Watts a little more and allow him to impact up forward more often (hopefully). Also a potential defensive option if we got desperate. Weids can only play a single role at the moment. Not only is he way off AFL level he is also unable to help out/impact anywhere else. Our best chance for finals in over a decade. I hope we don't blow it at the selection table by being stubborn/having too much faith in any one player. Whether it's Weids or Specky Magee! just play whoever is having the most impact/results/form and who is most versatile as long as they're given a run of at least 3 weeks or so to get AFL match fit etc and a fair crack at it. If Weids goes back and shows some stand out form with Casey and Pedders has had a good run at it and fails....then he gets another crack etc etc. Apply the same principles to every position on the field and we play finals (subject to no further injury woes).

Apart from Jeffy in Rnd 11 vs the Hawks last year, last week's game by Weids was the lowest 'weighted' statistical score of any MFC player in any match this year and last. And Jeffy was dropped following that match. Even Hannan has a greater average weighted statisitical output (impact?) at this early stage averaging 1.68 vs 1.38 for Weid. Jeffy scored 0.25 last year in that Rnd 11 match vs Weids 0.38 vs the Cats. Even Big M playing about half a match scored 0.35 around the ground and that doesn't include any hit out stats. The bull's weighted score was 0.78. Unacceptable also but still double the weighted output (statistically) of Weids. Darcy performing at that level must have contributed towards securing some of the Pies many losses in 2016. Surely we don't want to be going backwards by accepting performances at that level (or worse) In an ongoing sense by any player? Sends a poor message to others also I would have thought.

Structure assumes the player can impact the match, take a few pack marks i50, bust packs for smalls/others to feed off front and square or take a few pack/contested marks/on the lead etc and kick 2 to 3 goals most weeks Pro. Weids does very little of these things right now. He may do in future given enough time but he just isn't ready and hasn't been no matter how much the match comittee FD (others on here etc) might "wish" and hope that he will immediately be. He is at least another pre season away from impacting to a level that sees him as a regular "impact player" up the spine and key to our overall structure.

I stand corrected Xar. On that assessment then he IS the key forward this week. If that is the case are we asking too much of JW? Resting ruck duties also for at least 15% - 20% of the time plus a key forward role and also possibly playing a +1 role across half back or through the middle (pushing high) at times. Watts is good but pretty sure the last time i looked he didn't have a giant S plastered across his chest. Agree with OD, Pedders should have been the In for Weids (or in this case Smith) or just let Smith settle for his 2nd shot at it on a wider and more expansive G against lessor rated opposition. Confidence is a funny thing in football but you can't get it if you aren't on the park. As a match committee if you "back" a rookie to come in at least 'back" your own initial decision and give him 2 to 3 weeks to settle, find the pace of the game, and show something. Just as they've done with Weids who has shown marginal to no impact after 6 trials. Otherwise why bring him in in the first place knowing it will probably take at least that many matches to see a return?

He is effectively "the man" this week chook. You can argue Watts should be but he doesn't have the height or spring to ever be considered a key forward. Weids has to be the most luckiest forward after last week's 'worst on ground performance' and pretty horrible the week before also. Tim Smith wasn't great either but at least did what a forward is supposed to do and kicked a lousy goal which was better than most on the day. We effectively have no genuinely dangerous options in the forward line outside of Watts and an odd cameo (maybe) from a very young and inexperienced Trac. So we 'out' our only genuine (potentially) dangerous key forward in Smith and who do we bring in to replace him? No one. We bring in a potentially under done Frost and kick out OMac who was exposed last week on occasions but only because we allowed Hawkins to match up on him for longer than 30 seconds (which should never have been allowed to happen)!! Otherwise I though he held his own when not on Hawkins. IF we win this one, we do so only from extreme mid field effort/Max output and shut down roles from Bugg and the like. Tyson would want to have a blinder after last week. This is a must win if we are to have any chance of finals. Good luck boys. Let's hope we can steal a win as I personally can't see where enough goals are going to come from in that line up.

I now have a phobia of MFC forwards kicking for goal

Thanks for the reminder iva ....why not!

Other teams have won premierships without a top line dominating ruckman, even in recent times. Just get on with playing the best footy we can with the most in form players (whether it's up and comers, older guys, whoever...just play the best "in form' who is showing they are up to it at Casey for a few weeks on end for the role required at AFL level) and we still make the finals, subject to no further injury woes

SW if you could pls refrain from raining down abuse on RTG...ty ??