Demon Dynasty

The Crows are now a game and 6% ahead of Brissvegas

JHF runs about 20 ....then gets caught red hot. Goes to ground. Play on 🤣

Wow they won't free Butters. Took on two tacklers... spills the ball as he hits the ground. Too funny.

Good player JHF but what a show pony stager

Yes i suspect he's done that in the last few off seasons Roost. Looks to be in tip top condition.

I'm interested but not this season so much. He's at least one (maybe even two) pre-seasons away from us knowing whether he'll make the grade or not. At this point he's physically a long way off impacting much at VFL, let alone the next step up.

Spot on Stinga. We are bereft of an extra quality mid. That should be our highest priority just ahead of finding the ever elusive KF to replace BBB and/or Petty if he leaves at season's end.

He'd have to put in a couple of blinders to push Sparrow out me thinks Deever. You never know but probably unlikely.

Parfit is a fringe player at the mogs. He was competing for the same spot as Narkle for a while. Gave the nod to Parfit but took them a few seasons which tells you roughly where Parfit's at imv.

Probably a bit of a learning curve for Joey in this position Deever. Mostly played off a wing or as an outside mid at Casey. Keep in mind his last game was his first full game for 2024 as well. Rnds 1, 3, 4 & 5 he was coming on as sub. Doesn't really allow a player to find the pace and his feet in a match on such limited minutes. Reckon he'll improve slowly as he gets more game time in general and more time in this particular role. He'd want to get a move on though as he'll have Bowey & Salo chomping at his heels in the next few weeks.

Can't see this happening but we do have the cap space to entice. Very early days but the kid certainly hit the ground in red hot form and raised my eyebrows when watching parts of that game. Laser like passes off both sides. Not many can use both sides effectively, let alone so skilled on the non-preferred. He also has the wheels and very good decisions coming inside. Reminds me a little of Brent Harvey.

Fabulous thanks Andy I realise it's not open access nor easy to get hold of anyone within the four walls. But if there's any chance we could snaffle Sam Radford for a quick catch up to talk game style and tactics at some point! Alternatively maybe Choco if you haven't caught up with him before or for quite a while.

Yes to those saying we are a WIP in terms of moving from a combative, contested, clearance team trying to get the ball inside 50 quickly. Then looking to lock the ball in our 50 plus repeat entries. Instead moving more towards a possession / move the ball forward whenever possible as quickly as possible style. Less lateral and switching. Not that we were ever a big switch team. Hoyne also feels we are a WIP on moving away from the former somewhat and trying to head towards a more effective efficient ball movement style. We were ranked 14th in ball movement in 2023, so far this season we're ranked 8th. Room for improvement but that's a significant sign that we are well on our way here.

Makes our backline and those around him stand tall. Never shirks a contest. Leaves everything on the park. Almost always in our top 5 to 10 rated players every week, bar when he's returning from injury or hindered by a niggle. Premiership immortal. What more can you say... it's Steven Stonewall May!

It's sounding a little more like it will be the latter, at best, Andy. On a brighter note, and while touching my head plus any other wood at hand, our injury list is starting to shrink to a fairly negligible level.

Sounds promising Mr Bin. Will keep the faith and assume we are on target 🤞🏼👍🏼

My biggest concern is that in the same game POST BYE last season (courtesy of Andy's 'Last Time They Met' thread) ... MELBOURNE 2.1.13 4.8.32 6.11.47 8.15.63 GEELONG 3.4.22 4.7.31 5.10.40 11.12.78 The Demons made the long trip down the highway and looked the winner until the final break but ran out of legs even though they were coming off their midseason bye. My biggest concen here is we are effectively coming off the same rest period as the bye when we met them last season (albeit at Tax Payer Park not the G) and the same number of days (break) as the bye prior to meeting the Tigers last match. We appeared to come out flat as a tack against the Tigers and ran out of puff in the last against the Cats last season under the same 'break' scenario. So, if it's true that we treat the players to four days off and then attempt to cram in an extra main training session into the remaining seven days before these matches in order to make up for the longer 10 day break)...AND its not working. Ie; we are running out of puff in a significant way (vs the Cats 2023) or coming in flat in a signifcant way (the first half vs the Tigers last week). If so then why do it? You're effectively setting yourself up for a potential loss by adding the extra day's training in to the standard 7 day schedule. We got away with it against a severely depleted team in the Tigers. You won't against the top liners like the Cats this week. Alternatively if the extra day's considered a MUST from a HP POV, why not give the boys three days off instead of four and use that extra day at the end for recovery from the extra training session!? That should, in theory, bring them into the match a little more fresh or maybe alot more and potentially set us up to have a better chance of winning vs cramming in an extra (3rd) sesh into a standard 7 day break schedule that usually only has 2 main sessions. Bottom line... you can have all the amazing strategies, tactics and players in the world... which is fantastic. But bring them (or a fair chunk of em) into a match where many are cooked .... well good luck as most won't be able to execute as per the plans / tactics as required or for as long as needed to beat the best. Also, surely we wouldn't throw in an extra (3rd) serious session this week knowing we're coming up against the top of the table team and then a top eight team in great form in the Blues only 5 days later? A potential recipe to lose both matches imho. And IF the players MUST have their four days off for whatever reason, surely a huge match against the Cats is more than acceptable as the 3rd training session that the FD would (usually) like to throw in to this 10 day break scenario knowing we have a tough match to follow up five days later!?? We also don't bat deep in the midfield. No point overly thrashing them...will only result in under performance and/or potential soft tissue injuries that we can't afford.

I hope someone in the area had the presence of mind to call the security number for this imbecile WC

Just finished listening to the podcast. And read through the ABC article you posted in the "How rest and preparation dictate AFL performance" thread. No doubt the FD are all over the rest vs 'training loads' ratios throughout a season and have the experience / data on every player etc. However i'm starting to wonder if Bin might be on the money regarding the impact of the extra training session on a long break between matches such as the bye week against the Tigers and this week against the Cats. If that theory holds any weight then i'd expect another ordinary or very poor opening quarter or half vs the Cats followed by some sort of uptick in the last three quarters or half. Hopefully not, as the Cats will eat us alive and win comfortably under that scenario. The alternative is we play it smart on the training track and gym, particularly for the more senior players. Maybe not even throw the extra session at them and we come out cherry ripe from the get go??

Thanks very much Kev & WCW for the updates and efforts first thing Monday! Have not seen or heard of Jack doing anything separate to the main group so far. IMHO has not been the same player since the trip to Adelaide. I figured it could be just a fatigue / form or minor niggle thing. We're only talking a couple of off games since and coming off a high benchmark but also might be a little niggle going on here? Just speculation and hoping this isn't anything other than a corkie or similar (at worst). The comparative numbers from the first five rounds vs the last two rounds appear to support the drop off. We'll need him AND Clarry back to near their best for the Cats. Worth a watch as the week progresses. #7 J Viney Rnds 0 - 4 Rnds 5 & 6 % Change Contested Poss 10.8 8.5 -21.3 Uncontested Poss 12.2 10.0 -18.0 Effective Disposals* 14.8 13.0 -12.2 Disposal Effeciency % 67.9 70.5 2.6 Contested Marks* 0.2 0.0 -100.0 Marks inside 50* 0.2 0.5 150.0 One Percenters* 2.8 0.5 -82.1 Clearances* 4.2 4.0 -4.8 Rebound 50s* 2.6 2.0 -23.1 Inside 50s* 4.8 4.0 -16.7 Tackles* 5.0 4.5 -10.0 Score Involvements* 5.2 2.5 -51.9 Meters Gained 377.6 309.0 -18.2 Turnovers* 4.2 4.5 7.1 Intercepts* 4.0 0.5 -87.5 Tackles Inside 50* 1.0 0.0 -100.0 Time On Ground % 81.6 73.5 -8.1 Goals* 0.6 0.0 -100.0 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 3.9 2.6 -33.5 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Well that's dissapointing. Some work required on my PR skills 😩

As a follow up to the above. Assuming we're putting in an extra session on longer breaks, specifically 10 day ones like the bye and this week's. Why is the Coach, FD &/or high performance crew, giving the players four days off? Why not just give them three days off and that then gives them the extra day to recover from the extra session? This turns the week into an eight day program instead of trying to squash an extra (third) session into a standard seven day schedule that would normally only have two main sessions (plus everything else of course). One day could make all the difference to any jelly type leg effect (heavy legs or whatever you want to call it) from cramming that extra session in to the usual 7 day schedule. Maybe the four days isn't a club based decision and insyead is built in to the player's CBA and non-negotiable?

I agree on your assessment of the extra session Bin as being almost a certainty in the 10 day break between Lions & Tigers matches. Assuming that's the case then this would also be the case this week leading in to the Cats and no doubt the bye as well. While it was only one player, and he may not represent what's happening with the entire playing group as they often have tailored programs and at varying stages of fitness / recovery / age etc, Melk confirmed this last season. According to him they're asked to do extra sessions on these longer than normal (i assume his understanding of normal meaning the usual 7 day break as he mentioned 6 days as being a shorter break ...see below) breaks. He followed that up saying "anything shorter like a 6 day break" and the training sessions / loads are carefully managed and usually reduced. He also said it may vary somewhat for individuals as each player has their own program depending on years in the system, injury status and they're usual role in the team. He said from his experience that's pretty much it and that apart from the longer/shorter week adjustments, most weeks are very similar and don't change that much. When asked about loading, he responded with "what's loading?". I attempted to explain it as best i could ie; meaning extra sessions, either on the track and/or in the gym outside of what a normal week might entail in order to prep and aim to be at peak fitness/strength for a big match a few weeks away rather than specifically the one coming up, he said aside from the longer or short break adjustments (as per the above), he was not aware of anything like that. The article from the ABC (courtesy of Andy) would appear to confirm Melk's view of reduced training loads in between matches on a shorter 6 day (or less) break. Not that this article is necessarily representative of every single club either. However, given we're discussing this article as one potential sample it's worth noting that ex Essendon staffer, Andrew Little, when speaking about shorter time frames between games and adjusting the training schedule, said... "A compressed schedule is going to mean lighter training loads overall as the games themselves will provide the majority of the physical load," Little articulates. "On a six-day break, one of the post sessions will likely be merged with another and the main session will have reduced load. On a five-day break, individual craft or recovery skills are likely dropped and the main session is drastically reduced. Sometimes that's only a couple of drills in those situations."

You two must've been reading the Stats Files - 2024 thread where this was covered on Saturday. By all means feel free to pinch juicy stuff from there but in future just put a credit as to where you sourced this from pls! 😆 But on a serious note.... Gawndy is correct. It's referred to as the 'Defensive Mid Zone' which is... the area from the top of the D50 arc up to the centre circle. Laptop man (Kingy) refers to it as 'the wedge'. Not to be confused with a choc wedge or a wedgy! My understanding is it's a carve out of how much of your total score is sourced as coming from this area of the ground as a percentage. The source (of the possession chain) being captured to calculate this ratio might include; Winning the ball from intercept, winning the ball at stoppage / CB (clearance) and/or winning disputed ball at ground level (eg, loose ball gets). It may also be just score from turnovers in that part of the ground but it doesn't appear to be that as it was not mentioned and the term 'score source' suggests it is referencing 'from which part of the ground the scoring (possession) chain commenced' as a percentage of total score sources. Don't hold me to those interpretations though. Would need absolute clarification from a Champion Data rep (which is pretty tricky... maybe @WheeloRatingscan help on this?) Maybe Andy, Bin & George can score a bit of a coup and get Radford our strategist in to the post match podcast and grill him on it! Not that Sam would give much away. Maybe Choco instead, who at leaast might give the odd tasty morsel up with a nudge and a wink 😄