Demon Dynasty

Of course he is RP, but why the need to voice it in public, even jokingly. While he's part of the playing list he's part of the team and it would surely be better for everyone concerned (particularly for the club) if he kept it in-house. He can still voice his opinion to Roos the FD if he wants and his voice is then heard by the most relevant people 'within' the club.

It's very hard to play anywhere on the field in today's fast break end to end running game without a turn of pace or the ability/agility to find it or work your way out of a tackle or congestion. You also need it to quickly find your opponent once the opposition gain's possession and close down space when working a zone/press defence / forward press. Even KPPs and KPFs need a turn of pace to get a break on their opponent on the lead, or to make up ground on a KPF when defending in order to kill the ball. About the only position where it isn't a must is the main ruck role. But even if ruckman don't have pace the quality ones who survive and prosper at AFL level, more often than not, have to have some sort of weapon. Like ..... a great pack mark (eg., Cox), a significant height advantage ( eg., Sandilands) or great athletic ability/agility (eg., Nic Nat / Ryder). Grimes and Trengove would have to be seriously considered in any end of year trades in this regard and i think Bail/Strauss would also need to be considered. We desperately need a speed injection on the outside and off HB going forward or we will not win a game this year, even if with both Dawes/Hogan on the park together and fully fit. We are playing a "slow tempo" stop start style of possession footy off HB and through the middle once we gain possession. This style is ok for maintaining possession (when we don't produce a panick clanger, which is far too often) and protecting a lead in the last 5 minutes or so of each quarter or preventing the opposition from scoring 2 to 3 cheap goals in overtime or to hold on to the ball to win a match. Playing this possession style for 80% or so of match time is not the answer. All it does is ensure we will have most of our possessions in the back half, chipping the ball around from one side of the ground to the other as the opposition has had so much time to push up and press and also set up a wall one kick behind play. Then if we manage to push it past center, the movement is slow enough (generally side to side) it allows the opposition's defence enough time to slip an extra number or 2 back (from the mid/ruckman) to crowd out any potential lead up through the middle. We are then forced to look for targets out wide. Low percentage shot on goal resulting more often than not in a point or out on the full. To easy for most quality AFL sides to counter. In short, the possession "keepings off" style of game we are presently playing should be the 20% rule at the correct game time during a quarter. We need more players off HB (Garland) and through the middle fast paced enough and hopefully skilled enough to instead play the fast break/run and carry (yes that means bouncing the ball and sometimes having opponents run at you, sometimes baulking them, sometimes tacking the tackle but keeping your arms free to handball to next free player etc... ie., creating the free man and overlap) "Geelong" style of game 80% or so of game time. Only then will we see a team that can truly start to compete against mediocre AFL teams who are already doing this and doing it quite well. When our forwards (if we finally get them fit and ready to play) then start to click in, this will also then straighten us up much more often when coming in (instead of low percentage out wide attempts to pass). Yes, it's easy to sit back behind a keyboard and say these things. But this is what needs to come to pass if we're to ever see this team truly become competitive against mediocre teams. When it does, player's will feel it, their confidence will slowly return. And believe it or not folks, this club will actually start WINNING games!

Sorry, i must have been seeing things, did they play today Titan?

I never said he was. I'd just like to know when our highest paid (and arguably our highest rated) player is likely to return or whether he will return at all. And if the club doesn't know the answer then say so rather than sugar coating it with expressions like "extended period of time" and "may require some time to overcome". This could be any length of time....from 426 till eternity. Maybe i'm expecting too much for a professional football club in 2014. I should just expect to turn up and not know who is playing from one week to the next. Under your regime we should just bend over a barrel and take it up the clacker then....we could even play this bloke in our line up and i should be happy as long as i get to pick up my Schwab inspired retro (Fitzroy marooon) scarf each year ....

Yeh yeh....that just proves how much weight i carry on here ... just you wait Henry Higgins just you wait!

T is your Demon emblem sitting down and crapping up there? Maybe on us demonlanders as we spew forth a myriad of.... well....

Some of those would be nice too

Love your optimism RTG, can i have some of what you're having?

haha i forgot about that incident...nice

Which sporting club Leon?

Given our fitness record i think i'd rather see him swimming laps

Not necessarily Red. They may have simply just walked out and on permanent LOA without the club knowing

We have no idea what effects or benefits, if any, where delt to players as there is apparantly no record (according to Club/AFL officials... and contrary to Dank's version) of what was taken, how much was taken and when/where it was administered. While i agree, the initial benefits (if any) may have worn off, those same potential benefits may have particularly assisted and fast tracked the younger less developed players within the playing group to retain and maintain their size increase (if there was one) from a much higher starting base than had they not allegedly taken named substances.

I think the AFL should be congratulated for ensuring that half the team didn't receive infraction notices, quarantining the issue to last season only, enabling Essendrug to field a full team (along with recruiting multi premiership experience in Chappy and Captain playing, who publicly admitted taking said banned substance) and are still kicking ass this year. Congrats to Vlad and co.

When he says his re-signing is "subject to" seeing whether a coach re-signs or not, i believe it is holding the club to ransom. If he says i havent made a decision, waiting till later in the year etc that would be entirely along normal lines a la Buddy

In the words of the great Seigfried.... "I find that hard to believe!"

No, but it was mentioned in Misson's autopsy report

Mate i drive past many training sessions (as part of my job) and i've been watching him run laps for the most part of the last 12 months. I'm not so sure seeing him "run laps" at any pace is necessarily a sign of something good. It could just as well be a bad sign. Maybe If i see him in a full on drill session with the rest of the undead, then yeah, a chubby might not be far away

Yup...count me in

I see where this is going Song You don't give a TOSS about midgets!

No No No and No As much as i rate Chip and hope he stays on next year, i'm not big on Ransom demands on a club by individual players. And we all know who the last player was to do that....

Quite sad that the members don't get to know a single detail about what's up and absolutely no idea on a possible return time frame. Just nothing. I wish Mitch all the best but as members paying over our hard earned to support the club, as well as turning up and spending more time/$ at the games we attend, surely we are entitled to know some basics like the above on any player, let alone our highest paid player? I agree mate, close the thread. It's a whole lotta stuff about NOTHING..and we know NOTHING

There never was going to be any WYL. Chappy must have been the sweetner in the points deduction deal with the AFL. Nice outcome for the bongers i feel. And ditto mate.... and that's saying something as i hate both teams with a passion

It's a discussion site. That's what we do here, discuss and pontificate all things MFC. If you don't like it no one's forcing you to read it. Then again we could always do with a few more smart asses and snipers on here. Not related to Satyr by any chance? Welcome aboard junior

Yeh i know mate.... it's a very dark navy blue i think. That's another reason i prefer stuie's version. The White banner also stands out against the darker background, clearly embolding the nick name... Demons.