Demon Dynasty

Does a good job at hosting a few TV shows about footy. Had ample opportunity to support the club officially and been asked this same thing on umpteen occasions by his fellow commentators. Always been clear he's not interested and only wants to continue in his present role/career.

He was a quality player for the club and i'll always appreciate the service and committment he gave on the field, but the club needs to grow up and move beyond ex players who won't committ but still like to be "seen" to be doing something on the odd occasions when asked.

Inviting the likes of Garry in (or whoever it is) to provide some sort of advice each time we have a change of coach or a crisis arises, smacks of amature hour.

P.S. I think it's a tad early to be calling for Neeld's head (inference of the OP banner IMO) but that's just my op. Keeping the faith for a while longer...not sure how much longer though. I guess the next 8 to 10 weeks will tell the tale.

Actually, the whole team is to blame-why single out individuals.

THERE IS NO TALK ON THE FIELD.

The players dont know where to pass, tap, run , jump tackle, chase, shepherd or bump-they never talk.Ever.

They just get bullied.

Is this because they seem to lack any belief & confidence in each other? Devoid of winning for so long maybe. Confidence totally shot. Also the other gaping hole is leadership and not a single star to lift the moral and standard of skills/finish.

Too many basic things just don't happen, like someone staying off the contested mark (and contested/congested packs where there's already enough of our players contesting), front and square in our forward line. Without wanting to single anyone out ...McKenzie at one point in forward pocket, marking contest at Punt Road end, rushes towards contest instead of sitting off a little to see where the ball falls, Port player gets it instead and they transition quickly out of defence....golden goal opportunity missed. Many more examples if i was willing to suffer through a replay.

Dumb, dumb and dumber!

Hate to cherry pick a good post, but saw a bit of the preseason and Davey definitely did not deserve to play, that was a correct call.

Sellar was a lot worse than Garland, whether it be fumbling chest marks in attack early in the game or neglecting to punch in the last line of defence, instead going for a chest mark, letting his port opponent take a mark in front of him was an out and out disgrace. He was pathetic today and should not play next week. Dawes in for him, Tommy Mac for Gillies, another who was much worse than Garland.

Your entitled to your opinion.

I watched 2 or 3 pre season matches and in most i saw Davey having a red hot go and showing some signs versus the last 2 seasons (a low base i realise). But worth a role of the dice IMO given our lack of leg speed and poor disposal skills. Davey's main problem is his inability (or unwillingness?) to "close check" his opponent when we (he) don't have the ball. Often playing off his opponent, allowing his opponenet an easy possession down back, then trying to chase him down with his pace after the horse has bolted! So yes he has defficiencies for sure, but in the short term we need the former i reckon. Maybe off the bench and in short bursts. At least give him one last chance for 3 to 4 matches and see if he can deliver, even off the bench in short 5 to 10 minute bursts maybe.

As for Sellar, i'll back him above Garland at this point in defence (from here). Although i don't think either show signs of being star players in this area of the ground or anywhere really.

Unfortunately, Sellar played most of last season in defence (finally improving somewhat towards the end) only to be groomed pre season into a pinch hitting forward role? I think he can be forgiven at this point for not knowing whether he's playing Arthur (up forward) or Martha (down back) as a stop gap and having difficulty getting his "defensive or offensive?" mindset correctly tuned as to whether to attempt to mark or punch during one defensive contest during the match. Agree he was far off it today, as were most of the team, but Garland IMO just doesn't show that he's improving his already average at best game from season to season. To me, garland has had plenty of time to show some coolness and footy smarts when placed under a bit of pressure, but most of the time he hits the panick button, disposing very poorly, choosing the wrong option and/or panick disposals into no mans land when something better was often an option.

The same could be said of Garland i guess, who was played up forward towards the end of last season with some degree of success. But from what i've witnessed at this point, Garland having approx 4 seasons of football behind him, and Sellar less than 2, if i had no other choice i'd take Sellar as a stop gap down back. Not the long term solution by any means but marginally a better option in terms of the damage they are both capable of (to us i mean lol). Sadly we are so lacking in depth this is what we have come to. Some marginal improvements across lines (maybe) in what it seams is a pretty average list to start with, with a few exceptions.

I still cant believe Dean Kent - probably the most exciting prospect pre season didnt get a run today when so many did that contributed zero.

Agree Norm. The selection aspect was mind boggling for mine.

Ability to spread and test/break down the opposition's defensive set ups/zone (ie., speed across the ground and quick/clean transition from clearances won).....

• The FD (MN) leaves Davey out, who IMO had a pretty decent pre season and has a bit of toe still left in him and decent disposal by foot and can still run a player down on occasions (read perceived or real pressure on the opponents to make a quicker decision...ie hopefully panick a little). Couldn't have been worse than some of the lead foots we had on the park today anyway.
• Blease sitting as sub and only brought on in the final quarter? If he's that underdone he shouldn't have been in the best 22 (surely better off playing half to 3/4 at Casey in preparation for next week or week after!)
• Kent i realise is only a young rookie and far from being able to cope at this level for more than a quarter or 2 IMHO. But we have to start blooding him. From the little i've seen so far, he appears to have the capability to hit up targets coming i50 more often than not (and in other parts of the ground) and this should be fast tracked ASAP given we are presently sadly lacking in this aspect (that's when targets do actually lead up hard....which is rare in itself). Even if it's only for 5 to 10 minute bursts off the bench in his early formative days. The luxury of waiting/waiting for a player to learn his craft in the Magoos is not on this club's side any longer.
• Jetta is a must inclusion and should have been in today given his pre season form. Can't u'stand why he was left out yet we place so much faith in others like Pederson/Gillies who have so far shown very little and certainly don't have the speed over the ground that Jetta offers (not that he is lightning but he is compared to some in this team at present).

Defence.... Neeld has prided himself on this aspect and made it a pretty big priority. However to me the following is obvious...

• Garland is a liability in this team atm and def not up to AFL standard at this point (as are a number of others who played in defence today) and should be replaced directly by Sellar as soon as Dawes returns.
• Watts was exposed today as being next to useless in the loose man role when the pressure is on. I say it's time to role the dice and play him alongside Howe, Clarke and Dawes up forward, make him earn his spot and give us a decent return on the investment placed in him. Too easy to be unaccountable in this loose man role. When the going gets a little tough and there's some big bodies being thrown around in the clinches, he tends to go missing. At this point any returns we've seen have been either mediocre to good (at best) or he goes missing completely (like today). If he has that much talent it's time to show it in his fourth season. Either give us a return up forward OR make him play accountable one on one footy down back and prove he can shut down and run off his opponent. His been given the No.4 guernsey for a reason. If he can't do either of these consistantly or well this year then we have a major inherent development problem at this club. Time to stand up.
• Swap T Mac in for Watts when ready but in a shut down accountable role that we know he is good for.

The Mid Field

• What a debut by young Jack. One of the best first game performances i've seen from any player at this club or any other club for that matter. However, IMO the Sylvia experiment has well and truly seen its day. He didn't stand up (again) today when the question was asked of him. His great games are far too few and in between. And his mind lacks an ability to play smart / clean powerful footy when it's expected and most needed. He's way past a junior yet to me he still plays in patches like he's a rookie and without the obvious footy smarts that you would expect to have seen him develop at this late stage. Time to give others like Magner and Couch a fair go, even though they may not be the long term answer either. I'd like to see them get a fair crack at it and lets see what they have.
• It is clear (to me) that we need to buy a super star mid into this line up who still has a good 3 to 4 years of football left in him to teach these blokes how to. Beyond Jones and a very green Jack, we're going to be very stretched through the mid field going into the next 2 to 3 seasons at this point. This is an important "part" of their development IMO. We have Dawes up forward who's come from a successful club. And i'd like to see us add one more to teach the youngsters in the next few years and lead them (and us as a club) out of the wilderness from the mid field. This to me is a massive key factor at the MFC right now but one which i fear we might not be able to fullfill.
• Royal, you've had a fair crack mate. If there's little to no improvement by round 6 to 8, i'd say thanks for your efforts so far but it's time to move on.

Quick clean transition from Defence into attack (both game plan/execution and mind set).....

Presently non existent (Blease excluded).

The Coach

IMO he has about 8 to 10 weeks to turn around this opening round disaster around. Until then i will wait and watch. Hoping for the best. But also preparing for the worst. Good luck and lets hope that he (we) can do so starting with the Bumbers next week.

6. Grimes

5. Viney

4. McKenzie

3. N Jones

2.

1. Blease

Wonder what the school teacher has to say about this one. I reckon inexperience and youth will get a run.

Pathetic.

Neeld can't roll that old cliche out against Port.

We had on average 10 more games per player on the park. Port also had 14 players with less than 50 games under their belt versus 10 players on our side.

In addition we were, on average, a slightly older team in age by 1 year. A minor gap i realise but we were still a more mature team on the park.

There's no excuses for todays pitiful performance against an at best (by season's end) bottom 5/6 opponent.

I say keep the buglar. If anything we need to give him more prominance on match day!

He'll be the making of this club if only we could parade him on a float so eveyone gets to see that amazing jacket and hear his amazing tones. Tut tut and tally ho chaps, an amazing cultural heritage before every home game what!

BTW, does anyone know what the fine might be for throwing eggs and tomatoes at someone on the hallowed MCG turf? Good therapy for every frustrated Demon supporter!

The Demons vs The Power Round 1, 2013 Team Stats

Total games played

Demons - 1,390

Power 1,162

Games Average

Demons - 63

Power 53

Age Average

Demons - 24

Power 23

Height Average

Demons - 187cm

Power 189cm

Weight Average

Demons - 88kg

Power 87kg

Number of players by category

0-49 Games

Demons - 10 / 17 (number of players/average games played)

Power - 14 / 15

50-99 Games

Demons - 6 / 89

Power - 3 / 80

100+ Games

Demons 6 / 130

Power 5 / 146

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

A big thank you to Fifty-5 for pointing out the total games error in my intitial post in the other pre game thread. For the first time in 3 years we're actually ahead on this count versus a non recent start up AFL club! No excuses Demons... lets rock!!

The Demons vs The Power Round 1, 2013 – Team Stats

Total games played

Demons - 1,390
Power – 1,922

Games Average

Demons - 63
Power – 87

Age Average

Demons - 24
Power – 23

Height Average

Demons - 187cm
Power – 189cm

Weight Average

Demons - 88kg
Power – 87kg

Number of players by category

0-49 Games

Demons - 10 / 17 (number of players/average games played)
Power - 14 / 15

50-99 Games

Demons - 6 / 89
Power - 3 / 80

100+ Games

Demons – 6 / 130
Power – 5 / 146

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

I am a lot like OD. a very patient man. We have to be to have followed Melb. for over 50 years.

I'm all for Neeld trying to build an uncompromising team. The NEVER SAY DIE attitude that won us 6 flags in 10 years.

Remember back to 1988 & 2000 if we had have been uncompromising we would have made a game of it.

Instead we were SOFT. 1994 the team got ahead of themselves and WC smacked us as deserved.

That's why he keeps reminding us we need to play 4 quarters and not get blown away.

The days of winning finals with one Q. of football died in the 70's. For years we have been front runners and drop our heads once we are 2 goals behind.

Let's see the Dees just grind the opposition into submission, it doesn't matter if we win by 20 goals or 1 point, it's just finding a way to win.

If I saw 3 games like that this year then that would be the best I have seen for many years.

Not a bad post Chippy. I think what we have in Neeld is a coach that's seen the best of it at the Pies and then the worst of it in his first year with us last season.

Personally i believe this puts Neeld in a great position to know where to take this club in terms of the infrastructure required, fitness levels and professionalism at all levels. At least in terms of what he's in charge of and able to control as well as the amount of resources provided to him by the club ($ & personell) versus other clubs. Obviously the Pies would have a much greater spend within the FD versus us so he is no doubt behind the eight ball a little in this area (in a direct comparison against the Pies anyway).

I also believe he's the ideal man for preparing this club to be "ready" to launch itself into matching it with the big boys in the AFL within 2 to 3 years from now. SUBJECT TO..... getting our draft/trade selections right and running a successful development program that can take many of the young recruits to another level as well as get the best out of the more senior crew.

I also felt Danners was quite good at the "off field" preperation of players pre match, but IMHO not so good with selection/match day strategy and tactics.

I'm fully confident that MN is getting the preperation/training/fitness side right, setting us up to match it with the big boys fairly soon. As for the selection/game day abilities i guess time will tell.

The question is do we have the personell ready to meet what's going to be asked of them, and are MN (NC etc) able to set us up (selection wise) for match day and most importantly MOTIVATE these boys into competing every moment of every quarter to the best they can?

I think we have to demand and expect a much higher standard from many of the boys this year, particularly those that have approx 80+ games under their belt already. We've had 2 pre-seasons under MN now and the injection of some more experienced players into the club means we should be able to not only compete with but win against lowly teams like Port , GCS, GWS, the Lions both at home and away as well as the doggies and the Blues (at least at the G anyway).

To me this is where the 7 to 8 wins (at least) should be coming from. Anything less (at worst close losses under say 2 goals to the Lions/Doggies away) against these lessor lights would be a major disspointment. A pass this year IMO, is winning most of these matches. A big bonus if we beat anyone else anywhere else at this point. Although i'm more than happy to take extra wins of course and would hope we can pull out a few against a few other Vic clubs. I'd also expect us to win at least 1 interstate match this year against even a half decent team (away) like the Lions.

While skill levels and maintaining structures (no injuries/fitness/footy smarts etc) will be critical, motivation, old fashioned G&T and the will to win (both as a team and as individuals) will also be major factors in a must win game for this club tomorrow.

1 win or loss wont make a season for any club, but i think tomorrow is critical for this club's confidence for the remainder of the year.

For a "winning" culture to emerge at this club and and to have any momentum at the start of this season, we must beat teams like Port at home. The time for excuses against these lowly clubs is over!

Great post Rusty

That day in Geelong i remember well, Jackovich kicked 8,8 and Lyon, Ox and chopper all chimed in with a bag.

Cant wait for Sunday.

Carn the Dees

Cheers Rock

I reckon the tide has to turn at some point. Hopefully this is the year we see a tipping point in our favour.

Young talent mixed with some decent senior injection just might be the right mix and tonic for hope, belief and most importantly the creation of a never say die, winning culture.

P.S. Love the pic of Balls mate. Could do with his leadership down back this year. Hopefully Watts will take another step and start to rally the troops with the help of Tommy Mc, Chip, Dunny, Jetta and even Nicho! Contrary to some i think Nicholson will become a key player for us, providing decent run and turning defence into attack with quick transitions/breaking lines etc (ie., quick transition = better opportunities for our forwards by isolating them and preventing numbers getting back versus a slower transition out of defence).

There's a massive Demon fan i know. Goes by the name "BIG POPPA".

He's been following the Demons since just after the last GF. In other words a pretty long time. Almost Old Dee territory! Note i said "almost" Old Dee!

He doesn't post on here but watches the goings on once in a while pre season and spasmodically through the season. He reckons Demonland needs an injection of peptides into the mix on here as it's a little too dour and negative of late leading into the season (in general, not in all posts obviously).

Big Poppa asked me to remind everyone on here of the following re how we might go in the opening round........

The year was 1994. In our lead up practice matches we crapped out losing to the Pies in the final practice match of that year, only kicking a total of 4 goals for the entire match. One week later, the opening round 1994, no one gave us a a chance against the cats, however we had other ideas......

http://finalsiren.com/MatchDetails.asp?GameID=1415&Code=7f3417889685e53b6349381e472a5518

In addition, we made the finals that year, beating Carlton in one of the best finals i've seen us play and thrashing the Doggies coming into the preliminary, but running into a pept up.....sorry...pumped up West Coast in Perth. I remember speaking to one offical at the club the year after that finals series and he claimed many within the club believed we had missed one of our biggest chances to snatch a GF since 64. However we did see a real star for the club absolutely shine during the early part of that series, and what an impact this young bloke had.....

I for one plan to give the boys everything i got on Sunday.

It's time for the Phoenix to finally emerge from the fire....It's time to start winning. Lets start by kicking the Power's ass back over the border where it belongs!

CARN THE MIGHTY DEMONS!.

With all due respect, I am taking notice. Practice matches are there to practice the game plan. We still seem not to have one. We had absolutely no structure. We have the worst midfield in the comp. I don't see how that will improve with the inclusion of Viney and an underdone Trengove for Rd 1 (Trengove no certainty to play anyhow for the 1st month). Today was not good enough.

Pringle, with all due respect to you, anytime i see Pedd in the ruck (see link below) during a pre season match, i'm taking no notice. I for one will be calling on Abaddon to intervene in our game plan If he's played there for any extensive period during the season proper (ie., beyond the 2 minutes it takes to replace an injured Jamer/Spencer etc while the sub comes on).

And if he is played there any longer than that and Abaddon fails to follow through, then i'll swim across the Yarra river naked during the middle of winter (that's assuming all our other ruck options aren't out injured that is. If so this statement is Null and Void!).

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-03-16/gold-coast-v-melbourne

Once Carlton have over 60,000 members they will want the 'G. Simple.

Will the AFL agree?

Of course they will. This has to be seen as our final wake up call.

We have 2 years to become competitive and relevant in the eyes of the AFL.

Yep. We're definitely on notice it would seem. The plans might have already been unofficially discussed by unseen men in unseen places in a preliminary sense.

That covers it wyl.

If it does not happen start thinking about 5 games at the dome of death

And not just 5 normal games OD. It'll be against the heavy hitters, like Port, Freeo and the 2 new franchises. Spectacular stuff. If we're lucky we might manage 15,000 - 17,000 on average against these teams if we start winning some games from here. Maybe 10,000 - 12,000 or so if we don't by 2015, and a third of those will probably be opposition supporters.

Already we are being overlooked for any official radio/tv coverage in the NAB cup, and try to get a review on any radio station post match on local Vic radio sport channels! Zilch, Zip, Nada. All we get now is a final score lol. And as for a retail recruiting drive (excluding to existing/lapsed members to renew) i can't say i've seen or heard anything in the media/billboards/net by the club to this point.

We are on the brink of becoming the forgotten AFL club if we don't start to win a decent number of games this year and keep improving from then on. We also need to uncover a few "real" superstars and soon. We're such a non saleable product in terms of TV/Radio coverage at this point. Hec, even Foxtel might have second thoughts about broadcasting some of our matches if we don't get a move on.

When the plan becomes more 2nd nature to everyone..

I would guess by mid year..

by then we should start to look more cohesive and have a better understanding of how each other plays under neeldys plan..

Lets hope more of our players catch on sooner rather than later then.

If your prediction is close to the mark it's going to be another very painful year mate

NIL injuries = Win!

Take no notice of today peoples. Hit and giggle stuff

..and so i no complain.

Heres my take on it:

The more senior (or rather, guys that have been at MFC for a while) players there are in the team, the further away we are from sticking to structures - ie: further away from our best footy.. (For the time being that is)

1st year players have a clean slate and no bad habits to correct. You can instill a gameplan / techniques and its all that they know.

After being at the 1st game, watching the following weeks via replay and reading the reports - the best game weve played this preseason was against Port.

We won because we stuck to the structures.. even tho we didnt have the personnel.

We had 16 - 18 of our best 22 out that day.

Patience is again required.. (at least until everyone is on the same page)

Structure and game plan yes DD.

But when are these players going to start "thinking" on their feet as the play evolves?? And i'm not talking about the Suns match.

Take the game against the Saints last week. On a number of occasions in the 2nd, we were so focused on enforcing some kind of forward press, that we forgot there was a decent breeze. All the Saints did was adjust to that. Kick a quick short pass into the pockets knowing that they could then quickly bomb it over the back, where "unmarked" players were waiting just behind the press. That loose player or 2 were then able to run amok and link up through the middle/wings, freeing up others to take shots at goal.

Where were their opponents on those occasions? Minds were still enforcing the press, and so were their bodies. Floating higher up the ground, not quite a full kick away from the outlet receiver for the Saints. Some players were still trying to maintain/play some kind of press instead of recognising the need to pick up a man (preferrably a designated one) once the Saints had gained that first outlet kick.

This wasn't the only reason the Saints kicked so many unanswered goals last week in the 2nd quarter, but it sure didn't help matters.

I'm just not sure this kind of "on the run" mind set (ie., footy smarts) is coachable with some of our players. It will need to happen soon though if we're to win a hand full of games against opposition other than the 2 new AFL franchises and only Richmond/Essendon from the Victorian based clubs as we've seen in the past 5 years or so.

I dont, they have a Rolls Royce midfield, Ablett, Swallow and Benell, it will be out of us and the Bulldogs for the spoon this year unfortunately.

Ablett obviously. Not sure you can put the other 2 in the Rolls Royce category just yet.

But i hear what you're saying. Ablett on his own could probably take on our mid field atm and break even or possibly beat it.

The thing is though, we have no idea what went down up there coaching wise or cattle wise. We might have even trialed another "experiment'! You know, players being played out of position etc.

I agree in the case where it is proved that the substances injected are banned or possibly awaiting WADA assessment but if the evidence strongly indicates banned substances without direct proof, the capacity to whitewash is limitless.

And a whitewash it shall be.

Vlad also seems at pains to push the fact that the outcome won't be forthcoming until well into the season proper ......

"Our expectation will be that this will go on for months."

"No, I don't think you're going to see a result for months"

"ASADA are going to be very thorough and very diligent. These things don't happen quickly"

This plays into the AFL's hands beautifully, insuring the Bombers (and the whole Comp) is off to a nice "steady as she goes" start, regardless of the "AFL determined" punishment.

No wonder David Evans is confident everyone at a senior level within the Essendon FD will more than likely retain their place, even prior to their own review being conducted.

This confidence, seemingly against all odds, is quite evident amongst the Bomber's coaching staff as well. And while we're on the topic, shouldn't this so called 'independant review' have been called for and run by the AFL itself, once they were made aware of so called "irregular practices"?? Doesn't anyone else think it's a little strange that they (the AFL) should leave it to the club to conduct its own review, considering the weight of the allegations?

Evans also said that Essendon members deserved to know the truth about what led to the ASADA investigation. Saying at one point, "We just want to get to the heart of what happened - we think the members are owed that. I want to ensure we give answers to our members about what happened and why, and put in place practices to ensure it doesn't happen again."

What about the greater overall interest of the AFL and the game itself? Isn't this part of why the AFL exists? To govern and oversee the game and clubs as a whole in the best interest of all involved and to ensure the future success/growth of the game/brand? Then again maybe it (the AFL) has been flying by the seat of its pants on this, hence the announcement a few weeks back by McLachlan to try and piece together an AFL charter.

Would love to know what NFL management think about an AFL led punishment!

Fair call, but that attitude has to be erased otherwise clubs like Carlton will take our ground, if that happens we will never get it back.

You mean literally take our ground WYL? As in the G!!! And we end up at $#%tihad!!!???

RB I will love him when we start winning games.

Until then he is just another coach of the MFC with a plan.

I like he is not making any predictions.

He knows that he started with a bottom list and that will take way longer than 2013.

I hope I have the ability to stay the course.

Me too!!!

A lot has been said and written about Neeld's revolutionary list overhaul in the off-season. Can Clark and Dawes gel effectively? Will Rodan and Byrnes be worth the punt? Can Viney and Toumpas have an immediate impact?

But for me the greater question will be how the blokes who've already been there for four or more years will go ... the 50 - 150 game players who until now, if we're being honest, have not exactly set the world on fire.

I think we should always expect improvement in whatever player enters the hallowed halls of the MFC, each and every year RR. Otherwise why are we in the comp. So i agree with the nature of your post here, just maybe not the method and some of the inclusions/exclusions.

However i think 50 games is too little to be able to say "had enough time in the system and needs to be showing something substantially more than what's being delivered".

Personally i think at least 60 games (approximately 3 full seasons of games played and 3 pre seasons) under the belt is needed before you can say, this player's not living up to expectations and needs to lift big time. From there, yes, i would have higher expectations, but i would want to see how they perform on the big stage for bulk of their 4th season (in terms of games played i mean....regardless of which season it might be), and then review versus expectations.

Even sticking with your original theory RR (ie. 50+ games) i wouldn't be including Tappy in the mix, having only effectively played approx 1.5 seasons with only 29 senior games. Not sure why he's included and the likes of Bail, who has more games under his belt (36), gets overlooked. Yes he had an injury filled 2012 but Tappy missed about 6 or so last year with a pretty severe hammy. So effectively neither of these two should have been included under your original scenario. A bit harsh on the Tapster IMO.

And why no Joel MacDonald and Grimes?

I think Mac improved last year, but the disposal effectiveness and willingess to follow up (2nd efforts) after his first contest are a fair way from AFL standard IMO, especially seeing he has nearly 125 games under his belt.

Grimes works hard and gets quite alot of ball, but his disposal decision making is often flawed IMO (ie., options/choices when coming off HB or the wing are too often "safety first". This might be ok if he was more accurate spotting up our players, but delivery in terms of accuracy/spraying the ball wide to the boundary where he usually goes are often sub standard. As a result we end up in a bad turnover situation and the opponents having loose players unmarked as a result = easy score for them. Needs to look downfield and/or inside to SEE if there's a better placed/more open player, instead of hitting the boundary or towards a player near the boundary so often. These are the 2 areas i'd be wanting to see him improve on using your expectations mantra)

Apart from the above 4 player inclusions/exclusions, i actually think you're pretty spot on with the rest who should be under the spotlight and have some reasonably high expectations placed on them this year.

Not that anything we say on here will make a skerrick of difference to what happens at any AFL club lol.

Rodan: Decent "short term" bolstering for a very inexperienced/young mid field.

Byrnes: Likely to play bulk of time up forward, hopefully crumbing off talls when they return. Rotating through the middle at times (not sure the exact percentage but say 60/40 time spent as forward/mid respectively, give or take 15% or so lol.

Jones: Has matured into an all round top B grade player for the club. With all his hard work/effort in and around the ball i'd just love to see him release the ball a little earlier/quicker and hopefully hit a few more targets by hand/foot this year. Not alone on this wish list however. Our inability to string 3 to 4 quick posessions together in and around congestion/stoppages and release the ball to our player's general advantage up the field was a hugely frustrating downfall of our play last season.

McKenzie: Mainly a negating/stoppage specialist. Hopefully he handballs more often than he kicks this year lol.

The above is the core IMO, until Viney, Toumpas, Kent et al put some real size on over 2 or 3 pre seasons and mature (hopefully).

Don't underestimate the inclusion of Byrnes. He looks very hungry to me and if he stays injury free (touch wood) he might add some decent disposal skills and grunt in and around the stoppages through the middle and up forward. Leads by example and will provide great leadership. Something sadly lacking for the last 5 seasons (Jones the 1 recent exception).

Rodan adds break away speed, agility and some fairly silky skills. He also has a super boot off only a few steps, can find space and releases very quickly (rare amongst Demon players through the mid). Being able to clear the congestion quickly from the middle should assist our 2 main tall forwards get one on one more often on their opponents (once they return). In theory the addition of Rodan/Byrnes should go some way towards improving our "conversion rate" i50 once Dawes & Clarke are both on the park and fit.

Jones is now a pretty valuable leader for the younger boys obviously, and we can now add Rodan/Byrnes to the leadership list through the middle.

However, as many others have mentioned here, we need to poach a top line A grader (or 2!!) from another club with at least 3 to 5 good years left. I can't see it happening due to salary cap constraints and existing contracts but Swan and/or Ablett would be a super injection for us. We just don't have any genuine super stars in this club to show the young blokes "how". Unless we develop one out of the existing group such as Watts, Toumpas, Kent, Viney then we are pushing it up hill from here.

There are a number of 2nd tier players that will need to step up and improve their games substantially from last year if they're to play their part through the midfield and cover the depth, class and mature bodies from the opposition when the 3 core players are resting/rotating or injured.

This Includes.... Sylvia. Who i'd rather see used as a medium size lead up forward i30. Is an instinctive player that loves shooting for goal from wherever and could provide a decent 3rd option up forward along with Howe. Then there's Magner, Jetta, Tapscott, Couch (mature age been in the system for some time, wont get many chances IMO so will need to make the most of them) and Bail .

One player i think will surprise this year is Jetta. I think he looks in superb condition and ready to turn things up a notch. Not sure if he's up for a regular role in the mid field just yet but may grow into this as the year progresses.

Having said all that if 2 or 3 of the second tier step up from last year's efforts, i could see us winning maybe 6 to 8 games.

If they don't, and we have to rely solely on the core 4 above, then we might be lucky to win 3 or 4 matches IMO.

Seems to me the Bombers (backed by the AFL behind the scenes) believe this is a storm in a tea cup.

The Bombers obviously feel they have so many "out of jail" cards that they're quite happy to stonewall this and see it through. Possibly that the outcome will result in, at worst, a minor strike against them. But more than likely not even a strike, just a slap on the wrist or some stern words from Vlad/AFL hierarchy once the outcome is known and the wrist slapping starts.

There's just too much $ at stake here for everyone involved. The AFL are therefore happy to play the onlooking neutral observer role and say all the right things as per media management 101.

I personally don't think ASADA have anything hard or fast on anyone at Bomber land (apart from a few loose lipped ex bombers) and if there is an "EX bomber employee/contractor" found to be up to no good re PEDs, then the Bombers believe they (and their players) can simply plead ignorance due to all their "outs". I'll be very surprised to see anything severley damaging a la the imploding Sharks.

If it was an AFL "B League" club such as us, the Doggies or North, things might be different. But this is an AFL "A League" club. And "A League" clubs are a very protected species indeed.