Demon Dynasty

Stevie J reckons he's gonna be a cracker.....at least that's what i heard anyway

Scrap, scrag, pressure, tackle, annoy, spoil, niggle off the ball, shepard/block (for a player in a better position to clear or find space from his opponent ), in and under when needed, quick kick forward to advantage when the opportunity arises etc. 2nd efforts after initial disposal/contest. Occasional 3rd efforts! Willing himself into the contest!! A great example of what's needed but has been missing amongst too many within the team for too long until this week, and parts of last week. Whatever it takes! That's Jordie for ya Well done mate. Keep it goin!

War office called Demon Shop yesterday. They said they'd have replacements in around mid May and that a notice would be posted on the website.

.....WOW....big call Dandee. Let's hope you're right. At Etihad we'd be a slim chance of an upset i reckon. Not at the G and no Clark

Unfortunately they are though. Pretty much every week. Our bottom 6 would probably rank as maybe the worst in the league outside of GWS and GC in terms of disposal efficiency with the ball and poor decision making. And i'm not sure how our top 6 would rate against other clubs or even who they are from week to week apart from say the automatics ins like Moloney, Jones, Howe, Jamar, Sylvia and Clark (not saying this is our only top 6...just that these would probably be our auto ins at this point if fit). And none of those are either meant to be amazing with disposal efficiency (Clark, Jamar), or alternatively all that good at it once they get their hands on the footy (maybe Howe an exception). Although this is only an opinion, i might be way off on that view but i doubt it. Would love to do a comparison of our top 6 (whoever we think they are) and bottom 6 versus other clubs. Maybe looking at.... disposal efficiency, clearances, contested possessions, uncontested possessions, play on percentage and clangers if the data was available. There's also issues like intensity and attack on the ball carrier, pressuring the opponent, carrying out the game plan as instructed (fitness levels, footy smarts) etc that stats don't cover.

I think if we made an error or judgement this year, it was putting the 2 youngsters up a year or so too early. I'm an old fashioned bas^%3d and for me it was Beamer all the way as Captain (if he wanted it), Clark as VC and Trengove as DVC. Grimes wasn't even on the park last year so i'm not sure how they arrived at him being joint Captain even though he's a courageous bugger. Bit hard to drop an "out of form" captain too and the reality is that being so young in their career and so under developed physically, especially Grimes given he missed the latter part of last year, at least one of them, if they weren't captians, would probably have needed some time in the 2s at some point in order to freshen up and regain their form and confidence. I think when Neeld looks back on this year this will be one area he'll wish he could revisit. It's quite obvious to me who the men/leaders are out there and it isn't Trengove and Grimes at this point in their careers . Maybe later, but not now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though. I wish them luck regardless and hope they do well but personally i'd rather see the both of them just focus on their footy skills/development for the next 2 or 3 years rather than being burdened with the Captaincy at this early stage.

Thanks QC. Hear what your saying. It's a natural instinctive reaction by most supporters to take it as a cheap pot shot against the player under discussion. But i don't see it as punishment. Not suggesting he be whipped & caned over a few errors from week to week. Otherwise most players from most clubs (in particular ours atm lol) would end up in their 2nds affiliate every week and we'd have no players to play seniors lol. And certainly not over 1 or 2 dropped marks as you're suggesting. In fact i'm not sure how you arrived at that from what i wrote. I don't think he's alone either. There's a few others that could do with a stint and others that probably wouldn't even get a look into the seniors at the top 8 to 12 clubs. We just don't have the depth or quality pushing up so generally we don't have the cattle to fill the gap while they're absent for a few weeks. As you would know, in top teams, younger developing players are quite often given an opportunity to further develop and improve their game in the 2nds on occasions before coming back in again to perform a role etc. Then there's the "horses for courses" matter of choosing certain types/size of player/s to match up better against certain other teams. Unfortunately we don't have that luxury atm. Maybe i see it differently to most, but to me this is a short term opportunity, not a negative. Gives him (or any other young developing player who needs it....or a more senior player who might be badly out of form or returning from a serious injury) a little more time (with the pace of the game not as frenetic or the pressure) and space and find the composure and confidence lacking at times with his disposal and decision making. Hopefully while there he can bring his intensity levels and attack on the ball to a point the FD might be looking for a tad longer during a match as well. By allowing him a little more time and space with just a few matches downstairs, i think he'd come back even more confident and raring to go when he returns, hopefully improving his efficiency, composure etc. And it might be corny and old fashioned, but it might also give him a little shot in the arm to lift even a tad more on his return. Maybe a little prod (challenge) to his internal burning desire and ego to improve himself, the best motivator of all IMO. Not that i'm doubting this side, he seems to have it in spades atm but you never know, there might be even more where that's coming from and maybe he has another level we have yet to see, even this early in his development! I reckon that'd be something worth seeing! And i believe he'll get there too, one way or the other. It won't happen anyway due to the lack of depth issue so i wouldn't worry. Then there's the argument of where he's best played on the field, and on it goes. Personally i think he's a forward all day everyday. Boy's a natural there to a point. Loves a mark and to goal and i'd hate to curtail that. Send him to play FB for rest of season....learn from the best and lift his contested/defensive/pressure skills. Ready to go for next year, bigger and better and raring to be unleashed from the shackles (i hope)! Having the 2 pronged forward set up of Clark & Watts, with a classy/speedy small forward (wishful thinking) crumbing off the spills would be super for us i reckon.

Not at all. It's an important message to Watts, and others in the team, that half a game of intensity and effort isn't acceptable at this level, particularly against such poor opposition. More is needed and should be expected from a No.1 draft pick at this stage. And don't give me the "oh he's only a kid....give him a break line" pls Q C. (see Dahlhause....far off a No.1 pick....14 games). If he can't play out more than half a game then he needs build his tank up further and also learn how to maintain his composure under moderate pressure downstairs (as do others....but unfortunately not enough decent replacements available) and play out a full game or 2 there.

I believe he did this in a few games last year as well, this isn't a new occurrence IMO.

The Good The pre-match tribute, especially the banner. One of the best i've ever seen. Congratulations to all involved in the cheer squad. Robbo's MC'ing. The number of younger people from Reach who came along and to those who paid tribute on the field. Seeing a chic in a Roy Boys jumper pre match (along with a few other teams) coming to pay tribute. Finally seeing some semblance of a forward press being implemented with a degree of success. Pretty sure we may have kept the ball in our forward line a fair degree more than i can recall in previous games this year (percentage of time in forward line will be an interesting stat versus previous weeks) Seeing our boys fight it out in the 3rd for a change and trying to make a fist of it. Stoppage work: Improved somewhat (again the stats will tell the tale i guess). Moloney after a quiet first quarter found the pace of the game (and Jamar) and created some time & space for himself and the team (disposal efficiency/effectiveness STILL needs some work lol) and had a stand out 3rd, Jones at many contests in an under (work rate was great), Mckenzie had moments and tackled quite well, Magner had a couple of moments and will only improve. Bail added something to the outside which has been missing till now, apart from the Jones boys' efforts outside (when he wasn't in and under as well lol). Watts when up forward added something with his mobility and positioned himself well (1st half). Davey gave us something up forward early. Morton improved his game on previous efforts and lifted to at least provide some run and carry around half back. Howe's attack on the contest early (including his hangers!) Clark's attack on the footy and hard pack contests. Courage unquestionable. Appears to have picked up some excellent habits and hardness from his mentor, John O' Brown. We finally have some structure/options when he's on the park. Tom McDonalds 2nd half improvement (marginal but still an improvement) Jamar's tap work and link up (on occasions) with Moloney, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd. Moloney's movement at the stoppages in the 3rd quarter and a few odd displays during other quarters. Finally someone hitting the ball ups with momentum! Thank you Neeld & FD! Just need more than 1 quarter of this happening and more than one player applying it, although i have a feeling Jones and McKenzie were also trying to apply this method on a few odd occasions, maybe without the success Moloney had a few times in the 3rd. Clark getting up and showing plenty of guts after the crunch Bate gave us something and a bit of run & carry at times The Bad Forward Press: Davey unwilling to close down on his opponent (i think it was Murphy) early in the match when we didn't have the ball and the ball was still in our forward zone (hard press can't be hard if even one player continues to allow their opponent 15+ meters when the opposition have the ball in our forward line) Set shots, especially a few early from almost directly in front. The move of Watts from up forward to HB when the game was there to be won. The move of Jones into the forward line (probably resting) late in the third (i think) and Morton into the middle which cost us momentum and potentially any chance of hitting the front. The lack of a replacement for Jones (late in the 3rd, assuming he was moved up forward to be rested) and his mobility/agility around the middle and stoppages which left too much up to Moloney and McKenzie. Couch??? The lack of a decent back up ruckman which might have seen us take the momentum away from the doggies with Minson clearly wilting/tiring in the last but Jamar also tiring/struggling a little. Some of Jamar's tap work to the doggies' advantage in the 2nd half. J Macs disposal by foot at times...not AFL standard T Ms disposal by foot at times in 1st half....not AFL standard Wattsy's efforts off HB in the 3rd. Not AFL standard. Time for a rest in the 2's if we can afford it.....which we probably can't or play him up forward from here. Alternatively move him to FB, Chip out to CHB....dump Garland for now (form is shot for now). No true small forward crumber to sweep and score off the spillages up forward and chase down the odd opponent when they did so. Dahlhause's game. Pretty darn impressive for a 14 game rookie. The Ugly Our ability to pull a clanger out of our bum when you would least want it and under average or little pressure, assisting the opposition to score too many cheap goals General speed of ball movement around the stoppages and a lack of a classy outside runner, who can break away AND finish with a effective disposals into the 50 to a hit up target, the hot spot or a long shot at goal! Garlands' decision very late in the 3rd to go ring around the rosey outside 50 from his deliberate boundary free kick in, instead of the percentage play (at that point in the game) and go to the hot spot. Dunn's general forward play. Sub par, particularly his lead up decisions which (on the odd occasions they occurred) were mostly either poorly timed (or just unable to get to the contest ...poor i5o delivery probably contributed) or heading in the wrong direction when team mates were under pressure up the ground. Our i50 delivery....again Our disposal by foot...again Our lack of handballs and our inability to link 2 to 3 quick handballs together most of the time without fumbling, or just unable to do it quickly or in succession consistently or successfully. Poor options in the back line at times (eg., Rivers going wide in the last, instead of straight up the guts ....with player/s free and being well behind on the scoreboard...no game to save...we were losing....take calculated/clever risks and try and win or at least get closer and put scoreboard pressure on your opponent!!) Watty's 2nd half drop out Garland's impact & general play J Macs impact & general play (effort not questioned) T Macs 1st half (poor/panic disposal) Tappy's impact when subbed Trenner's form (1st half) Our inability to shut down Dahlhause (commendable effort from Bartram (Moloney's attempts to smash him) & others but we just didn't have any answers/cattle who could do the job in the end) The fact that we couldn't quite get ourselves up against such sub par opposition. Looking at what lies ahead in terms of the how far away we are from finding enough "cattle" to just become reasonably competitive and win a handful of games. Some tough times and years ahead....again.

Melbourne Demons vs Western Bulldogs Round 4, 2012 – Team Stats Total games played Demons - 1,529 (Last time they played, Rnd 15 2011) 1,274 Bulldogs – 1,965 2,178 Games Average Demons - 69 58 Bulldogs – 89 99 Height Average Demons - 188cm Bulldogs – 187cm Weight Average Demons - 88kg Bulldogs – 87kg Number of players by category 0-49 Games Demons - 9 / 23 (number of players/average games played) Bulldogs - 10 / 19 50-99 Games Demons - 7 / 81 Bulldogs - 3 / 73 100+ Games Demons – 6 / 125 Bulldogs - 9 / 173 Stats courtesy of footywire.com

3 matches is not enough data to make it meaningful for now but FWIW.... We're ranked 5th (on average) in Contested Marks so far versus the rest of the comp. In comparison to our other stats at the moment , then yep, at first glance we're looking pretty good here. But one problem is, this stat doesn't tell you "where" those marks have been taken on the field. For example, we might be taking most of them in defense with our defense under such intense pressure every week, having a reasonable backline that defends ok with a fairly high percentage of our "contested mark" stats happening down back. Can't be sure of course. Watching the game with the naked eye i agree it does look like we're doing ok here. The only stat that tells you where marks in general are taken at this point is "Marks Inside 50". And on that count we're ranked equal last with Gold Coast. Although Sydney aren't doing too badly so far this year and they're ranked equal 2nd last with GWS. So go figure. Again, i think the source data, although probably quite accurate, isn't robust enough at this early stage. Might be best to revisit this after round 11 when most teams would have played each other at least once. Would be interesting to see along with a few other key stats.

By "One more season" i'm hoping (re: Morton & Petterd) you mean the remainder of this season, which is pretty much an entire season

Big men take longer to learn and mature PM as you know. Don't forget, apart from Jake & Gawny, he's the tallest player in our team and unless Jake gets a run, maybe the tallest for the remainder of the year. Give him a few more seasons (at least 2 more after this anyway) and i'm pretty sure you'll find he'll play the percentages better, his running patterns will slowly become 2nd nature and better timed etc. I agree he's far from top line at this point but at least he's having a red hot go and giving us a decent target. In addition, the whole team is making a serious number of clangers at this point right across the park (including Clark), as well as some pretty average delivery i50 much of the time....so we need to cut Clark (and our other permanent forwards) a little slack until everyone improves across the park (Clark included). Bottom line, he's a work in progress but just might be a super KPF for us all going well and given enough experience/time. I have a strong hunch he might end up being a great leader, either spiritually or officially, as well.

A nice point re the legacy. And no doubt a very hard task for the whole FD really on the culture change, especially after so many years in the wilderness. Hopefully we can also play a reasonably attractive brand when we do start winning in order to attract some new fans and build the membership base. No doubt success will breed success on that front to some degree.

No no. Not Trenners at FB GTG Wattsy!! He'll get dominated at times too...and i'm not saying permanent. Just this year as part of his learning till he builds up his frame and tank. Good learning experience. The better forwards can show him the way ....running patterns, body work etc. P.S. I read and responded to the thread from WYL as Jack... for Jack Watts...he was of course referring to Trenners....my bad

Played allover the shop. He'll end up being "Jack of all trades, master of....." if we're not careful. Time to give him some set roles and ask him to learn them. One example might be.... Play him at FB for remainder of season and get him to learn off the best forwards in the game by trying to shut them down and run off them/be creative when possible. Move Chip to CHB....Garland out. Just a thought.

As the great Barass once said to Healey.... "You give me possessions and i'll shut up" It's time the boys just got on with getting on...and Find a Way to Win! Over and out!!!

Martin in the main rucking role ....or Jamar. Can't see Martin anywhere else other than ruck in the middle. Will see him in and at the contest more often. See what he's got to offer. Nothing to lose given where our season's at. Can't afford 2 ruckmen off the bench though (and Martin not very convincing up forward or elsewhere so far). So for the remainder of the season..... 2 to 3 weeks Martin as the main ruck.... 2 to 3 weeks Jamar. Lets see how they (and the team) perform in this role going solo. Review them and our requirements at the end of the season maybe. Just like to see how he rolls through the middle again prior to season finish without Jamar as back up. Seemed to do it quite well last year when we asked him to step up.

You got more posts than me so you can't be short of a few yourself mate And next time....bring it on if you feel like havin a go....no need to feel so shy and limp wristed

Agree re the nugget ....albeit its not the most pleasant thought lol. He'll probably be running around picking up someone else's nugget though .....think tall, skinny and ....well u get the picture As for Davey....the team is so far behind the money in terms of speed around the contest and quick ball movement.... i reckon Neeld is just praying for Davey to grow his old third leg again. When Davey gets it, he generally uses it well if he isn't under too much pressure (like some others)....the problem is that atm he's rarely getting it and we have no obvious (better) replacements with leg speed and decent disposal skills by hand and foot. Jetta probably if he was fit. Bennell probably if he could play better than Davey (but he doesn't). Blease if he could be bothered playing lol. Let the coaching panel work it out anyway. That's what they're getting paid to do...i'm getting a headache just thinking bout it

Wow..... ring in the amazing changes Demons. Honestly, how we can't find a place for Couch, assuming he stays as emergency....but we can find one for J Mac and retain Morton...words fail me. Bate, Morton staying? Even Tappy who i'm sure will be better for the run...IF he's played down back somewhere....but still....hasn't earned it based on last weeks performance (or any other in the VFL so far). Common guys. This is such an uninspiring plodding club right now, even off the field (selection wise). If we're gonna keep rewarding under performance then IMO we get what we deserve on the field....and eventually it'll come back to bite our arse off the field too! You'll find decent goers (even though they might not be up to the required grade in the wash up) like Couch & Magner......will be off elsewhere pretty quickly once they get a sniff of this BS. Then we'll be left with the cream...like Morton, J Mac, Bate, Davey, Bartram etc ....who'll play for as long as we keep giving them a go....UFB MFC.

I doubt anyone would really. Took Mick 12 at the Pies to reach the ultimate, and 6 after moving into the Westpac centre and having the kitchen sink thrown at him and the team. Hope it doesn't take anywhere near 6 years or more for us, but i think i've now woken up to the enormity of the task ahead. And that's just to make us competitive against the middle rung teams. Ughh

Hec....had to have a Jim Beam and lie down after that one. Was expecting a classic RR bake prior to opening Watching this mid field, especially versus some of what else is on offer in the 8 etc, i dunno. I reckon we had it better when Wells and Alves were running round there in the 70's lol. Probably my memory is shot... but it just feels real bad atm. Can you remember a period when we were in such a state yourself? Not saying we've ever had amazing set ups but jeez.... pretty soul destroying atm,

There's life in the old Demon yet! Reckon our membership would've surpassed last year by now if we had won a few of our early ones or at least gone down fighting tooth & nail. Anyway, fingers crossed for Sunday. Off field that's another piece of good news at least. Keep it goin fellas.