Demon Dynasty

Both are very poor defensively so the Saints should be able to claw a fair chunk of this back if they play fast smart footy

Because WAL ... it sounds so "Speshhhhiiial"

Jeffo

He often gets involved in scoring chains & opportunistic scoring but was that the best attack on the footy / man during his time at Casey from the Shack? Where has that been till now! If only he could bring that most weeks for Casey and then convert it at senior level. Had to look at the replay twice on a few occasions just to be sure.

Assume you're referring to the coaches at AFL level. Without a doubt but not as a forward prospect. Not that i've witnessed at training or Casey and not until now anyway.

Sestan still looks more at home across HF and had some very good moments including some nice chain work by hand. Lovely finisher coming through congestion and once he spots the sticks ahead lookout! Most interesting to see him getting serious mid field minutes. Great experience for him and now just needs to build on that slowly and also build his tank / wheels to get to more contests and impact. He does still fluff the odd golden opportunity to hit up free targets by foot and hand but appears to be slowly improving on this aspect as well as the months go by. I'd also love to see him throw his weight around a tad more at the contest, obviously without going over the top and getting rubbed out.

That second half, in particular the last quarter, was something special given i don't think Disco's played as a forward at this level before. The bloke appears to be a natural and while i'm not suggesting he could replicate this instantly at AFL level or have immediate success, i would be extremely dissapointed in the brains trust if we did not follow this up. Side stepping, gathering off the ground, mobile, great attack and strong hands. Lovely shot at goal both on the run and set shots! He was that good, Richo, Choco and Simon should be reviewing this over the break to decide the IF and how of training and trialling him for a decent stint to see whether he has what it takes or if it was just a one off anomaly. A pontential major missed opportunity going a begging if we don't imho.

In an ideal world with some decent midfield depth at Casey, i'd agree this could and probably would've happened. I wouldn't say it's a fail though. These things are sometimes a two way thing. The trainers consulted with Clarry after the Caps run and wouldv'e asked how he felt. Have no idea what was said but i'm figuring they base their selection largely on his feedback. We do have an option to rest him up and allow a full recovery from here though. Critical to our finals prospects that we do just that and NOT rush him back till we are sure he's cherry ripe and can play with no restrictions. Personally i'd cover Clarry for the Tigers match with Rivers to ensure this happens given their depleted line up. Marty or Turner cover off for Rivers until Clarry's gets back to full tilt. Rush Clarry back half baked and i reckon we kiss this season goodbye. Get him back to somewhere close to the Clarry we know and we are back on track. Even if it means holding him over till post the Blues game and getting a mini pre-season into him during this period. That would have him returning for the Eagles. The FD will obviously be all over this and he may only need to miss a week or two but i'd have no probs with whatever stint on the sidelines is needed to ensure he comes back in ripping shape. P.S. the other option as a one off against the depleted Tiges is to give pup a run. Certainly showed he's up for the fight on the weekend. Too early though? Ollie as well?

Player Rating Review - Forwards Jacob Van Rooyen (Key Forward 21yo 193cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 JVR has played all 6 matches so far in 2024. This is the final player to have played 5 matches or more in this early season review series. I will look to revisit this series about mid season. I might also add a review of each player's mid season rating against this early season rating as a bit of an in season form guide if time allows. #2 J V Rooyen 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 4.6 3.5 -24.4 Uncontested Poss 5.6 5.3 -5.3 Effective Disposals* 7.8 7.2 -8.0 Disposal Effeciency % 80.2 82.1 1.9 Contested Marks* 1.0 0.5 -50.0 Marks inside 50* 1.6 1.3 -18.3 One Percenters* 1.9 1.5 -20.8 Clearances* 0.5 0.8 75.9 Rebound 50s* 0.0 0.0 - Inside 50s* 1.4 1.3 -6.2 Tackles* 2.4 2.3 -3.6 Score Involvements* 4.3 4.2 -2.3 Meters Gained 138.0 141.2 2.3 Turnovers* 1.7 1.8 5.6 Intercepts* 0.4 0.5 18.8 Tackles Inside 50* 1.2 1.0 -13.6 Time On Ground % 75.1 75.7 0.6 Goals* 1.4 1.3 -6.2 Hit Outs to Adv* 1.1 1.2 5.6 *DD's Player Rating 2.2 2.0 -8.0 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Player Rating Review - Forwards Ben Brown (Key Forward 31yo 200cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 Ben has played four matches plus Rnd 4 vs the Crows before being subbed (for Woe) having played 68% game time. One could argue this is almost a full game for Ben given his average game time of 84% so i have erred on the side of including him in this series. His rating (and that of any other subbed players in these ratings) has been adjusted to allow for the lower than normal game time in Rnd 4. #50 B Brown 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 4.4 3.2 -26.8 Uncontested Poss 5.4 4.1 -25.3 Effective Disposals* 7.4 4.9 -33.6 Disposal Effeciency % 80.3 75.6 -4.8 Contested Marks* 0.3 1.3 324.4 Marks inside 50* 1.5 1.3 -15.1 One Percenters* 2.1 2.1 1.0 Clearances* 0.0 0.0 - Rebound 50s* 0.3 0.0 -100.0 Inside 50s* 1.1 1.1 1.0 Tackles* 0.8 0.2 -71.7 Score Involvements* 5.0 3.4 -31.4 Meters Gained 177.5 105.1 -40.8 Turnovers* 1.8 0.9 -52.8 Intercepts* 0.9 0.6 -29.3 Tackles Inside 50* 0.6 0.2 -64.6 Time On Ground % 78.7 84.6 5.9 Goals* 1.7 1.3 -22.8 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 1.9 1.5 -22.4 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Player Rating Review - Forwards Bayley Fritsch (Medium Forward 27yo 188cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 Bayley has played all 6 matches in 2024. #31 B Fritsch 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 4.6 3.2 -31.5 Uncontested Poss 8.0 4.8 -39.8 Effective Disposals* 7.7 5.5 -28.3 Disposal Effeciency % 61.2 71.0 9.8 Contested Marks* 0.9 1.0 17.3 Marks inside 50* 2.3 1.7 -26.7 One Percenters* 1.5 0.7 -55.3 Clearances* 0.0 0.0 - Rebound 50s* 0.0 0.0 - Inside 50s* 2.6 1.5 -43.0 Tackles* 1.6 1.3 -18.4 Score Involvements* 6.1 5.7 -7.3 Meters Gained 269.2 183.3 -31.9 Turnovers* 2.5 1.5 -39.7 Intercepts* 1.5 0.3 -77.7 Tackles Inside 50* 0.7 0.8 17.3 Time On Ground % 86.3 90.5 4.2 Goals* 2.4 2.7 10.4 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 2.3 1.9 -17.2 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Figured we were hoping to have Petty back to his best alot earlier than we've seen to do just that. Take the oppo's best defender and act as the major focal point. If Roo was more experienced / advanced in his development i reckon the FD 'may' have just gone with Roo & BBB till now and had Petty on a longer pre-season prep with a game or two at Casey thrown in before getting the call up. Eg; most likely a return targeted for Anzac eve or even against the Cats the week after. Unfortunately we instead felt the need to rush Petty back weeks too soon, most likely for the very purpose discussed above re support for Roo. Having said that, at some point over the next few seasons, Roo also needs to start hitting some highs and winning a fair share of the 50/50s. Even against tougher opponents. The development of this aspect of his game is critical, not just for Roo, but for our fortunes in general during his time (and Petty's) with us. BBB probably won't go on beyond this season so we are then left with Roo & Petty holding the fort as KFs for 2025.

Player Rating Review - Forwards Kade Chandler (Small Forward 24yo 175cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 Chandler has played all 6 matches in 2024. #37 K Chandler 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 4.5 5.0 12.3 Uncontested Poss 8.1 9.3 15.5 Effective Disposals* 9.0 9.7 6.9 Disposal Effeciency % 76.2 74.3 -1.9 Contested Marks* 0.1 0.0 - Marks inside 50* 1.1 1.0 -10.1 One Percenters* 0.6 1.3 112.0 Clearances* 0.5 1.7 213.2 Rebound 50s* 0.4 0.7 72.3 Inside 50s* 2.3 3.5 53.9 Tackles* 2.8 3.8 39.0 Score Involvements* 4.7 4.7 -1.6 Meters Gained 167.9 270.0 60.8 Turnovers* 2.2 3.0 37.8 Intercepts* 1.3 0.8 -33.8 Tackles Inside 50* 1.1 2.0 87.9 Time On Ground % 73.0 80.0 7.0 Goals* 1.2 1.2 0.5 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 2.3 2.5 8.9 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Player Rating Review - Forwards Jack Billings (Mid Forward 28yo 185cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 Billings has played approx 5 matches if the total time of his two subbed games are taken into account. #14 J Billings 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 0.0 5.6 - Uncontested Poss 0.0 12.1 - Effective Disposals* 0.0 11.9 - Disposal Effeciency % 0.0 71.0 - Contested Marks* 0.0 0.0 - Marks inside 50* 0.0 0.4 - One Percenters* 0.0 1.0 - Clearances* 0.0 0.2 - Rebound 50s* 0.0 1.0 - Inside 50s* 0.0 2.2 - Tackles* 0.0 2.4 - Score Involvements* 0.0 5.0 - Meters Gained 0.0 265.7 - Turnovers* 0.0 2.8 - Intercepts* 0.0 1.4 - Tackles Inside 50* 0.0 0.8 - Time On Ground % 0.0 82.1 - Goals* 0.0 0.4 - Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 0.0 2.4 - Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Player Rating Review - Forwards Alex Neal-Bullen (Medium Forward 28yo 182cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 ANB has played all 6 matches in 2024. #30 A Neal-Bullen 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 5.4 6.7 22.7 Uncontested Poss 10.0 11.5 15.0 Effective Disposals* 10.8 12.2 12.8 Disposal Effeciency % 69.2 66.3 -2.9 Contested Marks* 0.0 0.0 - Marks inside 50* 0.4 0.5 15.0 One Percenters* 1.2 1.3 13.6 Clearances* 0.9 2.2 149.2 Rebound 50s* 0.5 1.2 123.6 Inside 50s* 3.3 2.8 -13.1 Tackles* 4.7 4.0 -14.8 Score Involvements* 4.5 5.0 11.7 Meters Gained 287.4 261.2 -9.1 Turnovers* 3.6 4.2 15.5 Intercepts* 2.3 2.0 -14.8 Tackles Inside 50* 0.9 0.7 -23.3 Time On Ground % 76.9 79.7 2.8 Goals* 0.7 0.8 12.7 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 2.5 2.8 8.8 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

The rules are all malleable for HQ where the almighty dollar and their preferred outcomes / agenda take precedence

Three years for (any) up and coming developing talent is plenty enough imv Diab. Five is more than enough for any player but should only be reserved for the top line proven players. In addition to the points in my earlier post you responded to, you have to leave some incentive in the bank for a player to keep performing. Even the greats!

Very happy to hear of this signing. Hopefully he has plenty of upside going forward as AFL is a very hard gig to crack into, let alone stay and play regular games. However at the end of the day it's a performance based sport and, like any other player, Roo will need to hit some marks set to him by the coaches / FD over the months/years to retain his spot. As to the length of contract, well that is the club's prerogative but for mine i cannot see how anyone but the very cream of the crop gets signed on for more than two or three years at a time. 5 years is about two to three years too many for about 80% of the talent pool of 40 odd listed players at all clubs imho. In addition, regardless of performance aspects and/or development of prospective talent, you just don't know what's around the corner as a player. Anything can and sometimes will go wrong as we've witnessed with so many players over the years. Gus a great example. Murphy from the Pies another. Hannebery on the Saints list for four years without playing for the most part of those. If we were to trawl through the history books there'd be a list as long as our arms and legs for players who ended up out of the game with years of potential great games left in them, for whatever reason. Good luck to Roo and here's hoping he ends up being a very very good (or better) KF for us at some point.

He misses quite often later in matches. Seems to start off ok. Might be (one reason) why he's sitting on the bench or not in the starting 22 as often this season?

It was as sure as the sun rises tomorrow that Cameron was going to wriggle out of this. Not hard to read the AFL at all now. They want their preferred teams at full strength and hence those team's stars playing wherever possible. The charge was only ever put through as a 'be a little more careful next time' warning shot. Nothing has changed at HQ. Nothing unusual at all really. Butters off another sad example of hope hopelessly corrupt the entire place is. The circus continues to roll along and god help anyone who stands in its way.

Player Rating Review - Midfield Max Gawn (Ruck 32yo 209cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 Max has played all 6 matches in 2024. #11 M Gawn 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 11.2 12.2 8.5 Uncontested Poss 6.4 8.5 32.4 Effective Disposals* 10.6 11.2 5.6 Disposal Effeciency % 60.4 58.2 -3.8 Contested Marks* 2.2 1.2 -45.9 Marks inside 50* 0.7 0.5 -32.1 One Percenters* 3.0 1.8 -38.9 Clearances* 4.3 5.2 19.7 Rebound 50s* 1.2 3.2 161.6 Inside 50s* 3.4 2.7 -20.8 Tackles* 2.2 4.0 85.4 Score Involvements* 4.8 6.5 34.2 Meters Gained 282.6 314.8 11.4 Turnovers* 3.8 3.3 -12.0 Intercepts* 3.0 4.3 44.4 Tackles Inside 50* 0.5 0.5 -5.0 Time On Ground % 84.5 85.0 0.6 Goals* 0.5 0.3 -36.7 Hit Outs to Adv* 8.1 11.5 42.8 *DD's Player Rating 3.4 4.2 25.6 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Player Rating Review - Midfield Christian Petracca (Midfield 26yo 189cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 Tracc has played all 6 matches in 2024. #5 C Petracca 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 13.8 13.0 -5.7 Uncontested Poss 14.2 12.7 -10.6 Effective Disposals* 19.0 19.2 0.9 Disposal Effeciency % 68.3 72.9 6.7 Contested Marks* 0.2 0.8 283.3 Marks inside 50* 1.3 0.3 -73.6 One Percenters* 0.6 1.7 173.8 Clearances* 6.0 5.2 -13.3 Rebound 50s* 1.6 0.5 -68.9 Inside 50s* 5.8 5.8 0.9 Tackles* 4.1 3.2 -22.5 Score Involvements* 8.3 9.3 11.8 Meters Gained 451.1 412.7 -8.5 Turnovers* 5.0 3.2 -36.1 Intercepts* 3.1 2.5 -20.1 Tackles Inside 50* 0.7 0.7 -9.8 Time On Ground % 83.7 79.5 -5.0 Goals* 1.2 0.7 -43.2 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 4.7 4.9 3.0 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Player Rating Review - Midfield Clayton Oliver (Midfield 26yo 189cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 Clarry has played all 6 matches so far in 2024. #13 C Oliver 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 14.5 9.8 -32.0 Uncontested Poss 16.2 13.7 -15.8 Effective Disposals* 20.4 15.5 -24.0 Disposal Effeciency % 67.5 62.7 -7.2 Contested Marks* 0.0 0.0 - Marks inside 50* 0.2 0.0 -100.0 One Percenters* 2.0 1.3 -33.3 Clearances* 6.6 5.0 -24.4 Rebound 50s* 2.4 0.5 -79.0 Inside 50s* 5.2 4.5 -12.7 Tackles* 6.3 3.2 -49.8 Score Involvements* 7.0 5.5 -21.4 Meters Gained 438.5 376.0 -14.2 Turnovers* 5.7 5.2 -9.2 Intercepts* 4.8 3.3 -30.1 Tackles Inside 50* 1.1 0.5 -53.6 Time On Ground % 83.5 76.5 -8.3 Goals* 0.5 0.2 -63.9 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 5.0 3.3 -33.1 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Player Rating Review - Midfield Jack Viney (Midfield 30yo 179cm) Rnd 0 to Rnd 5, 2024 vs H&A Season 2023 Jack has played all 6 matches so far in 2024. #7 J Viney 2023 2024 % Change Contested Poss 11.6 11.7 0.3 Uncontested Poss 14.0 11.8 -15.2 Effective Disposals* 16.0 15.2 -4.9 Disposal Effeciency % 62.9 65.8 4.6 Contested Marks* 0.1 0.0 - Marks inside 50* 0.3 0.3 4.8 One Percenters* 1.5 1.0 -33.3 Clearances* 5.0 5.7 12.3 Rebound 50s* 1.2 1.3 8.6 Inside 50s* 5.2 5.5 5.2 Tackles* 6.0 5.7 -5.6 Score Involvements* 4.9 5.5 12.0 Meters Gained 375.6 383.0 2.0 Turnovers* 5.6 4.2 -25.5 Intercepts* 3.3 1.7 -49.1 Tackles Inside 50* 0.7 0.8 14.6 Time On Ground % 79.1 76.7 -3.1 Goals* 0.4 0.7 83.3 Hit Outs to Adv* 0.0 0.0 - *DD's Player Rating 3.7 3.8 3.4 Stats courtesy of footwire.com & wheeloratings.com

Yes pretty consistent for a first year DZ