Pennant St Dee

Yes old Dee been to see the boys four times this season, no losses in Pre season and get to hear Grand Old Flag belting out twice so far, lets hope I hear it several times this year with the Dees.

If we have to change our jumpers IMO we are red & blue and the jumper should reflect this, go with a reverse of the current home jumper (red jumper blue yoke) or even use the 80's royal blue with a red yoke

Sorry for not positing this after round 1 last week but busy week in work & at home. As promised last year to some on Demonland I will provide some updates into kids in WA who have caught my eye as a regular WAFL attendee. Round 1: Attended the Perth derby great win by the Cardies against the enemy. Missed the first quarter of the Colts game but saw enough to confirm Blake ACRES will be drafted.Medium defender who played underage last season in the Colts and was a good player who is almost a lock in for WA U/18'S. Hard at it and finds his own footy and used the ball well. For East Perth colts a midfielder Tom SHANNAHAN really stood out got plenty of the ball and used it well, good size mid who did not panic in traffic and was good with his hands. For the seniors game two standouts for West Perth Matthew JOHNSON & Nick RODDA playing as tall forwards. JOHNSON presented well all day and looks really fit, can't say I noticed him a lot last year but big surprise was RODDA playing as a forward, I thought he would have been drafted or at least rookied last year as he had a really solid year as a defender. Presented well as a target and provided very good pressure as a defensive forward causing a lot of turnovers. Mark Hutchins didn't play but Shane Nelson was a ball magnet, may be a bit small for AFL but runs all day and will be a smoky if he can maintain his fitness through the season, disposal is good but room for improvement. For the Royals Cale Morton just went through the motions, disapointing for someone who's career you would think is on the line, intensity just not there and whilst he has put some size on he struggled to run out the game. Round 2: Friday night game Subiaco v West Perth win number 2 for the Cardies, Shane Nelson stood up again and the midfield with the inclusion of Hutchins was to strong, far to much run and spread for Subi. Rodda & Johnson whilst not being outstanding were impressive in the sense they continued with their intensity and providing defensive pressure to keep the ball locked in. One thing I will give Johnson despite having an off night continued to provide options with leads and also provides a contest. Saturday East Perth v Peel Tom Shanahan was down on last weeks game but when he got his hands on the pill used it well. Seemed to lack run this week although it was hot on Saturday. I heard a fair bit about centre half forward for Peel Rhys WILKEY and whilst his team was down he provided a contest and backed up with second efforts when the ball came into their forward line which wasn't often. Bradley Walsh came on for them after half time and found a fair bit of the footy but played a lone hand in Peels midfield. Absolute stand out in this game was Alex Ridley in East Perth midfield,looked to have more run then all the other players and absolutely killed it through the middle. the kid found space and provided options with his run and backed up with second efforts to win plenty of his own ball. Did not see him butcher the ball and disposal was excellent, he weighted two passes perfectly over the full backs head to leading forwards chest, which resulted in two goals. Seniors game was a good contest with seasoned players stepping up to get East Perth over the line against a spirited Peel outfit. Royals captain Brendan Lee BOG with plenty of the ball and after a sloppy first quarter they controlled the midfield with no standouts but honest effort from Clutterbuck, Paul Johnson and Craig Wulf. Josh Smith provided plenty of headaches for the peel defence. Cale Morton drifted in and out of the game laid some decent tackles in the forward line but needs to do more to break into Meth Coast side. Have to say no one from this game who is young enough or eligible to be drafted did anything to impress me, Dockers Crozier was the most impressive of the youngsters. Will update next week if anything catches my eye

Look this is wonderful but if your going to exclude GWS & GC please at least remind us all with courtesy who we played in the 2nd half of the season. What is it with delanders wanting to go out of their way to promote negativity. We all know that for the best part of 07 -12 we were shite but the likes of WYL & OD will have you thinking we have been that way since 64 & continue to be a spent force for eternity. I believe we may even go down to Port but increased fitness will see the Dees finish the year strongly. I just hope we are travelling well enough for the likes of hardnut and the other Neeld haters to be curtailed for what I believe will be a rough start to 2013

It's in the laws that WYL views everything about the Demons by WCS Worst Case Scenario and a large amount of feeling sorry for yourself

Ok let me put it another way. The financial side of this deal i applaud. The AFL makes it harder with every broadcasting deal it signs. So you do see a positive, well there's hope $1.5 Billion is an obscene amount when clubs are still screaming and being screwed. Where are those wads of cash going? Just buy Etihad you tight bastards...now. Why how about talk up the new boutique stadium, increase pressure with Carlton moving to the G and get a better Etihad deal The broadcasters are going to only want to televise the big games to recoup their huge outlay, understandable. Foxtel still puts in a big slice of the coin, so not a lot will change. Start winning and the broadcasters will show you But how does this deal enhance the MFC's chances of winning the 13th?? The Filth play 18 games a season at the 'G We are never going to match the filth, so lets not start setting unrealistic expectations, they have a huge supporter base lets just set our sights on becoming a viable club with a good culture, new supporter bases in Casey etc and enough regular income sponsorship to give us a good tilt on the field. My sights is getting to the level of Geelong just below the off field power clubs but no longer discussed as teh AFL strugglers like Dogs, Saints, Port, North, GWS, Lions, Suns Carlton will get to that level in time...Richmond possibly... See above, Carlton need to start winning regularly when I started following footy they were the power club, now Essendon, Tigers, Hawthorn, Meth Coast, Crows have all gone past them I don't blame anyone inside the club for doing this deal. This is a direct cause and effect from the TV rights deal, which we are very low priority. It will help pay the bills, but growing membership i remain sceptical (160 in 4 years at last count) Look at the big picture it gains us revenue to help us compete with the bigger clubs and start winning regulalrly which will bring extra members Playing in Darwin whilst our enemies use the MCG in our absence. It's 1 extra game & pretty sure the club will work it out that we lose an Etihad game, MCC may have some in put into this, thank god Jimmy went back down the road of reconciling with them Yes it is only one game, but it could mean the difference between 4th or 5th spot. Good sides win anywhere and that would just be an excuse The AFL fixture is only going to get more weighted, and we are an afterthought in that, considering the AFL plays finals at the MCG that i have been a member of since 1982...i am not very pleased right now. The club may well survive longer but winning a flag just got bloody harder, again. Look at the Hawks since 08, the Dogs under Eade, Saints under Ross Lyon, the dynasties of the Bombers under Sheedy from 1998-2001, The Pies of 2010-12 who were the new Power side, Port Adelaide Minor Premiers 01-03, Adelaide under Neil Craig, NEWSFLASH - Premierships are damned hard to win a lot has to go right Fcuk it. The only thing we need to owrry about is attaining and maintaining stability and becoming regular winners and not just making up numbers in the 8 but being contenders. Everything else falls into place after that.

It is a good move financially for the club we are not retreating it will gain us sponsorship and it is a long term vision like the Hawks into Tassie, Carlton will not sign a new deal if they do not get over 50k members if anything they will play interstate sides at Visy park if it is upgraded or get a better deal from Etihad. Almost everything you post is with "the sky is falling attitude" which leads me to two possible conclusions Either You're the worlds biggest pessiment or The drug experimentation you confessed to earlier in your like has fried your brain to the point of paranoia

You wouldn't have been out of place in the Italian Army WYL, get some balls and a back against the wall attitude into you. We have started our fight both on & off the field and neither will occur overnight but if you continue down this ground go and invest in a 2 year dose of anti-depresents, because you are going to need them PS: dont bother replying with a we haven't got 2 years or we have been saying that for the last 48 years

Why we got Trenners despite what the naysayers on here think & we got Sculldog who turned out to be part of the package which enabled us to get Viney/Toumpas & Hogan by holding several cards

And we thought that about the Hawks when they started playing 5 games in Tassie, Ian Dicker was innovative and that is why the Hawks moved on quickly from the failed merger. 2 games in NT if fixtured correctly with Byes after and the Casey moves are brave & innovative. Small steps

Matty Richardson who is probably similar to Clark recovered fully from the same injury and as Iva says treatment has moved on since then

Depends on what Neeld was looking for in the game, certain players to make his 22 for Round 1 who knows. All will be revealed over the next 7 weeks by round 6 we should know where we are at, or at least start to see more of a picture of progression hopefully

Trust me YDE when it comes you will say it was worth the wait. And I am not talking flags as I have no idea how that feels but I remember the feeling after we beat the Dogs at the Western Oval in 1987 to make finals for the first time in my life. Whilst we bowed out at teh Prelim stage still loved that September and recall my father and most others adopted the Dees as their second side during the finals.

Ross Lyon has brought a lot of match simulation training to the Dockers in regard to players coming back from injury. He choses to use match simulation with their fitness rather then bring them back through the WAFL, seemed to work well last season with Barlow, Fyfe & Mundy. It is possible the philosophy was adopted by MISSON during his time at Saints. The game has evolved and there are ways of getting decent fitness bases for the players without load bearing activity.

Have agreed with a fair bit of what you have said over the years BH and disagreed with some posts, but opinions are opinions. Think you may have tarred a lot with the same brush with this gem!

That all comes with confidence. Confidence in being able to draw a player & evade the tackle, confidence in your team mate being there to give the ball off to

LMFAO

If Griffen were available I would chase him over Daisy but just MO, Tommy Rockliff is another I would target but lets see how we go with our new mids and their development. Although I am all for getting a midfield like Sydney's which has plenty of players to rotate through and also play a role up forward.

Mike Sheehan Top 50 once again scratching my head as to what Mike's criteria is and how you get in. Also does he have different criteria for different players, Sheehan needs to decide what gets you in and stick by it. I like Dangerfield but above Scotty Thompson has me asking questions, Nat Fyfe, Daniel Wells, Bryce Gibbs really good players but can’t say they set the world on fire in 2012 in fact Fyfe & Wells spent a lot of time on the sidelines due to injury. Dustin Martin potential but again hardly set the world on fire in 2012. Matty Boyd, Nick Del Santo, Travis Boak, David Mundy, Nathan Jones & Heath Scotland all deserve to be in ahead of these boys on last years form. I would also consider Jones, Mundy, Boak & Del Santo have the ability to back it up again this season

No but that is not having a shot at the club because Richmond, North, Lions, Saints, Essendon, GWS, Suns, Port & Dogs can't either. Come 2014 & I think Geelong and Freo will join the group because a lot has to go right for the two of them to even get close this season. Flags are very hard to win even with good sides, Richmond, North, Essendon & Brisbane are considered years ahead of us but things can turn very quickly. I like the way we have stopped pissing about got ourselves a decent footy department who seem to be getting some professionalism and a decent culture amongst the playing group. We have the makings of a very good forward line and call me biased but in Chip and Tom Mac we have two potentially very good key position defenders. For me everything relies on how quickly Trenners, Jimmy Toumpas, Viney, Blease, Jetta and Watts take the next steps. Jones stepped up last year and if he continues will be close to A Grade, I get laughed at by Meth Coast supporters when I say as bad as we are we are still not that far away if we get things right. IMO we do have the nucleus of 12/15 good players who could form part of a tilt at the flag. If Hogan turns out to be what I think he can I believe we will fast track very quickly and jump over a few of the so called next generation of up and coming contenders

BH I agree with a lot of what you say here although we have yet to see Clark & Dawes play together, it's something I'm looking forward to. I think (hope) they will create some panic in opposition defences and also bring the ball to ground more than we have previously to help us lock it in more and not allow opposition defences clear it so easily. When I say bring ball to ground I am talking with purpose and to advantage. I believe Byrnes will be a good small forward with Rodan rotating through stints and the ball and would like to see Blease doing similar. In a nutshell basically I am of the view whilst we don't have Milne who is a gun, I think Clark & Dawes could make reasonable small forwards look good. I would also like to see us eventually having Toumpas, Kent, Trenners, Tappy, Blease, Byrnes, Rodan and whoever comes through to replace them rotate from midfield to forward in similar style to the Swans. Lets hope we don't have to wait to long for the evolution

Some valid points there the extra 10/12 K in supporters is a lot more impressive pushes up to the Carlton & Adelaide mark and above Fremantle. Soemtimes you have to spend money to make money. 45 - 50k supporters is an attractive selling point to prospective sponsors etc. I'm sure someone at the club could do the maths, crunch the numbers and come to a conclusion to benefit the club long term. At a cost of $600/750k when you may draw $1 to 1.5 million in Sponsorship there is a lot of upside in this

I tried to put a starting 18 together and found it quite difficult which I guess is a good thing considering that last season there were players who I would have thrown in to make up the numbers. Considering we have some from our best 22 not even in the squad I am of the opinion it is starting to show some forms of depth. Having said all that footy is played on grass and not paper

Hard to say one player although if it's not limited to MFC players Carey at the drop of a hat Loved Schwarter, Neiter & Lyon as Forwards but given we now have somE decent big forward I would pick a 1998-2000 Jeff Farmer as the Crumbing forward we need Big Jimmy would be a great asset in the current game playing a role for us similar to Cox's role with Meth Coast Through the middle Stinger or Scotty Thompson in his current form With our current forwards if Neiter came back may play him as a permanent CHB

Agree see the real footballers and less short sharp impact athletes. I think there will be less congestion as fatigue will kick in and we will see more 1 on 1 contests. Part of me would like to see gradual change where the cap starts at 120 and after two seasons is dropped to 80. It wont kill the game, it continues to evolve and players adapt