Macca

Just now, Gorgoroth said:

WHAT A THROW!

And then the turnover!   KC just can't get it done (so far)

14 minutes ago, Gorgoroth said:

Ooof, Kansas offence is being owned early by the niners D.

Yep, 3 and out, rinse & repeat

And scoring is what the Chiefs do when on song

3 and out for the Chiefs so that turnover didn't hurt the 49ers too much

Turnover!  

That's cost the 49ers 3 points or so

11 minutes ago, Kent said:

Petracca doesnt kick enough goals hopefully plenty of assists when forward

Well he doesn't often play in the forward line so if he does, he may well kick goals

Late in the season last year he kicked 4 goals against the Saints & Lions and had 4 or 5 scoring shots against the Tigers, North & Carlton

Closer to goal, his accuracy can improve

Clarrie could easily hit the scoreboard if he played forward a bit too.  Goes hand in hand with the ability to winning their own ball

Mind you,  what I've just said is not exactly news

Chiefs 7-12

8 minutes ago, John Demonic said:

Can't see it at all. JVR plays more like an excited Labrador with intensity and aggression jumping around the place with reckless abandon. Doesn't really seem like the type to direct the play and teammates behind the ball. Lever will step up and be that person for the next 7+ years imo. Just put some big athletic bodies around him.

Howes & Hore are both 191cm (6'3" imperial measure)

Surely one of them can nail down a spot down back and could either of them play forward? 

It's desperate times, JD!

Tomlinson is 194cm,  Adams 196cm & Turner is 194cm

So plenty of height but can they play?  We know that Tomlinson is more than handy as a 3rd backman

T-Mac & Petty have made the transition forward so surely 1 of the 5 aforementioned can do the same

Just a thought!

3 hours ago, bush demon said:

I have been wasting my time on AFL stats going over these halcyon years, and the abysmal kicking of these two.  If either Dillon or Parke could kick straight we would surely have made a couple of finals appearances in that grim decade. 

The popular opinion was that our talent levels dropped off alarmingly because our zones weren't very productive (zones came into being from 1963) 

The way around the zones was to bring in interstate talent but apart from bringing in Tilbrook, we weren't really a player like say, a team like North who seemingly had an endless chequebook

Bombers, Hawks & Blues brought in loads of interstate talent as well (more so in the 80's)

21 minutes ago, JJR said:

8-0 Easy.

Wow!  Right now, 5 & 3 or maybe 6 & 2* would be a reasonable good result (in my view) but I'll take 8 & 0,  JJ

Our forward line woes might not be shown up as much on the smaller SCG (we may just need the half forward line firing - Fritsch,  JVR,  Clarrie/ Petracca?)

So if we can eke out a win, we've got Kozzie returning for the Bulldogs clash.  We'll have run out the rust in the Sydney game where as the Doggies might hit the wall at 3/4 time

*If augers well we can finish the rest of the season 11 & 4 (that would give us 16 or 17 wins overall and a top 4 position)

54 minutes ago, 58er said:

Yes I would give Clarry a go up forward so  he doesn’t have to run all day and of course Trac as well if needed. He finds goals when forward of the centre like kids find Easter eggs on a hunt. 

I hope McAdam can get into the team with his fitness. Billing’s prob a sure cert now In final 23. 

It's not a bad idea (Clarrie forward periodically)

At full strength our forward line can be quite potent

If the forward line contains Petty, JVR,  Fritsch,  Kozzie,  ANB/ Petracca/Clarrie, Chandler & Melksham/McAdam, then that becomes a real headache for the opposition

We just need to be patient as our better forward players return

And what can happen once the forward line is strong is that the 5th & 6th forwards can shine

Even in Grand Finals.  Players such as Paul Dear, Stewie Dew, Teddy Hopkins and Shane Ellen can bob up and dominate

Our 2 or 3 in that category are Chandler, Melksham and maybe McAdam

3rd forwards such as Gunstan & Fritsch can really shine if the 2 KPF's are standouts or can play their roles well

17 minutes ago, bush demon said:

'Cos Parke would take 15 marks and kick 0.3 and two out on the full...

Rods Dillon was another with a vice-like grip when it came to marking ... but not a great kick for goal

Parke kicked 63 goals in 1972 but his kicking action wasn't great.  But just like Dillon, he could take a great grab

Either would be more than handy right now!!

JVR reminds me of Hardeman a bit but Gary played his best footy as a CHB.  I reckon that JVR can be quite a versatile player so if he spends the year as a CHF, we might see that versatility in terms of him bringing other players into the game

33 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

I’m certainly not giving up. I just don’t think Petty, Melksham and Oliver can be relied upon. 

The one who we can probably rely on is Melksham.  When he gets back, he could end up as a plug in and play.  He's a bit of a fitness freak

You might be right on Petty but I'm holding out hope that he recovers.  If Petty doesn't get back at all then all bets are off.  But I don't want to think in those terms.  Who does? 

I don't know anything about Oliver's circumstances but on purely football terms, he could play every game once his fitness gets up to speed ... and that could be sooner rather than later

I would not be at all surprised if Tomlinson is added to the forward line.  Certainly over Schache who I don't think the coach has much faith in

Hore or Howes can play back as the 3rd tallish defender

And as the year progresses, Jefferson might come into the reckoning.  As might Fullarton

11 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

McAdam is 29 in May. He's a talent that's for sure. Can he play close to a full season and find his mojo......that's the million dollar question

Anyway, he's got roughly 3 years to make a contribution then

He's not in my best forward line, all the same

HF   Fritsch    JVR      ANB/ Petracca

F      Kozzie    Petty        Melksham

Chandler as a 7th forward rotating in

McAdam next in line

I'd give that forward line above at least a B+

Our current forward line C-

There's lies the difference between being a genuine premiership chance or maybe just as a finalist

So we need Petty & Melksham back in, in order to have a great chance to contend (providing we don't get a rash of injuries elsewhere)

But neither have to be available right now in order for the team to win more games than it loses

In 2021, we won our first 9 games but we were at full strength from the get-go

This year, we have to be patient in terms of having a close on full list to choose from

20 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

So you're banking on Petty, Melksham and Oliver to be pivotal in us winning the flag and you're bullish about our prospects?

Yeah I am, we just need to go better than break even until our forward line woes are fixed.  Petty & Melksham will be back as will Oliver

So if we can be 5 & 3 after 8 rounds (Dogs, Port, Crows, Tigers, Cats & Hawks are no world beaters) we can then get on a roll when at full strength

Melk won't be back until late in the season but he'll be a bonus player when he does return.  In the meantime, McAdam will have his chance to shine

So we don't have to start the season in a dynamic fashion, we just need to eke out wins and hold firm

We have new info as in the last week, T-Mac, McAdam & Fullarton have been added to the injury list so we're going to have to find a way

I'm still bullish that we can get into contention because we have a tremendous defence and a fabulous midfield

But if you want to give up all hope, that's your choice.  Maybe you've been out in the sun too much?

Perhaps you need to get into the shade 😁

1 hour ago, Sydee said:

If Oliver plays against Sydney I’d prefer he spends time in F50 rather than Trac

I know Trac has spent more time as a forward recently but seriously given where we are today I can’t see how Clayton can run out more than a half as a midfielder in early rounds 

Neither are sharpshooters when it comes to goal kicking but I do think Trac is better at delivering into the F 50 then Oliver who (imho) tends to bomb the ball in without much precision too often 

Yeah, may be, re Clarrie & Trac

Maybe a bit of both, mix and match. One thing is for sure, we need a bit of class up forward

Billings can add to our midfield mix but he's not noted for his goalkicking prowess

McAdam has just turned 29 and could be the one if he can get himself reasonably fit ... in his 50 games he has kicked 2-4 goals on 21 occasions.  So every other week (in rough terms) he impacts the scoreboard

I don't watch enough football to know what McAdam's 'assist' rate might be

48 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Yes I have Schache just about by default.

I’d have Melk or J Smith ahead of him as they were last year but obviously both are unavailable. 

T Mc was picked ahead of him late last year but another year older, another injury and a backline freshen up is required for him now.

McAdam, possibly could play alongside Fritsch and maybe Tracc forward and just the one tall. I’m not dismissive of that line up, but I’d rather start the year with a genuine 2nd tall option. I wouldn’t want to load up Max and JVR to effectively do the job of 3 if not 4 players from the very start of the year.

My expectations remain very low for the Schach attack but there’s hope that he has a year on continuity with team mates and might find some more easy ball on the lead even if he’s still suss at the contest 

Schache was the no.2 pick in his draft year so players picked that high nearly always get longer to prove themselves or get 2 or 3 chances at different clubs (unless they live up to the no.2 pick and the expectations)

Schache getting picked as the 2nd KPF may well happen but my expections wouldn't be high

However, if he comes into the side and does well, I'll be the first to congratulate him

1 hour ago, Roost it far said:

There's every chance that Petty won't play for 3 Months. At the very least he's probably 8 - 10 weeks away from being fit enough to impact, that's if his foot/toe are ready to start serious training.  I'm not sure why people are hanging our forward line hopes on a defender with a serious Lisfranc injury who's played a handful of games forward who's had no preseason. You're setting yourselves for disappointment. TMac and Brown are pipe dreams. Then there's Schache, Tomlinson, Turner and Fullarton. If Fritsch or JVR go down it's season over. We're going to have to either play Schache or hope McAdam can actually get on the park for the bulk of the season, something I also think is wishful thinking. Then there's Oliver's absence robbing our forward half of Petracca unless Sparrow can step it up a gear.......2024 is going to be the toughest challenge for awhile. It's what makes it so interesting for mine, we're right up against it. So do we have that real burning inner strength and desire to climb the mountain again? The drive is going to have to come from the likes of Rivers, Bowey, Sparrow, Chandler and also from guys pushing hard like Woewodin, Howes, Turner and hopefully Windsor. One thing's for sure it's going to be entertaining.

It is going to be tough and Petty is one of the vital cogs (in terms of the team being able to win 3 finals)

I'm not sure we can win 3 finals with T-Mac or Brown as a KPF.  Not impossible if surrounded by class but nonetheless, a big ask given their injury history.  We can always use one as a decoy leading a defender away from the contest

But if we can get Petty back at some stage, we're a chance.  The X-factor players are Melksham and maybe McAdam

We just need to be slightly better than break even in the W/L stakes until we get somewhere close to full strength in the forward line 

And we need Clarrie to play more games than he misses and definitely be available at the business end

The forward line below allows us to be a proper contender

HF   Fritsch      JVR     ANB/Petracca

F      Kozzie     Petty      Melksham

Chandler as the 7th forward rotating

Petracca & ANB to share the role on one HFF

But that forward line can't happen until Melksham returns 

And Melksham had found his niche as a defensive forward type and by the looks of it, is very determined to get back

I'll back him in to get back to his best even though age is also a factor with Jake.  He was a revelation late last season before he did his knee ... and as the 5th or 6th forward, he can be very dangerous.  In his absence, it's probably McAdam

22 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

Tomlinson was a possibility but probably a bigger risk than Tmac.

The cupboard was bare, I'm afraid.

Let's hope it's not at this year's end as well.

Yes, we need our starting forwards back as we could drop any given game until at least a few return

We can still win any of the games as well as we might be able to cover their loss (our lack of forwards) 

I'd take a 5 & 3 start to the season right now as our class elsewhere is going to help us win games.  But that could end up being 4 & 4 or even as good as 7 & 1 if augers well.  Right now a long shot (7 & 1) but you never know

And if our forward line is fit & firing from that point, we can go on a run

For the record, here are our first 8 games

(A) Sydney

(H) Bulldogs

(A) Hawthorn (MCG)

(A) Port Adelaide

(A) Crows

(H) Brisbane) 

(A) Richmond (MCG)

(H) Geelong

But you'd imagine our forward line will start getting stronger by the Port game at least ... maybe earlier but maybe later

We just don't know about what the state of forward line is going to look like (game to game)

Compare that to the backline & midfield where things are quite stable

12 hours ago, monoccular said:

Jesse wold have been very handy the past 2 seasons

Any chance of a Hogan return was snuffled when GWS gave him another 2 years late last season

But I reckon that ship had sailed anyway (on reflection) 

But we couldn't have predicted all these injuries to all our talls anyway

Fair enough with Brown or T-Mac but both?  As well as Petty out and the possible forward/ruck in Fullarton out as well

And the other 3rd or 4th forwards in Melksham & McAdam are unavailable as well.  Kozzie out suspended.  Smith out for however long? 

That's 8 forwards out for round 1 and having that many forwards out is going to affect our W/L record unless we start getting them fit & firing again

And the above is not designed to take away anyone's hope as Kozzie will be back in round 2 and Petty will present fit sooner or later.  As will McAdam for a bit of X-factor

And Fullarton might be the answer to our 2nd ruck issues when his body is good to go

As Neale Daniher said around round 5 or 6 in 2007 ... "Yeah, we're a bit banged up right now" (or words to that effect)

8 hours ago, 58er said:

Yes it’s Schache time. JVR and he might just click! 

I reckon we'll need to see a fair sample size of Schache as a forward before we start proclaiming him as the 2nd coming of Jono Brown

I genuinely wish him well if picked but I don't have high expectations.  Maybe we can use him as a decoy

Remembering that we had numerous chances to play him last year but he kept getting overlooked.  Not sure the coach has him in his plans (at least as a forward) 

In my view, we extended his contract by 1 year so as he could be a back up ruckman (of sorts)

i.e. if Gawn can't play for whatever reason, we need back up and with Fullarton not being available right now, Schache is next in line (before Verrall & Farris-White) 

2 minutes ago, old55 said:

Sure, we don't want more forward line injuries right now but by the same token Petty, McAdam, TMac, BBB and Fullarton are not dead and some will filter back soon enough.

And Melksham will be back towards the end of the season.  As you said, Kozzie out for the first game only

But 7 out is umprecedented, all the same 

Which leaves us with this ...

5 minutes ago, old55 said:

I think vs Sydney we can go with JVR, Schache, Fritsch, ANB, Spargo, Chandler and Laurie/Woey/Billings/Kolt. Throw in a bit of Petracca

If Clarrie is in the side we can use Petracca more forward but without Oliver, it might be a risk using Petracca away from the midfield

If all goes well, the forward line we're left with might be able to help us win the game but a lot might rest with Fritsch.  Chandler & JVR are 2 others who can impact the scoreboard

11 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

How many times do I have to say it

If you were able to look at things in a calm, considered & rational manner, you'd be able to see the logic in us not using Schache (who was the reserve ruck for Gawn) 

T-Mac was also the 2nd ruck so he had to play.  Every other KPF was unavailable

And even a 3/4 fit T-Mac is a better bet than Schache.  And we couldn't take T-Mac off as Gawn might have had to come off soon after

Gawn was carrying a broken toe so Schache was the sub in reserve

Schache up until now hasn't proven himself to be a contested beast and that includes how he is as a ruckman (non physical)

And lose all that anger, calm down

10 hours ago, 58er said:

At last some sense SWYL 

I've heard everything now

You and Wyl make a good pair as both your football knowledge is highly questionable

You and he won't accept that we had a  forward line that was decimated 

But maybe the result will miraculously change with the avalanche of complaining

In my view, bringing Schache on wouldn't have made much difference at all

And if we did bring Schache on for T-Mac, we ran the risk of not being able to replace Gawn if he broke down

Has anyone here ever played high level sport with a lot of running, clashes & jumping involved with a broken toe? For a month long period?  

So, we did need Schache as the sub if Gawn had to pull the pin

We just used the sub in a different way to how a sub is often used

So in reply, can you at least try and be calm & rational?

A question for you

Do you believe Neale Daniher was making excuses when he referenced all our injuries early in 2007? (Neitz & Robbo amongst others were out injured at the time)

On 09/02/2024 at 09:12, Deemania since 56 said:

Great bit of footage, Macca. Thanks so much for putting it up on DL. Wonderful memories, Demon players, heritage thoughts invoked. Was there, that day - a game that I had forgotten, over the years. l think I got a smack over the head from a Filth fan during the last quarter, as fading memories recall. 

Memory is fading but I know I was at Vic Park in '76 but probably a couple of times in the early 70's

It was great seeing Big Max Walker but he was up against a good player in Thommo

A number of Demon premiership players though and you could still see the Smith influence with the attack on the ball and the ability to get to the front position (Beckwith had taken over in '68)

As for the Duke (Windsor), he's got big wraps on him and we know how good Jason Taylor is in identifying talent.  Both he & the Kolt will debut early you'd imagine as there is often a flow-on effect when so many players are injured in one part of the ground (in our case, the forward line)

With Caleb, I like his first 2 or 3 steps and with the Kolt, it's his awareness and head over the ball

Both could be rippers!

54 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Schache should have played instead of TMac. 1 for 1

TMac was unable to combine with anyone 

In September, the pressure is immense and when the ball is rushed forward under pressure, you need big bodied forwards who can compete, take a grab and bring the ball to ground

Look at Ben Brown's role in the 2021 GF.  He continually worked his way to the front position even though he knew he wasn't going to take a mark every time.  He played the percentages and played a mighty role for his team

In the Carlton game I'd have gone with T-Mac (but deep forward)  and tried someone like Tomlinson at CHF (Turner could have taken Tomlinson's spot down back)

And no Schache at all as Tomlinson, Turner or T-Mac can cover for 15% of ruck time

However, It's important to note that I'm using hindsight as my friend and that's not keeping it real

2 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Schache should have played. 
at least he could move and compete. 
For him to be a fresh player in the 2nd half and not be rotated once was unforgivable in my opinion 

Ok but as far back as can be remembered, we go in with at least 2 KPF's (and sometimes with the 2nd ruck deep forward)

To only go with a player like Schache who is yet to prove himself as a KPF is going to leave us short (no pun intended)

Have you got another KPF to combine with Schache? 

Need 2, not 1