Macca

The bigger issue is our depth of key forwards There is none that I can see and the ones that we've got aren't exactly A grade. Yet we have any number of NQR inbetweeners on the list ... year after year after year. A list management re-think needs to occur. Take rucking for instance ... we used to have an excess of back-up and now we're getting the total number of ruckmen on the list right (as the game has changed) The mid season draft covers the need for an extra ruckman. Key forwards aren't as effective as they once were due to how the sport is played but you've still got to have good ones otherwise a forward line can be rendered ineffective. Backmen make mistakes when they're under seige or if they are confronted with goal kicking forwards. And September footy often sees the key forwards stand out more. Since '64 we've played finals about 13 times and nearly every time those finals years were on the back of good functional forward lines. Conversely, we've struggled nearly every other time because our forward lines were ineffective.

With our top end pick (if we use it) we are almost compelled to take the best available young talent. And the history of drafting tells us that the best talent available at pick #2 is almost certainly a midfielder. The restricted talent available doesn't necessarily lend itself to drafting for needs like it is in the NFL for instance. That's why KPF's are often traded for. We could trade an established midfielder for needs though. Or just find a way somehow. I believe I'm right in saying that Lynch was a restricted free agent so all Richmond had to do was fit him into their salary cap. That's what you call a bargain buy. We should be looking at doing something similar but again, others here will know who might be available.

Trouble is the much safer bet with a top-end pick is the best midfielder type. And at this stage we're staring pick #2 in the face. KPF selections throughout the history of the draft has a history of turning up busts. Even so, the big blokes take longer to develop and blossom anyway and our needs are immediate. Maybe with a later pick but our best option might be to trade for a KPF. We could use next years first round draft pick especially if the club believes we can bounce back into finals contention next year. Much like we've done with May & Lever down back. Even Frost came to us through a trade. And there's always free agency but I'm not sure who might be available anyway. That's what our recruiting people are there for but I see our needs up forward as being critical to our success. The Tigers went hard after Lynch even though they looked to be in a position of strength. No thoughts of sitting back and now they've rebooted and could win it all again.

Poor kicking at goal has cost us another win. We are our own worst enemy. They ran all over us again which is another issue that needs to be addressed. Kick straight and we would have been up by 5 goals at 3/4 time. And with that sort of lead the legs find another gear.

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Goodwin makes the ultimate decision though. So it's on the coach. But I never had a problem with shipping Watts out even though I could see his value if we kept him. It wasn't a black and white issue and as much as Watts was great with ball in hand, he was average to poor in a lot of other areas. Garlett is in the same boat and it will interesting to see if Jeff is kept on the list.

The support for Goodwin diminished somewhat after he got rid of Watts. It wasn't pronounced but a number of people here aren't as all-in with him after he made that decision. With Hogan it was different ... Jesse wanted to go and we let him go. And given all the circumstances, we made the right move. The issue I've got is that we haven't replaced both players with upgrades. In fact, we were all-in with T-Mac & Weideman and it hasn't worked. Are people here happy to go with those 2 next season after what we've seen this season? A big risk if so. I see our forward line as our biggest issue and I was calling for the club to recruit at least 1 key forward as soon as it was obvious that Jesse was going. Not late to the party here.

Whilst I won't pinpoint it all down to Mahoney & Viney, it's not as though they are as valuable as Roos & Jackson so making the appropriate changes in order to try and get better is often necessary. It's nothing personal in the way I look at it whilst others play personalities. It's strictly business unless that person in the sights has been of excellent value. And that's why you have to be careful with regards to building great culture. It's not a matter of just sacking everyone. For instance, a club like Hawthorn can ship out their former greats and get away with it but when we've done the same thing it has hurt us. So it's horses for courses. And if it were Bailey or Neeld shipping out Frawley, Howe and others then the aftermath works differently if (as it was) when it is Paul Roos making those decisions. And the much loved PJ kept Mahoney & Viney on. Roos rubber-stamped that decision by default. But I believe in making changes to try and get better. In World sports that practise of making changes is exercised as a matter of course. It's all about winning 'right now' elsewhere.

With regards to Pert shaking the place up I'm not sure he can just wave a magic wand LH. We have a number of FD issues and quite frankly, our list is way short of being in any sort of premiership window. We need an injection of real experience with our assistants. Especially in the designated areas. A lot can change from one year to the next but we're now being exposed big time for our lack of skill, pace, marking strength up forward and our general goal-kicking ability and game plan. Amongst other on field issues including our terrible conversion rates in terms of scoring. The collective strength of our players being able to use their non-preferred side is deplorable. The other clubs have now done their homework on us where as previously we were just easy-beats. Hunters for a season or 2 and now we're being hunted. That's what happens in big time sport and there are footy clubs out there who do act professionally as if it is a big time world sport.

'Should' fix (the reasons for the poor output) not necessarily 'will' fix them LH. If we were a ruthless club I'd have a lot more faith & trust but we often fall short of how we go about it. Well run clubs never throw out the excuses in advance but we do it. Before the start of the season we were hearing about the pre-season and off-season surgeries whilst previously we heard that it would take 2 or 3 years to get the players fit (2012) Prior to that it was the 'development' reasoning during the Bailey years. "Take the losses now but we'll be a good team down the track. We're rebuilding through the draft alone." (another flawed concept) It's just excuses in advance and in big sports around the world, those sorts of comments are largely unheard of. But our sport isn't even semi professional by comparison thus the naive and amateurish comments from certain clubs. They should just get on with it and get the job done but the club has a history of yapping on too much about what our (the members & supporters) expectations should be. Roos made mention of the player managers upon arriving at the club which read to me as the players ruling the roost. But if the players are ruling the roost it means our Board, Admin & FD are weak. An across-the-board club issue rather than one particular aspect. In essence, scapegoating or finger pointing is not the answer. It never is. e.g. ... we sacked Neeld but then Roos sacked 30 players (over 3 off-seasons) At the same time we changed our board and Jackson embarked on a clean-out within the club (FD & Admin included) But many just wanted to get rid of Neeld as if it was just him being the problem. The same sort of thing is happening (to a lesser degree) with Goodwin but whilst Goodwin himself might be an issue, it's much more than that. It has to be.

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In practical terms it's a smart move (in today's footy) We should try it and see if we can retain or regain possession from those long bombs to the pockets. For all the work we go to in trying to convert our inside 50's, we might as well bomb it longer to the pockets and try our luck. Create a stoppage and win the stoppage (close to goal) It's difficult to rebound quickly in a crowded forward line near the behind posts. The Tigers did something similar in their premiership year. Ugly to watch for a percentage of the neutrals but those with a vested interest watch for the winning alone. The aesthetics are gone anyway.

My criticisms are solely aimed at fixing the sport ... tough love. I want the sport to be king I would prefer footy to be my sport of choice with daylight to my next choice. The way it used to be. By speaking up the way I do might encourage others to do the same. Sitting on one's hands is not my bag. You want change, speak up.

Not really ... I also talk to numerous people about footy and watch enough of it to know how the sport is played. There's no rule that says anyone has to like anything. We all have choices ... you have yours and I have mine. This is a fan site for the MFC not the AFL. The Demons just happen to play in a sport that I no longer like to watch. Personal choices Gonzo. Nothing more, nothing less. And I used to love footy. Face it, the sport has changed dramatically and the new version doesn't take my fancy. Most other sports aren't much different to what they were previously. Footy is unrecognisable from just 15 years ago. The sport is a mess ... most players are on the ball like it's the under 12's. Flooding and the forward press is an eyesore. The rules are ridiculously grey thus rendering the sport unumpirable. There are no wingmen, no full forwards, no space, no true CHF's. Dashing defenders are no more and players don't run and bounce the ball anymore. There would be no place for a Robbie Flower or an Allen Jacovich these days. I don't like watching it and make no apologies for my thoughts. They fix it and I'll watch it again. Until then, its just my team and my team alone. You know, like a Collingwood supporter.

Almost the complete opposite with me ... I've been calling the AFL poor custodians for more than 25 years But that's just me ... I'm a Demon supporter and tbat's it. I couldn't even tell you who plays who from week to week. My interest in the league is closr to zero. There are others like me and I suspect those people are the ones who aren't watching neutral games on TV (as much)

But I'm not doom and gloom about footy's future despite my concerns about the aesthetics etc. Crowds & memberships are very very strong My motive is that I want the sport to be bullet proof with very little criticisms of the spectacle that we see. Others who were never attached to the sport might criticise the sport in similar ways but their morives are different. Mine is a form of tough-love as I do wonder about whether people love the sport like they once did. TV numbers are always a good indication and the sport has to be attractive to the viewers

I'll take your word for it Gonzo as I only tune into our games and when that happens I block out all the noise and what-not and focus in on how we play. But from memory there is too much talk and too many talking. And they're too loud. Back a few years back cable had a facility where you could watch from a widescreen aspect with only crowd noise with no commentary. So no close-ups and you could see the whole ground and where all the players were. It mirrored being at the games and was thoroughly enjoyable. I've never needed the game told to me as the visuals say it all.

And 2 of the 3 games are on free-to-air prime-time. A dress rehearsal for next season in terms of future FTA slots so a win or 2 is ultra important. We certainly don't want to get smashed. Sponsors, memberships and all sorts of other factors are at play. The big one for me is that we need to attract some talent from elsewhere. So we're on show. Cue goes in the rack after round 23.

My argument centres on TV numbers. And the bulk of the AFL's income comes from broadcast rights. So they should be concerned especially when Channel 7 dropped 1 of the 4 free-to-air games not so long ago.

The State of Origin games were 'Excluded' DJ. So you could add on at least 6 million to make the NRL's season total to 100.3 Million. Quite a margin all things considered. Gil can spin it anyway he wants but the numbers can't be disputed. And the rule changes that came in this season were/are designed to make the product more watchable. Not sure it's worked though.

Or google this article ... 'NRL on course for TV Ratings victory over AFL' Not that I'm barracking for the NRL here ... I would prefer it if the AFL was king and bullet proof. But TV rules and if a percentage of the masses are starting to switch off then that's a red flag. Crowds & memberships will always keep the AFL as a strong entity but it needs TV (as well) I'm talking long term ... going from 4 free-to-air games back to 3 free-to-air was a retrograde step which the Melbourne media conveniently ignored. And if the TV numbers continue to drop then we might only see 2 free-to'air games in the future.

Do you not remember the conversation you and I had about the very same subject matter? It was just a few months ago. For the 2nd time ... Google ... 'NRL trumps AFL in TV ratings War'

Many have their own remedy ... bottom line is that 85% - 90% of footy fans don't really have an issue with how the sport is played. To them it's just footy no matter how it is served up. But the concern for the AFL has to be the other 10% - 15%. Lose them and then you have to try and get them back. Memberships are strong and crowds are great but TV numbers have dropped off over the last 4 years by around about 18%. Conversely, Rugby League TV numbers have increased by about the same percentage. The sport has always been best experienced by being at the game though. Loses a lot on TV. So it's not going anywhere but the criticisms of how the game is presented remains. I can't think of another sport where that sports own fans are openly critical of their sport.

Yep ... and the VFA went to 16 a side in the early 1950's. For the reasons why use the Occam's Razor approach. I'd go to 16 a side just to see where it takes the game. Too many are turning away and there are too many complaints. No other sport has these issues. It's just footy. I'd keep a version of 666 though. (6-4-6 if we went to 16 a side) And reduce rotations to 10 per side per game. We might see the clubs recruit more athletes but what we might see the clubs recruit more footballer types. The latter type of recruiting might come later. But the game would have less congestion and as a result, less tackling. Keepings-off would still exist but less-so if the length of a kick for a legal mark to be taken was increased to 20 or 25 metres. All I know is that most people I know watch way less footy these days and I myself barely watch the sport at all. Apart from our games of course. Those who are turning away from the sport need to be catered for rather than condemned. Loyalty is a 2-way street.

Yeah the footy isn't great but it's times like these where you find out a lot about the club Wadda. Tanking aside, we need to still act like professionals. Both collectively and as individuals. The reason I mention tanking (and it still goes on) is that list management and recruiting for needs started way before the point that we're at right now. So we almost certainly have our eye on a certain type or a certain player (much like we did with Oliver) As much as I'm a skeptic with drafting I do recognise that the best of the best are quite often at the pointy end of the draft. So we can do both ... fight out the season and find out who we want to go with as well as having an eye on the future. So I will be watching the last 6 games with avid interest. As well as the Ashes! (along with the golf, le tour, EPL, MLB & the horses) ha ha