Macca

Why would anyone take notice of any journo or any ex footballer? When it comes to these sorts of predictions they know about as much as the drunk in the pub And whoever gets it right? No one as far as I can see. They might get a few right but lots wrong = no credibility 2 posters here on this thread have said anywhere between 1st & 12th What sort of a guess is that? They may as well have not posted up anything

What a one-sided affair in NZ! The Kiwis lead the South Africans by 528 runs in the 1st Test but will they bat on and send a message to the SA cricket board? (for sending a 2nd rate touring squad) Mind you, I'm not sure they'll go as far as Bill Lawry when he set the West Indies 735 to win the 5th Test in the 1968/69 series I wonder if that's the highest target ever set? Aust vs WI 5th Test 1968/69 Scorecard

Can people now see why Schache was sub back up ruckman? https://www.google.com/amp/s/7news.com.au/sport/afl/max-gawn-battling-broken-bone-on-eve-of-afl-semi-final-against-carlton-clayton-oliver-also-injured-c-11874677.amp

Most of the game day planning has to happen prior to the games these days. It's a completely different sport to when Sheedy would swing players around back 40+ years ago As for your ongoing questioning of Goodwin, it's tiresome and boring. I'm not sure you know much about the modern game at all All you do is whinge & whine when the team doesn't win. We've got a very good list of players and we're very well coached. The club is well run as well You should be grateful that you've got a club that now does a lot right You've joined the ranks of the resident whiners on this site. Only happy when they've got something to whinge about

Excellent post, wwsw Successfully moved T-Mac & Petty forward and stuck with Melksham And at our best he gets a buy-in from the players on how we zone up and our all-over defence. So we're nearly always a chance to win any game of footy We've got some weaknesses especially with how we advance the ball forward but from all accounts, we're working on that issue at training (at least)

I wonder how Smith is going to be able to handle Bumrah batting as an ageing opener? Bancroft, Renshaw or Pucovski (if available) would be my preference (remembering that Khawaja is turning 38 next summer and can't go on forever) But the selectors have plans for Green at no.4 so I suppose the decision has been made. And it's just the 2 Tests against the Kiwi's coming up before India come here for the 5 test summer Speaking of India, they just defeated the Bazballers in the 2nd test and the match itself moved at high pace. A great test match played on a very good sporting wicket I'm a little surprised that we haven't seen 2 dustbowl wickets but maybe India are concerned about the England spinners?

We've extended Schache's contract but he's a depth player probably as a 2nd ruck option only ... and he wouldn't be on good money And with Fullarton being injured and not being able to show his worth, Josh therefore comes into calculations A lot will depend on the makeup of our tall forwards and whether any of them can play as the 2nd ruck. If not, Schache will get his opportunities So, as a back up ruckman, he's needed. At least for now. The sub again? It could happen especially if we need a 2nd ruck in reserve for Max* and especially if the MC can't see a spot in the forward line for Schache Is T-Mac's body going to hold up if he's the 2nd ruck (or the main man if Gawn gets injured?) Do we really want to use JVR as an around the ground ruckman? Is there anyone else apart from the 2 youngsters? (both 19yo's) Just a guess but I reckon the MC had Fullarton earmarked as the forward ruck for selected games (not all) ... but he may not be available until April. And we play 4 games in March *Max is now a 32yo and he's now entered the stage where we may need to manage his loads. Back in the day, when a game was in control, a veteran starter might come off the ground early in the last quarter

Even a proppy T-Mac is value in the sense that he plays in front, puts his body on the line and doesn't mind the physical contact ... a prerequisite for a key forward even these days So the coach would probably prefer that to a player who is not a physical player and plays from behind. And in finals, you often need forwards who are physical So given all that, the more logical way to look at it is that Schache was there just in case Max broke down. If Schache was a physical beast, he may well have been in the starting 22 Much like in the 2021 GF, all the rotations and moves were almost certainly based on the starting 22. The sub was just that in both cases, break glass in emergency As previously stated, we ran out of quality forwards who know where the goals are, that's the main reason we lost So in the absence of Fullarton, will Schache get into the 22 as the 2nd ruck? Will he be used as the sub again in the same way? I wouldn't rule it out Remembering that we have had a 2-ruck policy 2020-2023 Interesting times ahead

The main reason we didn't advance in the finals last year was the decimated forward line and we had the goalkicking yips But Melksham & Petty are good kicks for goal as are Fritsch & T-Mac But neither Petty or Melksham played and Fritsch & T-Mac were both proppy. JVR is also a good kick for goal but he missed the Carlton final as well So the makeshift & replacement forward line was not only not good enough, but they had the goalkicking yips as well It's quite amazing that we went so close in both finals As for Schache, he's not that much of a forward but was an adequate 2nd ruck (in Grundy's absence) So there's no elaborate conspiracy theory, Gawn didn't break down so Schache wasn't needed

Well, if you want to beat yourself up about the whole thing, go right ahead I'd rather look to the future and acting like a bad loser isn't going to change anything anyway And here's you castigating others for complaining & moaning Have a look in the mirror

We could have easily faked an injury to get Jordon on the ground in the 2021 GF. But it didn't bother me either way anyway And many of those calling for Schache to go onto the ground are using hindsight to strengthen their argument How many were calling for Schache to go on the ground at half time or at 3/4 time? And since when did Schache become some sort of superstar footballer? He was the sub as the reserve 2nd ruck if Gawn went down. We couldn't use T-Mac as the first ruck in those circumstances as the forward line was already short on talls

We've had a 2 ruck policy for at least the last 4 years but Schache was not deemed to be best 22. And I believe we went with the 22 (and all the rotations) with Schache as the reserve 2nd ruck (if needed) And we've got history as James Jordon didn't get any minutes at all in the 2021 GF Schache wasn't going to make much of a difference anyway if his previous form was any indication But as a reserve ruckman if Gawn broke down, that's a smart play It's one sub, you make it sound like the sub was going to be some sort of difference maker where in actuality, they are not good enough for the best 22 We had our chances to win but with a decimated forward line and the kicking yips, we fell short So get over it, we lost but we live to fight another day

Exactly All the rest of it is just a made up story (conspiracy theory) He might have been cover for T-Mac as well but taking T-Mac off was a risk as even a proppy T-Mac plays in front, competes and is capable of creating separation and kicking a goal or 2 ... once you take him off that's it and then we're left with Schache But again, Schache really was the cover for Gawn and if Gawn had have gone down, we needed cover as T-Mac going into the ruck full time would have left us short in the forward line

Another wicket to India ... 6/172 and in control. Batting last could be problematical for England And I'm streaming it as well but cricket on the radio works better than most other sports. And back close on 100 years ago, the broadcasting was quite sophisticated (all things considered)

For those wanting to follow the India/England test series, the broadcast is available on the SEN app

The other thing that should be taken into account is if the players are adhering to the game plan with their entries into the forward line, then blaming only one player is unfair Langdon, Petracca, Clarrie, Viney, Sparrow etc all turn over the ball in the same manner (heading forward). So the clanger count is a team-wide issue not just the one player. And it can be strongly argued that it's not a player issue but a game plan issue

That's a better type of post I'd also argue that we need to use our wings in a much more robust manner and I would look at switching the wings so the boundary line is not their friend Also, constantly kicking into a crowded forward line often doesn't do the kicker any favours We need to move the ball with way more speed and more use of the corridor ... in a more scientific manner It's pleasing that we are spending a lot more time practising a better approaching to the forwards (that will help players like Hunter) So I thank you and others for the training reports

Yeah, we don't know a lot about Jason as he is more in the background. I'm intrigued on how we managed to get him from the Pies as they wouldn't have wanted to lose him And Eddie didn't let him go easily as he wouldn't release him from his contract until it expired at the end of 2012 The other point is when we lost Burgess at the end of the 2021 season. Was it a coincidence that we ran out of legs in 2022? It wasn't injuries, that happened last year. And that's not meant as a knock on Griffiths

The other part that should remain a focus (at the club) is to not make the same sort of mistakes again. *Learnings* North Melbourne obviously didn't take note when they embarked on not replacing experience with experience. Too many young players in the actual starting 23 Again, they went too young and then ended up losing game after game after game. Until it became embarrassing It reached a point where they needed handouts (draft picks) Yet, the problem was their own doing. Many would argue that is was almost a carbon copy on what we did. Except I don't believe either club is or was on dripfeed ... that was the exaggeration Whilst others here might fret over a few umpiring decisions or other such trivialities, I'm far more concerned with making sure that Jason Taylor is secured for the future

Bookies have us at 1.50 to make the 8 and 2.50 to miss the 8 3.00 Top 4 9.00 to win the flag #GambleResponsibly

Well yeah, and the AFL stepping in placing PJ as the CEO before we secured Roos was another massive change in direction PJ then pursues Roos like there's no tomorrow and refused to give up on the idea. Thank you, Peter Jackson Another huge sliding doors moment was the Swans not releasing Stuart Dew as we had him earmarked to take over from Roos Do we win the flag if Stuie Dew coaches us? Who knows? I'm reminded that Goodwin's mantra coming in to the top job was 'Fearless Football' and if a measurement of that is a hard at it attitude and contested ball, then he succeeded with that mantra Would Stuie Dew have gone in that same direction? (Fearless Football)

Yes but our contested ball back then was below par. We were playing an outside game with very few extractors at the stoppages Bruise free? There was a lot of truth to that jibe. I was never a Bailey fan as the list he helped build was far too inexperienced. Bailey was the coach so the development was part of his job as well. Another fail He was one of those coaches who you were either all in with or the opposite. Later on the Hawks, Tigers & Pies were all hard at it with regards to contested ball. We weren't and I thought we were quite soft in those years. The 2-way running that came into the sport back then was virtually non existent at the Demons The forward press that emerged during that time was another area that we failed to execute We had a lot of issues and history tells us that our overall recruiting was woeful Mind you, Neeld was even worse so that whole period was just a nightmare

One of the points of the thread is to highlight the total contrast of how we went about recruiting prior to 2012 and then from 2012 onwards It's been a remarkable turnaround and to be honest, I never thought we could actually recruit so well Taylor is a genius in my view and we need to make sure he doesn't get poached (we poached him from Collingwood) But as I pointed out to Wyl, having a great list needs to be accompanied by a top game plan. And we have our issues with regards to a functioning forward line Defence & midfield personnel is very good along with our zone defence, attack on the ball and contested ball. Not too many issues there although we will have to replace May sooner or later And you are right about the Cats & Swans so we can stay at the top if we keep making sound decisions. But because we've got Taylor, those sound decisions can continue In years to come we might be talking about that plane trip to Esperance that Taylor made to meet up with Tholstrup I see Petracca gave Kolt the don't argue at practice. I like that as it sends a message. Let's see how the kid responds I reckon he plays against the Swans. Wouldn't surprise me if Windsor debuts soon after

And Demonland has been very quiet over the last 2 months. The optimists & realists have left the building (they'll be back) But I can't say I blame them for having a sabbatical. Constantly engaging with the miserable joyless types can wear you down It's like a Monty Python sketch in this place The Department of Miserable Pessimists vs The Department of Super Optimists John Cleese & Michael Palin as Heads of the Departments

I wouldn't go that far but I'm not sure DS is bothered with any pushback He actually posts quite well most of the time and he knows his footy but then there are the 'moments' haha Most of the time it doesn't bother me but the thrust of the thread leans heavily towards the club getting it's act together and might be a bit too positive for those constantly looking for fault In other words, it's difficult to come in with the whinging And I knew that beforehand. So the reaction does not surprise me (with certain types) As previously stated, some people are only happy when they've got something to complain about And the usual suspects arrived at the scene on point They've got nothing to complain about so they attack the notion of the thread