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Macca

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Everything posted by Macca

  1. For those wanting to follow the India/England test series, the broadcast is available on the SEN app
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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)
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. Many have made mention of the forward line entry issue So from all accounts, according to how we are training, the issue is being addressed with faster and more direct movement of the ball in the 13 on 13 scratch practice Not a lot of bombing either being reported by the Demonland scouts So we've built a terrific list and continue to improve on the list but it doesn't end there. We're not going to magically just win because we have loads of talent Our departed midfield coach (Yze) and forward line coach (Stafford) are/were accountable. As well as the head coach In fact, if we leave Yze & Stafford out of the discussion, what roles do/did they have? The way I see it is that it's a MC issue in a think-tank type operation. i.e. The coaching group make the decisions And we (they) need to change tack
  13. I can't imagine hating on one of my own players like you do. What happened? Did he fresh-air you at a meet-and-greet? 538 possessions last year says hello by the way And his kicking around the boundary line is a coaching directive in case you haven't noticed All our players do it as we're not a corridor footy team when advancing forward
  14. I'm not surprised you don't get it as your way of posting is quite confrontational and you rarely prefer to discuss matters in a mature manner You're the shock-jock of demonland but each to their own. It takes all types and I'm all for free speach So how you post doesn't particularly bother me nor do I ever learn much from your utterings You like to stir the pot and if you don't see yourself that way, I'd be surprised As for being self indulgent Pot Kettle Black
  15. Not everyone is going to like the topic of a thread or indeed the content of a thread, Lex Each to their own The threads I've started have nearly always been a bit left of centre but are designed to make people think a bit sideways The last 2 threads I started were about the drafting process and outcomes along with the other being an in depth view on our inside 50 forays in the 2021 GF (that one was hard work!) So I view the sport from a technical viewpoint much like I view test cricket or the NFL But it's a very tribal game and we don't like losing. And we often don't react well to losing For instance, the umpires are often seen as the bigger enemy especially in a close loss And the Maynard incident will never be forgotten. We all want revenge but from my point of view the best way to enact revenge is to beat the Pies, fair & square That way you hold your head up and win with class. And make no mistake we can beat them but we need a better game plan in order to beat them And that's where it gets technical Footnote: If someone was to 'accidently' run through Maynard the next time we play them, I'm not going to mind
  16. Salary cap constraints can mean that you have to let a player or 2 go but if you get draft capital coming back then you can top up the talent with top class draftees that are on the minimum salary So it is possible to stay at the top But you have to be smart about it as the playing group can be tight and departing a well liked player can be problematical and upset the culture But again, we're not there yet but it would be a great problem to have I've also been told over the years that Norm Smith's aim was to be 5 goals better than every other team in terms of talent. And by the looks of it, he succeeded exceedingly well!! Footy has changed dramatically over the years but many of the same principles still apply, Civ
  17. It's a positive message too on how far we have come as a footy club in a relatively short space of time The rise started with the recruiting and the overhaul of the list. By the end of 2016 we were on the cusp of finals and of course 5 years on from that 2013 off-season we did play finals and won 2 finals. A bit of a setback in 2019 but 2 years later the premiership But what excites me the most is the ongoing recruitment. I've got mates who follow teams that won heaps of flags and the question I've always asked them was how many good to top players they had during those flag years The answer was always 16+ often up to the whole 22+ ... and that's what it takes So our team having that many good players is not something we've seen very often. I rate coaching, admin and Board stability as well but to me it's always been about levels of talent and how many So from here on in I expect the list to get better and better and the only issue we should have are salary cap contraints (a nice problem to have) Footnote: Old mate Dave tells me that during the Smith era we regularly had 3-5 quality players not getting a game Now that's what I'd like to see as that creates competition within the ranks (again, a nice problem to have)
  18. The thread was not designed to highlight how poorly run we were back then, but more so on how well run we are now Especially with regards to recruiting. Of the 31 that went over that 3 year stretch, roughly 26 gave very little service to the club in terms of output. That's the harsh reality even though I'm sure they all tried their best That's how poor our recruiting was prior to 2012 Normally, when that many leave a club over a 3 year stretch, there's a fair smattering of players who have given good service or who are looking for greener pastures through lack of opportunity And as @Little Goffy pointed out, nowadays we keep adding good players without losing good players to retirement as yet. That will happen eventually as Brown & T-Mac are nearly done but May & Gawn will go on for at least 2 more years you'd imagine Jackson leaving was a bit of a blow but we picked up 3 draft picks and were able to move up in the draft to attain Tholstrup. It remains to be seen with Jefferson but Windsor looks a fine prospect So we're in great hands and we've come a long way and we have a very good list of players Can anyone imagine saying such a thing half way through 2013? So it's not so much looking back in a morbid way, more so acknowledging a very bright future And at the same time a timely reminder how a club can slip up and lose sight of what is needed If a club can continually add 2 good players to an already strong list year by year, that club can remain in contention. So you don't need 4 or 5 good players added, just 2 (that therefore allows for 2 good players leaving or retiring)
  19. Yeah I've got us at a minimum of 14 & 9 But we could just miss the finals or finish 18 & 5 ... these things are notoriously hard to predict and many get it horribly wrong But given a reasonable run with imjuries along with fixing our forward line woes, it's hard to see us missing the finals
  20. Not all of us look through rose coloured glasses and because of our forward line issues we weren't the best team The Pies or Lions might have beaten us even if we were at full strength. Both teams are very good A contender? Definitely But best team? No
  21. I have got us playing finals but not top 4 unless we fix our forward line issues But even with a makeshift forward line along with a stellar defence and defensive structures as well as a strong midfield, it's not hard to see at least a 14 & 9 finish as a minimum A flag can happen as long as we are a true contender. I'm always reminded that a team has to win 3 finals to win big and with a majeshift forward line, that's a big ask (as we found out last year) But we've recruited with a big emphasis on the forward line so we just need a bit of luck with injuries. The delivery forward and forwards creating separation needs to be fixed as well Time will tell, DZ
  22. To me the messaging from many on this site right now are the straight sets exits in the last seasons. It's there, it's prevalent and many are quite frustrated at the outcomes that we witnessed But to me the issues are technical, not above the shoulders. If it was about the mindset, we might have dropped off with our attack on the ball, our 2-way running, the defensive mindset, our zone defence etc etc We simply fell down with the connection to the forwards from the mids, the quality of the forwards and our kicking for goal ... and all that can be fixed Yze & Stafford didn't cop enough heat either. The default move to blame Goodwin only ignores the bigger picture I've a feeling that we may well go medium/tall in the forward line because that's where we have better numbers in terms of personnel Meanwhile, we may well have had another season where we've recruited well ... we don't know yet but the additions of Tholstrup, Windsor, Fullarton, McAdam, Billings etc could well pay off. Interesting that 4 of the 5 can play forward and who knows with Windsor?
  23. The original title of the thread started off with 'Paul' Roos so there's that And the content serves to highlight how poorly run we were as a club prior to Roos coming on board especially with regards to recruiting (which to my eye, is far and away the most important aspect of a club) Also, how well run we are these days where our recruiting is fantastic We've gone from a massive fail to at least 8.5/10 ... and that doesn't happen by accident However, the content also highlights how easily a club can slip back if we don't continue on the path of building a great list - ongoing I started the thread because someone here mentioned that we didn't add any good players to the team last year but we did ... McVee, JVR, Hunter & Grundy. McVee & JVR could be better than good whilst Hunter must be doing something right if he keeps getting a game in a top 4 team ... he could use the ball better but he did have 538 disposals last season Grundy is gone off course but the point stands and we may well add a decent player to replace him (in a year or 2) So the thread is about recruiting good players and how we go about it (part of that is not having blind faith in one way of recruiting) For instance, free agency can be our friend but doesn't get talked about a lot Adding an A grade player every couple of years or so is very important and that's why I believe we pursued Harley Reid but couldn't quite get the deal done
  24. Over that time we got rid of a lot of experienced players. And I believe that we left ourselves short on experience as a result Too many young blokes and not enough wise-heads is the wrong balance. We could have at least brought in some experience as Roos ended up doing (Lewis, Vince, Cross, Tyson, Melksham etc)
  25. Depends on the quality of the coach and whether the new coach is in for a long rebuild. Or has the capacity to know how to rebuild Making hard calls is part of it too. Some coaches are best suited to coaching an established list. Brought in to win big And it should be remembered that the thinking amongst many of our supporters was that the list wasn't all that bad (easier to just blame Dean Bailey (RIP) & Mark Neeld) And not long after Dean Bailey was dismissed, he remarked that the list had premiership potential We now know that can't have been true but we had any number of first and 2nd round picks on the list that many thought would end up being good players ... again, that didn't happen so Roos comes in and culls the list
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