Macca

I'd be rushing Melk back into the forward line as soon as he is fit ... if we can get him into 1 on 1's he adds much needed class and goalkicking power. He's a fitness freak so the age factor isn't as pronounced Some players can defy the age barrier and he seems like one of those types

The make-up of the forward line can only get better ... this is what it could look like for the Geelong game HF: Kozzie/Tracca JVR Fritsch F Hendo/Chin Jeffo or AJ Melksham That's a lot better than what we'll see on Sunday So it's not all doom & gloom. We can get better (personnel-wise)

North aren't good defensively and their better players don't track back ... they will battle to get the ball through our overall defence But you may be right, it could be close

I reckon it's more about personnel... Fritsch is still our best forward yet he is out of form and many here want him dropped! I wouldn't drop him as we need to allow him to be the opportunist that he is and also, get him into 1 on 1 situations (where he also can excel) After Fritsch? There's not much talent there, certainly not proven talent We'll almost certainly beat North but it's how our forward line matches up against the good sides which is the question And of course, Kozzie, Melk & Tholstrup will return soon enough And I'd definitely play Petracca forward on Sunday

Petracca could destroy a team like North up forward

Reckon this is a real possibility. It would be a different story if all of our 3 KPF types could be relied upon but that is not the case And it's a midfielders game these days with up to 12-14 players playing some sort of role between half back & half forward (that includes the 4 on the bench being part of the rotations) I'd much prefer if we went with just the 2 KPF's and another runner How many KPF's did the Hawks go with last night?

Schwarz is a good chance (and good odds) in the G1 William Reid Stakes tomorrow (1200m) Should lead from a nice gate and it might be a leaders track at the Valley Moonee Valley (Saturday) R9 #4 9.50/2.60 Schwarz

I agree I do not have an issue with the subject matter as the topic is well worthy of discussion But the thread name?? How about 'How can we get more people to attend our games'

My idea is a long shot but the AFL is cashed up and should be thinking of the future

We've got a soft draw/fixture which includes 7 home games against low drawing opposition teams (GWS, GC, Sydney, WC, Bulldogs, North & Freo) So there's a good chance that some of the crowd figures are going to rear their ugly head again And whenever we miss the finals we get a very similar fixture My concern is more so about how much money the club is going to make from all these low drawing home games The saving grace is that we have home games against Richmond & Collingwood so there's that to consider as well (next season we are the away team in both those games) And we should get a good crowd for our home fixture against the Hawks But no home (MCG) games against Essendon, Carlton or Geelong Collingwood on the other hand get MCG home games against Carlton, Essendon, Geelong, Hawthorn, St.Kilda & Melbourne ... they only miss on Richmond Might not sound like much of a difference but when it happens every season it adds up (from a financial point of view)

Yeah, I reckon we need a 3rd stadium and it can be multi-purpose And whilst our game had a decent atmosphere on Sunday my point was about the other 20-30 low drawing games played every season (in Melbourne) The bigger picture argument I love it that games are played in Ballarat (2 there this season) but there's a limit on how many could be played at that stadium (it's not big enough) Failing that Docklands can be used more often. I just reckon that a smallish crowd & the MCG is not a good fit. Bigger crowds is a solution too of course but against low-drawing interstate teams?

A boutique stadium for all these low-drawing games could be an answer too Trouble is where do you build it and how much would it cost? So North, St.Kilda, Melbourne, Hawthorn, Bulldogs vs GWS, Gold Coast, Freo, West Coast, Adelaide & Port Adelaide could all fit nicely into a 30,000 seat stadium (roofed) You'd have a much better atmosphere than what the sparse crowds at the MCG or Docklands deliver The AFL are now just entering into the next broadcast rights ($4.5Billion) so it's not like the league is short on a quid

One of my all-time favourites ...

Need an open forward line and that can only happen with fast ball movement. The use of the corridor along with what has come into vogue ... the 45° criss-cross passing (at speed)

What stood out most of all with Xavier was his vision and ultra quick release. Amazing for a first gamer And that's not the sort of thing you do and then not do. We've got a lot to look forward to with this lad

Righto, I like that. A defined position that can be judged by all and sundry And with that responsibility comes close examination (by us haha)

Those missing people you referenced have already made up their minds on how they are going to view the team playing. I can't see them going more often just because they are seemingly supposed to And what are the chances that even one of the no-shows is even reading what you've got to say? You may as well be talking to a brick wall, in all reality This conversation reminds me of a coach I once had who went off his head about the lack of numbers at Tuesday training. We had to tell him that it's no good lecturing us, we're here! Needless to say he didn't last very long after that! Anyway, we could pick up lapsed members but are they going to go to many games? They are not die-hards To increase the crowd numbers we need more die-hards. That can come from new adult members or those that go to say, 75% of games And that will come with more team success but it's a slow-burn It's rare to get adults to change teams and adopt the Demons, and the Chinese & Indian communities do not seem to be interested in footy So it's the kids and the Auskick kids. If we win they will want to barrack for us but then we have to wait 10-15 years for those kids to become adult members The club needs to get the kids on board out at Casey & Cardinia ... there's over 500,000 people in the 2 Shires. It's huge and it's untapped (and nearly twice as big as the Greater Geelong area) I'd give every kid a free membership out there and then hope that the Mums and Dads take them to the footy. At the very least there would be heaps of Demon jumpers on show at Auskick in those 2 Shires And if we're doing clinics out there, ramp it up in triplicate So there is a way out, but it's going to take time And we can ill-afford to drop out of finals contention in any given year

Forward line coach and team offence but the offence starts from Stoppages, Turnovers or Half back Does he cover all that area, @Adam The God?

Game 4 of the NBL Finals on 10Bold right now ... Melb Utd vs Illawarra Hawks

Fritsch stays for mine ... in a stronger forward line he is a real weapon. To me, he's not the problem, it's what surrounds him. We need him to able to play as the opportunist and in 1 on 1's Plus, if he wanders upfield his delivery into the forward line becomes another real weapon I don't have any issues with our midfield or defence but I can't wait to see Kozzie, Melk & Tholstrup back to strengthen our forward line Here's my forward line (which includes T-Mac unless Jeffo or AJ can establish themselves) With May back we can move T-Mac or even Petty forward (we won't need 4 talls in the backline) But I'm playing T-Mac deep as he can act as a decoy or take a decent defender with him. And only 2 KPF forwards HFF (A) Kozzie & Petracca rotating from the middle CHF van Rooyen but he needs to get on his bike and get involved when applicable HFF (B) Fritsch (with a licence to roam wherever) FP (A) Henderson (I'm hoping that this kid becomes a good small forward ... in before Chandler for now) FF T-Mac (has the experience and an innate ability to find space. Whether his body can stand up as a forward is the question) But he plays deep. Failing that, AJ or Jeffo) FP (B) Melksham or Tholstrup (experience or youth? Whoever wins out) Back ups ... Chandler, AJ, Turner, Jeffo And I've got Sharp, Langford, Lindsay, Sparrow etc as rotating mids Sharp could fill in as a small forward and Langford might find himself on a flank as well

Good post My original post was related to the make-up of our forward line on a damp day and the way we deliver the ball into the forward line in general IMV we made it easier for GWS to transition the ball out of our forward line To be fair, Goodwin is probably the best defence orientated coach going around Maybe we need an offensive coordinator who can call the shots

There's no anger, more so an observation of a silly thread But, again, if you are happy to be associated with your fellow supporters being labelled pathetic, good for you

Excellent post I came to terms with our crowd numbers decades ago An example of that is comparing our number of absolute die-hards* compared to the Collingwood numbers We probably sit about 12,000 - 13,000 where as the Pies would be 45,000 to 55,000 And there lies the answer to all the other questions *My description of a die-hard would be those who rarely miss a game and even regularly travel interstate games So, as a base, the Pies are miles ahead of us Same for Richmond, Carlton & Essendon except the disparity wouldn't be quite so high as the Pies If we were a big club, the counter argument would have relevance

The keen ones attend, the not-so-keen ones may not attend Multiply that by every club in any sport, Worldwide There is no uniqueness I know plenty of people (who are members) of other clubs who will often not go to games. Pies, Blues, Tigers and Bombers fans especially But those teams (IMV) have at least 5 times as many fans as do Melbourne supporters Face it, we are a medium sized club (just) and until we are a big club, attendances are always going to be a talking point TV rules ... e.g. If 2 million people watch a game on the telly where there are say, 40,000 at the ground, that means that 50 times more people are watching the game on TV Honestly, we could fast forward 10 years and the same silly argument will still be around And if we are a big club in 10 years time I'll be very surprised

Like a lot of other clubs on a regular basis, average to low attendances in any number of games are going to happen based on the home team's supporter base up against the opposition's supporter base numbers So if you do the maths, the Demons vs most of the interstate teams isn't going to draw big numbers. Same story for a number of other Vic teams Ignore the media and ignore supporter-speak. Oneupmanship is at play But if you enjoy being called pathetic, good for you