Young Blood

@binman to add to your basketball example another thing that teams do is create a zone in their back 50 by guarding space. Wings and mids will drop into the shallower parts of the 50m line to cut off short passes inside and block leading paths while halfbacks fill the pockets etc. I loathe the groans from the Melbourne fans when we bomb it long in these situations as they don't realise its mostly to avoid turnovers off shorter kicks which can really kill you now with how well most oppositions transition the ball. We're always looking for ground balls in these situations so the deeper the better. Going back to shots on goal. There's a few players you would prefer not to blaze away too often. But the likes of Bayley, Kozzie, Spargo, Trac, Chandler and a few others are all fine to take shots within their range. They literally practice and train for this all week. Plus a behind still gives us a chance to set up and try to win the ball back and lock it in.

You've also heard Ethan's guess?

I won't comment about other posters opinions of Oskar's on here (mainly because I don't care that much). But in terms of your last statement, I think you're assuming a bit too much. I saw a few Casey games in person last year where Oskar performed well. He certainly took the next step in his development and was fairly consistent from what I saw and the reports all year. The one thing I did notice often was his running/tank potentially wasn't up to standard. With wing being his best and most suited role that would be an issue but who knows if there were other reasons he wasn't selected for starting 22 last year. Also, unfortunately, there were others the coaching department preferred playing his wing/flank role they preferred. JJ, Brayshaw, Sparrow and the likes were and are just more complete players at this stage I think. Baker was actually de-listed after the trade period ended. Clearly, the acquisition of Hunter who would be considered one of the better and proven wings in the league played a part. Also with JJ and the others already mentioned it would seem Oskar might have had go even further down the pecking order and there just wasn't room for him with new players and draftees coming in. I'm glad he's getting his opportunity at the dogs and hope he can continue to play well. But I just don't see him playing in our best 22 this year with the amount of depth we have.

This is HUGE. Will be a star.

@Demon Dynasty Yeah so yourself and a few others missed the original point I made. To quote myself in previous post 'When I said he looked down I didn't mean his form. He was brilliant on the weekend!' And he has been all season in the games he played. The point myself and others have noted is that while he played a fantastic game, he didn't look himself emotionally. We're used to a more charismatic Kozzy on field that smiles and gets pumped up. He looked flat and not as engaged with teammates which is odd for him.

Echoing my thoughts as well. Lets enjoy him while he's here!

When I said he looked down I didn't mean his form. He was brilliant on the weekend! Just that he looked less emotionally animated than usual. Used to seeing him smile and really enjoy his teammates more. Hopefully, it was just the one off :)

Yeah, I agree. Especially in the last two games, he's been so effective. I was trying to find his disposal efficiency stats. He rarely wastes the ball and is usually really proactive with his ball use. I watched him closely against the swans. He never stops moving, particularly around the contest he's always relocating to receive the ball, would be so annoying to play on. I would think it's also very tricky to tag a wing. My silly theory at the start of the season is that both Ed and Brown would play better without the long hair. I only say this because I played local footy and basketball with long hair for years and only in recent times chopped it off to find how much less annoying and a hindrance it is. Perhaps both of those two are playing more freely 😋

I feel for Koz. As much as neither party would like to admit it, there is a lot of pressure I'm sure between the club and family around his decision. Uncle Byron getting involved and apparently bidding for Melbourne sounds great but who knows how the rest of the family feel about that. I just hope its not causing any sort of tension or conflict within the family which would obviously affect Kozzy. In my original post, I didn't want to speculate as there are many reasons he might have looked a bit down on the weekend. Just hope he's OK and getting what he needs at the moment whether thats space and/or support from club/family.

Did anyone else find that Kozzy looked a bit flat on the weekend? Understabily he's not going to be over the moon kicking 5 behinds and the two he did kick were after the fact. But I did think he just looked less emotionally engaged then usual. Still so effective and will be so so important against the best teams to give us an edge. I understand there's a lot going on for him at the moment and hope he's coping ok.

I think the general consensus should be that of course no we don't reward games based on merrit, club standing and records etc. The only exception to the rule might have been Jones reaching game 300 but thats a pretty rare circumstance. Obviously Goodwin has a strong history with Melksham and trusts him to perform his role. He is one of six players over the age of 30 and provides leadership and an experienced head that is useful in a hot game of football. If a spare defender is dominating the game which happens often he can provide a run with role to diminish their effectiveness, he can free up other forwards like Bayley and Tmac to move up the ground if needed. All that being said I too prefer someone like JJ. His immediate impact was substantial on Sunday. To me he's the perfect sub. Can play multiple roles where needed on any flank, wing and midfield. Comes into the game with fresh legs going hard with his energy in tackling and around the contest which was evident in the last quarter. He's also an excellent decision-maker and tidy with the ball in hand which becomes vital in late-game situations.

I really hope there is a genuine realization from the FD that Jordan is a much more effective, reliable player at the moment compared to Harmes. At least thats what this naive supporter believes Hopefully, Harmes is either one of either sub, emergency or lines up for Casey. I hope everything with Harmsy is OK with possibly family member passing away.

Lever mentioned in the post game interview after round 1 that if someone told him last year that Judd would be playing round 1 this year he'd think they were joking. The mountain of work he's put in during the off-season and impact training must have been immense. Hopefully, his trajectory continues like the Sparrows and Jordans. Love that Salem took him under his wing. Certainly shows similar composure, competitiveness and ball use. The depth we now have across the whole team in each position is incredible.

Simple JJ > Harmes More consistent, better ball use/decision making, better tank, better tackling, pressure, and overall defensively. The only thing Harmes does better is also what makes him a liability and thats taking the opposition on with fend off's and breaking tackles. Harmes used to be a great contested mark for his size but even that's gone down hill. I love James Harmes and we all know his story growing up a Melbourne Demon supporter etc. He's been a terrific leader and when the team is playing well he still performs well. But JJ is far more reliable now. I hope the FD know this and Harmes becomes the depth player behind JJ.

I have to agree with @binman. I understand when people get frustrated with down-the-line kicks at different stages of the game but it really is by design. We have built our game and success on how well we perform at the contest. 9/10 we are looking to bring that long ball to ground to either work our way out and forward OR create a stoppage to aim to do the same. But as I'm sure its been mentioned the weekends game presented by far the best ball movement across four quarters I have seen since 2021 and dare I say better in many respects. As mentioned by several commentators we changing the angles as we move forward with our kicking which is opening up the ground and giving us far better, less predictable forward entries. If we can continue to execute this its going to drive opposition teams mad.

I like others re watched the game last night after attending on Sunday. Overall as others have mentioned the resilience and hunger shown by the whole team was definitely the best I've seen since 2021 across four quarters. Apart from a few brain fade/structural mistakes (e.g. buddy alone in the pocket marking) we did not let up all day and as the swans kept coming we maintained our intensity and put the heat back on them. The clearance game is an interesting one. I think Sydney wasted many of theirs on the weekend, especially in the first quarter. We often lose clearances but end up winning due to having an incredibly backline that can withstand pressure but also because of our contest work across the ground. There were so many players on the weekend who's workrate and ability to win contests were on show. Player observations Petty He certainly didn't set the world on fire but boy did I love just about every contest he was involved in. There are so many reasons he looks a more effective forward overall then TMac and Brown at the moment. He's more agile, competes better at ground level, reads the ball better, uses his body better, great decision make and much more physical and imposing. I'm not saying overall Petty in this small sample size is unequivocally a better forward then those other two. He lacks polish and forward craft. But to me he just gives you so much more at every contest then the other two. PLUS he has genuine mongrel and a nasty side. Not saying he's a dirty player but he knows how to use his body to get away with some things to really [censored] off the opposition. He plays on the edge with his physicality and I love it. Apart from Kozzy something we have been missing Chandler Has to stay in the side. The number of repeat efforts defensively to bring the pressure not only in the forward line but up the ground was outstanding. His fitness must be elite. Hope he can keep it up for the season. Bowey Just such a classy player at just 20. Plays like a veteran with his decision-making and another that I thought has really stepped up with his tackling and contest work. Sparrow Obviously the improvement has been talked about but he's now becoming a damaging player when he's involved in a contest or passage of play. He's bulked up to go along with increased fitness and I dare say could walk into many clubs as a walk up starting midfielder. What a luxury to have him as one of the most underrated in the comp. Also his marking!

Would love to have mic's set up for Lever and May. The amount of chatter, instruction and feedback they give is crazy. The leadership between those two and the standards they set are outstanding.

Understandably Tmac was going up against two very capable ruckman last week in trying circumstances with Max going down not to mention its his second AFL game in a long time. However he was next to useless. He couldn't stand his ground in any ruck contest let alone win a tap (infact Max had more taps 2-1). But he also couldn't get involved in the game at all, noticed he only played 58% game time which is interesting, I think fitness still an issue. Grundy will clearly need help as he is still getting his fitness back and not looking overly comfortable covering the ground, not to mention getting used to a whole new midfield to work with. Has anyone seen much of JVB in the ruck? At the very least he's the most mobile option to do more at ground level. I hope Brown does the rucking while in the forward line as he's a much better option and can share the load. Thank god they didn't give Harmes another chance. He looks terrific when the sides playing well but was such a liability last week. We need more consistency from the flanks/mid role which is where I trust JJ more. Will be interesting to see what they do with the sub. I can see them tempted to put Mcdonald as sub fit enough with him and JVR capable of swinging down back if needed. I think I'd still prefer Tomlinson in if May pulls out again but if not I wonder, if May does plat whether they might go tall with the sub as insurance with Petty/May possibly not 100%. With Fritsch back I see Melksham having less of a good fit/impact. Could be Dunstan for some fresh legs around the ball but they'll probably roll with Melk again.

It's a tough one. I think I'd have to choose Rivers for all the reasons I mentioned. Higher ceiling as a player and more damaging with his attack with the ball. JJ is super solid the perfect supporting role player, tackling, pressure, tidy with the ball, decision making, a decent all rounder. But the difference between the two is the pace, evasiveness to break free from contests, and penetration on kicks. I think Rivers already has these traits and has demonstrated it early on this year and its where JJ is lacking. JJ has been squeezed out by more suited wingers and even more so by Sparrow whose development has really gone up a notch his last two seasons. All that being said can I give up Harmes' salary to re-sign JJ? 😜

Not sure if you have to replace a predefined captain role on paper made at the start of the year. But if so my vote would be Lever, especially the way he's started the year. I like that others see Gus as a potential Captain too. He'd have to be one of the most popular and liked within the club. His on field actions every week no doubt give the team a lift the way he attacks every contest and never gives up.

I don't think he's got the tank. At least not yet. Could develop into an outside mid the way he plays but he's so so good under pressure down back in all facets. Would be cool to see him in there tagging at some point this year (instead of harmes... please) but I think he's too crucial down back. When Salem and maybe Hibberd return depending on matchups, Rivers with the rest make up the best backline in the comp hands down IMO. Such an important player, our most underrated, only 21, no real weaknesses, potential future 250+ gamer. Please sign

When its glaring in the highlights that have been replayed over and over on fox for these three occasions where there was a clear pass there's not excuse. Heading to the pointy end of the year you want to be seeing the team things done consistently. What I will point out that Kingy and others haven't is apart from these few moments he's been great at creating for others. He lead both Score Involvements (10) and Goal assists (3) on the weekend. I noted many times him giving the handball off to players in space that created shots on goal. In key big moments you want to see it. But this narrative thats being blown up is overboard IMO.

Hope you're a sports doc CFP... Or have some synchronicities occured for you today?

I quite like the look of it and what it represents especially in the NT in front of so many local indigenous supporters. I'm sure the boys will be keen to wear it up there. But in the end who cares what strip we're wearing just win the bloody game.

Love the idea but I think swinging May forward would only happen in game where injuries occur to our forwards. I don't fully understand your reasoning for sending him forward being that he kicks in to one side predominantly as a backman. I imagine thats by design based on coaching and structure rather then him deciding that or being a left-footer.... However, he's far too important down back. I understand the emergence of Petty has been great but May does so many things that go unseen, he drives/steers the ship back their while manning the opposition's best forward. Jackson though to me has to spend more time in the middle. Would love to see him as no.1 ruckman the next few weeks. Max won so many taps that eventuated in the Cats winning the ball. Jackson gives you a much better chance at winning that ball back if that happens. We saw the effect he had against Brisbane. He gives you so much more around every stoppage. To me its pretty simple. Play Max as a forward. It can be a lead up role or deeper but he's such a good target down there. Play him as the second ruck, just try it.