Young Blood

OK so it has nothing to do with the forwards leading patterns or timing? Bayley seems to do quite well... He gets great seperation and generally leads or points to spaces where he can mark the ball in front. I'll admit we don't have the best delivery and delivery inside forward 50 but its as much to do with the forward line and their positioning as it is those kicking it inside to them. The long bomb has been covered in other posts. It's not a dump kick, its deliberate. When the forward line is congested and teams are zoning off its better to kick deep for our forwards to make a contest. Gives you more options at goal (mark, ground ball, repeat stoppage). If you kick short in these situations greater risk is too high with turning it over and teams transitioning so quickly these days. With all our backs pushed up you get exposed so easily in these situations.

Its a nice idea with Brown but when has this really worked? It was always his strength running into space at full stretch marking out in front. Many have criticized our kicking inside 50 as the issue but I think its more to do with Brown. Might be the wear and tear of injuries/fitness but he's unable to get much separation from his man these days. Also struggles to get his arms free in contests. The thing that hurts him the most is his inability to do much when the ball hits the deck, especially in contested situations. He doesn't do a great job of using his body to block and bump defenders out of position. Both Petty and JVR have shown more promise in these areas.

He's seemed like this for a while. I'm not sure its going to change anytime soon. He's still a running machine and I do like him presenting further up the ground. But his mobility just seems so limited for someone who was already a fairly stiff and upright type of player. It does feel like the more athletic types of Petty and JVR are looking more and more likely to be best 22 at the end of the year.

Noting Judd's particular style and movent playing with confidence and some flair when he gets on the move with the ball. Is there a player he looked to base his game on? Someone that influenced him in the way they played?

Where did the nickname 'Knuckle' originate?

Still two rucks vs one whose still finding his fitness and feet in a new side. Grundy will hold his own and most likely beat both for hitouts but its having to cover ground to make them accountable both forward and back thats the issue. Grundy looks great in the stoppages/ball ups/throw-ins but quite vulnerable covering the ground still. Even two lesser rucks can take advantage of this.

I hope Gawn is back in (yes yes if fit etc.) Grundy did well in the two games we won against the opposition playing one, single, less adequate ruck: Ladhams (SYD) and Williams (WC) However playing against two decent rucks proved problematic in both games we lost against Bris and Essendon. Seems Tigers are sticking to playing with two Rucks even if Nank is out. So I image similar tactics that were used and explained by Essendon post match to target Grundy will again be used if he goes alone. Food for thought.

I haven't been able to get down to watch a Casey game yet. For Casey Track watchers: How has Turner been performing? I am really keen to have Turner or Schache really make their case as the third tall down back. I am one of the Petty forward heads. I just think he gives us more physicality and is better when the ball hits the deck. Would like to see him spend more time there to settle a bit and form some chemistry with the other forwards

@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.