deelusions from afar

bumping 'cause I'm needy but mostly as I'm interested in knowing a bit more about how this works - and the collective demonland brains trust is pretty knowledgeable about modern trends and tactics.

Interestingly Goody referred to the 'leaders' driving the selfless culture at the club - he named most of the usual suspects such as Gawn, Viney, May, Lever (I think) and then added Neal-Bullen. It is quite an inexperienced forward line but if Goody is naming him as the first forward that's driving the culture change then he's not likely to be dropped on current form. Beyond this week, Jones position must be in jeopardy based on output.

This isn't so much a thread about who should be playing on the wing with the perennial debate about who is best to join Langdon as the other wing raging elsewhere. It's more about understanding the tactics and the role of the modern winger and kick ins / ball movement. For example, on the weekend, Langdon was on the fat side of the ground - the side of the ground that we never kick to when kicking in from a point. The fact that we always kick to the same side (which no surprise is also the side Gawn is on), is that simply because of the dominance of Gawn? If we had two recognised wingers (eg had we got Smith in the trade period) would this approach be any different? I.e. having Brayshaw on the side where the ball is moved slower is no coincidence but how would you maximise two wingers if you had them? Is there a problem with always kicking the same side - being predictable? I haven't watched the other top sides close enough to know but I suspect they would be similar. At the same time I feel like if you were an opposition coach our predictability could be exploited by stacking the Gawn side. Obviously we're prepared to switch to Langdon's side but most of the time we don't look to do this - we certainly haven't kicked out to the Langdon side any time I can remember this year. Is the possibility of having TMac and Jackson (in addition to Gawn) roaming up the ground change how we would approach this? Looking forward to hearing people's thoughts

That's true - but if you have a number of tall key forwards around him who are also finishers, Melksham is going to need to do his bit in this area to stay in the side. This is in the same way that they've asked Kozzie, Spargo and ANB - none of whom are heavy. Interestingly, both McDonald and Fritsch have noticeably improved this area of their game this year - both with much higher tackle numbers than previously. For Jake I suspect it's more about the willingness to run both ways - to chase and close down space. If the pressure for spots forces Melk to lift his game in this area, then we will go up another gear we didn't know we had!

I agree - it could become a real weapon. Where I think we are a bit different is that we also play Fritsch forward (who plays like a key forward) and Melksham (who has never been a good defensive pressure player). Maybe (what I'm hoping) is that we can still find a way to make it work due to Jackson's ability to play anywhere and TMac's incredible endurance which allows them both to play further up the field.

It could end up happening but there's no way that will happen at the moment. I rate Petty as a key defender but Tomlinson has done a good job down there and built good chemistry with the other defenders. If anyone, it's TMac that will get a go on the wing - but I suspect they won't try that against the tigers but the following week v the roos.

I don't think Melksham had necessarily earnt his place in the team after his output in 2019 and 2020, but now that he's in the team, it will be hard for him to go out - all those saying he will be dropped for Fritsch, I wouldn't be so sure. Goodwin is clearly a big fan of his and at his best he is an automatic selection - I think Goody will be keen to give him a few weeks (more than ppl here would give) to allow him to get back to that. I don't think he's got the capacity to put the defensive pressure on we need (if we're playing Brown / Tmac, Weid, Fritsch and Jackson in the same team) but rightly or wrongly I think match committee will drop others ahead of Jake

I'm not his biggest fan but think he is playing his role. Clearly his running capacity makes him a real asset to the team. I think he has also tidied up his disposal which was the main thing that used to frustrate me about him eg the perfectly weighted pass to Brown in the last quarter. Having said that, if they can match him with the running, Bedford / Chandler might offer a bit more.

I think it is going to be really interesting when we come up against some really good rucks that get on top of Jackson - I'm thinking West Coast, the dogs, etc Gawn is dangerous when not in the ruck... Jackson not as much (yet)

When Jackson was picked, there was a lot of talk about him potentially becoming a midfielder one day. Given the tall targets we have to come into the team will he also be given the opportunity to play up the ground (when he's not rucking) like TMac? I think they have to be careful in not playing him in too many positions (some players careers have been ruined by being played out of position) - but if this is potentially his future role then it might be worth experimenting a bit. having TMac and Jacko presenting as options (in addition to Gawn) when transitioning the ball from defence to attack could become a huge weapon for us as in most cases they will not be playing on players who have the ability to match them in the air. My gut feel is that we can't play Gawn, Jacko, TMac, Weid, BBB, Fritsch and Melksham in the same side as the forward pressure will drop away - but I'm super excited to see if they can find a way to make it work. I hope they've been doing lots of work on complimentary leading patterns!

That was an incredible year. Many people seem to forget though that we were struggling mid year with a few big injuries and had more losses than wins - I think we got belted by a rapant by a Kouta lead Carlton by about 100 points in early June before Farmer's 9 goal second half on Queens birthday lit a spark in our season where we won every game from then on (bar a close loss to North) until the grand final.

Agree with most of this - I think M Brown didn't contribute in a big way in terms of defensive pressure so can make one of them as you say. I reckon they will want to wait a week to try a forward line with Weid, Brown, Jackon and Fritsch and play TMac on the wing - if it works against the roos, they'll see how it goes against the swans. I think TMac on the wing could go either way - most wingers will not have the size or aerial capacity to go with him but he will be a liability if he's on someone with good pace.

Surely only one of Weid / BBB come in at a time - sounds like Weid is ready so Mitch Brown will have to make way. May and Fritsch would come straight back but I don't think either would be ready. Jones deserves the 300 but can't see him staying in the team for much longer - Harmes, Bedford, Chandler, Sparrow all offer more. It might even be a case of TMac moving to the wing and Brayshaw filling Jones' role. Interesting times!

Thanks for the reports guys. For those that watched it what positions did Weid and BBB play. Did Weid play full forward (out of the goal square) or did they change it up. TMac seems to be playing further up the ground so it probably makes sense if Weid play close to goal if he comes in.

Match against the Hawks is a good test with May and Fritsch out. May is well known for his one-one-one ability to defend and outmark but his kicking is also critical for us when we have the ball - he regularly takes our kick ins and often gets us going with his long precise kicking. Hibberd can do this but won't have the height needed when coming up against teams with multiple key talls. Similarly fritsch is well known for his marking ability but his pressure and tackling has gone up a few levels this year. I don't think any of our options do both. Good teams can adjust to this and find a way for their system to get the job done and I am confident we will - but until we see it, it's an unknown. Re your comments about what RIchmond did - I think we're not far off doing that in all in wins. We've had so mnay more shots on goal than the opposition - if we had kicked straight everyone would say we look unstoppable atm.

Great post - agree 100%. Would kind of like to see them give more ruck time to Jacko, play Gawn forward and see how Chandler could go in our forward rotation.

It makes sense, I just get the feeling that they have players playing particular roles - someone like Petty who doesn't have great experience at senior level they would probably want to get comfortable playing in a defence with Thomlinson and Lever etc - particularly if he's going up against Lynch and co the following week.

Mitch Brown or Majak surely - I don't think TMac and Jacko can carry the forward line (unless they planned to give Jacko more time in the ruck and Gawn more time forward)

I think I'm more just trying to manage expectations - things are never as good / bad as you think they are. I agree, there does seem to be something different this year - the selflessness, the stars maturing, the evenness of the team effort etc. The team seems to have a steely resolve - I have a feeling many of the confident people here won't match the steely resolve when we lose when they expect us to win.

Thanks. I hope you're right re Harmes. He was one of my favourite players in 2018 (and before) but seems to have lost his way since being sent to defence. I think his tactics of pushing the player he was tagging into the contest also got a bit more attention from the umpires after 2018. He has the attributes to be a real asset - tough, quick, can run both ways, strong in the air and a goal kicker. But I feel like his disposal lets him down a bit and maybe he's lost a bit of confidence. I'd probably have him fighting for a spot with Sparrow, Jordon and Jones atm. But I suspect the first two in particular are making a big difference to the team largely to their efforts when they don't have the ball. Can Harmes do the same? I don't know. While he has shown he can tag - it seems like Viney is more likely to get this role these days. Can he do what Viney's doing as a pressure forward? Don't know - but I suspect he will need to show he can if he's to stay in the team as the centre square is already pretty chockers! As I say - I've been a big fan of Harmes so hope they can find a role for him to get the best out of himself

I love Brayshaw and Viney (love all our players) so would hate to see one of them leave. But I had said a number of times that we have a surplus of inside mids and the lack of outside run is the thing that is hurting us. So at the end of last year, if that was difference between us succeeding or not, I thought we should have looked at it - I thought moreso it would be Harmes or Brayshaw. The signs are really good so far and I hope more than anything it continues. But we will lose matches this year and our flaws will be exposed (every team has them). Will all the love still be here when that happens or if we drop a few in a row? I hope people will not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I still think Brayshaw has played his best football as an inside mid and so for him to play on the wing or a flank is not only a sacrifice for the team - but also for his own career. But maybe that's what he and the club want. It is definitely working better than I thought it would in the preseason. I am very intrigued when Brown and potentially Weid come back, will TMac be fighting with Brayshaw for the wing position? And does anyone have Harmes in their best 22 anymore? What excited me most about the last few weeks on this issue (too many inside mids in the team) is that Viney has shown he can play a damaging role as a manic pressure forward when he's not on ball. I think most of us thought he could do it, but I don't think we'd seen it consistently prior to this year. Just like we'd want from Oliver, if our main mids can cause havoc when played forward it adds new weapons to the coach's kitbag that many teams don't have.

I reckon if Oliver could average almost a goal a game it would change how he is viewed. He had three very gettable shots against GWS - if the perception is that if he is tagged he either beats the tag or goes forward and kicks goals, then it makes him and Petracca almost untaggable.

Thanks GOTO - as per your rolling update in the first post, this is the highest number we've had at this time of year except for 2019 (which we were riding a membership wave from the previous year's success). 2019 was the only time we cracked the 50k mark. We seem like a decent chance to do this this year - especially if we can keep winning! Would be a huge effort in the covid era

Agree - but given what others have said here, he's a restricted free agent which means Essendon could match the offer - which would mean he would have to be paid a lot since (with a few of their big names gone) they could afford to pay him heaps! Intrigued how other clubs have done this in the past - eg stories where they've all taken a pay cut - how would this work? Would they all be asked if they'd be willing to take a 3-5% cut to allow them to bring a big name in? Would they only discuss this with the highest paid players? Would they just factor this in with players that are out of contract? I wonder if someone like Brayshaw would be wrapped to bring in a player like Merrett if he essentially takes his current position?

He would be a great get - but can't see it happening. With Gawn, Oliver, Petracca, Brown, May and Lever there's a lot of players on decent coin - plus the likes of TMac and Brayshaw who I think signed after big seasons. We'd have to off-load some big names and I think given the work they've put into bringing the group together, trading someone like Harmes or Brayshaw might really disrupt the group.